Presenter: Julie Vo, M.Ed.

Interim Associate Dean of Non-Credit Adult Education

NON-CREDIT OVERVIEW

• What is non-credit?

• Why is non-credit needed?

• What does non-credit look like?

• What is the impact of non-credit?

WHAT IS NON-CREDIT?

• Non-credit courses are zero unit courses offered to

students without the expense of enrollment fees and

designed to help students reach personal, academic, and

professional goals

• Non-credit courses often serve as a first point of entry for

underserved students as well as a transition point to

prepare students for credit instruction

WHY NON-CREDIT?

• Affordable (FREE!)

• No tuition cost

• No financial aid necessary

• Accessible

• Flexible scheduling

• Access to counseling and SSSP services

WHY NON-CREDIT?

• Focus on skill attainment, not grades or units

• Repeatable and not affected by 30-unit basic skills limitation

(Title 5 Regulations §55035 Remedial Coursework Limit)

• Elementary level skills to pre-collegiate

• Prepare for credit programs or employment

• CTE: preparation, practice, and certification

• Bridge to other educational/career pathways

WHY NON-CREDIT?

• More freedom to tailor course curriculum

• Focus on skill attainment, not units (mastery-based)

• Courses have immediate impact on students’ lives and communities

• Innovate! Create new courses and programs to meet student need

• Opportunity for students to repeat a course, practice skills, and

become more proficient

WHY NON-CREDIT?

• Option for students struggling with credit courses,

especially basic skills

• Opens the equity door – provides access to

underserved students

• Completion of non-credit courses can be part of

multiple measures assessments

• Opportunity to “create” college students – opens

door to credit opportunities

NOT-FOR-CREDIT???

Not-for-credit a.k.a. community education or fee-based.

• Self-supporting – registration fees must cover complete

cost of offering course

• No curriculum approval required (unless local process)

• No MQs established by state

NON-CREDIT MYTHS

• No Homework

• Not rigorous

• Curriculum does not need to be

approved

• No MQs established by state

CREDIT VS. NONCREDIT

Areas

Source: “Basics of Noncredit” by

Cheryl Aschenbach, Lassen College, ASCCC Executive Committee

Sofia Ramirez Gelpi, Allan Hancock College, Dean Academic Affairs

Presented at 2016 Curriculum Institute

CAREER DEVELOPMENT COLLEGE PREPARATION (CDCP)

• Preparation for employment or success in college-level credit coursework

• Four categories of courses that, if combined into a non-credit certificate, can be

eligible for apportionment with funding equal to credit

• Four categories: ESL, Basic Skills, Short-term Vocational, Workforce Prep that lead to

Certificate of Competency or Certificate of Completion (leading to improved

employability or job opportunities)

• Requirements established in Ed. Code 84760.5

NON-CREDIT CERTIFICATES

Certificate of Completion

• Sequence of CDCP courses in Short-term Vocational or Workforce Preparation

• Defined in Title 5, section 55151(h)

Certificate of Competency

• Sequence of CDCP courses in ESL or Elementary & Secondary Basic Skills

• Defined in Title 5, section 55151(i)

Standards for approval are defined in 55151(j)

• Same standards of quality as credit certs (55070)

WHY START A NON-CREDIT PROGRAM?

• Meet student need, especially in ways credit cannot

• Very useful for short-term courses and courses that provide a foundation for credit

• Also very useful for short-term employment programs that can be accessed by students

who may not be able to or may not consider enrolling in credit = gateway

• Meet local and legislated need

• Local short-term employment

• Initiatives and legislation like AEBG, BSI, SSSP &SE

NON-CREDIT RESTRICTIONS

• CORs for courses intended for special populations must clearly

demonstrate that the course meets the needs of those populations

(Immigrant Education, Parenting, Persons with Substantial Disabilities,

Older Adults)

• “No state aid or apportionment may be claimed on account of

attendance of students in non-credit classes in dancing or recreational

physical education” -Title 5, section 58130

• Apportionment by positive attendance, not census

TITLE 5 REQUIRED ELEMENTS OF THE COR FOR NON-CREDIT

From §55002(c)1:

• Course Number and Title

• Course Description

• Total Contact Hours

• Course Objectives

• Course Content

• Method of Instruction

• Methods of Evaluation

• Assignments and/or Other

Activities

NON-CREDIT COURSE APPROVAL

Title 5 Standards for Approval same as for credit:

• Section 55002(c)1 – The college and/or district curriculum

committee shall recommend approval of the course if the course

treats subject matter and uses resource materials, teaching methods,

and standards of attendance and achievement that the committee

deems appropriate for the enrolled students.

