CAEL Member Matters for April 2021

In Ohio, Lorain County Community College is participating in an upskilling program that covers employers throughout the state. TechCred funds training that companies can offer in areas that include information technology, Microsoft Office, engineering, manufacturing, and health care (Lorain County Community College).

St. Francis College is partnering with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce to offer chamber employees, members, and their families scholarships covering up to almost half of the colleges tuition. The agreement includes 1,874 member organizations and spans companies of all sizes. The program features recognition of prior learning, including professional and military experience, to help expedite completion (press release).

No Hard Sell Needed for These Soft Skills
Adelphi Universitys new B.S. in health sciences, aimed at forging pathways to diverse careers in health care, is emphasizing soft skills, like leadership and communication, to complement the technical proficiencies the program builds in learners (Adelphi University).

Linking Learning and Work
A shortage of nearly 60,000 registered nurses is forecast for Texas by 2030. To help meet these needs, Austin Community College is creating an accelerated associate degree in nursing. The accelerated program will cut completion time in the program, which boasts a graduate employment rate upward of 95 percent, from 24 to 18 months (Michael & Susan Dell Foundation).

Similarly, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is estimating nurse practitioner employment will have grown by 52 percent between 2019 and 2029. Herzing University is helping meet this demand with a new master of science in nursing program (Herzing University).

Houston Community College will be honored by the Texas Workforce Investment Council for designing programs with a high degree of industry relevance (Houston Newcomer Guides).

Kennesaw State Universitys School of Data Science and Analytics is helping students develop potential career paths as they use their developing skills to help industry partners tackle real-world challenges (KSU). In another post, the university notes that almost half of the students in its master of science in information technology program are career changers. Many of our graduate students already have jobs, but want careers, said the program coordinator (KSU).

Speaking of the challenge of underemployment, Kwantlen Polytechnic University is using workforce development grant funding from British Columbia to provide free tuition to adult learners who are underemployed or precariously employed (Education News Canada).

Bermuda College has begun construction on a career development center. The center, which is expected to be completed ahead of the fall 2021 semester, will host programs that support workforce development in sectors key to the local economy (Bernews).

East Tennessee State University is partnering with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee on the BlueSky Tennessee Institute. Over an accelerated, two-year period, the institute offers students concurrent education and employment pathways: a bachelors degree in computing from the university and a job at BlueCross (press release).  

DeVry University is expanding its certificate program to help meet learners reskilling needs in the digital workforce (press release).

George Mason University is offering workshops in tandem with the Risk Management Society (RIMS) for federal employees and executives. The workshops are based on the RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional Federal Government credential, which is itself a microcredential of the only accredited risk management certification (Captive International).

Western Carolina University is adding an online professional outdoor industry certificate, targeting an economic growth area in Western North Carolina and nationwide (Inside Outdoor).

Citing a survey it commissioned showing that 42 percent of American workers lack direction in their career paths, the University of Phoenix is launching a series of professional development courses aimed at helping working adult learners efficiently acquire career-relevant skills in growth areas (press release). The university also partnered with CAELs fellow Strada Education Network member Emsi to enhance the work-relevance of postsecondary coursework, using Emsi data in its work to skillify classroom learning (press release).  

American Public University has launched nearly 60 new courses aimed at preparing learners to be agile, highly skilled employees who can help employers tackle economic challenges (press release).

A free portfolio assessment is among the benefits Purdue University Global is offering to members of the Indiana Volunteer Firefighters Association in a partnership aimed at helping them complete bachelors degrees that advance their careers (Purdue).

In Service of Veterans
A new program at Post University is bringing together veterans and current military members on the universitys staff to help serve military students enrolled there. The Eagle Program includes assistance with tuition and professional development (WVIT).

Golden State University has launched a new veterans center that it says will provide robust support and activities for veterans along their entire educational journey (press release).

A new center for veteran services also will open at Kean University, which will use the center to offer single-service assistance to veterans in areas including financial aid, admissions, registration, and more (Union Daily News).

Removing Barriers to Completion
Access to child care is a challenge for many adult learners. Northern Michigan University is addressing shortages in child care services, which are affecting both students and university employees, through an arrangement with WeeCare (NMU).

Sometimes, students fall agonizingly close to completing their degree. Through the Degrees When Due program, Shasta College has helped more than 250 such students and counting complete (Red Bluff Daily News).

