October 18, 2024

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Dr. Sarah Lipson from the Boston University School of Public Health and a Lead investigator for the Healthy Minds Network national survey, will summarize their findings, and local campus and State of Connecticut experts, and a panel of students, will respond and talk about how their campuses are responding.

EXPERT PANEL (invited)

• Jeff Burda, Director of Counseling, University of Hartford

• Merium Correa, Director of Wellness, University of Saint Joseph

• Wanda Reyes-Daws, Counselor/Campus Equity Coordinator - Student Affairs, Manchester Community College

• Meredith Yuhas, Director of Health & Wellness, CT State Community College

PLUS Student Panel, Workshops (Issues & Strategies), and more!

Invitation & Registration Info

We’re back!  There’s good news, and other news.  Although we’ve done six virtual events during the     pandemic, we are excited to return to campus and in-person education this semester.  Like many of you, we miss such gatherings, masks and all.

Join us on Friday, Dec. 10 at Goodwin University for Getting Back to Normal: Issues and Strategies.

How’s it going? What are the bumps in the road? What new policies and protocols are working, and which are still works-in-progress? What still needs to be navigated if students are to truly thrive amidst the ongoing challenges of a not-quite-post-COVID world?

Join us for a top-to-bottom review of the big issues facing higher education and some key strategies for addressing those issues.

In addition to our customary, highly-valued student panel (students from several schools), we will be offering two expert panels:

• Senior Leadership Panel: Presidents and other Senior Higher Education Leaders from Public and Private Campuses and the Connecticut State Legislature – the “big picture.”

• “On the Ground” Panel: Practitioners in Student Affairs and Counseling from Public and Private Campuses – working with students every day.

The day will also feature a Zoom-in from Chris Soto, Senior Advisor to U.S. Department of  Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.  Chris, Founder and Former Director of Higher Edge in New London, former Connecticut State Legislator, and former senior staff at Connecticut Department of Education, will describe his current work and offer some thoughts on the future of higher education from a national perspective.

Because not everyone is comfortable yet with in-person gatherings, as much as we miss them, we will offer the ability to join in our event remotely.  At Goodwin, we will observe social distancing and continued mask-wearing. We hope you can join us for a substantive and enjoyable session in East Hartford.

Either mail your registration form to:

Hartford Consortium for Higher Education, 349 Main Street, East Hartford, CT 06118

Or register on-line at: www.purplepass.com/backtonormal

PRICING:  $25 for virtual, $50 for in-person

Questions? Contact David Johnston at educationRwe2@gmail.com, 203.640.6201



Student athletes have unique abilities and face special challenges in moving from high school to college and beyond. Do I have the talent to make it as a college or professional athlete? Do I understand the level of commitment/training required? How do I overcome the obstacles I will face? What if I don’t “make it” as a college or pro athlete? What should I do that will fulfill and sustain me?

On Saturday, May 22 (from 9 to 2), Sons of Thunder Coalition (SONS) and The Center for Higher Education Retention Excellence (CHERE) are offering a FREE Virtual Conference helping students, parents, advisors and supporters/educators address these issues. Called “Leveraging Your Athletic Skills for Your College Future,” it will help students make the best use of their academic and financial resources, including finding the people who can be the most help on the way.

Presenters will include Sean Spencer, NY Giants Defensive Line Coach and Rashamel Jones, member of the 1999 UCONN National Championship basketball team. They will be supported by panels of students, parents, noted athletes, coaches and others with practical ideas and suggestions about how students and families can make the best possible decisions about their future. 

For registration form, click on image at right. Or register on-line at:

www.purplepass.com/sonsofthunderathletes

VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

The COVID pandemic has created unique challenges for us as educators as well as for our institutions, especially in meeting the needs of first generation and other challenged students. 

To do this, colleges have developed new practices and innovative tactics to address the academic and personal needs of students. These adjustments highlight the importance of tapping into all the resources in and around our college communities, including those that might have been previously underutilized.

Where can we find and develop these “hidden resources,” both within the college and in the broader community?

This virtual conference, CHERE’s fourth Zoom conference, will help us do that for our own students – through peer mentorships, internships, tapping the “hidden” talents of our faculty and staff, community and faith-based connections, informal sports programs and the like.

