Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
Institutional Partnerships as a Bridge to the Baccalaureate for Adults in Appalachia Kentucky
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Abstract: This presentation examines a unique relationship between a community and technical college and a regional university located in Appalachia Kentucky. The Appalachian region of Kentucky has a high rate of poverty and one of the lowest rates of educational attainment in the country. An important means of decreasing regional poverty is to increase the educational level of the citizens. A comprehensive research project of transfer supports and challenges found that within the Appalachian region of Kentucky, community colleges are often accessible to students. However, the majority of community college students who intend to earn a baccalaureate degree do not reach this goal. For students who are location-bound, transfer institutions are often inaccessible. Based upon this research, an institutional partnership was developed to make baccalaureate degrees accessible for Appalachian students. This involved developing an equal institutional partnership and collaboration at all levels of both institutions. This presentation focuses on ways in which postsecondary institutions can collaborate to support students as they work towards the baccalaureate. Major topics of this presentation include: (1) The details of the supporting research, (2) the process of collaboration, (3) exploration of the resulting program (4) barriers encountered during the collaboration process, and (4) discussion of assessment data gathered at the end of three semesters of operation. Keywords: Postsecondary education, institutional partnerships, collaboration
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Dr. Nancy Preston is the Campus Director of Morehead State University at Ashland.
Dr. Amber Decker is the Vice President of Development and Strategic Partnerships at Gateway Community and Technical College.
Institutional Partnerships as a Bridge to the Baccalaureate for Adults in Appalachia Kentucky
Abstract: This presentation examines a unique relationship between a community and technical college and a regional university located in Appalachia Kentucky. The Appalachian region of Kentucky has a high rate of poverty and one of the lowest rates of educational attainment in the country. An important means of decreasing regional poverty is to increase the educational level of the citizens. A comprehensive research project of transfer supports and challenges found that within the Appalachian region of Kentucky, community colleges are often accessible to students. However, the majority of community college students who intend to earn a baccalaureate degree do not reach this goal. For students who are location-bound, transfer institutions are often inaccessible. Based upon this research, an institutional partnership was developed to make baccalaureate degrees accessible for Appalachian students. This involved developing an equal institutional partnership and collaboration at all levels of both institutions. This presentation focuses on ways in which postsecondary institutions can collaborate to support students as they work towards the baccalaureate. Major topics of this presentation include: (1) The details of the supporting research, (2) the process of collaboration, (3) exploration of the resulting program (4) barriers encountered during the collaboration process, and (4) discussion of assessment data gathered at the end of three semesters of operation. Keywords: Postsecondary education, institutional partnerships, collaboration
