SWAMMEI: Empowering Montana s Future Workforce

Transcription

1 SWAMMEI: Empowering Montana s Future Workforce Year 1 Interim Evaluation Report Prepared under contract to Great Falls College - Montana State University RTI International 2150 Shattuck Avenue, Suite 800 Berkeley, CA Contact Jay Feldman jayfeldman@rti.org Sandra Staklis sstaklis@rti.org July 2015 RTI International is a registered trademark and a trade name of Research Triangle Institute.

2 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY Contents CONTENTS Executive Summary... 1 Introduction College Descriptions Certificate and Degree Programs in the Energy and Manufacturing Industries Program Implementation: Current Status Industry-Recognized Credentials: Current Activities Curriculum Alignment: Current Activities Online Courses: Current Activities Online Delivery Systems: Current Activities Course Sharing: Current Activities Practical Assessment Centers: Current Activities Prior Learning Assessments and Program On- and Off- Ramps: Current Activities Entrepreneurship Coaching National Career Readiness Certificate Workforce Navigators Apprenticeships/Collaborative Learning Mathematics Technical Mathematics: Current Activities Employer Outreach Systemic Themes Partnerships: Internal and External Governance and Leadership Sustainability Student Recruitment Project Infrastructure References Appendix A: Site Visit Protocols Appendix B: Institutional Survey Appendix C: Supporting Evidence Appendix D: Current Implementation Status of Programs Appendix E: Guidelines on Digital Learning Technology

3 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY Executive Summary EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The 13 colleges in the Strengthening Workforce Alignment in Montana s Manufacturing and Energy Industries (SWAMMEI) consortium, now named RevUp Montana, have completed their first year of Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) program implementation. During this year, the evaluation team from RTI International collected data from each of the participating colleges and the SWAMMEI leadership from October 2014 to May 2015 to assess the status of SWAMMEI implementation at each college and for the consortium as a whole. This report reviews implementation of major elements of the project s scope of work completed through the midpoint of the project in March While the project s implementation is halfway complete, the evaluation is still in its infancy. This report aims to provide practical reflection on successes and challenges and to offer recommendations that allow consortia members to maximize opportunities to integrate promising practices during the project period. The mostly qualitative reflections herein are based upon the best data available to date, collected through site visits, interviews, and survey data collection, and focus primarily on the design, implementation, and support of grant-funded programs of study. As program activities continue and students complete the implemented SWAMMEI programs, future evaluation reports will include the analysis of quantitative data examining the impact of student outcomes and other program activities. Since the project began, the project teams have enhanced or implemented 35 programs across the participating colleges in the fields of energy technology (which includes oil and gas and other fields), commercial driver s license (CDL), and advanced manufacturing (which includes machining, welding, and welding fabrication) (see table below). Some programs, such as CDL, have quickly attracted student and industry interest and are at or near capacity, whereas others, such as the noncredit programs in oil and gas, have had lower enrollments and are experimenting with timing, content, and student recruitment strategies.

4 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY Programs offered, by college College Oil and Gas CDL Diesel Technology Energy Technology Machining Welding Welding Fabrication EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Bitterroot College University of Montana City College at Montana State University Billings Dawson Community College + + Flathead Valley Community College Fort Peck Community College + + Gallatin College Montana State University Great Falls College Montana State University + + Helena College University of Montana Highlands College of Montana Tech + + Little Big Horn College Miles Community College + Missoula College University of Montana + Montana State University Northern + + = proposed and implemented = not proposed but implemented = proposed but not implemented Note: Data from Source: 1 A key component in the design of these programs has been the implementation of a stackable certificates model and integration of industry-recognized credentials. Through this model, which most colleges have adopted, students can earn educational degrees administered by the colleges, called Certificates of Technical Studies (CTS), upon completion of one semester of training. This degree is designed to provide students with an off-ramp into the labor market or the option to continue their education. Most colleges have also embedded the opportunity for students to earn industry-recognized credentials as part of their grantfunded programs as well. Typically, a student will earn several industry-recognized credentials during the course of a semester. Thus, even students that leave their program prior to completing an educational degree still have a demonstrable way to depict their competencies to potential employers. SWAMMEI colleges have also worked to align the learning outcomes and industry-recognized credentials within the first and second semesters of their programs, promoting consistency in program content across colleges and facilitating student movement and cross-college collaboration. All of the colleges are currently offering programs that reflect most elements of this approach, although the extent to which industryrecognized credentials are integrated into programs varies by college and program. The stacked credentials model was designed to provide an opportunity for students to bypass material they already know and focus on the skills they want and need. Feedback collected during the site visits suggests that this model is unfamiliar, and some expressed 1 Note that some schools were listed as having a program on the school page but were not listed as having that program on the program page. This table shows programs based upon the RevUP website.

5 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY doubts about the value of short-term credentials (the CTS and some of the new industry certifications) in their local labor markets. In addition and according to the SWAMMEI leadership, colleges would need to establish stand-alone CTS (or short-term noncredit programs) associated with higher-level credentials and the ability to assess existing skills based upon industry-recognized credential benchmarks to take full advantage of the model. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Through SWAMMEI, each consortia college hired a workforce navigator (WFN) either as a stand-alone position or combined with responsibilities for grant management. Navigators have a unique and broad role, designed to serve college and job services stakeholders, as well as students. Navigators are tasked with helping recruit participants, assisting in training placement, supporting student success in programs, and directly helping students get placed into jobs upon completion of programs. During the RTI site visits, program stakeholders were highly positive about the navigators, particularly in the area of employer outreach, which formerly was left to instructors with limited time. College staff also noted the benefits of having program specialists work with students and employers and explained that guidance staff often focus on college transfer and are unfamiliar with CTE programs and career pathways. Site visit data suggest wide variance across navigators in the amount of time devoted to the activities of recruitment, retention, and placement/employer outreach. Preliminary data suggest that navigators impact on student recruitment can be substantial; initial data provided by the SWAMMEI project team indicated that one navigator was able to recruit over 90 students that wouldn t have attended without navigator encouragement in just over a year (accounting for an increase of $612,720 in tuition revenue and FTE reimbursement); demonstrably increased student retention; and was primarily responsible for placing 54 students (of a 152-student caseload) in jobs. SWAMMEI intended to establish online programs in energy technology and entrepreneurship and hybrid programs in diesel technology and manufacturing (machining, industrial maintenance, and industrial electronics). Colleges would establish a course-sharing framework that would allow students seamless entry into these programs from their transcripting or home institution. The hybrid programs would also utilize practical assessment centers (PACs) that would be established at selected colleges to facilitate students completion of the hands-on portion of the manufacturing and diesel technology programs. Manufacturing: The lead college has successfully created significant portions of a hybrid program, but the capacity to course-share and establishment of the practical assessment centers is still in process. Entrepreneurship: The lead college has successfully created online programs, but the capacity to course-share is still in process. Diesel: The development of online courses has been slowed at Montana State University Northern due to faculty investment and the lack of institutions able to

