this special edition of Kentucky.

Tonight I'm Renee Shaw, and we thank you so much for joining us this evening.

Tonight, we explore how the state's community and technical colleges play a critical role in preparing diverse student populations for the workforce, or for a four year college experience and beyond as they continue their higher ed journey.

Recently, the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education reported some good news.

With retention and graduation rates and increases in certificates, diplomas, and associate degrees awarded by the Kentucky Community and Technical College system.

And we'll talk about the progress made, some challenges that may lie ahead, and the work of some of the state's institutions working to meet evolving workforce demands, while also serving as a launch pad for higher degree completion.

We have with us this evening Doctor Ryan Quarles, president of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.

Doctor Greg Feeney, president of the Bluegrass community and technical college doctor Jennifer Linden, president of Hazard community and technical College doctor Anton Reese, president of West Kentucky Community and Technical College.

And doctor Scott Williams, president of Owensboro Community and Technical College.

We appreciate all of you being with us.

Thank you so much.

Some of you had a little longer commute than others, so we appreciate that.

We have good representation geographically, and that's what we were seeking for this discussion.

Doctor cross, I'll start with you because we did have some recent news from the CPE, the Kentucky Council on Post-Secondary education, not just in terms of how four years are performing, but how two years are performing.

Give us the good news.

>> Well, the good news is, is that our graduation rate just hit an all time record high in the history of our community and technical college system in Kentucky at 51%.

And what does that reflect?

It reflects the fact that our 16 community technical colleges continue to put students first, and we're outpacing the national graduation rate by about 17 points.

And so that's great news.

Another great piece of news is that our affordability at our community and technical colleges continues to be the leader in the state, with 74% of our students walking across the stage with zero student loan debt.

And that's something we are all so proud of.

>> Right.

And so what is to be credited for all of the great success?

What is working so well?

>> Well, I think first off is the commitment of our faculty and staff on the front lines, making sure that every student matters.

We have a very diverse student population.

We meet people where they're at in lives.

And so from our faculty in the classroom, our staff, our success coaches, I think our community and technical colleges that this this feeling of you belong here really does resonate.

And plus our program relevancy is directly aligned as best we can with job outcomes.

And so I think a lot of students come to us because we're affordable, we're accessible, and it leads towards a job.

And I think that helps create energy on campus.

That leads to great outcomes.

>> Yes.

So let's talk numbers.

I mean, what does the tuition look like in compared to a four year.

>> Well, right now at at any of our Kentucky community technical colleges before financial aid, we're less than half the price of a public four year university here in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

We take a lot of pride in that because we want to make sure that we're price conscious, make sure we don't price folks out.

But the good news is that we have robust student student aid in Kentucky, from federal Pell to the generosity of Kentucky General Assembly, about 82% of all of our students qualify for some student loans, student financial aid, and in six of our counties, because of local financial commitments from their foundation boards, every student has all their tuition completely covered.

And so for us, affordability is something we take seriously.

And that reflects a lot of folks, a lot of generosity and good public policy here in Kentucky.

>> Are there any correlations in terms of when the economy is doing well, enrollment can slide and when the economy is uncertain or seemingly shaky, that enrollment increases.

>> I think that's exactly right.

But right now, we're experiencing record high enrollment during an economy that is somewhat positive right now.

It may be unpredictable for others, but the good thing about us is that I think a lot of students are coming to us because of our affordability.

They're starting earlier with us while they're in high school, or dual credit numbers continue to expand and also program relevancy for workforce as well.

A lot of folks forget that.

Yeah, we have 120,000 students enrolled for credit, meaning they're getting a credential or diploma.

We have an additional 70,000 Kentuckians that are taking advantage of our programs to upskill themselves on the workforce side.

And so for us, it doesn't matter what the economy looks like, is that we're open to business because we have a lot of jobs to fill here in Kentucky.

And there's actually an expectation, particularly from our lawmakers and the governor's office, that we should be focused on workforce outcomes at our Kentucky community and technical colleges.

>> Yeah.

Well, doctor, I want to come to you next because I know that dual credit I do want for viewers at home who may not be as familiar with that term for you to give us a working definition of that.

I know that that's really increased.

At Bctc.

So talk to us about that and your overall successes and perhaps even some challenges that you're seeing.

>> Sure.

So we have increased our dual credit enrollment in the last five years by 140%.

So that's pretty substantial.

It's now 30% of our enrollment.

And for dual credit student, what that means is, is that we are offering them a college level class in partnership with the local high school to where they are getting high school credit for that course, and also college credit for that course.

And so every year so far for us, the number has gone up where this year we had just under 90 students that received their associate degree a couple of weeks before they're graduating high school.

That's cool.

So one of our star students this, that we celebrated last night is going to Howard as a junior, zero debt, 17 years old.

>> Wow.

And going to Harvard, to Howard, to Howard.

You know, private institution.

>> Shows the quality of the program.

>> Yeah, yeah.

And they're going to need to save all of that to go to Howard.

Right.

They are going to need to save all that.

Yeah.

Every bit they can save.

Doctor Linden I want to come to you and where you are in hazard.

And we know that the Eastern Kentucky economy has had some challenges with the decline in the coal industry, and just maybe a lack of the amount and quality of jobs that are in other places of the state.

Talk to us about how you're meeting students where they are, regardless of where they are and their age and the educational journey.

>> Absolutely.

Well, all of the Kentucky community and technical colleges in the eastern half of the state, we all work so well together, just like all 16 colleges work well together.

