Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 6, 1993 TAG: 9307030098
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Once Watts gets rolling, her enthusiasm for her work bubbles to the surface and she's tough to keep quiet.
Watts is the project manager for Virginia VIEW, a statewide clearinghouse for career information that is housed on Virginia Tech's campus.
For the last 12 years, the staff at Virginia VIEW - Vital Information for Education and Network - has researched, developed and delivered information to thousands of high school and college students and adults looking for a new career.
"I'm tough to shut up once I get going," she said, smiling.
Watts will ramble for hours about how Virginia VIEW has provided free information to high schools, colleges, libraries, hospitals, correctional facilities and adult educational facilities.
Lately though, many of her conversations have a troubled tone.
Watts has watched Virginia VIEW's budget sliced more than 35 percent in the last three years, a time when layoffs across the state have increased and demand for the group's materials has never been greater.
The budget cuts have forced Virginia VIEW to start charging shipping costs for materials like Career Hunt newspapers.
That may not seem like a big deal, but Watts said many low-budget school systems and other groups are penalized because they can't afford the costs.
"We want this information to be available to the richest and the poorest school systems in the state," said Carl McDaniels, project director for Virginia VIEW. "The minute we started charging it stopped being an equitable system."
Virginia VIEW is a result of federal education amendments that mandated each state to create a career information center to aid career counselors. The VIEW staff has developed a multimedia system that includes printed materials, microfiche, computer software and a toll-free telephone hot line.
Funding for the project is shared by the state and federal governments. At its peak three years ago, Virginia VIEW's budget was $420,000 - with $196,000 coming from the state.
The state continues to contribute the same amount, but thanks to federal cuts the group's 1993-94 budget is $268,800.
Thanks to the budget cuts, Virginia VIEW won't be able to produce new microfiche this year, and the number of Career Hunt newspapers distributed to high school sophomores has been sliced in half, to 50,000.
McDaniels, a professor in Tech's College of Education, has reduced from 50 percent to 20 percent the time he devotes to Virginia VIEW. The project also had to lay off a research associate and a full-time secretary.
Virginia VIEW is the second-largest career information delivery system in the country with 1,275 sites.
Watts is thankful the state hasn't followed the federal government's lead and cut VIEW's funding, but she wishes the state legislators would give the project more money.
"Virginia has something to be very proud of," she said. "It's a very precious resource."
Sam Clemmons, a guidance counselor at Bath County High School, said Virginia VIEW materials are the mainstay of the school's career information.
"It's information that otherwise we might not be able to afford," he said.
The career information hot line has logged more than 38,000 calls since it was started 10 years ago.
McDaniels stressed that the hot line is there to provide information - not counseling - about colleges and careers.
For instance, a caller from Northern Virginia who had been laid off from IBM called because she wanted to explore the possibility of starting her own business. The hot line operator gave her the number of the Small Business Administration and the Society of Retired Executives in her area.
McDaniels said he's proud of Virginia VIEW's growth, but that it could be even better.
"We're not out of ideas," he said, "we are just out of money."
by CNB