6 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY partner with that lead college in the manner originally envisioned. Helena College has created a hybrid program in diesel that uses some online coursework. Energy Technology: Missoula, the lead college for this program, decided to change its existing program from an online to face-to-face offering in response to industry feedback. Even with this change, industry demand and student interest continued to wane, and the college decided to discontinue program development. The grant funds for this effort were directed to the development of a machining program at Missoula. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Course-sharing agreements and a simplified system to exchange course-sharing data are needed to facilitate statewide cross-campus enrollments. Both of these issues are priorities for the SWAMMEI leadership team for the coming year, although the changes required to facilitate course sharing may extend beyond the grant period. While not originally a major focus of SWAMMEI, apprenticeship has gained importance to the project team as a strategy to reduce the skill gap and increase students return on investment. To this end, navigators and other project staff have contacted employers to gauge their interest in this type of program, although the difference between apprenticeships and internships was not clear at some colleges, and the view of apprenticeships as a union activity is widespread. While confusion persists at the college level, the project team is currently pursuing a twofold strategy of increasing apprenticeships as alternative parallel pathways within the project s target occupations. First, the project team is pursuing agreements with existing union programs that would enable students to exit SWAMMEI programs and enter union programs after their first semester. Secondly, project leadership is focused on establishing competency-based college apprenticeship programs that offer students paid (sponsored) opportunities to earn college degrees and apprenticeship certificates simultaneously under faculty guidance in partnership with a sponsoring business. Finally, SWAMMEI has also implemented a number of enhancements to student support services, including coaching for first-year full-time students, opportunities for students to earn certificates through the National Career Readiness Credential (NCRC), and enhancements to developmental math coursework. Five colleges have offered coaching from InsideTrack to their students. Although the introduction of the service was slow, initial results from InsideTrack suggest that the service is having a positive effect on retention, with a collegeaverage increase of 6.1% in student retention in comparison to non-coached students over the same time period. SWAMMEI s implementation of the NCRC is focused on offering the credential through job services offices and has had some success in gaining buy-in from businesses that have begun using the tool in their hiring processes. Developmental math implementation has been a priority at Missoula College and Helena College, and the colleges met in June to share developmental math progress and strategies. Missoula s participation in the developmental math initiative has been slowed by delays in getting the college s math lab operational.

7 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY Summary of recommendations/lessons learned This section provides main recommendations for consortia members to maximize opportunities to integrate promising practices during the project period. Within the report, we describe the main activities associated with SWAMMEI, as outlined in the SWAMMEI proposal to the Department of Labor, and provide further reflections and recommendations. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Certificate and Degree Programs Colleges should develop noncredit modules aligned to industry-recognized credentials. Consultations with the SWAMMEI project team have revealed that colleges may have options to emulate and leverage work done in credit-bearing programs specifically adult education programs or other types of noncredit courses that are flexible for both students and industry and help incumbent workers advance their skills and secure high-wage jobs. 2 This approach would provide colleges the most flexibility to serve targeted businesses and incumbent workers and would create a bridge into grant-funded academic programs. Noncredit programs would also allow colleges to leverage the SWAMMEI credential-oriented marketing campaign. Offer one-semester Certificates of Technical Studies (CTS) as an offramp opportunity for students. TAACCCT grants require that colleges develop stackable certificates as part of their latticed programs. Faculty and SWAMMEI team members in most of the colleges reported that the employers they work with do not want to hire students with only a one-semester certificate. However, a one-semester certificate not only acknowledges the student s accomplishment, but also may smooth the student s reentry to the program at the same or another institution if she or he cannot continue. In addition, if a short-term certificate is the only postsecondary education some students have, any certificate would be helpful in their job search. While RTI is confident in recommending adoption of the CTS off-ramps, we also propose further research to understand how long it is necessary for students to stay in the programs to attain a reasonable return on their educational investment. Embrace industry-recognized credentials within academic programs. The value of national credentials and their value in a local community are still being explored; however, these credentials have utility that is likely to grow the more ingrained the credentials become with local businesses. Some faculty reported that the national industry-recognized certifications selected for SWAMMEI are not valued by local employers. The instructors spoke of the credentials purely in 2 This idea was also raised by college CEOs during a SWAMMEI presentation in May 2015.

8 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY local terms. A national credential, however, has value beyond the college s service area and Montana. While most students seem to want to stay in the local area, not all do, and not all may be able to find work locally. Information on students career paths from the student survey and state labor force data may provide information on how many students plan to leave their local area for work, even for a short time. Local labor markets also change over time, and as manufacturing grows, the credentials that firms seek may change as well. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Develop institutional guidelines for using industry-recognized credentials to enroll students in SWAMMEI tiers most commensurate with their skills level. It is RTI s understanding that this would require institutions to do the following: adopt policies and procedures for assessing individuals; offer industry-recognized credential assessments as stand-alone opportunities for potential students develop stand-alone CTS degrees at each tier of the stacked credential model, and offer noncredit training opportunities that would allow a worker to gain a particular credential, which is a suggestion offered elsewhere in this report Leverage existing curriculum specialists and/or grant-funded vendors to develop instructional capacity. SWAMMEI s course development has necessitated that instructors develop written materials, offering a unique opportunity for colleges to push for increased depth to the curriculum and to help faculty build their pedagogical capacity. The curriculum development has been leveraged as a professional development tool in colleges that have them. Although not all colleges have the resources through the grant to hire a curriculum specialist, the opportunity is present for supporting their instructors in documenting and enhancing their curriculum. All colleges have the opportunity to leverage this skill set and help to build the capacity of their instructional staff and develop the U.S. Department of Labor-mandated Open Educational Resources (OER) deliverables. To the degree possible, colleges should make use of existing resources to speed the development of quality programs. The use of existing OER and vendor-created materials presents an opportunity for colleges creating programs to rapidly develop quality instructional materials, often more cheaply and of a better quality (in terms of driving student outcomes) than unique solutions, especially as instructors develop their knowledge of how to most effectively create such materials. This is particularly true when developing instructional materials

9 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY for online instruction, where existing materials are designed to optimize interactivity and capitalize on specific instructional platform functionality. Colleges should invest in interactive technology and a learning management system to maximize student engagement, particularly for hybrid and online programs. We present a more detailed discussion of technology in appendix E, including an analysis of the most commonly used systems. Student engagement is the key to success in online education. There is a vast spectrum of models for delivery of online instruction. In general, student outcomes are better in programs designed for online delivery that utilize functionality that encourages student engagement in ways unique to the online environment. Having a learning management system (LMS) that enables interactivity is an important first step; however, most LMSs are not designed with instruction at the forefront. Often, vendor products (like Blackboard Elluminate) can enhance the functionality of a college s LMS and enhance the likelihood of success for students; however, utilizing the functionality also requires that a program s design intentionally capitalize on that functionality. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Colleges should strongly consider offering night and/or weekend courses. Nighttime and weekend course offerings are notably one of the most effective ways to promote access to higher education for various students. For example, older students who work during the day often can only attend school at night or on the weekends, and place a high priority on such course availability (Soutar & Turner, 2002). Offering classes at daytime and evening times also provides students more flexibility to create a healthier school / work / life balance. Some researchers have even looked at the biological consequences of scheduling times for difference students and suggest that any single standardized schedule is likely to be inappropriate, specifically stating that eveningtype students may face a real disadvantage when forced to adhere to morning classes (Gomes, Silva, Bos, Tavares, & Azevedo, 2008). Helena College staff noted that their new grant-funded nighttime courses had reached a distinct demographic of older students who generally had more previous work experience, were currently working full-time and were more likely to have families than in the college s traditional programs. Given the grant s focus on serving taa-eligible, veteran and other adult populations, offering courses scheduled during nights or weekends is a strategy well-suited to making programs accessible to the target population.

