CAEP
Annual Plan

Produced: Aug 16, 2024, 11:35 PM UTC - By Luis Servin

54 Santa Barbara Adult Education Consortium
CONSORTIUM APPROVED

2024-25

Plans & Goals

Executive Summary

The Santa Barbara Adult Education Consortium (SBAEC) continues to have a significant impact in its community. The Consortium's vision is to advance and design innovative educational programming tailored for adults in our region using current labor market data, and an inclusive, collaborative, and coordinated approach with stakeholders, program leaders, and public feedback. 

Most recently, the Consortium distributed more than 70% of its funding to adult education programs at Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) and to various community partners. The SBAEC includes seven highly functioning programs that deliver educational programs regionally and provide excellence in education and workforce services to underserved adult learners in the region spanning Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Carpinteria. 

Most recent notable outcomes over the past year include: 

  • A 25.9% increase in full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment figures in all CAEP programs thereby returning or exceeding enrollment rates to pre-COVID 2020 figures; 

  • Due to the adoption of flexible multi-modality offerings (both in-person and online via HyFlex), the noncredit Adult High School and GED program has increased student enrollment by over 50% from 53 to 130 completers since 2021. Most recently in June 2024, there were seven Adult High School diploma earners, fourteen GED completers, and 35 Bilingual GED completers;

  • The noncredit English as a Second Language program increased student enrollment from 1200 students to 1800 students from Spring 2021 to Spring 2024 semesters and continues to successfully transition students from the noncredit ESL program to the credit ESL program which is yielding tremendous success with several students achieving President's Honor Roll status;

  • The successful transition of multiple fee-based CTE courses to the noncredit enhanced-funded School of Extended Learning noncredit Career Skills Institute program in the areas of construction finish carpentry, design and photography. More specifically photography courses taught by veterans, for veterans, invited local first responders to enroll in the free course which began in 2023 allowing community members and veterans to learn new skills while forging social connections and re-entering into the workforce with confidence;

  • An 80% increase in tuition-free student support services nonexistent or offered at our adult education sites. Services include but not limited to bi-weekly food shares, social well-being health counselors, small business development services, CalFresh sign-up assistance, and the SBCC Dream Center which serves as a bilingual (English/Spanish) resource for all undocumented and mixed status students in need of legal support, academic guidance, advocacy, and support to help adult learners succeed;

  • Awarded the 2023-2024 CAEP English Language Learner Healthcare Pathways Grant which will allow the full development of formal Nursing Assistant, Medical Assistant, and Personal Care Attendant programs that will be part of the new noncredit Career Skills Institute Health Care Academy. Support for this programming will synthesize existing healthcare SBCC credit and noncredit programming and modify existing noncredit English Language Learner health medical vocational pathways. In addition, these programs will also be fully integrated into the Guided Pathways mapping model to transition students into credit programs.
Regional Planning Overview

Through the spirit of collaboration, local Workforce Plans, district data, and the most recent 2023 South Santa Barbara County BW Research Report on the Economic and Workforce Gap Analysis for Adult Education Students, the Consortium will continue to refine its 2024-2025 primary goals that support the Consortium's three-year plan. They include the following : 

(1) Continue to support our noncredit faculty in building pathways to  credit for existing and new CAEP programs; (2) Support  new  activity  resulting from  AB705  implementation (focused  on mathematics,  English, and ESL); (3) Support dual enrollment programs to engage high school students completing their  degrees  to  begin  their  journey to transition to college,  job  search  training  and  placement (SB-554); (4) Continue to partner with the local Santa  Barbara  Workforce One-Stop  operator  and other  agencies  for career training initiatives; (5) Continue to cross-pollinate CAEP initiatives with WIOA, Guided Pathways, Vision for Success, and Strong Workforce initiatives, and Health Pathways English Language Learner CAEP grant; (6) Continue to support our existing SBCC programs that are aligned with the CAEP initiatives; (7) Strengthen and support the Noncredit Student Support Services  (SSS)  Program  to  provide  advising  and  career  counseling, improved orientation to noncredit programs, and transitional support to jobs/careers or credit opportunities; (8) Work in collaboration with the SBCC Admissions Office to strengthen and support the noncredit registration process;  (9) Support synchronous online learning initiatives and provide, where feasible, professional development training for faculty and staff in CAEP program areas; (10) Develop a strategic plan that addresses systemic racial injustices within our membership, partners and programs; (11) Collaborate with local Workforce to increase Adult Learner support systems (housing, foodbank resources, and public assistance programs); (12) Develop a Noncredit Data Collection task force/workgroup that is committed to the collection of accurate data and analytics for all CAEP programs and services; (13) Address newly added CAEP State Priorities: Equity, Leadership, Learner Transition, Marketing, Program Development Curriculum/Classroom, Program Evaluation, and Technology & Distance Learning; (14) Extend programming and services in all of Santa Barbara south county with an emphasis in Carpinteria and Goleta.

