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CAEP Annual Plan: 2022-23 62 South Orange County Regional Consortium (SOCRC)

Status: Consortium Approved

California Adult Education Program : Annual Plan : 2022-23 Produced: Sep 20, 2022, 04:29 PM UTC Kim Thomason

62 South Orange County Regional Consortium (SOCRC)

Plans & Goals

Executive Summary

The South Orange County Regional Consortium will continue to develop and promote their vision of consortium-forward service provision for the community as the State and local economies recover from the two-year pandemic closures and restrictions.  By January 2022 the economic outlook for the South Orange County Region, according to the 2022 economic report prepared by Christopher G. Schwartz, PhD, Associate Professor of finance with the University of California, Irvine, was very positive.  The number of airline passengers and restaurant patrons had returned to pre-pandemic levels, and the federal GDP output at slightly less than 6% for 2021 was the highest in twenty years. The unemployment rate has dropped back to 4%, while the unfilled job rate climbed to 6.6%, the highest in over twenty years. Health care and social assistance remains the largest employment industry (employing over 235,000) with five of the top ten fastest growing occupations. It is expected that Home Health Care Aides will add 11,000 new jobs by 2025. The SOCRC will support the region’s economic recovery through expenditures on programs in short-term career skill training, English language development, adults with disabilities, and HSD/HSE preparation. The consortium plans to have each member provide budget and expenditure updates on a quarterly basis to ensure expenses align with three-year plan goals and objectives.

SOCRC members provide a wide variety of programs to community members. ESL and Civics courses account for 74% of the students. Most service provider agencies offer some ESL courses, The exception, College and Career Advantage, focuses solely on providing short-term career skill training. High school diploma and equivalency programs are offered by Tustin and Irvine Unified School District Adult Schools, while Saddleback College provides instruction in preparation for high school equivalency exams. Some of the biggest successes experienced by the SOCRC members are as follows: College and Career Advantage conducted a successful return to class campaign by calling and emailing former and potential students, as well as giving classroom tours of the CTE facilities to graduating high school seniors. CCA also increased digital literacy capacity by providing Canvas course development and classroom implementation training. They also addressed career interests for students during registration appointments steering students into the appropriate CCA course or referring them to Saddleback College to meet training needs. Irvine Adult School (IAS) hired a college and career specialist who worked with students by providing transition support for college and career pursuits.  They offered a hybrid model for ESL and high school diploma courses that combined in-person learning and virtual class meetings on a weekly basis for 27 sections.  IAS was able to increase their enrollment from the 2020/21 school year. Tustin Adult School (TAS) sent a team to OTAN’s Digital Leadership Academy (DLAC) where they designed and implemented a plan to bring digital integration into their classrooms. The integration plan focused on offering online courses in ESL, imbedding digital literacy skills in their courses, and adding professional development sessions for staff members. TAS also transitioned to CASAS e-testing and increased their enrollment by 300 students from the 2020/21 school year.  The Irvine Valley College team was busy developing new courses for their highly successful program for Fall 2022: English for Parents: Elementary School and English for Career Search, and for Spring 2023: English for Parents: High School and English for Child Development, as well as revising their 3 ESL non-credit certificates. They also redesigned 4 ESL classes to improve classroom engagement, student mobility and access to technology. They were able to see a growth in unduplicated student enrollment of 13% from fall 2021 to fall 2022. The Saddleback College team also focused on course development bringing on 2 levels of vocabulary development, 2 levels of technology skills and an IET model using the new non-credit CNA program. Forty students that participated in the citizenship courses became US citizens during the school year. And nearly 200 students took advantage of the SB 554 Adult Dual Enrollment program at the college.

In the 2022/23 academic year, the SOCRC will focus on the six goals identified the annual plan: 1) Recruit and retain students through strong curriculum programs and student supports; 2) Evaluate classrooms and facilities for capacity and relevancy; 3) Align and articulate programs between and within agencies; 4) Develop student transition staff to support success; 5) Develop system to evaluate member effectiveness; and 6) Expand on and utilize consortium's regional brand through use of the website, social media and traditional marketing venues. 

Regional Planning Overview

The South Orange County Regional Consortium engaged in a diligent and lengthy process to include all members in assessing consortium programs, identifying what would be needed in the upcoming three-year implementation cycle and how the pandemic related shift to online learning will impact operations into the future.  Particular focus was placed on what worked for students and teachers during the facility closures, how that affects education needs in the region, and what, if anything, from the past two years should continue into the new three-year plan as a goal or objective for consortium members. Because not all service providers for the consortium offer the same programs, there will be some variance to how or how much the individual agencies engage with meeting each of the regional needs and participates in the activities designed to address those identified needs.

