OTAN Tech Talk - Using Educational Technology to Create Open Enrollment Opportunities in CTE Program

OT10 Outreach and Technical Assistance Network. Hello everyone. My name is Marjorie Olivitz. I'm a project specialist for the Outreach and Technical Assistance Network or OTN. And I'd like like to welcome you all to this month's OTN tech talk. Our speaker today is Yenia Castro and her topic today is using educational technology to create open enrollment opportunities in CTE programs. Let's get started. Go ahead Jesse. >> Thank you and welcome everyone. Thank you for joining us today. So hopefully I will give you an insight on how to create more opportunities for more students to enroll across your CTE programs. I wanted to welcome everyone again. My name is Yakenia Castro. I am a subject matter expert. I also um have worked as a CT teacher, an academic teacher, and I currently serve as a counselor. Our presentation objectives is really to share um innovative strategies um demonstrate some proven benefits of open enrollment um and really showcase those effective methods and technologies that make open enrollment possible for CTE. I would like to highlight some of the key benefits seen from adopting open enrollment. Um some specific examples from our schools such as increased completion rates um student satisfaction. So I hope by the end of the presentation you will walk away with actionable insights um some best practices and some resources that you can apply to your own programs and implement successful open enrollment. Um, this is something that I'm really excited about. Um, having worked in CTE for 15 years, um, you know, this is something that I really think we need in adult education. So, um, I'm going to talk a little bit about CTE. So, CTE really focuses on equipping our students with the skills and knowledge needed for specific trades, careers, and industries. CT programs really blend academic instruction with hands-on um training preparing students for the wide range of fields such as h uh healthc care, IT, construction. One of the major benefits of CTE is the pathways to high demand um jobs and essential careers. Um so we fill that critical workforce gap providing students with practical skills offering um valuable alternative um education to traditional college pathways. Right? So the growing demand for these CTE programs um is due to their alignment with workforce um that make our jobs so critical in adult ed because as our demand um grows more institutions and educators are really seeking ways to make these programs more accessible. So I hope um to share with you different ways that we can do that. So, most CTE programs allow for a fixed schedule cohort model where students can only join at a specific time, usually in the fall. We're all preparing for these new classes um that are going to be starting in August or September, which really limits our accessibility. Um, open enrollment allows for students to start their course whenever they are ready, making it more convenient for non-traditional learners, um, which is most of our population of working adults and students with unpredictable schedules. Open enrollment also allows for diverse learners with varied learning needs and different life circumstances. The flexibility helps reach a broader range of students including those who may be juggling jobs or family commitments. Um, some of the benefits is really increased accessibility and inclusivity making programs more accessible to a more diverse population which can lead to increased enrollment and greater overall program success. So, I'll be going over how that happens. So, a modular approach really means dividing the curriculum into independent, manageable units or modules, each covering a specific topic or skill. These modules are designed to be self-contained, allowing students to focus on mastering one skill set at a time before moving to the rest. In a traditional CTE class, programs have fixed start dates which limits enrollment opportunities to specific times of the year. Either you start a program in the fall and it's a year-long program or maybe you started in the fall and winter. So, this approach doesn't accommodate students who may want or need to start at a different time. Um, one of the problems that we had at our school, we would start our program in August. Um usually we would start the class you know maybe sometimes we weren't able to fill the all of the seats in the class but then comes October we would get a bunch of interest right so they didn't make that cut off time so with a cohort um based model students move through the curriculum as a group creating a structured experience and limiting flexibility right not being able to add more students if a student misses that session or then they or or maybe falls behind on their enrollment For example, at our school, we take FAFSA. Maybe they they didn't get their FAFSA clearance in time. They may need to wait until the next year to join the program. So, this can lead um to, you know, to possible less enrollments for your school. Um maybe even sometimes if the student has um some potential family conflicts or maybe something happens in their life, um it can lead to higher dropout rates and lower completion rates. So um traditional enrollment is a little bit rigid and can discourage potential students who can't commit to that fixed start date. Um this can result in missed opportunities particularly for the non um traditional students which is what really we service across adult education. So the overview of modular approach and its flexibility. So this approach um often leads to deeper learning and I'll explain why in just a little bit. Um it gives you better retention of skills as students engage with the material in a more focused concentrated way by catering to different learning paces and schedules. A modular design accommodates the varied needs of students, especially in CTE programs where hands-on skills often require individualized time and focus. So, what exactly do you mean by an approach? You're probably