But in the East, we're really focusing on a regional approach.

We have many shared employers like Appalachian Regional Health Care, and so we partner together, hazard, Southeast and Big Sandy, to make sure that we are offering what our regional employers need to give an example of really maximizing our resources.

We share a radiography program with Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, so Hazard and Southeast share radiography.

We also just started a paramedic program that is in partnership with big Sandy.

So you have big Sandy and Hazard and Ashland as well, partnering in that paramedic program.

So really working to maximize our resources to meet those needs and really trying to reengage those working age adults who may not be in the workforce.

So we want to get them into training and out into a career quickly.

That paramedic really helps with those EMTs and upskilling, but also we're really working hard with those who are in recovery and reentry and really making sure that we reengage those adult learners.

And although we've had the disasters in the East, with all of the flooding recently, we've used that as an opportunity as well.

There's a huge demand now for housing, so we're able to work with the jails and work with the recovery centers to get folks retrained into construction technology trades so that they can, in turn, help build back their communities.

So there's a lot of momentum going on right now in the East, really thinking regionally, really focused on the large employers who are there in the area and just really focusing on recovery in a number of ways.

>> Yeah.

So when you talk about partnering and sharing programs, perhaps with big Sandy and the other there in Eastern Kentucky, what what does that look like operationally?

What in practical terms, what does that look like for a student experience, I guess is what I'm trying to ask.

>> For the student.

It's very seamless.

They they don't see any changes.

They still get the same quality of coursework for the colleges involved.

It involves us sharing budget resources for equipment and for instructors.

Another example is our nuclear medicine technology program.

That's a new one that we started at hazard, but it has a very regional approach.

And with a recent Kctcs rules change, we're now able to admit students from areas of the state where there is the most demand.

So again, maximizing those resources, partnering together to meet regional and statewide needs.

>> So I want to ask you, doctor course about the rules change that Doctor Lyndon just referred to.

What is she talking about there?

>> Well, it's actually an evolution of Kctcs as a system oriented collection of 16 college level accredited organizations.

And one thing that we're pushing right now is program sharing or perhaps sharing certain functions that are really somewhat centralized at the sales office where my office is at versus what is domiciled at one of the colleges.

But the particular rules we're talking about, you can look at it in very different levels.

We just had a statutory reform package go through House Bill 619.

We had a statutory reform package for the fire commission, which a lot of folks may not realize.

They're attached to us.

Another 16,000 or so firefighters that benefit from our training, and also legislation on prison reentry.

But the big task ahead of us is implementing what I think is the next phase or iteration of Kctcs or House Bill 619.

So we have a lot of internal policy that we're reviewing right now.

We get together every month as presidents and review how to implement, but also which way we're going to go.

But there's also a big emphasis on shared services.

And one of the things that Doctor Lind and the other ones may reference today is that there's one legal office at Kctcs and that and that that benefits all of us.

Emphasis on technology.

Instead of having multiple contracts across different colleges, we try to systemize that for economies of scale for purposes and also benefits as well.

And so we have a lot, a lot of task ahead of us.

But I think it's going to create a stronger system.

And the best thing that that she just mentioned is that for the student, they may not may not even realize it because we want to make sure that it's seamless.

No matter where your entry point or ending point might be.

With us at Kctcs.

>> We'll come back to some questions I have about that seamless transition, which I know has been a conversation in Frankfort.

Doctor Reece, thank you for being here from West Kentucky Community and Technical College System.

Tell us about this.

Your service area, the the types of programs that are doing very well and the successes there and maybe some of the challenges that you're taking on.

>> So let me say first and foremost, along with my colleagues, certainly is a pleasure to have this opportunity to really talk about what we have deep compassion for.

You know, we realize every day, clear eyed, that certainly has open door institutions.

We want to be able to meet the moment throughout the entire region, if you will, in the West.

You know, one of the challenges and the same time opportunities in the West has been outside of Paducah.

McCracken County, declining population.

And so the more individuals that we can get educated certainly is very, very important.

And as you know, it is right.

You create more educated, skilled workforce, more jobs.

And certainly with the recent huge announcements, first time in over a decade, particularly in that nuclear space, having these big opportunities to, to, to really boost the overall population certainly is important.

You know, secondly, as a college, we recognize that in many ways.

Our mantra is we never underestimate you.

And part of that is removing financial barriers.

You know, Doctor Quarrels mentioned, we do have that college community scholarship program where any seventh eighth grader, we make a promise that early that they can come to us two years tuition free has been huge.

Likewise with the adult population have been able to utilize some of the $15 million that we were fortunate to receive.

So for adults, any man, woman or child between the ages of 18 to 64 can come to us tuition free because we are that committed in terms of meeting the moment.

And as it pertains to programs, certainly we've expanded.

We have a unique partnership with the University of Kentucky where we offer mechanical chemical engineering.

We expanded that to computer engineering technology.

Our prison education programs have been expanded to West Kentucky Correctional Ross Cassie for women and Kentucky State Penitentiary.

Two weeks ago, we had our first ever graduations and just, you know, getting our sense that we're getting all hands on deck is certainly important.

And then at the regional level, as well as part of that second chance opportunity, offering things like electrical welding, etc.

So meeting the moment, never underestimating students is really key.

And we believe likewise that we have really some great traction as we continue ahead in Western Kentucky.

>> And I do want to spend some time talking about what we have called in Frankfort, the prison campus legislation from House Bill five.

So we'll pick that up in just a moment.

