3.
Describe the process used to develop the local
transition plan.
Stacie Harden, Perkins
Coordinator and Office of Fiscal Affairs, Ozark
Campus
Sandra Cheffer, Chief Fiscal Officer,
Ozark Campus
Mary Ann Rollans, Dean of
Community and Professional Education, Russellville
Campus
Jo Alice Blondin, Chancellor, Ozark
Campus
Kale Rudolph, Computer Information
Systems Faculty Member, Ozark Campus
Tara
Johnson, Transitional Advisor, Both
Campuses
4.
Describe how career and technical education
programs will be carried out using activities
designated as required and permissive use of
funds.
Required Use of Funds
Six General Education hours (English and
Math) are integrated into every technical
certificate program; 15 credit hours of General
Education are integrated into every Associate of
Applied Science degree program.
No program is fully aligned at this time,
though articulation agreements between Welding
(CIP Code: ) and Business Technology (CIP Code: )
exist between area secondary schools and the Ozark
Campus. During the transition year, faculty who
are working on their DWE credential and
participating in the QTL program will each draft a
plan for aligning curriculum with area secondary
peers and programs.
In addition to field trips and plant
tours, the Ozark Campus hosts a “Leaders in the
Industry” speaker series every year that allows
students to meet with leaders in technical fields
offered by our campus. A 3 credit hour internship
is required in every technical certificate or
Associate of Applied Science degree program, and
the Career Pathways program offers job shadowing
experiences.
Most work in Collision
Repair, Automotive Service, Welding, Paramedic,
and Nursing is done in live labs or
clinicals.
The faculty have been given Smartboard,
Blackboard, and Banner training, as well as
industry specific training when a new piece of
equipment is purchased.
Before the merger with Arkansas Tech
University, faculty matriculated through a module
program to enhance teaching. Many faculty at the
time of the merger had completed the program. Due
to new hires and faculty turnover, a new
professional development program will be offered
this fall: Quality Teaching and Learning (QTL).
QTL will allow new faculty to improve classroom
management and teaching as well as obtain teacher
certification through the Dept. of Workforce
Education.
A university-wide assessment of program,
surveys, teaching evaluations give the campus
feedback on CTE programs.
A formal program review process is not in
place at this time, but will be in the future.
Currently, faculty meet with Advisory Boards (a
group consisting of 5-10 regional employers or
stakeholders in the field) twice yearly to assess
the learning that occurs as well as the technology
and equipment that assists training in their
programs. The minutes from these meetings are used
to make budgetary and curriculum decisions.
In addition to consulting the annual
Occupational Job Listing, programs are assessed by
the Advisory Boards to keep them up-to-date.
Degree production numbers from ADHE also assist in
making decisions about programs.
The Career Pathways Initiative will
assist in identifying these populations of
students.
Permissive Use of Funds
5.
Describe how CTE activities will be carried out in
order to meet state and local levels of
performance. (See Appendix B for description of
accountability measures.)
a) 1P1-Technical
Skill Attainment (pending state decision on
measurement)
b) 2P1-Credential Attainment
(Certificates and Degrees)
15 faculty (of 30+)
currently do not have a Department of Workforce
Education teaching credential to increase skills
attainment for students and assist in teaching.
This activity will be measured by the number of
faculty who obtain their DWS certification.
The
Computer Information Services and Industrial
Control Systems programs currently do not offer
courses leading to A+ certification or work within
the frameworks of the Microsoft Systems
Engineering (MSE) curriculum. Both faculty will
receive MSE certification and training and this
activity will be measured by how many students
obtain the A+ certification credential.
c)
3P1-Student Retention and Transfer
A
transitional advisor assists students in
increasing their educational attainment from
Technical Certificate to AAS to the Bachelor of
Professional Studies at Arkansas Tech. This
activity is measured in two ways: by the number of
students who seek an AAS vs. TC and then the
number of students who transfer to the BPS
degree.
d) 4P1-Student Placement
Student
placement through internship and faculty/employer
relations is strong on our campus and is measured
through follow-up surveys.
e)
5P1-Nontraditional Participation
We are
developing a transition plan that will address
nontraditional participation through recruitment
and advising of students and the establishment of
a special Tech “Bridge to Excellence” program on
the Ozark Campus.
f) 5P2-Nontraditional
Credential Attainment
N/A
6.
Describe how the institution will offer the
appropriate courses of not less than one of the
CTE programs of study. Identify and describe any
existing secondary to postsecondary linkages and
how Perkins funds will be used to improve or
expand such programs.
Perkins funds may be
used to expand secondary participation in all
programs with the achievement of the DWE
credential for 15 faculty. The Business Technology
and Computer Information Systems programs will
work with the Western Arkansas Educational
Cooperative and area high schools to align
curriculum in technology and offer concurrent
enrollment for students to obtain a Technical
Certificate in these areas.
