Vol. 13 Issue 10October 2007
 

Headlines

Small Business Center Ranked Third in State

Small Business Center's Annual Export Expo

Participants of the 2nd annual Export Expo at A-B Tech's Small Business Center/Incubator. The SBC was ranked third in the state by the North Carolina Community College System.

A-B Tech's Small Business Center/Incubator was ranked third in the state overall for 2006-07 by the North Carolina Community College System based on its number of seminars, attendees, clients and counseling hours.

"Since the 2004-05 fiscal year, we have seen an increase in clients of 275 percent," Russ Yelton, Small Business Center director, said. A-B Tech's center had 344 clients this past year, ranking it second in that category out of the 58 small business centers in the state.

"I have to acknowledge the success would not be possible without the volunteers in the professional services office, our internal staff and partnering with agencies such as SCORE and other local entrepreneurs," Yelton said.

The College's Small Business Center held 135 seminars with 2,439 attendees, in addition to providing 542 counseling hours at no cost to clients.

"By virtue of A-B Tech being ranked third overall in the state, it provides a true validation of the level of assistance and program diversity that we deliver here at the College," said Max Queen, Continuing Education vice president.

"While this report considers the number of clients, seminars and attendees, what is not captured here is the fact that we are operating the largest multi-use incubator in the Southeast. When one includes that fact, I feel that establishes us as the premier Small Business Center facility," Queen said.

The facility covers 141,000 square feet and includes an FDA-approved food kitchen, biotechnology space with 14 wet and dry labs, light manufacturing space and executive office space.

Return to top

Early Childhood and Teacher Associate Programs Accredited

A-B Tech's Early Childhood and Teacher Associate programs are among the first in the state to be accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

For more than 80 years, NAEYC has worked to raise the quality of programs for all children from birth through age eight. A major part of the association's efforts to improve early childhood education is through different systems of accreditation for programs that are committed to meeting national standards of quality. Launched in 2005, its Early Childhood Associate Degree Accreditation system sets a standard of excellence for early childhood programs that prepare teachers at the associate degree level.

The accreditation process includes extensive self-study, submission of a self-study report, a site visit conducted by a peer review team, and an accreditation decision made by a national commission of early childhood professionals.

"We are very excited about our accreditation. Our faculty, both full-time and part-time, worked very hard on our self-study," said Cathy Pollock, A-B Tech's Early Childhood Education chair. "It was an arduous process, but one that has been very beneficial to our program. We are very proud of our program and the impact it has on the children in Buncombe and Madison counties."

The NAEYC associate degree standards are based on recent research in early childhood development and learning. The accreditation standards are performance based and describe what well-prepared graduates of associate degree programs should know and be able to do. Accreditation criteria describe the program's unique context and provide a framework for meeting the standards.

"Since this is a brand new accreditation process, Cathy and her faculty developed their self-study without the advantage of being able to draw on resources and experiences of previous accreditations. They did a remarkable job of responding to guidelines and criteria that were very new and not well defined in many cases," said Ned Fowler, dean of Allied Health and Public Service Education.

Return to top

A-B Tech Awards Third-Highest Number of GEDs in State

Eric Greene with A-B Tech instructors and staff

Eric Greene, second from left, is congratulated for completing his GED by A-B Tech instructors and staff. From left are Kim Litz, Jean Leichte, Barbara Brownsmith, Rachel Sternberg, Chris Franklin and Brenda Robinson.

A-B Tech's number of GED graduates ranks third in North Carolina with 548 certificates awarded between July 2006 and June 2007. Overall, the Basic Skills program is 16th in size.

"Our commitment is to get people in and out of the program as quick as possible so they can avail themselves to other educational and work opportunities," said Barbara Brownsmith, Adult Basic Education/GED Preparation/Adult High School coordinator.

"Everybody who comes into our program has some degree of test anxiety. The ABE/GED program involves a lot of testing and students get used to it. Then the level of stress goes back up when it's time to take the GED test," she said. "The reason they were able to relax and do better on the test was the welcoming attitude of Lani Anderson (chief GED examiner)."

Anderson works closely with the GED staff and instructors to make sure individuals receive needed accommodations. "They are the best, most student-focused staff anybody could have," Brownsmith said.

Eric Greene, who recently completed his GED, said he knew he could finish what he started more than 20 years ago because of the faculty. "I thank each and every teacher in this program for giving me the tools I needed," he said. "It's a blessing to have these teachers. I did not have this support in high school."

Greene came to A-B Tech in 1985 to get his GED, but got a full-time job and quit coming to classes. He made another attempt in November 2003, but really started in earnest in January 2005, regularly attending until he finished.

"I read a news article about a 75-year-old man getting his GED. I cut out that article and kept it. This man is inspiration," Greene said.

Greene's instructors suspected he had a learning disability so the College Foundation paid to have him tested. The results indicated he did have learning disabilities and he was able to receive testing accommodations.

"That happened because the Foundation Board saw him as a candidate for testing. All of that was able to happen thanks to the A-B Tech Foundation, Annie Clingenpeel and the instructional staff," Brownsmith said.

"Eric is an interpersonal genius," Brownsmith said. "He brings his warmth wherever he goes. It allows him to connect to people and people to connect to him."

Return to top

Heroes for Hope Walk to Benefit Soule Family »

 

Tech Talk is published by the Communications Office for employees and friends of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.
Editor: Mona Cornwell, Writer: Martha Ball, Designer: April Sides
Send submissions to: Mona Cornwell, Director of Communications, at mcornwell@abtech.edu