Jamestown Community College will look to expand its high school College Connections courses for the 2019-20 school year.

JCC courses were already being provided in 32 high schools in Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties offering 72 different courses and 438 course sections. During a board of trustees meeting Tuesday, Dr. Daniel DeMarte, JCC president, and Dr. Marilyn Zagora, vice president of academic affairs, said participation in College Connections courses has increased “across the board” as of recent.

The board agreed that the high school courses help student prepare for college and also help recruit students to JCC.

“It’s a win-win,” Zagora said.

The board also approved a waiver of tuition for those College Connections courses. The college typically accounts for tuition costs through scholarships or other means, but now the institution officially waived the fee allowing high school students to participate for free.

DeMarte said the institution intends on establishing “a better connection with College Connections.”

As for enrollment, DeMarte said an announcement was “close” but noted that it was still “too soon” to release any information in that regard.

“We’re cautiously optimistic,” DeMarte said of early enrollment projections.

DeMarte also spoke about a pilot program that would provide a JCC representative at Jamestown High School specifically focused on curating collegiate interest from Jamestown’s hispanic population.

DeMarte is expected to make an address Aug. 30 where he will likely discuss enrollment numbers.

Kirk Young, vice president of enrollment management and institutional advancement, previously talked to The Post-Journal about current marketing and enrollment initiatives.

JCC’s initiatives include a push to fill its residence halls, market itself outside of the county and state and promote its Manufacturing Technology Institute (MTI).

JCC recently held an official signing day for its Workforce Readiness Scholarship offering financial pathways for students in the MTI.

“It appears that these initiatives are beginning to have a positive impact,” Young said at the time. More recently, The Post-Journal reported that JCC had eliminated or reduced 10 position to meet a budget shortfall of $1 million. At the time, Young was optimistic that enrollment initiatives would reverse recent trends of declining enrollment.

In other news, the board approved the renaming of the Cattaraugus campus’ veteran’s lounge. It is now named after Fred J. Moricca, an Army veteran who passed away in 2017 and who was involved with JCC since 2004. The campus space will now be known as the “Fred J. Moricca Veteran’s Lounge.”