Maximizing the Value of Continuing Education Training: Develo ping Internal Articulation Agreements for Career Pathwa

1. Maximizing the Value of Continuing Education Training: Developing Internal Articulation Agreements for Career Pathways Dr. Pamela Gibson Senegal Central Carolina Community College NC Community College Adult Educators Association Conference, 2013

2. Why does articulation matter? • Defining articulation • National best practices for CE to CU articulation • Options for CE to CU articulation • Critical elements for internal articulation agreements • Ideal CE programs for internal articulation • Building internal support for articulation • Connecting articulation to pathways Agenda

3. Why does articulation matter? Short phrases White Board Voting

4. To what audiences does articulation matter? Bulleted list White Board Voting

5. Accountability for tiered occupational extension FTE • Landscape of learning changing • Experiential learning • Veteran’s experiences • Employer internal training programs • Open online education • Levels playing field for students from all backgrounds • CE to CU is a great place to build the frame for a conversation higher education MUST have Why Does Articulation Matter?

6. “The question of credentials, including their value and portability, is ever more important as an increasing number of workers become what has been referred to as “free agents”—performing temporary, contract or freelance work—or are otherwise following a path that is not a straight line tied to a long-term corporate career ladder and traditional training progression.” Southern Growth Report, 2013, p. 17 “Increasingly, employers are looking for workers with industry recognized credentials, and are far less concerned with the current gold standard measurements of success in education, such as course credits and seat time.” Developing Human Capital: Meeting theGrowing Global Need for a Skilled andEducated Workforce (McGraw Hill Research Foundation, 2011). Credentials Valued in Workplace

8. “Articulation is a process whereby colleges develop guidelines for students to receive credit for completing a noncredit course if they later choose to enroll in a credit degree program.” (DiChiara-Platt, 2007). (p. 16) The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education: State Policies and Community College Practices, 2008. Full Study available at : http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=572 Articulation Defined

9. Does your institution have FORMAL, written policies or guidelines regarding how to articulate continuing education units for college credit? Yes/No/ IDK White Board Voting

10. Does your institution have INFORMAL agreements in certain areas of the college regarding how to articulate continuing education units for college credit? Yes/No/ IDK White Board Voting

11. Does your institution have FORMAL, written agreements regarding how to articulate recently earned national, state or regional credentials for college credit? Yes/No/ IDK White Board Voting

12. Guidelines for the retroactive granting of credit for noncredit workforce education most typically exist in the form of providing credit for prior learning or life experience credit. While many states do not address this matter, 17 states have some policies pertaining to the retroactive granting of credit (see Figure 7). Generally, the policies are designed to facilitate retroactive granting of credit by assessing individual students in areas of knowledge, including those covered in noncredit courses. Students may have the opportunity to take an exam to prove their knowledge of course material, but there may be some restrictions based on the faculty who taught the course.(p. 41) The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education: State Policies and Community College Practices, 2008. Full Study available at : http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=572 National Best Practices

13. This model is based on the American Council on Education (ACE) Credit Recommendation Service, which recommends credit be given for: • Employer • Union • Professional association courses that have been evaluated by a college faculty evaluation team. Under the ACE program, faculty with subject-matter expertise evaluate training courses and/or programs to determine what portion of the training warrants college credit. Recommendations are determined based on how well each training organization defines and assesses learning outcomes, as well as the quality of instructional materials, delivery methods, student support systems, course objectives, and instructional staff qualifications and credentials. College credit recommendations resulting from these evolutions are published along with course descriptions in the National Guide to Educational Credit for Training Programs. (pp. 12-13) ACE - Credit Recommendation Model

14. Prior Learning Assessment Model – Assessment of Prior Learning (APL) is a term used by many colleges to describe the process of earning college credit based on the learning that occurs as a result of a student’s work, professional or occupational training, volunteer activity, and/or personal life. Colleges and universities nationwide have adopted a number of different assessment practices and tools to determine what students already know from prior life and/or work experiences and what portion of that experience may be awarded college credit. At the individual community college level, assessment methods most often include Credit by Examination and Portfolio Assessment. (p. 13) Prior Learning Assessment

15. “But, unfortunately, a lot of returning heroes with advanced skills -- they don’t get hired simply because they don’t have the civilian licenses or certifications that a lot of companies require. At the same time, I hear from business leaders…who say they can’t find enough workers with the skills necessary to fill open positions…So think about it -- we got all these openings and all these skilled veterans looking for work, and somehow they’re missing each other. That doesn’t make any sense.” • - President Obama, June 1, 2012 Military Assessment of Training for Civilian Hiring (MATCH) assessments

16. Academic Framework Model – This model, which is based on the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) Career Pathways program, uses an academic framework to build a cluster of non-credit course modules. An academic course is broken down into a set of competencies and delivered in course modules. By breaking down an academic course into a subset of course modules, individuals tackle one “chunk” of learning at a time. “Chunks” are bundled and individual learners earn college credit for each course as they proceed through the career ladder... By using a process of periodic program review, colleges have an opportunity to create a set of competency-based non-credit courses that when bundled together, offer credit toward an academic certificate. Rather than articulating courses into a set of electives, colleges that build programs around an academic framework can use course for course substitution. (p. 13) Kentucky

17. Colleges can offer courses customized to specific business or industry needs in small course modules. • To create these modules, faculty review noncredit courses with the intention of offering workforce development programs with multiple entry and exit points and embedded certificates. • Noncredit offerings are aligned with credit offerings and are competency based, focused on evaluating and documenting competencies, especially in technical areas. • The state system is moving to eliminate the distinction between noncredit and credit within its community colleges, and has recently hired a system director of modularization to focus on building noncredit programs that re-bundle college-level competencies appropriate for credit. • A policymaker in Kentucky described some of the sentiment informing this approach: “It is almost criminal not to offer credit, so there is no wasted time, particularly for low-income students.” (p. 43) The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education: State Policies and Community College Practices, 2008. Full Study available at : http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=572 Kentucky

