ECC Insiders

Adult Education and Literacy (AEL) programs in Missouri are offering more than the GED and English Language Acquisition courses. In an effort to meet the workforce needs and stay relevant, the programs are providing students with Integrated Education and Training programs, or IET's.

A student will take coursework in an IET and the GED to provide them with job skills needed to enter the workforce concurrently with the completion of GED/High School Equivalency test.

Examples of IETs include:

• Certified Nurse Assistant
• Basic Construction Technology
• Substitute Teaching Certificate
• Paraprofessional

The episode guests include AEL directors from East Central College, St. Charles Community College, and Crowder College. The director of the DESE Adult Education and Literacy programs, Megan Wadley, provides the statewide perspective of the importance of the inclusion of the job skills programs.

The AEL-IET strategic plan has additional detail:

https://dese.mo.gov/media/pdf/ael-iet-strategic-plan

Brian Millner, the President and CEO of the Missouri Community College Association (MCCA), joins the podcast to discuss how the association works to showcase the importance and strengths of Missouri's 12 community colleges.

Learn about about MCCA at: https://www.missouricolleges.org/

A group of Missouri community colleges work together in a consortium to provide health care programs to fill the need for health care professionals in rural Missouri.

The Missouri Health Care Professionals Consortium (MHPC) includes five Missouri community colleges - East Central College, Three Rivers College, North Central Missouri College, State Fair Community College and Moberly Area Community College and Mineral Area College.

The MHPC contributes to increased accessibilty to high demand health care programs in rural Missouri through the sharing of course curriculum, lab space and leveraging financial resources.

The programs offered in the consortium include:

• Occupational Therapy
• Medical Laboratory Technician
• Respiratory Care

Mineral Area College offers only the Medical Laboratory Technician program.

Episode guest contacts:

Nancy Mitchell, East Central College - [email protected]

The number of adult learners (24 years and older) at the nation's community colleges has been declining for several years. Attracting adult learners back is a strategic plan of East Central College and many other community colleges.

At the time of the September 2025 recording, Elizabeth Cox Brand was the Director of Student Success Center at the Oregon Community College Association (OCCA). She presented during the Rural Communtiy College Alliance national conference held on the ECC campus in September 2025.

She shared with Joel and Leigh the challenges and opportunities facing Oregon community colleges regarding the recruitement of adult learners and the resources available to them.

Find our more about OCCA at:

https://occa17.com/

Dr. Parvadha (Parvi) Acosta, ECC's Associate Project of Biology/STEM division chair, discusses the changes in food over time and some of its positive and negative impacts on our health.

Parvi isn't a medical doctor, and looks at the intake and development of food over time from a biological point of view.

For example - a tomato looks much different than it did 80-100 years ago.

DYK - Broccoli isn't found in nature, as it was developed through centuries of selective breeding.

If you think this topic doesn't apply to you, since you eat only meat and potatoes, consider this:

"What you eat, eats plants."

The state of Missouri passed a bill in May 2025 to simplify and strengthen the transfer pathways from the state's community colleges to a public 4-year university.

The new legislation establishes a 60-credit hour, transferable lower-division course block for five high demand programs:

• General Business
• General Psychology
• Elementary Education
• General Biology or Biological Sciences
• Nursing

Dr. Robyn Walter, Chief Academic Officer of East Central College, discusses the positive aspects of the new legislation and the benefits for students and their families.

New ECC degree

ECC is also offering a new degree pathway starting in the fall of 2025. An Associate Degree of Science in Biology that provides major level Chemistry and Biology coursework.

Biology - Science, Engineering & Math: ECC webpage.

Missouri Community College Association Celebrates Passage of Transfer Bill - Missouri Community College Association

Investing in East Central College is an investment in your community.

Proposition ECC is a Tuesday, April 8 ballot initiative, and if approved by voters, will provide funding for a $15 million campus renovation project, to repair and renovate every building on the Union campus and construct two new facilities, a welding training center and a centralized storage facility.

ECC is a vital asset to students and the area's communities. Hear from three ECC alums who credit ECC in helping them with their successes, who are local business and community leaders and serve on the ECC Foundation Board of Directors:

Sandy Lucy: A 1976 graduate and the former mayor of Washington.

John Moroney: A 1983 graduate and the owner of multiple Taco Bell restaurants.

Torrey Woodcock: Attended ECC in the early 2000s and the owner of area Jimmy John's restaurants.

Discover more about Proposition ECC at www.eastcentral.edu/propositionecc

See the yearly economic impact of East Central College on the area: www.eastcentral.edu/impact

Leigh and Joel hear the story of 27-year-old Kayla Jaspering of Union, who completed her high school education in the ECC Adult Education and Literacy (AEL) program while also caring for five children!

Francisco Contreras, from Sullivan, is 36 years old and is originally from Mexico. He's lived in the area for nearly 20 years and wants to improve his English language skills.

Francisco's daughter is also an ECC student studying to be a nurse!

The AEL program offers high school education classes in eight communities throughout east central Missouri and online. The instructors work closely with students to prepare them for the GED test or the high school equivalency (HiSET) exam.

Find out more at www.eastcentral.edu/AEL

We fire up the conversation with women who have found careers in manufacturing. More and more women are discovering their abilities and interests as welders, machinists, HVAC technicians and manufacturing maintenance technicians.

Hear more about the unique abilities of women in manufacturing and how they are being welcomed in the industry.

Scholarships are available for tuition, fees, books and other expenses through the Metallica Scholars program for both women and men. ECC is also fortunate to receive $50,000 from Carhartt to be used for women in manufacturing through its “Labor of Love” grant.

See more about the Metallica Scholars program and the Carhartt's Women in Manufacturing initiatives.

A week-long spring break trip to London, England in March 2024 for a group of ECC students provided them with an opportunity to explore. They learned more about themselves and the world.

Lauren Hoey, an English major and Elijah Long, a STEM major, shared their experiences that left them with great memories that will last a lifetime.

The best thing about the trip? Waffles outside, a walkable city, art museums and Abbey Road.

Listen to hear about some of their oddest experiences overseas, including how to operate the toilet.

Check out this article for more about the trip.