By dedicating funding towards integrated educational services and community partnerships, the Consortium prioritized and incorporated various community stakeholders to respond to gaps in services and needs in all seven CAEP areas for our region. Our Consortium plans to continue efforts towards increasing partner membership that more closely aligns with new and existing State initiatives as it recognized the value of its partners.

The Consortium plans to continue leveraging existing regional structures, including but not limited to, local workforce investment areas. More specifically, to better identify gaps in service and community needs, in 2018 and most recently in 2023 the Consortium commissioned BW Research, Inc. to perform a comprehensive environmental scan of the Santa Barbara City College School of Extended Learning service region. The research provided a better understanding of the economic and workforce landscape in our regional service area and is used as a guide in selecting CAEP programs. The BW Research report affirmed the continuance of the Consortium's regional alignment and priorities with the Workforce Development Boardʼs initiatives that focus on key industry clusters, occupations, and pathways. They include Information & Communication Technologies, Biotechnology and Biomedical Devices, Finance and Banking, Health Care, and Building and Design. The report provided the Consortium with critical conclusions and takeaways that describe the regional need for specific adult education and workforce services.

Priorities include two major recommendations that will be used in our Consortium's regional planning:

(I) Support Employment Opportunities

(II) Support Education Transitions, Transfers, and Pathways to reduce barriers for adult learners


Meeting Regional Needs

Regional Need #1

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs

Support Education Transitions, Transfers, and Pathways to reduce barriers for adult learners 

How do you know? What resources did you use to identify these gaps?

Data sources, such as the local Santa Barbara Workforce 2021- 2025 Local Plan, South Central Coast Strong Workforce Regional Plan, SBCC student data reports, WIOA II Continuous Improvement Plans, and the most recent 2022-2023 South Santa Barbara County BW Research Report on the Economic and Workforce Gap Analysis for Adult Education Students reflect gaps in transition services to both higher education attainment and middle to top-tier wage-earning careers. Per the 2022-2023 South Santa Barbara County BW Research Economic and Workforce Gap Analysis for Adult Education Students, the following topics were analyzed within the regional demographic overview: Total population, Educational Attainment, Literacy levels, Income, Poverty, and Age Distribution. This information allowed the Consortium to customize adult education programs, services, and resources and to inform the allocation of education and training resources. 

How will you measure effectiveness / progress towards meeting this need?

Effectiveness will be measured through matriculation data, district student outcome reports that track the academic life-cycle transitions and establishing a noncredit student employment procurement data tracking system. 

Address Educational Needs

2024-25 Strategies

Increase Short-Term CTE career skills training courses

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Support Education Transitions, Transfers, Pathways

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Number of Adults Served (AE 200 - Overall)

The Consortium's ability to pivot and address the needs in the region is possible due to the successful planning that began in 2016. The research provided by previous education and workforce gap analysis has confirmed that the Consortium needs to continue enhancing programming in career skills training.

Strategies include:

(I) Evaluate current adult education courses and programs to assess whether they could be made more accessible for current and potential adult education students. Examine opportunities to increase online learning that provides flexible scheduling, where it is appropriate, and gather additional information from students on what aspects of current programs and courses are currently presenting barriers;

(II) Increase marketing efforts. Communicate and market to potential students the free non-credit and/or low-cost education and training options available at the SBCC SEL. Intentional messaging may help prospective students realize courses are feasible within their current workload; 

(III) While non-credit courses are free to enroll in, current and potential students still face logistical (transportation, daycare, etc.) considerations and opportunity costs in the time spent on coursework or in the classrooms when they could otherwise be making money through employment. It is likely that this is a substantial barrier as individuals or families who are already barely getting by are unlikely to forgo additional income today for less immediate and tangible long-term benefits of education. Ensure courses have flexible scheduling options and offer manageable course loads to remove existing obstacles;

(IV) Continue to develop ESL Vocational certificates and fuse efforts with the Basic Needs Center and/or the newly founded SBCC Dream Center.

