exampleconference2024

How can we ensure success? This presentation will provide an overview of the Hennepin Technical College PLANTS program in which employers provide a paid learning experience and a scholarship to successful student candidates. By using an equity-centered intake process, high-impact student coaching and ongoing innovations the PLANTS program allows for high retention and success for both employer and student participants. Session attendees will gain examples of best practices, sample forms and resource list to replicate in their own communities.

Session Objectives:
1. have equity center conversations about employer climate and skill needs
2. build student need-based internship programs that provide significant financial support
3. understand key terms and literature surrounding student and employer partnership
4. identify partners in their community to create new programs
5. provide robust student readiness programs for work-based learning

ROOM HOST: Herbert King

Having trouble communicating with your marketing staff? Do you wish your program had a more impactful personality? This session will showcase examples of low/no cost action steps for establishing and maintaining communication and marketing strategies. Topics will include strategies for engaging with communication and marketing leaders, tips for increasing social media effectiveness, and discussion of the “how and why” of communication plans.

Session Objectives: Participants will learn about, and discuss, ways to:
1.Engage and interact with communications and marketing staff.
2.Build their organization’s online personality.
3.Advocate for CTE through marketing and communications.

ROOM HOST: Brian Cashman

Selected as one of ten colleges in the nation to run an academy under the Uniquely Abled Project, non-profit organization, South Central College's Uniquely Abled Academy connects our non-credit customized workforce education department with our credit-based Machine Tool Technology program. This program offers a specialized 12-week academy for young adults with Level I Autism, free for the students and their families, resulting in job placement for all participants.  Our session will highlight the local and State-wide problems encountered in setting up the academy, the successes seen by faculty and students, and the connections made with employers and state agencies along the way.

Session Objectives:

1. Identifying opportunities to create non-credit to credit pathways for adult learners typically alienated by higher education. 
2. Providing insight to CTE instructors on how to provide accommodations for students with various learning needs. 
3. Sharing successful connections with state agencies, regional workforce centers, and employers.

ROOM HOST: Crystal Svoboda

Local transportation agencies (public works, highway departments, MnDOT, tribal, and townships) are ideal partners for developing a broad range of technical skills and growing the local workforce.

Session Objectives: 
1) Implement best practices on effective ways to partner with your local transportation agency (i.e. internships, job shadowing, youth and community events, mentoring, on-the-job training, etc.).
2) Understand and communicate the many technical career tracks within local transportation agencies.
3) Champion public transportation careers that directly impact community members.

ROOM HOST: Amy Landers

Working adults make up a significant portion of Minnesota’s current college-going population and bring with them learning experiences that can be evaluated for academic credit. Assessing their prior learning broadens pathways to credentials and fosters accelerated completion. The new workflow platform (My Credit for Prior Learning at Minnesota State (MyCPL for short) allows students to complete an online survey of their experiences, training, and certifications, and route them for review. MyCPL allows students, faculty, and staff to manage a student’s request and communicate along the way within the tool.   It also provides a venue for everyone to view crosswalks - a list of standardized assessments, certifications, and training that have had credit equivalencies determined at Minnesota State campuses.

Session Objectives:

1. Become familiar with the Credit for Prior Learning Platform (MyCPL) and how it will be utilized by students, institutions, workforce agencies, and community organizations to assist students in obtaining Credit for Prior learning in their pursuit of advancing their education.
2. Increase awareness of how Credit for Prior Learning promotes equity, and transparency while saving students time and money.
3. Understand how the review guidelines, standards, and processes were developed to assess standardized learning outcomes resulting from non-collegiate certificates in trade, professional, and community based settings for potential credit recommendations.

ROOM HOSTS: 

• Larry Handlin (will be online hosting Zoom)
• Stephen Kelly (will be in the room)

Join the Zoom Session

Selected as one of ten colleges in the nation to run an academy under the Uniquely Abled Project, non-profit organization, South Central College's Uniquely Abled Academy connects our non-credit customized workforce education department with our credit-based Machine Tool Technology program. This program offers a specialized 12-week academy for young adults with Level I Autism, free for the students and their families, resulting in job placement for all participants. Our session will highlight the local and State-wide problems encountered in setting up the academy, the successes seen by faculty and students, and the connections made with employers and state agencies along the way.