We don't want to shortchange Doctor Scott Williams to talk about Owensboro and some of the great things that he's doing there.

So tell us all about it.

>> So at Owensboro, much like all of my colleagues here and across the 16 community and community technical colleges, it's really.

We're our focus has been at Owensboro is really trying to make sure that we're aligned with our work base, our workforce.

And so, as you well know, you've been to Owensboro many times.

It's really an area that's centered around manufacturing, health care, and recreation.

So bluegrass music is a big part of what we do there.

So some examples of how we've tried to connect to make sure that that we're a viable opportunity.

Reducing barriers for students coming completed.

We've really aligned our programing with what our industry needs.

A few examples of this are post pandemic.

It was truly horrible.

Horrible on health care, right?

A lot of nurses and texts were leaving that industry, that sector.

And so hospital came to us.

Owensboro Regional Hospital came to us and said, you know, we need more nurses.

We took our program from 50 students in 21 to 150 students.

And so we responded with a 300% increase to make sure they had the workforce they need.

Our our community responded to that.

You know, they were able to come in and get nursing degrees and have a very, very much a family sustaining wage, a career that they could be proud of.

So we see instances like that.

We're a rural area that is dependent on agriculture as well.

And another example is an area where we felt the need that we needed.

The veterinarians in the area said we need a vet tech program.

So we established the first two year vet tech program in the state, and that has helped draw students from all over the Commonwealth.

And it's been hugely successful and it's been growing as well.

And finally, we really are focused on, much like Doctor Reese, trying to reduce those barriers.

So just like everyone else, about 85% of our students are getting some form of aid.

And while we're not fortunate enough to have a community where we can guarantee no tuition, we do see that our students, we try to make sure and ensure that when they come to this, they we optimize what's available to them.

We really accelerate the admission process.

We've got a very high, what I would call customer service rating.

Students love to come in.

They're helped.

They're allowed to move through their programs and enter the college.

And so through that, we've been able to see an increase in enrollment.

So since 20, we've seen an increase in enrollment each and every semester since then.

So we went from right around the pandemic, about 4000 students to this fall.

We enrolled 5000.

So we've seen tremendous growth.

>> That's great.

I do want to go back to Doctor Linden.

And because you mentioned one of you about population decline.

I think Doctor Reese you mentioned that.

And we know that Eastern Kentucky has really suffered from population decline.

So how does how does that make it even more challenging perhaps to reach those who need to be reached or, or have have an interest, but not sure how to get started?

I guess it's almost like, what's the PR campaign that, that you waged to, to help people reengage and upskilling or, or even believing that they can do that.

Right?

I think there's a lot of psychology that goes into some of this that maybe I don't understand, and I'd love to hear your perspective on.

>> Absolutely.

It certainly can be challenging.

Luckily, we have a really good relationship with our K12 partners, so we just have an excellent relationship with all the superintendents and administration at those K12 institutions.

And so we're able to put students on pathways at an early age.

So really starting working with them in middle school, high school, all the way on, on up to make sure that they are in a track that will help them have a viable career and be able to provide for their families and hopefully stay in Eastern Kentucky.

That's important.

So we have to be very strategic in what pathways we're promoting, because we want to make sure that the jobs are there once they finish.

So we're really focusing on that, focusing on health care, focusing on trades related skilled trades.

There's tons of opportunity in the skilled trades.

So really working with students that way and then reengaging the adults, really working with adults who are out there who maybe want a better job, and maybe they want to come back and learn a new vocation, get into a new career.

So stressing affordability, stressing all the options that we have for assistance at our colleges, whether it be academic assistance through tutoring or whether it be helping with nonacademic barriers, we have a success zone at KTC, for example, where when a student walks in, no matter what their age, we just start working with them.

And do you need transportation assistance, child care assistance, food pantries?

So many of our colleges have food pantries.

So that's important in our messaging is making sure that students know that whatever barriers they think that they have to an education at Kctcs, we can help remove those barriers.

>> I think that that's a really important point, and I'm glad that you brought that up, Doctor Linden, you know, and Doctor Feeney, I come to you and ask about, you know, student success can look like a lot of things.

And often it's measured in graduation rates and retention rates from first year to second year and matriculation and all of these degrees or certificates earned.

But it is the path to get to all that absolutely is can be either broad or narrow.

And for some it may be quite narrow on how to do that.

How do you go about those student support services to talk to address those barriers that Doctor Linden just spoke of, from food insecurity to maybe other things that we don't even think of.

>> Right.

So, you know what I found?

I've been at the college for 28 years, and I've seen our student population change dramatically during that time.

And I would say now more than ever, we need to be connected to what our students are bringing with them.

And the more that we are connected to what they're bringing to the table, the more that we can focus in on to help them be successful.

And so many of these things are not in isolation.

So what has helped us is the more shared services we have, the more we can invest in that front line to impact those students.

So for us, it's anything from housing, the bus pass to conflict management.

So many of our students do not come from the background to from where they've been coached or mentored along the way.

So they experience conflict and they're ready to quit.

We have to be very intrusive in working with our students to make sure that we are guiding them along the way, giving them the tools, not just opening the door, but giving them the, the, the tools to be successful.

And so, you know, we, we monitor everything at Bctc.

We monitor everything our students do.

So if they're involved in activities, they're going to tutoring extracurricular sports, how often they're attending class, and we're not waiting for them to come and ask us.

We're going to them if we see any issues with that.

The reason why we invest in some of those extra areas is we are finding that's what keeps them there.

So the more connected they feel.