10 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY Workforce Navigators (WFNs) Develop a sustainability plan for navigators. WFNs have helped develop new connections to industry, and internal data have shown positive impacts on recruitment, retention, and placement. Most SWAMMEI colleges have praised the work of WFNs. Some colleges have begun to think of how to sustain the position. Project leadership analysis suggest there are very tangible benefits to these positions in terms of recruitment, college revenue, retention rates, and placement rates. These benefits help both colleges and job services attain aspects of their mutual goals. Project leadership has expressed a desire to pursue a joint-funded (Montana Department of Labor and Industry and 2-year colleges) model to continue these positions. There is some evidence from previous TAACCCT grants that navigators hired by colleges tend to have a scope of work that is not as comprehensive as the SWAMMEI WFNs and therefore may have less impacts across the spectrum of their SWAMMEI activities. In contrast, because WFNs allow instructors to focus more on the classroom and less on operating the program and connecting with industry, colleges might consider integrating them into the college academic advising department as specialists for specific programs rather than generalists who work across all programs. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Without sustaining these new connections, the concern is that they will lapse. InsideTrack Coaching Use InsideTrack s data analytic capacity to maximize coaching services and student services in general. Colleges working with InsideTrack typically provide the firm with detailed data on participants so that InsideTrack researchers can identify the students that benefit most from the service and customize recruitment strategies accordingly. To date, only limited data have been shared by SWAMMEI colleges with InsideTrack, but consortium members may want to provide additional data in the future in order to take full advantage of the service. Even if the colleges discontinue InsideTrack after the grant ends, the information may be useful for planning guidance and counseling services. InsideTrack is also able to provide feedback on trends in student attrition or common challenges reported by students. We encourage campuses to utilize these data as tools for improving their existing services. Explore other nudge services for students. Available evidence suggests that InsideTrack may help students succeed in college, but other strategies may provide similar results. Colleges not interested in using InsideTrack might try different approaches to providing some of the services that they currently offer, using ideas from the findings around the nudge program.

11 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY Entrepreneurship Streamline data sharing infrastructure to support course sharing. Demand for the entrepreneurship certificate program statewide is dependent on students being able to easily enroll in courses at other colleges and a simple process for colleges to share student data. A means for sharing course enrollment data is needed for students who are not enrolled in Missoula College to receive credit for the program. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY National Career Readiness Certificate Target the NCRC to job services centers and employers. Because the NCRC focuses on more general employability skills rather than the technical skills that are the focus of the SWAMMEI programs, several colleges are promoting its use for job services clients rather than SWAMMEI students. Since job services helps individuals who may have technical skills and experience but cannot find work, the NCRC might help identify employability skills in need of improvement or provide an extra endorsement that gives them an edge in the labor market. Similarly, some businesses have been convinced that the NCRC provides them advantages in implementing their hiring processes. Apprenticeships and Collaborative Learning Opportunities Help colleges focus apprenticeship activity. The colleges are exploring apprenticeships in several fields and with a variety of employers simultaneously. Focusing efforts on one field and finding willing employer partners might help move the colleges beyond the exploratory phase. Employer Outreach Continue to improve connections with Job Services. Colleges with strong relationships with job service centers and that have a strong referral system could serve as mentors or models for those colleges working to establish a connection with job service centers. Ensure coordination of business outreach at all levels. SWAMMEI has catalyzed business outreach at the local level (through navigators), at the regional level (through sector partnerships), and at the statewide level (in conjunction with the Governor s Main Street Montana Key Industry Networks [KIN]). RTI is not aware of any formal process/direction that ties these efforts together. We recommend that project leadership provide guidance on how these activities tie together to avoid duplication of time and effort across the state.

12 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY Introduction INTRODUCTION The purpose of RTI s Interim Evaluation Report is twofold. First, the report provides a comparison between what activities the collective SWAMMEI Consortium proposed it would accomplish and what activities have been accomplished to date. Secondly, RTI provides recommendations to the consortium as a whole about improvements that could be made to enhance operations within the grant and/or ways that colleges might leverage the grant to institutionalize promising practices initiated by the grant. While not a major point of emphasis, specific feedback has been provided about the progress of each college pursuant to their own goals. An analysis of specific outcomes achieved by the initiative to date, as compared to the planned scope of work, is also provided in appendix D. Background The Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) program provides grants to community colleges to expand and improve their abilities to deliver career education and training programs. TAACCCT is designed to develop a workforce qualified for high-skill, high-wage jobs by developing new programs and enhancing curricula in existing programs that are: Stackable The programs offer short-term credentials that students can combine with additional credentials as needed to qualify for more advanced jobs and higher wages. These stackable postsecondary certificates and degrees offer students multiple on- and off-ramps, allowing them to earn credentials as they matriculate through programs and reenter the labor market quickly, or earn additional credentials and degrees to become prepared for higher-wage jobs when desired. Portable Because the learning outcomes are based on nationally recognized industry standards, the credentials that students earn are accepted by employers and institutions across the state and potentially nationwide. Part of a career pathways system Students can see a clear education path with multiple entrances and exits into education and training and the workforce. The 13 colleges in the Strengthening Workforce Alignment in Montana s Manufacturing and Energy Industries (SWAMMEI) Consortium, now named RevUp Montana, are in the midst of TAACCCT program implementation. This report provides an overview of the colleges

13 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY progress in implementing the initiative and the local teams successes and challenges in working toward project objectives as of spring The evaluation team from RTI International collected data from each of the participating colleges and the SWAMMEI leadership from October 2014 to May 2015 to assess the status of SWAMMEI implementation at each college and for the consortium as a whole. INTRODUCTION The topics covered in this report follow the first-year plan from the SWAMMEI proposal and the logic model created for the evaluation plan. After an overview of each of the participating colleges, each section addresses the status of a program component by presenting RTI s observations and preliminary suggestions and, where relevant, includes supporting information from outside sources. The evaluation team has also identified several emerging themes in the colleges work, such as cross-college communication and internal and external partnerships which the team will follow as the project develops. These themes are described in the final section. This interim report is not comprehensive; RTI has, to date, conducted site visits to 11 of the 13 consortium colleges, and data has not yet been collected on all of the many activities included in the SWAMMEI proposal. In addition, some aspects of the SWAMMEI initiative, such as the development of sector strategies and apprenticeship programs, are still in the early stages of development. While this report provides some initial information on these activities, additional information will be collected as the activities develop further.

