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NYATEP November 2013

Overcoming Common College Traps: Strategies to Help Struggling Students Navigate the College System. NYATEP November 2013. The Aspen Institute Workforce Strategies Initiative. Identifies and advances strategies that help low-income Americans gain ground in today's labor market

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NYATEP November 2013

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  1. Overcoming Common College Traps: Strategies to Help Struggling Students Navigate the College System NYATEP November 2013

  2. The Aspen Institute Workforce Strategies Initiative • Identifies and advances strategies that help low-income Americans gain ground in today's labor market • Research and Evaluation • Leadership Development (Sector Skills Academy) • Public Roundtables • AspenWSI has been instrumental in elevating sector strategies, community college-nonprofit partnerships and issues with job quality in the new economy

  3. Courses to Employment • 3-year investigation of 6 competitively selected partnerships • Automobile Career Pathways Project- Seattle, WA • Allied Health-Capital IDEA and Austin Community College- Austin, TX • Carreras en Salud- Chicago, IL • Flint Healthcare Career Pathways Project- Flint, MI • Logistics/Transportation Academy- Los Angeles, CA • Training Futures at Northern Virginia Family Service and Northern Virginia Community College- Fairfax County, VA • Inspired by sector research highlighting importance of partnerships • Investigating range of questions about how partnerships work and what they accomplish • Continuing with a national survey just concluding • Funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation

  4. What are C2E Strategies? • Workforce development approaches that focus on non-traditional students, typically low-income, working adults and that: • Combine the strengths of community colleges and  local workforce nonprofits • Target a specific industry or cluster of occupations • Support workers in improving their workplace skills • Support students in persisting on an education pathway • Provide labor market navigation services 

  5. Common Student Stumbling Blocks C2E sites discussed significant challenges in the following areas: • Enrollment and Registration • Financial Aid • Persistence • Counseling • Academic Preparedness • Transition to Employment

  6. What challenges do your students experience related to entering college (enrollment, registration and financial aid)?

  7. Enrollment/Registration Traps • Lack of familiarity with process, jargon, terminology • Logistics • Need to visit departments all over campus. “Ping-pong” effect • Long Lines, lack of visitor parking • Applications • Students lack attention to details/don’t follow directions well • Don’t know how to answer some questions • Difficulty with computerized/on-line processes • Holds • Past unpaid enrollment fees • Parking and library fines • Placement testing • Skills deficiencies • Retesting policies • Difficulty with computerized/on-line testing • Subjective scoring/ negative incentives • Inconsistent advising. What classes to take and when?

  8. Financial Aid Traps • Application Process • FAFSA forms confusing and intimidating • Incomplete documentation • Complicated follow-up letters • Lost ID numbers • On-line forms • Lack of clear communication about deadlines • Timeframe – 6-8 week lag • Structure of aid • Less aid available to spring enrollees • Aid based on last year’s tax return rather than current income • Working poor don’t qualify • Full-time enrollment requirements, need to balance work and school

  9. Enrollment/Registration Innovations • High-touch enrollment processes • Off-site enrollment • Proctored group enrollment • One-on-one intensive assistance • Coordination • Single point of contact at college • College Liaison at nonprofit • Enrollment teams at college • Payment of past fines and fees / temporary lifting of holds • Placement Testing Support • Practice testing/Familiarization with computerized testing • Testing at end of training • Alternative Developmental Ed/Remediation Strategies • Supplemental advising

  10. Financial Aid Process Innovations • High-touch application assistance • Intensive one-on-one support • Proctored group applications • Behind the scenes coordination/specialized attention • Provision and coordination of supplemental assistance through scholarships, WIA, and other funding sources • Financial planning/management assistance

  11. Challenges related to persistence and completion?

  12. Persistence Traps • Need for basic skills development (weak math, reading and/or language skills) • Increasingly difficult coursework • Road to completion is long and daunting • Students lack vision, motivation and self-confidence. • Students become demoralized • Family, Work and School Commitments • Students face many non-academic challenges and insufficient access to support services – college counselors not equipped to help • College counseling is transactional • Student to Counselor ratios very high • No follow-on

  13. Persistence Innovations • Partnerships help participants set goals. Provide encouragement • Case management model- usually by nonprofit. Long-term, intensive relationships with students. • Peer support groups • Partnerships cherry-pick college counselors to work with programs • Special college counseling sessions with participants • Support for non-academic needs (transportation, childcare, housing, etc.) • Tutoring • Integrated basic skills training (I-BEST model) • Additional training such as “Life Skills” • Attendance monitoring

