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‘What the CV-HEC is Happening’ Blog (Summer 2025): Dr. Brandon Protas, Complete College America

August 8, 2025

For this summer edition of our “What the CV-HEC is Happening” blog, we feature Dr. Brandon Protas, assistant vice president for Alliance Engagement for Complete College America (CCA) based in Indianapolis. The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) is one of 53 affiliates — states, systems and consortia — participating in the CCA Alliance nationwide. Dr. Protas, who resides in Colorado, was invited to Fresno for the CVHEC Summit in May to present on the panel, “Data at Every Level: Sharing National, State and Local Insights” (above). He addressed national trends in higher education, college completion rates and his higher education experiences nationwide. In this blog, Dr. Protas shares observations from the summit noting that CVHEC is a national model for strengthening higher education’s impact through unity and collaboration and the summit served as a clarion call in today’s climate of hostility against diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility as well as undocumented students. CCA is now preparing for its national conference set for Nov. 17-19 in Baltimore that is attended by a CVHEC delegation.

Reflections from the CVHEC Summit 2025: regional unity and collaboration

a national model for strengthening higher education impact

 

DR. BRANDON PROTAS

Assistant Vice President for Alliance Engagement

Complete College America

I was honored to participate in the 2025 Central Valley Higher Education Summit which showcased the remarkable power of collaboration across California’s educational sectors May 8 and 9 in Fresno.

It was my first visit to this Central California city and the annual summit that is presented by the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium that comprises 28 institutions of higher education in the 10- county region. The consortium is a partner in the Complete College America alliance.

The time in fellowship I experienced at the 2025 CVHEC Summit highlighted the collaborative approach of the Central Valley region and serves as a national model for strengthening higher education’s impact through unity and collaboration.

I saw first-hand how the Central Valley higher education momentum that emerged over those two days (the first day was a reception alive with genuine fellowship) provides an essential force to the nationwide movement for increased attainment rates.

In the West, the Central Valley stands out in its approach to higher education, illustrated by opening comments from University of California, Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz and chair of the CVHEC Board of Directors who noted this gathering was a reflection of how the colleges and universities operate together in the region through a spirit of cooperation rather than competition.

The building of solutions among the state’s four segments of higher education – the California Community Colleges, the California State University, the University of California, the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities — played out throughout the summit and is a model worthy of attention.

For example, the Central Valley is focused on a number of pathway programs to open opportunities for students with multiple points of entry and connection. This includes dual enrollment initiatives, the Math Bridge Project, and the Transfer Project with its Program Pathways Mapper app for students, all of which were highlighted as essential tools for student success. These initiatives exemplify the region’s leadership in creating seamless educational journeys for students. This impact was reinforced by a panel of students whose testimony reminded us that their successes are direct outcomes of these programs.

Another theme of the summit was noted by Dr. Carole Goldsmith, chancellor of the State Center Community College District, who captured the essence of the event when she observed that a gathering like this has a restorative power for educators to draw strength from each other.

This sentiment resonates deeply in today’s challenging educational landscape and is paired with the importance of constructing and maintaining unified messaging.

For example, the transformative impact of financial aid on students’ ability to achieve their postsecondary goals is at risk. The billions of dollars of financial aid that students across the state receive not only impacts individual lives but also strengthens institutions and regional economies. By bringing together the power of the collective whole, the region can stay strong and advocate for policies that do support rather than harm students.

A powerful call-to-action that emerged throughout the summit is to amplify student stories, demonstrate higher education’s local economic impact, and preserve support programs that enhance student wellbeing. We heard that the Central Valley has only become more excellent as it has become more diverse.

This serves as a clarion call in today’s climate of hostility against diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility as well as undocumented students. As was noted in the summit, California is and has been compliant with state and federal laws on these issues. The law hasn’t changed, and therefore neither should the practices that support students.

CCA looks forward to continued collaboration with our alliance partner CVHEC as we work on various national initiatives together enroute to our national conference Nov. 17 in Baltimore.

(CVHEC blog submissions are welcome for consideration: Tom Uribes, cvheccommunications@mail.fresnostate.edu).

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MEMBER NEWS: Record dual enrollment grads at Coalinga College

August 8, 2025
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HIGHER ED NEWS: Dual enrollment growing but access gaps linger

June 4, 2025
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California’s four higher ed systems to present at CVHEC Summit 2025

April 17, 2025

May 9 summit also features legislative update

from the region’s five Congressional reps

 

SUMMIT UPDATES:

• Attorney General Rob Bonta’s “Higher Education & Justice Virtual Forum” at CVHEC Summit May 9

• REGISTRATION CLOSED (waitlist open)

BY TOM URIBES
CVHEC Communications/Media Coordinator

Representatives from California’s four systems of higher education will tackle pressing issues facing colleges across the nation in the keynote panel for the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Summit 2025  next month in Fresno under the theme “Navigating Higher Education in a New Era – The Central Valley Way.”

Panelists – including a conversation with legislative members from the US House of Representatives, senate and state assembly – have been announced for the summit set for Friday, May 9, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel (2233 Cesar Chavez Blvd.).

At the summit, the chancellors, presidents and campus directors of 28 valley universities and colleges making up the consortium membership will convene with the higher education system representatives and Congressional representatives as well as other legislators, educators, partner representatives and policy makers to address pressing issues as well as hear from a student panel.

The keynote panel, “Stronger Together: Aligning Systems for Equitable Outcomes,” from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m., will feature key representatives of the state’s four higher education systems: California Community Colleges, California State University, University of California and the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities.

For the legislators update panel “The Path Forward: Higher Ed Policy and the New Administration” at 1:15 p.m., panelists will address issues surrounding abrupt changes and imperiled federal funding, said Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director.

He said this year’s event will have a different focus than previous years.

“With the dismantling of the Department of Education and wholesale severance of federal funds, higher education now faces perhaps its biggest challenge in the nation’s history,” Durán said.

“Now, as massive ongoing policy and program changes hit, we find it imperative that our region’s university and college leaders deliberate critically but thoughtfully with legislators, policy makers and other educators in general to share our perspectives in search of concrete solutions for the benefit of our student populations. We must act judiciously. Our 2025 summit, with leaders from the state’s higher ed systems and our Congressional representatives  sets the stage for this interaction.”

About 150 participants are expected to attend the summit that is open to the public with free registration compliments of the College Futures Foundation, event sponsor. Breakfast and lunch are included with the registration.

The quarterly meeting of the CVHEC Board of Directors – the chancellors, presidents and campus directors of the consortium’s 28 member colleges and universities in the ten-county region from San Joaquin to Kern – will precede the summit the day before along with the CVHEC Welcome Reception from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. featuring the Fresno State Latin Jazz Ensemble (Thursday, May 8).

The summit features five 45-minute sessions. Members of the CVHEC Board will provide panel introductions and serve as moderators.

Dr. Juan Muñoz, UC Merced chancellor and chair of the CVHEC Board of Directors, will open the summit at 9 a.m. with a board welcome followed by Durán reviewing the summit agenda.