14 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY Data Collection INTRODUCTION The information included in this report is drawn from site visits, interviews, and a survey sent to all of the colleges (table 1). The data collection strategies were designed to gather baseline information on the colleges SWAMMEI activities, including their implementation successes and challenges, their capacities to offer the planned programs and services, and their progress through spring The report also includes summaries of current research relevant to various aspects of the SWAMMEI program, as well as information on best practices, where relevant. Table 1: Report data sources, by college College Fall site visit Spring site visit Spring virtual site visit Fall virtual interview Survey Bitterroot College University of Montana City College at Montana State University Billings Dawson Community College Flathead Valley Community College Fort Peck Community College Gallatin College Montana State University Great Falls College Montana State University Helena College University of Montana Highlands College of Montana Tech Little Big Horn College Miles Community College Missoula College University of Montana Montana State University Northern Site Visits The research team conducted 1-day site visits to seven of the participating colleges in October 2014 and to four colleges in April The team also conducted virtual site visits to two colleges in April Site visits included interviews with grant coordinators, workforce navigators, SWAMMEI program directors and faculty, and college administrators. At some

15 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY of the colleges, the site visits also included interviews with university administrators (in embedded colleges), instructional designers, advising staff, students, and employers. An abbreviated site visit protocol is included in appendix A. INTRODUCTION Interviews The research team conducted fall interviews with grant coordinators and workforce navigators with the six colleges that were not visited in November and December of The interviews focused on implementation progress to date, significant challenges, and the SWAMMEI teams plans for the coming months. Institutional Survey To supplement the information collected through the site visits and interviews and to collect comparable data from each institution, RTI administered a survey in January 2015 to all of the consortium colleges. The colleges were asked about each program s implementation (including number of faculty hires, courses created, online course offerings, and practical assessment centers), credentials, and connections with local employers. As of this writing, 11 colleges had submitted the survey, and responses from 10 are reflected in this draft. The survey is included in appendix B. Structure of This Report This report first provides a snapshot of the activities occurring at each college. The majority of this report is organized according to the main activities associated with SWAMMEI, as outlined in the SWAMMEI proposal to the Department of Labor. This proposal outlined six main strategies. Within the reporting on the implementation of these strategies, we first present the proposed strategy, discuss shifts in strategy and the reasons why such shifts may have occurred, provide a status update of implementation, and discuss suggested recommendations. In addition, where appropriate, we provide background evidence for the strategies from the research literature. A Note on Definitions Please note that, in this report, we refer to degrees and certificates of technical skills that are issued by the college and industry-recognized credentials (IRCs) that are overseen externally (exhibit 1) and issued by the professional agency, not the college. An Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree is an example of a college degree; and a Tier 1 certificate, created for the SWAMMEI program, is an example of a college certificate of technical studies. For an example of an industry-recognized credential, the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) was formed in 1995 by the metalworking trade associations to develop and

16 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY maintain a globally competitive American workforce. NIMS sets skills standards for the industry, certifies individual skills against the standards, and accredits training programs that meet NIMS quality requirements. Both certificates and credentials are stackable. INTRODUCTION Exhibit 1: Certificates and credentials are earned in SWAMMEI The RevUp welding program teaches the theory and operation of welding and thermal cutting processes. RevUp s welding programs train students in state-of-the-art facilities. There are two levels of training. Local manufacturers helped design the training based on the skills they need in their businesses. RevUp s welding students can also earn credentials from the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) during their program. These credits fit with the American Welding Society (AWS) SENSE standards and guidelines. In Tier 1: Students learn the basics of several welding and cutting processes while meeting safety requirements. Students practice shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), gas metal arc welding (GMAW), and flux cored arc welding (FCAW). Students will also learn to read welding blueprints and weld symbols. At the end of Tier 1, students earn a Certificate of Technical Studies degree, if they do not continue into higher levels of training. Most Tier 1 students can earn an NCCER Welding Level 1 credential during the program. In Tier 2 students become proficient in SMAW, FCAW and GMAW welding processes and learn to produce welds in all positions that meet industry standards. Students can also learn more advanced arc welding processes, including gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). Most Tier 2 students earn NCCER Welding Level 2 credentials during the program. Students completing both Tier 1 and Tier 2 will earn a Certificate of Applied Science degree. Source:

17 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY College Descriptions COLLEGE DESCRIPTIONS The 13 colleges in the SWAMMEI Consortium are working together to implement SWAMMEI. Each college is also implementing its own set of activities in accordance with both SWAMMEI and local college priorities. The colleges have made different degrees of progress in achieving their individual goals. The descriptions below briefly describe the colleges SWAMMEI activities and aspects of the work that are unique to each college, including staffing changes and numbers of program participants. Bitterroot College University of Montana (BC): BC is a new, non-degree-granting unit of the University of Montana s Missoula College, which is an administrative arrangement that is unique in the state. Missoula College manages BC s curricula and program approvals, which, due to leadership transitions, has led to some delays in implementation. Prior to SWAMMEI, BC s courses were part of Missoula College programs. All of BC s SWAMMEI programs are new and the college s first programs for which all of the courses can be completed at BC. Bitterroot College planned to participate in the welding, welding fabrication, machining, industrial maintenance, industrial electronics, oil and gas, energy technology, commercial driver s license (CDL), and entrepreneurship initiatives in the project. Delays in the development of a course-sharing framework have negatively affected BC s ability to participate in the machining, industrial maintenance, energy technology, and industrial electronics programs as an enrolling college. Additionally, BC staff and, to some extent, students do not look upon online courses in these fields as a viable option. That could change once the course-sharing issue is solved and provides the opportunity for staff to really explore this idea. A lead college was not planned for CDL, but BC now serves in this role. SWAMMEI leadership explained that BC took on this role when the college saw the benefits of aligning training across the state in accordance with employer feedback. BC is also creating a machining program as part of their SWAMMEI offerings, and has also created a stacked credential pathway in welding; however, the college has yet to formalize a process to create on-ramps into the credential tiers. BC has embedded industry-recognized credentials into its welding program. Staffing: The college s seven staff members have multiple roles in SWAMMEI. BC s parttime navigator serves many functions at the college but oversees recruitment, case-management, and placement of students in SWAMMEI programs.

18 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY Program participants. As of July 2015, BC had enrolled 37 participants of their estimated 279 participant count (13% of their goal). 3 City College at Montana State University Billings (City College): City College is embedded within Montana State University Billings, a subset of Montana State University. City College has the second largest number of projected SWAMMEI students and participates in more programs than any other college. The college is also the lead for the oil and gas program, which launched in spring 2015 after delays due to hiring and the need for professional development of faculty. In part due to its embedded structure, communications and grant-related decision making authority were sometimes not clear, and the lack of clarity has slowed progress on the grant at times. COLLEGE DESCRIPTIONS City College planned to participate in SWAMMEI s welding, welding fabrication, machining, industrial maintenance, industrial electronics, commercial driver s license, oil and gas, energy technology, entrepreneurship, and coaching initiatives. Delays in the development of a course-sharing framework have dampened the college s interest in participating in the machining, industrial maintenance, energy technology, and industrial electronics programs as an enrolling college and have also slowed participation in the entrepreneurship program. Further, the college determined it did not have the capacity to function as a practical assessment centers (PAC) for the hybrid machining and maintenance programs, although it intends to still function as a PAC in support of the hybrid industrial electronics program. City College has augmented courses within its energy technology program but, according to SWAMMEI project leadership, is reliant on access to equipment currently tied up in the budget for PACs (within another college s budget authority) to fully develop their program. City College s delivery of the oil and gas training was slower than planned, but the college has made opportunities for other colleges students to be served through the program. Major shifts in the oil and gas industry in the last year have led to a dramatic decline in the demand for workers in the region and, subsequently, student demand for training. City College staff note, however, that the curriculum created for this initiative is still relevant for other industries. City College has created a stacked credential pathway in welding and energy technology; however, the college has yet to formalize a process to create on-ramps into the credential tiers. City College has embedded National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) credentials in its welding and energy technology programs and myriad credentials in its oil and gas modules, including NCCER, PEC Safeland, OSHA 10 & 30, NCCCO, and JLG certifications. Finally, City College began offering InsideTrack coaching in spring Program participation data provided to RTI by SWAMMEI staff.