18. Finally, allowing courses to be listed as both credit and noncredit may ease a student’s transition from noncredit to credit programs. The North Orange County District allows a certain number of seats in some credit courses to be dual listed. Students may enroll in these courses as noncredit and follow the same syllabus except with no requirement to complete a final paper or exam. According to an interviewee, this arrangement encourages the migration of noncredit students into credit programs by allowing first-time students to get a taste of college material before actually enrolling in a credit program. (p. 16) The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education: State Policies and Community College Practices, 2008. Full Study available at : http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=572 Florida

19. Florida

20. Florida

21. Guidelines for the retroactive granting of credit for noncredit workforce education most typically exist in the form of providing credit for prior learning or life experience credit. While many states do not address this matter, 17 states have some policies pertaining to the retroactive granting of credit (see Figure 7). Generally, the policies are designed to facilitate retroactive granting of credit by assessing individual students in areas of knowledge, including those covered in noncredit courses. Students may have the opportunity to take an exam to prove their knowledge of course material, but there may be some restrictions based on the faculty who taught the course... New York’s state education department houses the National Program on No collegiate Sponsored Instruction, which facilitates the conversion of learning experiences into college credit... The absence of a state policy relative to granting retroactive credit may signal a lack of support for such mechanisms or a desire that this issue be locally decided.(p. 41) The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education: State Policies and Community College Practices, 2008. Full Study available at : http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=572 New York

22. In New Jersey, the state’s Community College Consortium for Workforce and Economic Development is currently involved in the development of programs that articulate noncredit courses with credit programs. These programs include formal mechanisms to translate noncredit courses that employers seek for their employees to credit courses in specific areas. Some career ladder programs with transitions between noncredit and credit have been developed in specific areas, including social services and education. State policymakers in New Jersey report that they are finding interest in this model where credit is awarded for noncredit work when the student enrolls in and/or completes some coursework in a related credit program. (pp. 43-44) The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education: State Policies and Community College Practices, 2008. Full Study available at : http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=572 New Jersey

23. In North Carolina, both credit and noncredit courses appear on students’ transcripts, including the course number, title, and grade (a letter grade for credit course; pass or fail for noncredit). (p. 38) The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education: State Policies and Community College Practices, 2008. Full Study available at : http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=572 North Carolina

24. Nationally, state or regionally awarded credentials • Examples: • EMT • Phlebotomy • Nursing Assistant • Biowork • CCNA Ideal CE programs for internal articulation

25. Internal Champion • Formal, written guidelines • Publicized to employers, current and former students Critical elements for internal articulation agreements

26. Who should drive the process for creating internal articulation agreements between CE and CU? Use titles or areas of the college White Board Voting

27. CAO • Senior CE Leader • Begin with national, state, and regional credentials • Veterans affairs • Marketing • Admissions • Registrars • CFO • CE/CU faculty • DACUM model • Customized Industry 359 to create industry specific pathways • Perkins administrator • Colleague manager/ITSD Building Internal Support

28. Some states reported barriers to implementing guidelines on articulating noncredit and credit programs. One state official we interviewed stated that articulation “raises hackles with faculty.” Another state reported that it had some discussion about the relationship between credit and noncredit courses, but in general, it has “been going in circles” on this issue. Finally, a state reported that the colleges were unlikely to move in this direction without a push from the state, but there were no state policies on record or discussion at the state level... The state is concerned about academic quality and the perception that their institutions could be seen as “diploma mills” if they are too generous in granting credit for nontraditional modes of education, such as noncredit workforce education. (p. 44) The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education: State Policies and Community College Practices, 2008. Full Study available at : http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=572 Barriers to Building Internal Support

29. Which of the following elements SHOULD be included in an effective career pathway? A) Multiple entry exit options B) Level Progression C) Work experience D) Support E) All of the above White Board Voting

30. “Career pathways are linked education and training services that enable students to advance over time to successively higher levels of education and employment in a given industry or occupational sector. Each step on a career pathway is designed to prepare students to progress to the next level of employment and education. The career pathways approach is a framework for weaving together adult education, training, and postsecondary programs, and connecting those services to the workforce needs of employers. Career pathways tend to include multiple entry and exit points, learner-centered instruction and delivery, assessment of skills and needs, support services, and quality work experiences.” pp. 5 – 6, http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/documents/files/Introduction.pdf • Funding Career Pathways and Career Pathway Bridges: A Federal Funding Toolkit for States, REVISED EDITION MARCH 2013 Connecting articulation to pathways

31. In a review of accreditation agency’s guidelines explicitly related to noncredit education, few have many significant guidelines that would impact these processes. The one exception is the Middle States Region, which specifies in its description of noncredit offering that “if non-credit courses are potentially applicable to for-credit programs at the institution, academic oversight should assure the comparability and appropriate transferability of such courses.” (Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 2006). However, as noncredit workforce education grows, it may gain more attention from accreditation agencies. (p. 45) The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education: State Policies and Community College Practices, 2008. Full Study available at : http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=572 Building Internal Support - Accreditation Agency

32. Without this process in place, students are hampered in their ability to move forward in their educational attainment. Part of pathway development

33. Dr. Pamela Gibson Senegal • VP, Economic and Community Development • Central Carolina Community College • 919.718.7254 • psene563@cccc.edu • What’s coming: • Comprehensive review of NC practices • Articulation guidance resource book • Recommendations for policy changes • Matrices of common recommendations • Workshops Contact Information