exampleconference2024

This session will introduce participants to Minnesota State’s newly approved Ability to Benefit (AtB) - State-Defined Process Plan. The plan approved by US DOE is a provision in the Higher Education Act and allows adult learners who have not received a high school diploma/GED to be eligible for Title IV Federal Student aid like Pell grants, as well as Minnesota state financial aid. AtB will support Minnesota State’s Equity 2030 and the State Legislature’s Attainment goals and is designed to reduce barriers between secondary and post-secondary pathways by supporting strong collaboration between colleges and ABEs.

The presentation will be interactive and include the opportunity to ask questions and share experiences.

Session’s Objectives:

1. Introducing the purpose of the AtB State Process Plan
2. Learning through stories and examples of other states’ strong and growing AtB programs
3. Describing how Minnesota colleges can take advantage of the AtB State Plan 

ROOM HOSTS: 

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

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

Workplaces want motivated humans who take initiative. People want to care about work and contribute to a bigger purpose. Rolling out engagement programs or adding new professional development tracks won’t help. The answer is developing work cultures and personal mindsets that embrace change, accountability, and risk.
 
In this talk, I inspire people and teams to change their perspectives on work. With humor, humility, and a lot of energy, I reframe hierarchy and power, and focus our attention on the mindsets needed for future-forward workplaces.

Session Objectives:
1) Understand the role of personal leadership and power in hierarchy.
2) Walk away with actionable plans to shape the work and classroom culture.
3) Implement strategies that humanize your work.

ROOM HOST: Phil Arellano

Through targeted investments in districts like Saint Paul Public Schools, Career Academies at the Greater Twin Cities United Way holds the vision to unite public education and employment systems so that all students in Minnesota have pathways to wealth-building and purpose-driven careers. In this session GTCUW will share more about their work across 17 districts to build cross-sector career pathways centered on students of color. Saint Paul Public Schools will share their journey to develop district-wide career pathways in partnership with local industry and post-secondary institutions while maintaining a focus on equity, student voice and wealth building. Session will include opportunities for Q & A, input and active participation.

Session Objectives: 
1. Participants will gain knowledge to strengthen their cross-sector partnerships with secondary, post-secondary and industry stakeholders.
2. Participants will identify new practices and approaches to their curriculum that integrates community and student voice and centers equity in the design
3. Participants will be inspired to create sustainable change in their community

ROOM HOSTS: Maria Vittone

Learn about torque and its relationship to nuts and bolts that virtually hold everything together. This seminar will focus on the importance of torque to fasteners both wet and dry, leverage, clamp load, and some basic fastener terminology. The session will present in an easy-to-understand format and give everyone some knowledge to take home. Get a glimpse of how CTE instructors work in the classroom teaching students.

Session Objectives: 
1. Observe and learn techniques and methods that a CTE teacher applies to support student learning in CTE classrooms.
2. Observe and apply inquiry-based learning teaching strategies in CTE courses and programs.
3. Make abstract concepts more concrete for students.

ROOM HOSTS: Julia Diaz

South Central College (SCC) and area education, chamber and healthcare leaders formed a partnership, High School to College and Career (H2C), to create a dual enrollment pathway for youth, particularly those in underserved populations, to acquire the academic, technical, and workplace skills that employers need. Utilizing a variety of dual enrollment delivery methods provides the opportunity for students to earn more credits prior to high school graduation. H2C prepares learners for college and career opportunities in six healthcare areas including earning certifications along the way that enable them to make a good wage as they gain valuable working experience in the healthcare field. A similar model has been developed for Manufacturing, Engineering, and Construction careers and will be launching during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Session Objectives:
1. Implement a high school to college pathway, public-private partnerships and other collaborations to establish relevant pathway programming.
2. Obtain the resources and strategies needed to begin brainstorming how this model could be adapted for their communities, including developing an outline of a draft business plan.
3. Engage in discussion about relevant challenges, as well as best practices for recruiting and retaining underrepresented students or integrating work-based learning experiences.

ROOM HOSTS: Michelle Kamenov

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)

Many programs utilize case studies to enhance classroom learning.  Try turning a case study into a fun and interactive way for students to learn by making it a virtual escape room.  This not only helps students learn the information, but also improves critical thinking skills in an exciting way.  Students can interact with elements of the escape room such as audio, video and images and responses can be created as multiple choice, select all that apply and short answer.

Session Objectives:
1. Understand the benefits to using a virtual escape room to enhance learning and engage students
2. Start creating their own escape room experience
3.Utilize free services to build a new exciting way for students to learn

ROOM HOSTS: Erin Olson

This session explores perceptions of "college" and how students define college as a barrier to postsecondary choice. The influences on Native American and rural students will be explored through student voices and those that advise them. This presentation is Phase III of an ongoing study of Underrepresented Students Finding CTE.

Session Objectives:
1. Participants will gain an understanding of the barriers to post-secondary choice and the significant influences of indigenous and rural student populations.
2. Participants will evaluate their own organization's practices regarding indigenous and rural populations.
3. Participants will explore current academic and career planning practices and how this research informs the contemporary approach to advising secondary and post-secondary students.

ROOM HOSTS: Mary Jo Gardner

Work-based learning doesn't just give students the opportunity to try on a career and build industry-relevant experience.  When work-based learning is developed in an ecosystem supportive colleges and employers, students can also leverage work-based learning to gain professional guidance in college and career next steps for success after high school.  This session will highlight student case studies where college and business partners have collaborated to support student success after high school. Hear from Minnesota College staff and local businesses partnering with the Hennepin West Education Consortium on their personal experiences of guiding students. Information will be shared on how to build a work-based learning ecosystem to replicate these results.

Session Objectives:
1) Participants will better understand how to identify college and industry training organizations to offer post-graduation guidance to students.
2)Participants will be equipped to talk with work-based learning business partners about coaching students on their post-graduation plans.
3) Participants will leave with tools to help students understand the broad range of options for connecting jobs and education to achieve college and career success

ROOM HOST: Shelli Sowles

What can Perkins funding mean for marketing efforts at your college or university? In this presentation, I will share some creative ideas and examples of where we have used our Perkins dollars to promote CTE enrollment at Minneapolis College, and what the results of those efforts were. I will also provide you with tips and some examples that have helped me to increase the amount of Perkins money allocated to marketing on our campus.

Session Objectives:
1) Participants will understand how Perkins funds can be used to boost enrollment in CTE programs.
2) Participants will be provided with real examples of marketing campaigns and tactics that got results.
3) Participants will understand how collaboration can get you farther than you would have gone alone.

ROOM HOSTS: Jason Jones

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

Our strategies for attracting high school students to CTE was built on developing personalized relationships and real human connection. We knew from the research that students need a support network of professional adults to listen and guide their career decisions. We're sharing two models we piloted in high school programs at Southeast Minnesota and Southwest Metro. Come and learn about what we did and how you can replicate these strategies in your school.

Session Objectives: 
1) Participants will learn to pilot their own high school recruitment program to attract high school students into CTE programs.
2) Participants will learn to engage and partner with local business and industry partners.
3) Participants will learn to develop a learner/student centered strategy for recruiting students into CTE programs.

ROOM HOSTS: Yingfah Thao