From GEDs to College Degrees: The Adult Education Transitions Collaboration between Jefferson County

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From GEDs to College Degrees The Adult
Education Transitions Collaboration between
Jefferson County Public Schools and Jefferson
Community and Technical College

• Tony Newberry, President
• Jefferson Community and Technical College
• Kentucky Community and Technical College System
• Julie Scoskie, Director
• Jefferson County Public Schools Adult and
  Continuing Education

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• Origins of the Partnership
• Policy environment political imperatives
• Internal issues
• The Transitions Program
• How it works
• The impact on students
• Plans for the future
• Questions and Conversation

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Context for Collaboration

• House Bill 1 (1997)
• Post-Secondary Education Reform in Kentucky
• Senate Bill 1 (2000)
• The Restructuring of Adult Education
• Result
• Aggressive enrollment and attainment goals

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Local Imperatives Merged Government and the
Brookings Report

• Historic Opportunity
• The Louisville region stands at a historic
  juncture. As merger creates the 16th largest
  municipality in the U.S., the new city has an
  opportunity to seize the moment, get it right,
  and chart its destiny as one of the most
  progressive American cities.
• Serious Challenges
• The new city faces serious human capital and
  quality of life challenges that threaten future
  competitiveness, including
• A workforce severely limited in size and skill
• Low educational attainment which limits
  competitiveness in the knowledge economy

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The Solution Build a State of the Art Workforce
Development System

• Focus on the New Economy and
  high-skilled, high-wage
  jobs
• Provide career ladders for lower
  skilled adults
• Upgrade the regions community
  and technical colleges
• Make adult education, colleges,
  universities full partners in
  Louisvilles
  long-term economic development strategy
• Promote educational attainment all along the
  line, from GEDs to Ph.Ds.

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State-wide Concerns The Pipeline Leakage
Problem
For every 100 Kentucky 9th graders

• 65 graduate from high school
• 37 enter college
• 24 are still enrolled in sophomore year
• 12 graduate with a four-year degree in 6 years

Source Tom Mortenson, Public School Graduation
and College-Going Rates of Students Directly from
High School, 2004 NCES, IPEDS Fall 2004
Retention rates and 2004 Graduation Rate Survey
U.S. Census Bureau, 2005 American Community
Survey (ACS)
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83 OF ENTERING KCTCS STUDENTS ARE
UNDERPREPARED FOR COLLEGE
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• CORE RECOMMENDATIONS
• Remediation is a shared responsibility P-12 and
  higher education
• Create an integrated accountability system tied
  to performance funding P-16.
• Fund infrastructure improvement.
• Align college readiness standards and link those
  standards to educator professional development.
• Better link educator preparation to college
  readiness.
• Develop early student interventions.

KY Developmental Education Task Force
2007 Kentucky must reduce the number of
underprepared students coming to college.
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Other Major State Reports in 2007

• Council on Post-Secondary Educations
• Double the Numbers College Graduates Plan
• Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Task Force
• on Postsecondary Education
• KCTCS In the Eye of the Storm
• Kentuckys Looming Workforce Crisis

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Reinforcement from National Studies and Reports

• Robert McCabe, No One to Waste A Report to
  Public Decision-Makers and Community College
  Leaders (AACC, 2000)
• Robert McCabe, Yes, We Can! (League for
  Innovation and AACC, 2003)
• Crisis at the Core Preparing All Students for
  College and Work (ACT, Inc. 2005)
• Ready for College and Ready for Work Same or
  Different (ACT, Inc. 2006)

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Reinforcement from a Host of National Studies
Reports

• Tough Choices or Tough Times (National Center on
  Education and the Economy 2007)
• Americas Perfect Storm Three Forces Changing
  Our Nations Future (Educational Testing Service
  2007)
• Are They Really Ready for Work? Employers
  Perspectives on . . . New Entrants into the 21st
  Century Workforce (The Conference Board, et al.,
  -- 2007)
• Winning the Skills Race and Strengthening
  Americas Middle Class Action Agenda for
  Community Colleges (College Board, 2008)

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Educational Enrichment Services Program

• How it started
• How it works
• Impact on students

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Why Partner?

• To end competition and avoid duplication of
  services
• To stretch limited resources
• To meet aggressive
  state-mandated enrollment goals
• To address retention challenges

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Self-Evaluation

• Confluence of events Go Higher! campaign, Beyond
  Merger, Brookings Report, and Local Workforce
  Investment Board
• We asked ourselves how education was faring in
  our community
• 1 in 5 students lacked a high school credential
• 70 of entering students needed a remedial course
• What are your educational challenges?
• What are your resources?
• What are your relationships like with other
  educational institutions?

