Posts Tagged ‘community colleges’

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Duncan Touts CTE in Speech at National Press Club

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

duncan-arne-sec_-of-ed_-3-09At a luncheon today at the National Press Club, during which he announced the finalists for round two of Race to the Top, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan spoke about the education reforms that the Obama Administration is undertaking, and what lies ahead for federal education policy. Secretary Duncan stressed that as the United States lags behind other nations in science, math and college completion, that we must educate our way to a better economy. Some strategies for improving student achievement and restoring the United States’ position as first in the world in college graduates include federal incentives such as Race to the Top, Investing in Innovation grants, and the Teacher Incentive Fund; a change in ESEA accountability systems; and common standards, as well as the curriculum and assessments to accompany new standards.

During the Q&A portion of the event, a question was submitted that asked whether the United States needed more CTE. The Secretary responded that yes, students will benefit from programs such as apprenticeships that allow students to “work with their hands,” that provide a range of options, and that give students a reason to stay in school.  He went on to remind the audience that CTE does not happen just at the secondary level, and that community colleges play a vital role in training students in emerging fields such as STEM and green technologies.

By Nancy in Public Policy
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Financial Education for College Access and Success Program Grants Available

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

On Monday the Office of Vocational and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education announced a funding opportunity to support “State-led efforts to develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of personal finance instructional materials and corresponding teacher training, with the express purpose of providing high school students with knowledge and skills to make sound financial aid and other personal finance decisions, particularly in relation to obtaining access to, persisting in, and completing postsecondary education.” Eligible applicants are State educational agencies that have included personal finance in their State education standards.

This is a great opportunity for the CTE community to help the nation meet the President’s challenge of once again having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. One of the barriers to achieving this goal is the lack of financial literacy among youth, and studies have shown that Americans do not have the skills they need to make sound financial decisions, including decisions about postsecondary education. The Administration recognizes the role that CTE can play in equipping students with the financial literacy skills they need — the notice specifically mentions CTE as an area where teachers can integrate financial literacy instruction, and requires that the State project team include the agencies in the state representing CTE and 2-year postsecondary institutions.

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: August 5, 2010.

Deadline to Apply: September 9, 2010.

For more information, please see the Federal Register notice.

By Nancy in Public Policy
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Strengthening Institutions Program Grants Now Available

Monday, July 19th, 2010

The Office of Postsecondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education recently announced a notice inviting applications in the Federal Register for the Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP). SIP provides $17.8 million in discretionary grants to eligible institutions of higher education to help them become self sufficient and expand their capacity to serve low-income students, by providing funds to improve and strengthen the institution’s academic quality, institutional management and fiscal stability. The Department will give priority to applications that address the following areas:

  • Support activities that will improve the institution’s persistence and graduation rates.
  • Work with the appropriate State agencies to develop strategies for using State longitudinal data systems to track outcomes for students attending the grantee institution, including the extent to which the students complete certificates, two-year degrees, and four-year degrees at other institutions.
  • Develop academic programs to improve course completion rates or develop innovative support programs that are designed to increase completion rates.
  • Develop dual enrollment programs that facilitate the transition between high school and college or career pathway programs that integrate basic academic instruction with technical or professional occupational training to advance individuals, particularly adult learners, on a career path toward high-wage occupations in high-demand industries.

The deadline to apply is August 5, 2010.

By Nancy in Public Policy
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West Virginia Governor Takes Over as Chair of NGA, Unveils College Completion Initiative

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

At their 102nd annual meeting in Boston this weekend, West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin III becamGovManchine chair of the National Governors Association (NGA). Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman was named NGA Vice Chair. During the meeting Gov. Manchin announced his new initiative, Complete to Compete, which focuses on increasing the number of students in the United States who complete college degrees and certificates and improving the productivity of the country’s higher education institutions.

“My initiative will bring together governors, higher education executive officers, campus leaders and corporate CEOs to make marked improvements in college completion and productivity and get our country back on track to produce a successful workforce for the future,” said Gov. Manchin.

CompletCompetetoCompletee to Compete will create a set of common higher education completion and productivity measures that governors and higher education leaders can use to monitor state progress and to compare their performance to other states and between institutions. These proposed measures can be found in Complete to Compete: Common College Completion Metrics. This report will be followed in the coming weeks by a technical guide for states.

The Complete to Compete initiative will also:

  • Develop a series of best practices and a list of policy actions governors can take to achieve increased college completion;
  • Provide support to states to design policies and programs that increase college completion and improve higher education productivity and serve as models for other states around the country; and
  • Hold a learning institute for governors’ senior advisors in education, workforce and economic development focusing on successful state strategies to graduate more students and meet workforce demands.

