Indicators of Program Quality for Transition to Community ...



Massachusetts Office of Adult and Community Learning Services FY 2020 – 2023 Indicators of Program Quality for Adult Education Transition to Community College ProgramsVersion 1.0, November 2019Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary EducationThe Office of Adult and Community Learning Services75 Pleasant StreetMalden, MA 02148Phone: (781) 338-3850Introduction to the Indicators of Program Quality, Version 1.0BackgroundThe National Literacy Act of 1991 required states to develop Indicators of Program Quality (IPQs) to be used in the development and evaluation of local Adult Education (AE) programs. The original IPQs were developed with the field and reflected the identified values that were important for quality programs.In June 2017, Adult and Community Learning Services (ACLS) released the Indicators of Program Quality for Community Adult Learning Centers and Correctional Institutions, Version 1.2. With input from the field, the IPQs were updated to align with the 2014 Workforce and Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The IPQs were influenced by research in curriculum and instruction, program administration, and advising and were informed by guidelines and standards developed by ACLS and the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education. In addition, ACLS conducted an extensive review of indicators from other states. Finally, the IPQS were developed in consultation with an advisory group of AE directors and amended after an open comment period with the field.In the summer of 2019 ACLS, in consultation with a group of Transition to Community College program coordinators, developed IPQs for Adult Education Transition to Community College Programs (Transition Programs). These indicators derived from the Indicators of Program Quality for Community Adult Learning Centers and Correctional Institutions, Version 1.2, which was adapted to reflect the unique characteristics of the Transition Programs.PurposesThe overarching goal of the IPQs is to guide the planning, delivery, and evaluation of all Transition Programs in Massachusetts in order to improve services. The IPQs have three primary purposes:Guidance in Proposals to the Field: The IPQs are used to guide the development of ACLS Requests for Proposals (RFPs).Program Self-Assessment: Adult education programs are advised to use the IPQs as benchmarks in designing high quality programs and measuring progress in key areas. To that end, programs are encouraged to use IPQs in tandem with the Massachusetts Policies for FY 2020 Massachusetts Policies for Effective Adult Education Transition to Community College Programs to inform continuous improvement planning. Site Visits: ACLS will use the IPQs as a guide in conducting site visits. During these visits, ACLS will identify promising practices and areas where further improvement and technical assistance are needed to help support the adult education anizationThe Indicators of Program Quality for Community Adult Learning Centers and Correctional Institutions, Version 1.2 was the source document for the Adult Education Transition to Community College Programs Indicators of Program Quality, Version 1.0. These we adapted to create IPQs for Transition Programs. The Transition Program IPQs follow the same format as the AE IPQs. There are eight (8) indicators of program quality and each indicator contains one or more standards that further define its content. The IPQs are not sequential and are meant to support one another. They are divided into two categories:Student Success: includes indicators and standards that help programs to support students’ progress towards their next steps in postsecondary education leading to a family-sustaining anizational Capacity: includes indicators and standards that help programs to support their staff and guide coordinators in administering a quality program.Indicators of Program QualityTransition to Community College ProgramsAlignment to WIOAStudent SuccessIndicator 1: Program Design: The program implements the key design elements articulated in its funded proposal.Indicator 2: Access and Equity: The program is responsive to the education needs of DESE program graduates and other eligible individuals who, upon admission to the Transition Program, are recognized by the institution as college students. Indicator 3: Career Pathways Exploration: The program helps students explore and identify career pathways. Indicator 4: Student Progress: The program helps students make consistent progress toward degree or certificate completion. Indicator 5: Advising and Student Support Services: The program ensures effective and equitable delivery of advising and support services.CapacityIndicator 6: Organizational Support and Professional Culture: The community college actively builds and supports the capacity of the program and maintains quality working conditions to ensure its success, while the program promotes a culture that is ethical, culturally proficient, and collaborative that builds the expertise and experience of staff to grow in their career roles.Indicator 7: Collaboration and Coordination: The program develops and maintains relationships with key college departments, faculty, staff, and external partners.Indicator 8: Fiscal and Data Accountability: The community college maintains a stable financial condition operating in a financially sound and publicly accountable manner. The program has a system for collecting and reporting data that ensures its integrity.Indicators of Program QualityTransition to Community College ProgramsAlignment to WIOAStudent SuccessIndicator 1: Program Design: The program implements the key design elements articulated in its funded proposal.Standard 1.1: The program maintains a minimum enrollment of 15 students, including at least 12 former DESE adult education students. Standard 1.2: The program offers a College for Success course that prepares students to understand college culture, navigate college systems, identify barriers to attainment of postsecondary education goals and strategies for overcoming these barriers, and acquire the readiness skills that are essential for postsecondary education success.Standard 1.3: The program ensures that students function as members of a learning community or cohort within the college by incorporating at least one cohort strategy (e.g., students’ enrollment in a common course, ongoing group advising, a study group).Standard 1.4: The program supports students who need developmental education by helping them move through course sequences in the most efficient manner possible, ideally finishing or completing as many developmental competencies as feasible while