This guide is based on lessons from the Community College Bridges to Opportunity Initiative. Funded by the Ford Foundation, Bridges was a multi-year effort designed to bring about changes in state policy that improve education and employment outcomes for educationally and economically disadvantaged adults.The guide is intended for governors, legislators, and state agency officials who are concerned about the competitiveness of their state's workforce. It will be especially useful to leaders in states with few well-educated workers to replace retiring Baby Boomers or in those with large low-skill immigrant populations. The guide is also intended for business and labor leaders. In many parts of the country, there is a strong need for skilled labor to fill "middle skill" positions, which require postsecondary training but not necessarily a bachelor's degree. Employers and labor groups in every industry want to see incumbent workers in their industries stay up-to-date with new technology and business practices. Groups that advocate on behalf of low-income people will also find the guide useful. Those who are interested in reducing barriers for underprepared adults to pursue and succeed in collegiate work through two-year college credentials and on to a bachelor's degree will find helpful tips and tools in this publication. And, finally, the guide is designed as a resource for college presidents, trustees, and other education leaders who are seeking ways to better serve their communities.
- Assess the impact of underprepared adults on the state’s well-being.
- Conduct a program and policy audit which examines how effective existing educational policies, programs and services are in serving underprepared adults.
- Real change will not occur unless the individuals within the education and workforce systems – faculty, staff, and administrators – feel a sense of ownership. Engage insiders in crafting an agenda for reform.
- Even though there are large numbers of underprepared adults in the U.S., their situation is often not well understood by policymakers and the public. Make the case in terms of the public interest.
- An effective communications plan should put messages, tactics, and tools for promoting public awareness and engagement into the hands of stakeholders trained to advance it.
- The broader the coalition for reform, the more likely it is to succeed. Individuals and groups will be more likely to join a coalition if it is in their interest to do so. Engage “key influentials†and other stakeholders to build a coalition joined by common interests.
- In every case where progress has been made toward advocating policies that promote improved outcomes for non-traditional students, there has been strong leadership both to focus attention on the challenge faced by specific states and localities and to rally constituencies within and outside educational institutions to address it. Identify or cultivate leaders who will champion the necessary changes.
- Call for a “state of the state†review of the state policies and regulations related to education and employment for underprepared adults, identifying both incentives and disincentives for improvement.
- Track and require public accounting of the performance of community colleges in helping meet your state’s economic and educational goals generally, and supporting access to educational and economic opportunity for underprepared adults in particular.
- Promote policies that encourage and support community colleges to partner with other education, workforce, human services and economic development agencies in creating more seamless pathways to postsecondary credentials and career-path employment for underprepared adults.
- Examine the incentives and disincentives created by state policy for community colleges to respond to the education and training needs of citizens and employers.
- Build a data-informed case for a state- level policy focus on the link between educational attainment and workforce and economic development.
- Make improving educational and career outcomes for underprepared adults a strategic priority for the agency.
- Incorporate into state accountability systems performance goals and measures aimed at improving education and employment outcomes for underprepared adults.
- Support development of strong state data systems and research capability to track the educational progression and labor market outcomes of students within and across education sectors.
- Require and publish regular reports comparing educational and labor market outcomes for underprepared adult students compared to other students.
- Help build the capacity of colleges to collect, analyze and use longitudinal cohort data to design and improve programs and services for students.
- Identify existing promising programs and practices in the state and consider what changes in policy could encourage their implementation on a wider scale.
- Partner with other state agencies concerned with workforce, human services, and economic development to encourage collaborative at the local level aimed at better serving underprepared adults.
- Commit to improving the outcomes of underprepared adult students as a strategic priority for the college.
- Promote the development of a “culture of evidence†in which decisions about the design, management and funding of programs and services are made based on evidence of what works to improve student success.
- Examine institutional policies to determine which promote successful outcomes for underprepared students and which may actually serve as barriers.
- Consider what changes in institutional policy can be made to increase the scale and impact of programs and services that are effective in helping underprepared students earn postsecondary credentials and secure career-path jobs.
- Help underprepared workers find programs that are effective in enabling them to earn postsecondary credentials in fields relevant to your industry.
- Advocate that the state’s resources for adult and postsecondary education be focused on enabling working adults to earn postsecondary credentials in relevant fields.
- Identify and address business practices that may thwart participation by low- skill workers in education and training.
- Actively partner with community colleges to create programs that help underprepared workers advance to better jobs in your industry
- Get informed about the strengths and weaknesses of local colleges and their impact on your constituency; track data on student outcomes and push for improvements.
- Build coalitions to advocate policies (such as financial aid for non-traditional students) that help underprepared adults enter and succeed in postsecondary education.
- Actively partner with community colleges to provide services and other supports that help underprepared adults complete programs, enter career-path employment and advance to further education and training.
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- Copyright 2008 Bridges to Opportunity Initiative.
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- North America / United States (Southern) / Kentucky
- North America / United States (Southern) / Louisiana
- North America / United States (Southwestern) / New Mexico
- North America / United States (Midwestern) / Ohio
- North America / United States (Western) / Colorado
- North America / United States (Northwestern) / Washington
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