The keynote panel, “Stronger Together: Aligning Systems for Equitable Outcomes,” from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m., will be moderated by State Center Community College District Chancellor Carole Goldsmith after CSU Stanislaus President Britt Rios-Ellis introduces the panel:

  • Rowena M. Tomaneng, California Community Colleges deputy chancellor;
  • Nathan Dietrich, California State University assistant vice chancellor of University Relations and Advancement;
  • Yvette Gullatt, University of California vice president for Graduate and Undergraduate Affairs, vice provost for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and chief diversity officer;
  • Alex Graves, Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities vice president for Government Relations.

“This year’s CVHEC summit will give our systems panelists, as well as all the panelists, the opportunity to share their thoughts on these tumultuous times and help lay foundation to unite for formidable action,” said Durán, who is superintendent/president-emeritus of Merced College, serving on the CVHEC Board during that tenure from 1998-2012. He became the consortium executive director in 2015.

A panel featuring student testimony, “In Their Words: Real Students Talking about Central Valley Strategies,” follows from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. facilitated by Lemoore College President James Preston. Columbia College President Lena Tran will introduce the student panelists.

The third panel, “Data at Every Level: Sharing National, State, and Local Insights,” will be moderated by Merced College President Chris Vitelli.  Kern Community College District Chancellor Steven Bloomberg will introduce the panelists:

  • Brandon Protas, assistant vice president for Alliance Engagement for the national higher education advocacy organization, Complete College America;
  • Hans Johnson, senior fellow for the Public Policy Institute of California;
  • Zenaida Aguirre-Muñoz, principal investigator of the UC Merced Advancing Educational Opportunity in the Central Valley Project;
  • Orquidea Largo, interim associate vice chancellor – UC Merced Center for Educational Partnerships.

After lunch, the legislative update panel, “The Path Forward: Higher Ed Policy and the New Administration,” from 12:30 – 1:15 p.m. will be moderated by Chancellor Muñoz after Porterville College President Primavera Monarrez introduces the panelists serving in the United States Congress and the State Legislature.

Congressmembers Jim Costa (21st District) and Adam Gray (13th District) and California State Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria (District 27) will present in-person updates regarding the elected officials’ efforts to address such issues as federal funding cuts and student concerns amidst deportation and other immigration actions by the Administration that took office in January.

At 2 p..m. Attorney General Rob Bonta will Zoom in for the “Higher Education & Justice Virtual Forum.”

The final panel before the closing session, “What the CVHEC is Happening in the Central Valley,” from 1:45 to 2:30 p.m. will be moderated by Durán after Fresno Pacific University President André Stephens introduces the panelists:

  • James Zimmerman, UC Merced, will discuss the Central Valley Transfer Project with an update since its designation as a California Community Colleges Demonstration Project was announced at the 2023 CVHEC Summit.
  • Kristin Clark, CVHEC Dual Enrollment lead, will discuss dual enrollment models; data showing how the Central Valley leads the state; and the CVHEC Master’s Upskilling Project’s collaboration with K-16 partners and how 250 high school teachers are projected by 2026 to earn the graduate degree required to teach dual enrollment courses at their respective campuses.
  • Lynn Cevallos, president/founder of College Bridge, will discuss the Central Valley Math Bridge project in partnership with CVHEC community college members and K-16 partners.

For the summit’s Closing Comments session, “Where Do We Go from Here?” from 2:30 to 3 p.m., Durán will discuss plans for a regional data project and a campaign to support former students seeking to complete degree requirements, the Central Valley Reconnect Project.

“This year’s CVHEC summit attendees will leave with a good understanding of the work Central Valley higher education institutions have been doing,” Duran said.  “They will also be introduced to some new initiatives like the Reconnect Project, which will reach out to those students who left their studies before completing their degrees and certificates.  This project alone will go a long way in lifting the economic and educational wellbeing of the Central Valley.”

 See:

Panelist bios

Welcome Reception May 8

 

  • Event questions: contact Ángel Ramírez, CVHEC operations and finance manager, at angelr@csufresno.edu or 278.0576.
  • Media inquiries:Tom Uribes, CVHEC communications lead text 559.348.3278 or cvheccommunications@mail.fresnostate.edu 
  • For event updates: see the Summit event page,subscribe to the free CVHEC monthly e-newsletter or visit CVHEC social media platforms.

 

 

ABOUT CVHEC

The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) is a California non-profit made up of 28-instutitions of higher education in the ten-county region from San Joaquin to Kern that is the size of some states. Through CVHEC, higher education professionals and academicians in the Central Valley address difficult and complex initiatives, scaling them up across the region for mutual effectiveness to serve our students and communities.  

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‘What the CV-HEC is Happening’ Blog: Dr. Kristin Clark  

April 17, 2025

This edition of the “What the CV-HEC is Happening” Blog features Dr. Kristin Clark, chancellor-emeritus of the West Hills Community College District, who in March came out of short-lived  retirement to  join the CVHEC team as dual enrollment lead, announced in our March issue by Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director. Here Dr. Clark provides some insight into this bold move to throw down the retirement mantle and resume her “commitment to higher education, particularly in support of those who have been marginalized and underserved.” For more information about partnering with CVHEC’s dual enrollment team, contact us at CVHECinfo@mail.fresnostate.edu.  (CVHEC blog submissions are welcome for consideration: Tom Uribes, cvheccommunications@mail.fresnostate.edu).

 Retired, but not expired: a higher ed encore

BY DR. KRISTIN CLARK

CVHEC Dual Enrollment Lead

Chancellor-emeritus, West Hills Community College District

In August 2024, after 30 years in higher education, I made the difficult decision to retire so I could focus on traveling, spending more time with family and doing things I love — like flying and gardening. Some people said I was “too young to retire,” and although I retired earlier than most, my passion for education — and my belief that it is the gateway to freedom — will never wane.

My career has been driven by a deep commitment to expanding access to education, supporting student success and promoting economic opportunity in my community. Even in retirement, I was certain I would remain engaged in this important work in a meaningful way.

After a two-month adventure across Switzerland, France, Portugal and Spain with my husband, I’m eager to re-engage in the field I love. My commitment to higher education, particularly in support of those who have been marginalized and underserved, remains unwavering. I’ve always believed that education is the key to personal freedom — it gives people the power to shape their own futures rather than having circumstances dictate them.

More broadly, education is the cornerstone of our democracy — it empowers

individuals, strengthens communities and fuels economic mobility. As a first-generation college graduate who took a non-traditional path through education and my career, I understand first-hand both the transformative power of learning and the barriers many students face in achieving their goals.

The Central Valley’s unique challenges and strengths

In the Central Valley, these challenges are especially pronounced. Many students face financial insecurity, limited access to educational opportunities, family responsibilities and even basic logistical barriers like transportation. Just as I was fortunate to have mentors who guided and encouraged me, I believe we share a responsibility to ensure that every student has the support, resources and motivation they need to succeed.

One of the greatest strengths of the Central Valley’s higher education landscape is its collaborative leadership. The region’s college and university CEOs are some of the most innovative and student-centered leaders in the country. Over the past few months, I’ve missed the dynamic exchanges and strategic problem-solving that happen when visionary leaders come together to drive student success.