We will open with a keynote address by a recent college graduate, sharing with us both the expected and unexpected resources that helped him succeed, followed by a student panel examining the broad range of supports each has discovered on campus. A panel of campus professionals will respond, followed by presentations by area college teams describing new ways they have found to support the success of their students.

For registration information, click on image at right or register online at Purple Pass:

www.purplepass.com/hiddenresources

Connecticut Association of Educational Opportunity Programs  (CAEOP) presents its Annual Conference, on Zoom.

Guest Speaker: Dr. Karen Gross, Former college president and author of “Trauma Doesn’t Stop at the Classroom Door: Strategies and Solutions for Educators”.

Dr. Gross will share relevant, practical insights and concrete strategies for addressing the myriad of traumas in students and educators in our complex and difficult world.

“If we can name it, we can tame it.” -  Dr. Karen Gross

REGISTER HERE

Your registration fee will include the cost of Dr. Gross’ book that will be sent to you, or emailed if you choose the electronic version, after you register. We encourage you to read at last the table of contents prior to Dec. 11. Please indicate on the registration form which version you prefer; or, if you pay with a credit card, by the PurplePass weblink on the form.

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FEES: $75 Early Bird with advanced registration prior to December 2, or $85 if registering between December 2nd and December 11, 2020. (Walk-ins are also welcome).
Ideally, we prefer if you register HERE, online at: https://forms.gle/pNSrJMxryPkHUWFs5

If you must use snail mail, please send a check payable to CAEOP to: Chrystie Cruz, CAEOP Treasurer, 126 Park Avenue, Wahlstrom Library, Room 519, Bridgeport, CT 06604, after you have completed this form.

TO PAY WITH A CREDIT CARD, please go to: www.purplepass.com/traumaStrategies
QUESTIONS?? Contact David Johnston at: educationrwe2@gmail.com, or via phone at: 203.640.6201.

FREE Virtual Conference Presented by CHERE and Sons of Thunder

1 -High School Planning for College Success

The first panel discussion will focus on ways  High School  faculty and staff can support students’ choice-making about the types of institutions and programs   that will lead them to success in college - and on how students can become academically,  emotionally and “practically” ready.

2 - Mentoring Models to Support the College Transition

 … from summer melt through enrollment and engagement

The second panel will focus on ways to ease the  transition into college - overcoming summer melt,  selecting the "right" courses and becoming engaged in college life, even at a distance - in order to maximize student retention and persistence.

Students participated on both panels.

The second ZOOM IN! Conference, focused on the Institutional Challenges we face as we work to reopen regarding…

· the safety and health of students and all staff

· quality of learning both on campus and online

· how to get real value from online learning

How do we keep students engaged, despite  reductions in some sports and student activities?

How can we reimagine our campuses in this new normal?

And how do we maintain our morale with so much change around us?

An important and engaging discussion, featuring an expert panel and your questions, comments and suggestions.

• PART 1

• PART 2

Higher education is at a crossroads.

Whether we like it or not, the nature of higher education is changing: teaching and learning going digital, more students learning on-line and off-campus, costs and debt keeping our most needy students from enrolling, lack of supports to help them succeed.

Colleges in CT and beyond – two-year, four-year, and technical programs – are trying to address these challenges. It is CHERE’s mission to help share ideas that work and bring practitioners together to seek new strategies and solutions.

Join key policy makers and higher education leaders from Connecticut and the region for an important Two-Day conference. We will examine the nature of higher education today, and the challenges and the strategies that can make a difference.

Speakers include the Co-Chair of the CT Legislature’s Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee, representatives from the CT Board of Regents, American Association of State Colleges and Universities, and college presidents.

See REGISTRATION FORM for Oct. 11 and Oct. 18. To register and pay on-line with a credit card, please go to:

• https://www.purplepass.com/#189865  for Oct. 11

• https://www.purplepass.com/#190256  for Oct. 18

In partnership with Connecticut State Colleges & Universities, Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, Central Connecticut State University and Goodwin College.

