Virginia Western Community College announces a nearly $50,000 grant from the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission (TRRC) that will help students pursuing careers in healthcare through new classes at the Franklin Center in Rocky Mount.
Human Anatomy & Physiology I (Biology 141 in Fall Semester) and Human Anatomy & Physiology II (Biology 142 in Spring Semester) will help students build off introductory biology courses already offered at the Franklin Center’s biology lab. Open enrollment is currently available with classes for the fall semester beginning Aug. 22. Prospective students can learn about all the course offerings at the Franklin Center and enroll at: at www.virginiawestern.edu.
“This grant provides a great opportunity for our students in Franklin County to take their biology classes at a location that is convenient to them,” said Amy White, Dean of the School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). “We are excited for the Franklin Center to be a place that students can continue to pursue the education and training that will lead them to strong careers.”
Students who complete these classes at the Franklin Center will be able to continue their education in Virginia Western’s School of STEM, School of Health Professions or other schools; or seamlessly transfer to a four-year institution such as Mary Baldwin College, which recently formed a partnership with the Franklin Center to give students the ability to earn a bachelor’s degree in Rocky Mount.
The TRRC is dedicated to economic growth in tobacco growing regions of Virginia. Introductory biology classes launched at the Franklin Center in the fall of 2015 exceeded enrollment expectations in their first year. Virginia Western expects to see a 40-student increase of biology enrollments, including dual enrollment students at Franklin County High School, with the help of the TRRC.
