The Windham Region- The Six College Collaborative formerly known as The Windham Higher Education Cooperative recently launched their very own website www.sixcolleges.com featuring local paid internship opportunities for college students, information about cross registration amongst the six participating colleges as well as community offerings at the various college campuses. The collaborative includes Community College of Vermont, SIT Graduate Institute, Vermont Technical College, Landmark College, Marlboro College and Union Institute and University.
The six colleges’ website was built by a Vermont Technical College intern, Emily Purcell, under the direction and supervision of Jason Coplan owner of DC WebPro. The website provides a centralized location and database for the collaborative to promote and provide detailed information about all that they do as a “communiversity”. Created with the perspective of a current college student the site is user friendly and easily navigated. It features links to each of the six institutions, social media links, a list of community events at each of the participating campuses as well as enrichment opportunities for staff and faculty.
The SeVEDS/BDCC Collaborative Internship program has a strong presence on the site listing on average 25-30 postings for students looking for work experience in the Windham Region as well as instructions for area businesses seeking to hire college interns. The internship program is funded by a grant from the Vermont Department of Labor and contributions from the participating colleges. Participating students not only earn college credit but are paid while doing so. Since its creating in February 2014 the program has enabled 19 college students to find internships, five of the 19 students have been offered long term employment, earning competitive salaries. The program is open to any college student in the country as long as they intern for a Windham Region business. Currently there are paid opportunities in a variety of sectors including: Agriculture, Healthcare, Nonprofit, Hospitality, Manufacturing, Marketing, Media, Social Services and STEM. The salaries range from minimum wage to $25/hr. With some participating businesses that calculates to over 2,000 dollars in a semester with a few businesses it calculates to over 8,000.
The Collaborative is excited about this website launch as it will enable its efforts to work as a community of higher education, and the traction of its programs to reach beyond the Windham Region, generating stronger participation from other colleges, students and Vermont businesses.
For more information contact Jan Coplan Internship Coordinator at jcoplan@brattleborodevelopment.com
www.sixcolleges.com
