SIC Officials Hoping to Offer Biofuel Certification

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August 11, 2014

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by Nick Mariano (The Southern Illinoisan) A Southern Illinois college is hoping to offer the first national certification in the country for training in biofuels processing, the instructor for the program said Tuesday.
Southeastern Illinois College is among a consortium of Illinois community colleges and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville awaiting word on a $12 million U.S. Department of Labor grant.
SIU-E applied for the grant through its National Corn and Ethanol Center. Grants are expected to be announced in September, Labor spokesperson Rhonda Burke said.
“At this time, there are no other such programs in the nation,” Burke said of the certification.
If approved, SIC would receive $750,000 of the grant funds to build upon its Biofuels Education curriculum started five years ago by adding the national certification, SIC’s Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs Dana Keating said.
The grant would be the second Labor grant for SIC, the first administered by the Illinois Green Economy Network three years ago, allowing the college to add to its online courses for certification and an associate degree on biofuel and ethanol processing, she said.
The existing program has drawn students from across the country, including Alaska and Texas, Keating said. Enrollment, she added, is steady. READ MORE

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