TENTATIVE AGENDA

8:30-9:00    Registration and Breakfast

9:00-9:15      Greetings and Introductions

9:15-9:30      What We Can Do Today to Improve Higher Education FOR ALL in Connecticut

Mark Ojakian, President, CT Board of Regents

9:30-10:25      Panel: Making Higher Education Work for All Students

Representatives from CT Governor’s office, top leadership from Goodwin College and other private and public colleges and universities

10:40-11:35 Panel:  The High School to College Transition -  Building an Effective Continuum from High School  to Higher Education and Beyond

Representatives from area school districts and leading organizations supporting education in the high school  to college transition

11:50-12:30 Student Response Panel

12:30-1:15 Lunch and Informal Networking

1:15-2:55 Concurrent Workshops

 WORKSHOPS

• Crisis Management for Students:                                  

• Seamless Counseling

• Academic Support for Reinstated and Probation  Students

• Women in College

• Bridge Programs: Helping Challenged Students Acclimate to College

• First Day, First Week, First Month, First Year Experience

• Brainstorming Big Issues in Education  

Did you miss the two-part conference on The Future of Higher Education?

See media coverage here.

See conference presentation materials here.

Higher education is at a crossroads.

Whether we like it or not, the nature of higher education is changing: teaching and learning going digital, more students learning on-line and off-campus, costs and debt keeping our most needy students from enrolling, lack of supports to help them succeed.

Colleges in CT and beyond – two-year, four-year, and technical programs – are trying to address these challenges. It is CHERE’s mission to help share ideas that work and bring practitioners together to seek new strategies and solutions.

Join key policy makers and higher education leaders from Connecticut and the region for an important Two-Day conference. We will examine the nature of higher education today, and the challenges and the strategies that can make a difference.

Speakers include the Co-Chairs of the CT Legislature’s Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee, representatives from the CT Board of Regents, American Association of State Colleges and Universities, and college presidents.

To register and pay on-line with a credit card, please go to:

• https://www.purplepass.com/#189865  for Oct. 11 registration.

• https://www.purplepass.com/#190256 for Oct. 18 registration.

In partnership with Connecticut State Colleges & Universities, Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, Central Connecticut State University and Goodwin College.

CONFERENCE LOCATION: Park in either the Student Center lot or garage (just north of the Student Center), or the Welte Garage (just west of the Student Center).  Conference is in the Constitution Room in Memorial Hall, which is just across a small plaza from the Student Center.  Go up to the second floor and into Constitution Hall, opposite the food court.

TENTATIVE AGENDA

8:30-9:00   Registration and Breakfast

9:00-9:15 Greetings and Introductions              

9:15-10:00     Big Issues & New Approaches to Support Traditional & Challenged Students

George Mehaffy, Vice President for Academic Leadership and Change, American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), Washington, D.C. 

10:15-11:15 Panel:  New Visions for Higher Education in Connecticut

Representatives from the Connecticut General Assembly, college presidents and superintendents of schools  

11:25-12:00 Student Response Panel

12:15-1:00 Lunch and Informal Networking

1:00-3:00 Concurrent Workshops

 WORKSHOPS

• Improving Support for Today’s Increasingly Challenged Students

• STEM “vs.” Liberal Arts: Must It be “Either Or?”             

• Financial Aid and Student Debt

• Adult Education: Pipeline to Higher Education

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on Campus

• Growth Mindset

• Critical Thinking Skills

• Using Big Data to Improve Outcomes                      

Improving the success of students in passing college-level math and English is not sufficient to  improve completion rates. These efforts need to be tied to efforts to strengthen supports for students to take and pass “gatekeeper courses.”

Research on the elements of effective teaching in higher education suggests that providing students with a “big picture” of the key topics within a specific course, and how they fit together, helps to improve learning.

Instead of letting students find their own paths through college, a growing number of colleges and universities nationally are taking a different approach.  They are creating “guided pathways” for  students – by redesigning their courses to simplify students’ decisions, creating more highly structured programs with default schedules and built-in feedback and supports that help students make better choices that will lead them toward their end goals, but without limiting their choices.

On April 26, come hear about and discuss how Connecticut is adapting this innovative approach   and bringing it to the 12 community colleges and four state universities within the Connecticut State College and University system over the next four years.  Although this concept came out of community college contexts, the core principles in Guided Pathways can be adapted to almost any institution serving underrepresented, first generation and otherwise challenged students.

Unlocking the Secret Society: Supporting Success for Men and Others by race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, health status, etc.

Among the questions we’ll be exploring with expert panelists, keynote speaker, and dynamic, engaging break-out sessions:

• Why is diversity important?

• How does the “secret society” of college get opened for first generation students, students of color, etc.?

• Why are men going to college in smaller numbers than women?  What can we do about this?

