COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF PHILADELPHIA OFFERS FREE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO LAID OFF EMPLOYEES OF THE PHILADELPHIA HOUSING AUTHORITY

PHILADELPHIA, January 11, 2007- "Loosing a job can be one of the most difficult experiences an employee can face. However, it also can be a time to explore new career paths or to enhance existing skill sets to obtain new employment," said Stephen M. Curtis, president of Community College of Philadelphia. "Opportunity Now can provide the bridge for laid-off employees to re-enter the workforce."

Carl Greene, Executive Director of PHA, said he is grateful to have this program available for his agency's former employees. "These men and women have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. The free courses at Community College will augment the job counseling service we are already providing. Community College is one of Philadelphia's great educational resources," Greene said.

The Philadelphia Housing Authority, a federally funded agency, is cutting nearly a quarter of its entire workforce - 350 jobs - because of a reduction in federal funding.

To participate in the Opportunity Now program, an applicant must reside in Philadelphia, be a U.S. citizen or resident alien and have been laid off permanently from a full-time position. Tuition is waived for up to 12 credits for one semester. Most courses at the College are three credits and cost $112 per credit hour for residents.

Participants in the Opportunity Now program are responsible for the cost of textbooks, supplies and fees. Noncredit courses are not included in the program. Applicants must follow the College's regular admissions, advising and registration procedures.

Although nonresidents are not eligible to participate in the program, the College welcomes them to apply for general admission to any of the more than 70 career and transfer programs the College offers in Business, Humanities, Allied Health, Science and Technology and the Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Hundreds of laid off workers already have benefited from the Opportunity Now program.

Sandra Brockington Gould, 57, who was laid off from her job as a community outreach manager for the former Knight Ridder subsidiary, Philly.com, in December 2001, took advantage of the program to broaden her career path. Philly.com is now owned by Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC. "It was the Internet downturn that was the cause of the layoffs," Gould said.

At Community College of Philadelphia, Gould took psychology, music, film and a variety of other courses. She then transferred some of her credits to Temple University, where she had previously earned her bachelor's degree. She is now pursuing a master's degree in Education at Temple University.

"I've been through a number of different sink holes in my life, but I always talk about how my time at Community College saved me," said Gould, who currently works as an admissions recruiter for Montgomery County Community College, where she plans to teach after she obtains her master's degree.

For more information about Community College of Philadelphia's Opportunity Now program, call Michael Harry, the College's Opportunity Now representative, at 215-751-8193 or email him at mharry@ccp.edu. An application for the Opportunity Now program is available on the College's Web site