Jamestown Community College has new leadership in Warren.
Warren County native Abby Skinner took over as the JCC Warren Center's senior project manager in September.
She is looking to find out what people in Warren County need in terms of education and job training and how best to provide it. "We need more opportunities in Warren County for students," Skinner said. "Making sure the curriculum fits the needs, upgrading the current workforce, more advanced computer courses."
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry
Abby Skinner is shown in her office at the Warren-Forest Counties Higher Education building in North Warren.
"There are so many different places to get a more holistic picture of what training is needed," Skinner said. One of the simplest and best is "being on the ground and listening to the members of the community."
Students can range from those in youth programs and industry clubs through people who thought they were long finished with school. "High school students can receive college credit," she said.
"Affordable education is a great starting point," Skinner said. "People start here and take really affordable classes close to home."
JCC Warren Center students can work their way through associate degrees in liberal arts or business and business administration. Or, they could move on.
"We're like a feeder mechanism," she said. "It's a starting point for folks who want to transfer to JCC Main Campus."
And there are plenty of options for moving on outside of the JCC system. Skinner said the college has numerous articulation and transfer agreements in place with regional colleges and universities.
Not every student needs or wants a degree.
JCC Continuing education offerings include "everything from phlebotomy to making a Christmas centerpiece," Skinner said. "Continuing education is so important. We keep it affordable and relevant."
At her office attached to the Warren-Forest Higher Education Council offices on the grounds of Warren State Hospital, Skinner has information about programs, scholarships, student housing, and credit transfer agreements for students, as well as information on needs assessment, customized training, and professional instruction and curriculum development for local businesses and industries.
A JCC counselor is available at the Warren Center by appointment to help students who are thinking about "coming back to college or starting for the first time," Skinner said. "Take you through the process, deadlines, thinking about key courses and when to take them."
"Affordable education is a great starting point," she said. "People start here and take really affordable classes close to home."
JCC Warren Center students could work their way through associate degrees in liberal arts or business and business administration. Or, they could move on.
"We're like a feeder mechanism," she said. "It's a starting point for folks who want to transfer to JCC Main Campus."
And there are plenty of options for moving on from there. She said JCC has numerous articulation and transfer agreements in place with regional colleges and universities.
Skinner's previous work experience has increased her familiarity with the community and with many of the requirements of her new job. After years with the Warren County Historical Society and the Times Observer, Skinner moved on to spend the last few years with the Northwest Pennsylvania Workforce Investment Board as a grant writer.
"It gave me great background for this position," she said. "My background in workforce development has taught me there are lots of other tools."
Skinner is not out to take students away from other programs. "It's more important what the student needs," she said. "We have a great relationship between the education providers here. We have a great referral system."
"I don't want to duplicate what somebody in this community is already doing," she said.
Open enrollment for the spring semester starts Friday, Nov. 9, and there is a JCC open house at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18.