City Colleges Offering Free Cannabis Course for Minority Students

Low-income, minority students are eligible this year to take free courses, such as cannabis, at four City Colleges of Chicago campuses that organizers said lead to employment in high-skilled, high-wage and in-demand occupations. Photo credit: By Wendell Hutson
Low-income, minority students are eligible this year to take free courses, such as cannabis, at four City Colleges of Chicago campuses that organizers said lead to employment in high-skilled, high-wage and in-demand occupations. Photo credit: By Wendell Hutson

City Colleges Offering Free Cannabis Course for Minority Students

BY WENDELL HUTSON

Contributing Writer

Currently, there are no black-owned marijuana dispensaries in Chicago but low-income, minority students can take a free cannabis course at City Colleges of Chicago to learn more about working in the growing industry.

The cannabis course is available at Olive-Harvey College, 10001 S. Woodlawn Ave., and is among a list of free courses City Colleges began offering in September as part of a new educational initiative to promote workforce equity for blacks in Illinois.

The other three City Colleges offering free courses are Kennedy-King College, 6300 S. Halsted St; Malcolm X College, 1900 W. Jackson Blvd; and Wright College, 4300 N. Narragansett Ave. Free courses at Malcolm X include community health worker, emergency medical technician (EMT) and personal fitness training; and at Wright College, courses offered include advanced manufacturing, information technology and public safety.

A $5.5 million Workforce Equity Initiative Grant by the Illinois Community College Board makes the free courses possible. And City Colleges officials said the grant, which targets students living on the South and West Sides of Chicago, aims to offer more students the opportunity to quickly complete short-term certificate programs that lead to employment in high-skilled, high-wage and in-demand occupations.

The free courses being offered are those that students could complete within two semesters or by the end of the 2020 summer session, according to Dhyia Thompson-Phillips, executive director of Workforce Equity at Olive-Harvey, where auto-diesel repair; specialized freight/commercial driver’s license (CDL); general warehousing; air transportation service technicians; and custom computer programming services are available for free.

“Although spring classes have begun [on Jan. 13] we are still accepting applications for free courses and we encourage students to apply as soon as possible,” said Thompson-Phillips. “We only have a short window of time here so we want to get students enrolled right away.”

To apply or get more information, go online at ccc.edu/wei or call 773-COLLEGE.

And students must live in Chicago communities whose population is at least 60 percent black to be eligible for the free courses, said Eddie Phillips, vice president of Kennedy-King, where automotive technology, collision, construction, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), and cyber technology courses are offered.

“Communities that are 60 percent black and 20 percent below the poverty level are the primary areas for this grant,” he said. By allowing students to take free, certificate courses, it could also boost enrollment at City Colleges, which was 77,000 in 2019.

“It certainly wouldn’t hurt enrollment by offering free courses. But meeting the needs of students is our primary focus and certainly this is one way we can achieve that goal,” said Brandon Nichols, vice president of Olive-Harvey.

For students not interested in the free courses, there are other scholarships at City Colleges to help pay for classes.

“The City Colleges of Chicago Foundation’s scholarship application is open year-round, so students can apply for funding and plan ahead,” explained Katheryn Hayes, a spokeswoman for City Colleges. “The Chicago Star Scholarship provides free tuition and books to qualified students for up to three years after their high school graduation. And the Early College program allows high school students to earn college credits for free.”

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