Indiana s Adult Promise Proposal Organization Description The Indiana Commission for Higher Education (CHE) was created to define the missions of Indiana s colleges and universities, plan and coordinate the state s postsecondary education system, and ensure that Indiana s higher education system is aligned to meet the needs of students and the state. CHE s latest strategic plan, Reaching Higher, Delivering Value (2016), is organized around three sections: completion, competency, and career, along with strategies to deliver value to students and the state. The full Reaching Higher, Delivering Value document may be found here: http://www.in.gov/che/3142.htm Project Purpose Statement This proposed project s goal is to significantly increase the number of adult Hoosiers with a postsecondary credential by developing easy-to-use resources and identifying and sharing best practices to serve adult students particularly those who are participating in Indiana s adult promise financial aid program, the Workforce Ready Grant. Background on Adult Student Initiatives Helping the 750,000 working-age Hoosier adults with some college but no degree complete a postsecondary credential is a key strategy in reaching Indiana s 60 percent education attainment goal by 2025. In alignment with its Reaching Higher, Delivering Value strategic plan, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education launched the initial phase of the You Can. Go Back. initiative in 2016 with support from the Indiana General Assembly and the state s colleges and universities. This initial phase included the Adult Student Grant, which is geared to parttime adults, and included outreach targeted those with some college but no degree. You Can. Go Back. and the Adult Student Grant recognized the complexities of adult lives. By providing easy-to-use resources and connecting potential students with academic programs, the Commission for Higher Education helped 9,000 returning adults enroll last year. The Workforce Ready Grant: An Adult Promise Program Building on the lessons of You Can. Go Back., in 2017, the Indiana General Assembly created the Workforce Ready Grant. The Workforce Ready Grant is an adult promise for Hoosiers seeking to earn high-value certificates. High-value certificates are those that are linked to a job that is rated highly by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development after taking into account wages and job growth. The Workforce Ready Grant is currently available at Indiana s statewide community college system, Ivy Tech Community College, along with Vincennes University.
Like previous You Can. Go Back. efforts, the Workforce Ready Grant starts with the user experience in mind by creating simple, student-friendly processes. The Workforce Ready Grant further attempts to connect various funding opportunities and student support structures. The Workforce Ready Grant was formally launched by Governor Holcomb on August 14, 2017 as part of his Next Level Jobs agenda. By September 18, the Workforce Ready Grant s website had over 87,000 visits and 5,685 Hoosiers had completed applications and been contacted by participating institutions (unduplicated count). Several thousand more applications have been started, but not finished, and personnel are assisting applicants in completing the signup process. The Workforce Ready Grant advertising campaign and web tools are meant to cast a wide net: those who are not eligible for the Workforce Ready Grant will be directed to other financial aid opportunities or to phone and in-person support services. In this way, the campaign has already reached students who are pursuing associates, bachelor s and even a high school diploma equivalency. Many students who are not eligible for the Workforce Ready Grant have been directed to the Adult Student Grant, which, though less generous, can cover most tuition and fees for an associate. Others have been put in touch with entities that can help them earn their high school equivalency. While this tool has been successful in connecting students with education and training opportunities, the next step would be to help adult students actually succeed in college. Proposed Scope of Work The Workforce Ready Grant, Adult Student Grant, and You Can. Go Back. campaign have focused on affordability and outreach to adults. This work has identified potential students, helped convince some to come back, and helped them afford tuition and fees. However, better student supports will be needed to ensure that adult students have the resources they need to graduate. Employer and Community Partner Engagement A 2017 Indiana Chamber of Commerce study found that 35% of Hoosier employees who were eligible for tuition reimbursement did not participate because they saw no personal benefit in advancing their education. Expanded educational opportunities must be met with expanded student supports and stronger connections to the work opportunities awaiting credential earners so that the connection between education and personal benefits is clear. Indiana has built upon the lessons from the You Can. Go Back. website to launch the web portal for Workforce Ready Grant and other resources. This will result in a one-stop shop for Hoosiers seeking a wide range of education and training. After answering a few basic questions, users are directed to the right award, information, and, if necessary, application. Yet that build-out will not address the specialized supports adult students need, nor will it provide meaningful connections to employers. With additional funding, this site could be
developed into a lead generator for community partners and employers. This site, which collects contact information of potential students, could be shared (in accordance with privacy laws) with community partners that provide wrap around services. This would assist community-based organizations in conducting the high-touch outreach and support that adult students need. With this tool, community partners can identify and work with returning adults as well as adults who have expressed interest in going to college but have not done so. Both populations those who are returning and those who are considering returning can benefit from being connected to community-based organizations that specialize in adult education. Employers can use the lead generator to connect with adults who are interested in certain training programs, either to get to know potential employees or to help potential students understand the job opportunities waiting for them. These connections will help students draw connections between their training and employment. Hearing about and understanding the tangible outcome of their education can help motivate students to complete. Connections in the field can provide context for learning, can help students navigate their studies, and can help