CAEP
Annual Plan

Produced: Aug 25, 2025, 11:04 PM UTC - By Gerardo Cornejo

54 Santa Barbara Adult Education Consortium
CONSORTIUM APPROVED

2025-26

Plans & Goals

Executive Summary

The Santa Barbara Adult Education Consortium (SBAEC) continues to have a significant impact in the local community with its cutting-edge programming and high-demand workforce certificates. Supported in part by SBAEC, the SBCC School of Extended Learning programs offer an unparalleled opportunity to upskill students with the specialized competencies demanded by industry, fostering career advancement, and addressing critical skills gaps. It successfully met close to 100% of its goals outlined in the previous 2024-2025 Annual Plan, which included an increase of short-term CTE certificates, enahnced integration of services, and the increased effectiveness of services to support admissions, transfers, and career and academic pathways. It distributed more than 73% of its funds to nine highly functioning programs that include community partners delivering educational programs regionally and provide critical workforce preparation training and support services to underserved adults in the region spanning Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Carpinteria.

Within the last two years, SBCC CAEP-funded programs have served over 6,300 students in the areas of Adult High School/GED, Career Skills Institute, Work Readiness and Career Planning for Adults with Disabilities, English as a Second Language, the SBCC-Santa Barbara Public Library ServSafe culinary program, and medical programs. 80+ certificates, 200+ classes, and up to 975 state-approved certificates have been awarded in noncredit career technical training in addition to 353 combined in Adult High School and English as a Second Language programs. Through the spirit of collaboration and partnership, SBAEC developed its 2025-2028 Three-Year Plan with regular and active participation from administrators, staff, faculty, and students.

Based on current student surveys, local and regional workforce data reports, and CAEP DataVista reports, the Consortium Leadership's overarching priorities over the next three years are:

  • To support Employment Opportunities
  • To support Education Transitions, Transfers, and Pathways to reduce barriers for adult learners
  • To support and expand Healthcare programs to meet new statewide healthcare initiative goals

To address educational needs, SBAEC will expand its programming in Career Skills Institute certifications in the areas of health, technology and construction technology. English as Second Language programs will address the most recent 2025 Continuous Improvement Plan goals and increase programming in bilingual integration education training (IET).

To improve the integration of services and transitions, SBAEC has recently redirected both annual and carryover funding towards its Student Support Services and Outreach efforts. The following newly adopted initiatives and practices will continue: the consolidation of noncredit student services into one centralized one-stop-shop location; consistent service hours for students with newly added evening bilingual computer support services hours; increase in (the first-time) implementation of CCCApply for SBCC noncredit students that will provide more reliable data collection; recruitment and onboarding of additional bilingual hourly staff to support adult learner demand; expansion of mental health and wellness professional hours at the adult schools, and the addition of a noncredit-to-credit Student Success Liaison to aid in student transfers for postsecondary pathways and/or employment. Additionally, Adult High School and GED programs will streamline academic advising processes for students to better understand their to more easily transition to the next academic or career.

To improve the effectiveness of services, the School of Extended Learning incorporated both CCCApply while adding up to 90% wraparound student services (fiscally supported by other non-CAEP funding sources) to both adult education sites. Services such as the Basic Needs Center, CalFresh, MediCal applications and PATH programs, assist unhoused students with critical resources.

SBAEC will continue to support and increase online registration utilization to be able to collect critical data that will assist in retention, academic counseling, and career advisement. Additionally, SBAEC will continue to support essential wrap-around services that are tailored to adult learner needs.

Simultaneously, SBAEC will continue to modernize CAEP-specific program classrooms with new equipment and refurbishments that will allow state-of-the-art training for todayʼs hybrid and integrative learning modalities. Program-specific surveys will be conducted to provide more accurate analytics to inform continuous program assessment and improvement.






Plans & Goals

How (if at all) do the consortium’s previous program year goals differ from the current year’s goals?

Goals have changed or new goals have emerged for the upcoming year

Why have the consortium’s goals changed for the upcoming year?

Not Entered
How much progress did the consortium make towards its previous program year goals?

Excellent progress - all goals were met

Not Entered
What barriers did the consortium face in making progress towards its previous program year goals?

Not Entered
What are the goals for the consortium for the current program year?

Not Entered
How will the consortium measure progress towards the goals set for the current program year?

Not Entered

Assessment

Regional Needs Assessment

Please identify the categories of needs in your region.

Please identify resources used to identify these gaps.

