CTEA (Career & Technical Education Act)

 

Examples of funded activities:

• Curriculum development activities (recent areas of emphasis include alternative fuels, emergency medical care, digital media, and hospitality)

• Professional development activities, including industry internships and specialized training for instructors

• Instructional equipment and material purchases for CTE programs

• Professional development activities that support entrepreneurship education and training

• Programs for special populations (e.g. students with disabilities; English language Learners; single parents; displaced homemakers; students in non-traditional careers such as women in automotive or men in nursing)

• Job placement assistance, career guidance, and academic counseling for CTE students

• Program marketing and outreach

• Articulation/Tech Prep Activities; work with specific high school programs

Hypothetical Examples:  Program Improvement Project and New Course Development

Imagine that 60 percent of Advanced Transportation Technology students drop out of the program in the first semester, 40 percent fail basic math, and 89 percent of students enrolled are considered English Language Learners (ELL). The program might receive funding to develop a math course that teaches math using advanced transportation concepts, provides tutors for ELL students, and offers professional development training for faculty in working with ELL students.  Additionally, the program might receive funds to conduct outreach activities to recruit more women into the program and to develop a mentoring project aimed at increasing retention of women.

Another possibility might be a department responding to industry need for new training.  Perhaps the faculty in the department have, through their advisory committee, identified a need for trained photovoltaic (solar) installers.  The department might receive funds for initial curriculum development, for basic equipment purchases, and for setting up an instructional location.  The VTEA funding would help to launch the program, but the expectation is that, following the first offerings of the solar installation course, additional courses would be developed and supported by the department’s budget.