As a consortium, we’ve been laser-focused on student-centered strategies that lead to degree completion and upward economic mobility — goals that remain as critical as ever. And I still want to be involved.

The power of collaboration

In today’s increasingly complex and politically charged environment, higher education leaders face immense challenges in balancing a myriad of priorities while keeping students at the center.

That’s why collaboration is more important than ever. Organizations like the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) play a vital role in supporting institutional leaders by providing research, resources, and a collaborative space to drive systemic change.

I believe that by working together, we can push the envelope to pursue bold and innovative initiatives that remove barriers for students, enhance economic development, and strengthen our workforce. I want to be part of innovative initiatives that produce real, measurable outcomes.

Taking action: expanding and supporting dual enrollment

One of my first projects in this new chapter is helping expand and support dual enrollment — a proven tool for improving college access and success.  Research shows that dual enrollment increases college participation and success, and it provides students with the confidence and momentum to continue their education beyond high school.

With that in mind, I’m excited to join CVHEC as a core team member and work alongside Elaine Cash, CVHEC members, K-12 partners and other education leaders to develop a dual enrollment playbook. This resource will highlight best practices and provide much-needed guidance for our partners, helping to streamline pathways, address equity gaps and create more opportunities for students to get a head start on their college journey.

If you have ideas for this playbook, please reach out. Elaine and I are listening.

Looking ahead

The challenges ahead are significant, and as a recently retired administrator, I understand the competing demands and pressures that today’s higher education leaders face. That’s why I’m committed to playing a supporting role in regional projects — offering my experience, passion and insight to help our institutions and leaders navigate these challenges and create lasting change.

I care deeply about our region and believe that through collaboration, innovation and an unwavering commitment to student success, we can create a future where every learner can achieve their dreams.

I’m excited for what’s ahead and honored to be part of this work. Most of all, I’m thrilled to continue working with some of my favorite colleagues, Central Valley leaders, who share my passion for education and are dedicated to making a difference.

Let’s get to work! I hope to see many of you at the upcoming Higher Education Summit as well!

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MEMBER NEWS: Coalinga College: OER Teaching  and Learning Forum is May 16

April 17, 2025

 

‘A morning of learning and strategizing about OERs’ – Goldrick-Rab to keynote

The Teaching and Learning Forum “Relevance & Application through Open Education Resources (OER)” will be presented by Coalinga College May 16 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Harris Ranch in Coalinga (24505 W. Dorris Ave).

Sociologist Sara Goldrick-Rab will keynote the event designed to provide a morning of learning and strategizing about OERs. The event is funded through the Fresno Madera K-16 Collaborative.

The forum will feature students addressing barriers and fostering belonging and support

Participants will explore how OER enhances student access, affordability, and success;  hear from faculty about their experiences developing and using OER;  engage in meaningful discussions on the impact of OER in teaching and learning; and discover strategies to integrate OER into your courses effectively.

Goldrick-Rab is a scholar-activist who founded the #RealCollege movement “to support students’ basic needs and advance a more just vision of higher education.”

Her website describes  #RealCollege as a global movement dedicated to addressing the challenges faced by college students:

“The work focuses on raising awareness about the real-life experiences and struggles of students, especially those from marginalized communities. It highlights often-overlooked issues reflecting students’ basic needs— food and housing insecurity, mental health, child care, transportation, and so on.   The goal is to amplify students voices, foster dialogue, and drive systemic change in higher education institutions and public policies.”

Among her activism is spending six years learning from the experiences of thousands of low-income college students and writing an award-winning book, “Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream” (University of Chicago, 2016).

Register.

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SPOTLIGHT • April 2025: TRANSCRIPT – CDE podcast featuring CVHEC 

April 17, 2025

Dual Enrollment Week 2025 promotion by the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium includes an excerpt of the California Dept. of Education podcast, “The Bridge to Success: Navigating Dual Enrollment” by Diane Crum at the California Dual Enrollment Equity Conference in Feb. 25 with Ángel Ramírez, CVHEC Operations & Finance manager; Ginny Sandhu, Sunnyside High School (Fresno Unified) English teacher; and Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director.  Aired March 6. See full transcript.

‘The Bridge to Success: Navigating Dual Enrollment’ –  CDE TRANSCRIPT

(CADEP Conference 2025)

This issue, we spotlight the transcript for the California Department of Education podcast “Bridge to Success: Navigating Dual Enrollment” recorded Feb. 25 at the California Dual Enrollment Equity Conference featuring members of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium delegation.

Interviewed and sharing our dual enrollment initiatives at the third annual statewide conference held Feb. 23-26 in Sacramento were Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director; Ángel Ramírez, CVHEC Operations & Finance manager, Ginny Sandhu, Sunnyside High School (Fresno Unifed) teacher who earned qualification to teach dual enrollment through CVHEC’s Master’s Upskilling Program.

Diane Crum of CDE and Tom Uribes, CVHEC communications/media coordinator.

The podcast by Diane Crum, Education Programs consultant in CDE’s High School Innovations and Initiatives Office, explores dual enrollment success stories from around the state of California. She dives into inspiring stories, best practices and expert insights to help students bridge the gap between high school and college.

“We appreciate the work Diane is doing through this CDE podcast with a component at the California Dual Enrollment Equity Conference for participants to share their respective dual enrollment stories,” said Tom Uribes, CVHEC communications coordinator.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bridge-to-success-navigating-dual-enrollment/id1764644024

 “Bridge to Success: Navigating Dual Enrollment” Podcast

Episode 11: Interview with CVHEC

Feb. 25, 2025 – California Dual Enrollment Equity Conference  (Sacramento CA)

CADEP • CLP • EdTrustWest

https://bit.ly/CDEpodcast-CVHECdualenrollment

 

Bridge to Success Navigating Dual Enrollment the bridge to success navigating dual enrollment podcasts explores dual enrollment success stories from around the state of California we will dive into inspiring stories best practices and expert insights to help students the gap between high school and college

 

Diane meets up with members of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium at the California Dual Enrollment Equity Conference. They discuss the consortium’s initiative of providing funding to Math and English teachers to obtain their Master’s Degrees to teach dual enrollment courses.

[Diane Crum]

Welcome to the Bridge to Success, Navigating Dual Enrollment podcast, where we explore dual enrollment success stories from around the state. I’m your host, Diane Crum, Education Programs Consultant from the California Department of Education. Join us as we dive into inspiring stories, best practices, and expert insights to help students bridge the gap between high school and college.

Hello, today I am podcasting from the California Dual Enrollment Equity Conference in Sacramento, California. And I am joined by Central Valley Higher Education Consortium, who did a session here at the conference, and they wanted to also podcast and get their message out to a bigger audience. So I’m going to pass it to them to introduce themselves.

[Ben Duran]

Good afternoon, my name is Ben Duran. I’m the Executive Director of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium, which you will also hear us refer to as CVHEC.

[Ginny Sandhu]

Hi, I’m Ginny Sandhu. I’m an English teacher at Sunnyside High School, and I’m also an instructor with Fresno City College.