students find employment. The reasons that adult students start or return to college are varied, but any program that helps adults earn a credential should be paired with efforts to help them find better employment. Adult Learner 360 (Adult Student Assessment Survey) To create a more adult-friendly higher education system, institutions and third-party certificate providers will need to redesign their programs, offerings, and resources. Examples might include block scheduling, expanded hours to meet adults schedules, or even expanded child care offerings. To complement recent adult-focused financial aid reforms and the related marketing and outreach, the Commission intends to focus its attention on strengthening institutional support for Indiana s adult learners with the aid of the Adult Learner 360 toolkit developed by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL). (The Adult Learner 360 is an updated version of CAEL s previous survey, the Adult Learning-Focused Institution Assessment.) The Adult Learner 360 surveys are designed to help institutions evaluate their own adult student supports to improve enrollment, persistence, and success. The program is composed of two surveys: one for institutions and one for adult students at the institution in question. These surveys enable comparisons of institutional perceptions and adult student satisfaction with campus programs and practices. The results will: Help participating Indiana institutions determine how well they are currently serving their adult students with data-driven guidance for faculty, advisors and other key staff; Support the state in systematizing and scaling adult-focused policies across Indiana institutions; and
Inform statewide marketing and outreach strategies to increase recruitment, persistence and graduation of Indiana s adult students. The Commission proposes administering the Adult Learner 360 assessments to a representative sample of Indiana institutions based on demonstrated interest by the state s adult population. Specifically, the intended institutions include: the multi-campus Ivy Tech Community College System, Vincennes University, the Indianapolis University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus, Indiana Wesleyan University and WGU Indiana. Together, these institutions have garnered the greatest demand by the target population during the first phase of the You Can. Go Back. campaign while also encompassing the state s diverse array of postsecondary options. The selected institutions will be asked to participate in the survey process, which includes creating an institutional team, a pre-survey call with the team, and implementing a survey to their adult students. A written report that includes the survey results and outline the specific challenges, disconnects and strengths reported through an analysis of the surveys will be sent to each institution. Insights gleaned from the institutional assessments will be compiled into a state-level report that will provide the Commission, university leaders and state policymakers a foundation for determining the next steps in establishing a system-based approach to better serving adult learners. When viewed across a statewide group of institutions, the opportunities to build on strengths and meet challenges are scalable, enabling effective strategies to be enacted on a global basis rather than implemented singularly. The state-level report will highlight shared challenges across multiple institutions, suggest actionable activities that can be implemented through a comprehensive approach and identify opportunities to market to adult students in targeted and fiscally considerate ways. Expanded Services and Support Network Administrator Network To build off of the lessons learned from the Adult Learner 360 assessments, the Commission will develop an informal network of college and university administrators interested in assisting adult students. Through this network, the Commission will help facilitate the sharing of best practices and the piloting of new programs. In particular, the Commission will encourage administrators to develop mentorship services; identify computer labs and other spaces for adults to complete coursework; to apply for and manage the adult career development program grants; and to develop pilot programs for emergency aid and expanded service hours. The capstone to the development of this network will be a convening in fall of 2018 to share lessons learned and best practices. Mentors
Institutions will be encouraged to develop a volunteer mentor corps for adult students. These volunteers may be current institutional personnel, employers, potential employers, or other community members. Many of these volunteer mentors can be sourced from the lead generator that connects students with community partners and employers by turning these connections into more formal roles or by providing mentor training to the prospective mentors. Where possible, adult students will be connected to mentors who work in or with the same field the student is entering. If implemented, mentor training could provide volunteers with evidence-based research and the resources and knowledge they need to be successful. Research on adult students indicate that they may be more likely than traditional students to require intensive advising and coaching to complete programs. While volunteer mentors cannot fully replace professional mentors, these volunteers especially employers and employees in a student s field of study can help connect the training to future employment opportunities. Since the Workforce Ready Grant is designed for certificates that can be completed in one year or less, this connection to the end result is important, and the short time frame can make it easier for volunteers to get heavily involved. Adult Career Development Program Grants Indiana colleges and universities will be encouraged to develop more career programs focused on returning adult students. Often, career programs on campuses, especially at four-year institutions, are focused on students who are new to the world of work as opposed to career changers. Yet adults come back to college with different needs, outlooks, and work experiences. This will support efforts to make campuses more adult-friendly by providing programs targeted at adults needs. After taking the Adult Learner 360 assessment, campuses will be eligible for short-term grants to improve their adult career development. These improvements will be rigorously measured by pre-defined metrics and will be assessed semiannually. Identifying Available Lab and Study Space In addition to creating stronger connections for adult students through the lead generator site, the Commission will bolster the resources available onsite with employers and community partners. A quiet and convenient meeting space with the technology necessary to complete coursework is not always easy to find for adult learners at home or on campus. The Commission, along with institutions, will work with identified employer and community partners throughout the state who can provide, for free or for a nominal rental fee, adequate lab space for adult students in their organizations and communities. These spaces may be at places of employment or elsewhere, and can provide adult learners with the technologies they need or serve as places to meet and work with fellow students. The use of labs has proven successful in supporting the 21st Century Scholars population to meet their college and career