By Nancy in Public Policy
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The Postsecondary Challenge–Meeting Employer Demands for a Highly Skilled Workforce Addresses Challenges and Opportunities of Postsecondary Education Completion (Webinar)

Friday, July 9th, 2010

Register now for the Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW) webinar, July 14 at 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. EDT. Speakers include Anthony Carnevale, Director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce; and Dominique Raymond Director of alliance state relations, Complete College America. Anthony Carnevale has been a well-respected guest speaker at previous NASDCTEc meetings. The webinar will focus on increasing postsecondary education completion rates and what states are doing to cope with employer demand for high skills. The webinar will also share information about the Complete College America Alliance of States initiative, which states that “fewer than three out of ten students who start at community colleges full-time graduate with an associate degree in three years.” (Source: The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems).

By Ramona in News
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Health Information Technology Education Grants Awarded

Friday, July 9th, 2010

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded $36 million in grants to five regional community college consortia to develop or improve non-degree health IT training programs that students can complete in six months or less. The grants were funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These grants will be used to establish or expand programs with the goal of training more than 10,500 new health IT professionals annually by 2012. This goal is in response to President Obama’s healthcare reform initiatives, specifically transitioning to electronic health records by 2014.

The grants will also fund the development of model curriculum materials and technical skill assessments based on validated industry standards. These new HIT careers will provide opportunities for students participating in programs of study in both health science and information technology career clusters.

For a listing of the consortia as well as all the individual participating community colleges and funding levels, please visit HHS’s health IT webpage.

By Nancy in News
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A Model for Transforming Technical Education

Friday, July 9th, 2010

An automotive manufacturing technical program that joined governors, industry and community colleges to develop comprehensive education training could serve as a scalable model for other sectors to answer the high-demand for technical workers in the global economy.

The Automotive Manufacturing Technical Education Collaborative (AMTEC) program demonstrates how governors, industry and community colleges can work together to transform America’s workforce with better technical skills, according to a recent National Governors Association Center for Best Practices report. Through this model AMTEC has brought together automotive manufacturers and community colleges to identify and implement potential improvements within technical education, noted in the report, A Sharper Focus on Technical Workers: How to Educate and Train for the Global Economy.

AMTEC is a collaboration of community colleges and industry partners working to align automotive manufacturing programs to the growing needs within the automotive manufacturing technology field.

Some of the major lessons within this case study include:

  • The U.S. must value and invest in technical education and manufacturing companies, as other nations do.
  • Technical education must reflect the requirements of the knowledge economy.
  • Curricula must be developed with industries to ensure that the skills being taught are what industry needs.
  • Programs must be rigorous to ensure that students are prepared to take what they have learned and implement that easily into the workplace.

An example within this report highlights the collaboration efforts between Toyota, located in Kentucky, and the Kentucky Community & Technical College System. Toyota partnered with the Kentucky Community College system because other schools were not providing the training Toyota was looking for. They challenged the school system to create a rigorous curriculum that would reflect the needs of their company, and the needs of the economy, so that students were better prepared for the workplace.

AMTEC’s model can transferred to other sectors of technical education because it focuses on meeting the needs of industry, employers and students by creating a standard for technical education, within each specific sector, where student performance can be assessed.

As the United States continues to advance with our global economy it is imperative that we recognize the importance of producing skilled workers. These kinds of partnerships are vital to the success of CTE, and America’s future workforce, as they demonstrate the value of CTE and how these programs will ensure the United States a place in this competitive global economy.

By Warren in Public Policy, Resources
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Legislative Update: Education Jobs Fund, America WORKS, Technical School Training Bill

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

Education Jobs Fund Passes House, But President Threatens Veto

As predicted earlier this week, the House voted on the Supplemental Appropriations Act. During the vote, the House passed amendment by Rep. Dave Obey (WI) which included $10 billion for education jobs and $4.95 billion for Pell grants by a vote of 239-182. However, White House has issued a Statement of Administration Policy which states that “If the final bill presented to the President includes cuts to education reforms, the President’s senior advisors would recommend a veto.”

The bill now returns to the Senate where it will be subject to any further amendments by the Senate or by concurrence with the House amendments. If the Senate further amends the bill, it will return to the House. It is unclear when the Senate will take up the bill because Congress is in recess next week.

America WORKS Act

Last week, Sen. Kay Hagan (NC) introduced S. 3529, the America WORKS Act which would require Federal job training and career education programs to give priority to programs that provide an industry-recognized and nationally portable credential. This bill would have implications for postsecondary Perkins indicators, and we are working with Sen. Hagan’s staff on getting this language amended. We will keep you updated on our progress.

