COEUR d'ALENE - North Idaho College is looking forward to 2015 with a list of priorities focused on jobs and economic development.

Starting this month NIC is planning to lobby the Idaho Legislature for more funding to build out programs and facilities designed to train students in technology and health care.

"We will be going and making a presentation to JFAC and the House and Senate Education committees," said NIC President Joe Dunlap. "There are really three things that we have asked from the Legislature."

JFAC is the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee, which is a combined House and Senate committee that appropriates funding to state agencies.

Dunlap said he has requested $4 million from Idaho's Permanent Building Fund to construct a joint-use facility that will be built in the education corridor and used by NIC, Lewis-Clark State College, University of Idaho and Kootenai Health.

"The permanent fund advisory committee has recommended that we receive that funding," Dunlap said. "They have recommended about $15 million worth of Idaho projects and this is one of the projects that made it to the top of the list."

Dunlap said the Legislature will ultimately have to approve the funding, but having the recommendation gives NIC an advantage in its lobbying efforts.

"We certainly hope they will look favorably upon that and provide the seed money to get that project started," he said.

Every state agency can come and make a presentation before the Permanent Building Fund advisory committee, Dunlap said.

"The list is very long," he added. "So we feel very fortunate to make it to the top of their list."

If the state funding comes through, each of the partners has agreed to kick in the rest of the money to build a 40,000-square-foot facility to house a joint student services operation that would act as a one-stop shop for students attending any of the colleges.

Kootenai Health is involved because it expects it will need a steady stream of trained health care workers in the very near future and the joint facility would house some of those programs as well.

"That is just one of the things we are going to the Legislature to ask for," Dunlap said.

He said there is also an initiative in Idaho to get 60 percent of the population between the ages of 24 and 35 a college degree or a professional certification. Currently, only 52 percent of Idaho residents go to college after high school.

"So the question is how do you get to the 60 percent goal if only 52 percent are going on to college?" Dunlap asked. "So all three of the community colleges have asked the Legislature to increase our funding to help the state achieve that goal."

He said if you look at the amount of funding the state provided community colleges 12 years ago it is almost identical to what is being provided currently. Dunlap said if you factor inflation into the formula, the funding is worth 32 percent less than it was back then.

"So our pitch is we have worked to put people back to work and to move on to four year institutions, but we are going to need some help to achieve the goal that the state has set out for itself," Dunlap said. "We desperately need some additional funding."

The third legislative goal Dunlap said has to do with safety and security.

"This past year we put in place a school resource officer and that has been a wonderful partnership with the Coeur d'Alene Police Department," he said. "But we need additional equipment in terms of notifications, in terms of alerts, in terms of equipping our security and in terms of surveillance."

He said they want to be prepared to handle any security issue that may arise. The Legislature passed laws last year to allow concealed weapons holders to carry guns on campus.

While Dunlap says that has something to do with the request, it is not the only reason they need to beef up security.

"It relates to that, but that is not solely the because of that at all," he said. "We've had incidents on this campus over the past couple of years that have involved weapons, but we have also had other significant incidents on campus that this equipment and these resources would help offset."

Beyond the Legislature, Dunlap said there are a few initiatives on which NIC will be focused. The community college has just been awarded a $6.4 million health care grant.

That is a collaboration between several Idaho colleges and NIC will be offering a number of new health care related programs over the next four years.

"For example we have partnered with Heritage Health to use their dental facilities and we will teach the dental hygiene program there," Dunlap said. "In addition we will be able to provide dental services to the community."

He said the public will be able to come in and get dental work done, maybe not for free, but at a reduced rate.

He said the health care program will offer about a half dozen two-year degrees, a couple of certification programs and "bridge training" for military personnel who are transitioning back to the workforce.

"So with bridge training they can go right into becoming a medical assistant, or a paramedic or a registered nurse," he said. "There are some different modes that people can go through. We are very excited to implement this grant."

The students are also going to make a proposal to NIC's board of directors in February asking for permission to build a student recreation center they would like to construct.

"They have voted to tax themselves, in other words to pay a fee, to fund that facility," Dunlap said. "That is a major initiative by the students."

NIC hasn't identified where the facility will go, but it will be located on the campus somewhere, he said.

This spring Dunlap said the college will break ground on the new career and technical facility next to the Kootenai Technical Education Campus in Rathdrum.

"We will be moving seven career and technical programs out there by the fall of 2016," he said. "That is a very exciting opportunity for us."

He said KTEC students can transfer seamlessly into NIC's programs.

"So those are some of the major projects we are working on," Dunlap said, adding they are also seeking apprenticeship grants that the federal government has recently offered.

Earlier this month, he said, the state mentioned it was definitely interested in offering a new apprenticeship program especially in the construction industry.

"So we will probably, and I can't say this definitively yet, but we will probably submit a proposal to create an apprenticeship program in commercial construction," he said. "If you talk with some of the commercial builders like John Young, they are having a heck of a time trying to find people with the skill sets they need."

He said just like all of the other initiates they have planned this year, NIC wants to do something to address that shortage.

"We have a lot of really exciting things ahead of us this year," he said.