ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT
High School Linkages-Student Readiness
- Describe the past year’s accomplishments and the current status of this Action Project.
The High School Linkages project was identified, defined and approved by the college’s Delta Team, a group of senior level administrators made up of vice presidents and deans. In consultation with the President, a project plan was developed and refined. A cross-functional team of representatives from instruction and student services was named, including a vice presidential sponsor, dean/director team leader, and project management liaison.
Three initiatives are underway by members of this team:
- identification of existing and new linkages between the college and high schools in the region
- benchmarking of best practices nationally
- process flow charting of new approaches in career pathway development from high school to college, including curriculum development and student services
Additional activities/accomplishments related to high school linkages include the following:
- Sinclair Community College is collaborating with Dayton Public Schools to establish a new career high school.
- Sinclair is a lead participant in the League for Innovation’s College and Career Transitions Initiative (CCTI)
- The college’s Tech Prep leadership has initiated a pilot project to help 9th grade students identify career interests early and the academic skills required for success in these careers.
- An additional Tech Prep pathway in Public Safety is under development.
- Describe how the institution involved people in work on this Action Project.
- The goals of the project were closely aligned with the priorities for high school outreach of the college’s President.
- The High School Linkages Team represents faculty and staff from Instruction and Student Services, as well as from offices with close high school contacts: Admissions and the Miami Valley Tech Prep Consortium. Selected members of the team spent time observing in area high schools, conferring with principals and counselors about curricula and student services.
- The goals of the project were shared by the team leader with the 50 person SCC Leadership Council, and feedback and suggestions were invited.
- The goals of the project have been incorporated into the Instructional Master Plan and shared with the college’s faculty, department chairpersons, Faculty Senate and administrative leaders.
- Describe your planned next steps for this Action Project.
- Completion of the inventory of existing high school linkages and establishment of a central repository to track on an on-going basis the college’s connections to high schools throughout the region
- Identification of effective current linkages and strategies and resources for expanding these linkages
- Identification of practices on other campuses that have promise for success at Sinclair and identification of the resources necessary for implementation
- Continued participation in the CCTI and development of additional career pathways through this initiative
- Completion of the 9th grade career exploration pilot
- Continuation of the planning process for the new career high school.
- Describe any “effective practice(s)” that resulted from your work on this Action Project.
Identification of the college’s many connections to area high school and maintaining a central data base of these contacts will prove helpful to ensuring effective coordination and resource utilization as the college works to improve the progression of high school students to college.
- What challenges, if any, are you still facing in regards to this Action Project?
The college’s contacts with high schools are extensive and fluid, and care will need to be taken that the goal of tracking and coordinating contacts will not impede initiative among departments, faculty and staff to reach out to high schools as opportunities arise.
- If you would like to discuss the possibility of AQIP providing you help to stimulate progress on this Action Project, explain your need(s) here and tell us who to contact and when.
Contact names would be welcome from other institutions with successful programs to encourage high school students to enroll in college and to be well prepared for college level work.
- Who should be able to see this annual update?
Anyone
