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Nevada is Latest State to Join College Completion Effort

Friday, December 17th, 2010

Nevada is aiming to move up from its bottom rung ranking for the number of adults with college degrees by joining a national agenda to increase the number of college graduates in the next decade.

The state is now among 24 others that joined the Complete College America, a nonprofit dedicated to equipping individuals with a college degree or credential of value.Â Just 38 percent of individuals age 25-34 hold an associate degree or higher, according to a Community College Week article. In comparison, about 28 percent of individuals in Nevada have earned such degrees.

The effort across states underscores stakeholders concerns over preparing individuals to compete in and support the national economy. Complete College America notes that over the next decade, more than 60 percent of all new jobs will require a college education.

By admin in News
Tags: college and career readiness, community colleges, postsecondary

Indiana’s Ivy Tech Community College Ranked as Fastest Growing in Nation

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

In Indianapolis, Ivy Tech Community College campusesÂ topped the list of colleges with the fastest growing enrollment. In a report released by Community College Week, nine Ivy Tech campuses were ranked as the fastest growing community colleges in the nation. Multiple Ivy Tech locationsÂ offer Career Technical Education programs to students in Indiana.

“It is clear that Hoosiers recognize Ivy Tech as an affordable and accessible option helping students start their careers and affording our communities with skilled workers.” said Thomas J. Snyder, President of Ivy Tech Community College. “We look forward to continuing to change the lives of our students and serve the employers and our partners throughout the state.”

Community College Week releases its yearly rankings based on enrollment from one year prior and considers only students who are enrolled in courses that accrue toward an associate degree, certificate or other formal award.

Ivy Tech Community College is Indianaâ€™s largest public postsecondary institution and the nation’s largest singly accredited statewide community college system serving nearly 200,000 students annually. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state’s engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.

More about Career Technical Education programs offered by Ivy Tech:

Workforce Training Provider

Ivy Tech Community College is the state’s largest workforce training provider, awarding nearly 20,000 certifications and one million hours of training annually. Ivy Tech prepares workers for jobs in Indiana’s highest priority fields, like health care, advanced manufacturing, logistics, and life sciences, ensuring that Indiana’s economy will stay strong long into the future.

Ivy Tech’s Workforce Certification and Assessment Center

Ivy Tech’sÂ Workforce Certification and Assessment Center is designed to help students advance their careers by providing them with credentialing opportunities that match their skills. Students can earn industry-recognized certifications that will give them job-ready competencies. Certification testing is available in a variety of fields, including tests for Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), Airport Certified Employees, Dementia Care Professionals, IT, and Certified Nursing Assistants.

Apprenticeship Programs

This degree program is a working partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship and individual national Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committees (JATCs) in providing the technical education component, and Ivy Tech Community College providing the general education for the academic courses of the degree. This joining together of education and training expertise provides for the delivery of a uniform Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree.

Ivy Tech Community College currently has partnering agreements in place with the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship and JATCs in the State of Indiana:

Boilermakers
Bricklayers
Carpenter/Millwrights (also at national level)
Electricians
Elevator Constructors (also at national level)
Iron Workers (also at national level)
Operating Engineers
Painters
Plasterers/Cement Masons – Indiana
Plumbers and Pipefitters – Indiana
Sheet Metal Workers (also at national level)

Â New Growth

Ivy Tech recently acquired new space to grow the services they can offer in the Indianapolis area. The new 196,000-square-foot facility will be called the Indiana Center for Workforce Solutions. Programs willÂ include culinary,Â healthcare, life sciences, information technology, advanced manufacturing, logistics, hospitality and energy. The added space and new technology will allow Ivy Tech to provide real workplace simulation labs and offer more than 2,500 certification exams including high-stakes nationally recognized tests. Plans include conference rooms equipped with videoconferencing capability that can be used to connect multiple employer locations around the state for training.

In addition, the center will offer pre-employment services to individuals by assisting with resume writing, interviewing skills, and soft-skills training while also providing additional services for displaced workers.

By admin in News
Tags: community colleges

A Look Inside: A Synopsis of CTE Trends

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

Earlier this fall, NASDCTEc hosted a webinar highlighting the recent trends seen in CTE governance, teacher shortages, funding and Career Clusters implementation, based on results collected and analyzed from the 2010 State Profile Survey. We are now happy to announce the release of A Look Inside: A Synopsis of CTE Trends, a four-part series analyzing state CTE data and initiatives:

Each section within the series provides a closer look and a better understanding of the structure and trends within CTE. While states are grappling with how to plan for the future in this uncertain economic climate, this series can help provide insights into the movement of CTE throughout the United States.

By admin in Advance CTE Resources, Publications
Tags: appropriations, ARRA, budget, Career ClustersÂ®, college and career readiness, community colleges, Congress, Data, funding, Perkins, postsecondary, Public Policy, Secondary, STEM, teachers, Webinars

Half of Postsecondary Students Earn Credentials Within Six Years, Report says

Friday, December 3rd, 2010

Nearly half (49 percent) of students who began their postsecondary education earned a credential â€“ ranging from an educational certificate to a bachelorâ€™s degree — within 6 years, according to a recent National Center for Education Statistics First Look report.

