California
Adult Education Innovations
El Camino College
 Consortium Collaborates to Spread the Word about Adult Education in the Region
The Challenge
Each institution in the South Bay Adult Education Consortium offered quality programs but had not fully developed partnerships to help students transition from one program to another. The region’s adult schools and El Camino College operated in isolation from one another. Students in the community did not always know about all of the programs and choices available to them as they moved to postsecondary education and the workforce. The consortium needed to create multiple ways to inform stakeholders, staff and the community of the partnership and resources being developed.
The Solution
Consortium members met and planned a variety of events for the staffs of the consortium and the community designed to inform them of the partnership and the future of adult education. The events included: presenting to the academic senate of El Camino College; a joint meeting with the staffs of all of the adult schools and the creation of a 12-page newspaper insert developed to inform the community. The newspaper insert served to introduce the consortium members, give examples of how adult education can serve the needs of students in the community and gave the past, present and future goals for meeting the needs of the community. The insert included profiles of six students.
The Outcome
Some 25,000 copies of the newspaper insert were distributed by consortium member institutions, and 35,000 copies were inserted into the local newspaper. In addition, the electronic version of the publication was emailed to stakeholders, faculty and staff, as well as other interested parties.
The joint staff meeting, which was well attended by staff from each of the adult schools, included a presentation about the history and future of adult education and time for staff to ask questions about the process. Future meetings were scheduled with staff for collaboration and articulation planning.