It’s tough enough being an essential worker these days without having to worry about how you’re going to pay for additional schooling. Essex County College is trying to help.
ECC will cover tuition and fees for a minimum of 6 credits for essential workers for the Summer 2020 term. All they have to do is provide a letter from their employer confirming that they are indeed essential.
Alfred Bundy is the Executive Director for Institutional Advancement at Essex County College.
"This is a chance for them to go to college technically for free, the program is called the essential workers program, all these folks have been making sacrifices so we want to show our appreciation."
The worker must make less than 65 thousand dollars a year and have been a resident of Essex County for one year.
It can also be a difficult time for those who have just finished high school and are hoping to start college. Essex County College is trying to make that transition it a little easier too with its LEAP program, giving students a chance to jump start their education over the summer.
Bundy stresses going from high school to college is a big adjustment.
"One just adjusting to the speed of work compared to high school work, what you would do in maybe 3 or 4 months in high school, so often covered in the first six weeks in college."
Bundy adds students will be evaluated to see if they need to take a developmental course or can jump right into college work.
"We use multiple measures, we don’t want to use just one standardized test, we look at everything from their class rank, their grade point average, their letters, information, because sometimes standardized tests don’t give us the best indicators."
It is of course virtual, runs from July 13 to August 20 and students will be offered a $200 waiver toward their fall registration if they enroll full time.