Methodologies for Measuring Effectiveness and Progress

SBAEC employs a multifaceted approach to measure effectiveness and progress, integrating both quantitative data analysis and qualitative feedback mechanisms. This hybrid evaluation approach combines quantitative data (e.g., enrollment, student outcomes, labor market statistics) with qualitative feedback (e.g., stakeholder input, surveys) to assess program effectiveness.

Data-Driven Decision Making

SBCAE explicitly states its aim to be a data-informed consortium. This commitment is operationalized through:

  • Enrollment and Student Outcome Data: The consortium analyzes enrollment and student outcome data to improve program impact. Efforts include increasing online registration utilization to collect critical data for retention, course, and career advisement.

  • Labor Market Information: SBCAE actively analyzes and monitors labor market information to identify potential student opportunities and ensure alignment between program offerings and industry needs. This analysis directly informs the development and refinement of Career Pathway programs. The Consortium researches and identifies ideal methods to collect information from students regarding needs and interests, and recognizes that industry and local employers possess data required to inform the consortium.

  • Needs Assessments: A comprehensive assessment of adult education in the South County  region was conducted which included environmental scans and reviews of progress made. These assessments delve into educational attainment levels and broader indicators such as income, housing, transportation, social connection, environment, and health, utilizing resources like the recent 2024 Santa Barbara Workforce Development State of the Workforce Report and the Healthy Places Index (HPI). Analysis has revealed correlations between high-need geographic areas and SBCAE service levels, and identified significant populations with limited English proficiency, those near or below poverty, and those lacking a high school diploma. The strategic use of broad socio- economic indicators like the Healthy Places Index (HPI) in needs assessments recognizes that educational needs are deeply intertwined with broader community challenges (e.g., housing instability, health disparities).

By incorporating indices like the HPI, SBCAE acknowledges the complex interplay of social determinants that impact a learner's ability to access and succeed in education. This enables our consortium to identify geographic areas or populations facing multiple disadvantages (e.g., poverty, limited English proficiency, lack of transportation) and to design more effective wrap-around services or targeted outreach strategies that address these underlying systemic issues. This allows for a more comprehensive and targeted approach to meeting needs, moving beyond purely academic metrics to address the root causes of educational barriers,, leading to more impactful and equitable interventions.

The recent 2024 Santa Barbara Workforce Development Board State of the Workforce report affirmed the continuance of the Consortium's regional alignment with the Workforce Development Board's (WDB) initiatives that focus on key industry clusters, occupations, and pathways. These industry clusters include Healthcare, Building and Design, Information & Communications, DATM: Defense, Aerospace & Transportation Manufacturing, and Biotechnology and Biomedical Devices. As concluded in report, it is imperative that Santa Barbara County diversify its economy to support the growth of emerging industries that offer higher- wage job opportunities and tailored adult education programming. A sector-based approach can help foster a higher-wage economy, grow and attract new businesses and investments in emerging industries, and support the local workforce in transitioning to higher-wage positions via education and training.

An analysis of the data suggests that WDB and local educational institutions target the following initiatives:

  1. Prepare students and potential workers for higher-paying career pathways in fields such as DATM, advanced Electronics Manufacturing, Healthcare, and Building & Design;

  2. Target growth of Santa Barbara County's remote workforce by expanding programs that cover basic IT skills and other foundational skills needed to succeed when working remotely and perform outreach to large tech companies outside the region to help identify remote work opportunities for county residents;

  3. Create workforce development programs targeted at developing skills needed to support jobs in emerging technologies such as Offshore Wind, including jobs in environmental management and operations and maintenance;

  4. Expand partnerships with local nonprofits to help connect local jobseekers to a comprehensive suite of wraparound services, to help mitigate barriers to employment.

The Santa Barbara Adult Education Consortium will address these initiatives by continuing to focus on the following primary educational and service goals: (1) Continue to support our noncredit faculty in building pathways to credit certificates and degrees for existing and new CAEP programs; (2) Focus programming on transferable skills that increase a student's value in the labor market with a focus on basic mathematics, English, ESL, verbal and written communication, digital literacy, time management, and organization skills; (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 align CAEP initiatives with WIOA, Guided Pathways, Vision for Success, and Strong Workforce initiatives, and Healthcare 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 credit Admissions Office to streamline and support the noncredit registration process; (9) Support distance learning (live videoconferencing) initiatives;(10) Provide, where feasible, professional development training for faculty and staff in CAEP program areas; (11) Collaborate with local Workforce and the new SBCC School of Extended Learning noncredit Basic Needs Center to increase Adult Learner support systems (housing, foodbank resources, and public assistance programs); (12) Collect accurate data and analytics for all CAEP programs and services and develop common definitions of noncredit student success for all programs that are aligned with CCC Adult Education outcomes; (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.