And that's why so many of our activities are so broad.

Anything from esports to volleyball to basketball to computer club to robotics, anything that's going to help a student stay connected because it's that connectedness that helps them cross that finish line.

And then the academic support and those wraparound services, 40% of the students at our institution come to us as not being college ready.

What a radical privilege that is for us.

But we have to get it right.

And that's why we monitor their success so much.

And with those wraparound services and all those various things, our retention rates have been up every year for the past ten years.

Except for the pandemic.

Our graduation rates have been up every those years don't count ten years.

>> They don't.

>> Yeah.

Right.

But it shows the hard work and dedication and, and, and what it takes.

And we get to be part of one of our mantras that, you know, we talk about a lot is we get to be part of saying yes to these students who have not had the experience in life to where it's always been that positive, particularly in relation to academic achievement.

And so many of them come to us and they think, I'm not a good student.

And that that's the mantra they have there.

And it's such a radical shift that we get to see in them.

And so I think of three students this last year that have full rides to four year institutions that started with us two years ago as not being college ready.

And that's the difference that we are making in Kctcs with all those wraparound services.

>> So define for us what college readiness is.

What does that look like?

What does the college ready student look like or have?

>> So we base it on GPA and then placement tests.

So the easiest thing for us is even beyond the Act or the S.a.t.

But just as a placement test on our campus.

And that's not from the standpoint of whether you get in or not.

That's so we know where you're starting and where we need to meet you.

It doesn't matter how poorly or how low, I should say.

You score on that.

We're going to meet you right where you're at.

But our success rates are there because we're measuring where you're at, and then we're making sure that you're getting the appropriate service.

So you're going to be successful.

>> Yeah.

And a quick point here is that is.

>> That we actually help students that haven't even graduated high school yet, right?

We facilitate about half of all the geds in Kentucky.

And we're proud of that, is that we're getting them ready before they officially start classes with us.

And G. D and Kentucky is free costs the recipient $0.

Another cool thing is that now we have competency based education where if a student may have started, maybe they served us in uniform in the military and they can show competency on automotive repair or welding or whatever it might be, they can actually start ahead of other students in the cohort because they already have that relevant work experience.

>> And company based education is awesome because it's it's skills based, not time based, and that's the best of it.

So if you come in and you have a high skill set in an area, you don't have to sit with us for four semesters, we're recognizing that level of that skill set there.

And so for our nontraditional population, which we often define as 25 plus for us is 30%, that that's an essential approach.

The other thing I want to point out is with GED, they don't have to complete their GED.

All of our students, before they start college level classes.

And that's something we piloted about ten years ago or so.

And we saw what that did for matriculation rates for students continuing on, because if I'm 25 years old and I see this long pathway and I have to get the GED done, I need to work full time, then I have to get the degree and it's going to be, you know, four years down the road before I'm making money by allowing them to enroll in GED and college level classes, providing that wraparound support.

We're seeing that matriculation and those retention rates go up.

>> Yeah.

Doctor Reece.

>> Quickly say too as part of college readiness actually occurs before students come to us from various, you know, various walks of life, right.

The beauty of having an open door institution, we get them straight out of high school, just based lawmakers, veterans, etcetera.

But a big part of that conversation actually happens before they even get to us.

And that's why it's important that as part of our outreach, that we meet students where they are connecting with the nonprofits, with the adults, the career centers, you know, career fairs, high schools, obviously, that type of thing.

So we want to be sure that our team is fully ready to engage and share.

And basically educate the ways in which to be prepared for college.

The financial piece is certainly a big part of that as well, too.

But I would also say that internally as a college, we want to be sure to that we have that support atmosphere shifting from a deficit model for students to a success based model.

And so a lot of our resources have gone into our student success centers.

These student success coaches, tutors, supplemental instruction, these are all those wraparound services to ensure that our students come to us with varying levels of needs and varying levels of college readiness, we can meet them where they are.

You know, last speech you briefly mentioned about the retention graduation rates that are very that's a very important part of the narrative as well, too, right?

Because there's always a conversation about is college too expensive?

What's the ROI and what that looks like?

You know, for us as a college, we've been very fortunate out of 1000 colleges across this country to be in the Aspen Top ten now heading in on six occasions.

That external affirmation is an important part of the narrative that arguably, I would submit outside of spirituality.

I think that education is the single most transformational tool that we have.

And so to be able to provide a space for students then to fulfill their academic and career dreams, we do it better than most, and we have the data to prove it.

>> Yeah.

Is there still a PR makeover that's happening?

Doctor Williams, when it comes to community colleges and technical colleges about what they are, who they serve and the value of them, and how do you address that?

>> Absolutely.

That stigma still exists, you know, and so some of the ways in which we've done it, at least at our college, and I think Casey tech as a whole is addressing this.

And Doctor Corals is doing a wonderful job of, you know, getting the word out about the quality of the work that we do.

And so we're starting to see a little bit of a resurrection in that area and making headway.

But some of the some of the things we've done locally at Octc, because we do have some four year college partners in the region and in the area.

And so we really started the narrative of where the community's college.

And so we're here to serve you in whatever capacity you need as a community and as an individual.

And that has started to resonate.

I'm proud to say we've actually received the local the Messenger Inquirers Platinum Award for higher education in the region almost.

Let's see, we're in our seventh straight year.

And so that's something that we get very excited about.

And I think that that does make a big difference.

But at the end of the day, you know, it's about making sure that our students feel connected, as they have said, a part of it.

And we try to do that with our community as well.

