Maximizing the Value of
Continuing Education Training:
Developing Internal Articulation
Agreements for Career Pathways
Dr. Pamela Gibson SenegalCentral Carolina Community College
NC Community College Adult Educators Association Conference, 2013
Agenda Why does articulation matter?
Defining articulation National best practices for CE to
CU articulation Options for CE to CU articulation
Critical elements for internal
articulation agreements Ideal CE programs for internal
articulation Building internal support for
articulation Connecting articulation to
pathways
Whi
te B
oard
Vo
ting
Why does articulation matter?
Short phrases
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te B
oard
Vo
ting
To what audiences does articulation matter?
Bulleted list
Why
Doe
s Ar
ticul
atio
n Ma
tter?
Accountability for tiered occupational extension FTE
Landscape of learning changing
Experiential learning Veteran’s experiences Employer internal training
programs Open online education Levels playing field for students
from all backgrounds CE to CU is a great place to
build the frame for a conversation higher education
MUST have
Credentials Valued
in Workplace
“The question of
credentials, including
their value and
portability, is ever more
important as an
increasing number of
workers become what
has been referred to as
“free agents”—
performing temporary,
contract or freelance
work—or are otherwise
following a path that is
not a straight line tied to
a long-term corporate
career ladder and
traditional training
progression.”
Southern Growth Report,
2013, p. 17
“Increasingly,
employers are
looking for workers
with industry
recognized
credentials, and are
far less concerned
with the current gold
standard
measurements of
success in education,
such as course
credits and seat
time.”Developing Human Capital: Meeting
the Growing Global Need for a Skilled
and Educated Workforce (McGraw Hill
Research Foundation, 2011).
Artic
ulat
ion
Defin
ed
“Articulation is a process whereby colleges develop guidelines for students to receive credit
for completing a noncredit course if they later choose to enroll in a
credit degree program.” (DiChiara-Platt, 2007). (p. 16)
The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education: State Policies
andCommunity College Practices, 2008.
Full Study available at : http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?
UID=572
Whi
te B
oard
Vo
ting
Does your institution have
FORMAL, written policies or
guidelines regarding how to articulate continuing
education units for college credit?
Yes/No/IDK
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te B
oard
Vo
ting
Does your institution have
INFORMAL agreements in
certain areas of the college
regarding how to articulate
continuing education units for college credit?
Yes/No/IDK
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te B
oard
Vo
ting
Does your institution have
FORMAL, written agreements
regarding how to articulate
recently earned national, state or regional
credentials for college credit?
Yes/No/ IDK
Natio
nal B
est
Prac
tices
Guidelines for the retroactive granting of
credit for noncredit workforce education
most typically exist in the form of providing
credit for prior learning or life
experience credit. While many states do
not address this matter, 17 states have
some policies pertaining to the retroactive
granting of credit (see Figure 7). Generally,
the policies are designed to facilitate
retroactive granting of credit by assessing
individual students in areas of knowledge,
including those covered in noncredit
courses. Students may have the
opportunity to take an exam to prove their
knowledge of course material, but there
may be some restrictions based on the
faculty who taught the course.(p. 41)
The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education: State Policies and
Community College Practices, 2008.
Full Study available at : http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=572
ACE
- Cr
edit
Reco
mm
enda
tion
Mode
l
This model is based on the American Council on
Education (ACE) Credit Recommendation Service,
which recommends credit be given for:
Employer Union Professional association courses
that have been evaluated by a college faculty
evaluation team. Under the ACE program, faculty with subject-matter
expertise evaluate training courses and/or
programs to determine what portion of the training
warrants college credit. Recommendations are determined based on how
well each training organization defines and
assesses learning outcomes, as well as the quality
of instructional materials, delivery methods,
student support systems, course objectives, and
instructional staff qualifications and credentials.
