Educational Partnerships That Promote Life-Long Learning Opportunities

1
Educational Partnerships That Promote Life-Long
Learning Opportunities

• a presentation to the International Symposium
• on
• Short-Cycle Higher Education in the United States
  and Europe Educational Partnerships for
  Economic Development
• Owens Community College, Toledo, Ohio
• October 15, 3009
• By
• Stephen G. Katsinas
• Director, Education Policy Center
• The University of Alabama

2
Data sources/acknowledgements

• Scholarly publications including Community
  Colleges Economic Development Models of
  Institutional Effectiveness (w. V. Lacey,
  American Association of Community Colleges, 1989
  1991).
• Work with community college-related sponsored
  programs of the Ford, Kellogg, Jack Kent Cooke,
  and Carnegie Foundations, as well as work with
  the Rural Policy Research Institute.
• Field work including visits to 400 US community,
  junior, and technical colleges in 40 states, and
  20 years teaching a graduate course Economic
  Community Development Higher Education.
• Quantitative data 2005 Basic Classifications of
  Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
  Teaching (for the 1st time classified 2-year
  colleges).

3
What we'll talk about today

• What is short-cycle life-long education from an
  American perspective?,and why are educational
  partnerships so vital to success?
• What are some key contextual challenges related
  both to policies and programs to create effective
  employment and training, welfare-to-work, and
  adult literacy policies and programs linked to
  formal education systems (K-12, HIED) on
  the ground.
• MY CONTEXT IS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE
  AMERICAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE, WHICH OFTEN LIES AT
  THE FULCRUM OF EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS IN MANY
  US COMMUNITIES

4
What is short-cycle life-long education from an
American perspective?,and why are educational
partnerships so vital to success?

• Part One

5
Nearly 20 years later, non-traditional economic
development is largely mainstream

• AS REGIONALLY BASED INSTITUTIONS, COMMUNITY
  COLLEGES ARE POSITIONED TO LEAD, THROUGH ACTIVE
  USE OF THEIR LATENT CONVENING POWER, TO...
• Build sustainable communities by reinvesting in
  human resources on quality of life issues
  (recreation/arts/culture).
• Connect colleges and industries by sectors across
  regional boundaries.
• Create empower local leaders.
• Decreasing out-migration of talented young
  people.
• The Key A SUSTAINED FOCUS TO INCREASE BOTH
• COMPETITIVENESS AND SUSTAINABILITY

6
Two key questions community leaders need to
answer

• How can math and science pathways be expanded, in
  era when states fund high enrollment/low cost
  programs, compared to high cost/low enrollment
  programs (which tend to be in high demand areas)?
• How many students enrolled in workforce training
  programs (from WIA and other sources), enroll in
  regular for-credit programs within 2 years of
  completing the short term courses?
• WE NEED TO FULLY DOCUMENT THE SOCIAL MOBILITY
  COMMUNITY COLLEGES ADD.

7
My field work teaches me.

• 1. Workers need to be prepared for jobs that
  really exist in the local economy
• 2. Workers need training on equipment
  that is currently used by industries.
• 3. Rule of Thumb Colleges should not be involved
  in training programs for jobs that do not provide
  wages at least 30 above the local poverty level,
  which varies geographically.
• Katsinas and Lacey, American Association of
  Community Colleges, 1989 1991.

8
The Big Picture We need a longer-term focus
In todays economy, growth in per capita income
is more directly tied to improving workforce
skills that command higher wages in a global
economy, and not as directly to employment
levels as in decades past. The focus of state
and local policymakers and practitioners should
be to improve workforce skills broadly, to
impact the per capita income curve. Short cycle
higher education is vital.
9
Short-Cycle Education is essential to answer a
key question

• How do you upgrade the computer literacy skills
  of an ENTIRE regions workforce?
• Most of the current workforce IS ALREADY HERE.
  Thus, the capacity community colleges bring must
  be part of any answer.
• This explains why many smart Industrial
  Development Authorities in states are choosing to
  fund facilities and equipment for their community
  colleges.

10
What are some key contextual challenges related
both to policies and programs to create effective
employment and training, welfare-to-work, and
adult literacy policies and programs linked to
formal education systems (K-12, HIED) on the
ground!