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JCTC Student Characteristics

• 15,478 students on 5 campuses, 7 corrections
  facilities, and 24 dual credit
  locations
• 42 percent are first generation college
  students.
• 41 percent could not have attended college if not
  for Jeffersons financial aid opportunities.
• 70 percent work more than 20 hours per week 69
  percent attend part-time
• The average age is 25.6.
• 52.7 percent are women.

• 21.6 percent (2924) of those students who declare
  ethnicity are African-American.
• English as a Second Language enrollments are
  growing, with nearly 40 language groups
  represented on campus.
• Average ACT Composite Score is 18.2.
• 66.3 percent of first time students need help
  with developmental mathematics.
• 10 percent (1,592 in Fall 07) are GED
  recipients.

Source ACT Faces of the Future Survey,
conducted Fall 2007.
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College and Workforce Readiness
First-Time Freshmen Testing into Developmental
Courses Fall 2007

• 76 of FTF test into at least 1 developmental
  course
• 64 test into developmental math
• 32 test into developmental English
• 10 test into developmental reading
• 65 of 2007 high school graduates entering JCTC
  tested into developmental courses

Total First-Time Freshmen 2,160
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JCPS Adult Education Profile 2006-07
13,776 students
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How We Collaborate Rethinking the Revolving Doors
PHASE I Moving JCTC students in need of basic
skills into adult education services
PHASE II Moving JCPS students from adult
education into college classes
Continually moving students in the right direction
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PHASE I

• Development of formal MOU
• Referral system based on Compass cut scores (lt 27
  in math lt 21 in writing lt 45 in reading)
• Deliver AE services on campus for seamless
  transition
• Allow students to take EES along with other
  college courses
• Provide COMPASS Preparation classes

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Factors for Success

• Monthly communication meetings
• Faculty/staff cooperation
• Common data system
• Tailored curricula
• Community awareness
• Continuous improvement based on expanding
  populations e.g. ESL

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PHASE I

• EES Students
• Average Age 25.31
• Gender
• F 62.77 M 37.23
• Race
• Asian 1.78
• American Indian .71
• Black 50.26
• Hispanic 3.13
• Not Specified 26.77
• White 30.64

• JCTC Students
• Average Age 26.4
• Gender
• F 54.16 M 45.81
• Race
• Asian 1.22
• American Indian .28
• Black 17.69
• Hispanic 2.09
• Not Specified 31.3
• White 62.54

Data captured Jan. 1, 2006 through Dec. 31, 2007
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Results Phase I

• Results of EES Fall 2003 to Fall 2007
• English
• 82 EES Completion Rate
• 89 Eligible to Move to Next Course or higher
• Math
• 79 EES Completion Rate
• 90 Eligible to Move to Next Course or Higher

53
70
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Results Phase ITracking the original 262 EES
Students from Fall, 2003

• Spring 2006 52.29 (137) still enrolled
• (compared to 21.03 of all 1st time students from
  Fall, 2003)
• Fall 2007 37 (97) still enrolled
• (compared to 11.25 of all 1st time students from
  Fall, 2003)

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PHASE II Focus on College Success

• Short-term transitional class between GED
  certification and beginning of college
• Annual scholarship awarded to outstanding GED
  student
• eFree GED
• Separate orientation and admission process
• Award one credit hour of GE 100 (Intro to
  College)
• Improved data tracking
• Improved intervention and support system (based
  on successful Career Pathways and Success Now
  Learning Communities)

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Benefits

• Leveraging resources e.g. professional
  development, facilities, technology
• More efficient service for students through a
  comprehensive, seamless system which reduces
  duplicated efforts
• Tuition saved for students
• Joint marketing

Tuition saved in 2006-07 397,653
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Recognition

• KEWA (KentuckianaWorks Excellence in Workforce
  Achievement) for Innovative Program/Partnerships
  http//www.kentuckianaworks.org
• Featured at National Governors Association
• Featured at American Association for Adult and
  Continuing Education
• Profiled by Dr. Forrest Chisman from the Council
  for Advancement of Adult Literacy
  http//www.caalusa.org
• Selected as a model program for visitation by
  Bostons Jobs for the Future Program and the
  Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
• Cited in June/July 2005 issue of the Community
  College Journal
• US Department of Education Office of Vocational
  and Adult Education http//www.c-pal.net

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Questions?To find out more

• http//www.ged4u.com

Click on Transition to Postsecondary Education