CHAMP EVALUATION

Year One Report

Heather McKay

Director

Education and Employment Research Center

School of Management and Labor Relations

Who is EERC?

Education and Employment Research Center

School of Management and Labor Relations Rutgers

We conduct research and evaluation on workforce development

and education issues.

Related Projects:

• COETC Evaluation

• CHEO Evaluation

• Colorado Sectors Project Evaluation

• Lumina Foundation project on linking Higher Education and

the Workforce System

CHAMP

The Colorado Helps Advanced Manufacturing Program (CHAMP)

was created to increase the number of manufacturing degrees and

certificates that align with the industry’s competencies and skills

and to establish a pipeline of highly qualified advanced

manufacturing workers. CHAMP goals are:

• Build off Colorado’s existing and emerging manufacturing sector

partnerships and career pathway work to develop employer driven

curriculum

• Use technology to accelerate training and reach a broad audience

• Redesign the current Colorado Community College System model for credit

for prior learning to accelerate certification

• Develop stackable and latticed certificate with agreements between

participating community colleges and Metropolitan State University of

Denver

Evaluation

• Third Party Evaluation is required by the USDOL

• Involves:

- Outcomes evaluation

- Quasi-experimental design

- Comparison Cohort

- Outcomes reporting for schools and consortium

- Scorecard

- Process evaluation

- Focused look a various grant topics

- Examination of the project implementation

-Sustainability

Year One Report

• Focuses on four major grant goals

• Summarizes progress made to date on those goes in the

consortium and across the nine colleges.

• Uses qualitative data collected in year one

• Focus is primarily in process – development and

implementation of the grant.

Methods

• Five principle sources of information

1. Quarterly Reports

2. Project Lead Surveys

3. Navigator Monthly Survey

4. Basecamp

5. Project Lead Interviews

• This information was coded using a the qualitative data

software Nvivo

• Evaluation is grounded and informed primarily by the

developmental evaluation literature

Outline

Structured in terms of four primary grant goals

1. College and industry partnerships

2. Technologically advanced education

3. Credit for prior learning redesign

4. Stackable/Latticed certificates and articulation

The report also briefly looks at the following grant activities:

the navigator role, student recruitment and enrollment, and

evaluation next steps.

Goal 1: College and Industry Partnerships

• Achieving this goal means close collaboration between

colleges and industry

• Consortium colleges have relationship with 30 plus industry

partners

• Schools are engaging partners differently

Goal 1: What has been done?

• PPCC and RRCC have both had equipment donated from

industry partners

• FRCC involved industry in the hiring of their Employer

Outreach Coordinator.

- increased industry buy-in

- fostered active engagement with that coordinator and

the navigator

• FRCC also enlisted the help of industry to layout their new

Advanced Technology Center

Goal 1: What else?

• PCC developed a strong relationship with the local workforce

center – this led to ties with industry ie. visits to employers

• PCC reports that this has led to a better understanding of

hiring requirements and skills needed on the shop floor.

• MSU has also visited business sites and included industry

partners in advisory meetings

• There are varying results across the consortium in terms of

curriculum review and advising.

Goal 1: How do they work together?

• FRCC has quarterly meetings with partners

• LCC has industry representatives on the faculty

• RRCC uses their advisory committee

• Results from these collaborations include the incorporation of

soft skills materials in most curricula. EGTC and PCC have

paid particular attention to this.

Goal 1: Challenges to Date

• Some have struggled to identify industry partners

• Aims wants to build representation from different types of

employers in the field.

• Advisory committee meetings are not always well attended –

for variety of reasons – time, company size etc.

• Engagement is better when employers see a benefit

• New equipment has helped some colleges to get better

engagement

Goal 2: Technologically Advanced Education

• Advanced manufacturing relies on technology

• Colleges planned on renovations and technology purchases

• But…this planning takes time and not all the colleges were

able to do all this quickly.

- RRCC facility renovation and equipment purchases

full installation March 2015

- CCD started on old equipment – will transfer to the new

in January 2015

Goal 2: Course Redesign

• Reviews in year one of curricula yielded:

- 267 courses needed to be redesigned or created

• Process set-up for redesign and timelines

• Some curricula is done

• Some curricula is still in process

• Delays include equipment, renovation, integrating industry

standards

• As of June 2014, 125 courses were left to be redesigned

Goal 2: Other Topics

• Open Educational Resources

• Online and hybrid coursework

• MOOCs

Goal 3: Credit for Prior Learning Redesign

• Goal is to review and review credit for prior learning policy in

CO.

• Revisions are to be in line with the Students’ Bill of Rights

• CPL Subcommittee composed college reps, CAEL, and

industry reps.

• First meeting February 2014 – active since then.

• Work guided by a mission statement

• To date they have recommended several changes to CO

policies which will be presented for review in December or

2015.

Goal 4: Stackable/Latticed Certificates and

Articulation

• Wide- range of latticing opportunities and stackable

credentials being developed in CHAMP

• Aims has 4 levels of certification within the industrial AAS

degree. There are also latticing opportunities with 4 consortia

colleges.

• Many colleges have already developed CHAMP-specific

articulation with the four year partner – MSU

• Other articulation agreements are also being worked on PCC

and CSU Pueblo, CCD and Regis etc.

Navigator

• By summer 2014 all schools except EGTC had hired a

navigator

• Navigator roles vary

- PCC and CCD – advising resource

- LCC – MOOC development and workforce center

collaboration

- MSU – marketing CHAMP programs

- Aims – 50/50 business relationships and mentoring

students

Student Recruitment and Enrollment

• While many programs don’t start until Spring 2015 marketing

has begun

• PPCC – student involvement fair and participated in

manufacturing week in Colorado Springs

• LCC – sponsored a career expo focused on their welding

programs

• FRCC – working on recruiting incumbent workers by visiting

companies

• CCD – planning to work with Goodwill Industries and CO

economic development

Evaluation Next Steps

• Completed Navigator interviews this week

• Focus group with Career Map team today

• Interviewing committees next – CPL

• Starting in Spring – collect program data

• Site Visits – Fall 2015

• Case studies and topic briefs will come in year 2

Website and Contact Information

You can find – contact information, staff information, and reports

from past projects and the Year 1 Report at:

http://smlr.rutgers.edu/eerc

My Contact Information:

Heather A. McKay

hmckay@work.Rutgers.edu

848-445-4735

THANK YOU!

CC BY License and Attribution

This Workforce Solution CHAMP MOOC Development by Heather A.

McKay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available

at www.cccs.edu.

This workforce product was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of

Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the

grantee and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of

Labor. The U.S. Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances

of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any

information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information

or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or

ownership.