Assessing the Needs of Your Plus 50 Population American Association of Community Colleges Funded with a grant from Atlantic Philanthropies 1 Northwest Region Plus 50 Conference February 10, 2010

Needs Assessment Student/ Employer/Community Interests and Attitudes –Focus Groups-- Environmental Scans –Student Surveys Boomers Are Diverse!

Poll: Have you ever conducted a needs assessment?  Yes  No 3

What Do We Need to Know? Some or all of the following –Employer needs Skills and occupations in demand –Market size What is the size of our Plus 50 population? –Plus 50 customer profile Demographics Likes/dislikes Technological savvy –Potential competitors and collaborators –Recommendations for program design/ development 4

Wow! That’s a Lot Do we need everything right away? How much time do we have to do this? How much time will this take? What information is critical? What are my options? What do we know already? How? What if I only want to know one thing? 5

Environmental Scan –PEST Analysis (Political, Economic, Social, Technological) –SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Brand Assessment –Who else is serving Boomers in your area? Community & Non Profit Organizations Municipal Programs/ Agencies Businesses Survey – online, paper Focus Groups How Will We Get It? Sample methodologies

The Plus 50 Needs Assessment Toolkit  Developed by the AACC and LFA to help community colleges conduct a needs assessment for the purposes of developing workforce training and career development programming for their local Plus 50 population. 7

Assessing Local Employer Needs  The goal of this tool is to help you identify: –What skills local employers need most. –The high growth occupations that exist in your area. 8

Assessing Local Employer Needs, continued  Useful resources for information on local business and occupations include: –Your college’s Workforce Development department. –The Chamber of Commerce. –The Workforce Development Council (WDC). –Community Economic Development Associations.  You may also access publicly available data

Market Sizing  Allows you to estimate the number of potential Plus 50 learners in your area.  Helps community colleges make decisions regarding: –How extensive their offerings should be. –The extent to which they should tailor offerings. –How to price courses for Plus 50 students. 10

Gathering Information from Your Local Plus 50 Population: Surveys & Focus Groups Conduct a survey when:  It is important to you to collect data from a wide range of local Plus 50 population.  You have access to someone who is comfortable with quantitative analysis. 11

Gathering Information from Your Local Plus 50 Population: Surveys & Focus Groups, continued Conduct a focus group when:  You want more narrative, in- depth information than you can collect from a survey.  You would like to collect data from your population relatively quickly. 12

Using Focus Group Data Using notes and/or recorded transcripts from the focus group, summarize the results by: –Finding common themes and sub-themes. –Identifying unique and creative insights. –Using direct quotes from focus group participants. 13

Five Basic Components of a Needs Assessment 14 Local employer and industry needs, and information about growth occupations in your area. An estimated size of your local Plus 50 population. Market SizingInstructions for Sizing the Market for plus 50 Workforce Education Programming Market Sizing Tool Tools in the Section Toolkit Section Assessment of Local Employer and Industry Needs Assessing Local Employer Needs

Five Basic Components of a Needs Assessment, continued 15 A description of the needs, interests, constraints, and preferences of the local Plus 50 population Survey Development Guidelines Survey Development Survey Administration Survey Analysis Sample Survey Survey Administration Guidelines: How to Administer a Needs Assessment Survey Survey Analysis Guidelines Sample Survey Analysis Plan Tools in the SectionToolkit Section

Five Basic Components of a Needs Assessment, continued 16 A description of the needs, interests, constraints, and preferences of the local Plus 50 population Focus Group Guidelines: How to Plan for and Facilitate a Focus Group Conducting Focus Groups and Using Focus Group Data Sample Focus Group Questions Tools in the SectionToolkit Section Summarizing Focus Group Results

Five Basic Components of a Needs Assessment, continued Recommendations for program development and design. 17 Basic information about potential competitors and collaborators. Writing your Needs Assessment Report Sample Discussion Questions for Group Reflection on your Data Sample Needs Assessment Report Outline Sample Recommendations Introduction to the Toolkit What might your Needs Assessment Include? Tools in the SectionToolkit Section

Remember! You do not need to use every component of the toolkit to build your needs assessment! 18

AACC Sample Survey in the toolkit Would you like to see more resources available in the community to support those 50 and older who are looking to jump-start their careers? Are you 50 or older? If so, then this survey is for you. The results will help [name of college] understand what the training and employment services needs in the community are, and how programming for plus 50 students can help meet those needs. Take minutes to make your needs, interests, and career objectives known! (NOTE: Your answers will be held confidential.) Please tell us a little bit about yourself! Then, areas of interest, career services, career goals, obstacles to participation, day, time, modality, counseling 19

St. Louis CC in “promising practices” Between 1946 and 1964, 77 million Americans were born, creating the Baby Boomer generation. Today, this generation is reaching retirement age in a world of increased vitality and longer life spans. The purpose of this survey is to learn how Saint Louis Community College can best serve students 45 years and older. Are you thinking about retirement, starting a new business or career? Do you seek personal fulfillment through community involvement, life-long learning or travel and adventure? Your input about your academic and career goals will allow us to provide programs and services that directly address your needs as adult learners. The first part of the survey asks some questions about you. Then… Why are you attending? Future plans, area of study, greatest obstacles, student services, day, time, type of delivery, overall time available. 4 pages 20

Whatcom Community College 21 What field(s) are you looking at to re-career into? (choose all that apply) Outdoor Adventure Technology Wellness Non-profit Management Office / Reception Business Management Alternative Energy / Environment Medical Human Services Entrepreneurship Hospitality Senior Services Art Entrepreneurship Communication Writing & Editing Other (please specify) Online – 6 pages

Writing Your Needs Assessment Report  Convene your team to discuss: –The data you’ve gathered. –What this data means and what is most meaningful. –What recommendations emerge from the findings. 22

Writing Your Needs Assessment Report  Don’t let your findings gather dust.  Write your final report… and  Share it! 23

Sample Report Outline I.Introduction and Background II.II. Methods III. Key Findings IV. Recommendations for Program Planning V. Appendices 24 Sample Recommendations Regarding Concerns about Returning to Campus Ease the transition for plus 50 students through offering tailored new student orientation. Regarding Career Services Preferences Hire a career counselor who specializes in working with job seeker who is 50 and over.

Sample Recommendations Sample Recommendations Regarding Concerns about Returning to Campus Ease the transition for plus 50 students through offering tailored new student orientation. Sample Recommendations Regarding Career Services Preferences Hire, at least on a part-time basis to start, a career counselor who specializes in working with the job seeker who is 50 and over, or provide specialized training to current career counselors Sample Recommendations

Where do I find the Needs Assessment Tool Kit? 26

Where is the Needs Assessment Webinar? 27 Want more in- depth information? Check out the Needs Assessment Webinar.

Thank you!!