Session Objectives:

1. Identifying opportunities to create non-credit to credit pathways for adult learners typically alienated by higher education. 
2. Providing insight to CTE instructors on how to provide accommodations for students with various learning needs. 
3. Sharing successful connections with state agencies, regional workforce centers, and employer

ROOM HOSTS: 

• Larry Handlin (will be online hosting Zoom)
• Stephen Kelly (will be in the room)
• Phil Arellano (will be in the room)

Helping students succeed requires support programs that go beyond the classroom, serving the needs of the whole student.

While pathways to college have improved, investments in helping
students persist through their education journey continue to lag. The pandemic worsened basic
needs gaps, especially for those from vulnerable communities. Solving this crisis requires innovative
technology and human interaction. We must focus on the needs of the WHOLE student, addressing
issues like mental health, financial insecurity, and college/career navigation, while investing in nonacademic, wraparound supports.

Session Objectives:

1. Participants will learn the basic needs gaps that exist for students, including emergency aid
2. Participants will hear about solutions to these gaps that have enabled students to persist and complete their programs.
3. Participants will learn about students’ need for human interaction in helping them connect with resources. Tech is great but it can’t be the sole delivery method.

ROOM HOSTS: 

• Larry Handlin (will be online hosting Zoom)
• Stephen Kelly (will be in the room)

An overview of the non-profit organizations Construct Tomorrow and Building Strong Communities, as well as the Operating Engineer's High School Pathway program. Construct Tomorrow puts on CTE-focused events for high school students throughout the state of Minnesota. Construct Tomorrow works to showcase what a career in the construction trades has to offer by giving students a hands-on, experiential learning opportunity alongside apprentices, journey-workers, and other trades professionals. Building Strong Communities is an industry-driven organization focused on multi-trade apprenticeship preparatory programming throughout the state of Minnesota. The OE Pathway Program offers students, grades 9-12, the opportunity to take classes pertaining to heavy equipment operations and engage with industry experts, along with hands-on training.

Session Objectives:
1) Identify what the Construct Tomorrow and Building Strong Communities organizations are and how they help high school students explore career opportunities in the construction trades.
2) Learn about the OE pathway program and how to get students connected to this innovative industry-education partnership.
3) Develop a better understanding of what the construction trades are, as well as opportunities in registered apprenticeship available to students.
4) Identify the health & welfare, retirement, and wage benefits available to apprentices and journey-workers in the construction trades.

ROOM HOSTS: Eva Scates-Winston

The definition of exploration, according to the Oxford dictionary, is the action of traveling in or through an unfamiliar area in order to learn about it. As the world of work continues to diversify and the number of career pathways expands, it is imperative that industries provide offerings for career exploration earlier in an individual’s education. There is a critical crossroad between student and employee where the industry can connect interests and potential careers. The Titan Machinery EDGE program provides high school juniors/seniors with 12 weeks of career exploration within one of our heavy equipment dealerships. The goal is simple, allow students to see, touch, and inquire about the world around them!

Session Objectives:
1.) Understand the importance of career exploration during the critical years prior to high school graduation
2.) Identify how educators and industry can teach employability skills, connect academic interests and classroom learning with potential careers
3.) Improve educator's knowledge of career options in the heavy equipment industry

ROOM HOSTS: Sue Selland-Miller

Over the past year we have worked to design and prepare to deliver two programs partnering Minnesota State and Xcel Energy and other Minnesota Utilities.  In this session we will discuss the challenges and successes we have experienced along this path, including some tips on navigating and understanding how our structures create barriers and potential bridges.

Session Objectives:
1) Contrast corporate educational structures to college systems.
2) Clearly define objectives in program design and potential barriers.
3) Gain "buy-in" and shared purpose in college and industry partners.
4) Incorporate student and academic affairs in early discussions.

ROOM HOSTS: Amy Landers