Working Families Success Network in Community Colleges Definitions and Expected Design Elements

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1 Wrking Families Success Netwrk in Cmmunity Clleges Definitins and Expected Design Elements Cre Prgram and Service Delivery Elements Clleges shuld prvide services in each f the three WFSNCC cre pillars: Educatin and emplyment advancement educatin, jb readiness, training, and placement. Examples: One-n-ne tutring fr a particular industry; grup sessins n career ptins; general assistance thrugh the career center; and multiple weeks f instructin fcused n cntextual skills fr a particular industry. Incme and wrk supprts services that help WFSNCC students access the services and benefits they re eligible fr. Examples: General assistance cmpleting the FASFA frm, accessing public benefits, emergency financial aid, and free tax preparatin. Financial services and asset building financial educatin and caching t help students build selfsufficiency, stabilize their finances and becme mre ecnmically cmpetitive. Examples: Prviding general infrmatin n financial caching ffered by a partner rganizatin; individualized fllw-up t financial literacy sessins; active partnerships with lcal financial institutins wh prvide affrdable asset-building services and prducts. Number f Services Clleges are expected t have at least ne lw and ne high tuch service in each f the three cre prgram and service delivery elements that must be either new r expanded. Expanded services are existing services t which a cllege adds a new cmpnent. If a cllege is nt prviding a new r expanded effrt in ne f the cre elements, it shuld prvide a ratinale fr why they are nt fcusing in that cre area, and detail hw the kind and intensity f existing services ffered by the cllege apply t the WFSNCC apprach and required student services. Service Requirements High-tuch financial caching is a requirement. Lw-tuch financial literacy and benefits access infrmatin prvided thrugh a student success curse is a requirement. If a cllege des nt have a student success curse, clleges shuld identify an alternative mechanism, preferably a standing cllege prgram r service (e.g., student rientatin, r financial aid cunseling sessins) thrugh which these cmpnents will be delivered. If clleges intend t prvide ther services in the three cre service areas they shuld prvide an analysis f hw thse services will cntribute t student success.

2 Clleges are encuraged t prvide key WFSNCC infrmatin in mre than just ne service area r service, as students ften need t hear infrmatin multiple times befre absrbing r acting upn it. Levels f Service Lw tuch services are defined as standardized services designed t reach a brad range f students via grup settings such as rientatin r student success classes, r thrugh technlgy r ther lighttuch appraches. They prvide infrmatin and in sme cases skills fr students. Examples include financial literacy in student success curses, use f new financial services such as Aid Like a Paycheck, and including benefits access infrmatin in rientatin sessins. High tuch services are defined as ne-n-ne interactins that prvide a specific service r set f services t a targeted number f students wh have been identified as needing mre intensive supprt. Examples include financial caching, career planning (nt student advising), and wrking with an individual t secure a specific public benefit. High tuch services are accmpanied by shrt- and lng-term gal setting with the student. Shrt-term gals might include establishing an emergency savings reserve, securing affrdable quality child care while in schl, r gaining emplyer-based wrk experience t test ut career assumptins. Lng-term gals might include securing a jb pst-cllege that pays a family-sustaining wage, graduating frm cllege with less debt, r building a psitive credit histry. Clleges are urged t identify hw t use lw tuch services t identify students in need f high tuch services. Fr example, student success curses where financial literacy is embedded culd include a self-assessment that helps the student r faculty identify the student s need fr intensive financial caching. Similarly, a hmewrk assignment t use a public benefits screening tl may identify students in need f individualized supprt t apply fr Medicaid r SNAP benefits. Within ne WFSNCC cre service area, it is pssible a lw-tuch service will becme a high-tuch service as the level f student supprt increases. The demarcatin f this mment may be best captured when a student creates a shrt- r lng-term gal fr their wn pathway related t that service and subsequently receives ne n ne supprt. Bundling f Services Bundling is the intentinal selectin and integratin f services that help a student achieve the explicit gals set by the student n a timeline that efficiently mves the student thrugh a pathway t cllege success. Simply receiving services in tw r mre cre service areas withut the intentinality f cmbining these services is NOT bundling. Bundling is the sequencing and timing f services s that students receive services frm at least tw f the three WFSNCC cre service areas that the cllege prpses t ffer (ffering ne high and ne lw tuch service in the same cres service area is nt bundling). Bundling usually ccurs thrugh design, staffing r IT. Bundling is intentinal -- there is a tailred pathway develped with the student t receive an identified set f services in a specified perid f time based n their shrt and lng term gals. Bundling is nt identifying students wh happen t have used services in tw f the three buckets. A student can receive a lw and high tuch service in a single cre service area; this wuld cunt as receiving tw services, but nly in ne cre service area f the bundle.

