We talked about program research, but let’s recap. When creating a new program, one of the first steps I take is to define the purpose of the program. Is this a professional development that is part of a catalog of courses offered to professionals in the field (or your In Service training catalog), that you want to keep dynamic by switching the courses to keep up with trends? Or do you want to create a new career-training certificate to help people gain the skills to start a new career? Is this for contract training? After the purpose of the course is defined, you go into research mode. This will include reviewing the state Labor Market Statistics site, ONETOnline, job postings, speaking with companies that hire for this position, and researching other programs.
After you have all this data, it is time to start putting your program together. For this example, I want to go over my steps when designing a new career-training program, since those would take the most amount of work.
- Research for the curriculum
- Job postings
- ONETOnline
- Program advisory groups/employer feedback
- Search for similar programs
- Possible topics to add
- Commonalities
- Research certifications available
- Program validation
- May be needed to work, even if not required
- Can help with funding eligibility and credit validation
- Is there an opportunity to add micro-credentials to the program
- Additional modules (career skills, financial literacy, computer skills)
- Curriculum creation
- Create outline
- Instructor to create; or
- Hire specialized curriculum creation vendor
- Full packet should include PowerPoints, exercises/activities, handouts, notes
- Pricing
- Research similar program costs
- $15-20/hr of training is a good
- Include salary plus fringe costs
- Include textbooks, materials
- Include Admin/Overhead fee
- Include certification
- Funding/Braiding
- Are there opportunities for scholarships?
- Would adding a credential make it eligible for funding?
- Opportunities for braiding funding from various sources (grants, scholarships, employers)
- Partnerships
- Job placement
- Internships
- Shadowing
- Equipment
- Student materials
- Trainers
- Equipment
- What type of equipment is needed?
- How often does it need to be replaced? Maintained? – adds to program costs
- Is there opportunities to partner with an employer/vendor for equipment donation?
- Requirements
- Prerequisites
- Physical
- Academic
- Career ladder/stackable credentials
- Is there an opportunity to create a ladder between noncredit and credit
- You can do internal articulation agreements, between your credit degrees and this program
- Secure an external articulation agreement with a college or university
- Can you apply for credits?
- There are companies/schools that provide credit for noncredit classes. Search for a reputable one.
- Are there stackable credentials that you currently offer?
- Is there a program that would fit well with this one? Include information for both in the program pages, to encourage the student to take these additional courses and add to their toolkit.
- Is there an opportunity to create a ladder between noncredit and credit
Closing
Workforce Warrior is an education blog, created by a workforce development professional with 20+ years in all areas of workforce development and college programming, including admissions, advising, career services and program development. The goal of Workforce Warrior is to pass on the knowledge collected over the years to fellow workforce and college professionals.
Look for upcoming content on topics within this post, as well as nuggets of wisdom in our Instagram and Facebook pages. Enhanced YouTube postings will be coming soon, with added content to the blogs.
#programcreation #programresearch #credentials #microcredentials #workforcewarrior #workforcewarriorblog #programming #college #collegeclasses #highereducation #highered #workforcedevelopment #collegeprofessionals #workforceprofessionals #professionaldevelopment #credentials #microcredentials #certification #programcreation #programresearch
Workforce Warrior Blog 