Consortium members identified several new or changing initiatives that would rise to the top of the consortium's list of priorities for the upcoming year.  These priorities may contain activities in more than one of the three main categories of educational needs, program integration and transitions, and improving the effectiveness of AE programs. The goals for the consortium are: 1) Recruit and Retain Adult Education students through strong program and student support measures; 2) Evaluate classroom capacity, location, student supports, technology and equipment; 3) Evaluate programs and curriculum to better align and articulate across consortium member agencies; 4) Support student success through program completion and transition to college credit classes or employment placement programs; 5) Develop a system to evaluate member effectiveness; and 6) Develop a system and schedule to update information and maintain relevance of the consortium website, and develop an annual marketing campaign schedule for the consortium. 

In the three-year plan, all of the activities have short-, medium- and long-term pieces to completing each activity area.  For the 2022/23 annual plan, consortium members will address the portion of the activities that fall under the short-term range.  This may mean that there are more activities associated with research and planning in the 2022-23 annual plan that are in preparation for the medium-term implementation activities that will take place in subsequent years two and three. There are also expectations that service provider members will engage more with data collection and usage to track student achievement and outcomes, and to better assess student, instructor and program needs into the future.

Once the annual plan has been certified, each member of the consortium will receive an electronic copy of the document.  The goals, objectives and activities will be reviewed on a quarterly basis with the service provider members' quarterly budget and expenditure reports.  This will keep the focus on achievement of goals and objectives, as well as funding spent by each agency to meet the goals, objectives and activities outlined in the three-year and annual plans.


Meeting Regional Needs

Regional Need #1

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs

Recruit and Retain Students through Strong Curriculum Programs and Student Supports.

This is the first broad overarching regional need that encompasses several of the strategies and activities identified and outlined in the three-year plan and this annual plan. This regional need is updated from the previous recruit students after the pandemic enrollment losses. 

Specifically, this regional need identifies marketing to regain student populations lost during the pandemic, but also addresses the need to inform the community about the offerings in adult education to broaden the base from which students come into adult education programs. The SOCRC recently adopted a new logo and branding identity in the 2021/22 school year that will be utilized in a national-style marketing campaign to promote the types of academic programs offered by SOCRC service providers and the locations of the programs. 

Also included in this regional need is the maintenance of current program offerings, while evaluating types of programs needed to sustain and build capacity within the service provider agencies. Expansion and diversification of instructional program offerings was identified as an educational need in the three-year plan. Agencies will take a critical look at gaps in educational opportunities for students, enrollment, retention and completion data, and workforce need in the community to evaluate the type and quantity of programs offered within their subject or departmental area. Changes to program offerings may be necessary to meet the needs of adult education students, such as offering more evening or weekend courses, decreasing the length of time it takes to complete programs such as short-term career skill training, or expanding offerings in contextualized math or language courses that partner with career education courses. 

Digital literacy was again identified in the continuous improvement plans for WIOA agencies as a skill that is still needed by students, and where the curriculum could be updated to foster the learning of additional functionality with software programs for both the classroom and the workplace. Tustin Adult School's Continuous Improvement Plan for the upcoming year focuses on increasing students' digital literacy skills for transition to community college programs, the workforce, and for adults to work with children towards student success. The school surveyed students to determine what skills instructors should focus on in the digital literacy workshops or incorporate into classroom lessons in ESL or high school diploma/equivalency courses. Digital literacy skills that were identified included using an email system including how to attach and send documents, how to search the internet and get the information you want, and the proper use of video conferencing platforms.  

Finally, to tie in student supports for the strong programs, consortium members will continue their work on agency and program road maps. In order to provide a more coordinated approach to adult education programming and clearly define program options for students, a broad overview or big picture roadmap for the consortium will be created to show how students can enter and exit the various programs and institutions. Program maps for each agency will also be developed and used for recruiting, retention and transition forums for students. Roadmaps may include individual program requirements, employment and career pathway opportunities, signify transition points to post-secondary education and indicate skill gains students can expect in each course or program. 

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

Several resources were used to identify the gaps during the planning process for the consortium's three-year plan. Among the sources used were previous three-year and annual plans where work on some of the needs were addressed, but not fully implemented within the time frame due to the program restrictions of the pandemic closures. For example, digital literacy offerings were ramped up during the pandemic closures, but some programs were unable to be implemented, such as basic beginning computer literacy which needed to be offered in person. Also, as some students gained digital literacy skills, the need to move into more intermediate concepts and tasks for the computer emerged, requiring the evaluation of existing curriculum and potential implementation of additional levels of digital literacy programming. 