3 Students t be Served and Scaling Clleges are expected t prvide WFSNCC cre services t new as well as t current students. Implementatin plans shuld include strategies fr reaching bth types f students and describe the expected utcmes fr each. Scale gals: The fllwing are expectatins f high and lw-tuch threshld service gals: Cllege <10,000 students Cllege > 10,000 students Lw tuch 25% f lw-incme students by year three and 40-50% by year five 25% f lw-incme students by year three and a larger percentage by year five. High tuch* A threshld f serving at least 20% f students wh need high tuch services receiving at least ne high tuch service by year 3 a threshld f serving at least 10% f the students wh need high-tuch services in a large cllege will receive at least ne high tuch service by year 3 * Clleges will need t define hw they identify the ppulatin f students wh need high-tuch services. Milestnes There are n milestne expectatins. In the implementatin plans, hwever, clleges shuld set their wn milestnes that clearly shw hw their respective WFSNCC strategy will prgress and expand ver time t achieve the initiative s verall scale gals. Additinally, it will be imprtant t prvide an explanatin in the implementatin plan f hw these milestnes were set and will ultimately be achieved. Timing f Services All services the cllege will ffer as part f WFSNCC services must be peratinal and being ffered t students by July These services will frm the basis fr measuring student prgress and utcmes fr evaluatin purpses. Definitin f Lw-Incme At a minimum, the cllege s Pell eligible (nt Pell-receiving) ppulatin is the definitin f lwincme students. If there are additinal ppulatins, r there is a different state mechanism fr defining lw-incme students that a cllege wishes t include, that may als be used with an accmpanying explanatin. If a cllege chses a definitin ther than Pell-eligible r a state definitin, an explanatin fr why they chse this ppulatin and its characteristics, and hw it will be able t identify thse students and their incme status shuld be prvided. In all cases, the definitin needs t encmpass a brad ppulatin f students. The ttal lw incme ppulatin may nt be defined as the participants enrlled in a particular prgram. Evidence-building and Data Cllectin Clleges will be cntributing t the evidence-building fr WFSNCC thrugh utcmes such as imprved term-t-term retentin, increased credentialing rates, and ther measures. Clleges will be expected t cllect data related t demgraphics and utcmes fr students served by WFSNCC.

4 Expectatins related t data cllectin and utcmes: ATD expects that clleges will cllect a wide variety f data n student services and perfrmance in rder t mnitr student prgress, assess the impact f varius services, and t refine institutinal plicies and practices. T meet ne f the main gals f the WFSNCC initiative, and as part f this data cllectin and reprting requirement, all clleges will be expected t reprt n a cmmn set f utcmes using standardized measures, which will be develped by the Phase II evaluatr in cnsultatin with the WFSNCC clleges. The cmmn WFSNCC data pints we expect clleges t cllect are individual student level utcmes: Term t term retentin Certificate and degree cmpletin Use f public benefits Wages and ptentially husehld incme The definitin f these data pints will be develped by the Phase II evaluatr in cnsultatin with the WFSNCC clleges and prvided in a data dictinary. In additin t the cllectin f cmmn data fr these utcmes, the clleges shuld cnsider hw these utcmes fit int their implementatin plans and strategies. Technical assistance in aligning cllege and third-party vendr data, data systems, and prcesses t the data pints will be prvided. ATD understands that public benefits uptake and wages will require in sme cases wrk with state r cunty jurisdictins t btain data and will prvide technical assistance t clleges in securing agreements. Clleges will als be expected t cllect and submit data related t the utputs and utcmes detailed in cllege-specific lgic mdels. T meet the verarching gal f establishing evidence related t WFSNCC, each participating cllege is expected t make every effrt t ensure ATD s ability t maximize the value f the data generated in cnnectin with their participatin in WFSNCC. These expectatins include but are nt limited t cmplying with the fllwing data-specific activities: Cllabrate with the Phase II evaluatr n: establishing the cmmn WFSNCC data and data dictinary; determining the right level f data technical assistance needed; and effectively using qualitative and quantitative WFSNCC data t prmte the initiative. Cllect and reprt individual student level data t the Phase II evaluatr that includes cmmn WFSNCC data elements that will be defined in the data dictinary, including: demgraphic data, (husehld size, ages f husehld members, gender, race/ethnicity) including data related t incme; quantifiable data n individual student participatin in WFSNCC services (e.g., # f hurs spent with a financial cach, etc.); and quantifiable data related t the utputs and utcmes assciated with each cllege s specific lgic mdel. Third Party Services: ATD understands that sme clleges may decide t engage third-party cntractrs, vendrs, r partners t deliver services t students pursuant t the cllege s participatin in WFSNCC ( WFSNCC Services ). Prir t frmally engaging these third parties,

5 interested clleges must execute a written agreement that prvides that the cllege will retain wnership f (r, at a minimum, access t) all student data recrds that: Are therwise unprtected by law; and Are generated by the third-party in relatin t the WFSNCC Services and data elements detailed abve. These agreements (referred t as Third Party Data Agreements ) must expressly state that the cllege has wnership f (and/r access t) individual level recrds and the data within thse recrds, and the permissin t cllect and reprt the infrmatin t ATD and/r the Phase II evaluatr as set frth herein. Clleges using third-party cntractrs, vendrs r partners must execute (and prvide ATD with cpies f prir t implementatin f the service) any Third Party Data Agreements t be eligible (r remain eligible) fr the next installment f implementatin funds fr the Prject. Achieving Racial Equity Gals Racial cmpsitin f the student ppulatin was ne selectin factr fr this initiative. Clleges shuld demnstrate a strategy t ensure that students f clr are served thrugh WFSNCC lw- and high-tuch services, including setting numerical gals fr the number f students f clr t be served each year. It is expected that the percentage f lw-incme students f clr within the cllege that are served will meet r exceed the final scale gals f the cllege. Fr example, if a cllege sets a gal f serving 35% f lw-incme students by year three with lw-tuch services, than at least 35% f the clleges lw-incme students f clr shuld be served thrugh WFSNCC. ATD and Funders expect that clleges will establish deliberate strategies and mechanisms t ensure that WFSNCC staff and prgrams are culturally sensitive, that access t WFSNCC services is practively prmted t students f clr and that benchmarks and mnitring strategies are used t identify when racial equity gals are nt being met s that clleges can d curse crrectins. ATD and Funders expect that the cmmitment t racial equity expressed in clleges WFSNCC applicatins will be translated int cncrete strategies fr utilizing WFSNCC t imprve racial equity in cllege culture and cllege utcmes.