We're there to serve the community.

They are what makes they or why we exist.

>> Yeah.

>> They're.

Your why.

They are.

>> Why they are your why.

Yeah, doctor.

>> Nothing strikes down the stigma that may still have that residual effect.

Then the starting salaries of some of our students.

And this may not be the case for every graduate, but it's not uncommon for me as I travel around to meet students who starting starting salary after two years or less with us is 60, 70, 80.

And in some cases with like surgical technician $90,000 plus a signing bonus with two years with us.

And this is a great reminder that not all of our programs require two years.

People think of community colleges, associate's degrees.

Yes, two years.

But you can learn how to drive a big rig, have your CDL in as little as four weeks with us.

And a lot of times starting salaries there are in the 50s or higher, a lineman program.

We learn to keep the lights on after these storms that come through 15 week program, usually making 60 to $70,000 before overtime.

And I met a young girl from hazard that got every single heavy equipment operating certificate that you have that was making in excess of $100,000 a year after after she had a journey at other, other educational facilities, she came to us.

She has great opportunity ahead of her.

>> Yeah.

Doctor London, you want to do you know this young lady that he's talking about.

I do, yes I do.

>> And she is doing well.

>> But there's so many opportunities for students in the heavy equipment program so they can stop out with a certificate for a loader or an excavator or a dozer, and they can work operating that specific type of equipment, but they can get them all.

And that makes their employability options and their pay options even greater.

And I think the list just goes on and on of the great pain occupations that are possible if a student enrolls at a community and technical college.

>> Yeah, I like that.

Two points.

One, it's kind of a scaffolding kind of approach you can build on, especially in the machinery equipment type thing.

But, but also, it's not a two year commitment.

I don't think that many of us really think we think, okay, it's got to be two years.

But you said as little as four weeks or whatever.

It's tailored to that program.

>> And the other cool thing is that each one of our colleges has a unique program that is domiciled or housed there.

I'll just put you on the spot that nuclear medicine, vet tech, your space and aviation mechanics, but also with the with the growing nuclear energy sector.

>> And marine.

>> And marine and prosthetics.

I mean, there's only.

>> X equine.

>> Equine.

>> Yeah.

>> And you'll see that across all of our.

16 we have unique programs.

And that's why we're pushing the program sharing aspect as well.

>> Right?

So we want to go back some housekeeping perhaps for the the system because SGR79, which means nothing to most folks, but everything to you.

All right.

That really kind of this was what, 2024 that really caused some introspection into the system, whether maybe there would be some duplication in programs or there could be some efficiencies.

What has come out of that particular piece of legislation?

And then I want us to talk more about House Bill 619 from this most recent legislation.

>> Well, when I got started in January of 2024, the General Assembly passed what's called CR 179, which was really a challenge towards us as a system to have some self reflection.

There have been a lot of studies internally at Kctcs, but this was the legislature asking us, hey, Ryan, take a year, come back to us with recommendations and some challenges and some goals.

And so we spent an entire summer and fall saying, look, there are things we can do better.

Program relevancy.

So one thing that came out of this was a regular review of our programs, which was already happening, which has resulted in 250 of our programs being sunsetted or eventually Todd out.

So we can make room for expansion and say, health care.

Another thing that came out of CR 179 was a deep dive into the accreditation status of Kctcs, that there had been a push to merge us into one mega college, which a couple states have done in Connecticut.

They did that, and guess what?

They said it wasn't for us.

And they're actually decentralizing their community college system.

And so we went a deep dive on that.

And so our recommendation going into the legislature this year is to say, maintain the college level accreditation.

But there are expectations for efficiency purposes that we need to have more systemness in shared services as well.

And so 179 was actually an opportunity for us to have some self reflection.

We presented that in December of 2024.

We spent the last year and a half or so leading up to House Bill 619, which was just passed by the Kentucky General Assembly.

>> Yeah.

I want to go back to one of those that you just mentioned about sunsetting of certain programs.

So so students who are already enrolled, they were able to complete.

That's right.

They didn't have to, you know, they weren't of their opportunity to complete that program that they were pursuing.

>> And there's also a new federal rules that are being put in place that that are making not just us, but all of higher education review the program relevancy and perhaps the job outcomes as well.

I mentioned earlier, we're very focused on our workforce outcomes.

We want to hear from employer saying, we need to teach a little bit more on this skill.

Or an employer may say, we don't even use this technology anymore.

Don't, don't teach this.

It's just irrelevant for us.

And so for us, we want to make sure that to the best of our ability that we're constantly reviewing, listening to the needs of local employers, which they do every semester in a very formal way to make sure that we're sharpening that knife and making sure that the relevancy of our programs are very high, that then lead on to job outcomes.

>> You mentioned what all of your your colleagues have, their I say program of distinction, but maybe that's not the right term.

But what are the very high performing, mostly high sought out programs?

>> Well, our nursing program is the largest in Kentucky.

If you look at our nursing and allied health programs across Kctcs, this is a surprising statistic, but we provide nearly 70% of all nursing and allied health credentials and diplomas in Kentucky.

And that that compares us to the privates and the publics in Kentucky as well.

Is that TCS nursing program?

And Doctor Feeney, correct me if I'm wrong, is about the same size as UK it is right now.

>> Just in the past five years, we've doubled that program and our pass rates consistently across the system are competitive with the four years.

Absolutely.

>> Other programs that are brimming, in addition to our competitive allied health programs, our welding labs are full out in Ashland.

