To address unemployment and the challenging economic climate, Northampton Community College announced two new initiatives at a news conference held at the Center for Workforce Development at the Fowler Family Southside Center in Bethlehem on Monday, December 1.

The first initiative will help individuals who have recently become unemployed due to business or industry plant closing or layoff in Northampton or Monroe counties. NCC will reinstitute its Tuition Waiver program for Spring 2009, in which qualified candidates will be able to take up to 12 credits tuition-free in certain career programs, or a maximum of $900 in specified non-credit work-related classes.

“The better educated and trained individuals are, the better positioned they will be for the future … to move into the workforce,” said NCC President Dr. Arthur Scott. He pledged to continue to work with community leaders to find ways to support the unemployed.

According to Mardi McGuire-Closson, vice president for student affairs, NCC has offered tuition waivers at two other times in response to unemployment and economic crisis in the community. “From 1992 to 1995, NCC offered the program, and 137 people took advantage of it. In 2002 to 2004, we had 313 students in the program,” she said.

The second initiative is a Career Transitions Expo to be held on Saturday, December 13 in West Plaza of College Center on the Main Campus. The free three-hour program will help those who have lost jobs prepare for a smooth transition to the next phase of employment. Topics covered will include Crisis as Opportunity, Stress Management, Career Assessment and Tranferrable Skills, Jobs in the Valley and How to Prepare for Them, Financial Aid Options, and Lehigh Valley Resources.

For more information about the Tuition Waiver program or the Career Transitions Expo, contact NCC Admissions at 610-861-5500.  The December 13 session is full, but registration is now being accepted for a second session January 10.

Watch WFMZ's Jaccii Farris' report on CNN.com here. Look for the "Free College Tuition" video.

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