Mahar wants link with college

[ Originally published on: Thursday, October 18, 2007 ]

ORANGE -- North Quabbin residents and Ralph Mahar Regional School students may soon be able to take college courses and job training through a new collaboration with Worcester State College.

Mahar Superintendent Reza Namin said he has been talking to college officials over the past year, in order to bring college-level courses to the high school. He said the community also needs an educational facility where people can enroll in certificate programs for job training.

An example, he said, would be to offer a certificate program in computer technology.

''Our next step is to do a needs assessment study, to get a clear direction of where we want to go,'' he said. ''The intention is to provide more opportunities for our students and community members.''

Namin, a Worcester State College alumni, said he hopes WSC courses will be offered at Mahar starting this spring. He said the number and kind of classes offered will depend on student registration and on the results of surveys of students, teachers and school parents.

''Our goal is to offer students the opportunity to not only take advanced college courses but also be able to complete the Mahar requirement. This would provide students the opportunity to complete at least a year of college courses at the time of graduation from Mahar,'' he said.

Similar dual enrollment arrangements are made now with Greenfield Community College.

State Rep. Christopher Donelan, D-Orange, said access to college-level courses at Mahar will provide ''great opportunities for late-bloomers, for people who need job retraining, and for high school students who are entering college through dual enrollment,'' said Donelan. ''It's a very interesting blending of education and economic development that has the potential to be very beautiful.''

Donelan said he and Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst, have been interested in bringing back the state-funded high school/college dual enrollment programs that were cut because of state budget deficits several years ago.

The high school and the North Quabbin Chamber of Commerce will host an informational breakfast at Mahar on Oct. 24, from 8 to 10 a.m. The meeting will include a presentation by Daniel Nicholes, director of the center for business and industry at Worcester State College, followed by a question-and-answer session, to get community input on the educational needs that should be served by the program.

''He will be bringing information and sharing the proposal with the business community,'' said Namin.

Namin says the proposed program could include:

u Certificate programs and individual courses that match career opportunities in the North Quabbin region.

u Certificate programs that encourage personal and professional growth.

u Introductory college courses, which will be offered to qualified high school students from Mahar, as a dual-enrollment opportunity.

u The availability of online Worcester State College credit- and non-credit courses.

The 133-year-old Worcester State College offers liberal arts and science programs, along with teacher education. It also offers professional degree programs in biomedical sciences, business, and the health professions.

 

---