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CLP Dual Enrollment Report includes CVHEC member campuses

March 30, 2022

Several Central Valley Higher Education Consortium-member institutions are highlighted in a recent Career Ladders Project (CLP) report designed to map the existing landscape of dual enrollment in the CVHEC’s region.

The report “provides an overview of the state of dual enrollment in the eight-county Central Valley region, with a focus on the nine college/high school dual enrollment partnerships in the service areas of the community foundations. Together, these partnerships represent nine community colleges and over 70 school districts, high schools, and charter schools.”

The participating CVHEC members were Bakersfield College, Clovis Community College, College of the Sequoias, Fresno City College, Madera College, Merced College, Modesto Junior College, Reedley College and San Joaquin Delta College.

The first part of the report profiles the partnership sites. Each profile includes a list of the college and K-12 partners, enrollment data broken out by race/ ethnicity, and challenges and promising practices identified through interviews with practitioners supporting students in dual enrollment.

The second part looks at common challenges and promising practices emerging across the region and distills them into thematic groupings.

“These themes offer insights into broad regional approaches and state policy changes needed to support expansion of equitable, quality dual enrollment,” the report explains.

The report was published March 22 at the request of several area foundations “seeking to expand dual enrollment as part of an overall postsecondary acceleration and completion strategy for students in the Central Valley” as the Governor’s proposed 2022-23 state budget calls for a significant investment in dual enrollment.

See the full CLP report.

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Bakersfield College Selected for Amazon’s Career Choice Program

March 29, 2022

CVHEC-member Bakersfield College is among more than 140 national and local universities selected by Amazon for a new program that offers its 750,000 hourly employees in the U.S. fully-funded college tuition.

Amazon’s announcement March 3 is part of the company’s ongoing enhancements to Career Choice – an upskilling program designed to help frontline employees grow their skills for career success at Amazon or elsewhere.

Bakersfield College is one of the nation’s oldest continually-operating community colleges, serving approximately 30,000 students annually on the 153-acre main campus in northeast Bakersfield and at multiple community and rural locations. Amazon is also partnering with GEDWorks and Smart Horizons to provide employees with free high school completion and GED preparation, Voxy EnGen and goFLUENT to provide English language proficiency training, and Outlier to provide college preparation courses – all for free.

Bakersfield College Interim President Zav Dadabhoy said he is thrilled to have this opportunity available for Amazon’s local workforce.

“Bakersfield College is here to support our entire community in many different ways,” Dr. Dadabhoy said. “While most students seek a college degree or certificate, many can improve their careers and earning potential through building skills that develop and ensure secure futures.”

He said through Amazon’s Career Choice Program, BC’s students will have the foundational support of steady employment while also working towards their personal academic goals: “All of us at Bakersfield College are thrilled to see the growing presence of Amazon in our community and look forward to a long and productive collaboration.”

As a champion of higher education, Bakersfield College’s expansive list of vocational, technical, and career-driven programs has captured attention statewide.

In 2015, the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office announced their selection of BC as one of 15 California colleges to pilot a four-year baccalaureate degree program in Industrial Automation. In May 2018, BC conferred its first BS degrees to the inaugural class and today, one of those initial graduates is employed by Amazon as a Senior Maintenance Manager, here in Kern County.

“Since its founding in 1913, Bakersfield College has been committed to expanding the skilled workforce of Kern County,” said Dr. Sonya Christian, chancellor of the Kern Community College District. “I am beyond proud of BC’s faculty and staff who continue to create pathways and forge innovative partnerships like this one with the Amazon Career Choice Program and by offering employees the opportunity to grow their skills for in-demand jobs of the future, Amazon is positively contributing to the overall wellness and success of Kern County and our community.”

For more information on Bakersfield College’s Career Choice Program, visit: https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/adult-education/amazon-career-choice-program.

See: Bakersfield College press release with additional information about Amazon’s educational programs and jobs.

