Bigger and Better in Waterloo: Collaboration as Key to Students’ Transition

Abstract: The Transition Program at Hawkeye Community College's Metro Center is bigger and better than ever. This interactive session will illustrate how Adult Education's collaboration and partnerships with other agencies and programs proves essential to every student's successful transition to post secondary, especially in light of WIOA. Hawkeye's Transition Program builds internal partnerships with the English Language Learning (ELL) program, including instructors of Hawkeye's ELL hybrid college preparatory courses. Transition services play a key role in the High School Completion (HSC) program's Welcome Week, Hawkeye's new intake program for HSC students which uses components of Dr. Laura Weisel's PowerPath system. The Transition Program is also an instrumental part of Hawkeye's I-BEST program, and Hawkeye's full-time Transition Specialist works from the Admissions' Office on main campus weekly to continue paving students' path to college credit courses. A close partnership with Iowa Workforce Development ensures that students have access to the Youth Program, various employment opportunities, and multiple funding steams for their education. Participants will experience how Hawkeye's Transition Program has built the program's philosophy of collaboration, which includes components from Dr. Carol Dweck's research on mindset and from Powerpath's participatory learning techniques. ATTACHMENTS: PowerPoint Presentation