19 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY Staffing. During the project period, City College has experienced transitions in both the provost (MSUB) and dean positions. The workforce navigator at City College participated in recruitment, case management, and in some industry outreach activities, but felt hindered by lack of referrals from the local job services center. COLLEGE DESCRIPTIONS Program participants. As of July 2015, City College had enrolled 169 participants of their estimated 327 participant count (52% of their goal). Dawson Community College (DCC): DCC is a community college with a local board of trustees. DCC planned to participate in the welding, welding fabrication, Canadian Welding Bureau, and oil and gas initiatives in the project. SWAMMEI implementation has moved relatively slowly at DCC due to staff changes and challenges in recruiting instructors. Project activities to date have focused primarily on welding, which has embedded the NCCER credential and offers off-ramps at the Certificates of Technical Skills (CTS) level; the college has yet, however, to formalize a process to create on-ramps into the credential tiers. DCC has also offered oil and gas courses through City College, but the downturn in local oil and gas production have decreased student demand. DCC is currently exploring development of a related corrosion training, tied to an industry recognized credential, in response to industry demand. Staffing: DCC hired a new president and chief financial officer just prior to the project s start. DCC has experienced the transition of a vice president, two workforce navigators, and welding faculty during the project period. Recently, the president announced his acceptance of a position at a different college. DCC s current workforce navigator works to recruit, support, and place students and has been establishing strong ties to local businesses. Program participants. As of July 2015, DC had enrolled 20 participants of their estimated 197 participant count (10% of their goal). Flathead Valley Community College (FVCC): FVCC is a community college with a local board of trustees. FVCC planned to participate in the welding, welding fabrication, Canadian Welding Bureau, machining, industrial maintenance, industrial electronics, entrepreneurship and coaching initiatives in the project, and has also added CDL. FVCC is the lead for the SWAMMEI advanced manufacturing programs in machining, industrial electronics, and industrial maintenance, and initially led the project s entrepreneurship initiative, which later shifted to Missoula as the result of faculty changes. FVCC piloted many of its SWAMMEI activities through the college s single-institution TAACCCT grant, the Amplifying Montana's Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Industry (AMAMII) program, and planned to create online versions of these programs as part of SWAMMEI. The college s online manufacturing program offerings were launched during

20 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY the academic year, and the college offers its own hybrid component that allows students to complete this program at FVCC. The ability for students to complete FVCC s hybrid program at other colleges (through PACs) has been hindered by the lack of understanding of the administrative processes required by partner colleges to participate as PACs, and procurement and liability challenges. FVCC has created a robust stacked credential pathway; however, the college has yet to formalize a process to create on-ramps into the credential tiers. FVCC has embedded industry-recognized credentials into its machining, welding, and welding fabrication programs. The college is still in the process of securing a third-party assessment board necessary to award credentials to students. Finally, InsideTrack coaching was initiated at FVCC in the spring term of 2014, although a smaller percentage of its full-time, first time students participate in this service than at the other colleges engaged in coaching. COLLEGE DESCRIPTIONS Staffing. FVCC has benefitted from relative stability of its program staff. FVCC s workforce navigator works primarily on student recruitment and support activities and other college personnel are dedicated to providing outreach services to local businesses. Program participants. As of July 2015, FVCC had enrolled 181 participants of their estimated 228 participant count (79% of their goal). Fort Peck Community College (Fort Peck): Fort Peck is one of the consortium s two tribal colleges. Fort Peck planned to participate in the welding, CDL, Canadian Welding Bureau, entrepreneurship, and developmental math initiatives. The college has been proactive in implementing its SWAMMEI activities, including a multimedia marketing campaign and the development of its own entrepreneurship class from materials created as part of an earlier TAACCCT grant for tribal colleges. Fort Peck has also launched a developmental math initiative that combines software from various vendors in the lab. Fort Peck has created a stacked credential pathway but has yet to formalize a process to create on-ramps into the credential tiers. Fort Peck has embedded industry-recognized credentials into its welding program. College staff noted that the student recruitment is limited by the region s high unemployment and transportation challenges, particularly for the sizable proportion of individuals in the college s service area who live far from campus, lack the funds to commute, and do not have home computers or Internet connections. Staff noted that some aspects of SWAMMEI, such as budget restrictions on how marketing funds can be spent, are at odds with tribal culture. Staffing. Fort Peck s WFN recently resigned to take another position but, prior to that, was active in recruitment, student support, and placement activities. The navigator felt somewhat limited in her placement success by students reluctance to leave the region for work.

21 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY Program participants. As of July 2015, Fort Peck had enrolled 78 participants of their estimated 86 participant count (91% of their goal). Gallatin College Montana State University (Gallatin): Gallatin is affiliated with Montana State University in Bozeman. The college planned to participate in the welding, welding fabrication, machining, and entrepreneurship initiatives. The college s longstanding plans to developing welding fabrication and machining programs enabled them to get these programs underway soon after SWAMMEI began. For welding and machining, Gallatin chose not to offer off-ramps typically found in stacked credential pathways due to feedback from local industry partners and, for the same reason, has yet to formalize a process to create on-ramps into the credential tiers. The machining program has embedded NIMS credentials and the welding program is still aligned solely with the American Welding Society (AWS) credential, making it an outlier in the state. COLLEGE DESCRIPTIONS Enrollment and placement rates in Gallatin s programs have been very strong with the exception of the entrepreneurship initiative. As at other colleges, participation in this program has been slow due to delays in establishing course-sharing infrastructure. Project staff commented that Montana State University staff are supportive of SWAMMEI and have contributed the college s grant work by, for example, connecting project staff with employers. Staffing. Gallatin benefitted from an effective workforce navigator who focused on recruiting, case-management, and placement of students, but has had no navigator since this individual resigned in February. Program participants. As of July 2015, Gallatin had enrolled 151 participants of their estimated 120 participant count (126% of their goal). Great Falls College Montana State University (Great Falls): Great Falls is the overall lead for the initiative, as well as the lead college for welding and welding fabrication. Great Falls has demonstrated effective leadership in aligning the learning outcomes and industryrecognized credentials utilized in welding programs across the state. Great Falls planned to participate in the welding, welding fabrication, Canadian Welding Bureau, entrepreneurship, and coaching initiatives in the project. The college has integrated its work on the SWAMMEI initiative with another grant to expand its welding bays. The SWAMMEI grant has also helped the college extend the opening hours of its welding facility to 7am midnight, allowing three cohorts of students to use the equipment each day. Great Falls has created a stacked credential pathway in welding; however, the college has yet to formalize a process to create on-ramps into the credential tiers. Great Falls has embedded industry-recognized credentials (NCCER) into its welding program.

