Member Matters March 2022

Plugging Talent Gaps
The University of Colorado-Denver is launching two apprenticeship programs, its first ever, to give students hands-on experience in high-demand areas. The construction project management and user experience designer apprenticeships guarantee students will gain 2,000 hours of work experience with at least one pay increase during that time (The University of Colorado-Denver).

College of DuPage is also offering hands-on learning opportunities to meet growing workforce needs. It is introducing a "skills-oriented certificate" in digital and social media marketing. Aimed at both traditional students and adult learners seeking career change, it features a "simulated digital marketing environment" and stacks into additional offerings (College of DuPage).

Lehman College is helping to support a skilled workforce by offering on-the-job experience through the Bronx Recover Corps, which includes paid part-time positions for students who are studying for occupations in health care, education, or hospitality (Spectrum News NY1).

Georgia State University is adding a master of science in supply chain management in response to predictions that demand for logisticians will soar 30 percent in the decade ending in 2030. The new program continues the university's efforts to "[work] closely with industry partners to develop programs that respond to specific needs and strengthen the state's workforce overall" and "[embed] experiential learning with scholarly knowledge and corporate opportunities." The curriculum includes solving a real-world supply chain issue for a participating employer (Georgia State University).

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is also taking aim at surging demand for supply chain talent. It will offer an online bachelor of business administration in supply chain management beginning in the fall. The program is tailored for the especially urgent need for entry-level supply chain workers who have completed a four-year degree, with flexibility designed to support students "completing internships or balancing other work and family responsibilities" (University of Wisconsin-Whitewater).

Delaware State University is hoping to mitigate the teacher shortage with career changers. Its Alternative Routes to Certification program is intended for adult learners with bachelor's degree unrelated to education and recognizes the benefits adult learners bring to the classroom. "One of the really neat things about people coming into the profession after they have been out doing something is, generally, those people bring a kind of a trade knowledge into the teaching profession," noted the director of a supporting school district. "They've been out in the world, so to speak. They bring that understanding of the world and that understanding of a particular profession with them as they come into the classroom" (Bay to Bay News).

In a first, an Ohio college is offering an accelerated bachelor of applied science in diagnostic medical sonography, a profession expected to grow 15 percent within the state in the near future. Central Ohio Technical College designed the program in collaboration with an advisory committee and other workforce-connected partners (Coshocton Tribune).

In West Virginia, workforce demand spurred by a new electric-school bus manufacturing plant has prompted a partnership between BridgeValley Community and Technical College and the WorkForce Development Board of Kanawha County (WDB-KC). WDB-KC will vet candidates for referral to the college, where they will receive financial support for their training as well as books, transportation, child care, and other expenses (WV News).

Niagara County Community College is partnering with the New York State Bureau of Emergency Medical Services on meeting some of the training needs for the state's emergency medical technicians. The model features "an academy style class" that students finish within a month (NCCC).

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is introducing an all-online bachelor of business administration degree in accounting to help adult learners take advantage of the high demand for four-year-degreed accountants (Milton Courier).

Anderson University is also adding 100 percent online programs to address growing talent demands. They include a bachelor of business administration in project management, bachelor of business administration in marketing and professional sales (includes four HubSpot microcredentials), and a professional sales certificate. Jobs in sales management should outpace other job growth by 60 percent in the next 6 years, with job placement upon graduation 90 percent higher. Meanwhile, project management is among the most demanded competencies in a variety of industries; by 2027, more than 87 million employees will be needed in the role (Anderson University).

Edinboro University is adding three new courses that offer accelerated pathways within growth industries. The bootcamp programs, in artificial intelligence and machine learning, web development, and cybersecurity, will feature "one-on-one coaching sessions available to help professionals break into the next level of their career or a different technical field" (Edinboro University).

Pima Community College is also helping students expedite their pathways to tech jobs (and more). The new PimaFastTrack program prepares students for IT jobs in less than a year and incorporates a Google training certificate (KGUN).

In the realm of certified financial planning, there are concerns about a looming retirement wave (certified planners older than 70 outnumbers those under 30). The University of Wisconsin-Platteville is launching a certified financial planning certificate to help the industry, which is expected to grow 7 percent by 2028, address the challenge. It should benefit students, too. More than 80 percent of planners say certification gives them a competitive advantage. They also report certification delivers a 12 percent pay premium (University of Wisconsin-Platteville).

Collaboration with industry has led to an online M.B.A. in three high-demand areas at UNC Charlotte: business analytics, digital marketing, and financial technology. The offerings are "designed to help business professionals advance their careers by harnessing the power of technology" (Charlotte Stories).

Economic Impact
The University of Chicago published a report to quantify its impact on its city. The highlights include purchases of goods and services from area companies of more than $235 million over the past 10 years and more than $840,000 in small-business grants during the pandemic (Chicago News).

A study by Delgado Community College finds the college's annual economic impact on the New Orleans area surpasses  $588 million. The study notes that students can expect ot enjoy a $5.30 return, in the form of future earnings, for each dollar they invested in Delgado in fiscal year 2019-2020. At the societal level, that return grows to $10.60 per dollar invested (Delgado Community College).

