Sam Greer—Employer Outreach & Experiential Learning Programs at ACC District
Interview topic timestamps
00:38 – IMPORTANCE OF CBE IN HIGHER EDUCATION LANDSCAPE
CBE is a critical component of modern education system
- Many people now coming into colleges and universities from non-traditional backgrounds
- They bring with them knowledge from internships, work, military or self-education online
- CBE is the marriage between being able to do competencies and recognition by an educational institution of the task
01:55 – IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS
- Goal is to create competent employees, therefore, need to know what industry partners need
- Industry partners delighted to be asked what competencies they need and in turn made them think in more academic terms
- 2-3 key industry partners to start a CBE program is critical
03:12 – WHEN TO ADD INDUSTRY PARTNERS TO CBE PROGRAM
- It was a requirement for DOL grant at ACC to bring in two industry partners – National Instruments and Dell
- However, since one of the key deliverables was getting students jobs, made sense to build much larger network of industry partnerships
04:17 – ALIGNING CURRICULUM TO INDUSTRY NEEDS
- For APT program, developed an Industry Review Panel where multiple industry partners loaned line managers (who would ultimately manage the APT graduates) to talk directly to professors
- Input was very useful in developing current, relevant content
- Mutually beneficial relationship developed between industry partners and faculty
- Exemplary faculty allowed to chose which input to put in their curriculum
- Courses were reviewed by faculty peers
07:30 – IMPORTANCE OF DATA COLLECTION
- Because pilot program, knew there was potential for errors and started monitoring all the demographic areas immediately
- Data gathered first semester showed results that enabled program to adapt to student needs and help them succeed
10:01 – GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR INSTITUTIONS WANTING TO PURSUE CBE
Multiple funding sources available
- TAACCCT (Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College Career Training) Grant and multiple spin-offs
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)
- Other private grants interested in CBE
11:46 – PROFILE OF STUDENTS COMING INTO APT PROGRAM
- Average age – 37 years old
- 75% already had a college degree
- About 70% currently employed
- Looking to retrain and get into lucrative computer programming career
- Because of this more mature student population, knew that if they struggled it would not be due to routine reasons
- Data showed the students needed the additional support of a Student Support Specialist
13:12 – RECRUITMENT EVENTS TO BRING IN STUDENTS TO CBE PROGRAM
- DOL grant required a minimum number of students
- Rather than traditional flyers and posters, Chamber of Commerce held recruiting events and supported various outreach and marketing efforts
- Also did radio ads for first year
- After first year program started selling itself
- For recruitment events, brought all the relevant departments together – Financial aid, Veterans Affairs, Computer Science Department Chair, to streamline enrollment process and to interview students to determine qualifications
17:06 – ADVICE FOR THOSE STARTING NEW CBE PROGRAMS
- Get faculty buy-in and offer stipend incentives
- Reach out to industry partners – see if they’d be willing to work with faculty
- Develop a “Nascar” sheet of industry partner logos to help students visualize pathway to a career – Nascar sheet helps recruit new students to program
- Data collection very important – enabled program to be fine-tuned to meet student needs
- Data came from grades, satisfaction surveys, student support groups, social media