  • KERO: Amazon partners with Bakersfield College to give employees access to education
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CHSU Suspends New Pharmacy Program Launch

March 28, 2022

California Health Sciences University has suspended the launch of a more rigorous, three-year Doctor of Pharmacy program, officials announced March 7 after the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education recently said three of the 25 standards required still need to be met.

CHSU President Flo Dunn said that achieving the three remaining ACPE standards is readily attainable. However, other factors ultimately determined the decision to suspend. Most notably, the growing scarcity of pharmacy jobs and a continuing local and nationwide decline in pharmacy school applications.

“We take our responsibility to build sustainable programs where future graduates have ample job opportunities very seriously,” President Dunn said. “We still believe local students need more accessible pharmacy education, and at the right time we might restart the pharmacy accreditation process. But for now, our priority is supporting the success of current pharmacy and medical students.”

Nearly 250 students have graduated from CHSU’s current, 4-year Doctor of Pharmacy program. But that program will be discontinued after graduation of the 2024 class.

The decision to suspend pursuit of the replacement 3-year pharmacy program, which CHSU had hoped to begin the  this fall, was made over in a series of meetings by CHSU’s trustees, founders, and top administration.

President Dunn said, “We are thoroughly committed to seeing our current pharmacy students become licensed and serve our region as professionals. We also plan to shift more focus into our medical program and begin exploring five other programs where the student demand and regional need are very high.”

Most pharmacy employees are being retained for the remainder of the program. Any pharmacy employee not staying until 2024, has the option to stay until the end of spring semester or a later designated date. We hope they consider applying for other open positions at the university, said President Dunn.

CHSU offers a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program that has nearly 200 students in its first two cohorts. A third cohort of more than 150 is expected to enter this fall. And as early as 2023, President Dunn said, the university could begin the process of adding the next healthcare specialty colleges, including a Master of Science degree program.

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CVHEC in the News: KSEE Central Valley Today Features Dual Enrollment

March 27, 2022

CVHEC’s dual enrollment measures were featured on KSEE-TV24’s Central Valley Today Program. Host Emily Erwin interviewed CHEC Executive Director Benjamin Duran and Nataly Frias, an alumnus of dual enrollment in Turlock and Merced College where she earned two associate degrees prior to high school graduation. Nataly is now a Fresno State junior majoring in psychology with an eye on the Nursing Program.

Watch the interview below.

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CVHEC Director’s Message: Overcoming the Pandemic for CVHEC Dual Enrollment Successes

March 26, 2022

Greetings colleagues,

What an extraordinary kick off to spring 2022 we have seen in the past week.

For the first time in two years, the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium and its partners came together in what one participant described as “a unique space where K-12 educators teamed up with higher education officials” during our Dual Enrollment Convening March 17 in downtown Fresno.

This convening accomplished many objectives, but one is for certain: we did not let the pandemic of the past two years get us down.

Not only did we reflect on the progress we accomplished via virtual existence the past 24 months but we also presented that story through our newest video premiered at the convening and which we reveal publicly in this issue of our e-newsletter – “Blurring the Lines Between High School and College: Dual Enrollment in the Central Valley.”

This video captures the success story of three Central Valley students who have made the most of the dual enrollment opportunity afforded to them: Nataly Frias of Turlock High School; Isaac Bates of Corcoran High; and Alicia Bias of Washington Union High in partnership with CVHEC members Merced College, College of the Sequoias and Fresno City College respectively. They are representative of the outstanding Central Valley students enrolled in dual enrollment college courses while in high school

It also features the advocacy of three dual enrollment champions: West Hills Community College Chancellor Kristen Clark; Merced College Pres Chris Vitelli; and McKenna Salazar, career engagement specialist for the Tulare County Office of Education – all articulating the value of dual enrollment for both the students and the campuses while helping close the equity gap.

And this was the spirit in force at the convening last week, aptly entitled “Establishing Dual Enrollment Pathways in the Central Valley.”

Nearly 140 educators assembled for three morning panels and three afternoon workshops to address challenges and barriers to dual enrollment success as well as review best practices with an eye on future strategies.

