Post Secondary Career and Technical Education is NOT ..

1. 

2. Post Secondary Career and Technical Education is NOT….. Read slide Post Secondary Education today is no longer the tech ed or voc ed Fonize knew about! Career and Technical Ed has really changed over the years. The TTCs have recently received a lot of attention from Complete College America, Chronicle of Higher Education, Community College Review and other national publications. Read slide Post Secondary Education today is no longer the tech ed or voc ed Fonize knew about! Career and Technical Ed has really changed over the years. The TTCs have recently received a lot of attention from Complete College America, Chronicle of Higher Education, Community College Review and other national publications.

3. “A review of IPEDS data reveals that of 1,145 two-year, public postsecondary institutions in U.S., only 105 (about 9 percent) can report an average “150 percent of time” graduation rate above 50% for the last five years.” John Hoops, with Future Works was asked to write a paper on the TTCs. During his research he found, (read quote) All twenty-seven Technology Centers are included in that group; during those five years the Technology Centers averaged above 70% completion. Go to next slideJohn Hoops, with Future Works was asked to write a paper on the TTCs. During his research he found, (read quote) All twenty-seven Technology Centers are included in that group; during those five years the Technology Centers averaged above 70% completion. Go to next slide

4. “There is no other state postsecondary system that comes anywhere close to achieving these outcomes.”-John Hoops Read slide. Yesterday and Today From the beginning, the Centers were designed to focus on hands-on learning and applied skills; the Centers strive to maintain this tradition even as technology and some fields have changed dramatically and require different kinds of physical learning spaces. All this national attention is a little overwhelming due to the fact we have been doing this for over 40 years with minor tweaks. We are true to mission- work force development ! We would be amiss if we did not acknowledge the critical role COE has played in this…..Coe requires these high standards and evaluates institutions like ours to meet or exceed the standards. Read slide. Yesterday and Today From the beginning, the Centers were designed to focus on hands-on learning and applied skills; the Centers strive to maintain this tradition even as technology and some fields have changed dramatically and require different kinds of physical learning spaces. All this national attention is a little overwhelming due to the fact we have been doing this for over 40 years with minor tweaks. We are true to mission- work force development ! We would be amiss if we did not acknowledge the critical role COE has played in this…..Coe requires these high standards and evaluates institutions like ours to meet or exceed the standards.

5. Tennessee Technology Center Mission: The Tennessee Technology Center continues to serve as the premier provider of workforce development throughout the State of Tennessee. The Center fulfills this mission by: Providing competency-based training of the highest quality that will qualify individuals for employment and or advancement in jobs. Providing high quality training and retraining of employed workers. Providing high quality training that is economical and accessible to all residents of Tennessee, thereby contributing to economic and community development of the communities we serve.

6. Program Structure Competency-based Student Services Technology Foundations Design for Completion: Four Elements of the Technology Center approach to education. Read and commentRead and comment

7. Program Structure  Students: Choose a Program Choose Fulltime or Part-time Schedule….that’s it! Burger King is where you can have it your way! TTCs do not adopt the same philosophy Our students have two basic choices- read slide The Centers’ programs offer students an intensive educational experience. Attending a Center program is roughly the equivalent of holding a full-time job going to school; full-time students attend approximately 30 hours per week, five days per week, or 432 hours in each trimester. Centers operate year round and full-time students attend programs between 6 and 22 months depending on the total estimated clock hours for the specific program.   Students enroll in complete programs at the Centers that includes all content and a fixed schedule of attendance; there are no separate courses or schedule variables to cause confusion over what courses to take or how to set up a schedule. Programs are defined by learning and occupational objectives. Because of the open-entry/open-exit and competency based program organization and because of the program intensity, faculty and students have a great deal of contact and faculty are very engaged in managing and tracking student progress through the competencies. All this leads to a highly supported learning experience in which the goals—shared by both faculty and students-- are completing the program and job placement.   Competency-Based Tradition: Applied Education and Learning. The Centers use competency-based curricula, blending theory and applied learning around identified competencies that are needed to demonstrate knowledge and to be successful in an occupation. Competencies are supported by extensive use of industry developed standards and assessment tools. Learning is self-paced and allows students to spend variable amounts of time to master competencies. The lynchpin to the competency-based structure is the capacity of the faculty to clearly define and communicate the expectations and to manage the progress of each individual toward the competencies. Burger King is where you can have it your way! TTCs do not adopt the same philosophy Our students have two basic choices- read slide The Centers’ programs offer students an intensive educational experience. Attending a Center program is roughly the equivalent of holding a full-time job going to school; full-time students attend approximately 30 hours per week, five days per week, or 432 hours in each trimester. Centers operate year round and full-time students attend programs between 6 and 22 months depending on the total estimated clock hours for the specific program.   Students enroll in complete programs at the Centers that includes all content and a fixed schedule of attendance; there are no separate courses or schedule variables to cause confusion over what courses to take or how to set up a schedule. Programs are defined by learning and occupational objectives. Because of the open-entry/open-exit and competency based program organization and because of the program intensity, faculty and students have a great deal of contact and faculty are very engaged in managing and tracking student progress through the competencies. All this leads to a highly supported learning experience in which the goals—shared by both faculty and students-- are completing the program and job placement.   Competency-Based Tradition: Applied Education and Learning. The Centers use competency-based curricula, blending theory and applied learning around identified competencies that are needed to demonstrate knowledge and to be successful in an occupation. Competencies are supported by extensive use of industry developed standards and assessment tools. Learning is self-paced and allows students to spend variable amounts of time to master competencies. The lynchpin to the competency-based structure is the capacity of the faculty to clearly define and communicate the expectations and to manage the progress of each individual toward the competencies.