[Angel Ramirez]

Hello, my name is Angel Ramirez. I’m the Operations and Finance Manager for CVHEC, so I’ll be speaking on the logistical side of this project.

[Diane Crum]

Okay, so as I mentioned, well thank you again for joining me here today and podcasting. And so, as we talked about, you did have a session here at the conference called MA Upskilling, and so I’m just going to turn it over to you to explain what that is and tell us your story.

[Ben Duran]

Yeah, I’d be happy to do that. Before I do that, I’ll turn it over to Angel and Ginny, and they’ll tell us more about the MA Upskilling project itself. But let me tell you how we got to it and who the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium is. It is a consortium of 28 colleges and universities in a 10-county region in Central California that stretches from Kern County all the way up to San Joaquin County.

And it includes community colleges. It includes California State Universities. It includes UC Merced, and it includes a number of independent colleges or universities, in addition to two medical schools.

So, the consortium was formed back in 2002 to bring people together as a convener, if you will, for higher education, to be able to look at higher education in the Central Valley with a single voice, to speak with a single voice, to talk about things that mattered for student success. So, we fast-forward to 2019 when there was a convening in the Central Valley around dual enrollment, this notion of creating a dual enrollment environment where high school students would be able to take college-level courses on their high schools, being taught by people with master’s degrees. So, at that convening, one of the topics that came up was, hey, there aren’t enough high school teachers holding master’s degrees in either mathematics or in English.

And so, as a result of that, we pursued, we started to go out and say, how can we go out and generate master’s degrees holding high school teachers who can teach for our local colleges? And that’s where the MA Upskilling Project was born. That’s where we came up with the idea of getting together with two of our universities who are in the consortium, two independent universities, National University and Fresno Pacific University, to deliver these programs to high school teachers.

Then came along the K-16 Collaborative, which provided funding for regions to improve education throughout. And as a result, we put in for an application, and as a result of that, we were granted a grant to be able to deliver master’s degrees to high school teachers through these two universities that I mentioned. And a little bit later, Angel will tell you more about the specifics of that.

But at this time, probably the people want to listen to Jenny, who is here as one of the participants in the MA Upskilling who earned her master’s degree in English. And so let me just turn it over to Jenny.

[Ginny Sandhu] Thank you, Ben.

Yeah, my experience was amazing, to say the least. When I first received an email from my department chair about the entire initiative, and at the time I was teaching AP courses, and I thought to myself, what could be better than joining a program, getting a degree that really hones my skills in becoming a better teacher for AP courses? And so I went through the entire program, and it was fully funded, which was amazing as well.

The university really understood the initiative, that this was a cohort of teachers who are working, so they were really understanding of the time that we were able to devote to the courses, even though it was fast track. So I had a phenomenal counselor at National University who understood what this program was about and who the cohort consisted of. And then I was assigned a wonderful mentor as well throughout the entire journey, who supported me, who answered questions if there were any questions about assignments or just any insecurities I had about going into the field or questions about becoming faculty and the tenure process.

So there was a lot of support built into the program for me throughout the journey, the MA journey, and then thereafter. So when I became a dual enrollment instructor as a result of finishing this degree, I was able to kind of like very smoothly enter into the higher ed world, all thanks to the program and all the support that I received from the mentor. And so that was very helpful.

And being in a cohort of other teachers was helpful as well because we were able to, you know, kind of support each other and answer, again, any questions that we had or any difficulties that we all faced. Yeah.

[Diane Crum]

Can I ask, so the mentor that you had, where did the mentor come from?

[Ginny Sandhu]

Yeah. So they were Fresno City College faculty that were assigned to us, the cohort students. Okay.

[Diane Crum]

So that’s great. It’s kind of like the dual enrollment students, the ambassador program, where they have a mentor also to help them through. So that’s an interesting concept.

[Ginny Sandhu]

Yes, exactly. And not only that, the same mentor actually stayed with me once I was hired on by Fresno City College and supported me throughout my entire evaluation process as well.

So it was sort of like a full circle journey and just wraparound care all the way through.

[Diane Crum]

Wow. That’s great. What a wonderful idea.

[Ben Duran}

And let me just add, with respect to this mentor relationship, the nice thing about it was that the high school faculty, like Ginny and her colleagues, were able to share what it’s like to teach at a high school, what the high school environment was, with those mentors as well so that though they were teaching her about the community college environment and that sort of thing, they were doing the same thing to the mentors because some of those mentors might very well go back to those high schools to teach dual enrollment in English or in mathematics. So it was a really great relationship, very symbiotic relationship, I think, between the mentors. Interesting.

And I think for the student aspect of it, that students are really benefiting from this as well because now they’re getting to experience the college life in a very safe space with a high school teacher who is on campus and they see us every versus seeing a college instructor maybe once or twice a week, if that, you know, sometimes they don’t even get that. So it’s a beautiful initiative and it’s been good for not only the educators, but also the students who are going through the DE program in a very safe space.

[Diane Crum] Great. And Angel?

[Angel Ramirez]

Yeah, so I’ll speak a little bit to the logistics of how we made this happen in case there’s anyone out there listening that wants to replicate this. And if you do, please feel free to contact us. We’re happy to share and we’re happy to help.

When we were first talking about this project, you know, as Ben mentioned, it came out organically from the field and we’re trying to address the issue of capacity because we had an interest in expanding dual enrollment offerings. We didn’t have the capacity of master’s holding teachers to teach those courses. CVHEC, you know, we decided to focus it on English and math because we know that those are a lot of times the barrier courses for students, even when they get to the community college.

So we said, what if we try addressing this at the high school and kind of make that our emphasis? Around the same time, the K-16 collaboratives were being formed. I think there’s 15 across the region, across the state, four in our region.

And we applied for some grant funding through them to do this program. When we were applying for the K-16 collaborative funding, we were debating on how much support and how much assistance we wanted to give our high school teachers that were going to be upscaled. And we landed around the number of around 12,000 because we wanted the students to still have some skin in the game.

In Jenny’s case, her high school and her district and some other scholarships helped her fund the remaining portion. But in some cases, there was some out-of-pocket costs for the student. And the idea behind that was that we wanted them to feel like they were also investing something so they can continue and progress in the program and complete.

Jenny was part of our first cohort that we did in Fresno. At that time in Fresno, we were able to upscale 112 teachers with their masters, half in English and half in math. But this program is now being scaled and replicated in other areas of the valley.

We’re currently in Kern County. And in Kern County, we’re going to have 50 math MA upscale teachers and 65 English. It was originally going to be 50-50, but they had some additional funds and they wanted us to put more English people, so we said, of course.

And then in Merced, we’re going to be doing 22. So these students will all be completed by the end of June 2026. So by the time this program is done in the areas that we’re currently doing it, we’ll have 250 upscaled high school teachers in the Central Valley that are now able to teach dual enrollment courses.

[Diane Crum]

That’s amazing. That’s great work. Great work.

How hard was it to recruit these teachers? Were they eager to do it? Because I know the grant money is not fully funded.

So I guess are all these teachers fully funded, or are they partially funded to pay for the master’s degree?

