Education Strategy Group, The Association of Community College Trustees and The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association are pleased to announce the continuation of the Making A Comeback series with three new webinars in the month of July. These online forums are designed to help state and institutional leaders anticipate and respond to challenges facing higher education due to COVID-19. 

We hope you will join us every other week beginning Wednesday, July 1. Registration links and additional details for each of these free events can be found below.

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Reskilling Displaced Workers. Wednesday, July 1, 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT
Given the likelihood that many displaced workers will enroll in education and training, it is incumbent upon higher education to prioritize innovative delivery models to ensure these individuals can successfully – and quickly – attain the skills they need for immediate job placement.

Panelists:

• Alex Johnson, President, Cuyahoga Community College
• Zora Mulligan, Commissioner of Higher Education, Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development
• Katherine Wheatle, Strategy Officer for Finance & Federal Policy, Lumina Foundation

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Navigating Enrollment Shifts, Wednesday, July 15, 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT
The economic challenges that students and their families face as a result of the pandemic will likely mean significant changes in postsecondary enrollment. While many traditional students may defer or cancel their plans to enroll, institutions will also likely see an influx of displaced workers returning to upskill. Where and how will enrollment shifts occur? What will these shifts mean for institutions’ finances, operations, and delivery models?

Panelists:

• Wil Del Pilar, Vice President of Higher Education Policy & Practice, The Education Trust
• Lee Lambert, Chancellor, Pima Community College
• Additional panelist to be announced

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Improving Online Education, Wednesday, July 29, 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT
Even as some campuses move toward physical re-opening, institutions need to consider the longer-term potential and implications of virtual learning. As more institutions go online, how will institutions and systems ensure high-quality online learning opportunities?

Panelists:

• Keith Curry, President, Compton College
• Jon Sizemore, Associate Vice Chancellor for Distance Education and Innovation, University System of Georgia
• Belle Wheelan, President, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on College

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Catch Up on Earlier Webinars

The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and tragically, many other Black Americans have left many Americans outraged and in pain and sparked a movement of protest across the country. At SHEEO, we stand with those fighting against racism, racial violence, white supremacy, and the racial injustices in our country and affirmatively declare that Black lives matter.

SHEEO’s vision reads, “Together with its members, SHEEO will promote an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors.” We stand behind our vision and are reflecting on how we can work together to combat and dismantle racism through our work. We stand with the Black community and those peacefully working to advance equity and opportunity. As a staff, we will work together to help make systems of higher education places of learning and community for Black students, faculty, and staff, and places free of institutional and systemic racism.

For words to be meaningful, they must be followed by specific action. We have much work to do and will develop an inclusive plan that details how we will move forward. For now, we offer our strong support to our members who are working on plans to address systemic racism, advance equity in educational opportunity, and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Written by Denise Pearson and Kelsey Heckert

The United States leads the world in the number of incarcerated persons per 100,000.1
In today’s global economy, these numbers represent huge wastes in human capital, especially when you consider the inequitable nature of the American criminal justice system, as witnessed by the disproportionate racial and ethnic composition, types of crimes, and length of prison sentences represented within this population. Regardless of the pathway to prison, most incarcerated people will eventually return to the communities from which they came, so one of the important questions may be, how does society want them to show up? Broken or made whole? Angry or hopeful? Employable or unemployable? Role model or counterexample?

The essence of this paper is linked to a favored quote by the late Nelson Mandela, who said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” These words are as profound today as they were in 1990 when he addressed an audience of Boston high school students. Furthermore, education in America remains one of the best investments individuals and governments can make, which should include investment in prison-based education programs. These types of efforts are cost-effective, reduce recidivism, improve employment prospects, increase civic engagement, and can disrupt generational poverty. Despite Second Chance Pell programs and other evidence supporting the multilayered value of postsecondary (coursework beyond high school) education for incarcerated populations, barriers and challenges persist. Fortunately, leaders of state agencies and systems of higher education are increasingly exploring
the feasibility of these programs for their states.

This paper presents preliminary findings from a survey SHEEO administered to its members in 2018. It advocates for postsecondary education for incarcerated persons as a relevant policy issue at federal and state levels in current political environments. Key findings and recommendations were informed by responses from 38 percent of SHEEO’s membership. States responding to the survey were Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming. Non-member organizations included Truckee Meadows Community College (NV); University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Bismarck State College (ND); and the Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges. The paper is organized around three main categories: access, program delivery, and reentry of program participants into society, with the following key performance indicators.

Read the Full White Paper