Lastly, the School of Extended Learning's Spring 2025 Student Survey yielded a significant amount of data that identified needs expressed by adult learners. Over 80% expressed satisfaction with high-contact student support service staff and resources, 80% were not aware of our free noncredit Career Skills Institute courses and State workforce skills training certificates, 80% expressed interest in training for a high-paying career, and 80% requested to meet the CSI Ready.Match.Hire! Career Coach. Therefore, this information will allow the Consortium to customize adult education programs and increase marketing efforts.


Activities & Outcomes

Objective #1: Address Educational Needs

Offer new CTE short-term State cert. programs

THREE-YEAR PLAN 2025-28

Most recently as of May 2025, with the fiscal support of CAEP, the School of Extended Learning has successfully added three new Career Skill Institute (CSI) noncredit State certificates and two CSI programs that address the current needs of the labor market and will provide opportunities for career advancement to our adult learners.

They are the following:

Artificial Intelligence Foundations and Creative Applications

Career Launch and Job Search

Digital Photography: Level 1

Short-term CTE Fashion & Design Program

Healthcare Academy: Certified Nursing Assistant


Activities and outcomes described in 2025-2028 SBEAC Three-Year Plan. 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. 

Adult Education Metrics and Student Barriers

  • All: Participants (202AE)
  • All: Reportable Individuals (200AE)
  • Students and Programs: Career Technical Education (1003)

Responsible Positions, Responsible Consortium Members, and Proposed Completion Date

Responsible PositionResponsible MemberProposed Completion Date
CAEP SBAEC DirectorSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
CAEP SBAEC Career Skills Institute Program LeaderSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
SEL Vice President/CAEP SBAEC ChairSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028

Develop new Healthcare Pathway Programs

THREE-YEAR PLAN 2025-28

Develop new Healthcare Pathway Programs and cross-pollinate with CAEP Programs. Described in 2025-2028 SBEAC Three-Year Plan. 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. 

Adult Education Metrics and Student Barriers

  • All: Participants (202AE)
  • All: Reportable Individuals (200AE)
  • Students and Programs: Career Technical Education (1003)

Responsible Positions, Responsible Consortium Members, and Proposed Completion Date

Responsible PositionResponsible MemberProposed Completion Date
SBCC SEL/CAEP SBAEC Healthcare Pathway DirectorSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
CAEP SBAEC DirectorSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
CAEP SBAEC Career Skills Institute Program LeaderSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
SEL Vice President/CAEP SBAEC ChairSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028

Parent/Guardian Professional Childcare Certificate

THREE-YEAR PLAN 2025-28

Develop a Parent & Guardian Professional Childcare Provider Certificate. Described in 2025-2028 SBEAC Three-Year Plan. 


Adult Education Metrics and Student Barriers

  • All: Reportable Individuals (200AE)

Responsible Positions, Responsible Consortium Members, and Proposed Completion Date

Responsible PositionResponsible MemberProposed Completion Date
SEL Vice President/CAEP SBAEC ChairSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
SBCC SEL Director WIOA & CAEP SBAEC Program LeaderSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
CAEP SBAEC DirectorSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
CAEP SBAEC Career Skills Institute Program LeaderSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028

Objective #2: Improve Integration of Services & Transitions

Design proactive and holistic SSS Program

THREE-YEAR PLAN 2025-28

Design proactive and holistic student support services (academic, career, mental health, basic needs) that are personalized and delivered through flexible modalities (online, hybrid, extended hours) to meet adult learners' diverse schedules and needs. Activities and outcomes described in 2025-2028 SBEAC Three-Year Plan.

Adult Education Metrics and Student Barriers

  • All: Participants (202AE)
  • All: Reportable Individuals (200AE)

Responsible Positions, Responsible Consortium Members, and Proposed Completion Date

Responsible PositionResponsible MemberProposed Completion Date
CAEP SBAEC DirectorSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
CAEP SBAEC Career Skills Institute Program LeaderSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
SBCC SEL SSS Director & CAEP SBAEC Program LeaderSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028

Marketing and Community Outreach

THREE-YEAR PLAN 2025-28

Based on the most recent Spring 2025 School of Extended Learning Student Survey, more than 80% were unaware of the State certificates offered by the SEL Career Skills Institute. While many students take courses in this program, data highlights that there is a lack of awareness of existing specialized training programs and academic and professional pathways program offerings. Therefore, there is a demonstrated need for more targeted marketing and expanded outreach efforts. Activities and outcomes described in 2025-2028 SBEAC Three-Year Plan.