• Why are men who go to college graduating at lower rates than women?  What can we do about this?

• Why are there so few people of color in faculty and senior staff positions?

Women students face special obstacles to navigating higher education, from stereotypical expectations of female submissiveness to obligations to care for children and family and even threats of sexual violence.

How do low-income and minority women experience gender as an obstacle to successfully completing their degree? How do effective programs help female students to get the resources they need, find their voices and take charge of their educations and careers?

Women’s leadership programs teach students to advocate for themselves and encourage campus involvement that improves their persistence.  Career exploration and development, particularly in fields such as STEM and manufacturing that are nontraditional for women, help students find role models and gain access to careers with higher salaries to support themselves and their families.

Effective campus response to sexual violence works to ensure that survivors are able to pursue their education and to train all students to be effective bystanders, changing the campus climate and preventing assaults.  Wrap-around services for women students with children often address survival-level needs, with persistence to graduation and increased earning potential breaking the cycle of generational poverty. 

Presented in partnership with the Aurora Women and Girls Foundation.  Held at the Connecticut Historical Society, 1 Elizabeth Street, Hartford.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

More About 2018 Conferences

The September 20 conference is "part 2" of CHERE's 3 linked conferences in 2018. 

On June 22, at the University of Hartford, campus representatives, several students, and several community-based activists looked at diversity and how to support challenged students.  A student as keynote speaker outlined how he "unlocked the secret society,” a veteran college counselor responded with his own story, a professional panel weighed in, and 4 afternoon workshops looked at related issues in detail. 

On Nov. 9th, at Gateway Community College in New Haven, CHERE conferees will look at the challenges and opportunities faced by men in college, overcoming the barriers that prevent many from going at all, and that get in the way of their thriving once on campus.  Registrants can pay an early bird fee for either and a package deal for both.

How do we turn our campuses into diverse communities? This conference, part 1 of 3, will help us turn diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives into ACTION - to support our under-represented, first generation, minority and otherwise challenged students, and to help all students benefit from a diverse campus community.

Topics include high school to college transition, sustaining success in the first year and supporting student identity without building silos. Discussions will lead to practical solutions and implementable initiatives around academic, social and financial supports.

A student will keynote these challenges, and a skilled expert will put those comments in context.  Following, a panel of students and professionals will look deeper into these challenges, based on their own experience, and engage in dialogue with other attendees.

Working sessions after lunch, led by adult and student co-facilitators, will look at practices that help students engage with their schools to find their identity and avoid isolation.

IT'S CHERE

CHERE’s conferences feature student involvement, with adults as supporters, and foster lots of dialogue, not speeches, and the presence of representatives from both public and private colleges and universities in New England and New York.

Click here for Registration Form

THERE'S MORE...

Part 2 - Success for Women - Sept. 20 - University of Saint Joseph

Female students face many of the same obstacles to completing their college degrees as their male counterparts. How do low-income and minority women experience gender as an obstacle to successfully moving on? Presented in partnership with the Aurora Women and Girls Foundation.

Part 3 - Success for Men and Other Groups - Nov. 9 - Gateway Community College

All students face obstacles to college success, often very different ones for students of different backgrounds. This event will look at ways that schools and colleges are addressing these challenges and highlight innovative practices that have been proven to work.

You can register for two conferences, or all three!  Special discounts apply.

This fall, UConn-Hartford joins Capital Community College, the University of Saint Joseph, the University of Hartford and Trinity College as active players in the heart of our capital city. This opens up new opportunities for student engagement and other areas of collaboration.

The Center for Higher Education Retention Excellence (CHERE), under the auspices of the Hartford Consortium for Higher Education (HCHE), is inviting a select group of educational, community and corporate leaders to join us as we work to help transform downtown Hartford into a vibrant center for learning, culture and recreation.

We would be honored if you would be part of this high-level working group.

The opportunities and challenges are clear.  With eleven colleges in the Capital City region…

• How do we engage more than 40,000 college students and faculty in all the city has to offer?
• How do we leverage UConn’s added presence to spur new programming and development?
• How best can Hartford’s corporate, cultural and educational leaders reach out to college communities?
• How can area colleges make it easier for students and faculty to take advantage of these growing opportunities?

We will actively engage stakeholders from multiple sectors – from college and K-12 education, local government, arts and culture, sports and recreation, retail business and night-life – in creating practical initiatives that can make a real difference in our city.