Technical School Training Bill

On June 24, Rep. John Barrow (GA) introduced H.R. 5594, a bill that would amend the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) to establish a technical school training subsidy program. This program would go a long way in ensuring that Workforce Investment Act funds would be used to provide career technical education and training services so that individuals are prepared for lifelong careers. This bill aligns to our recommendations for WIA reauthorization which call for greater access to high-quality training.

By Nancy in Legislation
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Institute Report Out: Postsecondary and Industry Offer Perspective on Developing a Program of Study

Monday, June 28th, 2010

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On July 15th, the National Career Clusters Institute presented a panel of postsecondary and industry representatives as part of the Green-Focused Program of Study Series. In order to develop an effective program of study, secondary, postsecondary and industry have to collaborate. These panelists are from exemplary teams who are working on the development of a program of study through the Green-Focused Program of Study Technical Assistance Academy grant. During this session, they responded to attendees questions and offered their insights.

Todd Sanders:  Instructor – Mechanical Engineering, Portland Community College, Ohio

John Steiner: Curriculum Specialist: Allied Health and Sciences, Salem Community College, New Jersey

Jerrold Hutton: Dean, Hocking College Energy Institute, Ohio

Krisann Rehbein: Manager of Community Partnerships, Chicago Architecture Foundation, Illinois

Q&A with Postsecondary:

How do we get components from postsecondary programs into secondary programs?

  • Use curriculum revision as an opportunity for collaboration. Get the faculty together and lay the curriculum out on the table in order to start to see potential crossover. Meet consistently to establish a working relationship.

Do you have any tips about working on dual credit?

  • Don’t forget about general education components, they are just as beneficial and are often easier to build into dual credit because they tend to be very similar at secondary and postsecondary levels.

Classes often close out quickly at community colleges. How can we get more high school students into community college classes?

  • Offer flexible scheduling and more classes at different hours.
  • Also look for online learning opportunities.

Q&A with Industry:

How do we engage industry more with internships and apprenticeships?

  • Have a student do the outreach. Give employers an opportunity to connect with a student from the very beginning.

Industry moves so fast, how can education keep up?

  • Software and technology will change all the time. The Internet offers a platform for continued learning online via tutorials, etc. But what about the basic, essential skills? In architecture and construction, for example, how do you learn context, like where to place a building? What are the green/environmental components? Connection to industry is not necessarily through cutting-edge specific skills, but rather a solid understanding of what you are doing and why. With this base, you can develop additional skills over time.

Have industry advisory committees or national organizations played a critical role?

  • Most guidance comes directly from industry in order to keep students up with what [architecture] firms are doing locally because they move at their own pace.

By Emma in Career Clusters, News
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ACTE Leadership Forum Focuses on Preparing the Future Workforce

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

Yesterday ACTE hosted a National Leadership Forum to discuss policy and practice around preparing today’s students for the workforce.  Topics included skills attainment, CTE’s role in economic development, certifications and assessments, and federal policy.

Glenn Cummings, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Vocational and Adult Education, outlined the Administration’s goals for preparing students:

  • Abolish dual tracks – there is a baseline set of skills that all students need to be successful
  • Assessments – the use of performance based assessments has been encouraged through the Race to the Top competition
  • Access to further skills – regardless of the setting (university, community college or skill training program) there needs to be better communication between high schools and postsecondary institutions
  • Access to funding – students, especially working students, are hard pressed to finish school without financial assistance, and many drop out because they cannot afford tuition. Increases in Pell grants and a simplified FAFSA form are just two ways that the Administration is making postsecondary a financially viable option.

Kelly Hastings from Senator Michael Enzi’s (WY) office talked about the urgent need for WIA reauthorization this year. Despite the scant attention paid to WIA, Senator Enzi is passionate about it and is optimistic that it could be reauthorized this year. Among his priorities are: a dual customer approach, better coordination across the four titles of WIA, innovation, and flexibility. She stated that there would not be “wholesale change” of WIA in the next reauthorization, but that Congress will tweak the existing law to meet the needs to today’s workforce.

Congressman Ruben Hinojosa, chair of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and hinojosaphoto_highresCompetitiveness, joined us during lunch to offer his perspective. He spoke about being elected to Congress from a district with a 23% unemployment rate 16 years ago and a current unemployment rate of 6%.  He credits the investment in human capital and education for the dramatic decline in unemployment.

If there was one point that I heard over and over from several speakers it was that during a time of 9% unemployment there are jobs going unfilled because of the lack of skilled workers.  CTE is a means to develop pathways of education and training to get people appropriately matched to these jobs.  At a time when 15 million people in this country are unemployed, no job should remain unfilled.

By Nancy in Public Policy
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