Breaking Through: Building Opportunity and Changing Lives

1. Breaking Through:Building Opportunity and Changing Lives Dr. Darlene G. Miller, Executive Director – NCWE Nate Anderson, Senior Project Manager, Jobs for the Future Dr. Stacey Sherwin, Director Office of Institutional Effectiveness Salish Kootenai College Donna Davis, System Director Workforce Solutions Kentucky Community and Technical College System

2. Agenda • What is Breaking Through • Kentucky Breaking Through • Tribal Colleges Breaking Through • Accelerating Opportunity • Kentucky Accelerating Opportunity • Questions

3. What is Breaking Through? • A career pathway redesign initiative for advancing more low-skill adults (<8th grade) into and through to professional/technical degree programs. • A multi-site, multi-state initiative aimed at impacting both practice and policy • A framework for developing effective career pathway programs in pre-college and college-level programs that improve completion

4. What is Breaking Through? • Partnership between National Council for Workforce Education and Jobs for the Future • Funders Include: • Charles Stewart Mott Foundation • Walmart Foundation • Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation • NC GlaxoSmithKline Foundation

5. Breaking Through Participants:22 States, 43 Colleges Grand Rapids Community College Henry Ford Community College Lake Michigan College Macomb Community College Mott Community College St Clair County Community College Washtenaw County Community College Salish Kootenai College, MT Little Big Horn College, MT Tacoma Community College, WA South Seattle Community College, WA Northwest Indian College, WA Portland Community College, OR York County Community College, ME Sitting Bull College, ND North Shore Community College, MA Leech Lake Tribal College, MN LaGuardia Community College, NY Comanche Nation College, OK Cuyahoga Community College, OH City College of San Francisco Cerritos College, Northhampton County Community College, PA Community College of Denver Gateway Community Technical College Owensboro Community Technical College Southeast KY Community Technical College Piedmont VA Community College College of Southern Nevada Davidson County Community College Forsyth Technical Community College Durham Technical Community College Pitt Community College South Piedmont Community College Pamlico Community College Southeast Arkansas Community College Central New Mexico Community College Houston Community College System St. Phillips College South Texas College Tallahassee Community College

6. Breaking ThroughResearch Findings

7. Four Breaking ThroughStrategies

8. Four Breaking ThroughStrategies

9. Realign Programs and Divisions

10. Accelerate Pace of Learning

11. Comprehensive Student Support Services

12. Strong Labor Market Connections and Payoffs

13. Kentucky Breaking Through

14. KCTCS MISSION • Our mission is to improve the quality of life and employability of the citizens of the Commonwealth by serving as the primary provider of: • College and Workforce Readiness • Transfer Education • Workforce Education and Training

15. KY Breaking Through: Overview Kentucky Community and Technical College System 16 colleges with 68 Campuses 106,664 Credit Students in FY 10 51,897 Workforce Solutions Students 5,974 Businesses Served

16. KY Breaking Through: Overview Kentucky’s initiative aligned to the Governor’s Workforce Emphasis. The overarching objectives align with the Commonwealth’s goals of increasing college access and completion programs for low income and under skilled adults that lead to workforce competitiveness and economic success of Kentucky’s employers. Develop seamless pathways into post-secondary professional/technical credentials Focus workforce development on emerging industries and employers that represent Kentucky’s future Strengthen our career readiness certificate program Help adults and youth gain access to employment with good wages Create an integrated workforce training delivery system

17. Kentucky Critically Desired Outcomes: KY Breaking Through: Overview Developing public/private partnership models which strategically address regionally targeted industry sectors, Developing/strengthening programs in two of the three targeted industry sectors, Developing at least one new program component in the targeted sector(s) that strengthens/completes a pathway into post-secondary professional/technical education and good employment, Working collaboratively with post-secondary and workforce partners in the three partnerships to maximize sharing of learning, relevant work product, and minimize duplication in the use of resources, Leveraging collective partnership resources to implement programmatic goals and objectives, Utilize the National Career Readiness Certificate in the program, Include career awareness activities and workplace preparedness training Designing readily understandable career maps for use by program participants and key stakeholders, Provide professional development for project partners on foundational skills, contextual curriculum development and delivery, career pathway strategies and student support, and Reinforcing the concepts of partner interdependence and genuine collaboration as the most effective strategies to address regional workforce issues.

18. KY Breaking Through Accelerated Pace of Learning Best Practices/Initiatives Paired courses Contextualized curriculum Rolling enrollment windows Training HQ Lessons Learned Importance of faculty buy in Planning time for faculty to collaborate, funding

19. KY Breaking Through Comprehensive Supportive Services Best Practices/Initiatives Success coach/intrusive advising Intake process GEN 102 Redesign Lessons Learned Academic advising Vs. Success Coach

20. KY Breaking Through Labor Market Payoffs Best Practices/Initiatives Career Exploration & Career Pathway Maps Industry Relationship Stackable Credentials Lessons Learned Importance of Labor Market Data Tracking students after they leave college

21. KY Breaking Through Aligning Programs for Low-Skilled Adults Best Practices/Initiatives Collaborating across departments Lessons Learned Institutional silos Policies: real or perceived? Compass Testing Requirements – Placement in Developmental Education High School Diploma/GED

22. KY Breaking Through Importance of Collaboration/Partnerships Internal Student Services Academic Affairs Workforce Solutions External Workforce Investment Boards Business & Industry KY Adult Education Economic Development

23. KY Breaking Through Cultural Transformations Breaking Through is a way of doing business New way of thinking Breaking down institutional silos Innovative curriculum development Innovative program delivery across the board Increases visibility of low skill adults Workforce Solutions seen as R&D, preparation for matriculation Retention is everyone’s business!!!