They're running three shifts a day of students, Hvac, electrical.

The list goes on and on and on where we have full classes.

>> Yeah, I want to talk about populations that you serve, and particularly House Bill five that was passed into law this session that really focuses on the formerly incarcerated.

Why is this such a targeted and important population to go and to recruit?

>> Well, first off, it's the right thing to do is that in Kentucky, we have about 20,000 or so fellow Kentuckians that are serving time behind bars in state prisons.

That's in addition to the jail population.

95% of these individuals will be released.

They're going to more likely go back to the counties that they're from.

They may become your neighbor.

And so as a matter of public policy, it's good for Kentucky, for those who are serving time that are in good behavior and want to benefit themselves, to have access to quality training and educational programs that lead to perhaps a job.

We hope so.

So House Bill five actually leads and supplements what we're already doing across our colleges.

Ten of them or so are already teaching in our jails and our 14 state prisons, and one is teaching in a federal prison as we speak.

Each one of them offers an associate's degree path and plus perhaps a technical programing as well.

And so the genesis behind House Bill five is to do something that other states, I think one day will look at Kentucky as a national model.

We're going to build a brand new Kctcs campus at one of the larger prisons in Kentucky down in Danville.

Northpoint Training Center will be attached to Bluegrass Community and Technical College, where inmates.

All across the state.

The 13 men's prisons can one day apply to be a student with us, and this is in addition to the 600 or so enrolled students we have right now, even before this campus is built.

And what we're going to offer is the same quality and the same type of educational program that you see at any of our colleges right now.

And so the this is the way it's going to work.

If you're on good behavior towards the tail end of your sentence, you can apply for the privilege to be transferred to us to pursue programs, automotive, tech, diesel mechanics, programs.

We know they're going to lead to job outcomes.

And one of the neat things about it is they're going to replicate an eight hour work day while they're with our programs.

And secondly, they're going to be removed from general population and live in college dormitories within the prison.

>> And why is that important?

>> Because it builds a culture of of success.

We went to Michigan twice and study what they're doing.

Their students are living together.

And what it does is that it, number one, is that it helps inmates stay in their programs.

It helps them get across the finish line, and it also builds up enthusiasm for others that may be sitting on the sideline saying, you know what, I'm going to go to KET C. S route, and I can't wait for my seat to open up so I can be transferred to our facility.

>> Yeah, two things I'll quickly add to along those stats, the cost of incarceration compared to coming to college, the ROI is just undeniable.

And second, in some of the technical opportunities, for example, deckhand, very tough work.

And we see from some of our initial results that some coming out of these second chance opportunity programs are equipped and can really come in and fit that workforce need.

So I think it's a combination of ROI, but it is directly connected really to, to workforce and not the continuous cycle of inmates coming out, not educated, not trained, not skilled, that, that, that cost us continue to elevate.

>> Three quick points.

Kentucky taxpayers are paying $42,000 per year per inmate to incarcerate them.

That's a heavy financial burden, not just the state, but also our fiscal courts.

Number two is that House Bill five, we know will reduce recidivism so it prevents future crime.

And number three, it leads to direct job outcomes.

We've identified over 300 companies working with the Governor's Second Chance Employment Council, our internal folks across the system, and also the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, 300 employees, employers that say, yes, we're willing to hire out of this.

And so this House Bill five does three things.

It leads to more jobs for Kentuckians to help our workforce needs.

It helps save Kentucky taxpayers money, and it prevents future crime.

>> Doctor Feeney, I want you to talk about how you are really involved in this with the Danville facility.

>> So, I mean, we're very excited about it.

We all have a history with it.

The success rates with the current students that we serve is higher than our mainstream populations.

One point that I'd like to bring in is this facility is designed to to meet the current high demand areas.

And I'm using the word current on purpose, right?

Because the facility that we are building will allow us, depending on what our needs are five years from now, ten years from now, unplug the program that we have there, put another one in, and we already do this on many of our campuses.

For us, it's our Georgetown campus, where we built a facility where it's easy to change with minimal investment, what programs that facility is serving, and that's how we're designing this building.

So five years from now, if industry tells us they need something else, we can we can serve the 700 students there by matching them up to a high demand area.

>> Yeah.

>> Just one last point.

We have one female prison in Kentucky that's run by the state Department of Corrections.

We're increasing our programing there too.

In the Department of Corrections just started a cosmetology program and that prison as well.

So we want to make sure that we're we're offering a robust set of programing across the state as well.

And this is one of the few bills that passed with 100% support.

And the governor's signature.

>> That's very rare, as you know, indeed.

>> A loose correlation real quickly too, along with incarceration is recovery centers.

So we.

>> Do just going to mention that point.

>> Yes, we are we are in that space.

>> As well, because we know that many of these inmates have had, you know, co-occurring diagnoses of maybe mental health disorder disorders and substance use disorders.

So the wraparound services are still going to be in play here.

>> Yeah.

I'd love to.

Hear from one of you all your experience with some of our efforts in the recovery community.

>> Sure.

We're working really hard in that space.

We work with many of our local recovery centers, and we actually, through Kentucky opioid abatement dollars, we were able to purchase a mobile training unit, and we have outfitted that.

So we're able to take that out to the recovery centers and the jails.

And we are training people in computerized manufacturing and machining, as well as fiber optics.

So they'll be able to obtain two different fiber optic certifications that will allow them to go to work quickly.

And they'll have that vocation when they are through with their treatment in the center, and they are going out and adjusting back to society, which we know is so important.