Early assessments of data collected forÂ Persistence and Attainment of 2003â€“04 Beginning Postsecondary Students: After Six Years provides findings from a study starting in 2003-04 through June 2009. Data indicated that 15 percent of students remained enrolled, but had not yet completed a program of study; and about one-third (36 percent) of students left postsecondary education without earning any credential by June 2009.

Such findings may help underscore the nationâ€™s need to ramp up college completion and credential acquisition rates, particularly as economic forecasts predict that well-paying and growing jobs will require some type of postsecondary credential.

By admin in Publications
Tags: community colleges, credentials, postsecondary

Degree and Certificate Attainment Linked to Strong Employment Outcomes, Report Says

Friday, November 12th, 2010

Students with both an associate degree and a certificate in information technology (IT) had the strongest employment outcomes in terms of likelihood of employment, hours worked, and earnings, according to a recent Community College Research Center (CCRC) issue brief that examined Washington state students.

The Employment Outcomes of Community College Information Technology Students explored the role of community colleges in educating IT workers and examined two key issues: Â studentsâ€™ employment outcomes by the type of community college IT preparation they complete, and the type of employers that tend to hire community college IT students. CCRC assessed data on students who were enrolled in an IT program at any Washington State community and technical college during the 2000-01 academic year and who completed their program or left college by the spring of the 2004-05 academic year.

The students who followed in likelihood of employment, hours worked, and earnings were those with an IT associate degree, and then followed by students with an IT certificate. Students who earned no credential but focused their studies in IT had the weakest employment outcomes, according to the brief.

By admin in Publications
Tags: community colleges, credentials, degree attainment

NASDCTEc Fall Meeting: OVAE Holds Perkins Listening Session

Friday, November 5th, 2010

The concluding session at last weekâ€™s Fall Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland was a listening session on Perkins reauthorization, moderated by Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education, Brenda Dann-Messier, and Sharon Miller, the director of the Division of Academic and Technical Education. Assistant Secretary Dann-Messier told the attendees that this listening session was going to be the start of a national conversation about Perkins reauthorization. She and her staff plan to host a series of listening sessions that will conclude at NASDCTEcâ€™s Spring meeting in April 2011. She also said OVAE is soliciting feedback and comments from the public about Perkins reauthorization at [email protected].

The session was structured around four topic areas: Programs of Study, secondary to postsecondary transitions, performance measures, and whether there should be more specific or common measures and definitions, including regulations.

Programs of Study

States questioned how the OVAE 10 component framework would affect the work states have already done in developing and implementing POS
It is appropriate for the federal legislation to encourage transition between learner levels
Many states felt they have been successful in implementing POS, but there have been some obstacles:

oÂ Â Need to better engage postsecondary, but Perkins does not mandate secondary and postsecondary collaboration

oÂ Â Need a clear definition of POS

oÂ Â Not all community colleges offer all POS, so it can be limiting for students

oÂ Â It is also limiting for students that many four-year colleges do not accept credit from two-year institutions

Secondary to Postsecondary Transitions

There was agreement from many states that articulation agreements help students transition from secondary to postsecondary, but there remain problems that states must overcome:

oÂ Â Two-year schools are struggling to get four-year schools to accept credit

oÂ Â Not all states have statewide articulation agreements

oÂ Â As more and mores students flood into community colleges, there is less of a priority in serving high school students through articulation agreements and dual enrollment

There was some concern about the ability of federal legislation to mandate secondary to postsecondary transitions in some states because of their governance structures, especially if the State Director only has authority over one system (secondary or postsecondary)
Guidance and counseling would help with transitions

Performance Measures

There was some concern from states about several of the current performance measures:

oÂ Â Academic attainment at secondary level â€“ because students are often tested before 11^th grade (when most students begin CTE), it is tough to the impact of CTE on academic attainment

oÂ Â Certificate completion at postsecondary level â€“ the results go to the students, and it is hard for states to track this information

oÂ Â Technical skill attainment at secondary level â€“ this is tough to measure, and is not always appropriate at the secondary level

oÂ Â Placement at the secondary level â€“ tough to track because of FERPA restrictions on collecting data

Common measures/definitions and regulations

While a handful of states said they would want to head in this direction, it seems unlikely to happen because it would be too tough to accomplish
Other states argued that the drive to make states too similar is the wrong direction to go in

By admin in Legislation, Meetings and Events
Tags: accountability, community colleges, Data, dual enrollment, Fall Meeting, federal legislation, OVAE, Perkins, postsecondary, programs of study, Public Policy, School counseling, Secondary, Spring Meeting

Final Program Integrity Rules Issued

Friday, October 29th, 2010

This summer the U.S. Department of Education released draft changes to the Higher Education Act that seek to ensure program integrity in federal financial aid programs, as well as draft changes to the gainful employment definition. The final rules for program integrity were released yesterday, and will go into effect on July 1, 2011. These rules are aimed at strengthening federal student aid programs at for-profit, nonprofit and public institutions by â€œprotecting students from aggressive or misleading recruiting practices, providing consumers with better information about the effectiveness of career college and training programs, and ensuring that only eligible students or programs receive aid.â€

“These new rules will help ensure that students are getting from schools what they pay for: solid preparation for a good job,” Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a statement.

