Upskilling Adult Education Students: A Collaborative Career Training and Partnership Pathway Model
In an Inside Higher Ed report, Gandal (2021) stressed, “To achieve greater equity, community colleges must bridge the divide between noncredit and credit programs.” Rio Salado College (RSC) Adult Education (AE) has initiated multiple innovative partnerships to create college bridge solutions and help noncredit adult education students to access and succeed in college-level career training programs. RSC AE’s innovative workforce preparation partnerships support a diverse population of adult learners who embody the mission of community colleges and remain vital to Arizona’s local economy. RSC AE’s integrated education and career training partnership solutions are impactful, collaborative, and scalable. They reduce costs and remove barriers for underprepared learners. These creative partnerships help learners build academic and employability skills to access, persist in, and complete college-level coursework and seek fulfilling careers with family-sustaining wages.
Innovators
- Kim Anderson, Program Manager, Community Development
- Marina Belgin, Program Manager, Community Development
- Rodney Bennett, Student Services Analyst
- Michael Benvin, Manager, Student Services
- Lily Beth Brazones, Manager, Instructional Services
- Simin Broumand Kia, Supervisor, Instructional Services
- Christina Calderon, Program Manager, Community Development
- Tamara Cochran, Dean, Instruction and Community Development
- Elizabeth Cole-Fay, Director, Community Partnerships
- Aliza Dodell, Supervisor, Instructional Services
- Tara Gallardo, Student Services Analyst
- Melanie Hagman, Supervisor, Instructional Services
- Regina Hernandez-Garcia, Supervisor, Instructional Services
- Barbara Khalsa, Associate Dean, Community Development
- Melissa Lawrence, Program Manager, Community Development
- Neely Lewis, Supervisor, Instructional Services
- Miranda Lopez, Director, Community Development
- Beatriz Montes de Oca Valadez, Program Manager, Community Development
- Nicole Sabino-Coker, Supervisor, Instructional Services
- Nuria Sanchez, Supervisor, Instructional Services
- Jennifer Shaffer, Director, Adult Basic Education
- Kelly Stewart, Associate Dean, Community Development
- John Van Meter, Manager, Instructional Services
- Andrea Vazquez, Program Manager, Community Development
- Adam Wetterhan, Student Services Analyst
- Nikki Zimmerman, Supervisor, Workforce Development
