Reinvigorate Programs Through Pathways

In less than six months, WIDS helped the College of Lake County (CLC) in Illinois collaboratively develop career pathways for eight programs of study—including designing 14 new certificates and one new associate degree—all that met the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) criteria.

“We have reinvigorated programs,” Dr. Richard Ammon, Dean of Engineering, Mathematics, and Physical Science says.

But before CLC could reinvigorate programs, the college had to assess their current relevancy.

Staff were stretched to capacity

To understand its community’s workforce needs, CLC completed a comprehensive local needs assessment for developing pathways.  

“We wanted a methodology that would help us adopt best practices for Career and Technical Education programs going forward,” Dr. Ammon says.  

But after completing the assessment, CLC concluded faculty and staff were stretched to capacity and could not invest the time needed to manage a complete pathways project. CLC needed skilled efficient pathway development.

“It was discouraging. We realized we didn’t have the capacity…” Jesse Morales, CLC  Project Manager reflected.

WIDS provided the path forward

Because WIDS has a long history of consulting with the Wisconsin Technical College System on program design and development – aligning over twenty programs across multiple colleges – they had the expertise CLC needed.

“Once we had WIDS on board, our cloud dispersed!  We knew we had a plan for moving forward,” Morales continued.

WIDS consultants worked side-by-side with CLC faculty and staff to develop a process that programs could use to meet ICCB Program of Study criteria.

“WIDS had the approach and the right people,” Dr. Ammon says.

WIDS engaged employers

WIDS guided employers from CLC advisory committees in a DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) process that identified job tasks, industry credentials, and potential entry and exit points for each occupation.

“We took our credibility with [our] advisory committees to another level…” Dr. Ammon explained.  

Moreover, WIDS modified the traditional DACUM format to a single, three-hour virtual session to accommodate work and travel restrictions for employers.

“[Our employers] were part of the process in an important way and that made them feel connected to the outcomes and the college,” Dr. Ammon explained.

Software showed faculty the big picture

Using the DACUM results, WIDS consultants helped faculty:

• Map the occupations' tasks to existing college curriculum
• Define entry and exit points.
• Identify opportunities for dual credit, industry credentials, and work-based learning.
• Revise program outcomes.
• Map program outcomes, college-wide outcomes, and industry standards to courses.

CLC purchased the WIDS Instructional Design Software and utilized the Pathway module to help faculty see how the pathway meets the ICCB criteria and defines students’ career progression.  

“…[WIDS software] allowed our faculty to see the big picture and then tweak the curriculum to achieve the career pathways industry was asking for,” Dr. Ammon explained.

Benefits now and in the future

CLC projects the changes it made in less than six months will increase revenue by more than $300,000 – but the most important benefits are for the students.  

“[The students] are the big winners,” Ammon shares.  “Students can leverage [short-term credentials] to become a preferred candidate for a job.” 

And CLC will apply the process to additional programs in the future.

“Our college leadership is endorsing this process as the type of work all programs should complete,” Morales concludes.

WIDS assisted CLC in providing students with clear, employer-validated pathways and in providing college programs with measurable revenue benefits.

WIDS (Worldwide Instructional Design System) is a nonprofit organization that provides curriculum design software, consulting, and training services. Download the free Program of Study Checklist .

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