Register Now for the Pathways to Results Pre-Conference Session at the Forum for Excellence
Does your college need to solve a student success or pathway problem that would benefit from a partnership approach to process improvement? Are you also interested in implementing or scaling a change project in the future?
If so, the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) in partnership with OCCRL is pleased to invite you to join the FREE Pathways to Results (PTR) Pre-Conference at the Forum for Excellence on September 22nd from 8:30 – 11:30 at the Bloomington/Normal Marriot Conference Center.
Once the state budget is passed the ICCB CTE team will release a Call for Proposals to support Illinois colleges that might be interested in a PTR grant. Attendance at this event is not mandatory to apply when these funds are released, but is strongly encouraged.
At this event OCCRL will provide individuals and teams who attend with a year’s worth of PTR materials and a kickoff workshop that will introduce our innovative new two-year model designed to support project implementation and supported time to begin a plan for engagement and commitment related to your targeted student success needs.
All teams and individuals are encouraged to consider attending the Forum for Excellence which begins immediately after the pre-conference.
About Pathways to Results
Pathways to Results is intended to support community colleges and their partners (K-12, universities, community organizations, and business and industry) to improve outcomes for underserved student populations within a career pathway and programs of study. The application is open to all Illinois community colleges and their pathway partners. This year’s Call for Proposals is expected to feature two different grant options with related but unique goals:
1) The Year One: PTR Partnership and Planning grant will include a $5,000 grant plus professional development and technical support from OCCRL and the ICCB to guide pathway teams through a process using tried and tested tools to deeply assess and solve student outcomes gaps in a given career pathway and related programs of study. This grant targets community college partnerships looking to improve on: retention in a particular pathway, Perkins deficient performance measures, program review, transfer pathways, and adult career pathways. This grant will also be the basis for eligibility for next year’s Year Two grants (see below).
2) The all-new Year Two: PTR Implementation Communities is expected to include a $15,000-$20,000 grant plus professional development and technical support from OCCRL and the ICCB to guide pathway teams that have completed a PTR project in the last two years to implement or scale their proposed solution developed out of the PTR experience. Teams will be selected based on the alignment between their student outcomes data and the proposed solution or improvement, among other criteria listed in the call for proposals.
Partnerships led by an Illinois community college eligible for a Year Two grant may, if they have two separate projects, apply for both Years One and Two.
Please note, these amounts and grant details are tentative until the state budget and related plans are finalized. An official Call for Proposals will be released through this listserv as soon as it is available.
Heather McCambly, M.A., is the Project Coordinator for the Pathways to Results and Finish Up Illinois initiatives at the Office of Community College Research and Leadership. Her research has centered on the equity implications of performance based budgeting and funding systems, intersectional identity and student success, and equity-centered change on the community college campus.