Category: Education

KCKCC invites Vatterott students to enroll

by Kelly Rogge, KCKCC

Vatterott College announced Monday it is closing all of its campuses throughout the United States, including in Kansas City, Missouri. Following that announcement, Kansas City Kansas Community College officials said they welcome the opportunity to talk with all current Vatterott students about enrolling at KCKCC.

KCKCC is committed to help all students achieve their dreams, a spokesman said KCKCC is available and ready to help students affected by the closing of Vatterott to complete their education. KCKCC is offering in-state tuition for currently enrolled and directly impacted students by the Vatterott closing. Financial aid counselors are available to discuss options.

Vatterott College operates seven campuses in Missouri including one in Kansas City, Missouri, and a culinary arts campus, L’Ecole Culinaire on the Country Club Plaza. There is also a campus in Wichita, Kan. In a letter to students, Vatterott College cited changing economic and regulatory conditions as the reasons for the sudden closure.

Educating students since 1923, KCKCC offers more than 100 degree options including programs in accounting, business, computers, paramedic, nursing, respiratory therapy, mortuary science, fire science, physical therapist assistant, police science, music, studio art, pre-law, chemistry, exercise science and addiction counseling, and many others.

Down the road from the main campus, the Dr. Thomas R. Burke Technical Education Center offers more than 20 high demand career programs that feature hands-on skills training.

KCKCC’s third location, the Pioneer Career Center in Leavenworth, Kansas, offers both technical certificate and associate degree programs.

The college is fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and offers students a supportive learning environment to complete their educational goals. If transferring to a four-year institution is the goal, KCKCC offers a variety of transfer and articulation agreements with many regional institutions designed to make the transition seamless.

In addition, the college is home to the 2016 NJCAA National Champion Women’s Basketball Team, a debate and forensics squad that annually ranks among the best in the nation and has more than 10 national championships, a stellar Jazz Music Program, top level athletics and a SkillsUSA program that sends students to the National SkillsUSA competition each year.

With tuition far below other local colleges and universities, KCKCC is a bargain and can help individuals complete a career path or guide them toward a higher degree completion.

KCKCC is closed for winter break beginning Thursday, Dec. 20, at noon through Jan. 7. Counselors and advisers will once again be available Jan. 7 to assist with transfer questions.

For questions about admissions contact Anita Randall at 913-288-7806 or email arandall@kckcc.edu.

KCK school board to meet Dec. 20

The Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Education is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 20, in the third floor board room of the Central Office, 2010 N. 59th St., Kansas City, Kansas.

Board members are expected to participate by telephone.

On the agenda are regular business, payment of bills, an out-of-district travel request for theater students, human resource report and recommendations.

KC Scholars program announces $40 million in scholarships for Kansas City metro area

Leaders from the University of Missouri and KC Scholars have announced that they are creating college opportunities for 800 additional students from Greater Kansas City over the next eight years.

MU Chancellor Alexander N. Cartwright announced the new scholarship program at North Kansas City High School in North Kansas City, Missouri. KC Scholars will contribute $20 million, while MU and the University of Missouri System will contribute $10 million each, for a total commitment of $40 million.

KC Scholars, launched in 2016, currently awards approximately 500 college scholarships annually for students from the Kansas City metro region to attend one of 17 partner colleges and universities in Missouri and Kansas, including MU. Currently, 46 KC Scholars awardees are enrolled at MU, the largest proportion of KC Scholars students at any college or university. The new funding will support 800 additional scholarships at MU over the next several years, each worth $10,000 per year for up to five years, for students who choose to enroll at MU.

The first students to benefit from this agreement will enroll at MU in fall 2019. The new scholars applied earlier this year and were eligible, but there were not enough funds. Students eligible for the KC Scholars traditional scholarship must be juniors in high schools in one of six counties in the Kansas City region, have at least a 2.5 GPA and present a financial need for additional support. The counties included are Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas, and Platte, Clay, Cass and Jackson counties in Missouri.