Rose State College News

Rose State College Partners with Wal-Mart for “Green Collar” Jobs Initiative

A grant from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. will fund free water treatment operator training this fall at Rose State College’s Oklahoma Environmental Training Center (OETC), from Aug. 1 through Feb. 28, 2011.
            The OETC estimates the grant would provide tuition for approximately 100 participants This would include two-day classes for entry-level certification, and for incumbent training classes, both 2 and 4 days in length, for the A, B, and C operator certifications. Tuition will also be waived to municipalities who register their employees.
            The state-approved certification program will be offered “to meet the State’s growing needs for water treatment specialists, said Coordinator of Environmental Training Bill Clark.
            “This is a fast-track certification course to get you certified and ready for a job,” Clark said. “With the assistance of the Wal-Mart grant, we should have a direct impact on our local economy.”
            Although tuition for the courses is free, each applicant will have to pay the testing fee with the DEQ – prior to the class. Rose State will also offer college credit for the courses and will provide course graduates with assistance in getting interviews with potential employers—many which are Oklahoma municipalities—through the college’s Career Services office.
            Interested parties, who must possess a high school/GED graduate and be at least 18 years of age, should contact 405.733.7488 to receive additional information or register.     
            The OETC was established by a gubernatorial appointment in 1975 to be the key environmental training provider in the State.

Rose State College Bookstore to Offer Textbook Rental

           A new program at the Rose State College Bookstore will begin offering textbook rental services to students beginning this fall. “Rent‐A‐Text” will offer students 50 percent or more off the price of new textbooks and will provide students with an affordable alternative to rising education costs.
            This is a new system designed to bring down costs that a number of colleges and universities nationwide are starting to use.
            “We are eager to launch Rent‐A‐Text because we are committed to providing students with affordable textbook choices,” said Mark A. Smith, Manager of the Rose State College Bookstore. “This new program is designed to give students more choices when they are making their buying decisions.”
            Follett Higher Education Group, which manages the Rose State College bookstore, announced the program after favorable outcomes with previous test runs at other colleges.
            The company reported that the pilot program saved students nearly $2 million on their course materials in a semester. More than 90 percent of students surveyed who rented textbooks expressed satisfaction with the pilot program.
            Rose State College’s textbook rental program will be available to students in store and online with in store pick up and will allow students to choose a preferred form of payment, including financial aid. Students will have the freedom to highlight and take notes all within the normal wear and tear associated with coursework, and they will have the choice to buy their textbook at the end of the term if they want to keep the book, according to the company.
            “Helping to reduce the costs of higher education is part of our mission and we look forward to working with Rose State College to deliver substantial textbook savings to students,” said Thomas A. Christopher, President of Follett Higher Education Group.

Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson: Rule of Law Allows

Attorney General Drew Edmondson told a packed student center at Rose State College that the founding documents of the United States, written by lawyers, allow freedoms to flourish.
            “It was lawyers who drafted the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of this country. They made them elastic enough to grow and meet the emerging challenges of each new time,” Edmondson said.
            Edmondson spoke on Tuesday during the college’s Law Day observance during a lecture to students, faculty, and staff and to the visiting Midwest City Rotary Club. Edmondson’s keynote speech was on the subject “Law in the 21st Century.”
            Edmondson told the audience that lawyers press forward the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and its amendments.
             “The enduring tradition of law leads to the preservation of civilized society and to the fact that each and every one of us can enjoy the freedoms of speech and press and assembly and religion,” Edmondson said.
            The James F. Howell “Country Lawyer” Lectureship, created through the efforts of Rose State College Regent James F. Howell, began in 2002 with Justice Marion Opala and Dean Andy Coats. This set the stage for excellence in presentations that Mr. Howell has managed to continue with Supreme Court Justice James Winchester in 2003, the Honorable Lee West in 2004, Attorney Mike Turpen in 2005, Justice Yvonne Kauger in 2006, Attorney M. Joe Crosthwaite, Jr., in 2007, Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Jari Askins in 2008, and Chief Judge Robert H. Henry in 2009.
            The Lectureship provides an opportunity for students and members of the Rose State community to learn from the outstanding legal and judicial minds of this state.

Cutline: Oklahoma Attorney General speaks to the crowd during a Law Day lecture at Rose State College.

New Health Sciences Center Opens at Rose State College

More than 400 students from a variety of health-related majors can attend classes in a new, state-of-the-art Health Sciences Center at the Rose State College Campus beginning this semester.
            The new facility, designed by The Benham Companies of Oklahoma City and constructed by Atlas General Contractors of Bixby, is located on the campus of Rose State College in Midwest City, near the intersection of Interstate 40 and Hudiburg Drive. The approximately 44,000 square-foot, single-story building is designed for teaching and training students in the provision of health services using the latest technology.
            Health care students from Rose State spend thousands of hours per semester in area hospitals, clinics and other health facilities as part of their clinical education experience, helping alleviate the shortage of providers in central Oklahoma’s health care infrastructure, said Rose State President Dr. Terry Britton.
            “Oklahoma alone faces a shortage of thousands of health care workers in the coming decade, and this new facility will provide badly-needed capacity for better health care education,” said President Britton.
            The project was made possible by the 2005 Oklahoma Higher Education Capitol Bond Issue.

Oklahoma Higher Ed Regents: “Thousands” Educated in Tinker/Rose State Partnership

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education have issued a release honoring the business partnership between Rose State College and Tinker Air Force Base.
            Officials with Tinker Air Force Base lauded the news that the state regents were recognizing the Rose State/Tinker partnership.
            "The partnership with Rose State greatly enhances our ability to perform our critical national defense missions," said Tinker partnership liaison Belinda Woods. "This cooperative effort plays a significant role in our ability to meet the diverse and demanding education and training needs of Tinker AFB."
            Rose State was highlighted by the State Regents in a release issued Wednesday, May 5.
            “Rose State College and Tinker Air Force Base – The partnership between RSC and the Force Development Division at TAFB was instrumental in the design and implementation of the Education Training Partnership,” the regents write. “As a result of their efforts, thousands of TAFB employees have enrolled in and successfully completed a variety of college-level courses. As the workforce development policy unit of Oklahoma’s largest aerospace employer, TAFB endeavors to establish and sustain viable partnerships with universities, colleges, high schools, technology centers and industry representatives to foster and promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.”
            Stan Greil, Rose State’s Vice President of Workforce Development, said the Rose State/Tinker partnership benefits not just the college, community and state, but is important for the nation due to Tinker’s prominence in national security.
            “We have a strategic partnership with Tinker Air Force Base that transcends the military/civilian relationship,” Greil said. “We provide business and management training for their personnel, college classes for enlisted and their families, and cooperate together in other ventures. Working with Tinker is a privilege of which we are very proud.”
            The Rose State/Tinker partnership is one of twenty-two such business/education partnerships throughout the state providing educational opportunities for the community, according to the Higher Regents release. Institutions involved in these partnerships provide $500 for tuition waivers to employees of the partnering businesses, internships for current students of the institutions to work at the partnering businesses, faculty externships with the partnering businesses, and/or enhancement of the partnership with additional equipment, materials or supplies. The State Regents provide a $500 match to the waivers.
            “To improve Oklahoma's future, we need higher education and businesses to develop successful partnerships and training programs. Through these partnerships, students receive hands-on, career-related experiences and better preparation for college,” said Chancellor Glen D. Johnson. “With these partnerships in place, Oklahoma can better train future employees and strengthen its position in the global marketplace.”

Rose State College Offers “Weekend College” to Tinker Employees

Rose State College Offers Paralegal Courses at Norick Library