The Rose State College EmPower Program has received
continued funding from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
for the 2002-03 academic year. The eight-week program, designed for Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients, offers training in computer
applications, customer service, life skills, resume preparation and more.
A letter from the Regents stated, "We appreciate your continued support
of the two-year college programs and acknowledge their success and the
important role they play in the community. Clearly, providing employment
and training skills to TANF recipients in order that they may ultimately
become a member of the workforce and attain self-sufficiency proves
beneficial to all concerned."
"Our program encourages self-sufficiency and gives participants a greater opportunity to secure employment," said EmPower Program Director Pam Emmons. "Throughout the program we help students build the knowledge and skills necessary for today's workplace. We believe that by demonstrating faith in students they will learn to have faith in themselves. Program goals and the success of participants are enhanced through a strong support system that integrates instruction and evaluation."
The Rose State College EmPower Program began July 1, 1997. Funding for the program originated from block grants to the State of Oklahoma and is contracted through the Department of Human Services and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
Over the last year, the program has grown to emphasize computer instruction.
"We have gone from 16 classroom hours of computer instruction to 90 hours in each eight-week session," Emmons said. "Therefore, our students are quite computer literate when they graduate. We offer Microsoft MOUS (Microsoft Office User Specialist) certification if students are interested in testing for the Microsoft certificates."
The EmPower Program Office is located on the west end of Heritage Park Mall in Midwest City. The next eight-week training session is scheduled to begin October 28. For more information, contact Emmons at (405) 732-9946 or pemmons@rose.edu.