For the third straight year, OCCC employees will not see a raise, and tuition will increase for the second straight year because of the state’s economy.

President Paul Sechrist predicts there will be a 5.5 percent reduction in the college’s budget for the fiscal year 2011-’12. He said the reduction will not take place until the new fiscal year begins in July 1.

“We have taken on a number of cost containment initiatives in the last two years …” Sechrist said.

Nursing students now have more space to perfect their craft with last fall’s addition of new labs on the OCCC campus.

The renovation of what was formerly classroom space into the more spacious, hands-on labs has benefited nursing students, said Rosemary Klepper, nursing program director.

“This has really expanded the opportunity for nursing students to have more lab skills, practice time and teaching,” Klepper said.

A man killed in a car crash last week has been identified as an OCCC student.

John David Wolf, 30, of Yukon, died about 11:30 p.m. Jan. 16 in a single-vehicle accident on the northwest side of Lake Overholser in Oklahoma City.

Wolf was a public relations major at OCCC.

Among the many hot topics in politics over the years, and one that has garnered much attention, is healthcare.

With President Barack Obama’s initiative to reform the healthcare policy in America, many are wondering how it might affect them, if at all.

Starting in 2014, all residents of the United States must purchase health insurance or face a penalty of $695 annually according to cbsnews.com.

Although there will be exceptions for certain low-income people, those without the ability to pay for insurance will be pressed to develop a plan in the coming years.

The Computer Aided Technology department recently received a grant from the college for much needed new equipment, said John Helton, department chair for computer aided technology.

The grant money went for two new 42-inch printers — one of which has a scanner on it — plus several new digital cameras and a 3D scanner.

When the college goes tobacco free Aug. 1, e-cigarettes, or electronic cigarettes, will likely be included in the ban, said OCCC Executive Vice President Jerry Steward.

He said e-cigarettes were included in the list of banned products made by the Tobacco Free Advisory Committee, a group put together after the decision was made to make OCCC a tobacco-free campus.

Students looking to alleviate part of the financial burden of college have the option of renting textbooks starting this semester.

English 1113 (Comp I), English 1213 (Comp II), and Bio 1023 (Introduction to Nutrition) are the first three textbooks available this semester at the OCCC bookstore, said Brenda Reinke, Bookstore director.

OCCC will resume regular operating hours today after a winter storm closed all classes and activities on campus yesterday, according to a message sent out by the college’s Campus Alerts

An overnight winter storm has closed all day and evening classes at OCCC today. At 5:39 a.m., OCCC’s Campus Alerts system announced that all classes and activities have been canceled

This semester, OCCC will partner with Oklahoma Study Abroad to give students the opportunity to study Spanish in a native environment while also learning to travel on a budget, said Abra Figueroa, modern languages professor.

“This will be a travel enhanced course,” Figueroa said. “Students can enroll in a three-credit hour class called Spanish for Travelers, but it’s not necessary to enroll to go on the trip.”