College credit recommendations resulting from
these evolutions are published along with course
descriptions in the National Guide to Educational
Credit for Training Programs. (pp. 12-13)
Prio
r Lea
rnin
g As
sess
men
t
Prior Learning Assessment Model –
Assessment of Prior Learning (APL) is a
term used by many colleges to describe
the process of earning college credit
based on the learning that occurs as a
result of a student’s work, professional
or occupational training, volunteer
activity, and/or personal life. Colleges
and universities nationwide have
adopted a number of different
assessment practices and tools to
determine what students already know
from prior life and/or work experiences
and what portion of that experience may
be awarded college credit. At the
individual community college level,
assessment methods most often include
Credit by Examination and Portfolio
Assessment. (p. 13)
Milit
ary
Asse
ssm
ent o
f Tra
inin
g fo
r Civi
lian
Hirin
g (M
ATCH
) as
sess
men
ts
“But, unfortunately, a lot of
returning heroes with advanced
skills -- they don’t get hired simply
because they don’t have the civilian
licenses or certifications that a lot
of companies require. At the same
time, I hear from business leaders…
who say they can’t find enough
workers with the skills necessary to
fill open positions…So think about it
-- we got all these openings and all
these skilled veterans looking for
work, and somehow they’re missing
each other. That doesn’t make any
sense.” - President Obama, June 1,
2012
Kent
ucky
Academic Framework Model – This
model, which is based on the Kentucky
Community and Technical College System
(KCTCS) Career Pathways program, uses an
academic framework to build a cluster of
non-credit course modules. An academic course is broken down into a
set of competencies and delivered in
course modules. By breaking down an
academic course into a subset of course
modules, individuals tackle one “chunk” of
learning at a time. “Chunks” are bundled and individual
learners earn college credit for each course
as they proceed through the career
ladder... By using a process of periodic program
review, colleges have an opportunity to
create a set of competency-based non-
credit courses that when bundled together,
offer credit toward an academic certificate.
Rather than articulating courses into a set
of electives, colleges that build programs
around an academic framework can use
course for course substitution. (p. 13)
Kent
ucky
Colleges can offer courses customized to specific
business or industry needs in small course modules.
To create these modules, faculty review
noncredit courses with the intention of
offering workforce development programs
with multiple entry and exit points and
embedded certificates. Noncredit offerings are aligned with
credit offerings and are competency
based, focused on evaluating and
documenting competencies, especially
in technical areas. The state system is moving to eliminate the
distinction between noncredit and credit
within its community colleges, and has
recently hired a system director of
modularization to focus on building noncredit
programs that re-bundle college-level
competencies appropriate for credit.
A policymaker in Kentucky described some of
the sentiment informing this approach: “It is
almost criminal not to offer credit, so there is
no wasted time, particularly for low-income
students.” (p. 43)The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education: State Policies and
Community College Practices, 2008.
Full Study available at : http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?
UID=572
Florid
a
Finally, allowing courses to be listed as both
credit and noncredit may ease a student’s
transition from noncredit to credit programs.
The North Orange County District allows a
certain number of seats in some credit
courses to be dual listed. Students may
enroll in these courses as noncredit and
follow the same syllabus except with no
requirement to complete a final paper or
exam. According to an interviewee, this
arrangement encourages the migration of
noncredit students into credit programs by
allowing first-time students to get a taste of
college material before actually enrolling in
a credit program. (p. 16)The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce
Education: State Policies and
Community College Practices, 2008.
Full Study available at : http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?
UID=572
Florid
a
Florid
a
New
York
Guidelines for the retroactive granting of credit for
noncredit workforce education most typically exist in
the form of providing credit for prior learning or life
experience credit. While many states do not address
this matter, 17 states have some policies pertaining
to the retroactive granting of credit (see Figure 7).
Generally, the policies are designed to facilitate
retroactive granting of credit by assessing individual
students in areas of knowledge, including those
covered in noncredit courses. Students may have the
opportunity to take an exam to prove their knowledge
of course material, but there may be some
restrictions based on the faculty who taught the
course... New York’s state education department
houses the National Program on No collegiate
Sponsored Instruction, which facilitates the
conversion of learning experiences into college
credit... The absence of a state policy relative to
granting retroactive credit may signal a lack of
support for such mechanisms or a desire that this
issue be locally decided.(p. 41)
The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education:
State Policies andCommunity College Practices, 2008.