Final rules on a gainful employment definition will be released in early 2011 and will go into effect on July 1, 2012. The Department plans to hold several stakeholder meetings during the next several weeks, as well as public hearings on November 4th and November 5th. These meetings will allow individuals to clarify the comments they submitted and respond to questions from Department officials.

By admin in Public Policy, Uncategorized
Tags: accountability, community colleges, Job training, Post Secondary Access and Affordability, postsecondary, Secretary Duncan

Community College Grant Solicitation Expected This Month

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

Last year, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act amended the Trade Act to authorize a new Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grant Program, which was then funded at $2 billion over four years by the healthcare bill in March. These grants will be available to institutions of higher education to expand their capacity to provide education and career training to TAA for Workers program participants and other individuals to upgrade their knowledge and skills so that they can find family-sustaining employment. The grant solicitation is expected to be released later this month.

The Department of Labor has released a fact sheet on the grant program outlining key issues and questions for colleges interested in applying for funds.Â Additional information can be found in the most recent issue of the Association of Community College Trusteesâ€™ Trustee Quarterly magazine, which features Q&A with Department of Education Under Secretary Martha Kanter and Department of Labor Assistant Secretary Jane Oates.

By admin in Legislation
Tags: ARRA, community colleges, federal grants, federal legislation, funding, Job training, postsecondary

White House Launches â€œSkills for Americaâ€™s Futureâ€

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

At a meeting before the Presidentâ€™s Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB) yesterday, President Obama announced a new initiative, Skills for Americaâ€™s Future, which focuses on improving industry partnerships with community colleges to ensure that students obtain the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in the workforce.

President Obama said, â€œWe want to make it easier to join students looking for jobs with businesses looking to hire.Â We want to put community colleges and employers together to create programs that match curricula in the classroom with the needs of the boardroom. Skills for Americaâ€™s Future would help connect more employers, schools, and other job training providers, and help them share knowledge about what practices work best. The goal is to ensure there are strong partnerships between growing industries and community college or training programs in every state in the country.â€

To reach these goals, the President has asked members of PERAB to reach out to business and industry and ask them to partner with their local community colleges. The following businesses have already committed to being partners:

Accenture
Gap, Inc.
McDonalds
Pacific Gas and Electric
United Technologies

The goals of this initiative will help make the United States number one in terms of college graduates by 2020, by ensuring that 5 million community college students graduate and earn certificates by the end of the decade. Skills for Americaâ€™s Future will be housed at the Aspen Institute, and more information can be found at www.skillsforamerica.org.

By admin in Public Policy
Tags: business and industry, community colleges, future, Job training, postsecondary, president, Public Policy

Legislative Update: Congress in Recess, Continuing Resolution, For-Profit Hearing

Friday, October 1st, 2010

Congress Recesses Until November

Despite returning to Washington just two weeks ago, members of Congress returned home yesterday to campaign in their states ahead of the mid-term elections. Congress is expected to return the week of November 15, then recess again for the week of Thanksgiving and be back the week of November 29, until done. Senate Majority Whip, Dick Durbin (IL), said this week that the lame duck session will focus on three items an omnibus spending package, a middle-income tax extension and a strategic arms control treaty with Russia.

Continuing Resolution to Keep Government Running

Because Congress did not pass any appropriations bills this session, they have passed a continuing resolution that will keep the government open and federal programs running at FY2010 levels until December 3, 2010. Their goal is to pass an omnibus appropriations bill before the session ends in December.

Senate Hearing on For-Profit Schools

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held the latest in a series of hearings on for-profit schools this week. Yesterdayâ€™s hearing, â€œThe Federal Investment in For-Profit Education: Are Students Succeeding?,â€ focused on the success rates of students at these schools and the impact that attending these schools can have on personal debt. In his opening statement, Chairman Tom Harkin (IA) revealed the following statistics that his staff has compiled in a new report:

Out of 16 for-profit schools analyzed, 57% of the students who entered school between July â€˜08 and June â€˜09 have dropped out.
In total, these schools have lost 1.9 million students in the past three years.
More than 95% of students at two-year for-profit schools and 93% at four-year for-profit schools took out student loans in 2007, compared with 16.6% of students attending community colleges.

“We will be having yet another hearing in early December, and then be looking at sometime next year coming up with some kind of legislative changes,” Harkin said during the hearing.

Ranking Member Michael Enzi (WY) was quick to point out that many of these problems are not limited to proprietary schools, but exist across the higher education spectrum, including public and private 4-year colleges and universities and community colleges, and that for-profits should not be singled out.

By admin in Legislation, Public Policy
Tags: appropriations, budget, community colleges, Congress, Legislation, Post Secondary Access and Affordability, postsecondary, Public Policy

Posts Tagged ‘community colleges’