January 2017
Lynn Shaw
Welcome to the second issue of TakeNote. This is an e-newsletter for community college CTE faculty and counselors. Our purpose is to keep you well informed about the resources available to your colleges and CTE programs under the Strong Workforce Program within the Doing What MATTERS for Jobs and the Economy framework.
 
Team Lead, Strong Workforce Implementation
In this edition:
leadarticleProcess Breakthrough in Delivering Streamlined Curriculum Approval Process for Quality CTE (and non-CTE) Programs

You voiced your concerns about the length of the curriculum approval process across the 14 Strong Workforce Regional Colleges Conversations, and the Strong Workforce Task Force, in crafting the Strong Workforce Program, made it recommendation number 8.
 
Work on a more streamlined curriculum approval process is in full motion, thanks to the leadership of the Chancellor's Office Vice Chancellor Pam Walker and California Community Colleges Curriculum Committee co-chairs Virginia Guleff (Chief Instructional Officers Executive Committee) and Dolores Davison (Academic Senate for California Community Colleges Executive Committee - ASCCC). 
 
The ASCCC published a white paper. See the official Chancellor's Office memo for more specifics. Collectively, the impending process changes are being signaled, applicable to all curriculum and not just CTE, and are to occur by summer's end. 
 
They include:  
 
1. Local districts may now approve and offer Stand-Alone Courses.
 
2. The new process, envisioned to go live this summer, will instead be:
 
- Delegate approval authority to local community college districts, specifically the Chief Instructional Officers, for quality assurance.
 
- To avoid CTE program duplication, regional reviews for proposed programs will be done during the development stage, rather than after development. The template will be standardized across all regions.
 
- Modify the state's role to chaptering (i.e., the assignment of a control number) rather than quality control. 
 
Local trustees are suggested to have curriculum approval as a
standing board agenda item, rather than do so annually or bi-annually, which causes significant slow down.
 
 
 
If you are supportive of this streamlined direction, talk to your Chief Instructional Officer, Academic Senate President, or CTE Liaison to discuss how your college can participate.
dataUse Web-Based Tools to Prepare Data to Expand and Enhance Your CTE Program
 
Multiple resources and tools are available on the Strong Workforce website, particularly within each of the four boxes at the top, to help you know how to advocate for your program. Check out these resources:
 
Guidance Box
In the Guidance box, go to "Allocations". This link has a chart listing the exact dollar amount allocated to each college district. This allocation was determined by the number of CTE FTES, unemployment rate in your area, and projected job openings in 2017-1018. An additional metric, successful workforce outcomes, will be added. Click on the allocations link to see the exact dollar amount allocated to your district.  

Planning Box
In the Planning Box, go to "Regional Meetings." Each region is hosting multiple conversations to assist colleges with the spending of their allocation. Become part of the dialogue. CTE faculty voices are often thinly represented and heartily welcomed. Click on the Regional Meetings link to find details of meetings in your region.
 
Labor Market Research Box
In the Labor Market Research box, go to "Labor Market Library Information Library." Labor market information (LMI) is the foundation of creating more and better CTE. This easy-to-use tool allows you to select your sector or program and the geographic area, and in one click you get a list of accurate, current and reliable resources to help you understand the status of your industry.
 
Directories Box
In the Directories box, go to "CTE Data Unlocked Experts." If you are
confused by all the data and need assistance in finding or understanding the data, go to your on-campus Data Unlocked expert to get help and answers to your data questions. For the name of the Data Unlocked Expert on your campus, download this contact list of experts. 
counselorCounselors and the Strong Workforce Program
by Lynell Wiggins, Faculty Counselor
Technical Assistance Provider, Strong Workforce Program
 
Lynell Wiggins
Happy New Year Counselors and Work Experience Educators!
 
I hope this year brings you a number of students to your office with greater clarity of their future educational and career goals. The community college system is going above and beyond to position students for success, and as counselors we want to be in the best position with the right resources to serve our students. To assist you, the Strong Workforce Program now has a website for counselors.

 
Click image to watch Partnerships that Unlock Social Mobility video
The California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, in partnership with the California Workforce Association and the California Workforce Development Board, has invited campuses to assemble a core operational team for Partnerships that Unlock Social Mobility, a capacity-building initiative between local workforce investment boards and community colleges. 
 
The Chancellor's Office has created Salary Surfer, which allows a person to search certificate and associate degree program earnings two years before, two years after completion, and five years after completion. This information can even be accessed through a mobile application, Here to Career, which allows a person to engage in self-assessment, initiate conversations with alumni in a program of interest, browse local colleges to find programs of interest. 
 
Thanks again for all you do in counseling!
ascccAcademic Senate Career Technical Education Leadership Committee
 
Lorraine Slattery-Farrell
Lorraine Slattery-Farrell
My name is Lorraine Slattery-Farrell and I am currently serving on the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC). One of my assignments this year is to chair the ASCCC CTE Leadership Committee. The committee is comprised of faculty from all 10 regions across the state who represent a broad spectrum of both CTE disciplines and traditional basic skills areas of emphasis in credit and non-credit. Learn more about the committee here.
 
SAVE THESE DATES! The ASCCC will host regional events to discuss the Strong Workforce Program and its implementation. The dates for these events are tentatively set for March 30th (North) and April 1st (South). We will also be hosting our annual ASCCC CTE Leadership Institute in San Jose on May 5th and 6th, 2017. Registration and more information for these events will be available soon.
resourcesHelpful Resources
 
New World of Work's 21st Century Skills project combines free curriculum with enhanced trainings to help educators teach students the essential skills employer value. The skills were identified by employers and the curriculum developed at Feather River College.
 
Career Catalyst can support your efforts to build paid internships or work experience into your Strong Workforce Program plan.  The California Community College Foundation becomes the employer of record so that the host organization does not have to take on workers' compensation, payroll or benefits.  Students do their internship or student assistantship at the host site and get paid through the Foundation payroll.
 
This is a student-centered tool that provides essential career information using technology that is familiar and accessible to students. The app is free to download from Apple or Android stores.
 
LaunchPath is a user-friendly, web-based technology tool that provides employers with a short list of the best qualified students, and provides students access to a wide variety of paid and unpaid work-based learning opportunities. It is built to support regional collaboration. The LaunchPath online tool connects both high school and community college students with employers for work-based learning experiences.
wantedWanted: CTE Faculty and Counselors to Subscribe 

Do you know any CTE faculty or counselors who should be receiving TakeNote? Use the "Forward this Email" link below in the footer to send them a copy of this issue. To subscribe, click here or contact Lynn Shaw at lshaw@cccco.edu to be added to the list. (Please send name, email, college, discipline and phone number.)
$200M Strong Workforce Program Rollout
launchboard LaunchBoard

LaunchBoard News

Need help setting accreditation benchmarks?
 
LaunchBoard Video
 
Watch this two-minute video to find out how the LaunchBoard can provide information on local trends in success and employment rates, as well as outcomes at other colleges, to inform institution-set standards.
 
 

California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office
Workforce & Economic Development Division

lshaw@cccco.edu | http://doingwhatmatters.cccco.edu