January 14, 2025 • 20 mins
What does it take to transform a community college into a hub of opportunity and equity?
Dr. Jermaine Williams, President of Montgomery College, joins me to discuss how he’s aligning systems, leveraging data, and addressing the real needs of students to drive regional transformation.
From supporting students with food insecurity to creating systemic connections as early as middle school, Dr. Williams’s approach is redefining what’s possible in higher education.
If you care about the future of workforce development, equity, and education, this is one conversation you don’t want to miss.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Awesome for sure.
Well, thanks so much for beinghere.
Dr Williams, maybe just tostart, can you talk about the
biggest differences betweenbeing a president at Nassau
Community College and Montgomery, where you are now?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
appreciate it.
It's great to be able to spendsome time with you and, yes, I
have the fortunate experience,the very fortunate experience.
I feel really excited about thefact that I've been able to be
a community college presidenttwice, at Nassau Community
College first, as you mentioned.
And an interesting piece aboutthe community colleges within
the SUNY system is there are 30of them and they're part of this
larger 64 institutionexperience that the SUNY system
is.
There are 30 of them andthey're part of this larger 64
(00:47):
institution experience that isSUNY right, the State University
of New York.
So I would say one of the majordifferences is how we're
situated in Maryland, right, andwe're not situated in that way.
We're not part of a system.
There's 16 independentcommunity colleges with
independent boards.
Part of the system.
There's 16 independentcommunity colleges with
independent boards.
(01:07):
And while NASA had its ownlocal board, there were still
pieces you know that were SUNYaffiliated.
You know policies that we hadto follow and not saying, you
know that was absolutely fine,it's just a different, you know,
type of engagement.
So I say that is, you know, kindof one of the bigger
differences In terms of scope,the similarities you know.
(01:28):
It's about a little more than Ithink 1.3, 4 million people in
Nassau County is about, you know, 1.1 in Montgomery.
I do really appreciate thededication to education here in
Maryland and I think you knowkind of throughout the entire
state, which is something I'mdeeply appreciative of, and I do
think that was similar in NewYork.
(01:50):
But I would say, in terms ofthat also, nassau Community
College is on Long Island, right, it's one of the two community
colleges that are located onLong Island.
So when you think about howyou're physically situated,
there's a different kind ofcomponent there and we were
always facing a lot of studentswanting to leave Long Island, at
(02:13):
least for their undergraduatecareer, right.
So a lot of people and a lot ofcolleges and universities were
actively recruiting on LongIsland.
So that was another piece whereI think in kind of the Maryland
sphere and the region, we dohave a bit of a draw.
We're contingent to DC, so wehave that.
So there's a few differencesbut great experiences at both
(02:36):
places and I'm really excited tohave had that opportunity at
Nassau Community College.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Yeah Well, I have to assume that really impacts how
you think about like workforcedevelopment, because at Nassau
I've.
I have to assume that reallyimpacts how you think about like
workforce development Becauseat NASA I've seen so many
students that are sort of youknow and my guess would be at
Maryland.
It's probably a prettycomplicated picture.
You have students that aregoing into the DC area that
wanted that you have studentsthat wanted to sort of stay
locally.
You guys did some great jobsworking with employers that you
(03:04):
have.
You guys did some great jobsworking with employers that you
have.
But I'm particularly curiousfrom you because you've got a
wide scoping background and alsosome work in the workforce
development space.
If you could invest a chunk ofmoney, let's say like 10 million
, so not an unlimited amount 10million could go that quick into
workforce development in yourstate.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
What do you think about putting that in place, of
giving someone a job, a fundlike that, absolutely.
So I appreciate the questions.
I definitely have had someinteresting experiences with
workforce investment boards, asyou mentioned, and the first
(03:53):
thing that really comes to mindis, well, context matters and
after that is alignment, right.
So we have an awesome governorhere in Maryland and there's the
you know Moore Milleradministration and their plan,
and what I would want to do is Iwould want to ensure that that
$10 million is aligned with thestate's goals, right.
So it's more of a piece of howare we building this framework
to not only impact the countybut impact the state, and I
(04:16):
think that's a piece.
So when we think about that andI think about some of the
things that we're interested in,I think about, you know, where
we have, you know, open jobs inIT and cybersecurity, right,
where we have.
You know, teacher education,where it's health professions.
You know we are the you knowkind of the biotech hub, right,
life sciences hub, dna alley iswhat they, how they.
(04:38):
You know some folks referenceus.
So for me, it would be the ideathat, just wherever I am where
I'm currently here, obviously,but I'm in Illinois and
Massachusetts and New York andPA.
But that context is really whatmatters and ensuring that,
especially at the communitycollege, that you're aligned
with what the needs of thecommunity, what those needs are
(04:59):
Right, and for us I justoutlined some of those needs
they actually transcend thecounty and go towards the state.
But I would say you know, givenmy experience with that, it
really is ensuring that you'reusing the funds that you have,
because funds are finite right,they're limited and making sure
that you're braiding them andreally leveraging those funds in
a way and I'll leave you withthis that makes impact right.
(05:22):
It's all about you know thecontext and making the impact
that you seek, and here thatwould be around.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
You know those areas, so yeah, yeah, that's a great
answer and I think it's beingreally sort of smart.
How do you create ecosystemsthat are inside of just what you
control to ensure that this issupporting the goals and also
leveraging you know, how do you?
(05:49):
How do you think aboutenrollment and retention?
You've got such a big group ofstudents, so many different,
different sort of spaces thatthey're going into
professionally.
Some are transferring, some aregoing directly into the
workforce.
How do you think aboutsupporting retaining but also
recruiting just the nextgeneration of change makers in
(06:10):
the region?
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Yeah, I appreciate that, the opportunity to share a
little bit about that.
So Montgomery College is, youknow we're open, access,
affordable, we have students whorepresent more than 150
countries, we have extraordinaryfaculty and staff.
I mean I'll share some otherkind of facts real quickly to
(06:39):
contextualize the other part ofmy response.
50% of our students identify asfirst generation, right.
Almost 20% of our studentsidentify as parenting.
About 22% of our students arePell recipients, which you're
familiar with, given I know yourinterviews and your background,
and of those 22% of students,their annual take home is less
(07:03):
than $28,000.
That's in a county as affluentas Montgomery County, right?
So more than a fifth of ourstudents Pell recipients and
their annual take home $28,000.
So when we think aboutMontgomery College I'm getting
to your question I really framethose words you used in terms of
(07:23):
access and completion andpost-completion success.
People don't hear me talk muchabout enrollment or retention.
Sometimes that nomenclature iswrapped around kind of butts in
seats and FTEs and how you getyour money.
So we talk about, with ourtransformational aspirations,
access, you know that, access topost-secondary education that's
(07:45):
going to change lives, right.
It's going to change livesthrough completion, having
credentials of economic, socialand community impact, so that
individuals, when they leave,they leave making a
family-sustaining wage and haveindividual economic and social
mobility and they also leavebeing contributing members of
their society and theircommunities.
And that's that post-completionsuccess the idea that it's not
(08:07):
only individual economic, socialand upward mobility but it also
translates to intergenerationalmobility.
So when we look at it and I'llend with this we look at it at a
student-centered, data-informedand equity-focused way of how
we build a college going culture, how we can go deeper and
ensure that every MontgomeryCounty Public Schools student
(08:27):
has an educationally purposefulexperience with Montgomery
College and their families aswell, before the seventh grade,
right, so that it's notsomething they're hearing about
the first time.
10th, 11th grade, it's notsomething as first-generation
students they're like, wow, Ihaven't heard about college for
16 years and now I have to doall this stuff.
Right, it's ingrained.
(08:54):
We're inculcating that withinthe fabric of our community.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
So I can go on and on about access and completion,
but I'll stop there because Iknow we have some other things
to get to.
That can go on and on aboutaccess and completion, but I'll
stop there because I know wehave some other things to get to
.
That's so brilliant and maybelet's pick up that thread
because I think that's so that'sincredible that you're working
and making sure you have a touchpoint and you know knowledge
about what you're doing aroundseventh grade.
How do you do that?
Like just so curious about likenuts and bolts of what that
looks like?
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Yeah, and part of it is part of it is alignment,
right.
And I want to be very clear andI usually share this whoever
I'm talking with.
I stand on the shoulders ofgiants.
Montgomery College has a lot ofsuccesses and my predecessors
are awesome, so so much of whatwe're doing is really building
on is building on successes.
With that said, so much of whatwe're doing is identifying and
(09:39):
creating new successes, right?
So it is a combination.
So when I say that we have thisgoal of 100% of those
individuals before their seventhgrade, we've been doing it.
Now it's how do we actuallycoordinate that across a college
that has three campuses andEast County Education Center and
other centers and measure it toget to our impact so that it is
(10:03):
100% right, so that it issystemic and systematic?
And that's where we're takingthese bright spots and figuring
out how we elevate, how weamplify to ensure that it's
systemic and systematic, how weelevate, how we amplify to
ensure that it's systemic andsystematic.
So I'll give you one examplewe're working on for spring,
which is leveraging spring breakfor MCPS to bring those
(10:24):
students to Montgomery College.
So we're leveraging thatopportunity in a holistic way.
Another opportunity we have iswe have this beautiful piece of
legislation.
It's a multi-year,multi-billion dollar education
legislation in Maryland.
It's called the Blueprint.
It is wrapped around creating aworld-class educational
(10:47):
ecosystem in Maryland and partof that Blueprint allowed us to
participate with WorkSourceMontgomery.
So think about the WorkforceInvestment Board we call that
WorkSource Montgomery.
So think about the WorkforceInvestment Board that's we call
that WorkSource Montgomery toactually educate and train
career coaches who are going tobe engaging and have started
already you can look this uponline and fact check me have
(11:09):
started already engagingindividuals in Montgomery County
Public Schools, sixth through12th graders.
So when we think about thatsystemic and systematic approach
and leveraging the resourcesthat you have and opportunities
that are out there, you knowwe're reconstituting things that
we've done and we'reidentifying new pieces.
And I'm so happy that we havethat partnership with Montgomery
County public schools and withWorkSource Montgomery and that
(11:32):
Montgomery College is able toeducate and train those career
coaches because that makes themnot only it makes them more
aligned and more in tune to whatMontgomery College offers and
other opportunities out there sothat they can be college and
career ready.
What we call the kind of CCRcollege and career ready is in
the blueprint.
So, but more things that youcan research and follow up on.
(11:53):
But, as you can tell, I'mexcited about that opportunity
as well.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
I absolutely love that and I love what you said to
sort of like really looking atthe systemic issues that you are
facing.
It's a broader workforceculture and how you can simply
sort of work work with those.
How do you think about the dataand assessment piece with it?
(12:17):
I know you're a big data guy, Iknow you're really sort of
focused on that, but can youtalk about your approach to sort
of like really sort ofleveraging data to drive things
forward?
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Absolutely, whether the AMB as measured by or
however we phrase it, butthere's always something you
measure.
What matters, or what mattersis what's measured, all these
things that we can say.
But yes, data is extremelyimportant.
It helps to tell our story andit also helps to align us on our
(12:50):
path, helps to align us on ourpath, right, and I'm really just
so proud to be able to sharewith you those transformational
aspirations.
If someone were to go to thesite and you know, pop that in
you would see our metrics forthose.
You would see that you knowwe're looking for 100% of MCPS
students by the time they're inseventh grade.
You would see you know thepercentage that we want to
increase of individuals whoexperienced dual enrollment,
(13:11):
right.
You would see that we want 100%of our credentials to have
economic, social and communityimpact.
You would see that we want todecrease the percentage of
students who face any basic need, right.
You would see that we'relooking to decrease gaps in
poverty by the largest kind ofdemographic groups that are
there, right.
So I think it's identifyingwhat's important and having
(13:31):
those metrics and you'll find.
You'll find source data you'llbe able to go and click into and
say, oh, they're using the mitcalculator, for you know salary
and we sustaining wage right.
So it's identifying whatmatters to you and we've
identified that at montgomerycollege.
It's not these aren't you know,president williams's
transformational aspirations.
These come from a lot oflistening, a lot of learning
(13:52):
from our community and then wefigure out how to get there
because we know how we're goingto measure it.
So I would say that's theunderpinning of how we know that
we are making the change andthe impact that we seek
measuring that on a regularbasis.
So that's the importance of notjust assessment and analytics
(14:14):
but knowing what you're going tomeasure and actually holding
yourself responsible andaccountable for those metrics
that you've identified.
It's kind of like the storyabout and I'll be really brief,
I know our time there's anindividual walks up to someone
and they have their targetpractice and it's a bow and
arrow and they have a bullseyeand they say, oh, my goodness, I
(14:37):
see all these holes and it'slike, my goodness, you shot all
those arrows in the middle ofthat target.
How did you do that?
And obviously archery isimportant and practice is
important.
And the person looks and says,because it's easy, I shoot the
arrows and then I just go up andI draw a circle around all the
holes, you know.
(14:58):
So that's not what we'relooking for right?
All right, so that's not thekind of assessment that we're
looking for, right?
So just end on that piece ofyou know kind of levity there.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
I love that.
I love that analogy and I lovethat.
I love that analogy andunfortunately I think we've.
Anyone that's worked in thespace has probably seen that
occur more than you know, morethan they care to admit.
No-transcript, you're competingagainst not going to college in
(15:43):
this broader narrative.
You're competing againstemployer training programs.
You're competing like endless,endless.
You're competing againstcreators on Twitter that have
these products that to earnmoney, like it's.
It's so broad, right.
How do you think aboutpositioning your institution in
just such a like a noisy andcrowded space?
You're certainly sort of doinga lot, I think, on the sort of
(16:04):
early front end, with sort ofearly exposure and breeding
students in at that young age,which is brilliant.
But how do you think about thatlike bigger positioning thing
about you've got this coreamazing value proposition, but
making a sort of resident freeaudience?
How do you think?
Speaker 2 (16:20):
about that?
Yeah, I think about it inmultiple ways.
There's a few pieces and I'llget to the value proposition,
although we know, like you know,the majority of our students do
not, they're not, they're notthinking about, wow, the value
proposition of MontgomeryCollege, right, they're like.
So what they not thinking about?
Wow, the value proposition ofMontgomery College, right?
So what they are thinking about?
They are thinking about theirincome, they are thinking about
affordability.
So when we think about that,that's something that's really
important to us and being halfthe price of our state
(16:42):
institutions, right, so that'ssomething that's important.
Our trustees have kept tuitionflat three of the last four
years, right?
So those are pieces we thinkabout.
We think about holisticallysupporting students.
I didn't mention this factabout 36% of our students have
experienced food insecurity inthe last 30 days.
So when we think about the factthat Montgomery College
(17:03):
provides mobile markets at allof our campuses once a month, at
each campus, food lockers,pantries that we've, you know,
tens of thousands of students,faculty and staff are supported
by that, by hundreds ofthousands of food each year.
When we think about our socialresource program that we
received, you know, a grant forconnecting people to, you know
(17:24):
community groups.
Those are pieces that we thinkabout holistically supporting
students.
We think about our studentfamily group, right.
Our parenting students group,right.
And having kind of a family Uapproach and a two generation,
multi-generation approach ofhaving parking spots for
families and high chairs and allof these pieces of lactation
stations.
(17:45):
The one thing I'll end withright now with this question is
I know our time is fleeting is Ialso think there's a lot of
room for everyone to besuccessful.
So also think there's a lot ofroom for everyone to be
successful.
So I know there's a lot of talkabout TFR total fertility rate
going down and stagnatinggraduation rates for high school
students or decreasing in someareas.
What I will share is I wouldencourage us all to look at data
(18:06):
.
In a way of having been in manystates, I will share Montgomery
County Public Schools.
We know this.
I'm not sharing anything out ofschool, no pun intended but a
third of our graduating highschool seniors they don't attend
any credit bearingpost-secondary educational
opportunity 12 months after theygraduate high school.
It's one of the largest schooldistricts in the country, right?
Let's look at that right.
(18:27):
Let's look at the populationsin our communities that have
some credit, no credential right.
There's a lot of room for everypost-secondary educational
opportunity to play and help usbe successful and really drive
and create the workforce we needand eliminate these disparities
that we see in our society.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Incredibly well said.
I can't thank you enough foryour time.
I know we're almost at the end,so thank you.
This has been incredible.
Really appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
I appreciate you.
Thank you for the opportunity.
Maybe we'll get a chance to doit again.
And thank you very much,appreciate it.
Awesome for sure.
Well, thanks so much for beinghere.
Dr Williams, maybe just tostart, can you talk about the
biggest differences betweenbeing a president at Nassau
Community College and Montgomery, where you are now?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
appreciate it.
It's great to be able to spendsome time with you and, yes, I
have the fortunate experience,the very fortunate experience.
I feel really excited about thefact that I've been able to be
a community college presidenttwice, at Nassau Community
College first, as you mentioned.
And an interesting piece aboutthe community colleges within
the SUNY system is there are 30of them and they're part of this
larger 64 institutionexperience that the SUNY system
is.
There are 30 of them andthey're part of this larger 64
(00:47):
institution experience that isSUNY right, the State University
of New York.
So I would say one of the majordifferences is how we're
situated in Maryland, right, andwe're not situated in that way.
We're not part of a system.
There's 16 independentcommunity colleges with
independent boards.
Part of the system.
There's 16 independentcommunity colleges with
independent boards.
(01:07):
And while NASA had its ownlocal board, there were still
pieces you know that were SUNYaffiliated.
You know policies that we hadto follow and not saying, you
know that was absolutely fine,it's just a different, you know,
type of engagement.
So I say that is, you know, kindof one of the bigger
differences In terms of scope,the similarities you know.
(01:28):
It's about a little more than Ithink 1.3, 4 million people in
Nassau County is about, you know, 1.1 in Montgomery.
I do really appreciate thededication to education here in
Maryland and I think you knowkind of throughout the entire
state, which is something I'mdeeply appreciative of, and I do
think that was similar in NewYork.
(01:50):
But I would say, in terms ofthat also, nassau Community
College is on Long Island, right, it's one of the two community
colleges that are located onLong Island.
So when you think about howyou're physically situated,
there's a different kind ofcomponent there and we were
always facing a lot of studentswanting to leave Long Island, at
(02:13):
least for their undergraduatecareer, right.
So a lot of people and a lot ofcolleges and universities were
actively recruiting on LongIsland.
So that was another piece whereI think in kind of the Maryland
sphere and the region, we dohave a bit of a draw.
We're contingent to DC, so wehave that.
So there's a few differencesbut great experiences at both
(02:36):
places and I'm really excited tohave had that opportunity at
Nassau Community College.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Yeah Well, I have to assume that really impacts how
you think about like workforcedevelopment, because at Nassau
I've.
I have to assume that reallyimpacts how you think about like
workforce development Becauseat NASA I've seen so many
students that are sort of youknow and my guess would be at
Maryland.
It's probably a prettycomplicated picture.
You have students that aregoing into the DC area that
wanted that you have studentsthat wanted to sort of stay
locally.
You guys did some great jobsworking with employers that you
(03:04):
have.
You guys did some great jobsworking with employers that you
have.
But I'm particularly curiousfrom you because you've got a
wide scoping background and alsosome work in the workforce
development space.
If you could invest a chunk ofmoney, let's say like 10 million
, so not an unlimited amount 10million could go that quick into
workforce development in yourstate.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
What do you think about putting that in place, of
giving someone a job, a fundlike that, absolutely.
So I appreciate the questions.
I definitely have had someinteresting experiences with
workforce investment boards, asyou mentioned, and the first
(03:53):
thing that really comes to mindis, well, context matters and
after that is alignment, right.
So we have an awesome governorhere in Maryland and there's the
you know Moore Milleradministration and their plan,
and what I would want to do is Iwould want to ensure that that
$10 million is aligned with thestate's goals, right.
So it's more of a piece of howare we building this framework
to not only impact the countybut impact the state, and I
(04:16):
think that's a piece.
So when we think about that andI think about some of the
things that we're interested in,I think about, you know, where
we have, you know, open jobs inIT and cybersecurity, right,
where we have.
You know, teacher education,where it's health professions.
You know we are the you knowkind of the biotech hub, right,
life sciences hub, dna alley iswhat they, how they.
(04:38):
You know some folks referenceus.
So for me, it would be the ideathat, just wherever I am where
I'm currently here, obviously,but I'm in Illinois and
Massachusetts and New York andPA.
But that context is really whatmatters and ensuring that,
especially at the communitycollege, that you're aligned
with what the needs of thecommunity, what those needs are
(04:59):
Right, and for us I justoutlined some of those needs
they actually transcend thecounty and go towards the state.
But I would say you know, givenmy experience with that, it
really is ensuring that you'reusing the funds that you have,
because funds are finite right,they're limited and making sure
that you're braiding them andreally leveraging those funds in
a way and I'll leave you withthis that makes impact right.
(05:22):
It's all about you know thecontext and making the impact
that you seek, and here thatwould be around.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
You know those areas, so yeah, yeah, that's a great
answer and I think it's beingreally sort of smart.
How do you create ecosystemsthat are inside of just what you
control to ensure that this issupporting the goals and also
leveraging you know, how do you?
(05:49):
How do you think aboutenrollment and retention?
You've got such a big group ofstudents, so many different,
different sort of spaces thatthey're going into
professionally.
Some are transferring, some aregoing directly into the
workforce.
How do you think aboutsupporting retaining but also
recruiting just the nextgeneration of change makers in
(06:10):
the region?
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Yeah, I appreciate that, the opportunity to share a
little bit about that.
So Montgomery College is, youknow we're open, access,
affordable, we have students whorepresent more than 150
countries, we have extraordinaryfaculty and staff.
I mean I'll share some otherkind of facts real quickly to
(06:39):
contextualize the other part ofmy response.
50% of our students identify asfirst generation, right.
Almost 20% of our studentsidentify as parenting.
About 22% of our students arePell recipients, which you're
familiar with, given I know yourinterviews and your background,
and of those 22% of students,their annual take home is less
(07:03):
than $28,000.
That's in a county as affluentas Montgomery County, right?
So more than a fifth of ourstudents Pell recipients and
their annual take home $28,000.
So when we think aboutMontgomery College I'm getting
to your question I really framethose words you used in terms of
(07:23):
access and completion andpost-completion success.
People don't hear me talk muchabout enrollment or retention.
Sometimes that nomenclature iswrapped around kind of butts in
seats and FTEs and how you getyour money.
So we talk about, with ourtransformational aspirations,
access, you know that, access topost-secondary education that's
(07:45):
going to change lives, right.
It's going to change livesthrough completion, having
credentials of economic, socialand community impact, so that
individuals, when they leave,they leave making a
family-sustaining wage and haveindividual economic and social
mobility and they also leavebeing contributing members of
their society and theircommunities.
And that's that post-completionsuccess the idea that it's not
(08:07):
only individual economic, socialand upward mobility but it also
translates to intergenerationalmobility.
So when we look at it and I'llend with this we look at it at a
student-centered, data-informedand equity-focused way of how
we build a college going culture, how we can go deeper and
ensure that every MontgomeryCounty Public Schools student
(08:27):
has an educationally purposefulexperience with Montgomery
College and their families aswell, before the seventh grade,
right, so that it's notsomething they're hearing about
the first time.
10th, 11th grade, it's notsomething as first-generation
students they're like, wow, Ihaven't heard about college for
16 years and now I have to doall this stuff.
Right, it's ingrained.
(08:54):
We're inculcating that withinthe fabric of our community.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
So I can go on and on about access and completion,
but I'll stop there because Iknow we have some other things
to get to.
That can go on and on aboutaccess and completion, but I'll
stop there because I know wehave some other things to get to
.
That's so brilliant and maybelet's pick up that thread
because I think that's so that'sincredible that you're working
and making sure you have a touchpoint and you know knowledge
about what you're doing aroundseventh grade.
How do you do that?
Like just so curious about likenuts and bolts of what that
looks like?
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Yeah, and part of it is part of it is alignment,
right.
And I want to be very clear andI usually share this whoever
I'm talking with.
I stand on the shoulders ofgiants.
Montgomery College has a lot ofsuccesses and my predecessors
are awesome, so so much of whatwe're doing is really building
on is building on successes.
With that said, so much of whatwe're doing is identifying and
(09:39):
creating new successes, right?
So it is a combination.
So when I say that we have thisgoal of 100% of those
individuals before their seventhgrade, we've been doing it.
Now it's how do we actuallycoordinate that across a college
that has three campuses andEast County Education Center and
other centers and measure it toget to our impact so that it is
(10:03):
100% right, so that it issystemic and systematic?
And that's where we're takingthese bright spots and figuring
out how we elevate, how weamplify to ensure that it's
systemic and systematic, how weelevate, how we amplify to
ensure that it's systemic andsystematic.
So I'll give you one examplewe're working on for spring,
which is leveraging spring breakfor MCPS to bring those
(10:24):
students to Montgomery College.
So we're leveraging thatopportunity in a holistic way.
Another opportunity we have iswe have this beautiful piece of
legislation.
It's a multi-year,multi-billion dollar education
legislation in Maryland.
It's called the Blueprint.
It is wrapped around creating aworld-class educational
(10:47):
ecosystem in Maryland and partof that Blueprint allowed us to
participate with WorkSourceMontgomery.
So think about the WorkforceInvestment Board we call that
WorkSource Montgomery.
So think about the WorkforceInvestment Board that's we call
that WorkSource Montgomery toactually educate and train
career coaches who are going tobe engaging and have started
already you can look this uponline and fact check me have
(11:09):
started already engagingindividuals in Montgomery County
Public Schools, sixth through12th graders.
So when we think about thatsystemic and systematic approach
and leveraging the resourcesthat you have and opportunities
that are out there, you knowwe're reconstituting things that
we've done and we'reidentifying new pieces.
And I'm so happy that we havethat partnership with Montgomery
County public schools and withWorkSource Montgomery and that
(11:32):
Montgomery College is able toeducate and train those career
coaches because that makes themnot only it makes them more
aligned and more in tune to whatMontgomery College offers and
other opportunities out there sothat they can be college and
career ready.
What we call the kind of CCRcollege and career ready is in
the blueprint.
So, but more things that youcan research and follow up on.
(11:53):
But, as you can tell, I'mexcited about that opportunity
as well.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
I absolutely love that and I love what you said to
sort of like really looking atthe systemic issues that you are
facing.
It's a broader workforceculture and how you can simply
sort of work work with those.
How do you think about the dataand assessment piece with it?
(12:17):
I know you're a big data guy, Iknow you're really sort of
focused on that, but can youtalk about your approach to sort
of like really sort ofleveraging data to drive things
forward?
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Absolutely, whether the AMB as measured by or
however we phrase it, butthere's always something you
measure.
What matters, or what mattersis what's measured, all these
things that we can say.
But yes, data is extremelyimportant.
It helps to tell our story andit also helps to align us on our
(12:50):
path, helps to align us on ourpath, right, and I'm really just
so proud to be able to sharewith you those transformational
aspirations.
If someone were to go to thesite and you know, pop that in
you would see our metrics forthose.
You would see that you knowwe're looking for 100% of MCPS
students by the time they're inseventh grade.
You would see you know thepercentage that we want to
increase of individuals whoexperienced dual enrollment,
(13:11):
right.
You would see that we want 100%of our credentials to have
economic, social and communityimpact.
You would see that we want todecrease the percentage of
students who face any basic need, right.
You would see that we'relooking to decrease gaps in
poverty by the largest kind ofdemographic groups that are
there, right.
So I think it's identifyingwhat's important and having
(13:31):
those metrics and you'll find.
You'll find source data you'llbe able to go and click into and
say, oh, they're using the mitcalculator, for you know salary
and we sustaining wage right.
So it's identifying whatmatters to you and we've
identified that at montgomerycollege.
It's not these aren't you know,president williams's
transformational aspirations.
These come from a lot oflistening, a lot of learning
(13:52):
from our community and then wefigure out how to get there
because we know how we're goingto measure it.
So I would say that's theunderpinning of how we know that
we are making the change andthe impact that we seek
measuring that on a regularbasis.
So that's the importance of notjust assessment and analytics
(14:14):
but knowing what you're going tomeasure and actually holding
yourself responsible andaccountable for those metrics
that you've identified.
It's kind of like the storyabout and I'll be really brief,
I know our time there's anindividual walks up to someone
and they have their targetpractice and it's a bow and
arrow and they have a bullseyeand they say, oh, my goodness, I
(14:37):
see all these holes and it'slike, my goodness, you shot all
those arrows in the middle ofthat target.
How did you do that?
And obviously archery isimportant and practice is
important.
And the person looks and says,because it's easy, I shoot the
arrows and then I just go up andI draw a circle around all the
holes, you know.
(14:58):
So that's not what we'relooking for right?
All right, so that's not thekind of assessment that we're
looking for, right?
So just end on that piece ofyou know kind of levity there.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
I love that.
I love that analogy and I lovethat.
I love that analogy andunfortunately I think we've.
Anyone that's worked in thespace has probably seen that
occur more than you know, morethan they care to admit.
No-transcript, you're competingagainst not going to college in
(15:43):
this broader narrative.
You're competing againstemployer training programs.
You're competing like endless,endless.
You're competing againstcreators on Twitter that have
these products that to earnmoney, like it's.
It's so broad, right.
How do you think aboutpositioning your institution in
just such a like a noisy andcrowded space?
You're certainly sort of doinga lot, I think, on the sort of
(16:04):
early front end, with sort ofearly exposure and breeding
students in at that young age,which is brilliant.
But how do you think about thatlike bigger positioning thing
about you've got this coreamazing value proposition, but
making a sort of resident freeaudience?
How do you think?
Speaker 2 (16:20):
about that?
Yeah, I think about it inmultiple ways.
There's a few pieces and I'llget to the value proposition,
although we know, like you know,the majority of our students do
not, they're not, they're notthinking about, wow, the value
proposition of MontgomeryCollege, right, they're like.
So what they not thinking about?
Wow, the value proposition ofMontgomery College, right?
So what they are thinking about?
They are thinking about theirincome, they are thinking about
affordability.
So when we think about that,that's something that's really
important to us and being halfthe price of our state
(16:42):
institutions, right, so that'ssomething that's important.
Our trustees have kept tuitionflat three of the last four
years, right?
So those are pieces we thinkabout.
We think about holisticallysupporting students.
I didn't mention this factabout 36% of our students have
experienced food insecurity inthe last 30 days.
So when we think about the factthat Montgomery College
(17:03):
provides mobile markets at allof our campuses once a month, at
each campus, food lockers,pantries that we've, you know,
tens of thousands of students,faculty and staff are supported
by that, by hundreds ofthousands of food each year.
When we think about our socialresource program that we
received, you know, a grant forconnecting people to, you know
(17:24):
community groups.
Those are pieces that we thinkabout holistically supporting
students.
We think about our studentfamily group, right.
Our parenting students group,right.
And having kind of a family Uapproach and a two generation,
multi-generation approach ofhaving parking spots for
families and high chairs and allof these pieces of lactation
stations.
(17:45):
The one thing I'll end withright now with this question is
I know our time is fleeting is Ialso think there's a lot of
room for everyone to besuccessful.
So also think there's a lot ofroom for everyone to be
successful.
So I know there's a lot of talkabout TFR total fertility rate
going down and stagnatinggraduation rates for high school
students or decreasing in someareas.
What I will share is I wouldencourage us all to look at data
(18:06):
.
In a way of having been in manystates, I will share Montgomery
County Public Schools.
We know this.
I'm not sharing anything out ofschool, no pun intended but a
third of our graduating highschool seniors they don't attend
any credit bearingpost-secondary educational
opportunity 12 months after theygraduate high school.
It's one of the largest schooldistricts in the country, right?
Let's look at that right.
(18:27):
Let's look at the populationsin our communities that have
some credit, no credential right.
There's a lot of room for everypost-secondary educational
opportunity to play and help usbe successful and really drive
and create the workforce we needand eliminate these disparities
that we see in our society.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Incredibly well said.
I can't thank you enough foryour time.
I know we're almost at the end,so thank you.
This has been incredible.
Really appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
I appreciate you.
Thank you for the opportunity.
Maybe we'll get a chance to doit again.
And thank you very much,appreciate it.
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