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Closing 2024 Strong!
PPM Winter Newsletter
December 19, 2024
Introduction
Welcome to the latest newsletter installment! As we close out 2024, we're excited to reflect on the Program Pathways Mapper's (PPM) year of growth and lasting change. PPM has actively fostered meaningful collaboration between the California community colleges, University of California (UC), and California State Universities (CSU) to uplift the collective goal of streamlining educational pathways and producing equitable opportunities for our students. Thank you for being part of this journey as we keep striving towards student success and institutional excellence!
California Community Colleges Chancellor Sonya Christian (left), Strategic Advisor to the Chancellor– and PPM Co-founder– Craig Hayward (middle), and PPM Chief Partnership Officer Jennifer Johnson at the recent 2024 Strategic Transfer Summit in Merced.
Message from Craig
“As we close out 2024, the Program Pathways Mapper team reflects on an inspiring year filled with collaboration and progress. From the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) Conference to the Strategic Transfer Summit, and the Streamlining Transfer Pathways Convening, it’s been an incredible opportunity to connect with so many of you across California. These events reminded us how powerful our collective efforts are in simplifying student pathways and supporting success. It's also outstanding to see 50% of California community colleges, 26% of CSUs, and 10% of UCs adopt and fully take advantage of the PPM, with plenty more in the queue. We are deeply grateful to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and our incredible partners for driving the mission of PPM across the state. Here’s to a bright 2025–let’s keep mapping pathways, breaking barriers, and making higher education work for every student!
Happy holidays and cheers to the new year!”
PPM Updates
Held the 2024 Strategic Transfer Summit
Sponsored by the PPM, the Summit was hosted at UC Merced and brought together influential researchers, practitioners, and educational leaders from the three major higher education systems in California and beyond! Attendees enjoyed hearing current transfer research, a CEO roundtable, a review of active initiatives, words of empowerment on our shared efforts, and even from a live student panel. This work stimulates social and economic mobility for our students and communities, advancing our goal of simplifying education. Chancellor of UC Merced, Juan Sanchez Munoz Ph.D., commended how the Transfer Summit "unifies these initiatives with the singular goal of supporting the inner segmental academic journey of all our Californians who dare to dream".
Held the Streamlining Transfer Pathways Convening
This final session in a four-part series was funded by the PPM and hosted at UC Merced! Bringing together Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) institutions, we worked to optimize the articulation and overall transfer process. Two-year and four-year educational leaders collaborated to create better pathway cohesion between 2+2 transfer pathways for both students and faculty. Thank you to all of the attendees for contributing to the success of this event and for utilizing the California Education Learning Labs Grant (Learning Labs) effectively.
Learning Labs Grant and Project
The PPM team recently reached the final milestone in this two-year project during the recent Streamlining Transfer Pathways Convening by accomplishing the objective: establish statewide program maps for Engineering, Computer Science, and Public Health. Participating community college and university leaders engaged in detailed discussions to identify obstacles and inherent issues in existing pathways, weaving the path to transfer and creating more opportunities for first-generation students with little "college knowledge". Thank you Learning Labs for uplifting PPM's work in the transfer space and facilitating transfer conversations among our wonderful partners! We are excited about the work ahead! Click to learn more about Learning Labs.
PPM Grant Now Available!
The PPM team is pleased to announce the availability of up to $60,000 in grant funding per institution to support both the onboarding and institutionalization of the PPM. It is available to California community college, UC, and CSU campuses. This grant aims to uplift PPM efforts across the state no matter where your campus is in its PPM journey, while uplifting the objectives of Vision 2030 and Guided Pathways. Two grants are available under the PPM Grant:
- Implementation Grant: For institutions new to PPM, supporting the initial setup and launch of the tool.
- Institutionalization Grant: For institutions already using PPM, funding the development of sustainability plans and further integration into institutional processes.
View upcoming events below to join the respective info- sessions in January.
User Stories and Testimonials
PPM Student User
"When I was still debating on what to major in, [the Program Mapper] gave me an understanding of what courses I would be taking. So that was helpful in helping me make my decision...And when I was told to double major, I could go [to the maps] and check for comparisons of overlap between my current major. I was able to go back and forth."
PPM Implementation College Partner
"I can't imagine how our advising team would do their work if we hadn't built these maps. The more schools that see this, the more they want to implement it."
Araceli Tilley, UC Merced student
“I would say one of the biggest tools that I used while at Merced College prior to transferring to UC Merced was the Pathways Mapper… I used that as a tool to not only figure out what classes I needed to take at Merced College but also to see what my path would look like at UC Merced.
I was able to see all of the classes I would need to take from my upper division and then I also had the benefit from the Pathway Mapper of seeing the career paths that I could take in my degree, which was psychology. I got to see what kind of salaries are out there and what education levels I needed, so it was a really useful tool".
Upcoming Events
Other Related News
AB 928 Implementation
We have incorporated updates to accommodate AB 928 requirements by adding in Cal-GETC patterns to the Data Cleaning Tool (DCT). Reminder: Schools will need to populate the areas with the appropriate courses.
Winter Closure
The PPM team will be offline for winter closure from December 23, 2024 to January 1, 2025. We wish you a joyful holiday season and a Happy New Year! See you in 2025.
Have Questions?
Always feel free to reach us via our Interest Form or by emailing PPM-support@foundationccc.org.
Have Feedback?
We welcome your feedback as we aim to continuously improve the user experience!