[Ben Duran]

The CVHEC piece is partial funding. We still wanted them to pay something. But a lot of times, other people stepped up to help them.

Sometimes the school district would pick up their textbooks. I know the colleges, for example, our math partner, Fresno Pacific, they have some AIMS funding that was also available to teachers. And so the out-of-pocket cost was different for these teachers.

[Ben Duran]

So, we had some participants who paid maybe $1,000 or $2,000 for a full master’s degree. Then we had some that paid nothing. And, in fact, Jenny was able to experience that because of the largeness of her district and because of the university and that sort of thing.

So, Jenny, maybe you want to chat about that.

[Ginny Sandhu]

Not only that, so for me, yes, it was fully funded. But even my books were paid for.

[Ben Duran]

Wow. Yes.

[Ginny Sandhu]

And so I paid nothing. And that was helpful for me because then I do wonder if it wasn’t for this program, would I have reached out and gotten a master’s degree? Maybe, probably, eventually, I don’t know.

Would it have been as smooth? And would I have felt as supported? Would I have been hired by FCC right away?

So it did open a lot of doors for me having gone through the program.

[Angel Ramirez]

I’m glad that Jenny talked a little bit about the support. And she touched on the mentorship

process earlier. When we were creating this project and the grants for the funds, we decided to pair them with a community college faculty to not only encourage them to complete the program so they could feel the support, but also help them navigate becoming adjunct.

Because the community higher ed world and the K-12 world are different. So when you’re supporting a K-12 person, a high school teacher, with the intent of them becoming an adjunct faculty and teaching dual enrollment, it’s more than just getting a master’s. It’s navigating systems.

[Ginny Sandhu]

Absolutely. So I remember one time I reached out to my mentor and I said, okay, so this is an entirely new, the LMS was new, Canvas, the platform that’s used in FCC within the system. So I’m not used to that.

So tell me more about this system, this platform. Like how do I build a course, an entire course? Like I’m so used to teaching in person.

And so those kinds of questions that came up. And so it was a learning curve. But, again, with all the support, grading practices, right, you know, they’re a little different in the high school world.

And so I would just reach out and say, all right, you know, what do you do with this teaching practices? Tell me more about how this is handled in a college setting. And so we would have these conversations sometimes, you know, in the evening, sometimes on the weekends.

And never was I told that, you know, like I can’t help you. I was always shown the way, which was wonderful.

[Angel Ramirez]

I was really happy to hear that, Ginnie. This relationship continued even past her master. She said that this mentor kind of followed her through her evaluation process and all of that.

Because the mentorship was they were only committed for a year on the CVHEC side. But we knew that they were going to build friendships. They were going to build partnerships.

They were going to build relationships. And so Ginny is not the only case that we’ve heard of the mentorship pairing still being in place.

[Diane Crum]

I love that model of mentorship. And so how was it? How did the recruitment process go to find teachers to admit to the program?

[Diane Crum]

This podcast is brought to you by a generous grant from the California Community Foundation. Their support enables us to bring you insightful conversations and stories that matter. Now let’s get back to our discussion.

[Angel Ramirez]

We started with the superintendent of schools offices. Because we knew that they had an inventory of who on their campus currently holds bachelors in English and in math. So the master’s at a national university is a master’s in English with an emphasis in rhetoric.

So we wanted to make sure that it was teachers who would meet minimum calls once receiving that. And so we went through the superintendent of schools offices to get that list. Same thing with Fresno Pacific.

Their master’s is a master’s in math education. So that recruitment process had to be a little bit different because per California minimum calls, if you have a master’s in math education, you have to have a bachelor’s in math in order to meet minimum calls. So we were making sure that when we recruited people for that program, that we had people who had the math bachelor’s.

[Ben Duran]

And you know what? What happened was once the word got out through the county offices, county superintendent of schools offices, to the principals and the superintendents of the local school districts, and then ultimately them getting it to the faculty, once the word got out, after the first cohort, it just was pretty quick. I mean, people were willing to sign up.

And, in fact, we ended up having waiting lists in some places. And, for instance, in Kern County, we did have a waiting list. And that’s one of the reasons that Kern County asked us, hey, can you do another small cohort?

But in doing so, the word got out, not only because of the tuition and everything else like that, but because I think of the quality of the program and the camaraderie. And as a result of that, for anyone who’s listening, who wants to pursue that, as Angel indicated earlier, you know, feel free to reach out to us. We’re happy to share with you the template of the program that we use, and we’re happy to introduce you to our colleagues at the two universities, if you choose to use those universities.

And, by the way, the reason we used the independents was because of their scheduling and the way they do their classes. They were course after course after course. There was no summer break.

There was no this. There was nothing like that in both instances. So, in terms of English, they were able to get through their master’s program in 11 months.

In 11 months. And in terms of mathematics, they were able to get to their mathematics master’s in 18 months, which is very, very good, and especially for working adults, because you have to remember, these were teachers who were teaching. I mean, these are young people who were teaching at their high school full time and then trying to do this program.

So the sooner we got them through there, and then we also wanted to ensure that the quality of the programs was such that they would be accepted. And so, across, you know, what we found was the reputation of both of those universities and the quality of their programs were really well accepted.

[Diane Crum] Great.

And how did you, I guess, how did it go with navigating the district, like the unions having,

you know, the teachers get their master’s, but then also the college side, because I know there’s a lot of controversy, I guess, between hiring high school teachers to teach the college courses. So how did you navigate that?

[Ben Duran]

Yeah, I’m happy to respond to that one, because those situations were literally different in different districts and different colleges.

And in some cases, the faculty associations were saying, hey, wait a minute, are you infringing on our jobs? But mostly what has happened is there’s a recognition that if you’re a high school teacher with a master’s degree and you’re going to be teaching dual enrollment, you’re an adjunct faculty member of that college. And adjunct faculty members of that college are part of the faculty and the faculty association, they become part of that.

And as a result of that, once they recognize, you know what, these are courses that are being taught at the high school through dual enrollment. Oftentimes it was difficult to get college faculty to go to the high schools, right? So when that happened, it wasn’t such an issue.

And in the few instances where the union pushed back, once the administration and they got together and they worked it out, it really hasn’t been the issue that we thought it was going to be, frankly.

[Angel Ramirez]

I think the infringement issue also, something else that helped it was that the community college faculty sometimes are not interested in teaching high school students. That’s not what they signed up for. So when they know that Ginny’s trying to get her master’s to teach high school students, she’s not trying to go to the college and teach courses that they’re teaching. It becomes a little easier. Yeah.

[Ginny Sandhu]

And to that point, you know, speaking of fidelity, there is an evaluation process. There is a vetting process. So if the departments at the community colleges are worried about fidelity or rigor, you know, high school educators go through the same vetting process and the same evaluations too. And we sit into those department meetings as well.

[Speaker2] Ben?

And in fact, to that point, to Jenny’s point, one of the pushbacks we get sometimes, and you’ll have heard it all over this conference, is that, you know, is the rigor there? Are they really college courses or are they just beefed-up high school courses?