8. This absence of choice in the Center students’ program structure has major implications for the student experience; the first being elimination of confusion around what classes to take and in what sequence; second, there is very little choice in scheduling; and third, almost by default, the focus is on learning and completion.

9. Program descriptions often include the promise that students will “learn by doing” and the promise that the program will prepare students to have the right skills to succeed in the workplace and build a career; learning takes place in environments that are as closely modeled as feasible on real work environments with work environment expectations. Competency-Based Tradition:

10. When viewed as a component of the whole educational program at the Centers, student services can be understood as an ‘embedded case management’ system. The faculty, staff and administration maintain a network of information and communication surrounding nearly all the students; personnel of the Centers as a group take responsibility for organizing and providing students services. Student Services

11. In TN 64% of high school graduates enrolling in community colleges are placed in developmental or remedial courses annually. In Fall of 2007, 20,500 students took a developmental or remedial course Only 5,500 of these students successfully completed a college level course in the Fall of 2008 A Success Rate of less than 27% Remedial & Developmental in TN Read slide Unfortunately this is a familiar story for community college students throughout the United States. And the low rates of success in developmental education become more extreme has the students in the population get older. For a number of reasons, few students placed in remedial education complete these courses and enter a college program. Technical education has changed and students entering our diploma programs need the same problem solving, reading and math skills as college freshman. At the TTCs we take a different approach to remedial education, that works for our student population. Read slide Unfortunately this is a familiar story for community college students throughout the United States. And the low rates of success in developmental education become more extreme has the students in the population get older. For a number of reasons, few students placed in remedial education complete these courses and enter a college program. Technical education has changed and students entering our diploma programs need the same problem solving, reading and math skills as college freshman. At the TTCs we take a different approach to remedial education, that works for our student population.

12. The Centers’ model of integrated Technology Foundations for developmental education is highly effective and is very different than conventional developmental education practices.

13. Remedial studies integrated into technical programs Everyone Enters Pre-Assessment Computer based, Individualized & Self-paced instruction WorkKeys/CRC Technology Foundations The TTC approach to a Remedial and Developmental program is called Technology Foundations. Students are not given a placement test prior to entering the school to determine a need for remedial and developmental courses, instead each student is informed that Technology Foundations is a required component of their course. Students are given a short orientation to Technology Foundations when they begin a program and within the first week of attending the TTC, students are scheduled for a pre-assessment to identify areas of strength and weakness . TTCs statewide use the Keytrain pre-assessment (which is aligned with WorkKeys ) .Students are assessed in six different areas including: applied math, reading for information, writing, listening and teamwork. The focus of the pre-assessment is the diagnostic, the results the technology foundations instructor establishes a individualized learning plan for each student that identifies where the student needs to begin in the curriculum and how to help the student understand what they need to learn to be successful in their program and in their chosen career. Students are typically scheduled for 60-90 minute sessions two to three times a week. Students progress through the tech foundations curricula at their own pace, however the majority complete the program in a little more than one trimester. When students complete their Technology Foundations component they sit for the Career Readiness Certificate. The goal is for every TTC graduate to earn a least a silver certificate. Of the students that have taken the WorkKeys assessment in the past year 88% earned a silver or gold certificate. The TTC approach to a Remedial and Developmental program is called Technology Foundations. Students are not given a placement test prior to entering the school to determine a need for remedial and developmental courses, instead each student is informed that Technology Foundations is a required component of their course. Students are given a short orientation to Technology Foundations when they begin a program and within the first week of attending the TTC, students are scheduled for a pre-assessment to identify areas of strength and weakness . TTCs statewide use the Keytrain pre-assessment (which is aligned with WorkKeys ) .Students are assessed in six different areas including: applied math, reading for information, writing, listening and teamwork. The focus of the pre-assessment is the diagnostic, the results the technology foundations instructor establishes a individualized learning plan for each student that identifies where the student needs to begin in the curriculum and how to help the student understand what they need to learn to be successful in their program and in their chosen career. Students are typically scheduled for 60-90 minute sessions two to three times a week. Students progress through the tech foundations curricula at their own pace, however the majority complete the program in a little more than one trimester. When students complete their Technology Foundations component they sit for the Career Readiness Certificate. The goal is for every TTC graduate to earn a least a silver certificate. Of the students that have taken the WorkKeys assessment in the past year 88% earned a silver or gold certificate.

