Member Matters October 2022

A consortium of seven community colleges in Illinois, including Parkland College, Illinois Valley Community College, and Lincoln Land Community College, is lowering time and financial costs for students via competency-based education (WDWS).

Florida International University is offering a 24-week, online bootcamp during which students can incorporate real-world work within data science portfolios (FIU). 

Dominion Energy is inviting prospective workers to take a test drive along a career pathway as early as the K-12 experience. Via a MajorClarity platform, students will engage in competency-based approaches, access simulations, and engage with energy professionals (press release).

Career Pathway Partnerships
Amarillo College and the Smart Automation Certification Alliance are coordinating on modular industry 4.0 certifications, which are in high demand in the automation sector (KFDA).

Kent State University and seven other Ohio institutions, including Lorain County Community College, were chosen by Intel to support workforce needs attached to its expansion in the state (Record-Courier).

Ohio University is also working with Intel to address workforce needs, via the Appalachian Semiconductor Education and Technical Ecosystem (Ohio University).

Fayetteville State University counts more than 100 regional and national workforce partners with whom it offers experiential learning opportunities. It is adding to that list through a new partnership with Cape Fear Valley Health System (FSU). 

Heartland Community College is working with the McLean County Center for Human Services to offer a clinical practicum at the center, complementing classroom learning for one of the region's critical talent pipelines (New Herald News).

Community College of Baltimore County, which partners with several police academies, now has a scholarship partnership with AT&T available to police officers and recent academy completers who are pursuing an associate of applied science in criminal justice studies (AT&T).

The University of Colorado Denver is partnering with Apple to support a healthy and diverse talent pipeline of learners inculcated with "STEAM" skills. The university has selected area K-12 partner schools to support tech career pathways in Denver and across Colorado (CU Denver).

The University of Memphis and the International Association of Maritime and Port Executives are collaborating on education and training for the maritime and port industry. The university and association will recognize each other's qualifying credential completion and share research resources (American Journal of Transportation).

University of Massachusetts Global is partnering with the Mass General Brigham hospital network to upskill more than 1,000 under- and unemployed workers so they can fill "living-wage jobs and crucial support services" (press release).

The University of Arizona Global Campus is partnering with DriveTime Automotive, which employs nearly 5,000 people throughout the country, on an education benefits program that covers full tuition for qualifying employees and offers a 20% discount to their immediate family members (University of Arizona Global Campus).

Career Pathway Partnerships
Via its CERTiFi offering, Mercy College is rolling out hundreds of noncredit credentials that are aimed at helping adult learners advance or change careers (Mercy College).

Lincoln University will begin offering 18-hour minor programs, giving working learners more flexibility in acquiring work-relevant skills (News Tribune).

Rasmussen University is introducing an immersion format to its accelerated bachelor of science in nursing program, which it launched in 2018. The program's new dimension seeks to extend access to learners who haven't been able to participate in the offering; with the exception of periodic lab work and skills checkoffs, coursework is exclusively online, and clinicals are offered near student residences (Grand Forks Herald).

Texas State University is offering a microcredentialing program at no charge to students, faculty, and staff to help "update their skills and credentials" in five STEM areas (Texas State University).

DePaul University's Career Edge Certificate Program is dedicated to helping professionals in the cleaning industry progress along career pathways (Cleaning & Maintenance Management).

Investments in Equity
The Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation is funding the Promesa: Hispanic Higher Education Initiative. The three-year program will support Hispanic student success at seven institutions, including CAEL member The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (Dominion Energy).

Doing Good With Grants
Bunker Hill Community College is leading a U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration-grant-funded consortium comprising Massachusetts' community colleges. The grant will foster workforce development around career pathways within the IT industry (BHCC).

A $5 million federal grant will help Lincoln Land Community College augment infrastructure needed to train urgently needed workers, including emergency medical technicians, paramedics, diesel mechanics, truck drivers, and agriculture specialists (WAND).

A brand new program dedicated to adult degree completion at Missouri Southern State University has already won a grant from the Missouri Scholarship and Loan Foundation. The program, which only began this semester, offers accelerated degree and certificate options (KSN).

National University, where more than 30,000 adult learners are enrolled, will create a teacher residency program to address workforce challenges in the Chula Vista Elementary School District, which suffers from heavy teacher attrition (National University).

Hostos Community College has landed a three-year, $3 million grant for its community health worker training program, which is set to train 270 workers during the grants term, offering them credit for prior learning and apprenticeship opportunities during their educational experience (Hostos Community College).

In Their Own Words
The first student trustee representative for the San Diego College of Continuing Education on the San Diego Community College District Board of Trustees, whose advocacy for noncredit college students supported the addition of other student trustees, shared her perspective as a volunteer for her peers (San Diego Community College District).

The chancellor of North Carolina Central University discussed how education-employer partnerships differentiate his institution (Capital Analytics Associates).

In Service of Veterans
To honor the former Commanding General of Fort Benning, Columbus State University has added a scholarship, provided by the regional chapter of the Military Order of World Wars, applicable to "honorably discharged or active duty, full-time undergraduate or graduate student veterans, their spouses, or dependents attending Columbus State University" (WTVM).

Awards and Other Recognition
INSIGHT Into Diversity honored UNC Charlotte with the 2022 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award. Among the achievements extolled in the dispensing of the award were the university's chancellor becoming the first in the UNC System to join Excelencia in Education's Presidents for Latino Student Success, its collaboration with Truist Financial around student success, and the launch of a school of professional studies "to support learning opportunities for working professionals" (UNC Charlotte).

Kutztown University won the 2022 Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation Murray Award for the work its college of education has done in "preparing high-quality teachers to enter the educational field" (Kutztown University).

Adelphi University was named to the "Best of the Best Colleges and Universities for LGBTQ+ Students" list, compiled by Campus Pride (LI Herald).

Penn State University was recognized by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare for the Clinical Simulation Center at the university's college of medicine and its "excellence in teaching aspiring and current health care professionals clinical skills and researching new training methods and patient care techniques" (Penn State).

The University of Maine is one of the best institutions for students who want to pursue an education in health care online according to EduMed.org, "a website that connects students to flexible education programs to fast-track careers in nursing and allied health" (University of Maine).

After consulting the results of a survey of 12,000 adults and high school students, Morning Consult has determined that Rochester Institute of Technology is one of the most trusted universities in the country (RIT).

Military Times recognized several CAEL members in its annual "Best for Vets" list. See the complete rankings here.

Several CAEL members also were recognized by Washington Monthly, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, and The Princeton Review. 

The Art of Articulation
Sauk Valley Community College and Western Illinois University are addressing the teacher shortage through an agreement that lets students remain at the community college after completing their associate degree while they embark on a WIU bachelor's degree taught by the university's instructors onsite, virtually, or in hybrid fashion (saukvalley.com).

Southern Illinois University Carbondale is adding fellow CAEL members Prairie State College and the College of DuPage to its Saluki Step Ahead program, which gives associate degree completers a route to SIU online bachelor's degrees, "bringing the expertise of a doctoral research university to qualified community college students" (SIU Carbondale).

UW-Platteville and Madison College have added three transfer agreements that support career pathways in "exciting and high demand fields" (UW-Platteville).

An agreement between North Park University and College of DuPage will guarantee students transferring from the college admission to the university (College of DuPage).

Guaranteed admission is also among the student benefits in a transfer agreement between Muhlenberg College and Reading Area Community College. Incoming students from the community college will embark on accelerated programs they can complete within 22 months (Reading Eagle).