Using student and instructor surveys, as well as student enrollment, retention and completion data for AESL and HSD/HSE courses, patterns emerged that indicated the need to continue online offerings for specific courses and program levels, where beginning skill development students may need more in-person instruction and support methods.  In addition, the consortium data sheets indicated pockets of potential new students that could be served through adult education if they were informed of current offerings, or if new offerings were available to meet community and employment needs.

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

Effectiveness of progress towards this goal will be measured by the number of meetings of instructors and administrators to evaluate current levels of programs and offerings, as well as recommendations from the groups on how to address student needs moving forward. 

The evaluation of current digital literacy programs, recommendations for program improvement, and enrollment in digital literacy courses.

Effectiveness will also be measured by the number of students entering or returning to adult education programs who indicate that they heard about the programs through one or more of the regional marketing campaigns. 

Increase in the number of students who access support services, including orientation and registration events, as well as counseling and transition services. 

Regional Need #2

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs

Evaluate classrooms and facilities (including student support service areas) to determine if they have the capacity to meet the demands for adult education programs and services.

Instructors and administrators will work together to conduct assessments of classroom locations and conditions for each adult education program. The assessments will include a list of the classrooms at each location, the location of the classrooms on the campus (for accessibility), the contents of the classroom including digital photographs for detail, and a list of equipment or technology that is available to the classroom, but not necessarily housed in the classroom. The evaluation should also include any anticipated changes to classroom locations, the impact of changing operational space on the ability to deliver adult education programs and services, anticipated need for new equipment or technology to provide current and relevant career skill training, and anticipated cost to lease or purchase classroom space or equipment. 

The assessments will be shared with the SOCRC General Membership Committee in a manner agreed upon by the members. Where agencies have identified that they do not have classroom or equipment capacity, funds may be used to lease or upgrade classrooms and equipment to meet increased capacity or changing employment requirements.


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

In recent years there have been last minute changes to space identified for adult education use at both the local education agency level and at the community college level.  This has required service provider agencies to relocate programs without adequate planning time, or to provide reduced class offerings or student services based on limited capacity at the school site.  This has happened to more than one agency, which is why the need for classroom/equipment assessment is written in a broad capacity to include all of the service provider agencies. 

This need was also identified as a long-term planning tool during the discussions about changes to the carryover funding limits and how this may impact technology and equipment acquisition in future budget years.  Consortium members agreed that having planning tools would help them to explain the need for carryover to cover one-time expenditures, and would keep classrooms, technology and equipment more current.

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

Effectiveness will be measured by the completion of the classroom, technology and equipment assessments by each service provider by June 30, 2023, and the agreement of how the information will be distributed and reviewed or discussed by the members of consortium.

Regional Need #3

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs

Align and Articulate Programs Between Agencies of the SOCRC, while Evaluating Curriculum and Programs for Opportunities to fill Educational Needs and become more Efficient in Program Delivery.

The need to align curriculum was identified in the original work in 2019 for the consortium's previous three-year plan, which included program mapping and natural transitions within each agency and across agencies as students completed adult education programs and transitioned to the community college or workforce. Consortium members have started work on mapping programs and pathways at their individual agencies and need to complete mapping pathways between agencies. The expectation is to have print and digital media for students and community members that shows a distinct pattern for completion of a program within each adult education discipline. The transition to the next step will be multi-faceted to show both academic and career options available to students. Maps will also show the distinct connection between each agency and the consortium so that the community will understand the interconnectedness of the curriculum and the agencies.  Student can utilize the maps when meeting with transition Staff or Counselors.


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

Members were surveyed using the Consortium Program Quality Self-Assessment while developing the three-year plan.  Members identified in the assessment the need to have clear completion and/or transitions between programs, as well as coordinated student support for student completion and transition.  Consortium agencies also conducted cohort surveys in which students indicated the need to have clear pathways to achieving employment or entering degree and certificate programs at the local community colleges.  This topic was also studied and discussed at monthly Executive Committee meetings, during professional development activities, and through partnerships with external consortium leads. 

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

Instructors will meet in professional learning communities to ensure that there is a smooth transition and continuum with curriculum between Adult Schools and the Community Colleges non-credit and credit programs. Success will be demonstrated by the number of maps that are completed for each agency and program.  The goal is to have an overall adult education program map for each service provider agency by the end of June 2023, and at least on program specific map with transitions to post-adult education opportunities in that same timeframe. 

