Author: Wesley Whetstone

SC4 Hispanic Heritage Day Celebration

SC4 is hosting its annual Hispanic Heritage Day Celebration—Juntos Podemos, Together We Can! This event is a recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month and an appreciation of Hispanic culture. Food will be included, and participants will enjoy speakers, cultural fashion and special entertainment from the band Los Estrellas Se Oro.  

“The Hispanic Alliance of Southeast Michigan (HASM) is proud to partner with SC4 for their Hispanic Heritage Month celebration,” said Maggie Toole of HASM. “It is our duty as leaders of the local Hispanic community to educate the public about our diverse cultures and honor the history and traditions that make up who we are today. We invite anyone who is interested in learning more about HASM or about Hispanic culture in general to come and celebrate with us.” 

SC4 chief diversity officer and senior advisor Jessica Brown, who organized the event, added, “National Hispanic Heritage Month is a national recognition of the culture, contributions and heritage of Hispanic Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America. Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15. I am proud that SC4 is part of this amazing celebration!  We will continue to make this a long-standing tradition. This is American history, and I look forward to everyone coming together to celebrate.”

The event will be held in the SC4 College Center Atrium on October 3 from 6–7:30 p.m. For more information, please visit https://sc4.edu/event/hispanic-heritage-month-celebration-juntos-podemos-together-we-can/.

For media inquiries, please contact Sarah Rutallie, Chief of Staff/ Senior Vice President, at srutallie@sc4.edu

SC4 Recognized as a Gold-Status Veteran-Friendly School by the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency

The Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA) has recognized SC4 for its dedication in supporting military-connected learners by awarding the college its highest Veteran-Friendly Schools (VFS) honor: Gold Status.

The VFS program was launched by the MVAA in 2015, and ranks academic institutions on the services offered in support of active-duty, Veteran, and military-connected learners. Schools can earn bronze, silver, or gold status.

“SC4 is proud of the services we offer our military-connected learners. It’s our honor to serve those who have served our country, as well as their spouses and children,” said Carrie Bearss, Registrar.

Niall Farley, SC4’s Veterans Services Coordinator, added, “We are delighted to be recognized as a VFS Gold Status school. I encourage all military-connected students to utilize the services offered; we are here to help!”

SC4 offers a variety of services to military-connected students, including a dedicated academic advisor, education benefit assistance, priority registration and a Veterans Lounge, where military-connected students can utilize study spaces, computers with printer access and snacks. A complete listing of SC4’s services can be viewed on the VFS dashboard at michigan.gov/mvaa.

For media inquiries, please contact one Sarah Rutallie, Chief of Staff /Senior Vice President, at srutallie@sc4.edu

SC4 Fast Path and Free Tuition Opportunities

The Fall 2024 semester has started for SC4, but interested students can still register to take classes this semester. SC4 offers a variety of courses to fit personalized schedules, including twelve and eight-week fast path courses with delayed starts. These classes are perfect for students who wish to quickly complete a class or take advantage of late start opportunities.

Many students are eligible to attend SC4 tuition-free through the Michigan Community College Guarantee and Reconnect programs. All 2023 and 2024 high school graduates can take advantage of the Community College Guarantee, and those twenty-one or older are eligible for the Michigan Reconnect program. Both programs cover full in-district tuition rates and make starting or returning to college affordable and easy. 2023 High school graduates must enroll in twelve credit hours for the fall 2024 semester in order to take advantage of the Community College Guarantee.

For more information on these and other financial aid opportunities, such as Pell and TIP, please visit https://sc4.edu/admissions/financial-aid/.

The following is a list of SC4Fall Fast Path Classes:

Fast Path courses starting week of September 16:

