As a former college professor who got her start at a community college, I am concerned with the lack of higher education in our county or neighboring Calaveras.
I was glad to see front page coverage for Mr. Domenico Nuccio's course for electricians (Aug. 19, "A career in education"). Mr. Nuccio, a trained school administrator, knows what he's talking about when he says we need more college level training. I don't agree with him, however, when he says we don't need a campus. Maybe we don't need to start laying bricks and planting ivy, but we do need a real college presence here, at least an office, a classroom or two, and an affiliation with an established college. All we have now is something called a learning center, which sounds like something for kids. Locating it at the high school adds to that impression. Some say we don't have the enrollment to support anything more, but how can we attract future students when we don't have a physical location where prospective students can talk to someone?
If we were affiliated with an established college we could offer a wider variety of courses - nursing, for example - and basic business and accounting classes. With an outreach program getting the information out there, enrollments would follow. I am happy to see that Cosumnes River College is offering four classes this fall, and Mr. Nuccio is certainly doing his part. But it's just a beginning. Remember "Field of Dreams"? Build it and they will come.