2011 National Legislative Summit: Second Lady Jill Biden, Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis Emphasize Administration Support for Community Colleges

The Obama Administration was represented at the 2011 Community College National Legislative Summit Tuesday by U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis and Second Lady Jill Biden, both of whom acknowledged the financial challenges ahead while reiterating the President’s ongoing commitment to community colleges.

“President Obama is committed to community colleges because he knows, as we all do, that community colleges are critical to getting the economy back on track,” Biden told NLS attendees Tuesday evening. “They are the key to the President’s goal of having the most competitive workforce in the world.”

Earlier in the day, Solis told attendees that her experience as a community college trustee helped prepare her for the financial decisions the Administration now faces. “One thing I learned is that you have to be adaptable and flexible in hard times,” she said. “And now is no different from then in many respects. We are faced with some very tough decisions and economic challenges.”

With 14 million people out of work -- and more than half of those unemployed for six months or more -- community colleges must mirror the Administration’s focus on putting people back to work, Solis said. “You must be able to to provide training that is transferable to a job,” she said. “The criteria isn’t a certificate anymore, but to cultivate your relationships with businesses to [ensure] a smooth transition. Most of you in this room have those relationships. Now it’s about moving a little further and thinking about the opportunities in 15 or 20 years.” As the economy improves, Solis urged community college leaders to help meet the workforce needs of employers who are “coming back online,” as the automotive industry has already begun to do.

Solis also touted the $2 billion Community College and Career Training Grant Program (CCCTG), which recently began soliciting applications for $500 million in grants in its first year. “This money will help you in terms of building capacity,” she said, urging community college leaders to collaborate with businesses, non-profits, and each other to maximize the reach of the program -- and to emphasize results in conversations with lawmakers. “The money is there for a short time -- and money doesn't last for a long time here in Washington," she said. "I can tell you we have to make the case that your programs work and can provide the best training for employers.”

Administration officials are also following up on ideas generated during the White House Summit on Community Colleges last October, according to Biden, who stressed that the Administration will continue to advocate for education needs as lawmakers turn their attention to financial issues. “We know we will face some tough choices in the future, but we are working hard to build consensus about what we must do to provide a world-class education, both for K-12 and higher education,” Biden said. “Every American should have the opportunity to take advantage of a community college education.”
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White House Summit on Communty Colleges Ends With a Consensus on Challenges

By the end of Tuesday’s White House Summit on Community Colleges, two messages had crystallized. First, so-called “non-traditional students” -- older learners juggling jobs and families -- should now simply be considered “21st century students.” “They are the new normal,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan told attendees. Second, a key strategy for the government and grantmakers alike will be finding ways to help community colleges share best practices as they retool to meet President Barack Obama’s call for 5 million more graduates from their institutions by 2020.

“What we have to do is take to scale what’s working,” Duncan told attendees during the summit’s closing session.

Along with the high-profile initiatives from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Aspen Institute, and the federal government announced earlier in the day, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis reminded attendees that the application process is beginning for the $2 billion Community College and Career Training Grant Program, signed into law earlier this year as part of the health care reconciliation bill.

“It’s about capacity building... about developing programs and curricula that last longer than the funding does,” Solis said of the program.

During the final session, summit attendees shared key challenges and potential solutions explored in six breakout groups, including:

Industry partnerships. Strong solutions include those with a sense of reciprocity between colleges and their industry partners, as well as financial and other support from local governments; those with flexible delivery options, including on-site, online, and non-traditional course hours; and those with a clear and accessible pathway for individuals. Challenges include remediation; funding for capacity building in skills training; differences in state funding models that make it difficult to replicate successful partnerships; and the need to award credit based on training workers have already received, including apprenticeships.

Military and veterans programs. Attendees acknowledged the role community colleges play in the education of veterans and the value of on-campus supports, such as veterans groups. Challenges include the need to ensure a transition and support system for veterans leaving active duty, and ways to share successful practices put into place at community colleges, including veteran-to-veteran support, priority placement, military spouse career advancement programs, and ways to maximize GI Bill benefits.