Short-Term Outcomes (12 Months)
Identify specific courses that can be moved to more accommodating schedules. Identify the personnel needed to steer wrap-around services efforts. Identify the most effective marketing efforts with an emphasis in ESL, AHS/GED,CSI, AWD, and Partner Career Advancement programs as stated in the results of the Workforce Gap Analysis Report. 

Intermediate Outcomes (1-3 Years)
Hire personnel to coordinate wrap-around partner services. Hire personnel to coordinate marketing efforts to execute a robust and diverse marketing plan. 

Long-Term Outcomes (3-5 Years) 
Outcome is an increase in student enrollment in targeted areas.

Improve Integration of Services & Transitions

2024-25 Strategies

Improve Integration of Services

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Support Education Transitions, Transfers, Pathways

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Number of Adults Served (AE 200 - Overall)

The SBAEC consortium will engage in the following activities to improve the integration of services: 

-Incorporate newly offered to noncredit adult learner sites the Basic Needs Center services to increase student retention, transfer and/or certificate completion

-Utilize the newly created Guided Pathways mapping project for noncredit certificate CAEP programs. This project creates clear curricular pathways to employment. Program maps include specific course sequences, milestones, and program learning outcomes to provide students with clear academic pathways leading to degree completion or employment attainment

-Enhance student support services to ensure maximum advisement to credit or career pathways 

-Integrate credit student support services, admissions, and career offices in noncredit planning strategic planning sessions 

-Enhance academic and career counselor engagement, both in-person and online with students to maximize services 

-Continue to engage CASAS staff and administrators to aid in identifying emergent trends 

-Enhance professional development efforts to include field trips to other education and workforce agencies to learn best practices

-Engage guest speakers from partner entities, local employers, local Workforce One-Stop to raise awareness of workforce options and opportunities 

-Continue supporting existing community partners who provide career training and job placement services 

-Continue supporting noncredit pre-apprenticeship programming and explore coordinating a formal apprenticeship program in the areas of Construction Technology, Culinary Arts, Information Technology or Business Administration 

-Continue to develop the inmate training curriculum to better integrate with the credit Transitions Program and enhance partnerships with local workforce agencies to increase employment opportunities 

Improve Effectiveness of Services

2024-25 Strategies

Improving Effectiveness of Services

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Support Education Transitions, Transfers, Pathways

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Number of Adults Served (AE 200 - Overall)

In order to maintain the vision of offering exceptional and comprehensive learning options tailored to the education needs of our adult community, it is necessary to continuously evaluate the effectiveness of our programming and services. Improving the effectiveness of services in our region will require professional development and continuous improvement planning activities.

Professional Development 
-Continue to focus both internally and externally on ʻbest practicesʼ in programing and service practices;
-Develop a robust Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion plan for all CAEP staff and faculty;
-Support CAEP program faculty to participate in the SBCC Affective Learning Institute faculty training, which emphasizes the culturally responsive pedagogy and affective intended to provide an inclusive learning environment;
-Continue training that is focused on the Consortiumʼs identified industry sectors and occupations to aid students in their respective career pathways;
-Provide tailored professional development plans for the noncredit Student Support Services and Admissions Offices; 
-Provide continued online distance education pedagogy training with an emphasis on emerging curriculum delivery modalities including HyFlex;
-Encourage Consortium members, SEL staff, and faculty to take Career Skills Institute Workplace Essential courses that relate to Professional Development such as Thriving in the Workplace, Best Practices in Customer Service, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving & Decision Making, and Thriving in a Multigenerational Workforce;
-Engage data experts from the SBCC Office of Institutional Assessment, Research and Planning, WestEd, and CASAS to provide training on updated data elements, trends, and how to properly analyze data to help foster a data-informed culture.

Continuous Improvement Planning 

-Integrate CAEP plans and WIOA CIP SMART goals by creating a committee that meets regularly to identify and address plans and to streamline supporting key action steps that calibrate the measure of successes between agencies;
-Provide training for faculty in the areas of adult learner advisement and counseling; 
-Continue efforts to enhance distance education for instructors and administrators; 
-Continue to evaluate existing courses and certificates and programming efforts; 
-Evaluate existing resources to determine the necessary redistribution of services that include shifting staffing efforts, growing online courses, and increasing transition services.

