[ad_1]
Kentucky’s instructional North Star is the 60 by 30 attainment objective—to have 60 p.c of our working-age inhabitants with a level or credential by the yr 2030. This objective, developed by way of intensive knowledge evaluation, is targeted on growing a extremely expert workforce to maintain the state’s economic system thriving. We have now made loads of progress in the direction of that objective, however now we have extra work to do. And a few of this essential work facilities round selling and facilitating the switch of scholars and credit amongst establishments.
Switch has all the time been a significant aspect of the work of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Training (CPE). It’s one of many targets within the statewide postsecondary schooling strategic agenda, in addition to a major statutory obligation. For the previous decade, by way of laws and coverage, CPE has simplified the switch course of in essential methods:
- We’ve created a statewide basic schooling core of 30 credit score hours which can be accepted for switch at any public establishment. Kentucky departs from the everyday course-to-course comparisons as a foundation for switch and as an alternative focuses on the acquisition of recognized studying outcomes, thus growing flexibility in course switch.
- We’ve created pointers for awarding credit score earned exterior of a faculty classroom. State regulation requires faculty credit score for college students who rating 3 or larger on AP exams, and now we have labored with establishments to establish course equivalencies for CLEP, Worldwide Baccalaureate, Cambridge Worldwide and DSST exams as effectively. We additionally developed guiding ideas for awarding army credit score and inspiring the transferability of credit score earned by way of army expertise from one establishment to a different.
- We’ve created checks and balances within the system. State coverage requires establishments to inform CPE of any adjustments in applications or studying outcomes that might probably have an effect on transferability.
- Group and technical schools work with universities on diploma pathways that define the suitable programs on the neighborhood faculty degree that may switch towards credit wanted to meet necessities for a bachelor’s diploma at a state college.
Whereas now we have strong state insurance policies in place, we all know that college students don’t usually take care of state coverage. What they learn about switch is their campus experiences. And we all know that there are course of obstacles that get in the best way of seamless switch. That’s the reason CPE is working with public establishments to create a brand new statewide switch course of technique to be unveiled at our annual Scholar Success Summit in February. This technique will give attention to scholar wants, construct on institutional collaborations and intention to take away obstacles to the switch course of.
To be student-focused, we should hear from college students. By CPE’s Kentucky Scholar Success Collaborative, now we have recruited scholar voice interns to assemble essential suggestions and perspective from a various group of scholars to assist inform the statewide technique. We additionally plan to work with campuses to do scholar journey mapping to higher perceive the switch course of from a scholar’s standpoint.
Every bit of this technique is being developed by way of an fairness lens. As an example, we’re in search of coverage and course of obstacles that will have disproportionate influence on some scholar populations. We’re disaggregating knowledge to look at how insurance policies and processes influence particular scholar populations. We have to meet the scholars the place they’re, assist them transfer from one establishment to a different and graduate with a bachelor’s diploma. Whereas doing this, we will’t ignore the wants of underresourced college students, traditionally underserved college students, first-generation college students, scholar dad and mom and dealing college students.
Whereas the technique shouldn’t be finalized, some probably actions are effervescent to the highest. One doable motion is to increase our use of enchancment science to establish and tackle transfer-related points. By participation in a NASH Enchancment Group, now we have utilized steady enchancment science methodology to create fast cycles of enchancment. Working with two switch companion establishments, this fast enchancment course of has recognized comparatively low-cost methods to simplify the switch course of in just some quick months. As an example, we found that switch college students had been being assigned to school advisers, who weren’t available in the summertime. By assigning college students to skilled advisers, these advisers had been capable of attain out extra shortly and extra switch college students had been capable of efficiently enroll and register on the college.
One other student-focused aspect of the technique is a brand new switch web site to be unveiled in February. This web site will function a central repository of diploma necessities for each public program within the state, together with switch pathways linking these diploma applications. By this web site, a scholar (or adviser) can apply prior coursework, similar to twin credit score from highschool and programs taken at their present establishment, to map out the best way to full any program within the state. Merely put, it’s going to function a casual diploma audit of kinds that college students can full earlier than enrolling at an establishment.
Along with these student-facing features, the expertise behind the web site may also help college assemble switch pathways from affiliate diploma applications to baccalaureate applications by figuring out curricular commonality and essentially the most environment friendly paths to baccalaureate completion. That’s, it may assist college higher perceive how their curriculum compares with comparable diploma applications at different establishments and the way these variations can have an effect on switch college students. And the expertise may present the infrastructure wanted to create statewide switch pathways slightly than institution-specific ones, thus simplifying the switch course of for these diploma applications.
There’s loads of work round switch in Kentucky. We’re figuring out obstacles, addressing them head-on and offering technological options to assist college and employees construct switch pathways which can be logical, scaffolded, equitable and environment friendly. This similar expertise may also help college students perceive how their present credit may be utilized to any diploma program within the state, enabling them to make higher knowledgeable selections about which establishments and applications finest meet their wants. Our statewide insurance policies are robust, and we’re dedicated to serving to establishments make this coverage implementation and the switch course of so simple as doable.
[ad_2]
