Economic Development Division
Corporate Training and Continuing Education
Office of Business Development and Outreach Services
Texas State Leadership Consortium
March 31, 2004
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
3100 Main, Room 12A05

AGENDA

10:00a.m.-10:10a.m.	Welcome/Purpose of Meeting	Craig Follins
10:10a.m.-10:20a.m.	Introductions
10:20a.m.-10:40 a.m.	Carl Perkins Special Populations Recruitment Efforts	Roland Ediare
10:40 a.m.-10:50a.m.	Recruitment Efforts Questions and Answers
10:50 a.m.-11:05a.m.	Round 1 Focus Groups
11:05 a.m.-11:20a.m.	Round 1 Reporting to Entire Group
11:20 a.m.-11:35a.m.	Round 2 Focus Groups
11:35 a.m.-12:00p.m.	Working Lunch: Round 2 Reporting to Entire Group
12:00 p.m.-12:10p.m.	Break
12:10 p.m.-12:25p.m.	Round 3 Focus Groups
12:25 p.m.-12:40p.m.	Round 3 Focus Groups Reporting to Entire Group
12:40 p.m.-1:00p.m.	Wrap Up with Comments and Feedback

4. Developed, piloted and disseminated, electronically, best practices in establishing partnerships between ABE and Technical programs to increase completion rates of Special Populations.

4.1 Focus Group Meeting

Special Populations Consortium Focus Group Monitoring Meeting was held March 30, 2004.
Purpose: The primary purpose of the Focus Group is to bring together people from different areas to contribute their various input to the success of the project. Craig Follins introduced Roland Ediare as the new Project Coordinator and Mr. Ediare delivered a PowerPoint presentation to the group, distributed handouts, which are included in this report. The meeting was very successful; it was focused on addressing the objection in the transitioning process. Twelve members attended, which were divided into four groups; each with 3 members. The following were the areas of discussion.

Mark Tengler (center) and his group members discussing one of group activity session.	A cross section of individual groups, during the focus group session.

Round 1: What kind of problems have you encountered pertaining to the successful transition of GED and other Special Population students?
In this round each group worked to project what kind of problems were likely to be encountered amongst the ones already encountered whole working with this population.

Round 2: What retention strategies would you consider useful for implementation towards reducing the turn over ratio of these GED/Special populations' students?
The goal here was to resource from the members various workable strategies they have all utilized in tackling the problem encountered in round 1.

Round 3: How would you address the bureaucratic handicaps that may hinder a successful transition process into technical, continuing education and college programs?
This round was focused directly on addressing the systemic problems, in other words the problems that do not originate from the students.

The Following were in attendance:
Craig Follins, HCCS Director Business Development and Outreach Services
Roland Ediare, HCCS Coordinator Carl Perkins Special Populations Project
Connie Clark, HCCS Corporate Training and Continuing Education Faculty
Evelyn McCain, HCCS Business Manager, Southeast College
Marshall McGhee, HCCS Corporate Training and Continuing Education Director, Central College
Jeff Crain, The WorkSource Manager
Charlotte Grimes, The Worksource
Jose Sanchez, The Worksource
Jeanette Holub, HCCS Research Technician
Mark Tengler, HCCS Coordinator, Educational Development
Tomye Geringer, HCCS Department Chair, Medical Assistant Program
Jose R. Garcia, HCCS Faculty

Overall, we were able to deliberate and lots of useful suggestions were documented. Project Coordinator, Roland Ediare, spoke with specific individuals including Marshall McGhee and Evelyn McClain. Marshall McGhee eventually assisted in the organization and implementation of the IC3 seminar, just concluded.

A performance evaluation was carried out and review sheets are included with this report.

Evelyn McClain speaking as a group representative, during the focus group session.	Jeff Crain speaking as a group representative, during the focus group session.

Summary from all groups
Round 1: What Kind of Problems Have You Had in Your Institution Pertaining to Successful Transition of GED Students?

Lack of Self-Esteem/Motivation/Attitude
Questions in their hearts... Will Training Lead to Jobs?
Lack of Fundamental Academic Skills
Excessive Drop Outs
Absences Due to Child Care/Jobs/Time Management
Poor Attitude to Free Classes
Lack People Skills/Life Skills
Parking cost is high in the Medical Center
Immediate Financial Needs/Need Job Placement
Lack of Vision/Guidance/Counsel
Need to Want to Study
Need Problem Solving Skills
Substance Abuse Concerns
Mental and Physical Health ADA
Cultural Differences

Round 2: What retention strategies would you consider useful for implementation towards reducing the turn over ratio of these GED students?

Orientation/Course Orientation
Soft Skill Training in Specific Courses
Career Assessment/Job Placement
Cross-Functional Mentoring Team/Include and Educate Recruiters
Get Employers Involved in the Classroom
Provide Career Information Early
Show Career Pathways, Life Skills and Careers Potentials
More Direct Contact with Students
Initiate Transition From the Beginning of GED
Labor Market Information
Financial Aide
Access Technology
Continuous Improvement/Customer Focused Program
Stronger Pre-requisite/Better Assessment of Applicable Students
More Individual Students Assistance

Round 3: How would you address the bureaucratic bottle-necks that may hinder a successful transition process of these GED students into technical programs?

Additional Funding
Speedy Paperwork Process
Develop Relationship with WorkSource/Students
Don't Promise Student
Maintain Student Focused Success
Better Communication Between All Levels
Continuous Improvement Process
Condense Paperwork to Disburse Funds
Provide Information at Least One Month Earlier
More Accountability/Accessibility
Cross Train
Involve Every Aspect of College Areas of Responsibility
Good Delegation Process