For the second year, the 16 colleges of the Kentucky Community & Technical College System will partner with African American churches on Super Sunday, a day dedicated to spreading the word about the critical importance of attending college.  Jefferson Community & Technical College has expanded its partnership to two churches this year. JCTC will return to First Gethsemane, which has declared February Education Month, and add Bates Memorial Baptist Church to the partnership.  At each event, college representatives will be on hand to answer general questions about attending college and offer information about programs. JCTC will be joined by the University of Louisville Transfer Program (ULtra) as well as KHEAA, which will provide financial aid information.

The scholarship application and brochure for Fall 2012 scholarships are available and the application deadline is March 1, 2012.

With a decisive victory on Jan 21, the JCTC Quick Recall Team earned a bid to the national tournament, marking the team’s second straight national appearance.  The team, coached by Pete Rodski, professor of mathematics on the Southwest Campus, posted perfect 9-0 scores at the Kentucky Regional tournament on the Downtown Campus, competing against teams from Illinois and Kentucky. The win secured a spot for Jefferson in the 2012 Community College Championship Tournament on Feb. 24 and 25 at Gulf Coast State College in Panama City, Florida.

Innovative community college and business partnerships such as Metropolitan College drew the attention of President Obama in Tuesday’s State of the Union speech.  “Join me in a national commitment to train two million Americans with skills that will lead directly to a job,” Obama said. “My administration has already lined up more companies that want to help. Model partnerships between businesses like Siemens and community colleges in places like Charlotte, Orlando, and Louisville are up and running. Now you need to give more community colleges the resources they need to become community career centers— places that teach people skills that local businesses are looking for right now, from data management to high-tech manufacturing.”

Louisville Mayor Greg Fisher has announced the “Grab Cash for College Challenge” an initiative to raise awareness about the affordability of college. To encourage students to file their FAFSA for financial aid, PNC Bank and 55,000 Degrees will award $1,000 in college scholarship money to one lucky winner who can “grab” the most dollars from a money-blowing machine.