Colorado Faculty to Faculty Conference Focuses on Credentialing
???It was great to see so many familiar faces at last Friday’s?Faculty-to-Faculty Spring Conference?hosted by the?Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE). Thank you to the CDHE team for inviting me to moderate a session about national and state trends in credentialing.?
A few takeaways from the conference that I am still thinking about:
???Colorado is national leader?when it comes to blurring the lines between secondary, postsecondary education and workforce development. Further, the state’s commitment to policies that support the transfer of credit, learner mobility through awarding credit for prior learning, and an emphasis on skills-based hiring create an environment for further experimentation and partnership.
???Faculty have an opportunity?to be both trailblazers and collaborators with their on-campus and peer-campus colleagues to support learners throughout their education journey.
???Terminology is important?– and common definitions are the first step in understanding, ensuring uniform adoption of new approaches, and creating momentum with new models.
One way to stay engaged with this conversation is to attend one of my favorite summer meetings —?The Badge Summit, which is hosted by the University of Colorado - Boulder later this summer. Mark your calendar for August 5-7. More details?here.
???I was excited to read about the launch of?Reach University’s?new?National Center for the Apprenticeship Degree (NCAD). You may have seen the story about this?new initiative?from?Paul Fain?in?The Job, but I was happy to learn that Colorado’s own?Sarah Kendall Hughes?(also the Chair of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education) is working with the team to launch this new initiative! Unlike many apprenticeship models, the Reach University model combines job-embedded learning within the non-profit university. NCAD is first tackling the teacher education space and providing apprenticeship opportunities for school employees who are not yet teachers. Watch the video about the new program?here!
???This week on the?FutureU?podcast with?Jeff Selingo?and?Michael Horn, Colorado Mesa University president?John Marshall?talked about “The Wait is Over,” the western Colorado institution’s unique solution to the complicated rollout of the Better FAFSA. Listen?here.
???Our friends at?The Hechinger Report?are gathering admissions essays from high school seniors’ college applications. The non-profit news outlet is always interested in gathering student voices – and learning firsthand what students are thinking about as they prepare their college materials. Students’ essays will not be reprinted without their permission. If you want to learn more – or share the opportunity with students in your network, all of the details from the team at?The Hechinger Report?can be found?here.
???Take note:?WCET?is accepting ideas for sessions during their annual meeting to be held in Long Beach, CA from October 8-10. The organization has issued a call for proposals for networking activities, unconference sessions, roundtable discussion topics, and tech labs/demos. All proposals are due on April 2 and more details can be found?here.
Spotlight on Colorado Education and Workforce
???Last week,?Governor Polis?hosted?a press conference and announced a?package of bills?aimed at addressing workforce development strategies.?
Most notable among the legislation is a bipartisan bill?(HB 24-1364)that?develops a statewide longitudinal data system (SLDS). The legislation would require: the state’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) to build the centralized longitudinal data system, the creation of a governing board to support OIT with the development of the system, and the authorization of study by the?Colorado Department of Education (CDE)?to analyze the costs to provide students the opportunity to obtain college credits, industry credentials and work-based learning experiences.
???The Governor also announced?new legislation?(HB 24-1365)?which would build on the work of the?Opportunity Now?grant program by providing additional grants, tax incentives and coordination of regional talent summits. The legislation extends the grant program so that it is not entirely reliant on one-time funding from the federal government. The bill proposes to use $3.8 million from the general fund and a commitment of $15 million in annual tax credits to support workforce training providers to meet the goals of the Opportunity Now program.?
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8 个月Go Colorado, go!!!!