The road to success this spring for 13 Cincinnati State Technical and Community College students might be paved by a scholarship from KnowledgeWorks Foundation and Cincinnati Works.

        Eligible students must be employed with career goals that meet standards developed by Cincinnati Works, a nonprofit organization that has helped hundreds of residents get off welfare and find jobs.

        Called College Works, the program unveiled last week at the college in Clifton gives full-time workers who are also part-time students 13 free credit hours for each of the next three terms.

        KnowledgeWorks Foundation will provide a two-year grant of $249,460 to pay for tuition and expenses for the students, who must also meet with a panel of cohorts to discuss goals and challenges.

        “This is not job training,” said Gregory Mason, dean of corporate and community services at the college, which has committed staff, counseling and follow-up assessments to the effort. “We do career training.”

        College Works should help about 80 students during its two- year life. All scholarship recipients cannot earn more than 200 percent of the federal poverty guideline.

        That works out to $16,000 in annual income for a single adult and $32,000 in household income for a family of four.

        Christine Neal, 47, an Avondale resident and newly re-enrolled student at the college, said that with the scholarship she hopes to graduate in four years.

        The clerk for the General Services Administration said she attended classes about eight years ago but had to drop out because family demands took precedence.

        “I want to major in business management or human resources,” she said.

        Ron Wright, president of Cincinnati State, said staff will review the program periodically to ensure its success.

        Because College Works involves cohorts, students will receive support and advice from people who are undergoing the same challenges of balancing work, school and life.

        The support component of the effort offers great potential, he said. Dealing with instructors can be a challenge for many students and having cohorts will provide an outlet.

        “Sometimes, it's just that students need somebody to call on the phone to say, "Don't you hate that guy, too,'” Dr. Wright said.

        If College Works is successful at Cincinnati State, it will be duplicated at other communities in the state, said Brett Visger, program officer at KnowledgeWorks Foundation.

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