We are grateful to Dr. Mayra A. Lara, associate director of Educator Engagement for The Education Trust-West based in Oakland, for her presentation of her organization’s recent report, “Jumpstart California: A Roadmap for Equitable Dual Enrollment Policy & Practice.”  We are happy to have them join us as our newest partners.

Overall, we heard discussion and recommendations for such topics as Advanced Placement v. dual enrollment, weighted GPAs and aligning guided pathways with high school curriculum among other relevant issues.

We plan to have a full report on the convening’s outcomes in April that will lay the groundwork for our task force to continue its trajectory as leaders in dual enrollment.

But perhaps the highlight of the event was the inspiring student panel where the three aforementioned students featured in the video joined us along with a fourth panelist, Arlene Rocha, an alumna of Wonderful Prep Academy and Bakersfield College now completing master’s work at Fresno State and Emerson online.

The students elaborated on their individual dual enrollment experiences before fielding questions from the audience, showing a level of competence and professionalism to marvel. As our student participants, they represented why we do this sometimes overwhelming but satisfying educational work. I’m sure you all came away as satisfied as I was in seeing that our efforts have the concrete results these students demonstrate.

Equally commendable are all 136 convening participants who continued the CVHEC reputation for putting action into words: all the talking, research, and analyses – while important and must continue  – is irrelevant if we do not commit and execute meaningful measures as this group has done in recent years and has pledged to continue in the coming months.

Just as important, if not more so, this second convening demonstrated that our dual enrollment practitioners not only develop local solutions for a collaborative regional approach, but we also lead the way in advocating for state-level policy changes and investment for broader, systemic impact.

What the “CV-HEC” am I talking about? As we reviewed at last week’s convening, concrete results that came from our Zoom adventures of the past two years were:

  • Improvements in the CCCApply application process to the California Community College system. Our CVDEEP Task Force led the way in a statewide user group with the CCC Chancellor’s Office to redesign the application for student friendliness. While work continues on these improvements, we commend the chancellor’s team for listening to our dual enrollment advocates and acting expeditiously. The task force has established a promising road for solid results.
  • The Dual Enrollment Upskilling Teachers Master’s Program that provides access to state funding through the Fresno K-16 Collaborative. This initiative provides funds for high school English and math teachers to earn a master’s degree required for teaching college courses at their high school campus. We were especially pleased to see the examples of the accompanying mentor program in one of the convening panels.

So perhaps the real victory in all this is the undeniable demonstration by members of our CVDEEP Task Force — with  CVHEC member community colleges and K-16 partners — rising to the challenges they imposed on themselves at the first convening in 2020; identifying potential solutions; and collaborating relentlessly for these two concrete measures that help expand dual enrollment opportunities in the region.

And all this is only the tip of the iceberg. Wait until you see what we have planned for the upcoming CVHEC Legislative and Policy Summit May 5-6 when a historic occasion is revisited: the presidents and chancellors of the region’s 29 higher ed institutions convening to address issues relevant to pursuing our goal of improving the degree and certificate attainment rate for valley residents.

Nowhere else in the nation does a region’s higher education chief executives convene in the same room for a common cause. Keep an eye out for details in our next newsletter (and be sure to register for the summit by the April 29 deadline).

To all of you partnering with us in these endeavors – thank you. This is not about one organization. It’s about you and your collaborative efforts to serve students. This is YOUR consortium.

I hope you enjoy CVHEC’s new dual enrollment video. We encourage you to use it as you see fit in telling our dual enrollment success stories and advocating for improvements.  We look ahead to continuing our partnerships with each and every one of you.

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Taft College Centennial — Celebrating 100 Cougar Years

March 25, 2022

By EMMA GALLEGOS – Bakersfield.com

Feb 26, 2022

To mark its 100 years in the community, Taft College will be having a big party.

There have been and will continue to be events commemorating the 100th birthday all year, including a breakfast in January and a barbecue coming up in August. But March 26 will serve as the marquee event of the season: the Centennial Celebration Gala.

“We’re looking forward to dressing up and celebrating the college in our community,” said Taft College President and Superintendent Debra Daniels.

