CAEP
Annual Plan

Produced: Aug 15, 2023, 04:24 PM UTC - By Tawny Dotson

70 North Central Adult Education Consortium (Yuba)
CONSORTIUM APPROVED

2023-24

Plans & Goals

Executive Summary

The 2023-24 Annual Plan for NCAEC was created by incorporating its most recent three-year plan, gathering input from agency partners at an annual plan retreat, and incorporating the accomplishments from the previous year. NCAEC planned strategies for the upcoming year are aligned with the consortiums three-year plan through the use of short-term SMART goals identified  in  the three-year plan.  In general, NCAEC  will continue to  focus on the consortium's overarching goal used to drive both the three year plan and annual plan: To efficiently and effectively expand/develop/coordinate accessible, need-based adult education programs and services throughout the NCAEC Region. NCAEC's current three-year plan goals include: Develop and expand critical programs and services; Improve the integration and alignment of services; Improve the effectiveness of services and transitions; Expand marketing efforts to improve enrollment, recruitment, and retention; Update consortium policies to improve program and consortium accountability. NCAEC has developed  and implemented consortium wide PLC's to include program and service partners that will help implement the short-term planned strategies for the upcoming year.   

NCAEC member allocations for 2023-24 were developed in accordance with consortium by-laws and through agency partner collaboration. NCAEC continues to work together to maintain the one-time funding pot to ensure access and equity to supplemental and emergency funding. NCAEC has made both one-time and ongoing funding changes to better serve adult learners throughout the region; this decision also aligned with the consortiums three year plan. Planned expenditures for the upcoming year align with the consortiums proposed annual plan and three year plan. Member budgets are discussed and developed based on the annual plan strategies within the seven program areas. Budget changes are made throughout the year to ensure expenditures are aligned with both annual program goals and need. Expenditure tracking tools have been implemented to ensure transparency of CAEP funds.

NCAEC like many other adult programs is working to achieve enrollment and persistence rates that are equivalent to pre-pandemic numbers. Moreover, NCAEC members continue to achieve noteworthy accomplishments which include: 1. Creation and expansion of short term CTE classes with industry based certifications.  2. Continued use and incorporation of expanded distance learning delivery system such as CANVAS, Edmentum, ZOOM, Edgeunity, Burlington English, AZTEC, Reading Plus and other programs to provide instruction, assessments, and outreach to eliminate barriers for students. 3. Teachers and staff continue to participate in extensive PD in Burlington English, Edgeunity, CASAS, OTAN, CALPRO,  outreach and service strategies. 4. Continuation and expansion of CTE programs and platforms that serve both general education and special populations including: Home Health; Culinary Arts; CNA; Welding; Stenography; MA; Fire Science; Auto Body; Auto Technology; Welding /Manufacturing; Dental Assisting; Entrepreneurship 5. Continued expansion of VESL Culinary Program, and Adult Transition Population Culinary Program. 6. Community Health, Digital Literacy, Truck Driving, Social and Human Services Programs, as well as para educator courses have been implemented by consortium agencies. 7.  NCAEC commitment to partner with Marysville Joint Unified School District to expand program offering and support HSD and ESL programs. 8. Incorporation of the county libraries into the NCAEC and providing services at those libraries.  9. WASC Accreditation for three agency programs. 10. Increased graduation rates and payment points from the prior year. 10.  Navigator funding added to Colusa County.  11. Expansion of service partners throughout the region. 

During the 2023-2024 school-year, NCAEC will continue to increase access to online and in person programs, learning platforms and support services for all adult student populations. Marketing efforts targeted to improve community awareness of adult programs, will continue while including county libraries. Short-term CTE programs for all student populations that align with industry, lead to high wage/high demand jobs, and improve technical, academic, and career readiness outcomes will continue to be expanded/developed. Targeted PD opportunities for teachers, administrators, and staff that improve member efficiency and effectiveness will be identified and offered. NCAEC will continue to improve equity, collaboration and sharing of resources in the consortium and will be done by providing flexibility and tailoring programs to remove barriers for students. Report cards for each member will be shared to identify challenges, share best practices, and maximize member efficiency and effectiveness. Data evaluation, reporting, and training support for consortium members will result in consortia transparency. 


Regional Planning Overview

NCAEC's three year plan is currently being implemented through short term goals that were established during the three-year planning process. Similar to last year, this year's annual plan will establish and refine goals that are supported by the long term goals of the three year plan. NCAEC also reviewed prior year goals and established new and updated goals for the 2023-2024 school-year. Work related to the three year plan, annual plan and local plans is carried out by both the consortium and members. This collective work was completed at the Annual Plan Retreat this past year and included revisiting the three year plan and targeted metrics.  Throughout the year, all consortium members collaborate with educational partners to support the work and goals of the three year plan. Consortium members meet in both PLC's and collectively to discuss the immediate needs of members and students. During this time strategies are developed/evaluated/updated to support the work of the three year plan. 