At CUNY SPS, it was an individual contributor who brought recent recognition to his entire institution. Dr. James W. Brown, a science educator and adjunct faculty member, was honored with a joint legislative resolution from the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly for the assistance he gave various postsecondary institutions in moving courses online during the pandemic (CUNY).

In Their Own Words
Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser, president and CEO of Colorado Mountain College, reflects on the events that have transformed the world since March of last year and the colleges response to them, which included support programs for students and local employers that launched almost immediately after stay-at-home orders took effect (Vail Daily).

In a Q&A session, Northwood University president Kent MacDonald discusses his institutions response to challenges ranging from the pandemic to a devastating flood (Catalyst Midland).

In another Q&A session, John Hopkins, president and CEO of Post University, discusses the importance of the university for local economic recovery and urban revival (New Haven Biz).

In a transcription of a podcast that aired back in December, Dr. Frank Dooley, chancellor of Purdue University Global, offers his perspective on the contrast between universities designed for remote learning and traditional brick-and-mortar institutions (University Innovation Alliance).  

The Art of Articulation
Bellevue University, based in Bellevue, Nebraska, is using a transfer grant to offer all qualifying graduates of Texas community colleges (there are more than 50) to apply 60 credits (and the full cost of their associate degree tuition) toward a Bellevue bachelors degree program (Bellevue University press release).

In the ever-important area of nursing, University of Georgia System institutions Clayton State University and Gordon State College (GSC) have reached an agreement allowing GSC students with a B.S. in nursing to receive priority review for acceptance into Clayton States family nurse practitioner masters program (the Jackson Progress-Argus). Greenville University is partnering with St. Johns College of Nursing to accelerate students completion of a nursing degree (Greenville University). York College of Pennsylvania has partnered with Montgomery County Community college to create an online R.N. to B.S.N. program, which offers a completion pathway as short as 12 months (MONTCO Today). And the Business Council of Westchester recently highlighted Pace Universitys Healthcare Hub, which will offer programs that support learners and employers in the areas growing biotech and health care sectors (Pace University).

Two CAEL members, SUNY Empire State College and Rio Salado College, are working together to help graduates of Rio Salado more seamlessly and less expensively continue their studies in four pathways at SUNY Empire. Rio Salado students can transfer up to 79 credits more than half of what is needed for their bachelors degree at SUNY Empire, allowing completion in just a year (Rio Salado College).

Two more CAEL members, the University of Phoenix and Joliet Junior College, which is Americas first public community college, have forged a 3+1 transfer agreement allowing Joliet graduates to continue their studies at the University of Phoenix in pursuit of a bachelors degree (press release).

A Texas Reskilling Support Fund Grant is bringing together Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Del Mar College around supporting students challenged by the pandemic. The assistance in tuition and fees is aimed at helping learners complete the upskilling or reskilling they need to reenter the workforce (TAMU-CC).

CSU-Pueblo and Pueblo Community College have created the Bridges to Bachelors program. It offers automatic enrollment at CSU-Pueblo to students of Colorado community colleges (KOAA).  

The University of Cincinnati and Belmont College have entered into an articulation agreement allowing students to complete an online bachelor of radiation science technology (University of Cincinnati press release).

Articulation agreements between Syracuse University and Elmira College are now in place covering seven graduate programs at Syracuses Martin J. Whitman School of Management (The Leader).

Union University and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) have completed a reciprocal credit-transfer agreement (SBTS).

Two San Antonio universities, the University of the Incarnate Word and Our Lady of The Lake University, have signed memoranda of understanding that will allow the universities qualifying students to attend both institutions for health care and graduate studies (University of the Incarnate Word).   

Tarrant County College and West Coast University have now have a reverse transfer agreement so that eligible students can complete an associate degree at no cost while continuing their education at West Coast University (Tarrant County College)  

Post University is partnering with Scottsdale Community Colleges, allowing students to transfer up to 67 credits toward a bachelor of science degree in the universitys equine program, which boasts the countrys first such online offering (Equus).

Miami Dade College and Florida Atlantic University have begun a 4+1 articulation agreement that creates an expedited pathway through graduate programs in Florida Atlantics College of Engineering and Computer Science (Miami Dade College).

Join the movement to link learning and work in support of adult learning excellence by becoming a CAEL member today.