Member Matters June 2023

Accelerating Adult Learning
Elizabethtown College is partnering with the Lancaster County Workforce Development Board (LCWDB) to offer the Near Completer project: ACHIEVE, which helps adult learners finalize certificate and degree programs that drive career success in growth occupations. Students who complete by the end of next June are eligible for a full scholarship (Elizabethtown College).

Noting that working adult learners outnumber traditional college students 13 to 1, Mississippi State University is consolidating resources to serve them within its new College of Professional and Continuing Studies (The Dispatch).

A new evening college at Niagara County Community College is combining in-person, online, and hybrid modalities to better serve adult learners through 16 certificate and degree programs (Buffalo Business First).

At Brunswick Community College, a new 100% online emergency and fire management program is aimed at meeting adult learner needs and growing demand for emergency service personnel (WECT).

Adult learners who already have a bachelor's degree can take advantage of a new accelerated pathway to a B.S. in nursing, a 15-month program aimed at addressing the area's "critical shortage of registered nurses," at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette,  (KATC).

Washburn University is adding an online program to help students advance or begin careers in public health, an industry also facing labor shortages, with credentials ranging from certificates to a bachelor's degree (Washburn University).

Bellarmine University has designed "virtual tech bootcamps" for adult learners who want to upskill or reskill. The programs, which run from 16 to 26 weeks, provide completers with competencies needed for entry-level tech jobs (Bellarmine University).

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County's women's center hosted its annual celebration of "continuing and graduating returning adult learners who are UMBC students seeking their first undergraduate degree." The university describes such students as 'returning' to recognize the challenges that often prevent them from taking a traditional pathway to college completion (UMBC).

With IT workforce demands soaring in Michigan and projected to continue doing so, Siena Heights University has introduced 17 new certificate and credentialing programs to its Workforce Development Division. The new IT programs follow 19 such health care offerings the university added in January (Siena Heights University).

Proactive Partnerships
Amarillo College debuted an employer summit where it convened a panel and conferred awards to highlight its employer partnerships. Focus areas included experiential learning and the mutual benefits it offers to businesses and students (Amarillo Globe-News).

Parkland College has joined the Enterprise Holdings Foundation and Ford Motor Company Fund collision engineering program, which offers students a two-year apprenticeship that culminates in an associate degree and the competencies needed to fill much-needed roles within the industry (Enterprise Holdings, Inc.).

Ngee Ann Polytechnic is collaborating with more than 100 partners within its industry-in-curriculum (IiC) framework, which will "further align students' learning with the latest industry developments, so that students will graduate with in-demand skill sets and industry-validated competencies" (CIO World Asia).

Employ Prince George's, Inc. is rolling out a mobile American Job Center unit to (perhaps literally) meet job seekers where they are, including at the workforce developer's many partner organizations. Employers can use the unit, which features Wi-Fi and onboard computers, to support job fairs and other hiring events (Employ Prince George's).

Imperial Valley College and Imperial County, California announced the creation of the lithium industry force training (LIFT) program. Students completing the program will receive short-term certificates attuned to the geothermal and mineral extraction sectors and grounded in experiential learning opportunities (Imperial Valley College).

Adelphi University has introduced a corporate and community partnership program to forge connections among local employers, including inaugural partner Jovia Financial Credit Union, one of the largest credit unions in the United States (Adelphi University).

Kaskaskia College is offering a new dual enrollment program with the support of industry and local high school partners. The program comes in response to workforce recruitment challenges and offers students half-price tuition to the college (WGEL).

About 5,000 students from Chicago Public Schools' class of 2023 collectively completed almost 40,000 City Colleges of Chicago credits as high school students. The dual enrollment partnership saved them about $5.8 million in tuition, with 53 of the high school graduates concurrently completing an associate degree (Chicago Public Schools).

The Evergreen State College has joined Amazon's Career Choice education benefits program (The Evergreen State College).

The University of Arizona Global Campus is partnering with the city of Tucson to offer city employees and their family members tuition-free access to online bachelor's and master's programs (University of Arizona Global Campus).

Hill Air Force Base and Utah State University have embarked on a five-year agreement that will afford base personnel coordinated opportunities to complete university credentials (KSTU).

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay offered a new take on job fairs by hosting its Learning While Earning Expo. The event allowed incoming college students to connect with employers that offer education benefits and job prospects to give them a head start on aligning their education-employment pathways (WLUK).

In Their Own Words
The president of College of The Albemarle joined the president and board chair of the John M. Belk Endowment to pen an op ed detailing the college's work to help adult learners return to complete a postsecondary credential and seize new career opportunities (The Daily Advance).

