The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
LCCC president holds forum to answer students’ questions
Students gathered in Lorain County Community College Center Commons on Oct. 2 to hear President Marcia Ballinger answer questions.
The event, titled President’s Forum, featured free food, prizes and Ballinger hearing from students at the campus, 1005 N. Abbe Road in Elyria.
“The forum is held every semester,” said James Johnson, Student Senate representative for the University Partnership. “It’s a great way for students, like myself, to engage and ask questions about their college and things they would like to see.”
Johnson said the event has been great over the years.
“I’ve been attending these each semester I’ve been here, and this is my first one as a member of the Student Senate,” he said. “One of the things that was brought up in the past, was food availability for students.
“That led to the creation of the Commodore Cupboard, which allows student to have access to food when needed. This event played an important role in that program’s inception.”
Ballinger said she is proud of the students.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the strides you guys are making toward your goals,” she said. “We care about your personal journey... we are honored you decided to attend LCCC, and we do what we can to help you reach your goals. I also want to thank the faculty here who want to see their students succeed.”
Ballinger said a recent stride has come in the form of the college’s first bachelor’s degree.
“We now offer an applied bachelor’s for microelectronic engineering,” she said. “It allows students to earn the degree fully here and be placed in jobs locally.
“A requirement for the degree is a paid internship for a local business. Students, under this arrangement, can earn while they learn.”
When asked about the school’s tuition, Ballinger said that’s something the school will always keep as low as possible.
“We are always balancing the cost of education with quality,” she said. “Our tuition is one of the lowest in the state, and we want to keep it that way.”
Ballinger also said LCCC will continue to address the need for food.
“Commodore Cupboard is something that we will continue to add to,” she said. “We want to continue to provide emergency food assistance to our students. There will be more to come on that front.”
Ballinger also addressed a question about transportation.
“We understand that public transportation is a problem in this county,” she said. “I encourage all of you to let your voices be heard to the county to make changes in that regard.
“We are looking at different things to make things easier for students to get out here. We also have our additional campuses that help with that as well.”
Maybeline Sanchez, a Keystone graduate studying nursing, said she likes the events at LCCC.
“The college does a good job of doing events like this and making sure the students are engaged,” Sanchez said. “The education is just as good if you went elsewhere, and it’s more affordable.”
Chakiya Chaney said she feels the college will only improve.
“We are seeing more technology being added all the time,” Chaney said. “What is provided will only get better.”