LBCC MircoBusiness Program Business Classes

Business classes will be offered through the MicroBusinessProgram at Linn-Benton for individuals interested in learning how to start or expand a small business. 

The MicroBusiness series offers small business training workshops, business

counseling, technical assistance, advice on accessing capital and networking opportunities.

Although the program is designed for people with low-to-moderate incomes, anyone may participate.

A free introductory session will be held Tuesday, September 11 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the LBCC Benton Center, room BC-107, 757 NW Polk Ave., Corvallis, for those interested in the program.

The fall 2012 business series will held on Tuesdays beginning September 18 through November 27 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the LBCC Benton Center.

You must attend an introduction session in order to register for the MicroBusiness program. Fees will be based on a sliding scale depending on household income.

To register for an introductory session, contact the LBCCBusiness Healthcare and Workforce Division at 541-917-4923. For more information, contact the LBCC MicroBusiness Program at 541-917-4929.

LBCC Driver Education Registration Begins Sept. 4

Registration for Drivers Education at Linn-Benton Community College will begin September 4.

LBCC’s Driver Education program serves students throughout Linn and Benton counties and is approved by the Oregon Department of Transportation.

The course includes Oregon state mandated 30 hours of classroom instruction, a three-hour parent/student orientation at first meeting plus 12 hours behind-the wheel practice and driver observation. 

Registration requirements include completed packet, fee, original driver permit and one photocopy. Registration packets are available at all centers one week prior to registration or online at www.linnbenton.edu/go/albany-community-ed/driver-education.

Students must register at offering center, on-line registration is not available.

Cost for the course is $259 for ages 17 and under, $429 for ages 18 and over. Class must be dropped 24 hours prior to start date for refund.

For more information, contact LBCC Albany Community Education at 541-917-4840.

SSH Gallery Exhibit "A Glimpse of Wild India"

“A Glimpse of Wild India,” photographs by Santa Fe photographer Joan Myers, will be on exhibit Sept. 4 – 21 in the South Santiam Hall Gallery at Linn-Benton Community College, 6500 Pacific Blvd SW, Albany, OR.

A special pre-opening gallery talk and book signing will be held Saturday, Sept. 1, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the gallery. The event is free and open to the public.

The exhibit includes 17 large color photographs from Myers’ latest book, “The Jungle at the Door,” which takes viewers inside India’s last remaining wildlife refuges for glimpses of Bengal tigers, Indian elephants, one-horned rhinoceros and other species, many of which are endangered or threatened. Myers also explores the rural villages and religious shrines on the jungles’ outskirts.

Unlike a traditional wildlife photographer intent on isolating specimens with super-telephoto lenses, Myers’ instead takes her inspiration from Rudyard Kipling’s “Just So” stories, and the result is an exhibit that gives viewers the sense of wandering through the jungle and coming upon animals in their natural habitats.

Over a prolific 40-year career as a photographer, Myers has published six books, many focusing on the American Southwest where she lives, and has been featured in three exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.  

She is perhaps best known for her 2006 book “Wondrous Cold: An Antarctic Journey,” which was the result of a National Science Foundation grant and became a widely-acclaimed, four-year touring exhibit sponsored by the Smithsonian.

The South Santiam Hall Gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The exhibit at LBCC is supported in part by the Willamette PhotoArts Guild.

LBCC, Lebanon High School & OSU to Sign MOU

An agreement between Lebanon High School and Linn-Benton Community College, in partnership with Oregon State University to provide a better path and support from high school through college graduation, will be signed at 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 30 at the LBCC Lebanon Center.

The Lebanon High School Early College memorandum of understanding establishes an accelerated program that will allow Lebanon High School students to simultaneously complete their high school diploma and earn an associate degree – which will make them eligible to attend OSU and apply for a $3,000 scholarship.

The program has been developed as a stepping-stone for the LBCC/OSU Degree Partnership program.

“This is another effort designed to help our students finish what they start in their college educations,” said LBCC President Greg Hamann. “Working in partnership with Lebanon High School and Oregon State University, this will help students reach their goals by removing geographic and financial barriers that might otherwise delay them.”

LBCC and LHS already partner in a program called Beyond LHS, in which qualified LHS students attend classes at LBCC, earning both an associate degree and a high school diploma.

The Early College program will allow students to attend college classes on the LHS campus, and earn credits toward their associate degree using both programs.

LBCC has a large degree partnership program with OSU, with about 1,000 students enrolled in the program each term. Students can attend classes at both institutions while having the services of both LBCC and OSU available for their use.

LBCC has other partnerships with area high schools and Oregon colleges, with more to come, said Hamann.

“Our partnership programs with area high schools as well as our partnership with Oregon State University – the Degree Partnership Program – creates accessible and affordable pathways for many to pursue a 2-year degree, 4-year degree, and beyond,” said Hamann.

Basic 80-Hour Income Tax Course Offered

LBCC’s Small Business Development Center is offering a Basic80-hour Income Tax Course for those wishing to become a licensed tax preparer.