We also have a number of folks who are in recovery who are working in our construction technology programs through what's called our Hope Building Project.

They work in conjunction with the Housing Development Association to build homes for people who may be low income or may be displaced because of flooding, and with the plumbing as well.

We have recovery students who are in plumbing, and we all know that that is a well-paid profession.

>> Yes, yes.

Doctor Williams, do you have more to add there?

>> I was going to give you an example.

Okay.

We have a student that just shared at our conference this this this week.

Her name is Tabitha.

This is cut encapsulates this discussion we're having.

She started with us working on her GED.

Out of recovery, had a very tough life.

Somebody in our GED program saw something in her and encouraged her.

You need to go beyond getting your GED.

You need to enroll in the college.

She did.

She has just completed her associate's degree, and she is going to a university to earn a social work degree.

>> Wow.

>> True success story.

And she will tell you that it was all because individuals at the college believed in her.

And now she says, I can share with my kids and give them an example that, you know, your past mistakes do not define you.

And for her, that has meant the world.

And so that just encapsulates this whole conversation we've been having about Second Chance.

>> I love that.

>> Tabitha Wright.

>> You go, Tabitha.

>> We're ready for you.

>> Well, we are and to pursue social work, right?

I mean, it's not just academic and book knowledge.

She's got lived experience and she can meet people where they are in a way that most people who've never gone through that could do.

I mean, when you hear stories like that doctor calls, I mean that that's the ROI.

It's not always the number.

It is.

It's the person.

>> We're so fortunate that we get to work with 4000 Kctcs teammates where, you know, graduation day is a special day.

You get to see the the 24,000 plus students walk across the stage.

Some of them have to work that day.

Some of them bring their children.

Some of them are going on to Howard or we have one from Yale.

This fall.

We have a student starting Harvard College this fall.

You get all walks of life.

And this is a very purpose driven job.

And I just want to say a special thank you to our faculty and staff across the system for a job well done, because they put in that extra effort.

We have the wraparound services, our statistics that were sometimes defined by reflecting a culture at Kctcs that's welcoming, and we want to get you across stage and find you a job.

>> Yeah, I love that.

Meet you where you are.

That's never under never underestimate you, right?

Absolutely.

That's the whole purpose of that.

As you think about the challenges and what are the challenges that you're really focusing on?

Doctor calls.

I mean, yeah, what are they?

>> Well, I'll put them in two different buckets real quick here.

We've got challenges that are affecting higher education general in America.

I think Doctor Reese mentioned this earlier.

There's a conversation going on in our country about the relevancy of going to college right now.

Why should I go to a school for four or more years to get a degree that may not relate to the job that I want?

And then, oh, by the way, your saddle with soul crushing student loan debt.

This is something that we hear a lot about these days.

That's not the narrative of our community technical colleges is that, again, we want to make sure that it's affordable, that your program is relevant, etc.

and so that is something we're pushing up against nationally right now, but we're doing a great job.

And that's why enrollment in community colleges nationwide is going up.

Of course, we're exceeding the national enrollment growth at Kctcs by two points.

And then the other bucket is what's going on here in Kentucky is that we have limited resources.

We work great with our four year partners.

We're making sure that for our 15 or 16,000 students that say, I'm glad I have my associate's.

Now I'm going on to a public or private four year.

That's that transferability is seamless.

That's something our lawmakers want us to focus on, is making sure that the transfer element is as seamless as possible.

We're also stewards of taxpayer money.

And so we're very, very cautious about making sure that we're right sizing the system, that we're making sure that our programs are relevant for job markets, but also that we're working great with other institutions in the state.

And then finally working with Doctor Thompson and CTE is that is that we want to get I want to say something controversial.

Not every Kentuckian needs a four year college degree, but every Kentuckian needs higher education skills of some sort.

And that's where we're really going to shine right now.

So we play a critical role in the menu of options that students have across our state.

But there's a lot of challenges ahead of us.

>> Let me add real quickly on that.

So arguably, from my perspective, in the last decade, I've noticeably seen the shift around the attitude towards technical education and seeing community colleges not just glorified high schools.

The conversation around cafeterias, the Honor Nights programs is often talking about heading to the elite Ivy League type colleges.

But I've noticed this shift over time that that narrative is shifting, still needs to accelerate as far as I'm concerned.

And so I think that that's where a lot of the work and the opportunity is, is working with counselors and with parents and with business and industry, so that you get that triad to really see what we do really meets the need of the hour.

I can't think of any other higher ed entity that could meet the simultaneous needs of community and work force pathways more efficiently and better than Kctcs.

But the level of support that is needed, right?

That's always where the great debate is, right?

>> Do you think that you're getting the appropriate level of support from the Kentucky General Assembly?

>> Well, we just got through a budget session with zero operational cuts.

All of higher ed did.

So we're very fortunate and want to publicly thank our legislators for that as well.

You know, for us, we're going to work with the resources that we have.

But at the same time, I'm challenging our our CEOs and presidents here to say, you know, if there's property that's not being used, let's sell it, or there might be an economic development opportunity for that.

We have a lot of buildings.

We have a big facility structure across Kctcs.

We have soon to be 71 campuses.

We have a lot of students now taking classes online.

We may not need all the square footage that we need.

And so we're having a conversation internally.

And some of our presidents have sold property that just wasn't needed.

And so we're trying to right size the system.

But but for me, if we're going to reduce, we also want to replace with high quality buildings.

In fact, in downtown Louisville right now, we're tearing down a building that's 12 stories tall with the elevator only goes to 11 stories.

