Wallace Community College Students will have a new medical program starting in Fall 2014.

In October, Wallace Community College—Selma received a $3.25 million grant through the Department of Labor’s Better Occupation Outcomes with Stimulation Training Program. After receiving the grant, the college launched its BOOST program, named after the grant. The program offers students an opportunity to earn three different medical certificates — Electrocadiography, nursing assistant and phlebotomy. Part of the grant was also dedicated toward the improvement of the Advanced Visualization Center at Wallace, which offers students an opportunity to work with 3-D models of organs and body parts. Wallace spokesman Johnny Moss said the grant would allow students to create 77 additional objects.

BOOST program director Veronica Brown said students could continue through the whole program, becoming certified as a patient care technician, or stop at any point, after receiving a certificate.

“Students don’t relate to lecturing right now,” Brown said. “The BOOST Program will allow students to be hands on learners and become involved with technology. It’s a good starting point for students that are interested in health care.”

The BOOST Program will admit its first cohort of students in fall 2014, with a targeted admission number of 48, according to Brown. The program will admit a new cohort each semester.

Other instructors at Wallace, who may not teach nursing, will help with the BOOST Program according to Brown.

“We want to facilitate learning so that the students aren’t just operating in a box,” she said.

Previously Wallace Community College only offered a nursing assistant program, Brown said. The graduation rate for the program averaged 80 to 85 percent, according to Brown. Surveys taken six months after graduation showed 98 percent of students were employed. Brown said she expects similar results from the BOOST Program.

A total of $474.5 million in grants were given to colleges around the nation as a part of the BOOST Grant.