Category: Academics

Updates to classes and services effective Wednesday, Nov. 18

With the spread of COVID-19 increasing in the county and throughout the state, St. Clair County Community College continues to follow our campus guidelines and procedures in conjunction with guidance from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and advice from the St. Clair County Health Department.

Effective Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020, most remaining classes that were being held on-campus will be completed using online or remote learning technology. The exceptions are healthcare-related courses, which are allowed to continue in-person under current guidelines.

This change only affects about 11 percent of fall class sections and does not affect any class that was already fully online or being delivered in a remote manner. Students will be contacted by their instructors with information on how the final weeks of their class will be handled.

In order to continue to limit the spread of the virus in our community, effective Wednesday, November 18, all campus buildings will be closed to the public. Faculty, staff, and students who need to be on-campus may do so, but all student services, including academic advising, admissions, financial aid, enrollment services, testing, student accounts, the SC4 Library, and Achievement Center services, will be provided remotely. Many of these services have been available remotely all semester, so this change should also affect only a small number of students.

Students with questions about their classes should contact their instructors directly. Other questions may be directed to the college’s main phone number, (810) 984-3881, or by using the chat service available on our website, sc4.edu.

Learn more about Future for Frontliners state scholarship program

SC4 invites the community to attend a presentation on the Future for Frontliners Program. The presentation is offered through SC4’s Admissions and Recruitment Office and will take place via Zoom at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18.

Future for Frontliners is a state scholarship program for Michiganders without college degrees who worked in essential industries during the state COVID-19 shutdown in spring 2020, between April 1 and June 30.

This scholarship provides those frontline workers with tuition-free access to a local community college to pursue an associate degree or a certificate, either full-time or part-time while they work.

The event will provide information on the Future for Frontliners Program, an overview of the application qualifications and process and FAQs. SC4 admissions and financial aid staff will be available for questions.

To reserve your spot and receive Zoom login information, email recruitment@sc4.edu by Tuesday, Nov. 17.

Registration for SC4 winter classes opens Nov. 2

Registration for winter semester classes at St. Clair County Community College opens Monday, Nov. 2. There is no deposit required to register, and classes fill up fast. Students are encouraged to register as soon as possible in order to get the classes they need to complete their degree programs or successfully transfer to a four-year institution.

SC4’s in-district tuition and fees are about one-third of the average cost at one of Michigan’s four-year public universities. Additionally, SC4 students may also benefit from financial aid packages, scholarships, grants and loans.

From Nov. 2 to 13, there is no payment required until the final due date of Nov. 20. Partial payments will be accepted through Nov. 19. From Nov. 14 to Jan. 15, 2021, full payment is required at time of registration. Payment plans are also available.

A list of available classes can be found at sc4.edu/schedule. New students can apply to SC4 at sc4.edu/admissions/starthere. Current students can register online in the SC4 Portal Service Center or on the SC4 mobile app. The winter semester begins Monday, Jan. 11.

For more information, contact SC4 Enrollment Services at enrollment@sc4.edu or (810) 989-5500.

National Respiratory Care Week at SC4

Respiratory therapists have demanding responsibilities related to patient care and are a vital component of the health care team.

The respiratory therapy program at St. Clair County Community College uses an integration of classroom and practicum experiences in hospitals, outpatient testing facilities and physician offices.

Respiratory therapy is not the most popular choice in the healthcare field, but it’s one of the most important careers when it comes to taking care of critically ill patients.

“I teach at SC4 to educate, train, and produce competent, skilled and confident future respiratory therapists,” said instructor Tami Stafford. “With the implementation of the state-of-the-art clinical simulation lab, the students are able to experience real-life patient scenarios where they must critically think and are challenged to make clinical decisions based on a patient by patient case.”

This week, students took their classroom learning into the lab to complete a “Mock Code” patient care scenario. All students in the program must be certified in Basic Life Support and must be able to competently perform all skills needed in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The mock code scenario is a replica of a patient requiring CPR, which is directed and run by Dr. Michael Basha, SC4 Respiratory Therapy Medical Director.

“This scenario allows the students to apply the skills they have learned, understand the roles of everyone involved in this type of situation, including the physician, respiratory therapists and nurses,” said Stafford. Students are trained and must perform the procedure required for establishing an artificial airway, which includes clinical skills of bag-mask ventilation, intubation, securing the airway and assessing the patient. “This scenario brings it all together, so the students see how everyone works together as a team.”

Students graduating from the program receive an Associate in Applied Arts and Science degree and become eligible to take the National Board of Respiratory Care (NBRC) credentialing examinations. With successful completion of the program, students can work in adult, pediatric and neonatal intensive care units, emergency rooms, labor and delivery, regular nursing floors, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, diagnostic testing, and home care.

Once the students successfully complete this program, they will have over 1,000 hours of live clinical experience in a variety of hospital settings which gives them a well-rounded experience in all areas of the profession. “I love watching the students’ growth throughout the semesters and how they sometimes impress and surprise themselves by what they have learned and what they know how to do,” said Stafford.

This week is also recognized as National Respiratory Care Week. To show appreciation, students sent gift bags of full of individually wrapped “Lifesavers” to all the respiratory therapists and hospitals that support the SC4 Respiratory Therapy Program. Over 300 bags were made and distributed to respiratory therapists who work the front lines at Ascension St. John River District Hospital, Garden City Hospital, Henry Ford Hospital Detroit, Lake Huron Medical Center, Marlette Regional Hospital, McLaren Macomb, McLaren Port Huron, and McKenzie Health System.

SC4 is a pioneer in health sciences education and offers a wide-array of in-demand program and certificate options. To learn more about the SC4 respiratory therapy program and other health sciences programs, visit our website at sc4.edu/health.