Plus 50 and Completion: Returns

and Strategies

AACC 91st Annual Convention April 11, 2011, New Orleans

The Demographic Revolution:It’s Here

Our nation faces a demographic revolution as 78 million baby boomers enter their retirement years.

• Thanks to advances in healthcare, the traditional “third stage” of life has expanded.

• Most baby boomers can expect to spend three decades in retirement.

The New “Third Stage” of Life

Plus 50 adults want to stay actively engaged in the workplace, in education and in service opportunities.

Not the Stereotypical Retirement

Percent change in labor force by age, projected 2008-2018

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Why Focus on Learning for Working Adults?

Primary source of future employees is current workforce.

65% of 2020 Workforce have high school degree, but no postsecondary degree or certificate.

30% of the fastest-growing occupations require post-secondary educational or training credential.

Solutions:

• Prolonging the labor force participation of aging baby boomers.

• Increase educational opportunities for the current workforce.

Future Job Demands:

GROWTH:– Reasoning– Written expression– Decision making– Interpersonal skills

DECLINE: – Physical demands

Innovative program reaching out to adult learners who are age 50 and up that is benchmarking standards of excellence among community colleges nationwide.

What is the Plus 50 Initiative?

Enrollment of Plus 50 Students in Workforce Training Courses(Changes from Baseline to Year Two)

4551,464

2,505

367

1,766

3,974

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

Baseline(2007-08)

Year One(2008-09)

Year Two(2009-10)

Nu

mb

er

of

plu

s 5

0 S

tud

en

ts

Number of Plus 50 Students Enrolled(All Colleges)

Credit courses (n=5) Non-credit ourses (n=11)

12%

8%

3%

4%

15%

7%

4%

5%

30%

28%

31%

27%

43%

57%

62%

64%

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Land a job (n=217)

Work toward obtaining a license or

certificate (n=176)

Improve my job skills (n=272)

Acquire new job skills (n=259)

Percentage of Respondents

Plus 50 Workforce Training Programs Helped Me To...

Completely Disagree Mostly Disagree Mostly Agree Completely Agree

The Standards of ExcellenceThe Standards of Excellence

12

The best practices of plus 50 grantees in community colleges across the country.

Contains the core program elements that need to be in place to build a successful program.

http://plus50.aacc.nche.edu/colleges/publications/pages/default.aspx/

The 8 Standards of ExcellenceThe 8 Standards of Excellence

13

Needs Assessment and

Ongoing Evaluation

Broad-Based Organizational

and Institutional Support

Community Partnerships

Learner-Centered

Programming

Learner Support Services

Accessible and Accommodating

Materials and Environments

Professional Development for

Faculty

Integrated and Targeted Marketing

• Funded by Lumina Foundation • Training and retraining, career

development and support activities that enhance successful credential completion for adults over the age of 50.

• Request for Proposals Being Reviewed

Cape Cod Community College

• Adult Learner Services Center

– Adult Learner Academic Advisor and Counselor• Identifies current skills set• Provides career counseling• Provides mentoring and support• Refers to support services• Tracks students through their certificate

and/or degree

Cape Cod Community College

• Adult Learner Services Center

– Adult Learning Specialist• Provides workshops, i.e., computer

technology skills, and updating math skills• Recruits and educates peer tutors• Arranges peer support and cohort study

groups

Cape Cod Community College

• Adult Learner Services Center

– Career Placement Specialist• Provides job search skills• Assists with resume writing • Arranges on-campus recruiting• Maintains college-central network posting

employment opportunities.

Cape Cod Community College

• Career Changers Conference– Keynote speech: Cape Cod Employment

Forecast for the Future– Concurrent Workshop topics:

• Career Assessment• Self exploration• CCCC offerings• One-on-one resume critique• Job Search Strategies

Cape Cod Community College

• Career Changers Conference– Dinner Speaker: Adventures in Capitalism:

One man’s entrepreneurial experience– Concurrent workshops:

• Generational differences in the workplace• Entrepreneurship 101• Beyond the Typewriter!... What’s Up with Word?• One-on-One Resume Critique• What am I doing here at this age? (Student panel)

Clover Park Technical College

• Plus 50 Initiative

The Initiative focused on positioning the College tomeet the needs of the plus 50 population by: – Enlisting broad-based organizational and

institutional support, starting with the President – Conducting needs assessment to inform planning

for programs and services– Expanding workforce training and career

development and learning/enrichment opportunities

Clover Park Technical College

– Identifying a “single point of contact” advisor to provide support services

– Developing branding/marketing/outreach plan

– Creating community partnerships

– Expanding the learning community to include Washington State Community & Technical Colleges and to Pierce County affiliate colleges

Clover Park Technical College

• Plus 50 Completion Strategy

The overall goal of the Plus 50 Completion Strategy is to increase the number of plus 50 students that complete degrees, certificates and not-for-credit credentials through:

– Expanding institutional support & coordination

– Continuing to assess needs and collecting data, by working with our institutional researcher

Clover Park Technical College

– Focusing on recruitment of plus 50 students with prior credits, but no degree

– Leveraging experience & expertise in workforce development training/retraining in high demand, high growth sectors of the labor market

– Conducting employer roundtables

– Working with faculty & staff to achieve positive classroom experiences and completion outcomes

Clover Park Technical College

– Expanding Advisory/Resource Committee to include representation from employer community

– Enhancing outreach/marketing/branding efforts

– Sharing promising practices with learning community, including Pierce County affiliate colleges and other 2-year colleges

– Leveraging resources/grant opportunities and coordinating with other campus initiatives, such as Achieving the Dream, etc.

Clover Park Technical College

• Plus 50 Expo

Historically, expos are used to share information.

In Washington State, the Plus 50 partners have taken a Standards of Excellence-based approach to putting on a community expo.

Clover Park Technical College

At Clover Park, the Plus 50 partnership viewed our Recareering @ 50+ Expo as an opportunity for us to identify new strategies and for participants to

”Take Your Knowledge To The Next Degree.”

Plus 50 Website

http://plus50.aacc.nche.edu