And across the board, anybody who’s talked to them in the room will tell you, absolutely not. In fact, one presenter yesterday said, here’s my presentation, here’s what I give for a paper, a five or six paper, and I give this to the high school kids and I give this to my college kids. I teach all of them. And so we’re trying to get across that those high school students are, in fact, doing college-level work. The nice thing about it is the way they’re scheduled sometimes at the high schools because if you’re taking a three-unit college course, you’re getting three units of three hours of lecture, if you will, three hours of one-on-one, I mean, with a faculty member. And then the other two hours, the high school faculty can also work on, hey, let’s, you know, the stuff that we worked on yesterday, that you heard yesterday, let’s get through it.

So the students get these wraparound services sometimes at the high schools that college kids don’t always get. And as a result of that, the rigor is there for college courses at the high schools through dual enrollment, but there are also some wraparound services that make them be more successful as well.

[Ginny Sandhu]

Ben, I’d like to add to that, too, because, yes, the rigor is there, right?

But then people do wonder how are the success rates and how are the numbers so high? How do you get the success that you do? And, again, we first were in space with them much longer. Secondly, we require them to, you know, access the writing center, the tutorial centers. Our students are expected to go there and use these services. So when counselors come in specially to speak to them about the importance of passing, how this will impact their college transcripts if they don’t pass.

So when all of the messaging is coming to them directly, when they see their professor much more in space, when they know that the resources that are offered to them that maybe they wouldn’t use otherwise if they were just a regular college student, but now their professor expects them to use that, the resources, they sort of, you know, it’s inevitable. They’re going to succeed no matter what.

[Angel Ramirez]

And it makes them better college students when they inevitably get to the college. You know, as a first-gen student myself, you don’t know what services are offered to help you if you don’t have someone showing them to you. And if you’re exposed to those at the high school as a dual enrollment student, because now you have the support services that are available to you as a high school student and the support services that are available to you as a college student and someone teaching you what’s available to you and requiring that you access these things.

[Ginny Sandhu]

And just how to navigate that world, right?

[Ben Duran]

By the time you get to the college, it’s easier to do because you already know it’s there. Right.

[Ben Duran]

And the other thing that maybe, Ginny, you can chat to, which is not necessarily college- related, but because they get a master’s degree in English rhetoric, et cetera, because of that, they also, because they don’t only teach dual enrollment college courses, they teach regular English courses to regular English kids. I think they become better teachers for those other courses as well. Can you comment on that?

[Ginny Sandhu]

Absolutely. I mean, the fact that the degree was so fine-tuned to what I was doing, it aligned so well with the labor, my daily labor anyways. So bringing in, you know, and knowing that my, let’s say, because I also teach English three, which is 11th grade English.

And so I know what is ahead of these students. I know that if they take dual enrollment senior year with me, I know what’s coming for them. So I’m going to prepare them with all the skills necessary, having learned what I did in my degree, that they will succeed that senior year and that they will succeed in college courses.

And so, yeah, it definitely allowed me to kind of see that higher-ed world and made me a better teacher for sure.

[Diane Crum]

Sounds great. Anything else that you wanted to share?

[Ben Duran]

Not about what we did here. Just to let you know that, again, the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium, you know, convenes these CEOs, if you will, of these colleges and universities, and they do other sorts of things. You know, they do transfer initiatives and mathematics initiatives and that sort of a thing.

So this is a piece of that, but they’re all interrelated because a lot of them have to do with dual enrollment and delivering these courses to high school students. So the entire purpose is to help raise the social, economic well-being of the Central Valley and its general population, and it’s always a pleasure to work with our K-12 partners as well.

[Diane Crum]

Great. And so just in wrapping up, it sounds to me, if I could just kind of reiterate what we talked about, first thing was, like, going out of the box and looking for ways to fund this initiative through the K-12 collaborative and other ways so that teachers could be fully funded to earn a master’s degree. And then also the support, the mentor program, is an essential component to help these teachers navigate because they are working full-time teachers. I remember when I was a teacher, I barely had time for anything else. So, yes, trying to get your master’s degree on top of that. But having the mentorship of a college faculty member to help them navigate not only the master’s program but becoming an adjunct faculty member as well. So are those the main points, I think?

[Ben Duran]

Yeah, and that investment that was made by the K-16 collaborative has paid off just several fold. It was a wonderful investment on their part.

[Diane Crum

 

And it sounds like you’ve had a lot of success with that because I know with the grant money, you can’t pay for someone’s master’s degree. However, you can offer stipends for that. And a lot of our grantees put the money in the first year to offer these stipends, and then in the second year it was like, our teachers didn’t take us up on it. And so this is another model to look at that. Besides grant money, you can look for other ways to do this so that they are fully funded or maybe halfway or three-quarters to help pay for textbooks as well.

[Ben Duran]

And the other thing that I would finish with is that we’re going to continue to explore how we can continue to do this in the absence of K-16 collaborative money. We’re thinking about philanthropic money, other perhaps targeted money from the state for a region. So, for those folks who are listening and live in other rural areas, they may want to think about K-16 collaborative. I understand that that funding is going to be extended until 2030. They’re not going to get any more money, but their ability to extend, to use the dollars. So that’s one way. But the other is to make the case for the importance of having M.A.-holding faculty, teachers, high school teachers in rural areas so that they can give their students an opportunity. It’s an equity issue, right, that those youngsters should have the same opportunity as the youngsters in urban areas, and to make that case to either philanthropic folks or to their legislators or state legislators.

[Diane Crum]

That’s a great point. Yes, thank you for that. That’s a great point. So any other comments before we wrap up here? Thank you.

[Ben, Ginny, Angel]

Thank you for having us.

[Diane Crum]

Thank you so much for joining me and sharing this awesome program that you guys have started, and I wish you all the best. It sounds like it’s going to continue and continue to grow. So thank you very much.

[Diane Crum]

Thank you for joining us on the Bridge to Success Navigating Dual Enrollment Podcast. We hope you found today’s episode insightful and inspiring. Be sure to subscribe and follow us for more stories and strategies to help students succeed in their dual enrollment journey.

If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave us a review and share it with your network. Until next time, I’m Diane Crum, and this has been Bridge to Success, Navigating Dual Enrollment.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bridge-to-success-navigating-dual-enrollment/id1764644024

https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/PodcastTranscript-Art-NL0425-v1.png 1192 2560 Tom Uribes https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/CVHEC-Logo-Primary-Color-Medium-e1728590737483.png Tom Uribes2025-04-17 06:30:342025-09-23 13:45:47SPOTLIGHT • April 2025: TRANSCRIPT – CDE podcast featuring CVHEC 

Higher Education Summit May 9, 2025 – topics set; CCA provides national data

March 7, 2025

Valley’s higher ed CEOs to convene at CVHEC Summit 2025

Complete College America will provide national perspective; summit topics announced

 

BY TOM URIBES
CVHEC Communications Coordinator

As educators across the nation face an urgency to re-imagine higher education to meet the needs of today’s students and society, the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Summit 2025 this spring in Fresno is shaping up with topics that present voices from policy makers and practitioners nationally, statewide and from throughout the Central Valley’s 10-county region.

