Carroll Community College takes over adult ed program

WESTMINSTER, Md. (Map, News) - Carroll Community College in Westminster has taken over the adult education program from the public schools, following a statewide trend that advocates say helps adults feel less embarrassed about obtaining their high school diplomas and encourages them to go on to college.

“They may have never seen themselves as college material, but experiencing an interaction with a college opens their eyes to the possibility,” said Dana Falls, director of student services for Carroll Public Schools, which ran the adult education program for 30 years.

Carroll joins all the other jurisdictions in the Baltimore region, which already offer their General Educational Development diploma through their community colleges.

Prince George’s and Montgomery counties also recently made the switch.

Carroll’s program headquarters will remain at the Business and Employment Resource Center at 224 N. Center St., Westminster, but its affiliation with a college will make adults proud of their involvement, instead of simply saying they are getting their GEDs through public schools, said Cynthia Fischer, president of the Maryland Association for Adult, Community and Continuing Education.

“The community colleges are more equipped to deal with the adult learner, who is different and comes with a lot more baggage” such as past failures or the responsibilities of families and jobs, she said.

In addition, public schools are distracted with ensuring their elementary and middle school students comply with the standardized test benchmarks required through the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Fischer said.

Carroll’s adult learners will be assigned advisers and learn about their options for going on to college, whether through traditional credit courses or through noncredit programs like welding and truck driving, said Becki Maurio, the college’s adult education program director.

Nationwide, most adult education programs are run through public schools, said Lennox McLendon, executive director of the National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium.

Only about 10 states, including North Carolina and Wisconsin, administer such programs through community colleges.

More information

» To register for Carroll’s adult education program, call 410-386-2550.

kvolkmann@baltimoreexaminer.com