2023 News Release Archive

NIC to host Idaho LAUNCH info forum Oct. 5; Participants eligible to win one of five $1,000 scholarships  

Launch dollars just go further for students who choose to attend NIC, which costs significantly less than other postsecondary options in the state.

Learn everything a high school senior should know about the new Idaho LAUNCH grant program at a community forum at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, at the Lake Coeur d’Alene Room of the Edminster Student Union Building at North Idaho College’s Coeur d’Alene campus.

State and NIC experts will give a presentation on the education and training grant program that provides up to 80% of tuition and fees paying for a maximum of $8,000.

The fall of 2024 will be the first time this funding is available for Class of 2024 graduates and GED students up to age 21.

“This is new funding approved by the Idaho Legislature. The graduating class of 2024 will be the first to have this available to them,” said NIC Interim Provost Lloyd Duman. “There is another version of Idaho LAUNCH that has been out for three years that is designed for adults. This new version aims to connect high school seniors with in-demand careers.”

The full list of in-demand careers approved for LAUNCH funding, along with other information, is available on the state website nextsteps.idaho.gov/. The list has hundreds of jobs such as healthcare providers, truck drivers, bookkeepers, software developers, engineers, electricians, financial managers, graphic designers, firefighters, social workers and pharmacists, to name a few.

“It’s an exhaustive list,” Duman said. “Currently, all programs offered at NIC qualify for LAUNCH funding since they invariably lead to one of the jobs designated as in-demand by the state.”

Duman said the Oct. 5 forum will help high school students – including homeschool and GED – and their parents maximize the funds available for continuing their education. Experts will walk attendees through how they can first utilize Advanced Opportunities funding, then Idaho LAUNCH funding, followed by the Idaho Opportunity Scholarship, taking them from a high school dual credit program, to a two-year college like NIC, and finishing at a four-year school.

“On Oct. 3, Idaho LAUNCH will begin taking applications and the first contingent letters will be sent out in December. Now’s the time for students to look at opportunities to pay for their higher education. For parents, this is a fantastic way to get some peace of mind.”

Forum participants, including those on the live Zoom, will be eligible to enter a raffle for one of five, $1000 scholarships provided by the NIC Foundation.

“Launch dollars just go further for students who choose to attend NIC, which costs significantly less than other postsecondary options in the state. Students can go to NIC for two years to earn their core, required classes, then transfer those credits to any four-year school and save thousands of dollars,” Duman said. “LAUNCH makes education affordable and in-reach for all Idaho seniors.”

For more information, visit www.nic.edu/niclaunch, call NIC Cardinal Central at (208) 769-3311 or email NICLaunch@nic.edu.

The Oct. 5 forum will also be available on Zoom at https://nic.zoom.us/j/84510852857?from=addon.