This course is designed to help students meet the requirements to take the state board exam for licensing.

Class will meet on Mondays and Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m., September 6 through December 6, at Linn-Benton Community College’s Calapooia Center building, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany.

Cost for this non-credit course is $469. For more information or to register, call the LBCC Small Business Development Center at 541-917-4923.

LBCC and OSU Sign Reverse Transfer Agreement

OSU President Ed Ray, left, and LBCC President Greg Hamann
sign a Memorandom of Understanding to implement the
Reverse Transfer agreement, the first of its kind in the state.

LBCC and Oregon State University took the first steps today to implement a program to award transfer students with a “reverse transfer” associate’s degree.

The program, known as the Reverse Transfer Degree program, will allow students who are dually-enrolled through the LBCC/OSU Degree Partnership program to be awarded an associate’s degree from LBCC, even though they did not finish their degree here.

Here’s how it works: Say you’re an LBCC student taking classes at both institutions, and you decide that you have enough LBCC credits to fully attend OSU. You accomplished what you set out to do at LBCC, but you did not actually “finish” your two-year degree.

Academic advisors at OSU and LBCC will carefully track your progress, and when you have met the requirements for an LBCC associate degree, you will be awarded the degree.  

How will this benefit you as a transfer student? There are several advantages to receiving your associate degree. Say you are struggling to complete your four-year degree. Then, unexpectedly, you receive your associate’s degree from LBCC. Not only can this encourage you to continue, it can also help you qualify for scholarships and financial aid.

“For students who are struggling to afford and/or complete the four-year degree, unexpectedly receiving their associates degree has been shown to be an enormously effective inducement to continue,” said OSU President Ed Ray. “In fact, it appears to be the most effective inducement. It also reinforces for all potential transfer students the value, and the possibility, of pursuing and achieving the four-year degree.”

Receiving your two-year degree also can help you with internship opportunities and summer and school year employment.

The reverse agreement also benefits LBCC, which will receive credit for the degree completion, reflecting the investment of time, resources and support that the college has provided.

The Reverse Transfer pilot program is the first of its kind in Oregon, and is modeled after a successful program between El Paso Community College and the University of Texas El Paso.

The Reverse Transfer Degree program will serve as an extension to the successful LBCC/OSU Degree Partnership program, which was established in 1998 and has seen more than 4,000 students transfer to OSU. 

LBCC President Greg Hamann said the agreement will help students achieve their graduation goals, and enhances the strong ties already in place between the two schools.

“By working together, OSU and LBCC create an opportunity neither of us alone could do,” Hamann said. “So much of our future depends on us working together for the good of our students.”

And this is only the first step. LBCC and OSU will partner with Lebanon High School at the end of August to provide a program that allows Lebanon students to complete high school and earn LBCC and OSU degrees on a compressed timetable, which will significantly reduce their costs.

For both programs, OSU will make available scholarships for students with limited financial means to help make higher education possible through the university’s Bridge to Success financial aid program.

Lebanon Center Financial Future Class

Learn how to take control of your finances in the free Financial Future workshop offered at the LBCC Lebanon Center Saturday, August 25.

Designed to help you take control of your money, this workshop will cover several topics including setting goals, spending habits, finding ways out of debt, repairing damaged credit, making financial priorities, recognizing predatory lending and making smart purchases.

Class will meet from 9 a.m. to 4:50 p.m. at the Lebanon Center Annex, 44 Industrial Way. Participants will be eligible for two additional hours of budget and credit counseling with a Willamette Neighborhood Housing Services counselor at no cost.

Pre-register online at www.w-nhs.org, or call Willamette Neighborhood Housing Services at 541-752-7220.

LBCC Access Database Class

A two-day computer class on the database software Access will be held August 23 and 30 at Linn-Benton Community College, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany.

Learn how to design and create an Access database, including the planning process, the basics of creating tables, queries, forms and reports, understanding relationships and linking between tables, selecting information with queries, formatting options for data entry forms and printed reports, and the Access navigation tools.

Instruction on queries, including select statements and filtering, cross-tabs, formulas, and grouping will also be covered. Learn to create forms with buttons and drop-down lists, linked forms and sub forms, and more complex reports. 

Class will meet from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day in the Forum building, room F-202. Cost for this non-credit class is $179.

For more information or to register, contact LBCC Business, Healthcare and Workforce at 541-917-4923.

LBCC Authentic Networking Class

The class Authentic Networking will be offered August 28 at Linn-Benton Community College, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany.

This practical workshop will help you leverage your strengths and minimize weaknesses to help you build successful long-term networking partners.

Register by Monday, Aug. 20 and be entered into a drawing for the book Networking for People Who Hate Networking.

Class will meet from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Fireside Room, Calapooia Center, room CC-211. Cost for this non-credit class is $79, or $69 each for three or more from the same company.

For more information or to register, contact LBCC Business, Healthcare and Workforce at 541-917-4923.