Published: April 25, 2009 04:20 pm      

Jobless help

Purdue University took a major step to help out the unemployed workers of Indiana, and especially those in the Kokomo and Logansport areas, with a program introduced last week.

The College of Technology is starting a program in June that will allow those individuals to earn a bachelor’s degree in two years at its site on the Indiana University Kokomo campus.

The program will allow students to earn in two years the same degree in supervision and organizational leadership that takes four years on the West Lafayette campus.

Purdue’s Kokomo site is the only site for the program. Kokomo was chosen, Purdue associate professor Thomas Cappozoli said, because “right now Kokomo seems to be the hardest hit” by the downturn in the economy.

To cut two years out of the time it takes to earn the degree, classes will be conducted four to five days a week throughout the year.

Those unemployed workers may also be eligible to have tuition, fees and books paid for through the Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act, while continuing to receive unemployment benefits.

The program’s goal is to make the students more marketable upon completing the degree. Purdue says a degree in supervision and organizational leadership will help graduates find positions in fields such as health care, banking, retail, government and manufacturing.

Congratulations to those who helped to make this program possible.

– Pharos-Tribune,

Logansport, and

Kokomo Tribune