Plus 50 Initiative
Emphasizes Completion
b Y TAbIThA WhIssEMORE
T
he American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)
is accepting proposals for its Plus 50 Initiative through
March 4. The latest incarnation of the national program for
older learners focuses on degree and certificate completion.
The AACC Plus 50 Completion Strategy, launched in October 2010,
The focus on completion marks a change from when the program first debuted
in 2008. Then, the idea was to get plus-50 learners back to college for training and
retraining, value-added volunteering, and personal enrichment.
The goal now is to serve 9,000 plus-50 students at 20 community colleges, with
40 percent completing a certificate or degree program, or earning a not-for-credit
credential, by 2014. The emphasis is on reaching students who have already earned
college credits, but never completed a program.
Nine participating Plus 50 Initiative community colleges have been chosen for the
new strategy, and AACC has grants for 11 more to join the network. Proposals are now
being accepted from community colleges that want to expand or enhance existing
adult-learner programs; the grants are funded by Lumina Foundation for Education.
More details on the grants and the
request for proposals:
• Grants are $12,000, spread over three
years ($6,000 in year one; $3,000 in
years two and three). The grant will
also provide a $1,200 travel allowance
for the college’s Plus 50 Completion
Strategy coordinator to attend a
conference in summer 2011.
• Eligible colleges must be AACC
member colleges in good standing.
• Colleges should be interested in expanding existing programs for plus-50
students and have experience in workforce development programming. Colleges must demonstrate application of
the standards of excellence identified
by AACC’s Plus 50 Initiative.
• Colleges must demonstrate established successful partnerships with
employers that not only support programs, but also hire plus-50 students.
• Colleges with programs aimed at com-
pletion for adult learners that have
earned prior college credits but not a
credential are encouraged to apply.
COMING FALL 2010
1.866.DISTLRN
■
This media-rich online course takes students through the origins
and evolution of the U.S. political system and the role of
government in an ever-shrinking world.
Introducing an exclusive course concept:"Virtual Roundtables."
This thematic series of short, issue-oriented documentaries confronts
students with a variety of competing political ideas and values as
they reach their own conclusions regarding their government.
Each lesson features:
■ Lesson summaries ■ Faculty Guide
■ Interactive activities ■ Resources
■ Integrated videos
■ Discussion board questions
■ Self-assessment progress checks
■ Course glossary
telelearning.dcccd.edu