14. Remedial studies integrated into technical programs Everyone Enters Pre-Assessment Computer based, Individualized & Self-paced instruction WorkKeys/CRC Integrated Tech Foundations There are several important elements of the Technology Foundation at the Technology Centers that stand in sharp contrast to the delivery of developmental education and remediation in community colleges. These are: 1. Everyone enters the Technology Foundations components. There is not a distinction between those who are well prepared for their occupational program and those that must obtain developmental or remedial skills. This platform removes the stigma from developmental education and makes it clear that these skills are important for everyone.   2. Almost no one fails to complete or achieve levels of success in Technology Foundations. Students may work at their Foundation program until they are successful and attain the competencies that would make them successful at the top two levels of the Career Readiness Certificate.   3. The Technology Foundation content is integrated into the occupational and technical program of the student. Foundation competencies are presented as parallel to both the educational program and to the skills required in the workplace. The applied nature of the instruction clearly increases the relevance of the Foundation competencies and encourages students to work hard at mastering skills that they may not otherwise be interested in doing in a pure math or pure reading class.   4. Technology Foundation’s organization as a self-paced competency-based program also encourages students who did not do well in classroom settings or students who have not been in classroom settings for some length of time. The TTC programs are designed to develop competencies and work environment skills. People who did not finish or thrive in high school or in college seem to adapt well to Technology Foundations’ learning environment and learning format. Technology Foundations not only delivers important competencies to students but it builds confidence in the students own sense of their capacity to do the work and succeed.   5. The role of the Technology Foundation instructor is very important not only in Foundation instruction itself but also in the overall occupational and technical education. He or she is one of two or three instructors that the student will have for their entire program and are very much part of the learning community that form around students. So instructors build relationships with students, communicate frequently with program faculty about student progress and become an integral part of the Center’s student support network. Instructors in Technology Foundations know how students are faring in their occupational programs and can coordinate supplemental Foundation learning programs with the other program instructors. Bottom line is technical education has changed and our students need increased problem solving, reading and math skills.There are several important elements of the Technology Foundation at the Technology Centers that stand in sharp contrast to the delivery of developmental education and remediation in community colleges. These are: 1. Everyone enters the Technology Foundations components. There is not a distinction between those who are well prepared for their occupational program and those that must obtain developmental or remedial skills. This platform removes the stigma from developmental education and makes it clear that these skills are important for everyone.   2. Almost no one fails to complete or achieve levels of success in Technology Foundations. Students may work at their Foundation program until they are successful and attain the competencies that would make them successful at the top two levels of the Career Readiness Certificate.   3. The Technology Foundation content is integrated into the occupational and technical program of the student. Foundation competencies are presented as parallel to both the educational program and to the skills required in the workplace. The applied nature of the instruction clearly increases the relevance of the Foundation competencies and encourages students to work hard at mastering skills that they may not otherwise be interested in doing in a pure math or pure reading class.   4. Technology Foundation’s organization as a self-paced competency-based program also encourages students who did not do well in classroom settings or students who have not been in classroom settings for some length of time. The TTC programs are designed to develop competencies and work environment skills. People who did not finish or thrive in high school or in college seem to adapt well to Technology Foundations’ learning environment and learning format. Technology Foundations not only delivers important competencies to students but it builds confidence in the students own sense of their capacity to do the work and succeed.   5. The role of the Technology Foundation instructor is very important not only in Foundation instruction itself but also in the overall occupational and technical education. He or she is one of two or three instructors that the student will have for their entire program and are very much part of the learning community that form around students. So instructors build relationships with students, communicate frequently with program faculty about student progress and become an integral part of the Center’s student support network. Instructors in Technology Foundations know how students are faring in their occupational programs and can coordinate supplemental Foundation learning programs with the other program instructors. Bottom line is technical education has changed and our students need increased problem solving, reading and math skills.

15. LESSONS LEARNED

16. An overarching observation about the Centers is that the kinds of outcomes obtained by the Centers flow from an organization whose core operational principles and practices are designed to produce completion and placement in the labor force.

17. Community college occupational and technical education programs could explore integrating key elements of a competency based model and the seamlessness of a clock hour structure into their existing technical degree programs.

18. The Center’s model of integrated Technology Foundations for developmental education is highly effective.

19. The Centers build in accountability for completion and placement across the whole institution.

20. James D. King, Vice Chancellor Tennessee Technology Centers, Tennessee Board of Regents james.king@tbr.edu Chelle Travis, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Instruction chelle.travis@tbr.edu Dr. Carol G. Puryear, Director, Tennessee Technology Center-Murfreesboro cpuryear@ttcmurfreesboro.edu For Additional Information Contact:

21.