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Jermaine Ford, associate vice president for workforce and economic development at South Louisiana Community College speaks during the St. Mary Chamber of Commerce’s Rise and Shine event Tuesday morning at H & B Young Marine & Petroleum Safety Training in Morgan City. (The Daily Review/Zachary Fitzgerald)

Young Memorial transition to finish July 1

Campus realigning with South La. Community College

The transition of the Young Memorial technical college campus in Morgan City to realign with South Louisiana Community College should be complete by July 1 and allow students to earn associate degrees and credits transferable to four-year universities.

Jermaine Ford, associate vice president for workforce and economic development at South Louisiana Community College was the guest speaker during the St. Mary Chamber of Commerce’s Rise and Shine event Tuesday morning at H & B Young Marine & Petroleum Safety Training in Morgan City.

The transition of the Young Memorial campus in Morgan City from South Central Louisiana Technical College to SLCC started in the summer of 2017. SLCC has its main campus in Lafayette.

Young Memorial’s primary campus is located at 900 Youngs Road in Morgan City, and the H & B Young Marine & Petroleum Safety Training Center, also included in the Young Memorial campus, is at 3225 Youngs Road.

That first transition involved “non-credit courses,” which are courses that are part of a training or certification program but not toward a degree, Ford said.

On July 1, 2017, SLCC began the transition in Morgan City with the maritime training program along with courses in truck driving, welding, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and child care, Ford said.

This initial phase took place at the marine training center. That campus has already officially become part of South Louisiana Community College. The center was previously part of SCLTC.

“From July 1 to today, we really have made a vested interest to really come out of the gates strong with our non-credit certificate offerings and career programs,” Ford said.

As of July 1, 2018, SLCC will bring its “credit” courses to Morgan City. Credit courses are classes that count toward an associate degree and are transferrable to four-year universities. The college will still offer technical degrees as well, he said.

Also on that date, Young Memorial’s primary campus will officially change names from SCLTC to SLCC.

Students will have “multiple pathways” available to them to pursue different careers or certifications, Ford said.

In March 2017, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System Board of Supervisors approved the realignment of colleges and campus through the state, which included the realignment of Young Memorial’s campus.

Between budget cuts, 16 of them during a nine-year period and the decline in the energy industry, system leaders decided the realignment was necessary for Young Memorial to be able to continue to provide its service to the community, SLCC Chancellor Natalie Harder said.

“The results of part of the transition have been very positive,” Harder said.

Harder praised the way marine center officials handled the transition.

“They made the transition easier because it’s not so scary for everybody else now,” she said.

“It’s exciting to see the resurgence of people outside Louisiana coming here for training,” Harder said. “We only want to do more of that.”

School officials plan to hold town hall meetings and other open houses to inform community members about what the college offers.

“The campuses here are alive and well,” Ford said. “We want to make sure that the community knows that we are here to serve. The doors are wide open.”

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