thinking, so at its core, um really a modular approach means breaking down the curriculum into manageable, independent units. Really what we're asking is what does my student need to know? And we're going to break it down into three or four subjects. Each module covers a specific topic or a skill and is designed to be self-contained. This way students can focus on mastering specific sales set before moving to the next module without needing to follow that rigid you know once a year enrollment. So this approach offers major benefits for the students with a modular system. They can enroll different times. So we have different start dates and can complete um the program making it much easier to integrate into their personal lives. Okay. Moduleization can also enhance learning outcomes because each module is focused on a single skill or a single subject or concept where students can engage deeply in that material and it promotes better retention in skills. Ultimately mastery students aren't just rushing to complete the curriculum, but really the goal of each module is that they're absorbing and applying as they learn. Moduleization supports a diverse range of learners. It accommodates different learning paces and schedules, making it ideal for varied learning needs. For students learning hands-on skills, having the option to spend more time on a certain module can make a real difference. Um, so this is and as we go through the schedule today, we will go over why this makes such a big difference. So, as you can see, the modular program design is a powerful way to improve both accessibility and outcomes in CTE programs. So, now let's talk about a little bit of technology that's going to enhance your program and then I will give you some more examples of this. So, one of the ways that we can make modular program design successful is through technology. Right? Technology is so essential in this process. So let's look at a few technologies that you are going to need if you plan on modulizing your curriculum. So the first one is going to be your LMS, your learning management system. That is the heart and soul of a modular approach. An LMS like Canvas allows us to deliver content in a structured units or modules the students can access at any time. The LMS is really going to provide that virtual space um that you're going to need for students to review materials, complete assignments, and track their own progress through that modular system. Next, we need um student tracking tools. So, we need to help students um stay on top of prog progress. Um once we modulize, it's a you know, it's going to be really vital to monitor each student's journey. So, the tracking tools are going to make it easy for us to identify where students might be struggling or excelling, allowing you as a teacher to provide targeted support and keep students motivated. And finally, digital um credentiing platforms. For example, um utilizing um you know, badge uh creation systems. So this is going to or micro credentials will for each module that you create is going to allow students to see tangible results as they complete each step in their program. This only encourages students not only encourages students but also provides them with stackable credentials that they can lead to larger um qualifications or certifications over time. So, some examples of tech tools used um in a modulized system. So, we're going to go over some specific tools that can really bring um a modular program to life. So, interactive video platforms like Edpuzzle or Wayground can be integrated into your LMS to deliver engaging video content. These tools allow you to embed quizzes, prompts, or even discussion points directly into videos. So students can actively engage as they watch. This type of interactive content can highly be effective in um those programs that require those an hand hands-on skills and demonstration. Another powerful tool is going to be your discussion boards and those group chat tools. So these tools provide a space for students to connect, ask questions, and work collaboratively outside of the class. Um when it comes to a modular program, a lot of um I will show you how we will break down the curriculum, but you will also have that online interactive part um where you're going to have that virtual community where students can interact with each other and keep um to keep them engaged and more motivated in your program. So these are just some learning platforms. Again, Canvas being one of the most popular ones. I personally really like Neo and there is um you know we can still use that Google classroom to create our LMS um video platforms. So creating videos, you know, with just your computer video camera, creating videos through Zoom, through Loom, through Castify, all of these are going to be video tools that you can use to help you make the videos that you're going to embed in your LMS. Um, we have tools, collaborative tools, for example, Padlet. It's an interactive digital bulletin board that allows educators and students to collaborate to share ideas and present information in a visually engaging way. Um, it allows students to post their ideas and then foster those discussions that you want in class. Um, even they can record their own video in a really easy way um to share with other students. Lumio is a digital learning platform um that is designed to create interactive and engaging lessons. Again, um really seamless interaction that you interaction that you can do with or integration, I apologize, integration that you can do with your Canvas or your LMS and you um can use this tool to import your current pre-existing PowerPoints and then really creating those interactive formats. Other tools that I love that I've used in these um open enrollment is Quizzes or Quizlet, allowing for that gamification and really putting those tools in place um for students to memorize specific um curriculum that they need to know. All right. So, now that I've gone over some tools, let's talk about how we can move from traditional structure to an open