Meeting Regional Needs

Regional Need #1

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs

Continue to expand on-going outreach and collaboration that will inform, market and expand access to community partnerships, programs, and services for all adult learners.

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

Local and regional partners continue to meet with NCAEC members and have reiterated the need for collaboration on grants, projects, programs and services that currently exist or are in the ideation process. As communities and the corresponding needs grow, both new partners and existing partners continue to be unaware of new and existing programs/services that NCAEC provides. This knowledge gap ultimately leads to underserved adult learners in the region which supports the need for additional marketing.

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

Number of new programs and/or services available to adult education students; number of new partners; increased enrollment; increased completion rates; improved transitions

Regional Need #2

Gaps in Service / Regional Needs

Continue to expand short-term CTE programs for all student populations that align with industry, lead to high wage/high demand jobs, and improve technical, academic, and career readiness outcomes.

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

NCAEC members continue to meet with partners (employers; educational; WIOA) and consortium members to determine local and regional needs. Adult Education students (ESL; ABE; ASE; SPED) have expressed interest in short term CTE classes that improve their skills and employment outlook. Employers are in desperate need of skilled, career ready workers in the region.

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

Program completion rate; internship or job placement rate; wages; improved transition rates; increased enrollment; increased CASAS scores; number of certificates awarded; advisory meeting with industry partners

Address Educational Needs

2023-24 Strategies

Expand access to adult education programs that address consortium needs

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Develop, and expand critical programs/services

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Adults who Became Participants (AE 202 - Overall)

Based on student need, data, and educational partner input NCAEC will  strive  to  continue to: Expand,  develop  and  implement accessible educational programs and related services  for  all  student  populations  that  lead  to  improved  enrollment, persistence, completion rates, and transition  rates.  NCAEC  will continue to  expand  and align  local and regional programs (based on identified need) between K-12/College/WIOA partners.  Programs include online, hybrid and in-person education and training courses that lead to certificates, secondary completion, and/or employment. Expanded opportunities for students to participate in Work Based Learning including career exploration, career readiness, career planning,  job shadowing, internships, work experience,  and a focus on pre-apprenticeships will help address barriers and gaps that students currently face.

Per NCAEC's three-year plan, online/hybrid courses have been developed that are accessible to students throughout the consortium. Very few dual enrollment courses  currently exist, and limited opportunities exist for co-enrollment in educational programs.  CTE/VESL/IET programs that support all student populations including adults with disabilities vary from agencies within the consortium. A focus on expanding opportunities for students with disabilities is a priority of the consortium. 

 Per employers, industry-based assessments and certificates need to be embedded in programs to help improve transitions to employment and align outcomes with industry. Per employers and local workforce development board members, careers courses need more essential skills training and on-the-job exploration/training to prepare students for transition to careers. Designing orientations to address student needs prior to, and during enrollment is needed to increase persistence rates.

Barriers:

Transportation, Childcare, Housing, Financial, Literacy, Access to programs, and Basic Needs

Strategies:

  •  Develop a consortium-wide Program PLC. This will assist in aligning critical needs which will lead to course development/enhancement with input from regional workforce development representatives of each county.
  •  Increase course offerings; Prioritize course development and implementation based on PLC discussions - This will expand opportunities to students and not duplicate programs.
  • Consistently evaluate programs and modify as necessary to meet the needs of students and the community - This will help determine the effectiveness of programs.
  • Provide resources to remove barriers for students to access programs and courses.


Improve Integration of Services & Transitions

2023-24 Strategies

Expand/Enhance/Align the Integration and Coordination of Services

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Improve consortium program/service alignment

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • Transition: Participants with Transition to ASE (AE 500 - Overall)

Per NCAEC's three-year plan, there continues to be a gap in alignment/coordination of programs and services. High turnover in NCAECʼs leadership has caused a knowledge gap in available and necessary partnerships and services that support adult learners. Partner duplication may exist both internally (county) and externally (consortium) due to the geographic nature of the consortium but efforts to align program offerings, services, and resources  through virtual opportunities is a current strategy.

To address the above issues, NCAEC will continue to enhance, expand, integrate, and align local and regional services (based on identified need) between K-12/College/WIOA partners: Services include both online and in-person systems of support that provide training and employment opportunities, reinforce our commitment to educational equity to ensure each student has what they need to be successful, and reduce or eliminate barriers to education.