Adult Education Metrics and Student Barriers

  • All: Participants (202AE)
  • All: Reportable Individuals (200AE)

Responsible Positions, Responsible Consortium Members, and Proposed Completion Date

Responsible PositionResponsible MemberProposed Completion Date
CAEP SBAEC DirectorSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
SEL Vice President/CAEP SBAEC ChairSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
CAEP SBAEC Career Skills Institute Program LeaderSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028

Objective #3: Improve Effectiveness of Services

Pilot the expansion of computer lab support

THREE-YEAR PLAN 2025-28

Pilot the expansion of computer lab support to include evening hours at both School of Extended Learning campuses. With an increase in accessibility, this activity addresses CAEP's and Vision 2030's objectives in Equity in Access.  Activities and outcomes described in 2025-2028 SBEAC Three-Year Plan.

Adult Education Metrics and Student Barriers

  • All: Participants (202AE)
  • All: Reportable Individuals (200AE)

Responsible Positions, Responsible Consortium Members, and Proposed Completion Date

Responsible PositionResponsible MemberProposed Completion Date
SEL Vice President/CAEP SBAEC ChairSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
CAEP SBAEC Career Skills Institute Program LeaderSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
CAEP SBAEC DirectorSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028

Identify a ‘Student Success Launcher’

THREE-YEAR PLAN 2025-28

Exclusive role for transitional 1:1 student support services; to assist students to transfer to credit, or/to career upskill and job procurement.   Described in 2025-2028 SBEAC Three-Year Plan. 

Adult Education Metrics and Student Barriers

  • All: Participants (202AE)
  • All: Reportable Individuals (200AE)

Responsible Positions, Responsible Consortium Members, and Proposed Completion Date

Responsible PositionResponsible MemberProposed Completion Date
CAEP SBAEC DirectorSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
CAEP SBAEC Career Skills Institute Program LeaderSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
SEL Vice President/CAEP SBAEC ChairSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
SBCC SEL Director & CAEP SBAEC Program LeaderSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028

Streamline Student Surveys

THREE-YEAR PLAN 2025-28

Surveys play a critical role in understanding our adult learner course interests, when courses best suit their schedules, particularly their work schedules; how students learn about our SEL course offerings; and where they would like to begin or continue their academic or career pursuits. Surveys also provide valuable information for the SEL leadership team to better understand how much students truly know of our program offerings and how to fill the desired gaps in programming and services.

An appraisal of all student surveys is needed to not only streamline the number of surveys sent to students to minimize the impact on students, but to also help SEL faculty and leadership tailor programs to meet studentsʼ needs.

Also, to provide a more comprehensive plan of assessing and administering surveys, it will be instructive to survey student counselors, advisement staff, and faculty as well as employers.

Further detail described in 2025-2028 Three-Year Plan. 

Adult Education Metrics and Student Barriers

  • All: Participants (202AE)
  • All: Reportable Individuals (200AE)

Responsible Positions, Responsible Consortium Members, and Proposed Completion Date

Responsible PositionResponsible MemberProposed Completion Date
CAEP SBAEC DirectorSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
SEL Vice President/CAEP SBAEC ChairSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
SBCC SEL Director & CAEP SBAEC Program LeaderSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028
SBCC SEL Director WIOA & CAEP SBAEC Program LeaderSanta Barbara CCD06/30/2028

Fiscal Management

Alignment & Carryover

In addition to SBAEC's primary educational and service goals (14 described in 'Assessment' section above), and consistent with the Three-Year plan, program selection and funding criteria will continue in the following areas:

  1. Short-Term CTE in career skills training courses and state certificates;

  2. Short‐Term CTE with a focus in areas such as Healthcare and Health Training services;

  3. Noncredit Adult High School/GED;

  4. Noncredit English as a Second Language;

  5. Noncredit Adults with Disabilities;

  6. Student Support Services: to ensure students can navigate through the SBCC system from noncredit to credit and help students plan their educational and vocational objectives;

  7. Marketing: to provide awareness of educational offerings and training options and increase enrollment;

  8. Collaboration and engagement with local partners that specialize in job placement, apprenticeship, internship, and job coaching;

  9. Where applicable, alignment of programmatic goals with Vision 2030.

SBAEC has received exceptional support from the CAEP TAP Office and NOCE TAP Navigator to address and effectively reduce the Consortium's carryover. With leveraged funds from the SBCC District General Fund, WIOA II, local South Santa Barbara County Strong Workforce, and the new CAEP English Language Learner Healthcare Pathways grant, SBAEC is positioned to effectively support existing CAEP programming as well as implement new initiatives outlined in this Three-Year Plan.