Regional Need #4

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs

Develop Student Transition Staff to Support Student Success through Retention, Program Completion and Transition to Post-Adult Education Opportunities.

Transition Staff will support all of the service provider agencies by conducting site-based informational sessions regarding adult education program options as well as transition points to post-secondary credit programs or entry-level careers. The position will support students in their academic pursuits and connect them with staff members who are familiar with adult education, non-credit and credit programs, as well as student support services on campus who can guide students through the transition process. The program maps created by each agency will be used as a visual tool to help inform students of the matriculation patterns and program requirements, as well as provide a checklist for students interested in completing the various adult education programs.

They will also connect to workforce development resources both on and off campus, by learning about the community resources available to inform students of potential career opportunities within the region, job search activities and support, and job application services and support. They will refer students to the college or community services when appropriate. 

In addition, Transition Staff will work with all agencies within the consortium to inform HSD/HSE instructors about the value of the SB554 legislation, as well as present this opportunity to current and potential students.  This may be of particular benefit to students who did not earn their high school diploma during the Covid closures and want to pursue a career certificate or associate degree through the community college system without having to wait until they complete their HSD or pass the HSE exams. Presentations will be both in-person and online. 

Transition Staff will assist in the gathering and compilation of student success data to be provided to the Executive Committee members and State agencies, as required or requested. 

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

During the planning process for the current three-year plan, there was little information on how many students from the adult schools were transitioning to the community colleges for degree and certificate programs.  In addition, the number of students transitioning from adult education programs to credit programs on the college campuses, while increasing, remained a small percentage of the overall adult education student population. Consortium members also indicated that their faculty or staff members did not know all of the opportunities available to students after completing their adult education program, and the students would benefit from having regular seminars or workshops, both in-person and online that would outline the information, procedures and resources available to assist students through the transition to post-adult education endeavors.

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

Effectiveness will be measured by the number of workshops or seminars given in each member agency district; the number of students served or referred by Transition staff members; and the number of students who successfully completed adult education programs who subsequently enrolled in courses at the community college or reported employment or increase in wages in the quarterly employment reports.

Regional Need #5

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs

Develop System to Evaluate Member Effectiveness.

SOCRC members will discuss, develop and adopt a coordinated and supportive evaluation tool that assesses the effectiveness of each funded member agency.  While the SOCRC had previously identified the determinants for member effectiveness, the consortium had not established a system to evaluate whether or not a member was effective, and then how to assist the member in becoming an effective participant in the event that they were deemed ineffective. 

The evaluation tool will address the tenets of program or agency effectiveness as outlined in adult education legislation, program guidance and fiduciary guidance documents. The evaluation system will be adopted as part of the by-laws of the consortium, and each agency will be evaluated once per program year. The evaluations will be conducted through the submission and presentation of quarterly fiscal and program updates by each service provider agency.

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

Updates to current adult education legislation through amendments such as AB1491, have created the necessity to have a system in place to evaluate how members of the SOCRC are participating within the consortium and completing program and fiduciary responsibilities as outlined in legislation and consortium by-laws, as well as a system that outlines the corrective action necessary to become compliant with the standards.  This is also necessary as the non-compliance has an impact on the distribution of funding to service providing member agencies.

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

Fulfillment of this need will be deemed successful upon the discussion, agreement and adoption of new language for the SOCRC by-laws that outline a process for determining agency ineffectiveness and the process for corrective action for agencies that fall into noncompliance of the effective measures.

Regional Need #6

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs

Expand on and Utilize Consortium's Regional Brand through use of the Website, Social Media and Traditional Marketing Venues.

During the 2021-2022 program year the South Orange County Regional Consortium hired a marketing consulting firm who designed a logo and branding for the consortium as well as a website to host information regarding programs and consortium business materials. The next phase of marketing is to conduct a regional social media and other media platforms campaign that features the new consortium branding and each of its service-providing member programs. The purpose of the campaign is to drive interested members of the public to the website to learn more about programs and provide a centralized contact person to guide students through the application and enrollment process. The campaign will be featured in several languages that include Arabic, English, Farsi, Korean, Mandarin, Russian and Spanish. Other languages will be included as needed.

In addition, members of the SOCRC will discuss and evaluate tools for the website that assist community members, partners and businesses in accessing information about adult education programs, services and purpose. Evaluation will include how the tools can be used to connect students and other interested parties to the right agency or program to meet their academic and employment training needs. The consortium will create and establish methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of the website and will conduct an evaluation at least once per program year. 