readiness requirements, and providing similar access to the adult population may yield similar positive results. Pilots for Emergency Aid and Expanded Services Some adult students could be one costly auto repair from having to pause their education indefinitely. The Commission will work with its partnering universities, employers and community partners to pilot emergency aid for these students to reduce non-education related financial barriers on a case by case basis. Grant funds will not be used for actual student aid but instead for developing programs, training personnel and monitoring these efforts. To assist the administrator network, the Commission will fund pilot programs for expanding services to better accommodate adult students constrained schedules and childcare needs. By adjusting schedules to broaden student service offerings primarily in the areas of advising, tutoring, childcare and registrar services in the evenings and on the weekends, institutions can better assist adults. Indiana will support existing efforts at colleges and universities and encourage more institutions to expand their delivery of these services with the goal of developing self-sustaining models of delivery. If the value of these expanded services can be demonstrated, the Commission anticipates that institutions will increase future funding for these efforts so that these pilot programs will become self-sustaining. Project Outcomes This project aligns with Lumina s priories to develop a system that prioritizes the completion of affordable, quality credentials; addresses unfair academic outcomes; and strengthens pathways to workforce certificates and other credentials for adults. This project will support and enhance the Commission s efforts to improve adult student recruitment, retention and graduation across the state in alignment with Indiana s 60 percent education attainment goal and Reaching Higher, Delivering Value strategic plan. These efforts in particular will help Indiana reach potential students who have not attained high quality degrees or certificates and assist them in earning credentials aligned with workforce needs. In the more immediate term, this project will help Indiana institutions identify areas to improve their adult supports, to sustainably scale best practices, and to better connect adult students with employers. As a whole, this project will foster an adult-friendly environment in Indiana s postsecondary institutions and draw connections between various adult-support practices. These lessons can then be used to inform additional institutions. Outcomes Measurement and Assessment The primary outcome associated with this grant will be higher completion rates for high quality certificates, along with more modest growth in associate degrees and, eventually, bachelor s degrees. The state-funded portion of this program, the actual grants, will help drive more adult
students to college, but the proposed Lumina-funded student supports will help these students persist and complete. Completion rates (certificates, associate, and bachelor s) will be measured and reported on an annual basis. Number of completions will also be reported. To help make sure these programs are focused on closing attainment gaps, these figures will be disaggregated by gender, race and ethnicity. Further, the final report will provide qualitative assessments on whether institutions have implemented or improved their services for adult students. Equity Imperative As the nation moves to a lifelong-learning model, adults will need to return to higher education periodically over their careers. Institutions must ensure that the attainment gap does not widen each time adults return to school. Although Indiana is making strides to close the attainment gap among young students currently in the educational pipeline, focusing on traditional-aged students does not close the gap among adult populations. This can only be done by helping adults return and complete a postsecondary credential. A successful adult promise program will attack the attainment gap where it is widest to create multi-generational change. This program is intended to serve those students that the educational system did not serve well the first time around, along with those who are most vulnerable in the current workforce. The following deliverables will be created. Targets and Deliverables Lead generator to connect adult promise applicants with community partners and potential employers and employer mentors Completed: March 31, 2018 Adult Learner 360 surveys Completed: July 1, 2018 Interim Report: Completed: September 1, 2018 Adult student best practices convening (One-Day Session) Completed: Fall 2018 Institutions develop plans for expanded service and emergency aid Completed: November 1, 2018 Final Report Completed: May 1, 2019 Communication
Progress on this project will be communicated through monthly updates. CHE staff welcome the opportunity to conduct regular phone conversations as well. Further, CHE staff will provide regular updates to other entities involved with adult promise programs, including SHEEO. Sustainability This project is designed to become self-sustaining. Once built, the lead generator that connects potential adult learners with community partners and employers can be sustained through normal state IT services or through other available funds for maintaining the site. The results of the Adult Learner 360 surveys will retain their value for several years and can act as a guide for institutions. A volunteer adult mentor corps, once launched, will continue to require resources, but these costs will be more in the form of time. Finally, a key to sustainability is to share best practices so that initiatives do not rest solely with a handful of administrators but instead are known broadly throughout the higher education community. A goal of this project is to explore or pilot initiatives that can help students and to develop proof of concept that these initiatives work and are sustainable. This will be accomplished through developing an adultsupport services network among institutional faculty and staff with periodic meetings and presentations and a one-day convening in late 2018.