24. KY Breaking Through Statewide Opportunities Consistent interpretation of policy Policy… Perception… Politics Braided/leveraged funding Success coach College Ready vs. GED/HS Diploma TABE, Compass, & WorkKeys Alignment Professional Development

25. KY Breaking Through

26. Adapting Breaking Through to Reservation Environments:  The Tribal College Breaking Through Program

27. 34 tribal colleges serve more than 30,000 students from more than 250 tribes from across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.

28. Tribal Colleges have unique missions: • Provide quality education to meet reservation workforce needs • Community DevelopmentUnique: • Perpetuate the cultures, languages, and lifeways of the Tribes • Promote tribal sovereignty

31. Unique Challenges A young population: CSKT’s youth population (under 18) represents 26.5% of the on-reservation population High unemployment rates (10 to 70%) Rural Location Few Jobs No industry, No unions Students are Place-Based

33. CNC started the TatsinupiGED program. • LBHC developed a work readiness program. • SBC piloted a Breaking Through GED cohort with acceleration and incentives to increase persistence. • LLTC focused on changes to several workforce development programs. • Breaking Through at NWIC is incorporated into a larger workforce development redesign effort at the college.

34. SKC's Project Es Xcimi: “Making Oneself Ready”

36. Outcomes From the TCBT Project: Peer Learning and NetworkingGuidance and Feedback through JFF and NCWE

37. What’s Next? Career Pathways Stacked Credentials Certifications Revamp Career Services More Certificate Programs Expand the Bridge Program Train advisors Contextualize developmental education

38. What will the Breaking Through Program offer to Tribal Communities?

41. National Necessity Millions of adults need access to postsecondary education and training to advance their careers and support their families.

42. Accelerating Opportunity’s Solutions Through innovative adult education that provides a valuable credential, Accelerating Opportunity will ensure that more workers have the skills they need for today’s good jobs. • How Accelerating Opportunity Addresses a Critical National Need: • Institutional transformation and state policy analysis • Program design and instructional strategies that improve ABE delivery • Providing comprehensive support services • Linking program development with current and projected labor market demands

43. Disconnected Educational Pathways Postsecondary Career Programs Traditional ABE/GED Programs Developmental Education The “black hole” of developmental education: Low completion rates for underprepared students Remediation not customized to career pathway requirements Lack of alignment with career/technical credential programs postsecondary entrance requirements Programs lack supports and are ill-equipped to meet the needs of non-traditional students Multiple Loss Points Low rates of program completion and credential attainment

44. Streamlined Adult Education Pathways Accelerated and Integrated ABE and GED programs Articulated Career Pathways Stackable Credentials with Labor Market Value • Comprehensive supplemental services • Intensive counseling • Flexible program options • Job placement • Career exploration • Contextualized learning • Skill-building for postsecondary/career success • College and career counseling • Accelerated skill-building integrated with credit coursework • Support through gate-keeper courses • Intensive transition counseling More Adult Learners Succeeding in ABE to Credential Pathways

45. Four-Year Initiative Design Phase: 11 states with ABE governed through postsecondary education received grants to develop pathways from ABE to marketable credentials and develop blueprints for action. Implementation Phase: Four states (IL, KY, NC, KS) will pilot, refine, and scale Accelerating Opportunity pathways in a critical mass of colleges statewide.

46. At least 8 colleges in each state implementing ABE to credential pathways at scale • At least 450 students per college earning a marketable credential. • Potential impact: At least 18,000 students nationwideearning marketable credentials • States will adopt policies and financing models to ensure that effective ABE to Credential programs are sustained and expanded. • States will engage other community colleges in a learning network to promote adoption and scale of effective approaches.

47. Accelerating Opportunity Funders & Partners • Funders: • Accelerating Opportunity is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and the Open Society Foundations • Partners: • Jobs for the Future (JFF) • Managing Partner • Convene bi-annual peer learning meetings; TA to states • The Washington State Board of Community And Technical Colleges (SBCTC) • Lead state & co-host of annual integrated basic skills pathways institutes with JFF • TA to states on I-BEST and “I-BEST-like” implementation • The National Council for Workforce Education (NCWE) • A partner in Breaking Through since its inception in 2004 • TA provider for states; leadership engagement and promotion of the initiative • The National College Transitions Network (NCTN) • Specialized TA provider for states and institutions • Expertise in curriculum redesign and best practices in instruction

48. Closing Kentucky’s Workforce Skills Gap

49. Why Accelerating Opportunity? • National Statistics: • Over 26 million adults lack a high school degree • 93 million adults have low literacy levels and are unprepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary and education programs • Another 1.3 million young people drop out of high school every year • By 2018, over 60% of available jobs will require postsecondary education • Kentucky Statistics: For the GRS cohort (first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students) entering KCTCS in 2006: • 71% needed remediation in one or more areas • Students with no remedial needs had a 29.3 % three-year graduation rate, compared to 20.1 % for students with remedial needs. • Among these most-prepared and most-traditional of our students, those with remedial needs were 30 %less likely to graduate than those without.

50. Accelerating Opportunity Grant Overview • Kentucky’s Commitment: • Selected 8 community colleges to test integrated basic skills model • 3,600 students with marketable credentials by Oct. 2014 • State and institutional policy support – especially finance • Postsecondary data base modifications for student tracking • Scale the model across the state • Documentation of program costs