• Part Two

11
My travels over the past 25 years (400 colleges
in 40 states) have taught me that

• Diversity exists in terms of economic drivers in
  various regions of the nation.
• It follows that diversity exists by college
• --geography (state assigned service area)
• --governance (single and multi-campus)
• --size (large, medium, or small)
• Diversity exists between states
  (in patterns
  of state governance, funding, coordination)
• --local and non-local states
• --collective bargaining and non-CB states
• --mega-states and non-mega-states
• Intra-state diversity exists (FL,NM,OH,TX)

12
Key finding 2-Year Colleges are vital to
economic development

• Community colleges are the
  largest delivery of formal (for-credit)
  and informal (non-credit) courses and
  programs in rural America.
• and they're nearly everywhere
• (Katsinas Lacey, American Association of
  Community Colleges, 1989, 1981)

13
(No Transcript)
14
Four distinct groups served by community college
workforce training programs

• 1. New Workforce Entrants (often, Perkins)
• A. Recent high school graduates
• B. Recent high school dropouts
• 2. Temporarily Dislocated Workers (WIA)
• 3. Currently Employed Workers (private)
• 4. Long-Term Unemployed (TANF)
• Formal/for-credit programs serve 1A, 1B 3
• Informal/non-credit programs serve 1B,2,3, 4
• CCs--the largest delivery agent for BOTH
  formal/for-credit and
• informal/non-credit courses to adults in
  America.
• (Katsinas, Community College Journal, 1994)

15
Deep cuts in state operating support have
produced less flexible colleges

• Shifting missions transfer to workforce
  training.
• Defunding/lower funding for facilities.
• Lower levels of investment in long term
  professional development programs.
• Low levels of internal venture capital (harder to
  generate).
• In local states, issues of low wealth property
  tax districts, one that is often compounded by
  bad enabling law.
• (Katsinas, Alexander, and Opp, 2003)
• In this context, workforce training is an
  UNFUNDED MANDATE

16
Result Community colleges are tougher
institutions to run today

• They have lower internal budget flexibility.
• A much tougher environment to obtain state
  funding, with deep cuts likely ahead.
• RAPID change in external environment.
• Much higher tuition and fees (TX, long second
  lowest in nation, is now averaging 3,000 per
  year for full-time student MN charges average of
  4,600 per year).
• Short-Cycle Workforce training is an UNFUNDED
  MANDATE.
• YET THE NEED TO THINK REGIONALLY,
• AND BRING TOGETHER PARTNERS CONTINUES
• (Katsinas, Alexander, Opp, 2003 Katsinas, New
  Directions for CCs, 2005)

17
Putting together policies and programs to create
effective employment and training,
welfare-to-work, and adult literacy policies and
programs ON THE GROUND.

• Part Three

18
The 3 silos of economic development at the
federal level

• ECON.
  DEVELOPMENT
• EDUCATION WELFARE JOB
  TRAINING
• Natl Youth Adm, 1936 Aid to Families
  Unemployment Insurance, 1933
• GI Bill, 1944
  w/Dependent Tennessee Valley
  Authority 1933
  Children, 1935 Alphabet
  Agencies (CCC etc)
• Soc Security, 1935
• National Defense
• Education Act, 1958
• Manpower Development
• Elm/Sec Ed Act, 1965 Medicare, 1965
  Training Act, 1963
• Higher Ed Act, 1965 Appalachian
  Regional
• Ed Amendments, 1972
  Commission, 1963 Comprehensive
  Employment
• Middle Income Student Family Support Act/
  Training Act, 1978
• Assistance Act, 1978 Temporary Aid for
  Job Training Partnership Act, 1982
  Needy
  Families, 96 Workforce Investment Act, 1996

19
The challenge of building solid coordination
on the ground

• AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL
• The 3 sets of programs were created at different
  times, to accomplish different purposes, which
  have changed over time.
• Administration is performed by 3 different
  cabinet agencies (ED,HHS,Labor) data definitions
  are not common across programs.
• Legislative oversight occurs via 2 different
  major committees in the House and Senate.
• The laws reauthorizing the programs are NOT
  considered simultaneously.
• SUCH DIVISIONS IN FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION AND
  OVERSIGHT ALL TOO OFTEN ARE
  REPEATED IN STATES

20
How can solid coordination on the ground be
advanced?

• AT THE STATE LEVEL
• The state plans the federal government requires
  governors to submit to federal agencies for
  workforce training (Labor), welfare-to-work
  (DHS), and adult literacy (ED) do not always fit
  well together
• If the state programs don't fit well, it's a
  STATE problem that often has profound
  consequences at the local level.
• From a community college perspective, no
  dedicated revenue streams from states or federal
  government are directly tied to this mission
  (UNFUNDED MANDATE)
• AGAIN, EVEN IF THE STATE PLANS DON'T FIT,
  PROGRAMS HAVE TO BE PUT TOGETHER ON THE GROUND