Completion. Among the challenges in this critical area are the need to communicate the value of a credential or diploma to students; professional development to help community college instructors support students; developmental education programs; integrating technology; and identifying solutions that work among disparate community college campuses.

Financial aid. Challenges include the need to simplify the financial aid process, especially for students who may be the first in their family to attend college; rethinking disincentives for working students receiving Pell Grants; considering ways to consolidate different forms of financial aid; and supporting financial aid officers who have been strained by budget cuts and the increasing numbers of students who need their help.

Baccalaureate pathways. Challenges include the need for support and counseling for students considering transferring to a four-year institution; inconsistency in credit hours and course numbering systems; and creating articulation programs for career and technical education programs.

21st century community colleges. Key challenges include leveraging technology to provide new course offerings, track alumni and the transfer of credits, and support faculty; the need to examine the role both full-time and adjunct professors play as they take on new support roles; and ways to leverage private sector partnerships to emphasize the importance of learning within contexts that are meaningful to "21st century students."

The U.S. Education Department will host another “virtual community college summit” in 2011. But Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden concluded the present-day White House summit by urging attendees to take the same critical look at key priorities with key partners in their own communities. “Go back to your businesses and your schools, and start this conversation again,” she said. To that end, the White House prepared a special toolkit for community college leaders, which includes information for colleges interested in holding their own local community college summit on their campuses. It can be downloaded here.

“This is our moment in history to make a difference, and let’s grab that opportunity,” Biden said.

MORE INFORMATION

• Opening remarks (CSPAN video)
• Closing remarks (CSPAN video)
• President Obama comments from Monday (CSPAN video)
• White House Community College Summit web page

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Obama Kicks off White House Summit on Community Colleges, Introduces Building Skills for America's Future, Completion by Design Programs

Saying that community colleges “provide the gateway for millions to a better life,” President Barack Obama kicked off Tuesday’s White House Summit on Community Colleges by painting support for community colleges in economic terms, as other speakers described two new high-profile initiatives intended to help community colleges with completion and workforce development.

“We are in a global competition to lead in the growth industries of the 21st century. That depends on a highly skilled workforce,” Obama told an assembled group of leaders from community colleges, foundations, and a broad array of government agencies during an opening session at the White House.

Pointing to the American Graduation Initiative, which calls on community colleges to provide an additional 5 million students with certificates or degrees in the next decade, Obama said that additional federal support and financial aid for students “will help ensure that we lead the global economy, but only if we maintain the support.”

Obama announced the new Building Skills for America’s Future initiative, an effort to bolster community college industry partnerships and workforce development initiatives in partnership with the Aspen Institute.

“The private sector is eager and willing to help,” said Penny Pritzker, chairman/CEO of Pritzker Realty Group and a member of Obama’s economic advisory board. Already Accenture, Gap Inc., McDonald’s, PG&E and United Technologies have pledged to support the program, which will ensure that every state has at least one “high impact” partnership between a community college and industry. “We hope to spark a movement nationwide to spark the nation’s workforce,” Pritzker told attendees.

Melinda Gates introduced Completion by Design, a $35 million grant program announced Monday by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to “redesign every aspect of the college experience,” with an eye to sharing innovative practices, such as streamlining enrollment, speeding up remediation programs or simplifying the transfer process.

“The next step for community colleges is to put all the pieces of the puzzle together,” Gates said, stressing the potential of technology to create new hybrid learning opportunities. “We’re committed to community colleges as they do the hard work of changing so they can... disseminate the best ideas of what’s actually working.”

“Let’s get busy,” Obama said at the conclusion of his remarks. Breakout sessions currently underway are focusing on six areas: industry partnerships, college completion, pathways to baccalaureate degrees, financial aid, military and veterans programs, and the community college of the future.

The summit’s closing session will be broadcast live at 3pm at www.WhiteHouse.gov/live. The summit is being led by Dr. Jill Biden, who told attendees the newfound attention would forever change the community college movement.

"For years, I have said that community colleges are one of America's best-kept secrets," Biden said. "With the President shining a light on us, that secret is out."


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