It will be an evening of music and good food, and also a time for alumni and community members to share their memories. Former offensive line coach for the New England Patriots Dante Scarnecchia will return to his alma mater as a special guest for the evening.

Taft College prides itself on being a small college that punches above its weight. This semester its unduplicated headcount is at 2,636.

That’s certainly true when it comes to athletic prowess. Scarnecchia is just one in a long line of alumni with impressive records that have taken them to the Olympics, NFL and MLB.

But Daniels said that just scratches the surface: One million people have been students of Taft College. They work in the college and serve as leaders in the community.

She says you can just look no further than the district’s board: president Kathy Cole and trustee Kathy Orrin, who also serves as executive director of the Taft Chamber of Commerce, are both alumni. Others include Bo Bravo, who works for Chevron, and Janice Ashley, who serves on the West Side Health Care District.

But Taft College’s origins are very humble. Like many of the oldest community colleges in California, Taft College’s first act began as a junior college that was essentially an extension of the high school.

On Aug. 30, 1922, Taft Union High School approved Taft Junior College, making it the 16th in California. The first faculty members were the heads of the high school departments, and the first dean was the high school principal.

Even 100 years ago, it was advertised not only as a way to save money on college expenses, but also as a way for parents to keep a closer eye on their young adult children.

“The fact that the student may be kept under the parental eye for two more years than is ordinarily the case and that the expense of text books and board is also saved is a large factor in making the junior college course desirable,” read a front-page article in The Bakersfield Californian.

On the first day of school, Sept. 15, there were 20 students enrolled at Taft Junior College. The first courses offered were in Spanish, French, Latin, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, physics, chemistry, astronomy, geography, public speaking, history, philosophy, economics, political science, hygiene and physical education.

The junior college would grow exponentially, especially after World War II, to the point that it required its own facilities and dorms, independent of the high school system. In 1962, it officially became an independent college district. In 1971, it would take on the name we know it by today: the West Kern Community College District.

The district has gone through highs and lows: the price of oil, California’s budget or bond measures funded by the community determined the fate of the campus. During a particularly painful period in the early 1990s, all athletic programs were cut. Most of them, save for the football and track programs, were eventually brought back.

It was during this lean period that the Taft College Foundation was formed. Since 1991, it has raised more than $5 million to support the district’s goals. It helped the college in key moments, such as securing the loan for the facility where the dental hygiene program was launched in 1993. Today it helps the college in a variety of ways, including through offering emergency funds for students or innovation grants for professors, Daniels said.

Bond measures have been key through the years. In 1961, a tax election for 50 cents was roundly defeated while the college was still under the auspices of the high school district. But in 1964, the newly-created district passed a 13.5-cent tax override with strong support. Subsequently, the campus was able to massively expand its infrastructure.

In 2004, the community supported Measure A, a $39.8 million general obligation bond measure. It funded the modernization or construction of new buildings, including the Student Center. It opened at the beginning of this school year, just days before students arrived on campus after almost two years in distance learning.

Education is a big piece of how the college gives back to the community, Daniels said.

“They start businesses, and they become great employees,” Daniels said.

For local students it literally is a gift through the Taft College Promise. All Taft Union and Maricopa High School students attend their first two years for free, and they are offered wraparound services such as counseling that make them more likely to succeed.

But Daniels said that Taft College is also one of the largest employers in the area. It provides jobs and contracts with local vendors. The college has always had strong support from the community.

“They come out to our events and take an interest in our school,” Daniels said.

She said she’s looking forward to welcoming the community for the Centennial festivities.

The Centennial Celebration Gala will be held at Taft College Student Center on March 26. The pre-party mixer will begin at 5:30 p.m. and the gala will start at 6:30. Tickets are $100 and can be purchased at https://bit.ly/3GoGplt

Reprinted from the Bakersfield.com. 

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CV-HEC BLOG: Heroic Students Who Are Also Mothers Deserve More Support

March 24, 2022
Kindergarteners do an art project at Redwood Heights Elementary School in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, June 4, 2014. (Photo by Alison Yin for EdSource).

