ERIC Number: ED574547
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 2
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Building Capacity: Creating and Leveraging Partnerships
Richie, D.
Office of Community College Research and Leadership
The nation has made an unprecedented investment in community colleges to simultaneously increase college completion and stimulate economic recovery. One of the most substantial investments was the Trade Adjustment Act Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) program of the United States Department of Labor (U.S.DOL). Beginning October 2011, the TAACCCT program was intended to support the efforts of community colleges to develop training programs and build their capacity to innovate (United States Department of Labor, 2011). The Transformative Change Initiative (TCI) recognized the potential importance of TAACCCT to enhance community colleges' ability to better serve all students. Through professional development, research, evaluation and networking, TCI invited these colleges to share what they were learning and ways in which they were changing their policies and practices with the goal of improving student outcomes. TCI collaborated with 24 consortia to publish "Strategies for Transformative Change" briefs that describe specific strategies that each consortium implemented. Looking across these briefs, a number of key topical areas are identified under which the grant-funded innovations (strategies) could be organized, including partnerships, career pathways, and intrusive student support, and examine how the consortia engaged in capacity building to accomplish their goals. How did TCI think of capacity building? Thinking went beyond the question of short-term changes and a focus on compliance to long-term change that has the potential to improve performance while sustaining access. Evidence was looked at for changes that were accompanied by data and other indications that colleges were focusing on activities that would allow them to create structures and processes to engage in deep and collective capacity building necessary to sustain change (Sharratt & Fullan, 2013; Kezar, 2014). This brief is one in a series that focuses on capacity building of TAACCCT funded consortia. This brief describes ways in which it was seen of three consortia creating and leveraging partnerships to accomplish their goals of preparing individuals for living-wage employment and providing skilled workers for industry. While the colleges used various methods to broaden participation and buy-in to meet students' and employers' needs, there were similarities in their approaches to building capacity.
Descriptors: Capacity Building, Partnerships in Education, Consortia, Community Colleges, Educational Change, Federal Programs, Sustainability, Equal Education, Educational Improvement, Career Education, Biological Sciences, Credentials, Education Work Relationship, School Business Relationship, Curriculum Development
Office of Community College Research and Leadership. 51 Gerty Drive Room 129, Champaign, IL 61820. Tel: 217-244-9390; Fax: 217-244-0851; e-mail: occri@uiuc.edu; Web site: http://occrl.illinois.edu
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Two Year Colleges; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Lumina Foundation; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Joyce Foundation
Authoring Institution: Illinois University, Office of Community College Research and Leadership
Identifiers - Location: Oregon; Florida
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A