  14. Challenges related to transitioning to the labor market and being successful in their job?

  15. Transition to Employment-Traps • College counselors lack industry connections/knowledge • Limited knowledge of resumes, job interviews or job search • No or limited professional networks • Students lack realistic employment expectations • Training completion – not employment or self-sufficiency - is college’s goal

  16. Transition to Employment Innovations • Use of “Sector” model • Personalized career planning services • Career Navigator function • Job development and placement services • Deeper employer engagement • Training in simulated work environment • Post-graduation follow-up services

  17. Concluding Thoughts • Building partnerships that help overcome “traps” helps both nonprofits and colleges achieve their core goals • Partnerships may need to be launched at a smaller scale and expanded over time, as partners develop trust and confidence in one another • Need for further experimentation, sharing of strategies across different places, and tailoring strategies to different times and places • Build data systems early on in partnership

  18. Preliminary Survey Results Nearly 175 responses from nonprofits (65 of their community college partners) About half are CBOs, 15 percent are WIBs, rest are other types of nonprofits 20 % in healthcare, 20 % in manufacturing, 20 % in no specific industry Almost half in partnership for longer than 5 years

  19. Preliminary Survey Results Support students in for-credit certificate and degree programs, non-credit vocational training, and ESL and developmental ed courses Low income, youth between 18 and 26, and adults with no/limited work experience are biggest populations served 56% said sustaining resources to support partnership is a big challenge

  20. Preliminary Survey Results 25% said overcoming different institutional cultures and work styles between partner organizations is a big challenge Much much more to come

  21. Contact Matt Helmer Senior Research Associate The Aspen Institute Workforce Strategies Iniatiative Matt.helmer@aspenisnt.org www.aspenwsi.org

  22. SCCC Training programs Schenectady County Community College CBO/Non-Profit Partnerships NYATEP Fall 2013 Conference Holiday Inn – Saratoga Springs November 19, 2013 Matt Grattan Executive Director of Workforce Development

  23. SCCC Training programs Health Profession Opportunity Grant (HPOG) $11.4M – 5 Year Grant - Largest in SCCC History Train TANF recipients and low income individuals in high demand healthcare careers Projected 5 year goals • Enrolled in healthcare training: 1,500 • Complete training: 1,200 • Employed in healthcare: 900

  24. SCCC Training programs HPOG Partnerships Albany Community Action Partnership (ACAP) Schenectady Community Action Program (SCAP) Northeast Parent and Child Society YouthBuild Grant • Intake and assessment • Career readiness (life skills, resume and cover letter writing ) • Barrier reduction(budgeting, advocacy with other support agencies, case management) • Employment Services (job placement, retention services)

  25. SCCC Training programs Trainings Certified Nurse Aide (C.N.A.) Home Health Aide (H.H.A.) Personal Care Aide (P.C.A.) Integrated Basic Education and Skill Training (I-BEST) Academic preparation (testing skills, reading comprehension, math review, medical terminology) Certificate/Degree Programs in conjunction with SCCC: • Medical Billing and Coding • Chemical dependency • Early Childhood Education • Nutrition • Pre-nursing courses in conjunction with Belanger School of Nursing

  26. SCCC Training programs Support Services while in Training Textbooks Uniforms and shoes Childcare Transportation assistance through CDTA Counseling services Wrap-around support

  27. SCCC Training programs Qualifications TANF or 200% federal poverty level High School Diploma or GED® Criminal background check Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) HPOG is part of a national study, and to learn what kind of education and training works we require that every person eligible for HPOG be selected through a lottery system. Those who are not selected will not be able to participate in HPOG, but will be able to enroll in other services or programs.

  28. SCCC Training programs For information about enrollment In Albany, Rensselaer and Saratoga Counties Contact: • Albany Community Action Partnership • 333 Sheridan Avenue • Albany NY 12206 • (518) 463-3175 In Schenectady, Saratoga, Fulton and Montgomery Counties Contact: • Schenectady Community Action Program (SCAP), • 913 Albany Street • Schenectady NY 12307 • (518) 374-9181

  29. SCCC Training programs Success Stories Projected 5 year goals • Enrolled in healthcare training: 1,500 • Complete training: 1,200 • Employed in healthcare: 900 Where are we now (10/31/13) • Enrolled in healthcare training: 953 (64% of goal) • Complete training: 870 (95% of enrolled, 73% of goal) • Employed in healthcare: 530 (61% of completers, 59% of goal) The Health Profession Opportunity Grants program is a demonstration project funded by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) This presentation is supported by Grant 90FX0007 from the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of HHS

  30. SCCC Training programs Contact Information/Questions Matt Grattan Executive Director of Workforce Development Schenectady County Community College grattamj@sunysccc.edu (518) 381-1315 www.sunysccc.edu www.scap.ny.org www.albanycap.org

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