MCC Corporate College provides training for changing needs of business community

MCC Corporate College reaches out to businesses in various ways but with the same purpose: improve their bottom line.

Instructor Bob Freese is trying to do just that in the leadership class he is teaching to eight team managers at the Staples Contact Center in Henrietta.

“What type of meditative experience do you want?” asked Freese, at the outset of a recent session.

Once the class agreed to guided meditation, he led them through five minutes of body movements with the goal of getting them to relax and focus on the task at hand.

Established in 2014, Monroe Community College Corporate College is one of the initiatives launched by MCC’s division of economic development and innovative workforce services.

Community Colleges —  including MCC — have a history of working with local businesses, but Corporate College has extended this outreach.

“The biggest achievement of the Corporate College is that we are measurably serving many more businesses in new ways and providing many different options,” said Todd Oldham, who joined MCC in 2011 as a vice president heading up this new division.

Growth in demand

MCC Corporate College, previously located in rented space near MCC's Brighton campus, now has greater visibility, recently relocating to the seventh floor of MCC's new Downtown Campus.

With an annual budget of $2.3 million, Corporate College's fees are based on covering costs, noted Oldham. The fees charged vary with the length and complexity of each course.

While MCC, like many other community colleges, has faced a decline in its for-credit enrollment, Corporate College continues to grow.

The 3,969 registrations for Corporate College courses from September through mid-July  were higher by 12 percent than a comparable period a year earlier.

Corporate College also contracts directly with businesses, as is the case with the leadership class Freese is conducting for eight team managers at Staples Contact Center in Henrietta.

"It’s all customized for the individual companies and groups we work with,” said Jim Gertner, projects and operations director of Corporate College.

The 64 contract courses Corporate College entered into between last September and mid-July marked a 48 percent increase from a similar period the previous school year.

Such tailor-made courses — crafted to fit the needs of businesses — seem to be a sign of the times.

"The pace of change in the economy seems to be increasing every year," said Kent Gardner, chief economist for the Center for Governmental Research.

Four-year colleges, Gardner noted, are great for training students in well established areas.

"But when a firm needs training for its employees in a new area, in a specialization or customized training for a specific process or need that they have, four-year colleges just aren't able to deliver the goods," he said.

Corporate colleges, Gardner went on to say, are "fleet of foot so that they can design a program, deliver that program."

 Returns on investment

About 100 noncredit courses — often to upgrade and develop skills — are listed on Corporate College's website each semester, with a somewhat smaller number in the summer.

This fall, for example, those wanting to upgrade their computer skills could take a two-session course in intermediate Microsoft Excel for $149.

Or they might enroll in a pipe-fitting course — learning everything from how to test piping systems to trade math. The course is 32 sessions —  meeting twice a week, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. — and costs $925.

Such courses vary in length — from a session or two to a semester. They are typically taught by professionals who have hands-on experience.

Jason Almekinder, 43, of Naples turned to Corporate College to get on a career path.

He recently completed a 20-week course in welding and fabrication, offered through Corporate College and taught at the Arc + Flame Center in Gates.

The course was taught by a certified welding inspector for 4.5 hours a day, four days a week, with a fee of $7,750 for participants, according to Matt Wolff, operations manager for Arc + Flame.

Even before finishing the class, Almekinder landed a welding fabrication position at Keuka Studios in Rush. The company specializes in building modern metal stairs and railings.

Almekinder, who said he never made more than $11 an hour fixing bicycles, is now earning $15 an hour — with the potential to earn much more.

 "I got skills that will carry me for the rest of my life," he said.

Catering to corporate needs

As Corporate College's manager who deals with companies on a full-time basis, Kelly Brown Lonis feels the pulse of the business community — finding out unmet needs and making proposals that can result in businesses contracting with Corporate College.

"It's very customer driven," said Brown Lonis.

Freese’s course — Developing Authentic Conscious Leadership & Conscious Cultures — is among those conducted by Corporate College on a contractual basis.

"Staples has been a long-term customer. They talked to us about the need for leadership development," said Brown Lonis.

Freese's leadership course is adapted to fit the needs of Staples.

“This particular curriculum is very 'in' with what is happening now,” said Nihal Turgut, who is a senior contact center manager for the company.

Freese is a former sales training manager for the Eastman Kodak Co. and is now a training consultant and instructor for Corporate College.

The seven sessions — each three hours — that he is holding at the Staples Center is a variation of what he has taught to managers in both the service and manufacturing sectors.

“Managers and leaders who embark on this series will drive higher employee engagement, accountability, successful implementation of innovative solutions to vexing problems and a continuous cycle of success,” says Freese’s summary of the course.

Freese has his own way of engaging the managers he is training.

After putting a necktie in front of each of the Staples managers being trained, Freese told them what to do next.

“Grab the necktie in two hands tightly, and without letting go, you are going to tie the knot,” he said.

While some struggled  with this task more than others, they all eventually succeeded —prompting Freese to note that nobody wants to fail.

Those taking the course liked what they were learning.

“It just takes it to a different level,” said team manager Dave Scott, 30, of Brighton.

 Sarah Sheck, 41, who is also a team manager from Brighton, added: “It helps me better organize my thoughts and how to look at things so that I help not just the company but the people I work with."

Changing with the times

The corporate college model dates to 2003, with the establishment of a Corporate College as a division of Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland.

But there has been a general shift in the focus by community colleges since Joliet Junior College in Illinois was established in 1901 as the first public community college. It served as an experimental postgraduate high school program.

Initially established to help students transition from high school to college, community college became much more focused on job training with the enactment of the federal Job Training Partnership Act in 1982, said Stephen Katsinas, director of the Education Policy Center at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

This legislation created a stream of funding for workforce investment boards that community colleges could tap into as partners.

The corporate college model takes this job-creation approach to another level.

"Colleges are telling, in a very direct way, they want to be active and helpful players,” said Katsinas.

MCC offered noncredit courses prior to the establishment of its Corporate College three years ago, but since then, the number of noncredit offerings has increased considerably.

Because Corporate College courses are not for credit, federal Pell and state Tuition Assistance Program grants are not available to reduce the costs for participants.

Oldham nonetheless expects Corporate College's enrollment to remain on an upward trend — especially in its larger space, which includes four training rooms, at MCC's new Downtown Campus.

"We believe we'll continue to grow because of the needs of the community and the needs of individuals," he said.

JGOODMAN@Gannett.com