• The role of the curriculum committee is to review and approve

curriculum just as it does for credit curriculum

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Discipline Placement process same as for credit:

• See Minimum Qualifications for Faculty and Administrators in the

California Community Colleges aka “MQ Handbook”.

• Discipline assignments for non-credit may be non-credit

qualification and/or credit qualification (at least in math and

English).

NON-CREDIT GRADING OPTIONS

• Pass (P), No Pass (NP),

Satisfactory Progress (SP).

• Although no A-F grading,

course design still needs to

include student evaluation and

feedback.

WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM NON-CREDIT?

• Thomas Edison's teachers

told him he was "too stupid

to learn anything.“

• Edison went on to hold more

than 1,000 patents

and invented some world-

changing devices, like the

phonograph, practical

electrical lamp, and a movie

camera.

WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM NON-CREDIT?

• As a child, Albert Einstein had

some difficulty communicating

and learning in a traditional

manner.

• He went on to win the Nobel

prize in physics for the

discovery of the photoelectric

effect, and his special theory of

relativity theory corrected the

deficiencies of Newtonian

physics.

EVC Non-credit Courses• serve as first point of

entry into college for students

from historically

underrepresented and

economically disadvantaged

backgrounds

(EVC’s first Non-credit Bridge to Engineering course – Su’16)

WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM NON-CREDIT?

CURRENT STATE OF NON-CREDIT

• Approximately 1,000,000 students are enrolled in K-12 adult education classes

and 800,000 are enrolled in non-credit education within the community colleges.

• 83% of the 800,000 noncredit students come from only 25 of our 110 colleges

• Non-credit instruction is a viable means of achieving the California Community

College System’s vision to provide upward social and economic mobility through

a commitment to open access and student success by delivering high quality,

affordable and comprehensive education to all Californians

THE BOARD OF GOVERNOR'S FOR CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Established non-credit classes and programs

• To provide an “Educational Gateway" to higher education

• To “open access" for students from diverse backgrounds seeking

ways to improve their earning power, literacy skills and access to

higher education.

AB104 : ADULT ED BLOCK GRANT ($500M)

• The California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 104 in

June 2015 which includes the legislation for the Adult

Education Block Grant (AEBG).

• AEBG will fund adult education providers and the adult

education regional consortia (2 CCC & 5 AE)

Welcome to Evergreen Valley College's

Non-Credit Adult Education

• Designed for students who wish to advance their ed & career

goals

• Learning is contextualized and meaningful

• Gateway into credit certificate and degree programs that lead to

entry level employment

• Increase access and foster success for students from diverse

& disadvantaged backgrounds, and those with the goal to

improve their earning power, literacy skills and access to higher

education

“BRIDGE” PROGRAMS IMPACT ON DISTRICT

Effective recruitment can increase enrollment (FTE’s)

• Since1992, statewide 1 in 6 credit students also

took non-credit (source Vice Chancellor Technology, Research & Information Systems, CCCO)

• Students are better prepared for credit curriculum

• Non-credit basic skills, ESL and CTE students are

the most likely to transition into credit programs (source ASCCC)

NON-CREDIT “BRIDGE” PROGRAMS IN PROGRESS

SJCC:

• Medical Career Preparation - Approved

• IT Career Preparation - Pending

• Advanced Manufacturing Preparation - Pending

EVC:

• Automotive Tech Preparation - Pending

• Engineering Preparation - Approved

• Surveying & Geomantic Preparation- Approved

NON-CREDIT ENGINEERING SEQUENCE

• ENGR 500 Introduction to Engineering

• ENGR 502 Basic Math Applications in

Engineering

• ENGR 504 Technical and Contextualized

Communication

• ENGR 506 Principles of Engineering

WHAT’S NEXT?

