Are the Kids Heading Back to School? You can too.

By Stephen Cheslik
EAGLE TIMES MANAGING EDITOR
CLAREMONT, N.H. — As kids and recent high school graduates head back to school around the area this fall, some residents may wonder if it isn’t too late for them to return to class.

It’s “absolutely” not too late, say representatives of the region’s community colleges. Both River Valley Community College, with campuses in Keene, Lebanon and Claremont, N.H., and the Community College of Vermont, with campuses in Springfield, Brattleboro and ten more locations across the state, are accepting applications up until the start of classes. Classes at River Valley start Monday, with some classes starting later in the week. At Vermont Community College, classes begin Sept. 5.

There’s “plenty of time to get in and take a class,” said River Valley Community College Director of Enrollment and Marketing Suzanne Groenewold.

“We have a lot of programs that require no prerequisites, and students get in immediately,” she said.

River Valley, like the Community College of Vermont, is an open-enrollment school and doesn’t require test scores or essays, just a high school diploma. Applications can be completed online.

“The application is free and takes about 10 minutes,” said

Community College of Vermont Director of Communications Katie Keszey. “We want everyone to benefit.”

At both schools, “everyone” means exactly that as the colleges serve both new high school graduates and older residents who might just be looking for a class or two to further their careers, explore a new skill or start on the path to earning an associate’s degree.

Groenewold herself started out with an associate’s degree in liberal arts.

“Many of us are juggling families and outside activities, and [students] may just sign up for a course or two,” she said. “It may take them a couple of years to better themselves, and upscale their work and career. Our students are very much non-traditional in that way — not necessarily coming immediately out of high school.

At both colleges, degrees in liberal arts, accounting, business, early childhood education and cybersecurity are among dozens of offerings that can be started right away.

Both colleges pride themselves on their affordability.

In New Hampshire, the state has held college costs steady for five straight years. In Vermont, the state has two programs to help keep costs down — an 802 Opportunity Grant makes CCV tuition-free for Vermont families with an income of $75,000 or less and the Vermont Tuition Advantage program offers 50 percent off tuition for students pursuing study in the most in-demand fields in the state. Information on both programs is available on the school’s websites.

Both schools offer access to student loans and have staff that are ready to work with students one-on-one to help make college affordable.

While most students can still make the deadline to start classes, River Valley is also ready to help students who don’t have enough time to complete applications for programs that require more in-depth applications or miss the start of classes.

“What we started this year is our pre-program,” Groenewold said. “Pre-nursing, pre-radiology, pre-medical lab technician.”

The programs allow students to start working on general courses at the same time as they work on the entry exam to apply to the program.

And, while most students will return to class in the next few days, River Valley is also ready for those who don’t realize classes are resuming.

The school offers late-start courses “starting Oct. 2, specifically for the students that come the day after our courses start,” Groenewold said.

While significantly more limited in offerings, the courses are primarily online and are time-condensed to cover the same materials as a normal course.

For more information on River Valley Community College, visit www.rivervalley.edu or call 603 542-7744. For more information on the Community College of Vermont, visit ccv.edu or 800-228-6686.