With the theme “Navigating Higher Education in a New Era: The Central Valley Way,” registration is now open for the CVHEC summit set for Friday, May 9 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel. The event is open to the higher education community who register in advance with breakfast and lunch included. Registration is free compliments of  the College Futures Foundation, event sponsor.

The CVHEC 2025 Summit will bring together chancellors, presidents and campus directors of 28 Central Valley institutions of higher education — who make up the CVHEC Board of Directors – with other educators and policy makers including elected officials who develop litigation that affect the region. Various CVHEC board members will moderate the panels that are planned.

CVHEC’s Welcoming & Networking Reception will be the day before the summit, May 8 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., at the convention center’s Valdez Hall Breezeway to provide an opportunity to connect with other attendees and the CVHEC Board of Directors in an informal relaxed setting.

Dr. Brandon Protas, Complete College America

One of the panelists participating this year will be Dr. Brandon Protas, assistant vice president for Alliance Engagement at Complete College America, a national alliance of higher education institutions and organizations including CVHEC in California,  Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director, announced.

“Join us as we convene with national, state and regional colleagues, partners and friends for a full day of discussions and showcases related to higher education in the valley that lead to degree completion for our students,” Durán said.

Topics to date include an overview of CVHEC efforts such as the Central Valley Transfer Project; the Master’s Upskilling Project, dual enrollment initiatives; and math alignment measures such as the CVHEC Math Task Force and the Central Valley Math Bridge Program with College Bridge.

Also featured will be a “Legislative Update” with federal legislators providing the latest about higher education laws; a student panel “What Does this Mean for Students?”  and a panel with the four segments of higher education in California.

Dr. Protas will be a panelist on the “The Central Valley Landscape: Honing in on the Data” panel.

The CCA vice president, who guides the planning and management of the CCA Alliance to support institutions, systems and states in their efforts to improve student success, will participate on the data panel providing insights to CCA’s nationwide data compilation efforts. CCA works with states, systems, institutions and partners to scale highly effective structural reforms and promote policies that improve student success.

Durán represents CVHEC as an alliance lead responsible for providing oversight and coordination for local initiatives as well as CCA-sponsored projects and in November, he led a consortium delegation to CCA’s three-day conference which drew 800 participants from throughout the country.  He said the CVHEC summit provides a regional and state version of CCA’s national gathering.

“The CVHEC annual summit always draws interest from our region’s higher education community, but this year brings a difference sense of urgency as we learned at the Complete College American national conference last fall,” said Durán, president-emeritus of Merced College, referring to the national conference’s keynote address delivered Nov. 19 by Dr. Jamie Merisotis, president of the Lumina Foundation, an independent, private foundation in Indianapolis committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all which also provides support to CVHEC.

“We both see the urgency of reimagining higher ed to meet the needs of today’s students and today’s society,” Dr. Merisotis’ said at the conference regarding the partnerships between Lumina and CCA. “And we both put special focus on reaching those who have too often been left out.”

CVHEC featured that keynote as the “What the CV-HEC is Happening Blog” in the consortium’s January newsletter and Durán said Merisotis’ message fuels the CVHEC summit as well as the CEOs of its member institutions from San Joaquin County in the North Valley to Kern County in the South Valley.

“I hope that this national education leader’s words generate some dialogue between you and your colleagues and we encourage you to share those conversations, as we will at our 2025 CVHEC Summit and on our various consortium social media platforms,” Durán said in setting the tone for the summit.

 

  • Event questions:  contact Ángel Ramírez, operations and finance manager, at CVHECinfo@mail.fresnostate.edu or 559.278.0576.
  • Media inquiries: Tom Uribes, CVHEC communications coordinator, text 559.348.3278 or cvheccommunications@mail.fresnostate.edu 
  • For event updates: see the Summit event page, subscribe to the free CVHEC monthly e-newsletter or visit CVHEC social media platforms.

 

ABOUT CVHEC

The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) is a California non-profit made up of 28-instutitions of higher education in the ten-county region from San Joaquin to Kern that is the size of some states. Through CVHEC, higher education professionals and academicians in the Central Valley address difficult and complex initiatives, scaling them up across the region for mutual effectiveness to serve our students and communities.  

 

https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Summit25-flier.png 768 1366 Tom Uribes https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/CVHEC-Logo-Primary-Color-Medium-e1728590737483.png Tom Uribes2025-03-07 09:00:482025-09-23 13:43:28Higher Education Summit May 9, 2025 – topics set; CCA provides national data

CVHEC presents at California Dual Enrollment Equity Conference ’25

March 7, 2025


CVHEC executive director Dr. Benjamín Durán (center), led the CVHEC delegation presenting the consortium’s initiatives at the California Dual Enrollment Equity Conference in Sacramento Feb. 23-26: Angel Ramirez CVHEC (panel visuals); Seth Williams, Sanger High School; Ginny Sandhu, Sunnyside High School (Fresno Unified); Taft High School Principal Mary Alice Finn; Taft math teacher Oscar Nuno; and Owynn Lancaster, College Bridge (Math Bridge Program). See photo gallery below.

CVHEC presents Master’s Upskill, Math Bridge programs

at California Dual Enrollment Equity Conference 2025

BY TOM URIBES
CVHEC Communications Coordinator

Over 650 educators, presenters and sponsors met at the 3rd annual California Dual Enrollment Equity Conference in Sacramento Feb. 23-26 including a Central Valley Higher Education Consortium delegation that presented a panel on two dual enrollment initiatives: the Master’s Upskilling Project and the Central Valley Math Bridge Program.

The statewide conference featured pre-conference sessions; two full days of keynote — including a virtual message from Dr. Sonya Chistian, California Community Colleges chancellor — and breakout presentations; and site visits to high schools in the region. It was co-hosted by the California Alliance of Dual Enrollment Partnerships (CADEP), the Career Ladders Project and the Education Trust–West.

Taft High School Principal Mary Alice Finn answers questions with the CVHEC panel: Ginny Sandhu; Seth Williams; Owynn Lancaster; and CVHEC executive director Dr. Benjamín Durán.

CADEP, an affiliated chapter of the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP), is a unified coalition committed to the advancement of equity, student success and quality in dual enrollment programs in California. Its vision is “to unite individuals, state agencies and organizations committed to dual enrollment in California to promote and advance quality dual enrollment programming across the state.”

Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director, led the CVHEC delegation of nine with six presenting on the panel, “Using Dual Enrollment as a tool for Math Alignment and Increasing Instructor Capacity in the Central Valley.”

CVHEC is a 28-member strong consortium that is “blurring the lines” between community colleges and their K-12 partners to provide equitable dual enrollment opportunities for students.

“Removing barriers to access is a driver for CVHEC’s dual enrollment work,” Durán said. “CVHEC serves a quarter-million students across a 10-county region and works toward impactful and transformational solutions by leveraging partnerships.”

He said he was delighted to see talented community college faculty and our K12 partners from the Central Valley showcased in a statewide convening.