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

The need for better consortium awareness in the community and the programs/services offered was identified through formal and informal surveys of stakeholders throughout the region. The consortium members also considered this the next step in a more formalized informational campaign aimed at potential students, partners and community members. The members also wanted to focus on evaluating how have a brand and marketing materials impacts recruitment, retention and transition of students in the adult education programs.

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

Effectiveness will be measured in the number of marketing materials created and distributed, as well as the response to the materials in terms of enrollment, retention and program completion.  Success will also be measured by having a tool in place to evaluate how well the marketing materials, tools and website are working.

Address Educational Needs

2022-23 Strategies

Create program and pathway roadmaps that identify consortium programs, services and transition point

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Develop Roadmaps for each program at each agency

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Adults who Became Participants (AE 202 - Overall)
  • All: Number of Adults Served (AE 200 - Overall)
  • Success: Participants Who Earn a High School Diploma or Equivalency (AE 633 - Overall)
  • Transition: Participants with Transition to Postsecondary (CTE) (AE 636 - Overall)
  • Transition: Participants with Transition to Postsecondary (credit college) (AE 637 - Overall)

In order to provide a more coordinated approach to adult education programming and clearly define program options for students, a broad overview or big picture roadmap for the consortium will be created to show how students can enter and exit the various programs and institutions. Program maps for each agency will also be developed and used for recruiting, retention and transition forums for students. Roadmaps may include individual program requirements, employment and career pathway opportunities, signify transition points to post-secondary education and indicate skill gains students can expect in each course or program. 


Evaluate, expand and/or diversify instructional programs and student support services

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Evaluate section offerings in A/ESL programs

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • Student Barriers: English Language Learner (AE 305 - Overall)

Agencies will take a critical look at gaps in educational opportunities for students, enrollment, retention and completion data, and workforce need in the community to evaluate the type and quantity of programs offered within their subject or departmental area. Changes to program offerings may be necessary to meet the needs of adult education students, such as offering more evening or weekend courses, decreasing the length of time it takes to complete programs such as short-term career skill training, or expanding offerings in contextualized math or language courses that partner with career education courses. 


Evaluate current short-term and non-credit career skill training courses for content and relevance i

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Assess Career Education Offerings

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Adults who Became Participants (AE 202 - Overall)
  • All: Number of Adults Served (AE 200 - Overall)
  • Transition: Participants with Transition to Postsecondary (CTE) (AE 636 - Overall)

To comply with recent legislation regarding the development and implementation of career certificate and pathway courses/programs, the SOCRC members will conduct research through the California Employment Development Department (EDD), Labor Market Information indicators, chambers of commerce, local workforce development boards and regional economic development boards to determine the need for and regional job prospects for successful completers of the career education programs. Agencies offering CE programs will also review programs that were adopted and implemented prior to new legislation to ensure that program offerings meet current job market needs and trends. Career Education program information will be presented and discussed at the monthly meetings of the SOCRC members, as needed. 


Address Digital Literacy skills for students and instructors

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Conduct student/teacher digital literacy surveys

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

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

During the COVID-19 closures education, government and business operations were transitioned to a virtual environment overnight, many people discovered that they were not as versed in using computers and software programs as they thought they were. Students and instructors stated that they did not have adequate computer equipment and/or internet broadband service at home, and lack of training in how to use computers.  In addition, they indicated that they did not have access to or know how to use current software programs or features that allowed them to properly function in an online academic or business environment.

Regional needs to be addressed with this strategy include providing loaner computer equipment to students, instruction in basic computer skills for ESL students, as well as English first language students. Instruction will cover beginning level computer operations, basic software applications and tools such as cameras and microphones that are commonly used in academic and business platforms.

Instructors will also be provided a variety of professional development opportunities and support in creating robust Canvas, or other classroom experience-type curriculum such as Google Classroom or Zoom for online classes. This includes developing knowledge of other software and tools to support the interactive online learning experience for students.


Evaluate current classroom capacity/locations/equipment for each AE program

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Evaluate facility capacity/classroom functionality

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Adults who Became Participants (AE 202 - Overall)
  • All: Number of Adults Served (AE 200 - Overall)

SOCRC members will conduct facility and classroom evaluations to determine if they have the capacity to meet the demands for adult education programs and services. As part of the evaluation equipment and classroom supplies to conduct current and new programs will be assessed.  Where agencies do not have classroom or equipment capacity, funds may be used to lease or upgrade classrooms and equipment to meet increased capacity or changing employment requirements. 

