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West Kentucky Community and Technical College a finalist for national award

Recognized for Community Scholarship Program

PADUCAH, Ky. (Nov. 28, 2016) — West Kentucky Community and Technical College is one of 10 community colleges selected as a finalist for the 2017 Bellwether Awards from the Community College Future Assembly, in the Planning, Governance & Finance (PGF) category. WKCTC was selected for its program, “Free Community College Tuition Does Make a Difference.”

The Bellwether Awards recognize outstanding and innovative programs and practices that other colleges might find worthy of replicating. Awards are given annually in three categories to colleges with outstanding and innovative programs or practices. WKCTC was also named a finalist in 2005 and 2013. Winners will be announced on Jan. 31, 2017.

WKCTC faculty and staff began enrolling the first group of high school students from McCracken County into the private-public partnership known as the Community Scholarship Program in 2010. The first class of CSP participants graduated in May 2016. Preliminary data indicates that CSP students are staying enrolled in college, academically perform at a higher level and earn more college credit when compared to all first-time non-CSP students throughout WKCTC’s 10-county region.

The 2017 Community College Futures Assembly focuses on solutions to the critical issues that were raised in the 2014 Community College Futures Assembly. “Changing the Debate: From Pathways to Pipeline” is the theme for 2017 Community College Futures Assembly, emphasizing the diverse solutions community colleges utilize when facing critical issues.

The Bellwether Award has been compared to football’s Heisman Award because it is competitively judged and is an award given by peers in community colleges, with no cash award. It has also been called “the award of awards” because many institutions with programs that have won other awards apply for the Bellwether Award. Previous recipients of the Bellwether Award have said that it has been a springboard for other types of recognition and/or funding.