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Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives Karen Steinberg Executive Vice President Council for Adult & Experiential Learning (CAEL) SHEEO Professional Development Conference August 17, 2005

Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

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Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives. Karen Steinberg Executive Vice President Council for Adult & Experiential Learning (CAEL) SHEEO Professional Development Conference August 17, 2005. What is CAEL?. Non-profit national organization established in 1974 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing

Opportunities & Improving Lives

Karen SteinbergExecutive Vice President

Council for Adult & Experiential Learning (CAEL)

SHEEO Professional Development ConferenceAugust 17, 2005

Page 2: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

What is CAEL?

Non-profit national organization established in 1974

700 membersOffices in Chicago, Denver, New

York, PhiladelphiaDiverse projects operating in nearly

every state

Page 3: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

CAEL’s Mission

CAEL pioneers learning strategies for individuals and organizations. We advance lifelong learning in partnership with educational institutions, employers, labor organizations, government, and communities.

CAEL works to remove policy and organizational barriers to learning opportunities, and identifies and disseminates effective practices.

Page 4: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

AdultLearners

Employers and

Unions

Governmentand

Community

Colleges and

Universities

CAEL Connects:

CAEL’s Workforce Development Work

CAEL’s Lifelong Learning Work

CAEL’s Public Policy Work

Page 5: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

The Adult Learner

Page 6: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

Why Should States be Concerned @ Adult Learners?

Estimate that 38-45% of currently enrolled undergraduate degree seeking students have one or more characteristics of an “adult”

Estimate 68M adults (1/3 of adults 16 and older) took formal courses or training outside of traditional degree programs in 2002-03

Page 7: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

Why Should States be Concerned @

the Adult Learner?

56% of U.S. Population aged 25-64 has some education beyond high school

16% of adults in US have not completed high school…in 5 states 1 in 5 has not completed high school and in an additional 12 states 1 in 6 has not

70-80% of jobs in the near future will require some education beyond high school

Page 8: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

Why Should States be Concerned @ the Adult

Learner?Top States in the nation: 5.4% of their working age

adults (25-49) enrolled in postsecondary education (Measuring Up 2002).

This level of Adult Learning Engagement Will Not Meet States’ Workforce Needs in the Coming Years.

Page 9: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

Adult Learner Barriers

Institutional: Policies and Practices that impede and discourage adult learners

Situational: Adult Learner’s life situation or circumstances

Dispositional: Adult Learner’s personal concerns, beliefs or attitudes

Page 10: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

Adult Learning Focused

Institutions:

Outreach Life/Career Planning Financing Assessment of Learning

Outcomes—PLA Teaching Learning Process Student Support Systems Technology Strategic Partnerships

Page 11: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

Access

Do State Policies encourage or hinder ‘Adult Friendly Practices’?

Financial Aid for Part-time Students

Equitable Funding for Community Colleges

Funding for ‘non-credit’ Developmental courses

Encourage Convenient Schedules & On-line Programs

Services nights and weekends Recognition of Prior Learning

Page 12: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

Public Policy Changes to Enhance

AccessCAEL works to change public

policy: Lifelong Learning Accounts

or LiLAs

Career Pathways Initiatives

Page 13: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

LiLAs Lifelong Learning Accounts (LiLA’s)

are portable, individual asset accounts to finance education (similar to 401k accounts) Employer matches each

employee dollar Both employer and employee

would receive a tax benefit for the investment

Pilot demonstrations for LiLAs underway in three locations

CAEL is working with state action teams to design state-based LiLA models (Maine, Indiana, Illinois, Oklahoma, Hawaii).

Page 14: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

Career Pathways Initiatives

A career pathway: links educational programs with

work, on-the-job training, and support services to enable workers to earn wages and attend college.

identifies jobs of importance to local employers.

brings together the resources needed to prepare workers to qualify for these positions.

provides stepping-stones for the entry and advancement of workers.

Page 15: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

CAEL’s Experience Building Career

Pathways

CAEL has helped state community college systems to build sector-specific career pathways and ensure that colleges have infrastructure in place to support these pathways.

CAEL created the Collaboration Tool Kit for use with multi-stakeholder action teams.

Page 16: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

Examples of State-Level/

System Policy Change Kentucky:  CAEL Developed Asset

Map for Governor Patton’s “Poverty to Opportunity” Summit and Works with KCTCS on Career Pathways

Louisiana:  CAEL Assisted Governor’s Workforce Commission with Inventory of Adult Learning Programs in State

Ohio:  KnowledgeWorks Foundation Using CAEL and ALFI Tools as Resource for Building Career Pathways for Twelve Community Colleges and Targeted Industries

Page 17: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

Workforce Development

CAEL works with over 60 companies and their employees in 40 states.

CAEL administers $130 million in tuition assistance benefits to 400,000 learners annually across the country and internationally.

CAEL advises over 150,000 employees annually about how and where to return to college to use their tuition benefits.

Page 18: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

Influencing Employers’ Policies

CAEL is working to increase employers’ investment in learning and tuition Broaden tuition policies

beyond job-related learning Pay up-front through a

voucher or letter of credit system rather than through reimbursement

Page 19: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

What Else?

Strategic Importance of Paying Attention to Adult Learning in State and National Priorities

Link to Workforce & Economic Development—…The Pipeline won’t do it…

Policy Reviews and Consistent Data

Leverage Funding—Inventories and Asset Maps & Partnerships

Page 20: Serving the Adult Learner: Increasing Opportunities & Improving Lives

For Further Information

Visit www.cael.org:

[email protected]