U.S. Department of Education Launches $1 Million CTE CHIPS Challenge
The U.S. Department of Education launched the Career and Technical Education CHIPS Challenge, a $1 million prize competition, funded by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 that seeks to expand student recruitment, training, and placement strategies in good-paying semiconductor fabrication construction and advanced manufacturing careers. The CTE CHIPS Challenge seeks eligible entrants to submit innovative and evidence-informed action plans designed to: (1) Increase students' opportunities to develop skills and experiences that better prepare them for good-paying careers aligned with the Biden-Harris Administration's CHIPS and Science Act Fact Sheet; (2) Expand student recruitment and placement strategies in these careers and industries; (3) Support educators in building high-quality CTE programs. Participants will benefit from valuable networking opportunities, technical assistance, and the chance to learn form subject matter experts. To learn more and get information regarding webinars, click here.
The Survey of Community College Outcomes: Pathways to Success and Sneak Peek of Results
The Richmond Fed Survey of Community College Outcomes was launched with the goal of understanding how community colleges across the Fifth District serve students and their communities. Not only are community colleges fundamentally different than their four-year counterparts in mission, offerings, and resource constraints, but they are also as different from one another as the communities they serve. Data collection began for the 2024 SCCO in May. For the 2024 SCCO, data was collected on enrollment and outcomes during the 2022-2023 academic year. Because of the widespread disruptions caused by COVID-19 in the spring of 2020, measures of completion and student success was expected to be significantly lower for the "COVID class" than other cohorts. One of the primary features of the Richmond Fed Success Rate is the flexibility of success. No conclusions can be drawn about what is driving success for individual students using high-level descriptive data on institutions. To see more about the preliminary results, click here. Also, you can join the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond on November 19 at 2pm EST to see the results of the 2024 Survey of community College Outcomes as they outline their vision for the future of the survey and their work with community colleges. Click here to register.
Kirkwood and Northwest Iowa Community College Presidents Chosen for Aspen Institute's Presidents Fellowship
KCC and NCC Presidents Kristie Fisher and John Hartog III, respectively, have been named one of 25 leaders chosen for the second cohort of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program's Aspen Presidents Fellowship. Sponsored by JPMorgan Chase, the program provides a year-long professional development experience aimed at helping participants implement reforms to boost student success during and after college. Throughout the program, fellows will collaborate with community college presidents, Aspen Institute leaders, and one another to examine their colleges' outcomes and develop plans inspired by best practices in the field. The second cohort of Aspen Presidents Fellows is made up 52% women and 44% people of color. The fellowship is funded by JPMorgan Chase as part of its New Skills at Work initiative, which aims to prepare young people for future employment and meet the rising demand for skilled workers. To learn more, click here and/or here.
Recognizing the Impact of Community Colleges
Tom Barkin, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond spoke at the 2024 Virginia Education and Workforce Conference held last week. Even as overall labor market conditions have loosened over the past year, employers in the skilled trades continue to report a lack of available workers. Community colleges seem to be the utility player of workforce development, able to fill a role at every stage of the talent pipeline. Community colleges have historically been evaluated with the same metric as four-year institutions. A community college succeeds when it provides its local area with what it needs. To read more about what President Barkin spoke on, click here.
2024 ACCT Congress
The 2024 ACCT Community College Leadership Congress kicked off with calls for community college leaders to help catalyze their institutions and discussions about how artificial intelligence may be the tool to do just that. With a dedicated AI lab and multiple sessions focused on the technology during the 2024, Congress, AI is front and center among these new ideas. Congress attendees learned about how SNAP Employment & Training program funding can help colleges scale existing student success initiatives, ranging from tuition support to utilities, childcare, transportation, and books and supplies. During the second day of the 2024 ACCT Congress, the catalytic role community colleges play in transformational economic changes was highlighted by keynote speakers discussing their role in Intel's $100 billion investment in semiconductor manufacturing plants in Ohio. Of Intel's initial 3,000 hires, 70 percent will be technicians.
Present a Workshop at the 2025 Taking Care of Business Conference
ABI is looking for speakers who can deliver dynamic, engaging sessions with actionable takeaways. The hour-long workshops will be held on Wednesday, June 11. The deadline for submission is December 1, 2024. Please click here to submit a workshop proposal.
ACCT and AoC Launch International Partnership to Exchange U.S., UK Students
The Association of Community college Trustees is pleased to announce the launch of the U.S.-UK Community College and Technical Education Exchange. For the initial cohort, Linn-Benton Community College will partner with Cambridge Regional College in England to develop a program focusing on electric vehicles, and Bergen Community College will collaborate with Southport College in England in the area of sustainable construction. Following an initial kick-off meeting on October 18th, the paired colleges will work together over the coming months to plan their programs. While the initial deliverable for the project will be a student exchange program between each pair of institutions, the cohort-based model is intended to lay the foundation for long-term partnerships that will grow over time to encompass an array of collaborative activities. The associations' leaders renewed their memorandum of understanding on October 23 at the 2024 ACCT Leadership Congress, which brought nearly 1,800 community college leaders from throughout the United States and beyond to Seattle, Washington, to advance good governance practice and cultivate skills for the future.
Fiscal Topics
Every year, the Iowa Legislative Services Agency puts out fiscal topic notes on many of Iowa's community colleges program. Recently, it published two fiscal notes. The first was on the Jobs Training (260F) Program that was created in 1985. The second was on the Accelerated Career Education (ACE) Program that allows participating companies to divert a portion of the company's current Iowa individual income withholding tax to Iowa's community colleges for establishment or expansion of programs that train individuals in the occupations most needed by Iowa businesses. To read the fiscal note on 260F, click here. To read the fiscal note on ACE, click here.
Iowa Lakes Community College to Launch High School Drone Course with Aviation Grant
Iowa Lakes Community College is using an almost $500,000 Federal Aviation Administration grant, received this spring, to take its aviation education offerings to new heights. The community college, with five locations throughout northwest Iowa, received $493,657 through the FAA Pilot Workforce Development Grant Program, allowing the college to launch a course in drone piloting for high school students and expand its aviation and airport management program. High school students from Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Kossuth and Palo Alto counties will be able to enroll in the remote pilot course, according to the release, which will start with its first class in early 2025. Those interested in joining a prospective student list can email FAA Grant Coordinator Emily Mullaly at emullaly@iowalakes.edu. In addition to the new course, the community college will also use grant dollars to expand the drone program and implement the first "rotary wing curriculum" offered in Iowa. To learn more, click here.
2025 ACCT Governance Leadership Institute
Join the ACCT Governance Leadership Institute at the breathtaking Winward Community college on Oahu, Hawaii. With Hawaii as the backdrop, you'll not only experience a world-class educational program, but also have the chance to connect with our Pacific Island members in a one-of-a-kind setting. Take advantage of this exclusive setting to refresh your leadership perspective and return to your institution inspired and ready to make an impact! Maximize your experience by attending the ACCT Governance Leadership Institute as a team, including your board chair, college president, and trustees who are poised to step into leadership roles. Attending together provides an invaluable opportunity to align your goals, build a cohesive strategy for the future, and foster a deeper, more effective trustee-CEO partnership. The ACCT member rate is $650/person and non-member rate is $850/person. Breakfast, lunch, and transportation to/from the college are included. To register, click here. For more information, click here. For the draft agenda, click here.