In 2013, in order to provide California students with a better roadmap to lucrative, much-needed and industry-relevant careers, the state legislature created a $250 million competitive grant program called the California Career Pathways Trust in the 2013–14 budget. The aim was to establish sustained career pathway programs connecting businesses, K–12 and institutions of higher education. Out of 123 eligible applications submitted last spring, just 39 grants were awarded, and one of those went to a consortium that includes CSUN. The grant will significantly expand the college’s pipeline from the K–12 and community college sectors through clearly defined skill-based pathways.
The consortium, which is led by the Glendale Unified School District, also includes Burbank Unified School District, Glendale Community College and the Verdugo Workforce Investment Board. The $6 million grant will help establish four career pathways over three years. At CSUN, two of the pathways—innovation and entrepreneurship, and digital manufacturing—are based in CECS. The other two, gaming and Web design/digital media, are based in CSUN’s Mike Curb College of Arts, Media and Communication. In addition, the College of Education will support the grant by training 60 teachers from the Glendale and Burbank school districts.
“The idea is to create a clear skills-based pathway so students can go from high school to community college and then to CSUN,” explains Shereazad Jimmy Gandhi, assistant professor of engineering management and director of the Ernie Schaeffer Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, who is heading the pathway for innovation and entrepreneurship. “We wanted to focus on the skill sets needed by industry. The pathways won’t be theory based but will be very skills focused and incorporate a lot of hands-on experiences. The students will then be better prepared for jobs and more employable.”
One requirement of the California Career Pathways Trust program is that each pathway have multiple exit points. For example, a student who wants to work in one of the targeted fields straight out of high school will be prepared for entry-level jobs. Similarly, someone who enters the job market after two years of community college will be qualified for positions requiring additional skills and experience. Students who decide to remain in the pathway until enrolling in CSUN will graduate with certificates demonstrating that they have the relevant expertise for higher-level jobs in the field.
George Youssef, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, who is heading CSUN’s digital manufacturing pathway for the grant, notes that the consortium members will be designing the pathways from scratch, creating new curriculum. That in turn will necessitate training the high school teachers to teach it through fairly extensive professional development. The CSUN team will be responsible for the professional development and will also articulate the university’s own pathways curriculum with that of Glendale Community College.
In addition, as part of its deliverables, the members of the CSUN team will conduct outreach to high school students in the two districts about career options in the pathways and has already presented information sessions to those attending College Day on November 7.
The grant has been funded through June 2017, with two additional years allowed for implementation.
“We need to build a model that is sustainable so we can sustain ourselves into the future,” says Gandhi.