For this month’s What the CV-HEC is Happening Blog, we share a recent Ed Source commentary written by Dr. Sonya Christian, chancellor of the Kern Community College District and member of the CVHEC Board of Directors, for Women’s Herstory Month advocating for student moms.

Every March, Women’s History Month prompts me to reflect on pressing issues facing women. This year, as vice chair of the California Community College Women’s Caucus, the issue of focus has been the support needed by our community college students who are also mothers.

For much of the last decade, I’ve been part of a generation of women and men who’ve succeeded in bringing more females into the leadership ranks of our state’s community college system. As of 2020, 42% of community college presidents and chancellors were women, the highest percentage in California history. In fact, this epic story is a mixture of both successes and of what clearly remains to be done — the mission continues. The notable but incremental progress within California community college’s is far from absolute, far from universal.

What remains true is that, whatever the context, student mothers remain among college students needing significant support.

According to a national study of postsecondary student aid, 22% of college students are parents, a group not divided equally between genders. A full 7 in 10 student parents are mothers, 62% of whom are single — compared with only 39% of student fathers who lack a spouse.

A study in the Journal of Higher Education found that student mothers have far less time available to devote to school — about 4.3 hours per week, on average. This “time poverty” is greatest among mothers of preschool-age children, who make up 56% of student parents. Student parents carry nearly twice the amount of student-loan debt as nonparent students. As a result, 52% drop out without earning a degree, compared with a 32% dropout rate among students without children.

Regardless, we must recognize that the accomplishments of our country’s student parents are nothing short of remarkable. Student parents consistently earn higher GPAs than students without children. A 2021 study found that, despite their lack of available time compared to students without children, student parents spent significantly more time on their education (after controlling for discretionary time) at the cost of far less free time for themselves.

Directing more resources to student mothers is not only an issue of gender equity but racial equity. Student parents are more likely to be students of color. Black students are the most likely to be parents, at 33%, and Black female students are most likely to be mothers, at 40%.

California Competes, a research and advocacy organization, concluded that declining high school completion rates over the next decade could leave businesses without enough educated workers. Their practical recommendations directly target student parents, including more availability of federal grants for low-income student parents, who typically don’t know of these options; more campus services such as child care; flexible schedules like offering more classes at night, weekends and online; and more supportive institutional designs.

The outdated picture of a male-breadwinner family is now faced with the reality that more women are in college and in the labor force than men, more mothers raise children alone than fathers, and 41% of mothers are the sole or primary breadwinners in their families, all while earning less than fathers.

At the Kern Community College District, most of our support for student mothers is from the state-funded Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education program, which was established to assist Extended Opportunity Programs and Services students who are single parents. More needs to be done.

Community colleges are “success incubators” for the marginalized. Seeing our student mothers and their needs clearly through data, through stories and through our commitment to meeting our basic goals indicates that investing in our student mothers, and especially student mothers of color, will produce great benefits to our society as a whole.

I am a big fan of Wonder Woman, particularly of Gal Gadot, the star of the most recent editions. Gadot’s character, Diana Prince, hails from a line of women warriors created by Olympian gods to protect mankind. At one point, when Diana finally defeats the evil Ludendorff, she’s confused at first why her victory does not end the war. She, like us, learns that the single victory is just a milestone in the long and arduous journey ahead; her mission continues. And so does our own.

For me, women’s history is an epic retelling of character and resilience, a long story of the struggle of women that provides context for Abigail Adams’ call to “remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them,” in 1776; for Susan B. Anthony’s founding of the Woman Suffrage Association in 1869, eventually leading to the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution recognizing in 1920 women’s right to vote.

For each milestone, I wonder how it can have taken so long?

See the original Ed Source post.

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Dual Enrollment Convening: Face-To-Face Space for K-12 and Higher Ed

March 23, 2022

Four valley students shared their dual enrollment success stories at the “Establishing Dual Enrollment Pathways in the Central Valley” Convening during a panel moderated by Merced College President Chris Vitelli, a CVHEC board member (center): Alicia Bias, Isaac Bates, Arlene Rocha and Nataly Frias.