Fiscal Management

A narrative justifying how the planned allocations are consistent with the annual adult education plan which is based on your CAEP 3-year plan.

The overarching goals of our Consortium's Three-Year plan are to provide excellence in adult education programming in order to accelerate transitions to transfer or career success. Planned allocations are consistent with our CAEP Three-Year Plan. They include:
 
1. To continue to provide high-impact programming for adults in a variety of program areas based on proven needs within the seven areas allowable under AB104; 
2. To continue to improve Student Learning and Achievement Goals focused on the needs of adult learners and to assist in their transfer acceleration and career success; 
3. To continue refining programs and services for students in alignment with statewide initiatives; 
4. To enhance awareness of educational offerings and training options available through a robust local marketing campaign; 
5. To develop a comprehensive data collection and accountability infrastructure for all programs and services funded by the consortium and to encourage cross-pollination with each other and statewide initiatives;
6. To collaborate and engage partners that specialize in job placement, apprenticeship, internship, and job coaching; 

Critical needs based on district data performance evaluations of programs and enrollment figures include: 
1.  Continuously increasing adult learner enrollments in certificate programs and short-term training programs;
2. Development of clear pathways between noncredit and credit credentials; 
3. Closer credit/noncredit alignment of student services and operations; 
4. Expanded support services and removal of barriers to transition to credit; 
5. Addressing structural inequities that disadvantage noncredit students 
The Consortium uses a request for proposal model (with a required timeline and budget sheet), to encourage internal and external partners to submit proposals for alignment with our Consortium goals, mission, and vision and with the CAEP allowable programs and objectives. After proposals are received, using a Consortium-specific rubric, the Consortium carefully vets these proposals to ensure alignment with the annual plan, the Three-year plan, and the statewide goals of CAEP, and only chooses to fund those that are in alignment, including only allowable expenditures, and that work to accomplish our objectives and commit to partnering and leveraging resources. The CAEP Director is responsible for tracking the approved budget and all expenditures related to all program areas. Each program area has a program lead that reports expenditures directly to the CAEP Director. The Director verifies the Consortium-approved expenditure(s), obtains approval from the CAEP Chair, and submits for payment by the fiscal agent. The SBCC fiscal agent creates CAEP accounts for each year of funding that reflects each Consortium-approved expenditure and certifies those expenditures. The provides fiscal agent also audits CAEP expenditures on a quarterly basis. This process is aligned with our governance documents. 

An approach to incorporating remaining carry-over funds from prior year(s) into strategies planned for 2024-25.

Our Consortium's approach to incorporating carry-over funds from prior years into planned activities is built into our successful process established from the beginning of Year 1. The Consortium has a Request for Proposal process, which includes documenting the timeline and activities for expenditures for each program and prior allocations. Once allocated through the process, funding recipients must expend in accordance with their submitted application, budget worksheet, and the deadlines set for that year's funding. All plans, activities, and expenditures are monitored by our CAEP Director. If a program lead wishes to change activities or allocate differently than what was originally approved by the Consortium, they are required to petition for a change to the Consortium. In certain circumstances, if there are any unspent funds from a prior allocation for any reason (e.g., a program has completed its initiatives and spent less than expected, the program has been terminated, or programs that were impacted by the pandemic), the Consortium has the discretion to recapture those funds and solicits a new public Request for Proposal with an adjusted deadline to ensure expenditures for those carry-over funds are expended by the deadline. For 2024-2025, the Consortium plans to spend carryover funds are already in place. Carryover funds will also be part of a separate allocation Request for Proposal process directed towards programming gaps in services or new initiatives that promote students to enroll and matriculate into credit pathways and/or utilize support services. 

Certification

Carpinteria Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Gerardo Cornejo

08/15/2024 09:42 AM PDT

Santa Barbara CCD - Member Representative

Approved by Corlei Prieto

08/14/2024 04:48 PM PDT

Santa Barbara Co. Office of Education - Member Representative

  • Director, Career Technical Education
  • scameron@sbceo.org
  • (805) 937-8427 ext: 2531
Approved by Sarah Cameron

08/15/2024 08:44 AM PDT

Santa Barbara County Workforce Dev. Board - Member Representative

Approved by Luis Servin

08/16/2024 04:35 PM PDT