22 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY While pre-employment programming has been the primary focus to date, Great Falls will shift its focus to post-employment programming in summer 2015, including Canadian Welding Bureau offerings. Participation in the entrepreneurship initiative has been slowed due to delays in establishing course-sharing infrastructure. COLLEGE DESCRIPTIONS Staffing. Great Falls has seen the transition of several of its welding staff during the project period. Great Falls workforce navigator provides recruitment, case-management, and placement services, and has been instrumental in providing services and outreach to businesses in the isolated community of Lewistown. Program participants. As of July 2015, Great Falls had enrolled 87 participants of their estimated 125 participant count (70% of their goal). Helena College University of Montana (Helena College): Helena College is an affiliate of the University of Montana and is the co-lead for SWAMMEI diesel programs. Helena College planned to participate in the welding, welding fabrication, Canadian Welding Bureau, machining, diesel technology, entrepreneurship, and developmental math initiatives in the project. Helena has revamped a number of existing programs for SWAMMEI, and project participants felt that this process has reinvigorated the programs curricula by instituting clearly defined learning objectives that match course content. The Helena team has also sought to reach nontraditional students through SWAMMEI by expanding its evening programs in diesel technology, welding, and manufacturing and allowing flexible scheduling through online or partially online (hybrid) classes. The college reported that these offerings have effectively reached a different demographic of students than traditional programs. In response to feedback from local industry partners, Helena College chose not to offer off-ramps consistent with the stacked-credential pathways model. Relatedly, the college also has yet to formalize a process to create on-ramps into the credential tiers. Helena College has embedded industry-recognized credentials into its welding, machining, and diesel programs. Helena College has made revisions to its developmental math and technical math in association with SWAMMEI and is currently looking to create an online technical math course. As at other colleges, participation in the entrepreneurship initiative has been slow due to delays in establishing course-sharing infrastructure. Staffing. Helena College s workforce navigator has been used as an example of the impact that this position can have on student recruitment and retention in project discussions about sustaining the positions in the future. The college s vice president recently accepted a position at another college.

23 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY Program participants. As of July 2015, Helena College had enrolled 182 participants of their estimated 275 participant count (66% of their goal). Highlands College of Montana Tech (Highlands College): Highlands College is affiliated with Montana Tech and planned to participate in the welding initiative in the SWAMMEI project. Highland College has used SWAMMEI to divide its 2-year metal fabrication degree into separate 1-year welding and machining programs that were initiated in fall Each program leads to a certificate of applied science (CAS) and students who complete both programs can earn an associate s degree. Highlands College has created stacked credential pathways in welding and machining; however, the college has yet to formalize a process to create on-ramps into the credential tiers. Highlands College has embedded industry-recognized credentials into its machining (NIMS) and welding programs (NCCER). COLLEGE DESCRIPTIONS In addition, the college established a new and grant-funded one-semester program in aerospace welding in spring Highlands also intends to add a partially grant-funded CDL program and serve as a PAC for the SWAMMEI hybrid machining program. Staffing. Highlands was able to move their part-time navigator to full-time. The navigator recruits, case manages, places students, and provides project management support and also completed NIMS training so that she could award NIMS credentials in lieu of an instructor. Program participants. As of July 2015, Highlands College had enrolled 48 participants of their estimated 9 participant count (533% of their goal). Little Big Horn College (Little Big Horn): Little Big Horn is the SWAMMEI Consortium s other tribal college member and planned to participate in the welding, welding fabrication, machining, industrial maintenance, industrial electronics, oil and gas, energy technology, entrepreneurship, and developmental math initiatives and to use SWAMMEI to reintroduce career and technical education (CTE) programs, which the college had not offered in recent years. Little Big Horn intended to make use of other colleges online programming for most of these initiatives as an enrolling college, but the college s ability to participate in the machining, industrial electronics, industrial maintenance, energy technology, and entrepreneurship initiative have been slowed due to delays in establishing coursesharing infrastructure. The college has added CDL to its list of grant-funded courses, with several students completing the first aspect of CDL training in the spring of Bitterroot College has been helping Little Big Horn initiate their CDL program. Little Big Horn has also sought to develop a partnership with Hardin High School to initiate a dual-credit welding program, an effort supported by Great Falls. Little Big Horn was unable to locate students to participate in an oil and gas training program to be offered on campus by City College staff.

24 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY Staffing. Little Big Horn s grant coordinator has been a strong participant, but the college has had less involvement from other staff (e.g., registrar, CAOs, etc.) in comparison with other consortia colleges. Little Big Horn has benefitted from a full-time navigator in the spring of 2015 who has helped support the college s grant coordinator. COLLEGE DESCRIPTIONS Program participants. As of July 2015, Little Big Horn has enrolled 22 participants of their estimated 324 participant count (7% of their goal). Miles Community College (Miles): Miles is a community college with a local board of trustees. Miles planned to participate in the CDL initiative in the project. Miles s SWAMMEI focus is the college s commercial driving license program. The college purchased a simulator for training that can be shared with other locations using SWAMMEI funds. The team hopes to establish a heavy equipment operations stackable credential program in the future that includes CDL as a first step. Staff described both of these programs as good fits for local workforce needs. Staffing. Two of Miles s grant coordinators have left during the project period, although in both cases new coordinators have been quickly hired and the transitions have had little consequence for the project team. Miles s workforce navigator focuses on recruitment, case management, and placement. Program participants. As of July 2015, Miles had enrolled 30 participants of their estimated 66 participant count (45% of their goal). Missoula College University of Montana (Missoula): Missoula is affiliated with the University of Montana. Missoula is the lead college for energy technology and entrepreneurship programs and planned to participate in the welding, CDL, energy technology, entrepreneurship, coaching, and developmental math initiatives in the project. The online entrepreneurship program launched early in spring 2014, but participation in the entrepreneurship initiative by other colleges has been slowed due to delays in establishing course-sharing infrastructure. The college has decided not to move forward on developing a separate energy technology program due to lack of interest from industry partners (although City College will continue to offer its face-to-face program). As a result, an online version of the program will not be available to other consortium members, although there is significant overlap between Missoula s offerings and FVCC s industrial energy program. Instead, the Missoula project team will develop energy technology courses for the college s construction programs that will include open educational resource (OER) development. Missoula also plans to add machining as a grant-funded program. Missoula has created a stacked credential pathway in welding; however, the college has yet to formalize a process to create on-ramps into the credential tiers. Missoula has embedded industry-recognized credentials into its welding program and energy technology courses.

