Opportunities for Working Families:

Community Colleges, Policy, and Partnerships

Why Community Colleges Matter

• By 2018, over 60% of jobs will require some college or postsecondary training

• Only 1/3 of jobs open to high school graduates will pay more than $35,000 per year

(Georgetown Center for Workforce and Education)

Community College’s Critical Role

• 45% of all undergraduates in the US are in about 1100 community colleges

• 7.7 million credit students

Affordability is Critical

• Almost 40% of community college students nationwide are Pell eligible

• Over 57% receive some form of financial aid

• Average Annual Tuition

• Community College: $3,260

• 4-year colleges (public, in-state): $8,890

Students Face Many Challenges

• First Generation: 36%

• Single Parent: 17%

• Veterans: 4%

• Students with Disabilities: 12%

Two Key Pathways

• Transfer to the Bachelor’s (about 60% of students)

• Workforce Education (about 40%)

• Associates of Applied Science

• Certificates

• Non-credit Skills Training

Pathway 1: Transfer

• Transfer students are generally as successful as native students at four-year colleges

• About 60% graduate within four years

• 19% of all PhD graduates in 2009 started at a community college (Chronicle of Higher Ed)

• 45% of all Bachelor’s awarded to CC transfers (National Student Clearinghouse)

Pathway 1: Transfer

• Too many never make it

• Only about 25% of community college students intending to transfer do so

• Only 15% of students who enter intending to transfer graduate with a Bachelor’s in 6 years. (CCRC)

Improving the Transfer Pipeline

• Key role for legislatures

• Statewide Intervention Critical

• Poor transfer policy is a key impediment to student success

• Only 58% of CC students were able to transfer 90% of credits

• 14% lost over 90% (Attewell and Monaghan, EEPA)

Improving the Transfer Pipeline:

Colorado Examples

• HB 01-1263 and HB 01-1298: Common Course Numbering and Guaranteed Core Transfer

• HB 10-1028: Statewide Articulation (14 degree pathways)

• HB 10-1088: Degrees with Designation for Statewide Articulation Pathways

Policies to Promote Better Transfer

• Count Transfers in Performance Funding

• Give 4-year colleges incentives to transfer the full A.A. degree

• Better link HS and College testing

• Fund academic support for underprepared students (solid support works!)

• Incentivize HS for concurrent enrollment

Associates Degree Importance

• Transfer students who complete associates degrees are more likely to get their bachelor’s in four years (71% to 54% in one study)

• State policy can make a big difference

• Can students transfer the entire AA/AS easily?

Colorado’s Current Pipeline

Source: NCES 2006

Partnership Example: Gateway to College

• Drop out recovery partnerships • Nationwide in 45 community

colleges • Locally, FRCC partners with 6

school districts • Drop-outs earn a high school

diploma and college credit • 60% continue on in college • Legislative Support (HB 12-

1146)

Pathway 2:Workforce

• 33% to 47% of all new jobs through 2020 require less than a BA, but more than high school education

• Earnings typically $35,000 to $75,000 per year

• Sometimes called “Middle Skills” jobs

See Kochan et al, HBR, 12/12

Do Middle Skills Jobs Still Matter?

• In 2011, Colorado AAS Degree holders earned more on average than BA degree holders in their first year of employment

•Based on more than 60,000 Colorado grads

• Similar in other states studied (FL, TX, VA)

•www.collegemeasures.org

Colorado Measures Data

Meeting the Middle Skills Challenge

• Strong Technical Education Programs

•Partnerships/Coordinated Efforts

• K-12

• Industry – Sector Partnerships

• Workforce Centers/State Labor Department

• Career Pathways

Partnership Example: Precision Machining

• 8 manufacturing firms partnering with Front Range Community College

• Convened in part by Sector Process • Companies provide instructors,

some students, curriculum, consulting

• Led to Statewide TAAA grant • New state of the art training

centers

Partnership Example: Health Information Technology

• 5 major employers including Kaiser, major hospital systems

• Collaborated on curriculum, grant applications

Partnership Example: Columbine Health Systems Practical Nursing

Program

• Partnership with a single large employer

• CNA to LPN • College provided

credit training on employer site

Possible Initiatives and Next Steps

• Promote Sector Initiatives • Career Planning and Career Pathways • Promote Technical Education

o Facilities o Programs o Buzz

• B.A.S. Degrees

Designs by

Having a Career Goal and Plan makes a HUGE difference in PS success!

• Preliminary findings showed desired learning outcomes were the best predictors of student success.

• Students whose desire was to “Explore courses to decide career,” had the lowest graduation rate, 21%.

• This compares to a graduation rate for students who intend to, “Prepare to change careers,” of 78%.

Career Pathways and Plans: Key Steps in Colorado

• P-20 Council (2006) • Establish Mandate of Post-Secondary and

Workforce Readiness (SB 08-212) • Require Individual Career and Academic

Plans (ICAP) (SB 09-236) • Strengthen and Expand Concurrent

Enrollment (HB09-1319, SB09-285)

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The ICAP journey…

Awareness & Dissemination

2010 - 2011

Building bridges and readiness,

training and planning

Implementation

2011-2012

Making meaning of the ICAP, engaging in

activities and process

Implementation Continued

2012-2013

Reviews and Revisions where

necessary

Transformation

2013 – 2014

ICAPs fully implemented

Embedded into new legislation

2011-2013

Source CDE 2013

Career Planning and Pathways: Colorado’s ICAP Program

Seamless Transitions

Elementary: Career Awareness

Middle:

Career Exploration

High: Career Concentration

Post Secondary: Career Preparation

Lifelong: Career Advancement and Management

ASCA Standards:

Career Development A: Students will acquire the skills to

investigate the world of work in

relation to knowledge of self and to

make informed career decisions.

B: Students will employ strategies

to achieve future career success

and satisfaction

C: Students will understand the

relationship between personal

qualities, education and training ,

and the world of work.

Bachelor of Applied Science Degrees

• Pathways for AAS graduates are often cut off • New law allows B.A.S. degrees by Community

Colleges in Colorado • Some Bachelor’s degrees allowed at

community colleges in 22 states (but most are very restricted)

www.frontrange.edu

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