enrollment model using that modular design. So, being able to implement open enrollment into CTE programs is really a stepbystep process that ensures each module can stand alone, allowing students to join at different points of the year. So, the first step is going to be to really map out your curriculum into distinct self-contained modules. Each module is going to focus specifically on what your learners need to know. So, step two is Whoops. Step two is going to um work on Sorry, give me one second. Sorry. Step two is really going to work on integrating technology into these modules to make them more manageable, right? Uploading all of your curriculum into we're going to separate all of your curriculum into three or four different modules. And finally, creating that flexible enrollment points. Designing effective modules for open enrollment means making sure that each module is both flexible and self-contained. Right? So, we're going to create a way where we can look at a specific topic and have clear objectives and assessment criteria and really it's going to be designed for students to complete before they can move to the next one. So for example, if a student is completing maybe a module in health careers, maybe um you know our first module might be patient safety um or the next module may be um you know maybe security or um you know patient tools. So the second is going to be to provide all the necessary resources and assessments within each module itself. The third is going to be to design modules to be adaptable for various learning speeds. Once you've implemented open enrollment, you'll need a system to effectively manage and track your progress. So the first step is really to break down your curriculum. Really take a look at what goes with what. What do my students need to know? So for example at our school we look at our first module that they take is their fundamentals. What is the fundamental key things that students need to know before we can move them into any other module. Right? Once we've implemented that open enrollment, we've separated all of our module, then it's going to be time to kind of move it into our LMS and to give LMS to its full potential for tracking purposes. Many LMS programs allow us to set up those automatic um reminders to track um module completion, right? And we did talk about those micro credentials. If a student has finished fundamentals, what is the next credential that they can get in that process? So, this helps instructors really see which students are progressing, right? Um, which students need more support or haven't been able to complete all of the objectives of that specific module to turn to go into the next module. Um and then also utilizing data analysis tools to get the big picture and view student progress. Analytics can show trends such as which modules have you know a higher completion rate, which modules are more challenging for students. Um so initially we're going to be collecting a lot of data the first year or two that you have implemented new modules. you may decide to move some curriculum to fundamentals because that's really something that they really need to know before they go into some of the next modules. And then finally, you know, set up those regular check-ins and progress reviews of how your curriculum is working. Um, you know, what is the success of each module independently? I did want to discuss some success metrics. So let's um let's uh dive into the impact of the open enrollment that has had on programs and student engagement. So the data shows that open enrollment can significantly boost enrollment numbers and I will show you with some of our own agency um enrollment numbers that we have available. When students know they can start whenever they are ready rather than waiting for the next fixed intake um they are more likely to enroll and we've actually seen this across our private industry schools right private education so we see this um they have modulized systems across ueI or Northwest or all of these um you know private institutions um so you see different entry points so this has been done so in one of the studies conducted across several CTE programs. One thing that was observed that was um an increase in completion d completion rates that was about 20% higher when there is an open enrollment implementation rather than a traditional start date. This jump in completion rates is really significant because it really shows students are not just enrolling but they are finishing the program. We have also found that student satisfaction has improved. Surveys show that students value open enrollment modules and the ability to start at different times of the year. In one case study, students rated their satisfaction as much as 30% higher in programs that had open enrollment, often often mentioning flexibility and personalized learning pace as major factors in their positive experience. So this feedback really reflects how much students appreciate having control over that part of their education. So in summary, open enrollment has led to increased enrollment numbers, higher completion rates, and improved student satisfaction by supporting different learning paces and allowing students to build personalized pathways where creating a more inclusive and adaptable CTE environment. So this is what our school um open enrollment looks like. So right now we have open enrollment in two programs. Our first program that we started open enrollment with was our pharmacy technician program. We saw how much it changed our program and how well it worked. Um that we added um our uh medical assistant program because we also had low enrollment numbers in that program as well. Our goal is really to continue to change most of our CTE programs into that open enrollment. But as you can see um when we look at our schedule um our uh programs are set up into four modules. Um our first module being our fundamentals. So for example our medical assistant is our fundamental medical assistant module and then our pharmacy fundamentals course is our