Improve Integration of Services & Transitions

2022-23 Strategies

Develop and Utilize the College and Career Transition Specialist position

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Develop student retention and support plan

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Adults who Became Participants (AE 202 - Overall)
  • All: Number of Adults Served (AE 200 - Overall)

The Transition Specialist will provide site-based informational sessions regarding adult education program options as well as transition points to post-secondary credit programs or entry-level careers. The position will support students in their academic pursuits and connect them with staff members who are familiar with adult education, non-credit and credit programs, as well as student support services on campus who can guide students through the transition process. The Transition Specialist will also connect to workforce development resources both on and off campus and refer students to those services when appropriate. 


Promote SB554 options between Adult School HSD/HSE and Community College credit courses

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Promote SB554 Opportunities for students

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Adults who Became Participants (AE 202 - Overall)
  • All: Number of Adults Served (AE 200 - Overall)
  • Success: Participants Who Earn a High School Diploma or Equivalency (AE 633 - Overall)
  • Transition: Participants with Transition to Postsecondary (CTE) (AE 636 - Overall)

The Transition Specialist will work with all agencies within the consortium to inform HSD/HSE instructors about the value of the SB554 legislation, as well as present this opportunity to current and potential students.  This may be of particular benefit to students who did not earn their high school diploma during the Covid closures and want to pursue a career certificate or associate degree through the community college system without having to wait until they complete their HSD or pass the HSE exams. Presentations will be both in-person and online. 


Create Linked Learning, Contextualized Integrated Programs and Immigrant Integration Opportunities

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Create linked learning opportunities

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Adults who Became Participants (AE 202 - Overall)
  • All: Number of Adults Served (AE 200 - Overall)
  • Student Barriers: English Language Learner (AE 305 - Overall)

School sites will develop courses and pathway programs that integrate contextualized general education courses (English, ESL and math) with short-term career skill training courses to introduce students to additional programs offered through Adult Education Schools or Departments, as well as credit opportunities at the community colleges. Programs may be developed by a single agency, or across agencies to strengthen programs and partnerships. 


Align and articulate programs and courses across and between consortium agencies

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Develop Roadmaps for Transition between agencies

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Adults who Became Participants (AE 202 - Overall)
  • All: Number of Adults Served (AE 200 - Overall)
  • Transition: Participants with Transition to Postsecondary (CTE) (AE 636 - Overall)
  • Transition: Participants with Transition to Postsecondary (credit college) (AE 637 - Overall)

Consortium members have started work on mapping programs and pathways at their individual agencies and need to complete mapping pathways between agencies. The expectation is to have print and digital media for students and community members that shows a distinct pattern for completion of a program within each adult education discipline. The transition to the next step will be multi-faceted to show both academic and career options available to students. Maps will also show the distinct connection between each agency and the consortium so that the community will understand the interconnectedness of the curriculum and the agencies.  Student can utilize the maps when meeting with the Transition Specialist or Counselor.

Instructors will meet in professional learning communities to ensure that there is a smooth transition and continuum with curriculum between Adult Schools and the Community Colleges non-credit and credit programs.


Consortium members have started work on mapping programs and pathways at their individual agencies a

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Design and Implement Multi-media outreach campaign

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

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

During the 2021-2022 program year the South Orange County Regional Consortium hired a marketing consulting firm who designed a logo and branding for the consortium as well as a website to host information regarding programs and consortium business materials.

The next phase of marketing is to conduct a regional social media and other media platforms campaign that features the new consortium branding and each of its service-providing member programs. The purpose of the campaign is to drive interested members of the public to the website to learn more about programs and provide a centralized contact person to guide students through the application and enrollment process. The campaign will be featured in several languages that include Arabic, English, Farsi, Korean, Mandarin, Russian and Spanish. Other languages will be included as needed.


Strengthen partnerships with local Workforce Development Boards, Community-Based Organizations, and

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Actively engage in community partnerships

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Adults who Became Participants (AE 202 - Overall)
  • All: Number of Adults Served (AE 200 - Overall)

SOCRC leaders will reach out to local CBO and businesses to inform them of the work of the SOCRC and to determine how AE service providers can better meet the needs of local employers in preparing students for transition to jobs within the region. In addition, a member or members of the SOCRC will participate in meetings of the regional Workforce Development Board to develop and expand partnership opportunities in workforce preparation, job opportunity awareness, job fairs and client referrals for services between agencies. 

