money to support themselves or their family,” Avery adds.“We want them to stay in school and finish their degree. We need to make sure that we do everything we can to get them to it and through it because they’re going to do better if they finish the program.” STUDENT SUPPORT GETS REPAID So, in addition to financial aid, LBCC has tried to support its student body in other ways. “Coming out of the pandemic, we have tried to take a more holistic view of students; not just seeing a student as captured in a classroom or their welding gear, but as a whole person who’s engaged with several systems,” Avery states. “We saw during COVID that the safety net for many of our students was pretty fragile – childcare and transportation and sometimes even paying the rent were challenges for them. So we have added college navigators who make sure that students have the support that they need to stay, continue, and graduate. We’ve beefed up our advising, and our faculty tries to make sure that they aren’t just instructors but in some ways, coaches, around all of the essential skills that students need on the job -- things like punctuality, responsibility, safety, 7 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 11, ISSUE 07 LINN-BENTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
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