A D.C.-based director of the Veterans Upward Bound program joined the University of Maryland Global Campus to discuss the program's support of veteran success in higher education (UMGC).

Western Governors University's northwest regional director of operations wrote of how affordable educational opportunities for adult learners are helping address the national shortage in teachers (Deseret News).

Economic Impact
A report from Lightcast shows the Southeastern Louisiana University's economic impact to be more than $1 billion annually and that its graduates can expect to enjoy an "undiscounted value of $1 million" in increased earnings by the time they retire vs. those with only a high school diploma (Southeastern Louisiana University).

In Service of Veterans
National University's new military spouse scholarship program has awarded $175,000 during its inaugural application cycle (National University).

Awards and Other Recognition
Business NH Magazine named White Mountains Community College the 2023 Business of the Year, education category. The magazine noted that in 2022, WMCC was chosen to join the Rural Pathways Project through the National Center for Inquiry and Improvement, which focuses on career pathways, persistence, and completion among rural community colleges (Business NH Magazine).

Thirty-three "nontraditional" students at Indiana University Southeast are now members of the Pinnacle Honor Society, established in 1989 to "[recognize] the academic and personal achievements of nontraditional students who have overcome significant life obstacles to achieve success" (IU Southeast).

Casper College is among the "most military-friendly small community colleges" (Casper College), while UNC Pembroke received a similar accolade for "small public universities" (UNC Pembroke).

A student at Penn State Wilkes-Barre has been honored with the Outstanding Adult Learner award collaboratively issued by the Luzerne County Council on Adult Higher Education. LCCAHE is "a consortium of the Adult/Continuing Education offices of Penn State Wilkes-Barre, Misericordia University, King's College, Luzerne County Community College and Wilkes University" (Penn State).

The University of Arizona Global Campus (UAGC) has joined the invitation-only National Association of Institutions for Military Education Services, "an organization dedicated to the delivery of quality postsecondary education programs to the military community" (University of Arizona Global Campus).

The Art of Articulation
Under a pilot agreement between Peirce College and Drexel University aimed at adult learners, students can complete an associate degree at Peirce that includes work-relevant certifications and then transfer their credits toward qualifying bachelor's programs at Drexel (Drexel University).

Felician University and Hudson County Community College have formed an articulation agreement allowing HCCC business and accounting completers to seamlessly transfer credits toward bachelor of science in business administration, bachelor of science in accounting, and master of business administration degrees at the university (Hudson County Community College).

Lincoln Land Community College and Illinois Wesleyan University are offering a guaranteed admission program to students who complete an LLCC "transfer-oriented program" with a minimum GPA of 3.0 (WUIS).

A new articulation agreement between Northwood University and Alpena Community College allows the college's students to transfer to Northwood University after three years, where they can complete high-demand degrees (Northwood University).

College of DuPage and Arizona State University have reached a "universal articulation agreement," guaranteeing general admission to ASU (College of DuPage).

Additional Success Stories
Among Kennesaw State University's 2,872 nontraditional students this spring was a magna cum laude graduate, who also happened to be the oldest spring 2023 graduate. The 81-year-old Army veteran completed his degree entirely online (Gwinnett Daily Post).

At Amarillo College, spring graduates included the sheriff of the college's home county. Prompted by an email from the college and inspired by his wife and daughters, the sheriff an associate degree in criminal justice some 40 years after his initial college enrollment (KAMR/KCIT).

More than 50 years after graduating high school, a grandfather complemented his extensive experiential learning, which included driving a taxi and owning his own businesses, with a bachelor's degree from Georgia Gwinnett College (WUPA).

A student-mother whose college completion plans were delayed when she became paralyzed just one semester short of graduation returned to complete her degree seven years later at UNC Greensboro (WUNC).

An Air Force veteran who served for 21 years took advantage of a policy that waives tuition for people 62 and older to complete his fourth bachelor's degree, at Fort Valley State University (WMAZ).

A mother-son duo completed a pair of master's degrees at Albany State University, continuing a long family tradition of graduating from the university (Vibe).

A husband and wife based in England for U.S. Air Force service graduated from Penn State together, an online journey that began during the pandemic (Penn State).

An Air Force veteran who supported her husband during his service in the Marines has completed a degree in psychology from Indiana University Kokomo and plans to apply her degree toward serving her fellow veterans (IU Kokomo).

According to an annual UW Oshkosh survey, nearly 90% of new graduates are "employed, involved in military or volunteer service, continuing education, or not seeking employment," compared to the national average percentage meeting those parameters of about 84% (UWO).

A new honor at Ohio University should make it easier for adult learners to receive recognition for academic excellence. The Provost's List honors part-time undergraduate students who earn a GPA of 3.5 or higher (Ohio University).