Improve Effectiveness of Services

2022-23 Strategies

Devise plan to support student retention and completion of programs

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Develop student retention and support plan

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Adults who Became Participants (AE 202 - Overall)
  • All: Number of Adults Served (AE 200 - Overall)
  • Progress: Participants with Educational Functioning Levels Gains ESL (AE 400 - ESL)
  • Success: Participants Who Earn a High School Diploma or Equivalency (AE 633 - Overall)

Faculty, staff and administrators will work together to develop a plan and tools to support student retention in courses, completion of certificate programs and transition to post-secondary credit courses or employment.  The plans will include utilization of the Transition Specialist to connect with students when they stop attending class to determine what support strategies can be implemented to bring the students back in the program to complete. Pathway and program maps will be used to help students see how far they have come and exactly what they need to do to get to the finish line. 


Evaluate curriculum to see if compressed course/program completion timelines will enhance retention

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Research compressed course/program completion

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Adults who Became Participants (AE 202 - Overall)
  • All: Number of Adults Served (AE 200 - Overall)
  • Employment and Earnings: Median Change in Earnings (AE 801 - Overall)
  • Progress: Participants with Educational Functioning Levels Gains ESL (AE 400 - ESL)

Staff and faculty will engage in an evaluation of curriculum to assess the feasibility of compressing course and certificate completion timelines to increase student retention and program completion, as well as train workers in needed employment areas in a shorter timeframe. Adult Education students often work full-time while taking care of family members, so may not be able to participate in academic endeavors at the same level as a full-time student and need to have fewer hours of instruction or a shorter time period to complete programs. 


Evaluate curriculum to see if contextualized and integrated program curriculum will enhance student

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Research contextualized and integrated curriculum

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Adults who Became Participants (AE 202 - Overall)
  • All: Number of Adults Served (AE 200 - Overall)
  • Progress: Participants with Educational Functioning Levels Gains ESL (AE 400 - ESL)

Staff and faculty will participate in professional development to create contextualized basic skills and ESL skill courses that cover English and math for the workplace and industry-focused terminology courses to pair with career certificate programs. Evaluation of student retention and completion of integrated or contextualized courses and whether the curriculum resulted in a higher educational fluency level gains will be conducted. 


Assess AE services offered through each agency

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Assess support service offerings

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Adults who Became Participants (AE 202 - Overall)
  • All: Number of Adults Served (AE 200 - Overall)

SOCRC agencies will conduct internal surveys of students, instructors and staff members to determine how and when students access services, if the support services result in increased enrollment, retention, completion and transition, and if there are gaps in services that students need to be successful. An inventory of services will be shared with SOCRC members at a monthly meeting and will be provided to partner agencies so that they can refer potential students to member agencies of the consortium. 


Develop and implement a system to evaluate the effectiveness of funded members and programs

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Evaluate Member Effectiveness

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

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

SOCRC members will discuss, develop and adopt a coordinated and supportive evaluation tool that assesses the effectiveness of each funded member agency.  The evaluation tool must address the tenets of program or agency effectiveness as outlined in adult education legislation, program guidance and fiduciary guidance documents. The evaluation system will be adopted as part of the by-laws of the consortium.  Each agency must be evaluated once per program year. 


Determine how to utilize the new consortium website and marketing materials

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Design and Implement Multi-media outreach campaign

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

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

Members of the SOCRC will discuss and evaluate tools on the website that assist community members, partners and businesses in accessing information about adult education programs, services and purpose. Evaluation will include how the tools can be used to connect students and other interested parties to the right agency or program to meet their academic and employment training needs. The consortium will create and establish methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of the website and will conduct an evaluation at least once per program year. 

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 SOCRC converted to a Direct Funding fiscal model in May 2021 from the Fiscal Agent model.  This change allowed the consortium to redistribute funds previously allocated to the fiscal agent to service-provider agencies to fund positions needed to provide an adequate level of service to students. It also prompted discussion about how the consortium functions as a collective body, as well as the sum of each of the individual agency's efforts. After the fund redistribution was approved by the Executive Committee, baseline allocations were updated with the new percentage to total funding for each service provider agency. This laid the foundation for baseline allocations for the 2022/2023 program year, and each subsequent fiscal year, to which the Cost-of-Living Adjustment will be distributed to each funded member.  

During the process of changing fiscal administration models, consortium members discussed how the allocations were tied directly to the services provided by each agency and the importance of ensuring that the money was spent for the purposes outlined in the annual and three-year plans. Each agency's annual budget plans will reflect in more detail how the agency has planned for the allocation to be spent. 

The SOCRC plans to allocate its resources in the following ways:

1. To maintain and enhance current programs in ESL, civics and citizenship, as well as high school diploma and equivalency preparation to address minimum job skill and qualifications, as well as community participation needs.