The day will consist of targeted presentations, working sessions on identifying obstacles and solutions, and the planning of concrete activities to be implemented in the near future, with a clear commitment to continue this important work in the coming months and years.

RSVP to MMORA@METROHARTFORD.com by October 27.

Past CHERE conferences have focused on key retention strategies for underrepresented, first generation and otherwise challenged students. On April 13, 2017 over 110 educators from more than 40 colleges explored “embedded support,” incorporating extra supports into credit-bearing courses. In 2015, CHERE explored “seamless counseling,” supporting students through high school, “summer melt” and college.

These strategies are the backdrop for CHERE’s sixteenth conference: September 29, 2017, at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven. We are inviting higher education, K-12 and community-based representatives to explore new ways – to go deeper -- to design and test effective retention strategies. We will feature overlapping keynote addressesby:

• Peter Arthur, University of British Columbia at Okanagan, entitled: “Meta Cognition, Grit and Growth Mindset as keys to retention, and
• Professors Steven Pearlman and David Carillo, University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford,” entitled; “Critical Thinking – Teaching and Evaluating It.”

Both sets of practice and research show a positive relationship to students’ academic success. They willdiscuss evidence-based strategies, share theirresearch and demonstrate how these traits can foster successful lifelong learning, giving participants tools to evaluate the results.

Who will benefit from this conference?

• Higher education faculty and staff will learn how to teach habits of persistence and self-advocacy to their students.
• High school faculty and staff will learn how to fostermetacognition, grit,  growth mindset and critical thinking skills with students, helping put them on a path to success in higher education.
• Community-based representatives who help challenged students access and succeed in higher education will learn how to connect with and complement high school and college staff.   There will be ample time for substantive questions and discussion.

On-line registration, including Early Bird pricing, now available.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/college-embedded-support-to-seamless-counseling-to-graduation-tickets-34255434928

Some colleges around the nation have embedded remedial education in conventional, credit-bearing classes, and done so with successfulresults in selected courses, generally assisted by grants. But no state has reduced the time entering students can be in remedial education while addressing their gaps in the way Connecticut has.

Connecticut’s law—and its implementation—has drawn national attention because of its novel approach to dealing with what is widely seen as a primary obstacle to improving graduation rates.

Hear first-hand from those who’ve made the transition—faculty, students and administrators—explain how embedded support helps, why it works, and what the experience has been.

Is embedded support a critical component for extending student success?

Online Registration
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/embedded-support-how-it-helps-why-it-works-tickets-27578205154

At this session, we will work together to develop:

• Concrete strategies for recruiting underrepresented, first generation and other challenged students in higher education – both traditional age students and adult learners;
• Collaborative proposals for implementation across campuses to support the success and retention of these students;
• Creative approaches to provide resources for these programs in a time of limited funds and supports; and
• Ideas and suggestions for “Part II” conference on “Embedded Support,” April 13, 2017, 9 am – 3 pm - at ECSU in Willimantic.

There is no charge for this session.

To email your plans to attend, or for more information, contact David Johnston at educationRwe@gmail.com or Alan Kramer at akramer@goodwin.edu. 

Snow date is Jan. 20. 

While adult education has been around for many years, the nature and quality has varied widely, depending on the type  of community, whether any given school system sees adulted as a positive or negative part of its K-12 system,  and  more.  Recently, more people in Connecticut (and perhaps elsewhere) see the potential for adult ed, in partnership with higher education, to help many people who have struggled educationally to:

• Improve their lives through pursuit of postsecondary education, often for the first time;
• Help address shortages of specific skills in the economy,
• Recognize the need for college credentials, of various types, to address these shortages; and,
• Be one answer to declining college enrollments (especially at community colleges and state universities),

Connecticut is now embarked on an ambitious program of adult education. This conference will look at the rationale for these programs, and dig into the critical but thorny imperative to track the results of these programs over time.

How to Save Higher Education:
Conference Continues on Apr. 29

The Center for Higher Education Retention Excellence (CHERE) is sponsoring an innovative two-part conference on “Saving Higher Education.”  The first session was held on Nov. 13; the conclusion will be on April 29, 2016.  It is a two-part program to foster continuity and longer-term impact. Participants in Day 1 came away with tangible program ideas from some very good campus initiatives.  They will return in April to talk about implementation plans and actions.

