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Update on State Initiatives
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Summer Shorts 2009:
New Initiatives in Transitioning Adult Learners
to Postsecondary Studies
by Barbara Tondre-El Zorkani, Texas LEARNS
Transition from adult education to postsecondary is an evolving area in the education continuum. Current models tend to vary in intensity, focus, content, and location of services – creating a number of pathways to postsecondary education, training, and employment (see accompanying chart on five models for transitioning adults to college). During the summer of 2009, ten adult education providers participated in the delivery of a college preparatory model made possible through grant funding from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). Adult education programs participating in the summer initiative included:
Cleburne ISD (with Hill College)
Austin Community College (internal partnership)
Kilgore College (internal partnership)
Lone Star College System (internal partnership)
Midland College (internal partnership)
Paris Junior College (internal partnership)
Texarkana ISD (with Texarkana College)
Tyler Junior College (internal partnership)
Victoria College (internal partnership)
Wharton County Junior College (internal partnership)
The Intensive Summer Program (ISP) was designed to promote successful transition and college success for recent General Educational Development (GED) graduates – students typically underrepresented in college enrollment rates. Adult learners who had earned a GED certificate in the last 24 months were eligible to participate in the program. Program evaluation was designed to determine if short-term, accelerated instruction and support could positively affect college persistence and success for students at-risk of dropping out of college.
Adult education providers were required to collaborate with local community colleges eligible to receive grant funds. Programs provided a minimum of 80 hours of instruction in English/Language Arts (reading and writing) or Math, with the Texas College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) incorporated into the curriculum. Admissions and financial aid information were required program components as well as study skills, self-management skills, college culture, academic behaviors, and other college success strategies. Adult education providers were encouraged to work with their postsecondary partners to augment academics with tutoring, preparation for college assessments, and advising support.
Awarded applicants were required to indicate how information and data would be collected prior to, during, and after program completion. THECB provided a standard intake form and determined pre and post assessments for participating students. Fundable activities included the following:
- program staff salaries and fringe benefits
- stipends for work-study interns
- student incentives
- student testing fees
- program staff travel
- subcontracting costs
- general program supplies
- instructional materials
- information technology instructional resources
- teacher training and professional development, including stipends
The level of collaboration between adult education providers and their local community college counterparts varied, depending upon established partnerships, previous collaborative efforts, and a willingness on the part of both parties to integrate services for the targeted population. Evaluation data on this first round of intensive intervention initiatives will be available this fall. In the meanwhile, the THECB is preparing to release a second request for proposals in October for another round of intensive programs. Details will follow as they become available.
Adult education providers participating in the ISP were excited about the new opportunities to build successful partnerships with their postsecondary counterparts. Cleburne ISD, for example, had long wanted to develop a partnership with Hill College to
facilitate student referral and successful transition. The grant afforded the adult education provider opportunity to collaborate with Hill’s Vice President for
Instruction and the Dean of Developmental Education. Cleburne ISD prepared the grant proposal, and Hill College provided two staff members to coordinate the classes. Barbara Yoder is the Director of Adult Education at Cleburne ISD.
While Cleburne recruited former GED grads, scheduled classes, provided professional development for instructors, and organized orientation, pre and post assessment, data entry, and student incentives, Hill College mentored the adult education instructors in math and language skills and adjusted course syllabi so that developmental texts could be used for instruction. Together, Cleburne and Hill set as a goal that 50% of program participants would not need developmental education courses or would enter level three courses. They also promoted dual enrollment in intermediate/college level Algebra at the college.
Several realities arose that must be taken into consideration for future initiatives. These include:
- 80 contact hours require a significant commitment from the student; work and childcare needs, for example, must be considered when recruiting and scheduling classes;
- finding past GED graduates is challenging and time consuming - the population is mobile and current contact information is often unavailable;
- having funds available to underwrite the costs of the initiative is critical, allowing programs to provide student incentives and support services otherwise not available;
- giving adult learners the opportunity to take the THEA (Texas Higher Education Assessment) and get a taste of college level requirements is invaluable;
- adult education instructional staff built personal capacity through this opportunity to collaborate with postsecondary staff and to participate in professional development focused on helping students make successful transitions;
- educators and students alike became more keenly aware of the gap between GED math preparation and the skills needed for college readiness;
- the initiative pressed programs to optimize the use of computer technology – students used the lab for online math activities and to craft their writing skills;
- finally, the experience was “like boot camp with a parachute!”
Transitioning Adults to College:
Adult Basic Education Program Models
ABE-to-college transition is an evolving area in the education continuum. Current models tend to vary in the intensity of the transition, focus, content, and location of services -- creating a number of pathways to postsecondary education, training, and employment. The New England Literacy Resource Center at World Education, Inc. has identified five emerging models: Advising, GED-Plus, ESOL, Career Pathways, and College Preparatory. Each has its strengths and limitations. One of these models may articulate the local services you can offer, resources at your disposal, and student needs to be met.