2. To review, develop, maintain and enhance programs in short-term career skill development that are directly tied to the workforce and economic needs of the region. 

3. To support adult education students' success while enrolled in adult education and non-credit programs of CAEP, and through the transition process to credit programs at partner community colleges or through the job search and placement process.

4. To increase awareness of adult education programs offered by service provider members of the SOCRC through a series of coordinated marketing messages on social media platforms and traditional outreach modalities. 

5. To provide consistent, clean, safe, well-equipped and updated classroom facilities to ensure that there is a positive learning environment for both students and instructors.

The consortium has established a system to report out expenditures and progress toward annual plan goals at the quarterly Executive Committee meetings to enhance accountability of each agency, as well as the consortium as a whole. Large capital expenditures are presented to the Executive Committee and approved before the purchase can take place to ensure that the expense is aligned with the goals and objectives outlined in the annual and three-year plans. CAEP technical assistance and staff members are consulted, when appropriate, to ensure that expenditures meet State and program guidelines.

An approach to incorporating remaining carry-over funds from prior year(s) into strategies planned for 2022-23.

Several initiatives will take place in the 2022-23 fiscal year to address carryover funding and to put more of the CAEP allocation into classrooms and student services that consortium members feel will have a more direct and positive impact on student learning and achievement.

To start, the SOCRC voted to switch fiscal administrative operations from Fiscal Agency to Direct Funding. This will expedite funding to each service provider agency and will distribute more of the consortium allocation to programs rather than administration. The decision was made after more than twelve months of research and discussion by the Executive Committee about how to best utilize funding to meet student needs. By switching to a Direct Funding model, the amount of money allocated to the Fiscal Agency was reduced by fifty percent, with the understanding that there will still be consortium needs that must be addressed through pooled or consortium funding.

Additionally, during the three-year planning process, SOCRC members frequently discussed the need to reduce agency carryover amounts to ensure that the flow of funding reaches classrooms and students each year, and that the allocations truly reflect the amount needed by each agency to provide the services outlined in the annual plan and budget. In anticipation of the passage of AB 1491, one agency in the consortium offered one-time funding to the other service providers to be spent in the 2022-23 fiscal year. A process was developed that can be used in the future if the need arises, for agencies to request one-time funding and demonstrate how the funding tied into the goals of the consortium, the agency, and the annual/three-year plans. The Executive Committee approved each agency's funding request, and the money was reallocated prior to the end of the 2022-23 fiscal year. This type of recognition of need and action to reallocate and expend funds ensures that the consortium will move forward with a plan to incorporate and use carryover funding for the good of the region's programs.  The 2022 carryover reallocation funds will be used to update classroom technology, acquire state-of-the-art equipment for career training, and secure a permanent classroom location for students at one of the schools.

Ongoing, funded members will be transparent with how their CAEP dollars are being spent and how they are adhering to the current and potentially new carryover percentage policy by presenting their quarterly reports at the Executive Committee meetings.  A template will be designed to assist members with providing key information in order for meeting participants to easily identify that the expenditures are in keeping with the strategies, objectives and activities outlined in the three-year plan. This will also help to identify early on if an agency is not meeting its funding obligations and allow the member agencies to work with the school district to address fiscal concerns. Changes to how carryover and fiscal policy adherence is addressed were included in the updates to the consortium's bylaws that will be reviewed and approved by the Executive Committee in fall 2022.

Certification

Capistrano Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Brittany Casey

09/15/2022 09:13 AM PDT

Coastline ROP - Member Representative

Approved by Dr. Brian Dozer

09/15/2022 08:07 AM PDT

College and Career Advantage - Member Representative

Approved by Dr Paul Weir

09/15/2022 04:28 PM PDT

Irvine Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Dr. Rebecca Roberts

09/14/2022 05:32 PM PDT

Irvine Valley College - Member Representative

  • Dean, Career & Continuing Education, and Integrated Design, Engineering and Automation
  • dvanschoelandt@ivc.edu
  • (949) 367-8310
Approved by Debbie Vanschoelandt

09/14/2022 05:42 PM PDT

Laguna Beach Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Dr. Chad Mabery

09/16/2022 11:39 AM PDT

Orange County Department of Education - Member Representative

Approved by Fatinah Judeh

09/14/2022 05:27 PM PDT

Saddleback College - Member Representative

Approved by Dr. Karima Feldhus

09/14/2022 05:58 PM PDT

Saddleback Valley Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Kim Thomason Mission Viejo High School

09/20/2022 09:29 AM PDT

Tustin Unified - Member Representative

Approved by William Neddersen

09/14/2022 05:55 PM PDT