Beginning in February, Cornell University employees can take Tompkins-Cortland Community College courses on the Cornell campus and in downtown Ithaca.

Cornell employees have been able to take TC3 classes in the past, but the new partnership will allow them to take such classes, both for credit and noncredit, right on the Cornell campus and at TC3's Ithaca Extension Center on the Ithaca Commons.

TC3 designed the courses and workshops in response to focus group meetings it held with Cornell employees to complement the educational opportunities that already exist at Cornell and to suit the employees' logistical and scheduling needs. TC3 will expand and revise its future offerings in response to the needs of Cornell employees and the evolving needs of departments and supervisors.

Credit courses for spring 1997 begin Feb. 18 and include Business Communications, Survey of Computer Information Systems, Basic Writing Skills, Composition, Developmental Math, Beginning Algebra, Basic Reading and Vocabulary Skills and Introduction to Psychology.

Noncredit workshops for spring 1997 begin Feb. 27 and include Planning for Professional Development, Running Meetings that Work, Electronics I, Introduction to Computers, Introduction to Word, Introduction to Power Point and Maximizing Windows. The TC3 noncredit workshops and some other workshops will be administered through Cornell's Office of Human Resources and publicized through the Calendar of Workshops and Seminars.

Most human resources workshops, including the noncredit TC3 courses, are only $25 per student. Mary Opperman, associate vice president for human resources, encourages Cornell departments to take advantage of this temporary reduction in price.

"We want staff to take a number of new workshops we're offering and to evaluate their effectiveness in preparing people to deal with a constantly changing work environment. After the spring semester we'll assess the response, and our financial situation, and decide whether we can continue to support decreased fees," she said.

A series of open houses at Cornell is slated for Jan. 9, 14, 15, 16 and 23, when TC3 student service representatives, professors, career counselors, current students and alumni will be available to provide information and answer questions regarding the available programs and services. Cornell human resources personnel also will be present to address issues related to scheduling and tuition reimbursement. Cornell employees will be able to register for courses and workshops at the open houses.

Throughout the semester, TC3 will have an office set up on the Cornell campus where Cornell employees can meet with a TC3 representative during regularly scheduled hours or by appointment.

Frederick A. Rogers, Cornell senior vice president and chief financial officer, stressed the importance of a skilled workforce to the long-term success of the university.

"We are pleased to announce a new partnership with TC3 to provide expanded education opportunities to our staff," he said. "Changes in the workplace are challenging our staff to develop new capabilities, and we want to respond to that challenge with a full range of educational offerings. As we ask our staff to be flexible, take on added responsibilities and learn new skills, it only makes sense that we increase accessibility to educational offerings. We are fortunate to have a strong community college with the capacity and experience to augment the educational opportunities we can offer Cornell employees."

TC3 President Carl E. Haynes said, "Our main goal and focus at TC3 continue to be to address educational, economic, training and service issues necessary to support or effect the competitiveness of those in our sponsoring counties. This partnership exemplifies the role of the local community college."

He continued, "Increasingly, community colleges, both locally and nationally, are performing a critical role in maintaining and attracting an employment base for local economic growth. Through our Business Development and Training Center, the college is able to partner with local employers. We can support in-house training as well as provide a full complement of training and assessment service to smaller organizations that need them."

Nationwide, employers are increasingly demanding a skilled workforce. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in 1950, 60 percent of all jobs were unskilled and required little higher education; by 1991 only 35 percent of all jobs were unskilled. The trend is expected to continue.

Highly skilled workers will become increasingly critical to Cornell as it proceeds with restructuring and introducing new administrative information systems as part of Project 2000.