Joint Committee Committee on Joint Education (04/08/2009)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

COMMITTEE ON JOINT EDUCATION

Date:	04/08/2009	ATTENDANCE

Time:	07:40 AM to 08:50 AM	Baumgardner
		Benefield
Place:	HCR 0112	Groff
		Heath
This Meeting was called to order by		Hudak
	Senator Bacon	King K.
		Massey
This Report was prepared by		Middleton
	Jennifer Thomsen	Murray
		Peniston
		Priola
		Romer
		Scanlan
		Schafer S.
		Scheffel
		Solano
		Spence
		Summers
		Todd
		Merrifield
		Bacon

		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Presentation on Union Apprenticeships Presentation from Independent Higher Education Presentation from University of Colorado System		- - -

07:40 AM -- Presentation on Union Apprenticeships

The presenters provided a packet of materials about union apprenticeships (Attachment A).

Mark Mitchell, Training Coordinator for the Denver Plumbers Joint Apprenticeship Committee, talked about apprenticeships, saying they typically have an on-the-job component, a classroom component, a college credit component, or a combination thereof. Mr. Mitchell talked about salary differentials and wage levels.

07:45 AM

Mr. Mitchell responded to committee questions about the number of apprentices in the plumbing program and about the length of the apprenticeship program. Larry Lawrence, Training Director for the Colorado Sheet Metal Workers Joint Apprenticeship and Training Institute, responded to the committee's questions as well, referring to a handout containing information about pay for apprentices.

Mr. Lawrence talked about the dollar value of an apprenticeship versus the dollar value of a college degree. He said the program has a 72 percent graduation rate. He explained the job placement services of his program. Mr. Mitchell responded to a committee question about the number of available apprenticeships and the number of applicants.

07:50 AM

Dan Hendricks, Training Coordinator for the Denver Joint Electrical Apprenticeship and Training Committee, talked about the certifications and state licenses offered by the apprenticeship programs. He talked about the importance of education and training, and the education, training, and career path offered by his program. Mr. Hendricks responded to a committee question about how federal stimulus moneys might impact the trades. He explained that his program offers training related to renewable energy trades.

Mr. Lawrence responded to a committee question about how his programs participate in career nights at local high schools. He described his work with high schools and with parents. He explained that they take applications for their programs year round.

07:57 AM

Mr. Lawrence responded to a question about the current enrollment bill currently being considered by the General Assembly (House Bill 09-1319).

Mr. Hendricks responded to a committee question about the number of female apprentices in his program. He talked about the different avenues available to apprentices. Mr. Lawrence responded to this question as well.

08:04 AM -- Presentation from Independent Higher Education

Toni Larson, Executive Director of Independent Higher Education of Colorado (IHEC), and Sara Odendahl and Edie Busam from Aponte & Busam came to the table. Dr. Larson provided a packet of handouts (Attachment B). Dr. Larson talked about IHEC, saying it is a nonprofit organization representing Colorado's independent colleges and universities. She said the three schools represented by IHEC are Colorado College, Regis University, and the University of Denver.

Dr. Larson explained that about 28,500 students attend the three institutions and about half are in-state students. She talked about outreach to minority students and about four-year graduation rates. She explained that about one-half of students get some financial aid. She described the example of Colorado College, talking about financial aid that is provided to students and their loan burden at the end of four years.

08:12 AM

Dr. Larson described the number of students at each institution who are Pell grant-eligible, and compared the number to the number of Pell grant-eligible students at some state institutions. She talked about student financial aid, discussing the reduction in aid going to independent institutions.

Dr. Larson talked about community involvement and about the ways the institutions are working to get more funds into financial aid.

08:15 AM

Dr. Larson talked about teacher preparation programs at the independent institutions. She said the University of Denver has taken on a specialty in P-20 education. She discussed a program for math educators at Regis, talking about community college partnerships. She described the on-line program at Regis and the diverse student population it serves.

08:20 AM

Dr. Larson talked about how the independent institutions contribute to the community. She asked for continued support for financial aid. She talked about the need for a review of teacher preparation programs, saying the independent institutions work with the public institutions.

08:24 AM -- Presentation from University of Colorado System

The presenters provided a packet of information on teacher preparation programs in the University of Colorado System (Attachment C).

Michael Poliakoff, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research at the University of Colorado, spoke about the education schools in the University of Colorado System, highlighting some accomplishments including the publication of 30 books on education and 246 peer-reviewed articles.

08:27 AM

Dr. Janet Lopez, Director of P-20 Education Initiatives at the University of Colorado - Denver, talked about her work. She talked about the P-20 concept and the goals of a P-20 education system.

08:29 AM

Lynn Rhodes, Dean of the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Colorado - Denver, talked to the committee about the mission of the school. She described work being done by the school using grant moneys, including preparing students for teaching in the most challenging schools in the metro area. She talked about work around early childhood special education at the school and assessments.

08:34 AM

Paul Teske, Dean of the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado - Denver, talked about his school. He provided a number of examples of the school's policy centers' work, including work with the Governor's P-20 Council and involvement in Race to the Top preparations, work with Denver Public Schools on the district's ProComp teacher pay program and implementation of innovation schools, and work with the Jefferson County Schools around assessing the costs and benefits of music education programs.

08:39 AM

Lorrie Shepard, Dean of the School of Education at the University of Colorado - Boulder, talked about her school. She provided information about the BUENO Center for Multicultural Education, CU Teach, and the National Math and Science Initiative.

08:45 AM

Dr. La Vonne Neal, Dean of the College of Education at the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs, talked about research to practice and work on culturally responsive teaching. She talked about the federally-funded partnership with Galileo Middle School to address drop-out rates, failing grades, and declining enrollment.

08:49 AM

Senator Bacon thanked the panelists. The committee adjourned.