25 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY Missoula s developmental math lab, which was originally proposed to serve an estimated 4600 students in the project period, experienced location shifts and a host of renovation delays that delayed lab use for almost a full year. As a result, the number of students impacted in SWAMMEI is likely to fall significantly short of original projections. COLLEGE DESCRIPTIONS Missoula is among the colleges included in the contract to receive services from InsideTrack but has been slow in creating processes that allow it to capitalize on InsideTrack s coaching services, despite a desire to do so. Staffing. The college experienced the death of a vice president and the retirement of their dean in the school year. Caustic relationships and reluctance to embed the industryrecognized credentials or respond to grant coordinator instruction has led to some transitions in faculty members. Missoula s workforce navigator provides recruitment, case management, and placement services and has also been active in pursuing apprenticeship programs with local businesses. Program participants. As of July 2015, Missoula had enrolled 69 participants of their estimated 249 participant count (28% of their goal). Montana State University Northern (Northern): Northern is a 4-year college of Montana State University that also offers 2-year programming and is the co-lead for the diesel technology program. Northern planned to participate in the diesel technology, energy technology, coaching, and developmental math initiatives. The college planned to offer a hybrid diesel program through videoconferencing platform (Polycom), but interest from some potential college partners waned after the grant was funded. Northern plans to offer Fort Peck students the opportunity to enroll in Northern courses using videoconferencing in the future; however, development of online courses has been slow. Northern is using a unique approach to supporting students in math: A math instructor/tutor embedded in the technical classes supports students math learning as they learn technical skills. Northern has created a stacked credential pathway; however, the college has yet to formalize a process to create on-ramps into the credential tiers. Northern has embedded industry-recognized credentials into its welding program as an option for students. Northern remains interested in providing related-training instruction to support apprenticeships via its teleconferencing system. Northern s participation in the entrepreneurship initiative has been slowed due to delays in establishing course-sharing infrastructure. Transitions in Northern s advising personnel led to unfortunate misunderstandings between Northern students and InsideTrack coaching services. Students were unprepared when InsideTrack contacted them and believed they were being spammed.

26 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY Staffing. The Northern workforce navigator focuses his activities predominantly on outreach to businesses, and other departments on campus continue to provide recruitment and placement assistance. COLLEGE DESCRIPTIONS Program participants. As of July 2015, Northern has enrolled 419 participants of their estimated 440 participant count (95% of their goal).

27 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY Certificate and Degree Programs in the Energy and Manufacturing Industries Proposed Activities and Strategies to Support Stackable and Latticed Certificate and Degree Programs The goal of SWAMMEI is the replication of latticed and stackable certificate programs in the energy and advanced manufacturing industries, a strategy promoted by Breaking Through research, large national nonprofits, and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) (please see appendix C for background literature). SWAMMEI creates an entire ecosystem of stackable and interwoven credentials. The certificate programs included in the SWAMMEI project are specifically designed to link together and build off of one another to create a set of transparent career pathways. The SWAMMEI proposal described two main activities dedicated to the development and enhancement of degree and certificate programs in the energy and manufacturing industries. Exhibit 2 presents these activities as described in the proposal. CERTIFICATE AND DEGREE PROGRAMS IN THE ENERGY AND MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES Exhibit 2: Proposed SWAMMEI activities related to the development of stacked credentials programs in energy and manufacturing Activity 1: Implementation of Energy Industry Stacked Credential Programs Activity 1.1: Replicating previously TAACCCT-funded programs, using primarily Open Educational Resources (OER), Activity 1.1 formalizes, approves and implements noncredit oil and gas programs across participating colleges. Activity 1.2.1: Expansion of existing Commercial Driver s License programs to better meet industry demand. Activity 1.2.2: Creation, augmentation, and approval of curriculum necessary to implement hybrid/online diesel technician certificate programs; procurement of equipment and supplies; and tackling necessary renovations. Activity 1.3: Creation, augmentation, and approval of curriculum necessary to implement hybrid/online energy technician programs, including finalization of curriculum and procurement of equipment and supplies. Activity 2: Implementation of Manufacturing Industry Stacked Credential Programs Activity 2.1: Replicating previously TAACCCT-funded programs, using primarily Open Educational Resources (OER), activity 2.1 formalizes, approves, and implements hybrid/online stacked credential programs in advanced manufacturing. Activity 2.2: Replicating previously TAACCCT-funded programs, using primarily OER, activity 2.2 formalizes, approves and implements hybrid consolidated stacked credential programs in welding and fabrication aligned to American Welding Society (AWS) certifications.

28 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY In order to create stackable and latticed credentials in the energy and advanced manufacturing industries, SWAMMEI has developed six specific strategies to support and enhance implementation. The main strategies of the SWAMMEI proposal are described below, along with any shifts in strategy the project has made in response to opportunities that may have become available during implementation: 4 Embedding industry-recognized credentials: SWAMMEI is to work with industry leaders to determine how the curricular track overlaps with preferred industry-recognized credentials. To identify nationally portable credentials in advanced manufacturing, industry representatives will continue exploration of specific Manufacturing Institute-endorsed credentials like the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC), American Welding Society s (AWS) welding certifications, and National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) credentials. Aligning curriculum with other colleges: Montana s statewide Common Course Numbering (CCN) initiative has made the student transfer process transparent and seamless across the Montana University System (MUS), which includes the five Montana State University campuses, six University of Montana campuses, Montana s three community colleges, and seven tribal colleges. The CCN policy ensures that all such equivalent courses will be accepted in transfer as if they had been taken at the receiving campus. Consequently, SWAMMEI promotes the alignment of curriculum with other colleges. CERTIFICATE AND DEGREE PROGRAMS IN THE ENERGY AND MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES Shifts in strategy: Instead of making colleges agree to use the same courses, the SWAMMEI Consortium determined that aligning courses/programs around common learning outcomes was more feasible. This eliminates the use of CCN and creates the need for formal articulation agreements between colleges but probably offers a faster way by which to align all consortium programs. Development of online programming: SWAMMEI is to work with industry leaders to determine which components of these hands-on training programs can effectively be delivered online. Shifts in strategy: The major shift was that many colleges chose to align their traditional programs to the occupational-lead college s programs, expanding the impact of the grant and reducing the reliance on exclusively online/hybrid instruction. This switch in strategy results in less emphasis on the online coursework, although online/hybrid programs developed for the project still serve an important function in serving remote/isolated areas of the state. This shift also means that the SWAMMEI project will create more 4 Goals are taken from the proposal submitted by SWAMMEI to the Department of Labor.

