Perkins Student Support Team

Students majoring in a Career or Technical Education (CTE) program have access to a dedicated group of staff members whose mission is to help them succeed. Student Support Specialists provide students with academic support services, study groups & workshops, and referrals to other existing college academic resources to help boost grades, retention and graduation rates.

To qualify for services, students must be enrolled in one of CCAC's CTE programs including allied health and nursing, skilled trades, union apprenticeships, Culinary Arts, Criminal Justice, Accounting and many more. See a complete list of CCAC's CTE programs.

Perkins Student Support Specialists

Allegheny Campus	Boyce Campus	South Campus	North Campus/ West Hills Center
Jennifer Amrhein jamrhein@ccac.edu  412.237.4634	Darlene Billeck dbilleck@ccac.edu  724.325.6855	Steven Shaulis sshaulis@ccac.edu  412.469.6001	Stephen Ankney sankney@ccac.edu 412.369.3710
Nancy Wareham nwareham@ccac.edu  412.237.6502	Ben Shaffer  bshaffer@ccac.edu 724-325-6618		Crystal Hinnebusch chinnebusch@ccac.edu 412-369-3666

Student Orientation

Members of the Perkins Grant staff assist with CCAC's student orientation programs at the beginning of each term. Through orientation, students learn about the many services offered by the Perkins Grant and the college to help them succeed academically. A smooth academic start is vital to academic success.

Faculty Student Alerts

At the beginning of each term, faculty members inform the Perkins team about students who are struggling in the classroom. Team members contact these students and offer them help to resolve their academic problems through study groups, academic workshops or by connecting the students to other college resources. They seek to work with students who are experiencing problems in their classes as soon as possible to help get them on the right track.

Midterm Reports

Perkins staff members contact all CTE students who receive "D" or "F" grades at midterm so that they can arrange to meet with the students to discuss any difficulties they may be having in their classes. Students who are struggling or concerned about their grades are encouraged to see a staff member as soon as possible.

Study Groups

Good study skills are vital to student success in college. Perkins staff will help students form study groups, which provide a great opportunity to learn new study skills and connect with other students. Research shows that study groups can improve academic success.

Nontraditional Career Students

The term "nontraditional careers" refers to jobs that traditionally have been filled by mostly one gender. Perkins staff support economic gender equity by providing assistance to students pursuing careers that match their interests, abilities and economic needs-regardless of gender.

Workshops

Perkins staff members offer a variety of workshops at the beginning of each semester. Workshops focus on academic skills such as:

• Note taking
• Test taking
• Goal setting
• Time management

Additional Student Services

Balancing personal, academic and work life can be complicated. Sometimes it can be difficult to know where to get help. Student support specialists can steer students toward many of the services provided by the Perkins Grant and CCAC, such as job placement and career services, counseling, supportive services for students with disabilities, financial aid and others.

Due to federal grant guidelines, the Perkins Grant staff members cannot assist students with developmental coursework. Furthermore, the Perkins Grant does not provide funds directly to students, but instead funds a variety of programs designed to help Career & Technical Education students succeed.