Member Matters December 2022

Hands-on Learning

Suffolk County Community College has enlisted industry experts to instruct students in a solar installer program, whose hands-on learning opportunities include a paid externship (Suffolk County Community College).

Students at Rock Valley College studying aviation maintenance will be getting their hands on a functioning jet thanks to AAR, a major aviation service provider, which donated the aircraft (AAR).

Student veterans at Grand Valley State University have enhanced opportunities to have their prior learning recognized and earn as they learn, thanks to the university's new program, "Veterans Advance: Progressive Work-Based Learning" (GVSU).

Creative Credentials

Atlantic Technological University is introducing two new programs designed for "supporting part-time learners and talent development." A blend of in-person and online learning will greet students who pursue the new certificates in logistics and marketing and business models and emerging technologies (Fleet Transport).

There are nearly 500 craft breweries in Pennsylvania, where the trade contributes about $5.4 billion in economic impact annually. Penn State Berks is tapping into the trend with a noncredit craft brewing certificate, which is aimed at adult learners who have worked in the field (Penn State).

Southern Adventist University is rolling out 15 noncredit courses online it has designed to help learners achieve industry certifications in information technology and health care (Chattanoogan.com).

Accelerating Career Pathways

In response to the state's persistent health care staffing shortages, the Montana University System is piloting a "Sprint Degree" program to expedite degree attainment. The program, set to launch in June of next year, would trim the time to complete a bachelor's degree to six or seven semesters, while an associate degree could be completed in three semesters (Montana Free Press).

Doing Good With Grants

A $400,000 grant from Strada Education Network will help MiraCosta College advance its work with a major biopharmaceutical company and a nonprofit focused on lowering the cost of biopharmaceuticals (Oceanside Chamber of Commerce).

Cal State Fullerton received four grants under CSU's Global HSI Equity Innovation Hub. The Hispanic Serving Institutions community grants were the most received by any of seventeen funded programs (Cal State Fullerton).

More than 22 community colleges received an aggregate of $1.4 million in grants from Duke Energy, part of its overall $2.8 million in funding to advance workforce development programs that support the future of the energy sector (Duke Energy).

Meeting Adult Learners Where They 

To help adult learners navigate career pathways, UW-Green Bay is adding career coaching that helps them identify strengths and consider career choices amid a changing workplace (UW-Green Bay).

In celebration of Nontraditional Student Recognition Week, Nov. 4-11, Penn State highlighted two first-generation students who earned degrees as adult learners (Penn State).

Awards and Other Recognition

Capella University won CAEL's very own Adult Learner Impact Award, presented at its annual conference. A pioneer in a pioneer in competency-based, direct assessment education models, Capella  has seen more than 17,000 students graduate from its FlexPath learning format (The EvoLLLution).

For the second year in a row, Broward College received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award, issued by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the "oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education" (East Panhandle News).

The dean of Fayetteville State University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences has been named chair of the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs' Veterans' Rural Health Advisory Committee (HBCU Connect).

Mississippi State University's veteran and military affairs director has been honored by G.I. Jobs as "Veteran Champion of the Year in Higher Education" (MSU).

The Pennsylvania National Guard Associations has endowed multiple Penn State campuses, including its World Campus, as Guard-Friendly Schools (Penn State).

In Their Own Words

UNC Greensboro College's chancellor writes that amid a national postsecondary landscape of declining enrollment and increasing scrutiny of college ROI, institutions must reimagine themselves and the benefits they create for stakeholders, including meeting workforce needs, something the college has creatively done through its collaborative esports program (Business Today).

The president of Tennessee State University evokes her university's legacy as an HBCU and land grant institution, its modern-day position as an institution of international prominence, and a burgeoning enrollment trend, which she attributes to, among other factors, a focus on nontraditional students and collaboration with community colleges (the Tennessean).

Bunker Hill Community College received presidential acclaim for its workforce development programs' support of the Infrastructure Talent Pipeline Challenge (Bunker Hill Community College).

The Art of Articulation

Austin Community College District (ACC) and Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) have created a smoother pathway to bachelor's degrees for graduates of ACC, who may now transfer up to 90 credits to SNHU in eligible programs and enjoy a 10% discount on tuition rates, a perk available to ACC alumni, active employees, and employees' immediate families (Austin Community College).

Middle Georgia State University will welcome graduates of Albany Technical College in an arrangement that allows them to build upon an associate degree in applied science in computer technology and pursue a bachelor of science in information technology in online or face-to-face classes (WGXA).

An agreement between Florida International University and Miami Dade College will support graduates of MDC in applying their associate of science degrees in animation and game art or game development and design toward a bachelor of science in digital communication and media at FIU (MDC).

Students who graduate from Metropolitan Community College are ensured entrance to Missouri State under a new "2+2" agreement between the two institutions (Missouri State).

Graduates of the Technical College System of Georgia, which spans 22 campuses, can enjoy seamless enrollment as juniors at Morris Brown College in pursuit of bachelor's degree programs in organizational management and leadership and hospitality management (The Journal of Blacks in Education).