• Approve & Launch pending Non-Credit Programs

• Survey / Geomatics – will revise for Spring 2017

• Automotive Prep – will revise for Spring 2017

• New Proposals Underway

• English for Careers (ESL Dept.) – in progress

• Basic Skills Certificates (ESL Dept.) – in progress

• Bridge to IT – in progress

• Bridge to Medical Assistant – in progress

• Bridge to Paralegal – in progress

WHAT ARE OTHER SCHOOLS DOING?NON-CREDIT CTE INSTEAD OF CREDIT

• Non-credit courses can open up career opportunities to more students

• Some non-credit programs are structured like credit

• Examples:

• Electronic Systems Technology @ Mt. SAC

• Pharmacy Technician @ North Orange SCE

• Accounting @ Glendale

• “We are getting a population of students that is different from our usual electronics students. Most …have never been exposed

to technology before or ever considered a career in a field such as electronics wiring.

• As a non-credit student, they do not have to go through a lengthy registration process, we do not charge them any fees,

not even any materials fee. We do not have any pre-requisites in math or science; we cover all the basic math and principles

needed. All the EST courses, like our credit electronics courses, have equal components of lecture and hands-on lab time.

• As a result, the students are eager to learn, enthusiastic, hard-working, and happy to be here. I have encouraged them to

continue on to get an electronics degree after they have completed the EST program and have an entry level job. Many have

expressed a desire to do so; many have expressed to me that an entire world of possibilities has opened up before them.

Sometimes, I think I have more satisfaction teaching these students than the credit students.

• I have already had two students approach me to tell me that they cannot continue the program because they found jobs; one as a

computer cable tech and the other at a phone system refurbishing company. If I have to lose students, that’s the way I want

to lose them.”

Anecdotal

WHAT ARE OTHER SCHOOLS DOING? CAÑADA COLLEGE MULTIPLE MEASURES

• Word Jam is a free, non-credit, one-week program

• Aimed at providing additional support to current and in-coming Cañada College students

in all levels of English, Reading, and ESL (held M-F from 9 to 12 Noon in LC)

• Word Jam students work with Cañada faculty to practice college-level reading and

writing strategies, learn the expectations of their specific English, Reading, or ESL courses,

and become familiar with Cañada College resources.

• Past students in Word Jam have even boosted their Cañada College placement test

scores!

WHAT ARE OTHER SCHOOLS DOING? SBCC CAREER SKILLS INSTITUTE

• SBCC is now offering a series of short courses to provide training needed to get a

job, advance in job and/or provide skills needed to grow business.

• SBCC career skill courses - students can earn a certificate and digital badge—

demonstrating mastery of new skills!

• The non-credit certificates and badges cover three key areas: technology,

business and design.

• In 2014, SBCC collaborated with Santa Barbara community business leaders on what

skills are needed to survive and compete in the marketplace.

SBCC CAREER SKILLS INSTITUTE

• Offers digital badges - unique and portable digital representation of your certificate that you can post on

your online pages that promote you and your skills, such as LinkedIn or Facebook.

• Digital badges and non-credit certificates allow employers to grasp a deeper picture of your actual

skills—just what they need to assist in their hiring.

• PROGRAM = COURSES + BADGES

• “Flipped” classroom model - video instruction from lynda.com for homework and come to class to

apply the skills learned. Class time is spent tackling real world problems and creating solutions. The result

is a learned skill, with a portfolio piece to prove it.

• The SBCC Career Skills Institute is offering over 40 new short courses (8-16 hours each) and over

20 digital badges. There is no cost for the class. The only cost is for the lynda.com video instruction.

SAN DIEGO CONTINUING EDUCATION & NORTH ORANGE CONTINUING EDUCATION

• Separately accredited by the Adult Schools division of WASC

• Potential drawbacks – inappropriate alignment with K-12

structures and methods that might make integration with the

rest of college and district more difficult

Non-credit Apportionment model

• Based on positive attendance

• Managed enrollment – structured schedule (compress to intensive 8 week classes at 3 hrs per wk)

ASCCC Recommendations

• Inclusion in the self-study for accreditation to promote integration with other programs

• Particular care must be taken to design measures of success that are not overly narrow or

simplistic in order to effectively demonstrate accountability for student success

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

Explore Expansion of Non-Credit Programs:

1. Review options for Non-Credit in remedial Math, English and Reading -Avoid Re-remediation!

2. Review ESL options for contextualized instruction

3. Explore options to introduce new short term CTE

Challenges:

• Enrollment Issues

• Matriculation

• Instructional Training

• Curriculum Development

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION