Tri-C is Bellwether Award finalist

Cuyahoga Community College has been named a Bellwether Award finalist in recognition of its Adult Diploma Program, which connects undereducated Ohio residents with the education and training needed to secure employment in growth industries.

Tri-C was notified of the honor earlier this month by the Community College Futures Assembly, which sponsors the Bellwether Awards, according to a TriC news release. The award program recognizes innovative practices leading community colleges into the future.

The college is a finalist in the category of Instructional Programs and Services, which focuses on efforts to foster or support teaching and learning.

Tri-C’s submission for the Bellwether Award detailed how the groundbreaking Adult Diploma Program — which graduated its first class in June — has brought transformative change to adult education, the release stated.

Participants are adults age 22 or older who left high school before graduation. The program meshes academic work with career training, leading to a high school diploma and workforce credential needed to land an in-demand job.

“We are proud to be recognized for the life-changing work taking place through the Adult Diploma Program,” said JaNice Marshall, associate vice president of access and community engagement at Tri-C in the release.

The Community College Futures Assembly meets annually as an independent policy think tank to identify the critical issues colleges are facing and to recognize selected trendsetting Bellwether Award programs that are worthy of other colleges replicating.

Finalists will give presentations to the Assembly on Jan. 29. The 2018 winners will be announced the following day at the group’s annual meeting, the release stated.

The award competition attracts upwards of 1,000 nominations every year.

Tri-C won its first Bellwether Award in 2017 in recognition of workforce development programs at the Manufacturing Technology Center of Excellence. Only three community colleges in Ohio have won the award since it debuted in 1995, the release stated.

The Bellwether finalist announcement is the second national honor for the College’s Adult Diploma Program in the past month. In October, the program received the 2017 Terry O’Banion Shared Journey Exemplary Practice Award from the National Council on Student Development.