  • ACCT-211-85: Principles of Accounting I (no prerequisite)
  • BIO-271-07: Human Anatomy & Physiology (no prerequisite)
  • CIS-110-85: Foundations of Information Systems (no prerequisite)
  • CIS-115-86: Microcomputer Applications (no prerequisite)
  • FR-102-85: Introductory French II (no prerequisite, but recommended to have had at least one semester of French in college or one year in high school)
  • GEO-101-80: Earth Science (no prerequisite)
  • GEO-176-60: Viewing the Earth From Space (no prerequisite)
  • HE-101-81: Math Related to Drug Administration (MTH-1000 prerequisite or appropriate placement by college assessment)
  • HE-224-80: Altered States of Adult Health (BIO-272 prerequisite)
  • HIS-149-81: History of U.S. 1607 to 1876 (no prerequisite)
  • HIS-233-80: African-American History to 1877 (no prerequisite)
  • MTH-1011-81: Intermediate Algebra with Support (no prerequisite)
  • MTH-1100-80: Foundations of Math (appropriate placement by college assessment required)
  • MTH-1101-81: Foundations of Math with Math Literacy (no prerequisite)
  • MTH-1120-80: Introduction to Statistics (MTH-1010 or MTH-1011 prerequisite or appropriate placement by college assessment)
  • MTH-1121-81: Introduction to Statistics with Algebra Support (no prerequisite)
  • MTH-1130-80: Pre-Calculus (MTH-1010/1015 combination or MTH-1011/1015 combination or MTH-1020 prerequisite or appropriate placement by college assessment)
  • PSY-220-80: Life Span Developmental Psychology (PSY-180 prerequisite)
  • SD-140-02: College Success (no prerequisite)

Fast Path courses starting week of October 14:

  • BUS-110-85: Human Relations (no prerequisite)
  • BUS-150-86: Principles of Business (no prerequisite)
  • BUS-158-85: Business Math (appropriate placement by college assessment required)
  • BUS-180-86: Marketing Principles (no prerequisite)
  • BUS-181-85: Professional Selling (no prerequisite)
  • BUS-258-85: Human Resources Management (BUS-155 prerequisite)
  • CIS-297-85: College to Career (must have completed 20 credits to enroll)
  • CJ-104-85: Delinquency Prevention & Control (no prerequisite)
  • CJ-224-80: Legal Issues in Corrections (no prerequisite)
  • CJ-260-85: Fundamentals of Terrorism (no prerequisite)
  • ECON-222-85: Principles of Microeconomics (ECON-221 prerequisite)
  • ENG-101-87: English Composition I (appropriate placement by college assessment required)
  • ENG-102-87: English Composition II (ENG-101 prerequisite)
  • PE-129-01: Physical Conditioning (no prerequisite)
  • PE-133-01: Fitness Walking (no prerequisite)
  • PS-101-85: Introduction to Political Science (no prerequisite)
  • PSY-180-86: Introduction to Psychology (no prerequisite)
  • SOC-101-85: Principles of Sociology (no prerequisite)

For media inquiries, please contact Sarah Rutallie, Chief of Staff/Senior Vice President, at srutallie@sc4.edu

SC4 Faculty Spotlight—Colleen Forsgren

Image: Professor Colleen Forsgren

Colleen Forsgren is a professor of computer information systems at SC4 and serves as the department head of the Business & Information Technologies Division, bringing a wealth of expertise and knowledge to her role. 

Colleen has always enjoyed being a student. She started her higher education journey at Kettering University and took community college courses from various institutions as she traveled across the United States. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Upper Iowa University and a master’s degree in education concentrating on Information Science from the University of Missouri.

Colleen worked for TMG, Inc. in Charlotte, North Carolina and Houston, Texas, for seven years before she transitioned to workforce development at San Jacinto College in Houston. Her career also included training and employee development for leadership positions in banking. In 2000, she began as a workforce development instructor for SC4 and added instruction in credit classes soon after. She became a full-time faculty member in 2006 and has been the department chair for the Business & Information Technologies Division since 2021.

Colleen highlighted the dedication and expertise of her team, who use their experience in the workplace to provide a high-quality education for SC4 students.  

“Working with our faculty is so much fun because they love their topic and want to share it with their students. I enjoy walking around our hallways during class times. You can’t walk past too many doors without seeing and hearing students experiencing their teacher’s excitement for their topic.”

Colleen is also passionate about getting her students workplace-ready and empowering them to take ownership of their work.

“We do a lot of project-based learning in occupational classes. Sometimes, that means a lot of back and forth until something is perfect because that is the expectation in the workplace. One of my favorite things as an instructor is seeing a student’s transformation from being frustrated at having to continue to tweak a project to being so proud of their accomplishments when the project meets the goal.”

Colleen lives with her husband, Brent, a professor of political science for SC4, and they have five adult children. Outside of their work at the college, Colleen and Brent enjoy ballroom and swing dancing and traveling, especially to Europe and South Africa.

For media inquiries, please contact Sarah Rutallie, Chief of Staff / Senior Vice President, at srutallie@sc4.edu