Somerset Community College will be going to a four-day week to help students save on gas because of the high prices.

The shorter week will also save the college money on utility bills, needed to help compensate for the state cutbacks in funding education.

Beginning May 19, SCC will test a pilot program to save gasoline and utility costs, while providing better service and longer office hours to an SCC student population consisting of many working, non-traditional students.

Many of the students are welcoming the change.

“I travel from Monticello to London five days a week,” said Jennifer Owens, a cosmetology student. “Going to school four days a week would save me approximately $80 a month, and would give me an extra day to catch up on homework from other classes and give an extra day for work.”

“Having a 4-day school week will be great for those who have jobs outside the classroom and need the extra time,” said Marketta Boone, a cosmetology student from London. “It will also save on fuel costs since everyone is struggling with the outrageous prices of gas.”

Some of the students like the current hours, such as Kim Farley, a cosmetology student, from Corbin.

“The Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. fits my schedule with my school-age children,” she said. “Because of the current schedule, I am able to attend and still meet the needs of my kids.”

 SCC will initiate a summer schedule designed to accomplish three objectives,” SCC President and CEO Dr. Jo Marshall said. “The first will be to better serve the needs of students and prospective students by maintaining office hours until 6 p.m. from Monday through Thursday. The second will be to save students and employees the cost of gasoline by reducing the number of weekly trips to the campus from five to four. And, the third will be to save utility costs by closing most of the buildings and turning off the utilities in these buildings on all SCC campuses and centers from Thursday evenings and reopening them on Monday mornings.

 “As a result of recent cuts in the Kentucky state budget, which amount to cuts of more than $700,000 at SCC, we felt this pilot project might help us save money on utilities and gas, while having our offices open later in the evenings, might also be better for the large number of SCC students who work and have trouble getting to our campuses and centers before 4:30 p.m.,” Marshall added.

 “Please know that this is only a pilot schedule for the summer months, beginning the week of May 19 and ending on August 1, 2008,” Marshall explained. “At the close of the summer, we will evaluate the success or lack of success of this altered schedule. All employees will be expected to work their regular number of hours during the longer four days. All college offices will be kept open longer daily hours and school personnel will be available to students, visitors or callers until 6 p.m. from Monday through Thursday.”

 The SCC centers and campuses will still be available for the many community activities scheduled to occur there on Fridays and on the weekends, but most buildings will be closed to save energy when no events are scheduled.

 “Our campuses and centers are used by many volunteer and community organizations and we will continue to make every effort to provide them with a place to hold their activities at our facilities,” Marshall said. 

 The SCC campuses in London and Somerset will not completely close on Fridays. An SCC administrator will be present in Meece Hall on the SCC Somerset Campus and an administrator will also be on campus in Building One on the Laurel Campus on Fridays.

 Somerset Community College is a comprehensive two-year institution of higher education. SCC has campuses in Somerset and London, centers in Clinton, McCreary, Casey and Russell Counties.