Barriers include: Program and student knowledge of Programs/Services; Lack of available and coordinated transitional programs/co-enrolled services

Strategies to address barriers include:

  • Develop a transitional PLC between the consortium and service partners through the adult education navigators - This strategy will help identify partners and subsequent gaps in services
  • Provide collaborative opportunities to consortium members and critical partners - Training partners on services will help program partners seamlessly transition students between services
  • Coordinate and align programs and services between consortium members and service partners both locally and regionally - This strategy will help reduce duplication, expand/enhance services, and help partners leverage resources. 
  • Strengthen transitional data collection, evaluation, and monitoring to ensure program effectiveness - This strategy will evaluate service effectiveness
  • Expand the roles of regional navigators and collaborate with WIOA programs, county libraries, and other community based organizations to leverage support services for students - This strategy will lead to the improvement of integrated services
  • Develop and share within the consortium an updated resource map to ensure community partners and students are aware and have the services and support they need to complete their programs - Strategy will assist with creating additional awareness of community services
  • Develop a workgroup to align the programs for co-enrollment in programs

Improve Effectiveness of Services

2023-24 Strategies

Using data to evaluate program effectiveness and needs

Activity that Applies to this Strategy

Review and establish program goals and need

Metrics that Apply to this Activity/Strategy

  • All: Adults who Became Participants (AE 202 - Overall)

NCAEC staff and administrators continue to recognize that reviewing consortium-wide data consistently, and using it for larger purposes provides transparency for the group as a whole.  At the local level, members are using data to effectively make program decisions but consortium-wide this needs further implementation. More opportunities for data sharing and analysis between members needs to occur. Additionally, NCAEC will continue to effectively using follow-up and feedback data from students and educational partners to continuously improve programs and services. Moreover, and per NCAEC's three year plan, consortium members will regularly review, monitor, share and evaluate student data; support services data; follow-up data, and feedback to continuously improve programs and services to adult learners that lead to improved student enrollment, persistence rates, outcomes (completion rates) and transitions (employment; post-secondary), that illustrate both consortium and member effectiveness.

Barriers: Knowledge of data definitions and uses; staff time to review data; 

Strategies:

  • Continue work with data PLC - This will assist in evaluating current level of knowledge and reporting
  • Continue training for program partners - This will assist with accurately reporting and evaluating data which will assist in assessing needs and performance
  • Align goals, benchmarks, and performance measures that illustrate member and consortium effectiveness - This will ensure data drives program goals, related expenditures, and member effectiveness
  • Regularly share data with students with feedback and explanations; set goals and benchmarks for students using multiple data sources - This will drive program improvement, and input from educational partners
  • Update member report cards and expanded fact sheets that can be shared with partners for feedback - This will lead to open, honest discussions that lead to decisions that support the overall needs and future direction of the consortium and transparency

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.

As previously mentioned, three-year plan long term goals were used to develop annual plan goals and strategies at the Annual Plan Retreat attended by consortium members. All members have participated in both the three-year plan and annual plan development which aligns expenditures with three-year goals and consortium planned activities for the year. Each member will work with their staff and the consortium lead to develop their member budget by aligning planned allocations and expenditures with desired local outcomes.

An approach to incorporating remaining carry-over funds from prior year(s) into strategies planned for 2023-24.

NCAEC carryover funds are rolled into new member budgets that are aligned to annual plan strategies for the new year. Ongoing projects from previous years are aligned with new year strategies and expenditures reflected in member budgets. NCAEC consortium leads and members monitor carryover funds to ensure all unspent funds are spent accordingly, within the required timelines. Plans for carryover funds for all members are discussed at monthly meetings both individually (with consortium lead) and as a consortium.  Currently, carryover is reviewed again individually upon fourth quarter fiscal reporting. 

NCAEC has established the carryover percentage for 2023-24 to be 20%.  Additional discussions regarding the protocols for members exceeding the 20% are in process. With the development of tools in NOVA to monitor carryover of individual members and the consortium, this topic will be addressed more frequently.

Consortium one-time funding expires at the end of each year so no carryover funds are allowed for this level of funding. This ensures one-time funds align with yearly annual plan strategies. One-time funds are distributed each year based on need, past performance, and alignment with the seven program areas, three-year plan goals, and annual plan goals.

Certification

Colusa Co. Office of Education - Member Representative

Approved by John Ithurburn

08/14/2023 02:20 PM PDT

Konocti Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Lorilee Niesen

08/14/2023 02:01 PM PDT

Lake Co. Office of Education - Member Representative

Approved by Beth Hampson

08/14/2023 11:08 PM PDT

Sutter Co. Office of Education - Member Representative

Approved by Jacob Holmes

08/14/2023 02:05 PM PDT

Woodland Community College - Member Representative

  • Interim-Vice President of Instruction
  • sfowler@yccd.edu
  • (530) 661-4222
Approved by Patricia Barba

08/14/2023 03:49 PM PDT

Woodland Joint Unified - Member Representative

Approved by Karin Liu

08/14/2023 02:03 PM PDT

Yolo Co. Office of Education - Member Representative

Approved by Ân Tạ

08/14/2023 05:11 PM PDT

Yuba CCD - Member Representative

Approved by Dr Tawny Dotson

08/15/2023 09:24 AM PDT

Yuba Co. Office of Education - Member Representative

Approved by Ken Hamel 6820377

08/14/2023 04:33 PM PDT

Yuba College - Member Representative

Approved by Dr. Jeremy Brown

08/14/2023 03:14 PM PDT