Full Study available at : http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=572
New
Jers
ey
In New Jersey, the state’s Community
College Consortium for Workforce and
Economic Development is currently involved
in the development of programs that
articulate noncredit courses with credit
programs. These programs include formal
mechanisms to translate noncredit courses
that employers seek for their employees to
credit courses in specific areas. Some career
ladder programs with transitions between
noncredit and credit have been developed in
specific areas, including social services and
education. State policymakers in New
Jersey report that they are finding interest in
this model where credit is awarded for
noncredit work when the student enrolls in
and/or completes some coursework in a
related credit program. (pp. 43-44)
The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education: State Policies and Community
College Practices, 2008. Full Study available at : http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=572
North
Car
olin
a
In North Carolina, both credit and noncredit courses
appear on students’ transcripts, including the course number, title, and grade (a letter grade for credit course; pass or fail for
noncredit). (p. 38)The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce
Education: State Policies andCommunity College Practices, 2008.
Full Study available at : http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=572
Ideal CE programs for
internal articulation
• Nationally, state or
regionally awarded
credentials
• Examples:
• EMT
• Phlebotomy
• Nursing Assistant
• Biowork
CCNA
Criti
cal e
lem
ents
for
inte
rnal
arti
cula
tion
agre
emen
ts • Internal Champion• Formal, written guidelines• Publicized to employers, current and former students
Whi
te B
oard
Vo
ting
Who should drive the process for
creating internal articulation
agreements between CE and CU?
Use titles or areas of the college
Building Internal
Support• CAO
• Senior CE
Leader
• Begin with
national, state,
and regional
credentials
• Veterans affairs
• Marketing
• Admissions
• Registrars
• CFO
• CE/CU faculty
• DACUM model
• Customized
Industry 359
to create
industry
specific
pathways
• Perkins administrator
• Colleague
manager/ITSD
Barri
ers t
o Bu
ildin
g In
tern
al S
uppo
rt
Some states reported barriers to implementing
guidelines on articulating noncredit and credit
programs. One state official we interviewed
stated that articulation “raises hackles with
faculty.” Another state reported that it had
some discussion about the relationship between
credit and noncredit courses, but in general, it
has “been going in circles” on this issue. Finally,
a state reported that the colleges were unlikely
to move in this direction without a push from
the state, but there were no state policies on
record or discussion at the state level... The
state is concerned about academic quality and
the perception that their institutions could be
seen as “diploma mills” if they are too generous
in granting credit for nontraditional modes of
education, such as noncredit workforce
education. (p. 44)The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education: State Policies
andCommunity College Practices, 2008.
Full Study available at : http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=572
Whi
te B
oard
Vo
ting
Which of the following elements SHOULD be
included in an effective career pathway?
A) Multiple entry exit optionsB) Level Progression
C) Work experienceD) Support E) All of the above
Conn
ectin
g ar
ticul
atio
n to
pat
hway
s
“Career pathways are linked education
and training services that enable
students to advance over time to
successively higher levels of education
and employment in a given industry or
occupational sector. Each step on a
career pathway is designed to prepare
students to progress to the next level
of employment and education.
The career pathways approach is a
framework for weaving together adult
education, training, and postsecondary programs, and
connecting those services to the
workforce needs of employers. Career
pathways tend to include multiple
entry and exit points, learner-centered
instruction and delivery, assessment
of skills and needs, support services,
and quality work experiences.”
pp. 5 – 6, http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/documents/files/Introduction.pdf
Funding Career Pathways and Career Pathway Bridges: A
Federal Funding Toolkit for States, REVISED EDITION MARCH
2013
Build
ing
Inte
rnal
Su
ppor
t -
Accr
edita
tion
Agen
cy
In a review of accreditation agency’s
guidelines explicitly related to noncredit
education, few have many significant
guidelines that would impact these
processes. The one exception is the
Middle States Region, which specifies in
its description of noncredit offering that “if
non-credit courses are potentially
applicable to for-credit programs at the
institution, academic oversight should
assure the comparability and appropriate
transferability of such courses.” (Middle
States Commission on Higher Education,
2006). However, as noncredit workforce
education grows, it may gain more
attention from accreditation agencies. (p.
45)The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education: State Policies and
Community College Practices, 2008.
Full Study available at : http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=572
Part
of p
athw
ay
deve
lopm
ent Without this process in
place, students are hampered in their ability to move forward in their educational attainment.
Cont
act
Info
rmat
ion
Dr. Pamela Gibson SenegalVP, Economic and Community DevelopmentCentral Carolina Community [email protected]
What’s coming:• Comprehensive review of NC practices • Articulation guidance resource book• Recommendations for policy changes• Matrices of common recommendations• Workshops