“Our session was a huge success evidenced by the interest from the audience and the in-depth questions of the presenters that followed,” Durán said. “It was encouraging to see the Central Valley recognized as a statewide leader in the delivery of dual enrollment classes and pathways for students from rural areas of the region.”

Durán moderated the panel which began with a discussion about how CVHEC’s Master’s Upskilling Project is increasing dual enrollment instructor capacity by upskilling existing high school teachers to meet the minimum qualifications to teach dual enrollment courses at their high schools.

CVHEC took two valley high school English teachers who participated in the program to share their experience earning a Master’s degree and now teaching dual enrollment: Seth Williams of Sanger High School and Ginny Sandhu of Sunnyside High School (Fresno).

For the Math Bridge component of the panel, CVHEC partner College Bridge was represented by the organization’s vice president of Academic Strategy, Owynn Lancaster, who was joined by Mary Alice Finn, principal of Taft Union High School, and one of her Math teachers, Oscar Nuno.

They discussed how College Bridge is bringing together secondary and post-secondary educators to work collaboratively and creatively through Math Bridge systemically aligning college and high school math programs and creating a seamless transition for students.

Also attending the conference were CVHEC team members Ángel Ramírez, CVHEC Operations & Finance manager, and Tom Uribes, Communications coordinator.

At the conference, Durán, Ramirez and Sandhu were also interviewed for the “Bridge to Success” Podcast by Diane Crum of the Californian Department of Education that was posted March 6.

In addition to CVHEC’s panel, the Central California region was represented by Jill Jiménez, a counselor for the McFarland High School Early College Program who discussed evidence-based practices that have been the driving force in the school’s dual enrollment initiative by creating processes and procedures to enhance student participation and sustainability.

Jiménez also presented at CVHEC’s Dual Enrollment Conference held Feb. 3 in Fresno.

Members of the CVHEC’s delegation provided comments about the conference:

Angel Ramirez, CVHEC Operations & Finance Manager

“The conference served as a great, and sometimes needed, reminder that we are not in this dual enrollment work alone. It also showed me that the collaboration and sharing we have in the Central Valley are unmatched and are what propel what we do forward.”

Seth Williams, English 9 teacher – Sanger High School (community college adjunct professor – Fresno City College)

“As a dual enrollment and adjunct instructor, it was good to hear about all of the progress that is being made in helping high school students get ahead in college and to create equitable opportunities to try and level the playing field for some of our students. As I heard from districts and areas that are beginning their implementation of dual enrollment, I appreciated how far the districts I work for –Sanger Unified and State Center Community College District — have come to create a thriving program. That being said, it also showed some of the areas that we can work on to support our students even better so that there are more opportunities to help our students achieve their goals.”

Ginny Sandhu, English teacher – Sunnyside High School (Fresno Unified School District)

“At the 2025 Dual Enrollment Equity Conference in Sacramento, I had the privilege of sharing my journey as a Dual Enrollment English 1A instructor at Fresno City College. My presentation highlighted the transformative impact of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) Upskilling initiative, which funded my master’s degree and enabled me to bridge the gap between high school and college for underrepresented students. Through this opportunity, I was able to empower students who might not have otherwise accessed higher education, reinforcing the critical role dual enrollment plays in advancing educational equity.

“Beyond presenting, I gained invaluable insights from the keynote speaker and various sessions that shed light on state-level dual enrollment initiatives and their far-reaching implications. These discussions underscored how dual enrollment serves as a catalyst for student success, particularly for historically marginalized communities. Engaging with educators, policymakers, and advocates reaffirmed my commitment to this work, emphasizing that expanding access to college courses in high school is not just an educational strategy but a necessary step toward equity and social mobility.” 

Owynn Lancaster, vice president of Academic Strategy – College Bridge

“My thoughts, as a person supporting equitable dual enrollment implementation, it was really exciting to hear more success stories from folks all across the state who are now also in their implementation. It’s also really validating to hear some common challenges and hiccups that are happening for everyone and have this amazing opportunity to come together and learn from each other.”

Mary Alice Finn, Principal – Taft Union High School

“The opportunity to learn alongside other professionals at the Dual Enrollment Equity Conference in Sacramento is always a treat. The innovative ideas happening up and down the state truly highlight the creativity, tenacity, and perseverance of our students and educators to ensure they each have the voice and the support needed to be successful. As a presenter, it is an honor to share the journey TUHS has been on and help provide some ideas to those that may find value in a similar path.”

See related story: CDE Podcast featuring CVHEC

https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/CADEPpanel022425-4672e-25sm.jpeg 1872 2500 Tom Uribes https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/CVHEC-Logo-Primary-Color-Medium-e1728590737483.png Tom Uribes2025-03-07 07:40:492025-09-23 13:43:28CVHEC presents at California Dual Enrollment Equity Conference ’25

SPOTLIGHT ON CVHEC: Dr. Clark to co-lead CVHEC dual enrollment with Cash

March 7, 2025

Former WHCCD chancellor resumes higher ed career

(FEB. 23, 2025) — Dr. Kristin Clark, chancellor-emeritus of West Hills Community College District (WHCCD), has joined the

Central Valley Higher Education Consortium core team as a consultant leading the development of a “Dual Enrollment Guide/Playbook of Best Practices” for Central Valley colleges, especially those serving students in rural areas.

Dr. Benjamin Duran, CVHEC executive director, recently announced the appointment bringing the former chancellor out of retirement seven months after stepping away from her 30-year career in higher education that also included the presidency of West Hills College-Lemoore (now Lemoore College) and service on the CVHEC board of directors.

Dr. Clark will pair up with Elaine Cash, CVHEC grants coordinator and former superintendent of Riverdale Joint Unified School District who last month was named to co-lead CVHEC’s dual enrollment project.

“We are very fortunate that Dr. Clark was available and willing to join us for this very important project,” Duran said. “Her addition to the powerful CVHEC consulting team comprised of retired higher education and K12 leaders will be a benefit to the entire area.”

This week, Duran leads a CVHEC delegation to the  2025 California Dual Enrollment Equity Conference (Feb. 23-26) in Sacramento by the California Alliance of Dual Enrollment Partnerships, Career Ladders Project, and EdTrust–West.

CVHEC will present its Master’s Upskilling Project and Central Valley Math Bridge Project with College Bridge.

He said the Dual Enrollment Guide/Playbook is one of the priorities that has emerged from the Central Valley Dual Enrollment for Equity and Prosperity Task Force (CVDEEP) that CVHEC formed in 2019 with  representation from the consortium’s 15 community college members in the valley’s 10-county region.

See the full story about Dr. Kristen’s new CVHEC venture in the upcoming March issue of the CVHEC newsletter.

Dr. Clark’s full bio
Elaine Cash bio
“Dual Enrollment in the Central Valley, Working Toward a Unified Approach for Equity and Prosperity.”

 

https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CVHEC-Dual-Enrollment-Co-leads.png 788 940 Tom Uribes https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/CVHEC-Logo-Primary-Color-Medium-e1728590737483.png Tom Uribes2025-03-07 07:35:392025-09-23 13:41:30SPOTLIGHT ON CVHEC: Dr. Clark to co-lead CVHEC dual enrollment with Cash
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