Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 9 - Education- Mississippi Community College Board › Part 6 - Workforce Education Policies › Appendix 9-6-E - MISSISSIPPI WORKFORCE ADVANTAGE

Current through June 25, 2024
Introduction
The primary purpose of Career and Technical Education (CTE) and
				Workforce Education (WE) is to prepare present and future workers for
				high-wage, high-skill, and high-demand occupations in current or emerging
				professions. Additionally, CTE and WE programs aim to offer Mississippians
				opportunities that correspond to labor-market demands with multiple entrance
				and exit requirements that result in portable and stackable credentials for
				industry, certification-based training and coursework. A
stackable
				credential
is a career or college certificate program that builds, or
				"stacks," with other certificate programs with the purpose of reengaging adults
				in school in order to prepare them for college and "next step"-level
				employment.
Through this collaborative initiative, CTE and WE curricula are
				developed in credit-bearing course hours and in WE modules to provide statewide
				standards for awarding college credit for technical, industry-recognized
				certificates. The designated WE curriculum module's content articulates a
				specific number of college credits and aligns to all credit-bearing course
				competencies.
A secondary goal of MS Workforce Advantage is to increase
				student and participant enrollment, participation, and completion of
				credit-bearing programs. Strategies to promote transition to and success within
				the credit-bearing program are essential to the goal of helping students earn
				credentials, certificates, and degrees. Ongoing professional development for
				all stakeholders will be offered to ensure success.
Definition of Credit By
				Examination
Credit by Examination (CBE) incorporates multiple national
				certification exams and state-level exams. CBE is designed to help students
				demonstrate competence attained through workforce training and/or on the job
				experience. MS Community College students may attempt to earn CTE
				credit-by-examination in certain courses. A student may complete a nationally
				recognized industry certification or a state-level CBE exam as a substitute for
				completing the usual requirements of a course.
CBE programs provide multiple entrance and exit points for WE
				participants. CBE programs provide participants with a no duplicative sequence
				of technical-skill-proficiency training opportunities that are aligned to a
				nationally recognized, credit-bearing credential. CBE programs also provide
				participants a career path into a credit-bearing, postsecondary CTE program and
				an industry-recognized credential, certificate, diploma, or degree.
CBE supports CTE and WE collaboration by including the
				following:
* Competency-based, nationally portable and customized
				education and training for Mississippi's workforce
* Technology-infused, more industry-recognized education
* Increased access to postsecondary certificates, diplomas, and
				degrees, and industry-recognized credentials
* Clear career pathways aligned to competency-based education
				and certification programs
In a statewide-approved CBE program, faculty members from CTE
				and WE programs must develop integrated program outcomes, jointly plan the
				curricula, and agree on the national certification that will assess student
				learning and skill development. Additionally, the CBE program must be supported
				by industry demand in the local area.
Business and Industry-Recognized
				Certifications
A skilled, educated workforce is perceived as the single most
				critical element of success and the hardest to acquire. The difficulty of
				finding high-quality talent is a major barrier due to the lack of skilled
				workers at both the professional and basic skill levels. Business and
				industry-recognized certifications:
* Are portable credentials that benchmark multiple skill levels
				for specific industries through standardized assessments of critical workplace
				traits and occupational skills needed to operate in a workforce driven by
				productivity and flexibility
* Assess knowledge and skill level using traditional and
				performance-based assessment methodologies
* Are meaningful to all sectors of Mississippi's business and
				industry and usually correlate to increased employee wages.
Some national assessments may require a fee for the exam.
				Managing the cost of the assessment will be a local-college decision.
State Level CBE
				Assessments
To meet the need for business and industry-recognized,
				stackable, portable credentials, the Mississippi Community College Board (MCCB)
				and local colleges will use current resources to implement state-level CBE
				assessments. These state-level CBE assessments will:
* Provide local control of on-demand assessments using the
				Mississippi Virtual Community College (MSVCC) Blackboard and/or Desire2Learn
				Course Management System
* Allow for grant transferability of CBE credit with all 15
				community and junior colleges throughout the state
* Increase the acquisition of recognized credentials
Guidelines for Credit by Examination
				Credit
Mississippi Workforce Advantage: All Training Counts Core
				Values
1.
Jump-starting
			 the skilled workforce pipeline
MS Workforce Advantage will produce faster results for
				employees because participants will have the opportunity to complete flexible
				WE training.
2.
Collaborative effort among employers and community colleges
The MS Workforce Advantage curricula will be developed and
				delivered by CTE and WE departments and between community college districts to
				address specific skilled-workforce needs identified by local industry
				professionals.
3.
