In addition, Pennsylvania community colleges cooperate with secondary area vocational-technical schools. With the exception of The Williamsport Area Community College, which serves as the area vocational-technical school for 12 of the 19 sponsoring school districts, many of the other community colleges have established special coordinating councils with the area vocational-technical school(s) in their area in order to cooperatively plan and articulate career education at both the secondary and postsecondary level. There are also some indications of cooperation between two-year and four-year colleges, such as the Rural Studies program operated by a consortium of 7 private and public four-year colleges plus The Williamsport Area Community College.

The real test of occupational education is an examination of the outcome. According to data assembled by VEMIS (Vocational Education Management Information System) the percent of placement of community college graduates in jobs related to their preparation is slightly higher than that of proprietary and area vocational-technical schools. The average placement rate for all vocational institutions in Pennsylvania is above 50 percent. The growth in the number of community college graduates state-wide is illustrated in Figure 2, rising from 324 in 1966 to 7,688 in 1973.

Despite the overwhelming success of the 14 community colleges in the state, thousands of people in Pennsylvania still do not enjoy the same educational opportunities and benefits available to the people who live in a community college district. The State Board of Education approved a community college service area boundary plan to be used by potential community college sponsors. However, six years after approval of that plan, 16 of the 28 approved service areas do not have access to postsecondary occupational programs. You will note by examining the service area boundary may that the areas still not served are rural, sparsely populated, Applachian areas. If, the Williamsport Technical Institute had not existed prior to the Community College Act of 1963, there would not be a community college in rural North Central Pennsylvania today. The unserved area of the state contains approximately 36 percent of the Commonwealth's population, or over 4,300,000 people. Compare this figure to the four million population of the state of Maryland with its fine community college system. Our unserved population is the equivalent of the total population in the states of Kansas and Colorado combined. According to Angelo Gillie, if the entire state were served by community colleges at the enrollment rate found in California, the total community college enrollment would be 126,000 students, or twice as many as currently being served.

FIGURE 2: TOTAL GRADUATES FROM COMMUNITY COLLEGES 1966-1973 CERTIFICATE AND DIPLOMA 72 & 73 -GRADUATES AND COMPLETERS.

The possibility of Pennsylvania's community colleges becoming major centers for postsecondary occupational programs is demonstrated by the dramatic growth in enrollment during the past two years. As Gillie points out in his article, "Search for a State-Wide Framework; Occupational Education in Pennsylvania," (Junior College Journal, April, 1970) Pennsylvania community colleges do compare favorably with other states in terms of percentage of enrollment in occupational curriculums. However, considering the fact that 36 percent of Pennsylvania's population still remains unserved by accessible postsecondary occupational training and that the state's 72 secondary area vocational-technical schools turned away 18,000 students last year, much work needs to be done.

Local, state, and federal resources working together could achieve the common goal of equal career opportunity for all.

THE WILLIAMSPORT AREA COMMUNITY COLLEGE: A CAREER EDUCATION MODEL

The Williamsport Area Community College's efforts to bring secondary and postsecondary career education into an integral whole is exemplary for the state of Pennsylvania, and perhaps the nation. The College has received numerous requests for information from other institutions who are currently attempting to either conceptualize or implement a comprehensive career education plan. It is reasonable to believe that our model is especially applicable to rural, sparsely populated areas.

The College has benefited from a long and illustrious history of vocational education which has served not only the community district area, but has gained for the College an international reputation as an outstanding vocational center.

The Williamsport Area Community College started in 1914 as a small industrial arts shop at the local high school. Following World War I in 1920, retraining veterans, many of them disabled, led to the establishment of the first full-time adult day school and evening industrial school.

During the depression the cooperation between the school and local industry gained nationwide recognition for its efficient and effective attack on rising unemployment through the retraining of men to fill the increasing number of skilled trade positions in local plants. The Williamsport Plan, which became known and copied throughout the country, encompassed co-operative training of Civilian Conservation Corps and National Youth Administration young

men.

One example of innovation during this period was a truck driver training course using borrowed trucks. The first of its kind in the nation, the course evolved into the present day safe driver course which is a part of many high school curriculums.

By 1941, 6,500 adults were enrolled. In that year the adult education program and the vocational high school program were merged into one unit known as the Williamsport Technical Institute. The Institute was still under the administrative auspices of the local school district.

By 1953 the Williamsport Technical Institute's international reputation as an outstanding vocational center earned its official approval to train foreign students. Many foreign educators enrolled to study the methods of vocational education as a guide to establishing similar centers in their own countries. A 1955 alumnus, Mr. Juan A. Acejas, principal of the Rizal Memorial National Vocational School in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines, recently wrote me stating a desperate need for woodworking, building construction. automotive mechanics, industrial electricity, dressmaking, food trades, and cosmetology textbooks. A drive is currently under way to help supply Mr. Aceias and Rizal Memorial with needed materials. The success stories of both foreign and native student graduates are exhaustive. The Williamsport Area Community College continues to attract foreign students today, although in smaller numbers.

In 1965, the Institute assumed the status of a community college under the Pennsylvania State Department of Education. Shortly after its inception, the College assumed candidate status and in 1970 was granted full accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.

Today The Williamsport Area Community College serves a ten-county service area in North Ceneral Pennsylvania covering 7,206.8 square miles-an area

slightly smaller than the state of New Jersey. The population of this vast service area, the largest in Pennsylvania geographically, is 70% rural.

The College is presently organized into ten divisions which include: Building Technologies; Business and Computer Science; Earth Science; Public Service and Health Occupation; Communications, Humanities, and Social Science; Science and Mathematics; Engineering and Design Technologies; Electrical/ Electronics; Transportation Technologies; and Community Service. The Williamsport Area Community College currently has 2,274 postsecondary students, over 90 percent of whom are enrolled in 45 occupational programs. This enrollment also includes students in Developmental Studies, Independent Studies, and General Studies programs. Seventy-five percent of our students come from rural backgrounds and 36 percent would be considered financially needy. The Williamsport Area Community College's unique occupational training programs currently draw students from every Pennsylvania county but one, and from two other states and countries (please refer to student distribution map on the following page). The College is, indeed, a vital state educational resource. The Williamsport Area Community College is unique in that secondary instructional services have been an integral part of its organizational structure for many years. The secondary area vocational-technical program currently enrolls 1,312 students in 19 vocational-technical programs under the same College technology division areas of instruction. The College also cooperates with two private beauty schools in offering a secondary cosmetology program. A capstone cooperative education program is offered senior year students. Administered by a Dean for Secondary Instructional Services, the secondary program operates on a two-week-about system, with roughly equal groups from any given school switching between the home high school and the College every two weeks.

The provision for secondary and postsecondary instructional programs to share facilities and equipment as much as possible is fiscally and educationally sound. Buildings, machinery, and tools can be provided as one unit; greater opportunity exists for establishing competency levels of institution and engendering a more effective articulation between programs for student benefit. Advanced placement credit of up to one year is given to secondary vocational students desiring to continue their training in the postsecondary program.