Bringing Together Student Success and Workforce Development: The Next Challenge for Community Colleges James Jacobs, Ph.D. Macomb Community College Conference Presentation Visioning a Synergistic Future: Employers—Faculty—Learners Bellevue Community College August 2, 2010

Part I Increasing Significance of Community Colleges

Community Colleges are Getting National Attention  Community Colleges are now central to the future of American higher education  More federal, state and foundation policies are geared to promoting the work of community colleges  Enrollments in all institutions have continued to grow in both the credit and non-credit areas

Community Colleges are also Facing Challenges  More students coming to Community Colleges are underprepared for post-secondary experiences  Colleges are forced to do more with less  Foundations are interested in supporting student success initiatives  Emphasis on access gives way to success:  Degrees and certificates matter  Over 60% of community college students attend, but do not earn credentials

What is Achieving the Dream?  Multi-year national initiative  More than 100 institutions, in 22 states, serving 1 million students  Goal: Incremental improvement within, not compared to other institutions  Active involvement of faculty, staff and administrators as well as others within college community  Focus: Institution-wide commitment to student success  Special focus on students of color and low-income students  Success = 5 specific goals

Achieving the Dream Goals  Successful completion of remedial developmental instruction and advance to credit–bearing courses  Successful completion of initial college-level courses in subjects such as English and Math  Complete courses taken with a C or better  Term-to-term persistence  Completion of a certificate or associate’s degrees

Breaking Through Initiative  Multi-year national initiative  32 colleges in 18 states  Two State-level networks of colleges  Michigan - connects dislocated works to postsecondary education  North Carolina - connects out-of-school youth to GED’s and college  Goal: Strengthen the efforts of Community Colleges in helping low-literacy adults prepare for and succeed in occupational and technical degree programs  Focus: Concentrate on strategies that create more effective pathways through pre-college and degree-level programs

The Breaking Through Model  Four main strategies:  Reorganize and Realign Colleges  Accelerate Learning  Assure an Economic Payoff  Provide Comprehensive Support

What does Student Success mean for Workforce Development?  Career preparation is critical to student success  Career preparation is the perfect place to teach both technical and foundation skills  Career preparation needs to be integrated into the general concerns of student success

Five Future Workforce Development Trends  Greater ties with high school career technical programs through dual enrollment  Increasing access to four-year degrees through applied baccalaureate and university centers  Growth and development of “high end” technical programs which take more than two years  Utilization of “career pathways” as an organizing principle for all community college programs  Increasing participation of underprepared adults seeking skills for sustainable jobs

Looking Toward A New Synthesis  There will be new “integration” between liberal arts and career preparation that will enhance student progress toward degrees  College preparation will become a more serious task for all disciplines—as student success will get more attention  Emphasis on learning pedagogy and teaching approaches to handle the diverse educational backgrounds of Community College students

Part II What Does This Mean for Information Technology: Some Evidence from a Study What Does This Mean for Information Technology: Some Evidence from a Study

Growth in IT Jobs is Projected EmploymentChange Job openings due to growth and net replacement, NumberPercent Computer support specialists504,000650,000146, ,000 Network administrators309,000393,00083, ,000 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

IT Degree Completions Have Declined Source: IPEDS

Education and Certifications for Tech Support Jobs

Education and Certifications for Systems/Networking Jobs

Meaning of Degrees Varies by Labor Market

Meaning of Degrees: Qualities Expected in Degree Holders Positive qualities:  Technical – both specific technical skills and general skills, for example the ability to learn, think critically and problem solve  Social – motivation and discipline, career commitment, complete credentials, oral and written communication, ambition, confidence Negative qualities:  BA: Entitlement, lack of real world knowledge  AA: Lack of ability, lack of academic focus, narrow focus, less skill than BA

Information Technology Programs  Employers view educational credentials as an important differentiator in hiring practices  Post secondary education is needed for career advancement but varies by labor market  Certifications play different roles depending on the labor market

General Qualifications for Entry-level IT Jobs  Technology skills are largely assumed  Communication skills are strongly desired, and employers associate them with education  Knowledge of business

Lessons for Information Technology Programs  Maintain ties with local labor market and develop career pathways based on these markets  Combine technical knowledge with foundation job related skills  Integrate degrees and non-credit offerings into comprehensive learning “bundles” for students, firms or workforce agencies to use  Focus on student success within the classes so students succeed

Part III What Does This Mean for Community College Workforce Programs?

Organizational Change  Each Community College must balance its mission and strategic plan to fit the needs of the community it serves  All organization and re-organization stems from historical content and is a cultural process  The timing must be right and the process is never complete

Credentials In Community College Workforce Programs Matter  Employers associate skills and work value with students who have specific credentials  Credentials indicate achievement  Credentials are determined by the specific labor market, local employer values, and the past interaction of sector with education

Brand Name of College Matters  Employers have preconceptions of colleges and programs which are important to recognize  Community Colleges are perceived differently depending on their overall role within this system  The college can help “make the labor market” i.e. develop both supply and demand for products

Some Organizational Principles  Deep and systemic knowledge of the local industry is important for colleges: it takes time and resources  College occupational programs should be simple to understand, prescriptive and not few in number  There needs to be a clear and demonstrated labor market pay-off  Relationship between credit and non-credit education is important to promote student success  Alignment of support services with programs are important

“The only adequate training for occupations is training through occupations” John Dewey, 1916

Questions