Program Design
Introduction
The Adult Education Transitions to College level Technical Programs
project offered GED students that had passed three or more parts
of the GED test or scored at the 10th grade level on the TABE test
the opportunity to attend an introductory course in computers or
health careers at no cost to the students. The courses were offered
as continuing education courses. Courses are 32 hours in length,
and the class size is limited to ten students. After students complete
the introductory course, obtain their GED, and enroll in their chosen
program at the college, the respective college’s staff will
assist them in obtaining 2 credit hours for the course. While attending
the course, students learn successful study skills, receive information
about a variety of careers and receive assistance in applying for
financial aid.
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Terminology
Adult Basic Education (ABE) - Pre-college courses such as general
educational development (GED), English- as- a second language (ESL)
or other developmental course work.
General Educational Development (GED) - Tests measure the outcome
of a high school education. The GED Tests consist of five tests,
one in each of these subjects: Mathematics, Science, Social Studies,
Writing Skills, and Interpreting Literature and the Arts.
Tech Prep - is a comprehensive and articulated program that offers
students the opportunity to study in a career program in high school
and either gain credit or experience which will assist students
in their transition to higher education.
Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) - Assessment instruments
used to measure the basic academic skills of adult students in career,
technical, and adult education programs. These assessment instruments
measure skills in reading, language, mathematics and spelling.
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Program Development
The design of the program should reflect the needs of the local
community. Input from the local school district, college, one stop
centers, state agencies and other interested community organizations
should determine the design of the project. Develop and meet with
an Advisory and Focus Group
to include GED instructors, technical program faculty, and community
organization personnel, to plan, develop, evaluate, and disseminate
the project’s results. Potential students should be surveyed
to determine the best time and days to hold the classes to encourage
retention. Revise the course curriculum to include life skills training
to prepare the student for the college environment. Introduce students
to representatives from the college’s student services such
as Admissions, Financial Aid, Counseling/Advisement, Learning Center,
and Student Support Center.
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Goals, Objectives/Activities and
Timelines
The project was funded with the goal of developing a pipeline
to success for ABE students to obtain a community college technical
certificate or associate degree using the Tech Prep model. Goals,
Objectives/Activities were given timelines so that we could measure
the status and success of the project.
Following is an example of the timeline for goals, objectives/activities:
| Goal: 1.. Develop and pilot a marketing strategy
for high-demand technical programs that focuses on identifying
and enrolling Adult Basic Education students in entry-level
technical courses. |
Objectives/Activities |
Timeline Planned |
| 1.1. Develop and meet with Advisory Group, including ABE educators,
technical program faculty, partner institution personnel and
employers, to plan, develop, and evaluate program and disseminate
results. |
9/1/2003 - 8/31/2004 |
| 1.2. Develop a marketing plan and accompanying materials focusing
on recruitment of ABE students for technical courses. |
9/1/2003 - 10/15/2003 |
| Goal: 2.. Design the program using the Tech Prep
model to motivate and support Adult Basic Education students
to continue in and complete technical programs. |
Objectives/Activities |
Timeline Planned |
| 2.1. Recruit and enroll students in the program. |
10/15/2003 - 12/15/2003
|
| 2.2. Review and revise curriculum as needed |
10/15/2003 - 11/15/2003
|
| 2.3. Hire instructors. |
11/1/2003 - 11/30/2003 |
| 2.4. Begin classes. |
1/15/2003 - 1/15/2003 |
| 2.5. Evaluate classes. |
5/15/2004 - 6/15/2004 |
| Goal: 3.. Develop, pilot, and electronically disseminate
best practices in establishing partnerships between ABE programs
and technical programs to increase completion rates of special
populations students in technical programs. |
Objectives/Activities |
Timeline Planned |
| 3.1. Develop and update project website including information
on best practices in recruiting ABE students into technical
courses, and awarding credit for transition courses. |
12/1/2003 - 8/31/2004 |
| 3.2. Develop and make presentations using a panel focus group
to disseminate program outcomes. (Attend TACHTE and TACHE Conferences
in Spring and Summer 2004.) |
2/1/2004 - 8/31/2004 |
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Measures of Success
- To compare the total number and percentage of GED students who
enroll in the technical education companion courses to local and
statewide averages of college- bound students.
- To assess the number and percentage of GED students that complete
the technical “companion” course and eventually go
on to enroll into the College's technical programs with the state
average of college bound students.
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