7.
Describe how the academic and technical skills of
students participating in CTE programs will be
improved and how CTE students will be taught to
the same standards as are all other students.
The description must
demonstrate how academic and technical coursework
will be integrated; how CTE coursework content
will be coherent and rigorous and aligned with
challenging academic standards and relevant
technical education programs to ensure learning in
both core academic coursework and technical
coursework.
8.
Describe how activities will provide students with
strong experience in and an understanding of all
aspects of an industry.
All students will
complete a highly-structured
internship.
9.
Describe how comprehensive professional
development for CTE, academic, guidance and
administrative personnel will be provided.
Professional
development funded by Perkins should be high
quality, sustained, intensive and focused on
improving the quality of instruction. It may
include initial faculty preparation and activities
that support faculty recruitment from industry. It
should promote the integration of coherent and
rigorous content aligned with challenging academic
standards and relevant CTE (including curriculum
development); increase instructor understanding of
industry standards; encourage applied learning,
provide knowledge and skills needed to work with
and improve instruction for special populations,
or increase the use of data to analyze achievement
gaps.
The QTL program as well as the Arkansas
Tech Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence
workshops and the Ozark Campus Faculty
Professional Development program provides faculty
with classroom management, accelerated learning
techniques, classroom technology, and
assessments/measurements for student learning to
all faculty.
10. Describe how a wide variety of
stakeholders are involved in the development,
implementation and evaluation of CTE programs, and
how such individuals and entities are informed
about, and assisted in understanding the
requirements of Perkins, including CTE programs of
study.
Each program advisory
board consists of industry specialists, program
graduates, and employers in the field.
.
Stakeholders include parents, students, academic
and CTE faculty, administrators, counselors and
advisors, business and industry including small
business, labor, and special
populations.
11. Provide assurances that the
recipient will provide CTE programs that are of
such size, scope and quality as to bring about
improvement in the quality of CTE programs.
Programs will be
evaluated yearly based on the Occupational Demand
list and degree production.
12. Describe the process that will be
used to evaluate and continuously improve
performance of CTE programs.
Teaching evaluations, a
university-wide assessment program, and advisory
boards will provide continuous feedback on how to
improve programs.
13. Describe how the institution will
address the needs of special populations enrolled
in CTE programs.
Special populations include
individuals with disabilities, individuals from
economically disadvantaged families (including
foster children), individuals preparing for
nontraditional fields, single parents (including
single pregnant women), displaced homemakers, and
individuals with limited English proficiency. The
description must identify how the institution
will: a) Review CTE programs, identify and adopt
strategies to overcome barriers that result in
lower access or success for special populations.
b) Provide programs that enable special
populations to meet local performance levels.
c) Provide activities to prepare special
populations, including single parents and
displaced homemakers, for high-skill or high-wage,
or high-demand occupations that will lead to
self-sufficiency. (See Appendix C for targeted
pathways.)
d) Ensure that individuals who are
members of special populations will not be
discriminated against on the basis of their status
as members of special populations.
During the
transition year, faculty and staff will work with
Career Pathways staff to develop a plan to address
special populations. In addition, Academic Affairs
and Student Services on the Ozark Campus are
working to offer convenient options (weekend,
evening, web, video courses) to assist students in
obtaining credentials without sacrificing full or
part-time employment.
The ADA Coordinator,
in working with faculty and staff, ensures that
special populations are not discriminated against
through her role in obtaining accommodations for
those students.
14. Describe how funds will be used to
promote preparation for nontraditional fields.
(See Appendix D for nontraditional fields.)
A plan to promote
preparation for nontraditional fields will be
developed. Nursing, Paramedic, and Business
Medical faculty will work to develop a unified
“Health Careers” platform of prerequisite classes
(approximately 15 hours, to include Pharmacology,
Anatomy and Physiology, Medical Terminology, and
Disease Processes) to prepare students for success
in their chosen health career field.
15. Describe how career guidance and
academic counseling will be provided to CTE
students, including linkages to baccalaureate and
above education or other training
opportunities.
A transitional advisor
is funded through the Perkins grant that assists
in transitioning students from AAS to BPS
programs.
16. Describe efforts to improve the
recruitment and retention of CTE teachers,
faculty, and guidance and academic counselors,
including under-represented groups, and the
transition to teaching from business and
industry.
The implementation of
the QTL program will assist in faculty recruitment
and retention, as faculty will receive the skills
needed to train students and make the transition
from industry to classroom.
17. Describe how funds will be
distributed among consortium members, if
appropriate.
N/A
18. Describe how the local recipient
will report data that is complete, accurate, and
reliable.
The Institutional
Researcher will report all data to ADHE. Tech’s
Institutional Researcher has been trained in
aligning ADHE and Perkins reporting at special
Perkins’ workshops to ensure valid and reliable
data.