To achieve the Consortiumʼs overarching goals, we identify partners that provide useful resources, linkages, and community partnerships in support of existing programs as well as programs that create seamless transitions into postsecondary education or the workforce. Through a rigorous Request for Proposal Process, the Consortium requires all applicants to justify the need of their proposed initiatives, supported by research, labor market information, employer feedback, student surveys, and other relevant information that demonstrate how the proposed initiatives align with the Consortium's primary goals.

The Santa Barbara Adult Education Consortium relies heavily on CAEP fiscal support to sustain our educational and services programming. Our consortium leads the way to better careers and quality of life for our community members and positively impacts both our local and state economy. We remain dedicated to following and integrating CAEPʼs initiatives and priorities through collaborative efforts and leveraged funding. Due to the lasting negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restructuring of personnel at both the SBCC District level and our two adult education school sites, the overall expenditure rate significantly decreased, thereby increasing the carryover for an extended period of time.

Carryover Action Plan
Upon implementing the online CCCApply registration and application process in Fall 2024 (for noncredit SBCC programs) and upon receipt of the new CAEP Healthcare English Language Learner Pathways grant, the Consortium determined that adequate functional and dedicated spaces for high-contact Student Support Services and Health Academy programs do not currently exist at the SBCC adult education School of Extended Learning sites. Carryover funds have been directed to be expended on the creation of two CCCApply/Student Support Services one-stop-shop Welcome Centers, a dedicated Career Skills Institute hub, and four CTE-focused classrooms (2 for medical programs; 1 for digital career upskilling; 1 for tactile career vocational training in fashion and design).

Leveraging Funding Sources SBAECʼs goal to leverage funding streams remains consistent and is integral in establishing robust and sustainable programming. The following funding streams allow the Consortium to focus on CAEP educational programming, student services, and enrollment to increase the adult learner population:

  • General District funds
  • WIOA I and II federal grants
  • Strong Workforce grant
  • Student Equity and Achievement Program grant
  • CAEP English Language Learner Healthcare Pathways Program grant

The Consortium remains committed to adjusting funds and allocations to meet CAEPʼs required expenditure timelines and executing the objectives outlined in this Three-Year plan to best serve the needs of adult learners in our region.

Usage

How does the consortium plan to use allocated funds in the upcoming year?

Faculty stipends to support curriculum development

Not Entered

Consortium Objectives & Activities Overview

Objectives & Activities

= consortium has included this activity in an Annual Plan from the 2025-28 Three-Year Plan
= consortium has NOT selected this activity in an Annual Plan from the 2025-28 Three-Year Plan
ActivityOriginIncluded in Annual Plan
Objective #1: Address Educational Needs
Develop new Healthcare Pathway Programs
THREE-YEAR PLAN 2025-28
Offer new CTE short-term State cert. programs
THREE-YEAR PLAN 2025-28
Parent/Guardian Professional Childcare Certificate
THREE-YEAR PLAN 2025-28
Objective #2: Improve Integration of Services & Transitions
Design proactive and holistic SSS Program
THREE-YEAR PLAN 2025-28
Marketing and Community Outreach
THREE-YEAR PLAN 2025-28
Objective #3: Improve Effectiveness of Services
Identify a ‘Student Success Launcher’
THREE-YEAR PLAN 2025-28
Pilot the expansion of computer lab support
THREE-YEAR PLAN 2025-28
Streamline Student Surveys
THREE-YEAR PLAN 2025-28

Certification

Carpinteria Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Gerardo Cornejo

08/25/2025 04:03 PM PDT

Santa Barbara CCD - Member Representative

Approved by Carola Smith

08/13/2025 09:00 AM 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

08/13/2025 08:42 AM PDT

Santa Barbara County Workforce Dev. Board - Member Representative

Approved by Luis Servin

08/14/2025 05:12 PM PDT