The University of Nebraska swells the state's economy by $5.8 billion annually, according to independent analysis. That impact includes a return on investment ratio of 9:1, up from 7:1 in 2019 (University of Nebraska System).

Doing Good With Grants
Heartland Community College is applying a grant to encourage more underserved students to complete short-term certificate programs. TheWorkforce Equity Initiative program strives for academic outcomes that deliver a 30 percent earning premium over the states regional living wages. The grant pays for tuition and fees and also includes a student stipend. Certificates support occupations that include EMT, nursing assistant, truck driving, electric vehicle assembly, bookkeeping,  welding, and computer networking support specialist (The Pantagraph).

An Essential Workers Grant will support frontline workers who attend Anderson University. The grant furnishes up to $4,750 for any online bachelor's, certificate programs, and select master's degrees in education, business, public service, health professions, and Christian studies (Anderson University).

Northern Michigan University's participation proved critical in the expansion of the MI Tri-Share Child Care pilot program.  The program splits child care costs for qualifying parents among families, employers and Tri-Share funding (Northern Michigan University).

Rowan University is also providing support to student parents, with "potentially free or discounted" services through a Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) grant. The efforts are part of the university's focus on helping student parents remain enrolled. Nationally, only 8 percent of single mothers complete their bachelor's degrees (Rowan University).

A CCAMPIS grant is also helping student parents at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where nearly 40 percent of of undergraduates are recipients of Pell Grants, a qualifier for the grant program (UA Little Rock).

Estrella Mountain Community College will benefit from a one-year planning grant offered to the Arizona Hispanic Serving Institutions Consortium. The consortium, which includes the state's 21 HSIs, "helps unite HSIs across the state in the collective pursuit of increasing educational attainment with our youngest and most populous demographic for the betterment of Arizona" (Estrella Mountain Community College).

Google is also supporting HSIs, and its Grow with Google Hispanic-Serving Institutions Career Readiness Program includes four Alamo Colleges District institutions: San Antonio College, St. Philip's College, Northeast Lakeview College, and Palo Alto College. Program activities workshops and digital training oriented on skills and careers. Although more than 80 percent of employers in the U.S. demand digital skills, "55 percent of Latinos have little to no digital skills training" (Alamo Colleges District).

A Healthy Education Benefit
UofL Health employees and their dependents -- about 8,500 total individuals -- can enroll at the University of Louisville free of tuition payments beginning in the fall. The new benefit applies to full- and part-time employees with no waiting period for new hires (Spectrum News 1).

Awards and Other Achievements
Achieving the Dream (ATD) recently announced the selection of South Central College as one of its Leader Colleges, which "play an important role in accelerating the adoption of effective practices within the ATD Network and across higher education." ATD works to leverage community colleges as "hubs of equity and mobility in their communities" (KRFO). Lorain County Community College and Anne Arundel Community College were also selected (LCCC and What's Up? Media, respectively).

Hispanic Outlook on Education Magazine has named Suffolk County Community College a "Top 10 2-Year Schools by Region" for 2019-2020 (Suffolk County Community College).

Kean University has been named a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense by the National Security Agency, a status that will boost the university's prospects in landing grants and scholarships from the U.S. Department of Defense, National Science Foundation, National Security Agency and other entities (Kean University).

In Their Own Words
A soon-to-be graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville commented on the transition from a 20-year career in law enforcement to student of mechanical engineering, a role that is allowing him to pursue his love of math and science even as he balances his studies with work and family obligations (University of Wisconsin-Platteville).

The president of Delaware State University talked about improving access to education and investing in HBCUs (MSN).

The president of University of the Incarnate Word discussed lessons learned in the course of the pandemic, including opportunities to improve and accelerate the adoption of online and hybrid learning settings (Capital Analytics Associates).

Joining the interview series "How Employers and Employees are Reworking Work Together," the provost of American Public University System shares his perspective, which is shaped by his pioneering embrace of data to further student success, on  matters related to online learning and the future of work (Authority Magazine via Medium).

The Art of Articulation
There are much-needed discussions about recognizing prior learning that has occurred within a classroom (transfer credit) and outside of it (CPL), but what about when these two concepts converge? Purdue University Global and Ivy Tech Community College have launched an agreement to recognize CPL awarded at either institution. Noting that students are usually forced to abandon CPL credits when they transfer, Purdue University Global  hopes that the arrangement will encourage more learners to pursue CPL and more institutions to strike similar arrangements (Purdue University Global).

Michigan prisoners who have earned an associate degree at Jackson College have a new path to a bachelor's degree via Siena Heights University. The completion program is part of the Second Chance Pell program, which began in 2015 (Yahoo).

Albany Technical College and DeVry University are partnering to allow qualifying associate degree completers from the college to receive up to 60 credit hours toward select bachelor's degrees at the university (Albany CEO).

Mary Baldwin University and Virginia Western Community College (VWCC) are offering Virginia's "quickest and lowest cost option" for students to earn a business degree. Under the arrangement, transfer students can apply all of their VWCC credit at the university (MSN).

StraighterLine is partnering with the University of the Cumberlands to allow students to apply StraighterLine general education credits at the university. The arrangement is designed to help "working adults to get a quality education online, conveniently, and at a substantially lower cost than most traditional degree programs" (The Lane Report).