21
Building solid programs on the groundrequires
acknowledging key issues

• FRAGMENTATION MAKES IT CHALLENGING TO PULL
  TOGETHER THE DISPARATE PIECES, ESPECIALLY IN
  POORER AND RURAL/LOW POPULATION AREAS. The
  practical question of who convenes?" can be
  itself a barrier.
• SOMETIMES, by the time the money finally
  dribbles down, the procedures can be so
  cumbersome and amounts of funding so small, it's
  hard to create reinforcing programs that result
  in sustainable communities and regions.
• CONVENING is a CRITICAL FUNCTION for public
  higher education

22
StrengtheningK-12/HIED connections to boost
rural developmentalso means recognizing
community colleges

• Part Four

23
Strengthening connections for K-12 rural CCs
includes

• Dual enrollment in high schools.
• Expanding pathways to high demand, high paying
  jobs (nursing and allied health, engineering
  technology, etc.).
• Having rural CC host upper division university
  programs in high demand areas (including teacher
  education).
• Working with K-12 to improve counseling of
  traditional aged youth.
• Increasing awareness of financial aid (College
  Access Sunday, etc).

24
Leaders should recognize challenges their local
community colleges have as a lifelong learning
delivery capacity

• For community colleges, workforce training
  represents an unfunded mandate, with no
  consistent revenue streams
• Yet sustainable development requires, if not
  infers, expanding the existing base of good local
  jobs-enhancing homegrown entrepreneurship
• Labor shortages in other areas can give regions a
  competitive advantage to capitalize on this
  requires regional development focus.
• Other regional development issues Available
  risk capital and accessible technology
• 
  
  TO PROGRESS
  OFTEN REQUIRES WORK WITH LIKE-MINDED COLLEGES
  ACROSS STATE AND REGIONAL BOUNDARIES

25
(No Transcript)
26
Remember, LOCAL data collection should answer
big picture questions

1. How many people who were new workforce entrants
   before GET A JOB?
2. How many people who were temporarily dislocated
   GET A NEW JOB?
3. How many currently employed people receive
   training in programs that help them GET A JOB AT
   HIGHER WAGES?
4. How many welfare recipients GET A JOB?
5. What is the WAGE LEVEL LENGTH OF STAY IN JOB
   after 3, 6, 12, 24 months?

27
Leadership development is essential to
addressing structural problems

• America cannot afford to waste resources (either
  we make the maps match or face turfism
  fragmentation)
• Possibilities exist regarding working with CCs
  and industries across state lines (forest
  products, selected mining)
• EPC surveys of CEOs show they learn effective
  development strategies on the job (we must do
  better in the future).
• REGIONAL LEADERS NEED CONTINUOUS LEADERSHIP
  DEVELOPMENT, TAUGHT AT MANY LEVELS

28
Community colleges the new "default exit
option from secondary schools

• K-12 connections (PATHWAYS) exist at other types
  of community colleges, but are most prominent at
  rural CCs.
• Secondary educators should adopt local community
  colleges as the "default option" for secondary
  school graduates. New York Mills (MN) sends over
  90 of its graduates to college Lee County (AR)
  sends 70. In both cases, the local CC is key.
• Building BOTH expanding access and sustainable
  rural communities means formal recognition of the
  role of community colleges in expanding pathways
  for more and better prepared new
  workforce entrants, so that rural
  America's workforce is not left behind.

29
Community colleges build economic
advantage (Fluharty/RUPRI)

• IT'S ALL ABOUT...
• Preparing the local workforce
• Developing local business industry
• Facilitating local entrepreneurship
• Decreasing out-migration
• Enhancing local communities
• Creating empowering local leaders
• THIS OFTEN REQUIRES AFFILIATING WITH LIKE-MINDED
  COLLEGES ACROSS STATE AND REGIONAL BOUNDARIES.

30
Where should the focus be?
The focus of policymakers and practitioners
should be to improve the skills of the
workforce broadly. The goal is moving per
capita income up. In todays economy, growth
in per capita income ties more to workforce
skills, and NOT to levels of employment as in
decades past. (Katsinas, 1994)
31
CONCLUSION Building sustainable
regionsrequires "putting it all together"

• It means reaching across sectors education,
  training, welfare, health.
• It means reaching across political subdivisions,
  including towns and cities, as well as counties.
• It means a regionalized approach
• COMMUNITY COLLEGES, LIKE HOSPITALS, AMONG
  THE MOST REGIONALIZED OF AMERICA'S SERVICE
  PROVIDERS (Katsinas, 2008, forthcoming)

32
Educational Partnerships That Promote Life-Long
Learning Opportunities

• a presentation to the International Symposium
• on
• Short-Cycle Higher Education in the United States
  and Europe Educational Partnerships for
  Economic Development
• Owens Community College, Toledo, Ohio
• October 15, 3009
• By
• Stephen G. Katsinas
• Director, Education Policy Center
• The University of Alabama