Massachusetts Community Colleges &
Workforce Development
Transformation Agenda
COABE 2013

“This grant is not about tinkering, it’s about transformation. This is not about getting more students to enroll, it’s about getting more students to graduation day and into good jobs.”
- Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education

 Structural, systemic change:
◦
Redesign programs and services to accelerate attainment of certificates, degrees and employment for low-skilled, low-income unand under-employed MA residents
 Student attainment and jobs:
◦
Enroll and track the progress of students through certificate/degree attainment and jobs

 Budget FUNDED is $20,000,000 over three years to support capacity-building, systemic changes
 Target population are unemployed and underemployed adult workers
 Goal is to enroll 4,000 students and place 2,800 in employment over three years (state-wide)
 15 colleges committed to statewide project with local implementation

• MA DOL
– Career Services Office
– Local Workforce Invest Board (Bristol WIB)
• MA DESE
– ACLS(Adult and Community Learning Services)
– MA Higher Education
• MA Community Colleges
– Host the MCCWFDTA Website
• MA Industries and Business Associations
Complete list of all the partners: http://www.masscc.org/partnerships-initiatives/ourpartners

Priority #1:
Accelerate progress for lowskilled and other workers.
Priority #2:
Improve retention and achievement rates and/or reduce time to completion of industry recognized credentials, certificates and degrees.
Priority #3:
Build programs that meet industry needs, including developing career pathways.
Priority #4:
Strengthen online and technology-enabled learning.

 Health Care
 Advanced Manufacturing
 Information Technologies
 Life Sciences & Biotechnology
 Clean/Sustainable Energy
 Financial Services & Entrepreneurship

• Statewide system integration- Community Colleges and Career Centers, Community colleges with each other
• Statewide contextualized curriculum
– Redesign adult basic education and developmental education = College Readiness
– 6 Industry sectors as bases for contextualized curriculum
• Local choice to meet local needs

to be adapted and applied locally
 Contextualized Adult Education and Developmental
Education Curriculum, developed with the help of educational consultants, with involvement of staff/faculty and workforce partners.
 College and Career Navigators, to work with every community college and its local One-Stop Career Centers to recruit and support people enrolling in college programs. Also to help college students enrolled in select programs.
 Industry-Informed Career Path Development, developed through College/Industry teams.

Options and Flexibility in a supported
Environment
• Contextualized Curriculum
• Navigator case management
• More communication about a student’s need from ABE- College, non credit to credit and from Career Center to College
• Accelerated programs and “stackables”

 Why contextualized curriculum? To speed progress at lower levels and improve motivation – learners see how math/reading/writing skills relate to their future employment goals
 Who is the curriculum for? Adults and Youth who lack the basic math, science, reading and writing skills to succeed in college-level programs.

Combined Effort- supported by the CAO and the State
College PD- The Lash Center For Teaching and Learning and
ABE PD- SABES (System for Adult Basic Educ. Support)
• Contextualized Curriculum Toolbox
• Reflective Practice Group, meet and blog
• Learning Community- Dev. Ed and CIS class

BCC, Worchester Adult learning Center and Mt Wachusett CC http://vimeo.com/57637157

Career
Center
Services
College
Access and
Attainment
Career
Success and credential

Any program,
Any college
• Navigators will help navigate to
BCC and then to any community college that might best serve the customer-credit and noncredit
MCCWDTA programs, and others
• Navigators will help to market the
MCCWDTA new and redesigned programs, among other college programs
• Design Articulation Agreements

Supporting students through the waters of education and the choppy waters of higher education and training
For the student:
• Liaison between the career center & college
• Liaison between internal departments & student
• Support system by phone, in-person, through email
• Career Counselor: internships, career readiness support and job placement
For partners, college and community:
• Liaison between the career center and college departments
• Relationship with business to direct qualified applicants

• Changing the definition of “term” and
”semester”
• Student Services Support: Enrollment, Financial
Aid, support services, counseling
• Credit and non credit working together
• Tracking employment outcomes

• Business Administration Transfer Fast Track-credit
– Weekend program
– One supported cohort
– 18 months to do a two year program
– Developed for unemployed Career Center client
– Had some remedial course and Developmental Education course offered at the same time
– 8 out of the 10 enrolled will graduate in May, 1 student got an office job before graduating
• Replicated this summer: Executive Office Fast Track

• Redesign and Design Programs with Industry
Input
• Local Needs and Where the Jobs Are
• Technology- Open Source and Enhancing
Online Capabilities

• Industry need that builds career pathways
• Industry Input: met with local businesses
– Listen to their needs for qualified employees
• Stackable Credentials:
– Pet First Aid
– Vet Office Skills
– Dual Enrollment: GED/ Vet Office Skills
– Animal Care Husbandry Technician
– Assoc. Applied Animal Care Science
– Course work to prepare for Vet Tech or Veterinarian

Computer Information Systems:
Virtual Learning
: “ virtualizing” most aspects of the computer hardware and software courses in the program to correspond with current industry standards.
• students are exposed to the advanced technology of virtualization and cloud computing- more marketable skills
• retention has improved by allowing students to work on assignments and lab activities whenever they have time – 24 hours per day .
Open Source Repository and Universal Design

1. To serve 600 or more students
2. To help at least 528 obtain a certificate and a job
3. To add new programs to meet area employers needs
4. To develop a deeper more sensible communication system of student and case management counseling across all levels
5. To change the way Community College education is delivered

• Getting more people to think about collaboration
• Improved cooperation between One-Stop Career
Centers
• 220 enrolled, 76 completed a credential & 38 got a job
• Bob-
• “He explained how he sent out over 25 resumes and had not had any success. Bob
was a non-traditional CNA graduate.”
• “Bob emailed me three days ago. He has a new job – full time with good benefits.”

• Systemic reform
– Treating non credit like credit
– Merging Data systems
– Tracking outcomes better especially employment
• Getting “buy in” from college faculty and staff
– Some disagreement on Mission of Community
Colleges – workforce vs. liberal arts
– “weakest link” and economic development
– Integrating Remedial Education into college
Value of educating the community no matter where the student starts

At BCC, The Transformation Agenda will create
Community College education that has flexibility, acceleration and options in a supported environment transforming learning into practice and practice into career success!

Kristen McKenna Program Manager
Bristol Community College
Kristen.mckenna@bristolcc.edu
or 508-678-2811 x3437

Jennifer Freeman Project Director
100 Cambridge St, Suite 1310
Boston MA, 02114
617-542-2911 http://www.masscc.org/