CVHEC premieres new video at CVDEEP convening

‘Blurring the Lines Between High School and College:

Dual Enrollment in the Central Valley’

BY TOM URIBES
CVHEC Media/Communications Coordinator

More than 135 secondary and postsecondary educators assembled for the “Establishing Dual Enrollment Pathways in the Central Valley” Convening in downtown Fresno March 17 to address challenges and barriers to dual enrollment success.

They also heard four valley students share their success stories – including two who completed associate degrees before their high school graduation.

Presented by the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium and its Central Valley Dual Enrollment for Equity and Prosperity (CVDEEP) Task Force, the five-hour convening  at the DoubleTree By Hilton Hotel  also featured the premiere of CVHEC’s latest education video, “Blurring the Lines Between High School and College: Dual Enrollment in the Central Valley.” (See related story this issue).

Dr. Mayra A. Lara, associate director of Educator Engagement for The Education Trust-West based in Oakland,  discussed her organization’s recent report, “Jumpstart California: A Roadmap for Equitable Dual Enrollment Policy & Practice.”

While many concrete and soul-searching discussions arose from three morning sessions and three afternoon sessions, the highlight of the event was the panel of four students discussing their dual enrollment experience:

  • Arlene Rocha, who earned an associate degree from Bakersfield College at age 17 while attending Wonderful Prep Academy in Delano before earning a bachelor’s degree at Fresno State by age 19, is now enrolled in the Emerson College Master’s Program online as well as the Speech Language Pathology Assistants Certification Program at Fresno State. She mapped out a rigorous and challenging — but “fun” — dual enrollment program for all four years of high school that led to 375 credits (250 required for graduation) and a 4.18 GPA.
  • Nataly Frias, who earned two associate degrees from Merced College at age 18 while at Turlock High School and is now enrolled in upper-division courses for a degree in psychology at Fresno State. She said more schools should promote dual enrollment and ensure college credit is given;
  • Isaac Bates, a Corcoran High School senior currently enrolled in dual enrollment courses from College of the Sequoias, said he was able to get college credit for his dual enrollment classes while his friends in Advanced Placement did not;
  • Alicia Bias, a Washington Union High School senior taking Fresno City College courses where she is completing clinical labs for a medical assisting certification.

Nataly was accompanied by her parents Anthony Frias, who is a counselor at Modesto Junior College, and Sabrina Frias, a counselor at Merced College.  Alicia’s mother Valerie Saenz accompanied her. All were welcomed warmly by the educators in attendance.

CVHEC Executive Director Benjamín Durán said “perhaps the highlight of the event was the inspiring student panel where the  students elaborated on their individual dual enrollment experiences before fielding questions from the audience, showing a level of competence and professionalism to marvel.

“As our student participants, they represented why we do this sometimes overwhelming but satisfying educational work,” Durán said. “It was very  satisfying to see that our efforts have the concrete results these students demonstrate.”

He also commended all 136 convening participants “who continued the CVHEC reputation for putting action into words.

“All the talking, research, and analyses – while important and must continue  – are irrelevant if we do not commit and execute meaningful measures as this group has done in recent years and has pledged to continue in the coming months.”

Durán added that this second “annual” convening “demonstrated that our dual enrollment practitioners not only develop local solutions for a collaborative regional approach, but we also lead the way in advocating for state-level policy changes and investment for broader, systemic impact.”

In his opening remarks at the convening, Durán reviewed concrete results that were recommended at the first CVDEEP gathering in 2020 and progress in the two years since:

  • Improvements in the CCCApply application process to the California Community College system.

“Our CVDEEP Task Force led the way statewide in collaborating with the CCC Chancellor’s Office to redesign the application for student friendliness,” he noted.  “While work continues on these improvements, we commend the chancellor’s team for listening to our dual enrollment advocates and acting expeditiously. The task force has established a promising road for solid results.”

  • The Dual Enrollment Upskilling Teachers Master’s Program that provides access to state funding through the Fresno K-16 Collaborative for high school English and math teachers to earn a master’s degree required for teaching college courses at their high school campus.

