Member Matters January 2025

A Monthly Lookback at Some of the Good Work in the CAEL Membership Community

Winning Workforce Development Strategies 
Thanks to $21.9 million in funding from Lilly Endowment Inc., Ivy Tech Community College is strengthening early childhood education pathways in Indiana, where such talent pipelines are currently "inadequate." Enhancements will include credit for prior learning opportunities, microcredentials, and partnerships, including those involving other postsecondary institutions "committed to innovative models to launch federally registered adult-based early childhood apprenticeships." In the process, Ivy Tech plans to more than double early childhood education program enrollment at the college (Ivy Tech).

Indiana University is leading a new apprenticeship program to address the shortage of K-12 educators in Indiana. The apprenticeship allows learners to benefit from experiential learning while remaining in their home communities (Indiana Public Radio).

In Hawaii, Leeward Community College is taking on a serious bus driver shortage with an expanded commercial driver's license program, which now features a bus driver training class supported by industry partnerships, including a donated training bus (University of Hawaiʻi).

Philadelphia Works, Inc. is working with more than a dozen training providers to extend fully funded pathways into growth jobs in the health care and life sciences, energy, and infrastructure sectors. The nonprofit envisions connecting 3,000 residents to quality jobs through the initiative, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce (Philadelphia Works, Inc.)

Rewarding Links Between Learning and Work 
An apprenticeship linking Rowan University and Steamfitters Local Union 420 allows learners to apply credits completed through the apprenticeship and certificate programs toward the university's bachelor's degree in construction management (Rowan University).

Parkland College is now home to the AGCO Technician Training Center, a 22,000 square-foot facility made possible with the support of AGCO Corporation. The center enhances the college's hands-on learning capacity, which includes a registered apprenticeship offered through the AGCO A.A.S. program. The center will also support training for AGCO's network of dealers (AGCO).

Kentucky State University and the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections have created a correctional certificate pathway for LMDC personnel. Those who complete the pathway receive a certificate that can also be applied toward a KSU degree (KSU).

Accelerating Adult Learning
Rowan University is teaming up with InsideTrack to provide one-on-one coaching to remove barriers to success for online and adult learners (InsideTrack).

The University of Akron also stresses the importance of individualized student support, which is key to its Adult Focus office, "a beacon of guidance that helps students navigate their academic journeys with personalized attention and a wealth of resources” (The University of Akron).

Holyoke Community College celebrated the grand opening of the Marieb Adult Learner Success and Parent Learning centers. The former offers workshops as well as "admissions counseling, holistic advising, and career counseling," while the latter provides a space that offers a study environment for student parents as well as activities for their children (Holyoke Community College).

Albany State University has launched ASURams Global, which will coordinate the university's existing online programs while working to create online options for its in-person degrees and an expansion of its "professional education initiatives within the local community, providing an accessible education for workforce readiness and essential life skills" (The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education).

Thanks to credit for prior learning and other adult learner-friendly flexibility, American College of Education's debt-free approach has seen substantial enrollment growth since its inaugural class of 25 in 2005. The college currently enrolls 11,000 students, and more than 86% "pay as they go and graduate with no debt" (American College of Education).

In Service of Veterans
County College of Morris has opened the Veterans Resource Center, where military-connected learners can find a dedicated space for accessing U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs education benefits, the college's counseling services, and other resources. The center was inspired by CCM's July 2022 hosting of the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall (CCM).

Southside Virginia Community College is working with Microsoft to help veterans gain hands-on experience at a "mock data center" hosted by the college (SVCC).

Additional Achievements and Awards
Dec. 5, 2024, will forever be remembered as Delgado Day, thanks to a proclamation by the New Orleans City Council. In bestowing the eponymous honor, the council highlighted the Delgado Community College's stature as the state's oldest and largest community college. The college annually serves more than 25,000 students and generates an economic impact of more than $588 million (Delgado Community College).

National University's executive vice president for community engagement has received the San Diego Business Journal Business Woman of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award (National University).