All training counts
MS Workforce Advantage provides the opportunity to earn college
				credit for CTE coursework delivered across all institutions and systems. A
				series of technical certificates will "stack" on top of one another, building
				to a 2-year degree.
4.
Build career pathways
MS Workforce Advantage will provide adults with an education
				road map to higher paid and higher skilled occupations.
5.
Contextualized, integrated
			 academics
MS Workforce Advantage will integrate basic academic-skills
				instruction into the curricula to academically prepare adults to succeed in
				higher education while learning workplace skills.
6.
Competency-based education
MS Workforce Advantage will require a mastery of technical
				competencies, and clock-hour requirements will be eliminated upon the
				completion of CBE-approved industry certifications.
7.
Industry recognized
MS Workforce Advantage provides opportunities for adults to
				obtain core competencies needed by employers for in-demand, skilled jobs by
				aligning curricula to portable, national credentials.
Target Audience
* Participants who have attended the noncredit training and
				want to matriculate into a credit-bearing program without being required to
				repeat training
* Participants who have gained valuable work experience and
				want to obtain college credit for the skills they have mastered
* Participants who are underemployed and desire complete
				modules to gain college credit for a pay increase
* Participants who currently have a national certification and
				want to gain credit for mastering technical skills in credit-bearing
				programs
* Participants who are current CTE students
Curriculum
Postsecondary CTE and WE development guidelines were approved
				by the Chief Career Technical Officers and Deans Association (CCTODA). All CTE
				courses aligned to industry certification standards will be developed in
				modules and be aligned to national certification. Local colleges are encouraged
				to articulate up to 15 scheduled semester hours; however, this is a
				local-college decision.
Participant
				Eligibility
In order for CBE participants to gain college credit, they must
				meet college-admission standards for the career or technical program in which
				they are entering.
Procedures for Gaining CBE
				Credit
Participants who complete the national credential
				must:
1.
			 Provide documented proof that they possess the valid and current aligned
			 national certification or credential
2. Meet all of the college and program
			 entrance requirements
3. Enroll in
			 the articulated program at the college and request the articulated credit
Participants who complete the MS CBE
				must:
1.
			 Complete the related MS CBE Workforce Education module and CBE exam or complete
			 the CBE exam. Participants will be able to take the exam without completing the
			 module only one time. If unsuccessful, they will have to complete the module
			 and then retake the CBE exam. Participants must demonstrate at least 80%
			 competency to pass each module.
2.
			 Upon the successful completion of the articulated course's related modules,
			 participants may receive CBE credit upon enrolling in a college and meeting all
			 of the college and program entrance requirements.
Transcripting CBE
				Credit
Each participant will enroll in the modules using the
				designated online-event-management system provided by the MCCB. CBE credit will
				be transcripted immediately to the online event-management system upon the
				successful completion of all modules aligned to course requirements.
The participant will present the online-event-management-system
				transcript to the college so that the credit can be transcripted when he or she
				enrolls in the college-credit program. Each student is responsible for
				presenting his or her verification of national certification or licensure or
				the MS CBE assessment.
Time Limit for CBE
				Credit
If a student is articulating credit by examination via the
				national certification or license, the student must possess a current, valid
				national license at the point of articulation. If a student chooses to
				articulate credit via the MS CBE assessment, the student's scores will be
				accepted to demonstrate competencies for up to
18 months
on the
				statewide CBE assessment.
Cost
* Amount of credit awarded is a local college decision based
				upon program requirements.
* If any fees related to CBE incur, the cost of college credit
				is a
local-college
				decision
.
* Participants who choose to complete the industry
				certification will incur the cost of the certification. Participants who choose
				to complete the state-level CBE exam will not incur cost for the exam.
Impact on Local CBE
				Agreements
Statewide CBE credits are supplemental to any local CBE
				agreements established between a college's CTE and WE entities. Statewide CBE
				agreements provide additional avenues for students to obtain articulated
				credit. Existing local CBE agreements may be utilized in lieu of any state CBE
				agreement.
Sample Statewide CBE Articulation
				Table
CBE agreements are subject to change as postsecondary curricula
				revisions occur. All articulations listed in this document are effective as of
				October 1, 2011, unless otherwise noted.
Program Name:
Welding
Program CIP Code:
12.123456
Industry Partner(s):
NCCER Web site:
AWS Web site:
CTE Course
NCCER Standards
American Welding Society Standards
MS CBE
WLV 1116 (This is just an example, the actual
						cost of certifications depends upon the module)
Module 1: name ($20.00)
AWS Module 1: name ($20.00)
CBE Module 1: name
Module 2: name ($20.00)
AWS Module 2: name ($20.00)
CBE Module 2: name
Module 3: name ($20.00)
CBE Module 3: name