Transition to College and Careers (TCC)
Download: Blending College Preparation and Career Development for Adult Students [PDF] – This article appeared in the special Career Pathways edition (July/August 2018) of the COABE Journal.
This two-year pilot project was designed to be the first “rung in the career ladder” for dislocated, unemployed, and underemployed adults who have been out of school for some time. Transition to College and Careers (TCC) served to bridge Adult Secondary and English for Speakers of Other Languages programs to postsecondary education and training to help increase students’ ability to earn family-sustaining wages.
Six pilot sites operating in five states were funded by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation through a competitive process managed by the New England Literacy Resource Center at World Education, Inc. Each TCC pilot site offered two program cycles per year for a minimum of 14 weeks per cycle and six hours of academic instruction per week.
Key design elements of the TCC model are:
- Partnerships between adult education programs and postsecondary institutions
- Simulated college environment with support
- Academic college preparation
- Academic advising
- Assistance with admissions and financial aid
- College success skills and knowledge
- Dual enrollment
- Employer involvement
Additional prominent elements include:
- An online health science course. In addition to the academic courses taught onsite at ABE programs, a subset of students interested in pursuing health care certificates and/or degree programs in direct service and allied health fields enrolled in the Introduction to Health Science online course. This course, created in partnership with the Health Care Learning Network, was facilitated centrally for students at all pilot sites.
- Increased career counseling and planning. TCC counselors used the Integrating Career Awareness curriculum to help students complete a career and education plan to increase attention to career counseling and planning for all enrolled students.
Project Director: Sandy Goodman, Director of Career Pathways, National College Transition Network
Funder: The Nellie Mae Education Foundation