29 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY instructional OER than originally planned, but a greater percentage of these deliverables will be traditionally formatted programs. Creation of a course-sharing model: Almost every respective SWAMMEI course will be taught by a single instructor, teaching a cohort of students from across all participating colleges simultaneously. Courses across participating institutions will be commonly titled and numbered as they are in fact the same courses. Shifts in strategy: Perhaps the largest distinction between activities as planned and as implemented is in the course-sharing model adopted. In addition to creating online/hybrid programs that would be taught by the occupational lead, the consortium also aligned learning outcomes across SWAMMEI programs. The result is that, in addition to the online/hybrid course, a number of parallel traditional programs are also available to students. Practical Assessment Centers: The project creates significant efficiencies by utilizing single faculty facilitators to deliver online components to statewide student cohorts. Students complete the practical portions of the curriculum at PACs located conveniently throughout the state, if a student s nearest college does not have the lab resources or faculty to conduct assessments. CERTIFICATE AND DEGREE PROGRAMS IN THE ENERGY AND MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES Shifts in strategy: City College decided not to open a PAC for manufacturing, as they do not offer a manufacturing program, but Highlands College volunteered to do so in their stead. Missoula College has also expressed interest in functioning as a PAC in machining to quicken their ability to offer a robust manufacturing program. Operationalization of the PACs is reliant upon the capacity to share courses. These administrative and technical hurdles have bearing on the success of the PACs. Prior Learning Assessments: SWAMMEI is replicating the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning s (CAEL) well-utilized, evidenced-based Ten Standards to guide recent prior learning assessment (PLA) policy and procedure development. Using the American Council on Education (ACE) recommendations for military credit, the Montana Board of Regents approved the award of credit for courses completed in military service schools and training programs at the associate s-degree level. Shifts in strategy: In addition to utilizing CAEL s guide for PLA, SWAMMEI is pursuing utilization of industry-recognized credentials as means to create on-ramps into grant-funded programs.

30 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY The following sections outline SWAMMEI s activities to date in implementing stackable and latticed credential programs; the current state of implementation of each strategy, with a particular focus on any shifts in strategy that have occurred; next steps and recommendations regarding the strategies; and, in appendix D, a summary of the extent that each industry program has met the overall goals of the SWAMMEI project, by examining the current status of each area as compared to the year 1 implementation milestones. CERTIFICATE AND DEGREE PROGRAMS IN THE ENERGY AND MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES

31 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY Program Implementation: Current Status The SWAMMEI Consortium is enhancing and developing programs in multiple areas. Table 2 details the proposed and current status of program implementation across the colleges. In general, the SWAMMEI Consortium has met the majority of their year 1 implementation goals, despite some delays, particularly in developing and implementing programs in advanced manufacturing (which includes machining, welding, and welding fabrication) that align learning outcomes across different colleges and embed the opportunity to earn industry-recognized credentials within the curricula. Table 2: Programs offered, by college College Oil and gas CDL Diesel Technology Energy Technology Machining Welding Welding Fabrication Bitterroot College University of Montana City College at Montana State University Billings Dawson Community College + + Flathead Valley Community College Fort Peck Community College + + Gallatin College Montana State University Great Falls College Montana State University + + Helena College University of Montana Highlands College of Montana Tech + + Little Big Horn College Miles Community College + Missoula College University of Montana + Montana State University Northern + + = proposed and implemented = not proposed but implemented = proposed but not implemented Note: Data from Source: 5 CERTIFICATE AND DEGREE PROGRAMS IN THE ENERGY AND MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES In terms of creating stackable and latticed credentials, the for-credit programs have added Tier 1 certificates (typically named Certificates of Technical Studies) in addition to 1- year Certificates of Applied Science and 2-year Associate in Arts (AAS) degrees (table 3). 5 Note that some schools were listed as having a program on the school page but were not listed as having that program on the program page. This table shows programs based upon any notation on the RevUp website.

32 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY In welding, for example, Tier 3 certificates are being developed offering different specializations (such as pipe emphasis and aerospace). Exhibit 3 presents the SWAMMEI welding pathway map. All consortium campuses offering SWAMMEI welding have Tier 1 and Tier 2 programs whose learning outcomes align. At the Tier 3 level, students gain access to the specialty programs offered by different colleges. The idea is that students can save money by staying at their native institution until they need to transfer to take advantage of specialty programs. Exhibit 3: Comparing Traditional Degree and Stacked Credential Models AAS Degree CAS Degree Traditional Degree Model Associate of Applied Science (AAS) Certificate of Technical Studies (CAS) Apprenticeship Track of Program (CBE) Union Apprenticeship Program(s) Stacked Credential Model Tier 4 - Certificate of Technical Studies (e.g. 16 credits) Possible on-ramp/off-ramp Tier 3 - Certificate of Technical Studies (e.g. 16 credits) Possible on-ramp/off-ramp Tier 2 - Certificate of Technical Studies (e.g. 16 credits) Possible on-ramp/off-ramp Tier 1- Certificate of Technical Studies (e.g. 16 credits) Alternative Tier 4(s) Alternative Tier 3(s) Tier IV CTS or AAS Industry Recognized Credentials Journeyman Level Apprentice Tier III CTS Industry Recognized Credentials Tier 2 CTS or CAS (with both tiers) Industry Recognized Credentials Tier I CTS Industry Recognized Credentials Apprentice/pre-apprenticeship? CERTIFICATE AND DEGREE PROGRAMS IN THE ENERGY AND MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES

33 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY Table 3: Stackable and latticed credentials added Program Oil and Gas CDL Notes Oil and Gas are noncredit courses that offer students a number of industry-recognized credentials, such as PEC Safeland, OSHA 10 & 30, NCCCO, JLG, NCCCO, and NCCER certifications. CDL is a short-term certification class often offered as a continuing education program or embedded as an element of other programs (e.g., Heavy Equipment Operation). SWAMMEI colleges are developing a semester-length CTS program as well. Diesel Technology Both programs are offering Certificate of Applied Science as well as a 2- year AAS degree. The AAS degree from both articulates into MSUN s 4- year program as well. It was determined from industry feedback that anything under a year of pre-employment training was not useful. Energy Technology Advanced Manufacturing Welding and Welding Fabrication Creation of a Tier 1 Certificate of Technical Studies. City College would like to develop a Tier 2 and 3 but may not have access to the equipment necessary to do so (wrapped up in the PAC budget). All participating consortium colleges have created Tier 1 and 2 stacks in the manufacturing-related programs, with the exception of Gallatin and Helena Colleges. FVCC is developing an online version of Tiers 3 and 4. Creation of a Tier 1 Certificate of Technical Studies. Exhibit 4 demonstrates the integration of how the Tier 1 and Tier 2 programs can lead noncredit programming (e.g., welding fabrication) into Tier 3 programs that require completion of Tier 1 and Tier 2 coursework; (e.g., welding pipe emphasis) or for-credit programming that doesn t require prerequisite skills (e.g., aerospace welding). CERTIFICATE AND DEGREE PROGRAMS IN THE ENERGY AND MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES

34 SWAMMEI: EMPOWERING MONTANA S FUTURE WORKFORCE JULY Exhibit 4: SWAMMEI leadership vision for welding certifications CERTIFICATE AND DEGREE PROGRAMS IN THE ENERGY AND MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES Preliminary Suggestions Offer one-semester Certificates of Technical Studies (CTS) as an off-ramp opportunity for students. TAACCCT grants require that colleges develop stackable certificates as part of their latticed programs. Faculty and SWAMMEI team members in most of the colleges reported that the employers they work with do not want to hire students with only a one-semester certificate. However, a one-semester certificate not only acknowledges the student s accomplishment, but also may smooth the student s reentry to the program at the same or another institution if she or he cannot continue. In addition, if a short-term certificate is the only postsecondary education some students have, any certificate would be