enrolled in the Transitions Program.Standard 1.5: The program provides access to an array of credit-bearing courses.Indicator 2: Access and Equity: The program is responsive to the educational needs of DESE program graduates and other eligible individuals who, upon admission to the Transition Program, are recognized by the institution as college students.Standard 2.1: The program addresses access and equity and is responsive to DESE program graduates and other eligible individuals.Standard 2.2: The program ensures that reasonable accommodations are made for students with self-disclosed disabilities through its own resources and/or referrals to outside agencies. Standard 2.3: The college grants Transitions students all the rights and privileges of its college students and provides them access to college resources, including college identification cards, academic support services, health and counseling centers, athletic center, library, information technology, career services, student organizations, and college activities. Standard 2.4: The program makes an effort to get students involved in college activities and student organizations. Indicator 3: Career Pathways Exploration: The program helps students identify career pathways. Standard 3.1: The program provides students with an awareness of both the world of work and emerging career pathways in the local workforce area. Standard 3.2: The program makes students aware of career resources in the college and the community and works within the college to link Transition students to activities, clubs, and organizations that would help them get greater career exposure.Indicator 4: Student Progress: The program helps students make consistent progress toward degree or certificate completion. Standard 4.1: The program tracks progress on student advancement through any required developmental course sequences that lead to credit-bearing courses toward a certificate or degree. Standard 4.2: The program provides access to credit-bearing courses toward a certificate or degree. Standard 4.3: By the end of the program, all students have identified a certificate or degree program of study.Indicator 5: Advising and Student Support Services: The program ensures effective and equitable delivery of advising and support services. Standard 5.1: The program help students explore career pathway options, including degree and certificate programs, required courses, course sequences, and other requirements. Standard 5.2: The program addresses barriers to participation by referring students to social service agencies as needed.Standard 5.3: The program works collaboratively to create a culture of student self-efficacy and persistence.Standard 5.4: The program facilitates the development of self-management competencies of students as evidenced by students monitoring their own progress; directing the choice of courses, memberships, and activities; and taking an active role in course registration and applying for financial aid. CapacityIndicator 6: Organizational Support and Professional Culture: The college actively builds and supports the capacity of the program and maintains quality working conditions to ensure its success, while the program promotes a culture that is ethical, culturally proficient, and collaborative that builds the expertise and experience of staff to grow in their career roles.Standard 6.1: The college actively works to integrate the Transition Program into the college and provides it with financial and other supports (e.g., access to credit-bearing courses for Transition students and all college resources at no cost).Standard 6.2: The college provides the program with a site that meets all city, state, and federal accessibility and safety requirements, and provides the program with classrooms that are conducive to learning, dedicated advising space that is private and secure, and up to date technology that is readily available for all staff and students.Standard 6.3: The college provides regionally competitive salaries, benefits, and opportunities for full-time employment. In addition, according to the college’s policies, the college compensates all job responsibilities including paid prep time for teachers.Standard 6.4: The college ensures a professional culture of high expectations for all staff.Standard 6.5: The college organizational leadership establishes minimum qualifications and maintains high standards for program leadership. The college provides in-depth training and on-going support to staff in leadership roles, including acting or interim staff.Standard 6.6: The program provides staff with the quality resources, tools, and access to high-quality professional development needed to be successful in their roles.Indicator 7: Collaboration and Coordination: The program develops and maintains relationships with key college departments, faculty, staff, and external partners. Standard 7.1: The program collaborates with local DESE-funded adult education programs to ensure that at least 12 students make a smooth transition into the program.Standard 7.2: The program establishes connections and relationships with key college departments, as evidenced by students applying for financial aid, registering for courses, and using campus resources such as academic advising, disability resources, health services, and career services. Standard 7.3: The program works with local WIOA and other external partners and participates in collaborations in an effort to develop and enhance connections, resources, and support services for students. Indicator 8: Fiscal and Data Accountability: The college maintains a stable financial condition operating in a financially sound and publicly accountable manner. The program has a system for collecting and reporting data that ensures its integrity.Standard 8.1: The program has a comprehensive system of internal policies and procedures over its accounting and financial information to ensure that grant funds are expended in compliance with federal and state grant requirements and are used for their intended purposes. Standard 8.2: The college maintains the required match commitment annually, maintains adequate cash flow to support the program, and demonstrates the capacity for self-sustaining fiscal and program operations.Standard 8.3: The program develops an annual budget that supports the services approved in the grant.Standard 8.4: The college annually certifies its tax and regulatory filings and produces an independent audit report.Standard 8.5: The program records, maintains, and reports accurate program and student data in a consistent and timely manner through the state’s data management and accountability system. ................
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