first module that our students will take. So what we did was we took our curriculum and we separated it into um four modules. Our first module being our fundamentals module for our medical assistant program. We separated it into front office and back office because those are the key elements that our students are learning. And then we um our fourth module is going to be our capstone that is a review of everything they have learned. And then we have our career workforce that's embedded into our fourth module and that's where students really walk out with like portfolios and being ready to be job ready in our pharmacy. Again, we separated our core modules um into four modules. Our first one being fundamentals. And then we go into module two which is community pharmacy. Module three which is our hospital pharmacy. And then there's a lot of different all of our curriculum is embedded into these modules. And then our capstone which is going to be um you know their their graduation which is also a review of everything with you know some of the curriculum that we're still learning um as as well as their externship. So this is our current um for this upcoming year our schedule. So as you can see for I am only bringing um the medical assistant schedule here but as you can see for this next academic year we have for our medical assistant class five different entry points. So we have a cohort that starts in August, October, December, February and April. Okay. So, um, and we've expanded our classes for both of these programs, um, because they have become so successful into morning and evening. So, we've been able to open up, um, morning and evening cohorts and they each have um, five different start dates. I wanted to show you some numbers. Um, so this is our pharmacy program. As I mentioned before, this was the first program that we modulized and gave those different enrollment um times. So, for example, um when you take a look of our 2021 2122 school years, so 20 um at the end of 21, we only had 24 program completers and at the end of 22 we had 17 program completers. This once this was a once a year start date. We started in August, we finished in um May. Okay, so students started in August, there was no other enrollments and then the students completed in May. So as you can see those numbers are really low. In 2223, we began our open enrollment. So this was our pilot. We wanted to see how it was going to work. Um we also started the program late. Um we started the program in October rather than August. So between October and June, just our first year with one morning class, we had 38 completers. Um again, we had the October start date, we had the December start date, February, um and I think we had a May start date that year. Um then we looked at one full year of completion. That's going to be our 2324. we almost doubled enrollments um providing that whole year of August to June with those multiple start dates we had 63 program enrollments. Um at that point we decided I I had a wait list for some of my program for the program. Um so we decided we were going to open a PM class. So in um 2425 was our first year that we started our PM class. Our PM class also opened up a little late. I believe we started um we started with our morning class and then our evening class started in October as we onboarded our new teacher. Um but that whole year we had 95 enrollments. Um 2526 which was just this year that we just finished um we had two full years of open enrollment for morning and evening. So that's a full two full academic years. We had 148 enrollments and completers in the program. Um so as you can see, isn't that amazing that we can put so many programs through our open enrollment and you know um being able to serve this many students. So the need is out there. Students will enroll if we provide them with different opportunities to enroll in our programs. um the way our schedule works um and I've seen I've helped different schools do it a little bit different. So at our school for fundamentals which is our module one um they come to class on Mondays. So really it is a hybrid program. Our instructors are full-time instructors and they're um you know they have this buy in in creating this program because um you know it it is their livelihood that the program enrollments is what keeps our doors open. So Mondays our module one students meet in person. Um it's a hybrid program. A lot of the curriculum is online. So we um had our instructors really record their lectures. So all of their lectures that was given face toface before because in the past students were coming Monday through Thursday. So the lectures that were being given are pre-recorded put on the LMS are Monday uh in-person class is really to review what did they learn this past week. Um and all of those hands-on activities. So Mondays is only for module one. So students only come to school on Mondays during their level one. Tuesday and Thursday students are there two days a week for core classes of modules two and three. Okay. So they're here two days a week. They learn again online and then they're here two days a week for um their in-person class. Um Wednesdays is where we meet with our module 4. And what we have we have dual so we have IET day is also our Wednesday day. So say for example if there is ESL students in those classes during modules 1 2 and three um they are also meeting on Wednesdays with an IT teacher that goes over all of the language in in the class. Um and then our senior students meet with the pharmacy instructor for module 4 on Wednesdays. Um, Fridays we keep as open lab and open instructor hours. This is where instructors are really helping those one-on-one students, having one-on-one meetings or group meetings, maybe tutoring on math, which is Fridays. Um, we have open office hours where um, you know, students might need to come in or they might need to make up a day that they've missed. Um, so that's what we do um, at our school. our program curriculum. Again, you're going to break it down into those four modules. Your module