“We were especially pleased to see the examples of the accompanying master’s Mentor Program in one of the convening panels,” Durán said.

“The real victory in all this is the undeniable demonstration by members of our CVDEEP Task Force — with  CVHEC member community colleges and K-16 partners — rising to the challenges they imposed on themselves at the first convening in 2020; identifying potential solutions; and collaborating relentlessly for these two concrete measures that help expand dual enrollment opportunities in the region,” he added.

“And a wonderful by-product from these interactions is that we are all learning from each other here in the Central Valley.”

Martín Macías, superintendent of Golden Plains Unified School District in San Joaquin who spoke on the panel “Meaningful Dual Enrollment Pathways in the Central Valley,” commended the task force because the convening “facilitated ways to provide access to the students with the greatest needs (our valley) and by helping us come to the table and share practices that are providing positive results systemically.”

A full report detailing recommendations from the sessions will be forthcoming in April.

See related links:

CVDEEP Convening event website

Full press release announcing the convening  

BACKGROUND

In 2016, a new dual enrollment option was introduced through Assembly Bill (AB) 288, amending Education Code (EC) 76004, and creating the College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP). This legislation enabled more high school students to take college courses taught by college professors on their high school campuses.  California AB 30, signed by Governor Newsome in October 2019, expands and protects dual enrollment through 2027.  

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New CVHEC Video: ‘Blurring the Lines Between High School and College: Dual Enrollment in the Central Valley’

March 22, 2022

The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium released its latest education video this week, “Blurring the Lines Between High School and College: Dual Enrollment in the Central Valley.”

The five-minute video, which premiered publicly at CVHEC’s Dual Enrollment Convening March 17, depicts three student success stories as well as three area educators advocating for dual enrollment. It highlights the need for intersegmental collaboration in providing dual enrollment opportunities for all students as a way not only to help students get a jumpstart on their college education – saving costs and time – but also to help close the equity gap.

The video presents Dr. Kristin Clark, chancellor of the West Hills Community College District and chair of the CVHEC board of directors; Dr. Chris Vitelli, president/superintendent of Merced College; and McKenna Salazar, college and career engagement specialist for the Tulare County Office of Education.

Three students featured included one, Nataly Frias, who earned an associate degree from Merced College last May at age 18 a few weeks before receiving her Turlock High School diploma and is now enrolled in upper-division courses for a degree in psychology at Fresno State. Nataly was also featured in the CVHEC e-newsletter in September.

The other two students are currently enrolled in high school and shared their experience with dual enrollment as they learn the challenges and benefits of college courses: Isaac Bates, a Corcoran High School senior taking dual enrollment courses from College of the Sequoias; and Alicia Bias, a Washington Union High School senior taking Fresno City College courses where she is completing clinical labs for a medical assisting certification.

The three also made a live appearance at last week’s CVDEEP convening serving on the student panel sharing their experiences, moderated by President Vitelli.

CVHEC Executive Director Benjamín Durán said this video articulates the value of dual enrollment for both the students and the campuses while helping close the equity gap.

“The video portrays the success story of three Central Valley students who have made the most of the dual enrollment opportunity afforded to them,” Duran said. “They represent why we do this sometimes overwhelming but satisfying educational work and it’s satisfying seeing that our efforts have the concrete results these students demonstrate.”

He said the CVHEC video is available for use by anyone who wishes to help promote the value of dual enrollment: https://bit.ly/CVHECeNewsMARCH22.

The video project was coordinated by Tom Uribes, CVHEC media and communications specialist and retired Fresno State public information officer, and produced by the Fenceline Media crew of Fresno area journalists Juanita Stephenson and Justin Davis.

See the CVHEC Dual Enrollment video

https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Blog-Tn10.jpg 495 800 Pablo https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/CVHEC-Logo-Primary-Color-Medium-e1728590737483.png Pablo2022-03-22 14:58:322023-02-15 13:19:05New CVHEC Video: ‘Blurring the Lines Between High School and College: Dual Enrollment in the Central Valley’

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