ROCK SPRINGS – The Program for Adult Student Success (PASS) at Western Wyoming Community College is now taking applications for its Fall 2014 cohort. Prospective students who are interested in completing a degree at Western may learn more about the benefits of PASS at an informational session on Wednesday, July 16, at 5 p.m. in Room 1309 of the Rock Springs campus.

PASS is a one-year sequence of courses designed to help adult learners complete the first two semesters of an associate degree by enrolling them in a student cohort that moves through the first year of classes together, providing an atmosphere of support and encouragement as the students acclimate to the college environment. PASS also facilitates this transition by providing convenient evening courses, need-based scholarship support, free campus childcare for parents, and no-cost textbook usage.

Students in the PASS program will strengthen their writing, mathematics and critical-thinking skills while completing 14 or more credit hours of general education study. Classes will meet on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. After completing the program, students will be prepared to transition into the Western degree program of their choice.

Applicants to PASS should be willing and able to attend class three nights each week during the fall and spring semesters, and to participate in PASS activities. They should also possess a strong sense of personal responsibility and the desire to complete their educational goals.

PASS students report that the program’s cohort format enhances learning and assists in building beneficial relationships with fellow students and faculty that increase the chances for academic success. After their PASS year, students are prepared to move into their program’s second year with the tools and confidence needed to complete their degrees on time and with distinction.

In addition to need-based scholarship support from PASS, which can total up to $500, students who enroll in the program are also eligible to apply for WWCC’s 16 to Succeed program, which awards $1,000 to qualified students who graduate in two or four years. (Some restrictions do apply.) Information about 16 to Succeed will be available at the July 16 PASS informational session.

For more information about PASS at Western, or to RSVP for the July 16 program, contact Mark Rembacz, Director of Student Engagement and Completion, at (307) 382-1899, or email him at mrembacz@wwcc.wy.edu.

-From a WWCC press release