A or module one, whatever you want to call it. Um, which is going to be your fundamentals module. That's going to be the module that you decide this is our core module, right? What does my student need to know in order to go into module B or module C? Um, so we want to give all those core skills at the beginning so they can go into either or because as you can tell, I'm going to go back to the schedule for my medical assistant. Modules two and three are offered and alternating schedules. So we offer module one, there's entry points um five uh different times a year and then modules two and three are offered opposite of each other, right? So the teacher is technically teaching three classes at one time. They're teaching module one on Mondays, modules two or three on Tuesday and Thursday, module 4 on Wednesday. Okay? So that's why you see modules two and three, we only offer one at a time. So they're rotating there. Um, and that's why that fundamentals class is so important. And this is where really, um, for example, I had a student that came into fundamentals and she was due to have a baby, but she was able to finish her fundamentals course. Um, she was able to take her 12 weeks off and then come back to um to the next module and still be able to complete the course along with everybody else. Right? It took her two extra modules to complete, but she was still able to complete that academic year, which allows them like say something happens in their life or maybe um an unforeseen circumstance is going on um they can take a pause and then still come back and finish up those modules. The other thing that I love about this that has really helped with our employment numbers is um after fundamentals. So, in our pharmacy technician class, after fundamentals, they get a certificate of um completing the fundamentals pharmacy core class. And um one of the things that we encourage them to do with that is really go out into the field and start looking for a job as a pharmacy clerk. Um they're not a technician yet. They're not licensed, but they get with that certificate, they can begin looking for work. they've done. They know abbreviations, they know the language, they know, you know, the law, they know that basic knowledge that they need to just get started and get their foot in the door. The same thing with our medical assistants. They have the basic foundation after that fundamentals class to kind of get their foot in the door to be able to get into a doctor's office, maybe as a receptionist, maybe as a greeter, however they want to do. So really what we have seen is that after fundamentals students are really motivated to kind of go into workforce um and then we can utilize some of those hours um depending on the pharmacy or the doctor's office where they're at if they allow them to do their extership there then we're able to kind of um you know they're able to get that handson experience with their employer. So we do really encourage them after fundamentals of okay you finished this fundamentals core you have the core knowledge let's start to get you into workforce so we can really um you know [clears throat] start to get that hands-on experience at at an actual office um that's going to help you complete your course one of the ways to get started so say you're you're not quite sure of like how do I split up my curriculum so I wanted to um introd introduce you to a wonderful project that we have here at OTM which is our digital leadership academy. Um so through the digital leadership academy there is an application and it is coming up due in less than a month. Um but you can get a team um a team of two or more um and it is a 2year project where we can help you actually break down your curriculum. we can go over those tools of what tools are we going to use to make these videos, what tools are we going to use to help our students in that learning process, how to turn a full in-person um CTE course into a hybrid moduleized course. Um so we can definitely help you um move the needle in creating these courses and opening them up. Um again um I would highly encourage you to come to our website, take a look at that, um digital leadership academy. Um the cost are paid um by OTN for you to be part of um this academy to come out in person to Sacramento to work with you. you would get a coach, um hopefully me, but you will get a coach that is knowledgeable in the area of expertise that is going to walk you through the process of kind of going from a full traditional cohort into a modulized cohort, utilizing those online tools and an LMS to help you open up a pathway to be able to serve more students at your school. Um, so I highly encourage you to take a look at that application, um, because that's going to be a great point to start and it would also give you, you know, we would probably have, um, you know, we would set up your plan. We would work on the first year of really trying to um split up your curriculum, really trying to embed all those tools, getting your program ready, and hopefully pilot for the next academic year where you can actually start to like really see the benefits of what we've done the whole year and then your pilot during the second year, we can really take a look at, you know, how do we improve it? What do we need to change? What needs to move over? Um, so hopefully I've given you some really good ideas, some really good tips, and I really introduced you to um, you know, how we've done open enrollment at my agency. Um, thank you so much for being here. I'm going to hand it back over to Marjorie. I hope I didn't go too fast. I tend to talk too fast, but thank you so much for being here. >> I think it was perfect. Thank you, Axenia, for all that great information. And OT would also like to thank all of you for coming to this tech talk. I'd like to encourage you to contact OTN for additional resources and services including professional development at your site. Uh visit the Otan site at Otan. us or contact us by phone or email. And thank you again for watching today's OTA tech talk.