Part 1: November 13 at Central Connecticut State University - Can Non-Traditional Students Save Higher Education, and Vice Versa?, to explore issues related to non-traditional students including underrepresented and first generation traditional age students and adult learners who have never been to college.  

Guest Speaker:  Jennifer Smith, Ph.D., University of Texas – Austin. Dr. Smith is  Director of the University Leadership Network, a nationally-recognized incentive-based scholarship program with a focus on leadership, professional development, and experiential learning.  The program serves students who may meet all or a combination of: high financial need, rural background, first generation, and underrepresented student populations.

CHERE April 29 2016 Flyer Registration Form

Part 2: April 29 at Goodwin College – Saving Higher Ed: Identifying Solutions That Really Work

Guest Speaker:  George Mehaffy, Vice President for Academic Leadership and Change, American Association of State Colleges and Universities.  His division of AASCU is responsible for developing and managing programs for member institutions in areas such as organizational change, civic engagement, leadership development, undergraduate education, technology, international education and teacher education.  He works closely with university presidents and chief academic officers on a variety of national initiatives. Before coming to AASCU, he had more than twenty years of teaching and administrative experience in higher education in Texas, New Mexico, and California.

This two-day, two-part  conference looks at promising and best practices on both sides of the higher education continuum, access (“getting in”) and success (retaining to graduation and employment), through the eyes of public and private school educators, community-based organizations, and students themselves.

The November conference also included an expert panel that will include the Provost of CCSU, two institution presidents (from a Connecticut Community College and a private university), a senior elected official from the state legislature and a representative of the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education.

Among the key questions of the day: How do we change that perception in an era of rapidly increasing costs of higher education?  How do we make sure that those who advise high school students — parents, counselors, teachers, community agency staff — understand the quality of career and technical education programs and see them as viable choices?

Nov. 13/April 29 Conference Sponsors:  The conference is sponsored by CHERE in partnership with the Hartford Consortium for Higher Education, the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education, Central Connecticut State University, Goodwin College and the National Resource Center for First Year Experience and Students in Transition at the University of South Carolina.

“Most middle- and low-income students struggle to complete a degree…but a big part of the solution lies at schools like the University of Texas at Austin, selective but not super-elite, that are able to take large numbers of highly motivated working-class students and give them the tools they need to become successful professionals.  The U.T. experiment reminds us that the process isn’t easy; it never has been.   But it also reminds us that it is possible.”  –  New York Times Magazine (2014)

Higher Education & Students with Autism:  What We Know, What We Need to Know & How We Get There Together.  A half-day conference for college and university faculty and staff to learn about strategies for improving the success of college students with Autism.

Friday, April 1, 2016, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM at University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford.

Keynote Presentation by Jane Thierfeld Brown, Director of Student Services, UConn School of Law.

Includes Student/Parent Response Panel, Universal Design Panel: Evidence-Based Practices and Implementing Universal Design:  Interactive Session & Expert Panel.

Free of charge.  Registration required.  

Presented by CHERE, the Hartford Consortium for Higher Education, University of Saint Joseph.  With support from Aetna.

A copy of “Students with Asperger Syndrome: A Guide for College Personnel” will be included in conference materials.

Program included:

• Research-based perspective from a Senior Researcher at the Community College Research Center at Columbia University
• Overview from several Community College leaders in Connecticut
•  Insights on Community College experience from several students
• Best practices at Rockland (NY) Community College by veteran educators

The conference featured nationally acclaimed education researcher, Dr. Elisabeth Barnett from the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, New York.  Panelists will include President Cathryn Addy from Tunxis Community College, President Ann Wasescha from Middlesex Community College, a veteran college instructor, and a veteran high school counselor.

How to have one and two-year programs, including exciting new options at community colleges, be a part of higher education alternatives for more high school graduates. How best to serve motivated students through programs that attract many challenged and under-represented students, including adult learners, but with widely disparate outcomes in retention, graduation, and ultimate debt levels in relation to ability to pay off those debts. CHERE expresses appreciation to the Travelers Foundation for generous support.

“Summer before,” high-school “catch-up” and “reach-back” programs to help challenged high school students and “adult learners” see higher education as an option and overcome deficits that compromise their readiness for college.  Campus and community programs in Connecticut and a “best practices” program from LaGuardia Community College in Queens, New York were featured, and a student panel talked about their experience.