The goal of the Advising model is to raise students’ awareness of postsecondary education options and admissions processes.
Advising Model Strengths: |
- Requires less of a time commitment from students than classroom-based transition programs and may therefore appeal more to adults who want to be on a fast track to college;
- Tends to be open entry, which allows advisors to serve students at any point during the semester or year rather than making students wait until a new session begins;
- Is less expensive for programs to provide than more intensive classroom-based models;
- May be incorporated into already-funded counseling hours;
- Provides individualize counseling that can be customized to students’ needs; and
- Reaches and accommodates more students than classroom-based models.
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Advising Model Limitations: |
- Academic skills development is commonly limited to short-term workshops;
- Academic deficits are addressed in tuition-based developmental education;
- Advisors’ case loads can be high;
- Students may chose to opt out of important experiences when offered a menu of voluntary workshops;
- The open entry nature of the program can make it difficult to recruit a critical mass of students for particular workshops; and
- Students do not typically get the benefit of a learning community or cohort as part of the transition experience.
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The goal of the GED Plus model is to accelerate learning for adult education students interested in pursuing postsecondary education.
GED Plus Model Strengths: |
- Accelerates learning for students who have the goal of attending postsecondary education;
- Has the potential to have an impact on a large number of nontraditional adult learners because the GED is an established educational pathway for adults;
- Is less expensive for programs than the college prep model;
- Integrates additional academic content, such as critical thinking skills and algebraic concepts, into the GED curriculum; and
- Responds directly to the increased emphasis on access to postsecondary education under current WIA Title II guidelines.
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GED Plus Model Limitations: |
- Additional academic objectives may be viewed as irrelevant by students who do not have the goal of attending postsecondary education;
- The requirement of the new GED tests for more direct instruction may limit the amount of time instructors can spend on college transition objectives;
- The GED, like the traditional high school diploma, is not well aligned with college placement requirements, reducing its effectiveness as a way to prepare for college, particularly in the area of critical thinking and math; and
- Places additional requirements on GED teachers.
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The goal of the ESOL model is to reduce the time and expense of additional ESOL/ESL coursework at the start of the students’ college career.
ESOL Transition Model Strengths: |
- Develops academic language skills for college;
- Lends itself to addressing curricular alignment with credit-based ESL or introductory composition courses;
- Tends to have clear academic benchmarks for admission to the transition-level classes; and
- Tends to monitor student learning gains closely.
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ESOL Transition Model Limitations: |
- Limits academic skills development to language arts and tends not to include math;
- Tends to have high caseloads for advisors; and
- Graduates of the transition classes often need more ESL instruction in college and may use up financial aid.
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The goal of the Career Pathways model is to get students with limited education into advanced training and college-level programs in high-wage, high –growth employment sectors.
Career Pathways Model Strengths: |
- Provides access to college-level occupational training for students who are not academically prepared for college-level courses;
- Accesses resources for adult transition from public workforce development programs and private employers;
- Makes instruction more immediately relevant to students’ career interests through contextualized curriculum;
- Creates steppingstones to career preparation programs that can lead to an academic credential; and
- Ensures the relevance of the curriculum to available jobs when accompanied by employer involvement.
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Career Pathways Model Limitations: |
- Can limit students’ options to whatever sector-specific training is available;
- May prematurely narrow students’ vocational options; and
- May not adequately prepare students for future college-level courses, which can inhibit ability to move from certificate-level programs into associate degree programs and beyond.
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The goal of the College Prep model is to enable students to transition successfully into college-level courses or, at the very least, begin their college career at the upper tier of developmental education.
College Preparatory Model Strengths: |
- Provides direct instruction to build academic skills, e.g., algebra, reading, and critical thinking;
- Is designed to meet multiple needs of adult students, including academic, psychosocial, and career development;
- Lends itself to addressing curricular alignment between the adult education and postsecondary systems;
- Helps students conserve personal financial resources and time in college by working toward direct placement into college-level coursework or the highest levels of developmental education;
- Creates cohorts within the transition program;
- May allow for dual credit for coursework; and
- Encourages partnerships with other educational and social service providers and businesses.
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College Preparatory Model Limitations: |
- May be considered too time-consuming by students, making them reluctant to sign-up for classes;
- Requires instructors to align their instruction with academic requirements of the postsecondary institution;
- Requires programs to meet a wide range of student academic needs which can be challenging in terms of instructional methodology and the learning community;
- Has no clear ownership by the adult education or the postsecondary education systems;
- Has no clear federal public funding stream and is the most expensive program type; and
- Typically serves fewer students than other models.
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Zafft, Kallenback, and Spohn, 2006. A NCSALL Occasional Paper. To access the full report, visit the National College Transition Network website www.collegetransition.org and click on Program Development, then Transitioning Adults to College: Adult Basic Education Prograrm Models.
 
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