Tuition assistance available to students in BOCES LPN and JCC RN programs

Rachel Burt, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·3 min read

Dec. 4—WATERTOWN — Students attending or planning to attend the Jefferson-Lewis BOCES LPN program or the RN program with Jefferson Community College for the spring semester are encouraged to contact The WorkPlace to ask about its grant program.

According to Ethan Brown, Youth & Young Adult Employment Program coordinator for The WorkPlace/Jefferson County Department of Employment & Training, any current nursing student for the LPN program at BOCES, or the RN program at the college, can qualify for a grant that helps pay for tuition and books if financial aid does not cover the entire bill.

"It's more important than ever. We need the best quality students that would turn into nurses," Mr. Brown said. "We can see in our area and nationwide that field of work is in desperate need of a full, dedicated staff that can take care of the patients and is ready to take on the challenges of working in a pandemic, amongst all the other things that they still have to keep track of. It's a lot of work, but the people that we see here, they're ready to take it on."

While this grant program has been available in the area for years, The WorkPlace is focused on raising awareness to aid the next generation of healthcare professionals in the area. The WorkPlace is able to cover up to $8,000 for a student's program. At BOCES, the LPN program is two semesters, or one year, and at JCC the RN program is four semesters, or two years. Because not every student receives the same amount of financial aid, grant amounts will vary to cover leftover costs.

"There is an application that they would have to print and fill out that they can obtain on our website," Mr. Brown said. "And then depending on their age, there's different qualifications. That's just based on the rules that we have to follow here as part of the grant funding that we receive from the federal government."

If students are 25 years or older, the only qualification is that they make less than $21 an hour if they are working. If students are between the ages of 18 and 24, there are several qualifications, but they only have to meet one on the list, which includes having a child; having any kind of disability, learning, physical, mental, emotional; or if they're considered low income by The WorkPlace's standards. Those interested in the grant program can call 315-786-3651 with questions or stop in to the 1000 Coffeen St. location for more specifics on whether they qualify for assistance.

According to Mr. Brown, the program must have helped, just in the last year, 40 or more older students 25 and up, and at least 10 or more students falling into the younger category.

"The object is just to try to lessen the financial burden that these students are taking on, especially going into that field of work," Mr. Brown said. "Many of them, we still keep in touch with them after they're graduated and when JCC or BOCES graduates a class, we can actually see the students that we helped get to that point in their careers — it's very rewarding."