And so we're actually going to tear it down, replace it with a smaller building.

But guess what?

The utilization of that building will actually be higher than the skyscraper were taken down.

So we're trying to be smart with our capital projects, right.

>> I do want to talk about that brick and mortar versus there's so much the digital footprint is larger for every type of sector in our economy.

And I would think that's true in higher ed post-secondary education.

Talk to us, Doctor Linden, about meeting people where they are, even if they're online.

>> Well, absolutely.

I think especially since the pandemic, you know, there was already sort of a shift to offer additional courses online.

But then the pandemic kind of forced us all to learn all about online education in a very quick fashion.

So we, we found that some students prefer it that way.

And many students, especially working students and many of our students do work who come to community and technical colleges, and they prefer that online education.

So I think it's finding the right blend.

You know, certainly we do still have students who prefer in-person, and we all offer a variety of courses on our schedules, from fully online to synchronous online, where everyone's on there at the same time seeing the instructor to in person.

And I think something that's become very popular that we've been discussing are hybrid models.

So where you have your, your lecture online, but then perhaps you're going into the classroom or the lab 1 or 2 days a week.

And students really enjoy that format.

But I think all of our colleges, we all experiment with a variety of different formats because we know we have a variety of different learners and learning styles.

>> Yeah.

Doctor Williams.

>> We've also learned that we have to also provide those student support services in that format as well.

Not only do students desire to have online courses, but then there's also a need for.

>> Digital literacy.

>> Digital literacy.

So we also so they want that.

They want their advising to be through a Zoom meeting, or they want to talk about their financial aid.

They want to do that via a phone call or a text or an email.

And so what we have found that all of our student services, as well as our academic support services, we've had also digitized that so that the student can have the experience to meet them where they are and what they need.

>> Two quick pieces on that as well too.

So what we discovered during Covid, particularly in some of our more rural areas, you got to have strong broadband and Wi-Fi to be able to access these resources.

Right?

So that continues to be a challenge.

I would say for some students, like my colleagues, we're about a third Third Third about a third face to face Third online Third hybrid.

And that will continue to increase.

Third and final point, 42.7% of our students at CDC are part time students, heavily adults.

And so the whole idea of really, you know, meeting the moment again, we take those sort of data points, you know, first and foremost, as we continue to provide schedules to, to meet them where they are and, and as quickly changing.

And we're willing to certainly meet the moment.

>> How is AI Doctor Finney affecting you, your.

>> Institution, I'd.

>> Like to say not.

>> At all.

But it's impacting us a great deal.

And it's you know.

>> Is it all bad?

>> It's not all bad.

Okay.

It's not.

>> All bad.

And I think what we hear from our employers and from our students, which are the two main populations that, that we need to listen to, is that there's a strong interest in it.

And I know as a college on our on our own, we're using AI more and more to be more impactful and more efficient in meeting our student needs.

And so we need to equip our students with two things.

One, the current skill set, which is probably going to change tomorrow, and two, critical thinking skills and the ability to adapt.

And that's what we're hearing consistently from our industry partners, because it's going to change so rapidly.

So, you know, it's just a matter of us staying on the forefront of what it is giving our students the current skill set, but also that they're expecting rapid change in the future because that's what technology is bringing us.

>> Yes, doctor, did you have any insight on that to share?

>> And so we're embracing AI because our industry partners, again the employers are expecting that as a core competency.

So we have these ten essential skills that every college student should graduate with, including financial literacy soft skills.

We're also going to make that 11 now with AI, we're embedding it into our curriculum where we want.

But we're also making sure that our faculty, if you know, when they're teaching, if they want to have a computer free day and teach it the longhand way, we embrace that as well.

But we're really hearing this from our employers.

The other thing is, is it's about efficiency.

And some of our our industries are going to be revolutionized by AI.

And so for us, we challenge ourselves to be nimble, adapt to the current conditions.

And so for us, we're embracing it as a teaching school, a teaching tool, but making sure that we have the ability in the classroom to teach it on paper as well.

>> Yeah.

Doctor Williams, you're going to say.

>> More about that.

We also mentioned earlier, we also do a lot of industry training.

And industry partners are coming to us saying we need to adapt AI at our facilities.

But nobody knows how to operate.

>> Within or even what.

>> What it is.

>> So we have developed course or training modules that we are now going out and working with industry and helping them teach their employees how to work within that scope.

In fact, we've got an exciting project that we're teaming up with Health Force Kentucky, where we're developing a training for health care AI simulation.

So the health care industry is rapidly trying to in, in Put this into their workflow, and we have the unique ability with Health force Kentucky to actually do that in a simulated environment.

So that is being developed and will be ready probably this late this summer, early this fall.

>> The possibilities are endless in this space and, and already at this particular juncture, right?

>> It's yeah, it's going to be disruptive.

We know that.

But again, for us, we want to make sure that that learning comes first, that we're smart about AI adoption.

And the other thing is that that's not the only technology that's being disruptive.

We actually printed Kentucky's first house at Somerset Community College.

And the reason we did is because we think there's a future of that in our state with the housing shortage.

>> Yeah, yeah, that's pretty amazing, by the way.

So we need to follow up on that because that was fantastic.

Well, thank you all.

This has been such an educational conversation, insightful and and I hope, make you feel appreciated for the work that you're doing because you are helping lift up so many Kentuckians.

And just thank you for that.

And we thank you for watching Kentucky tonight.

I'm Renee Shaw.

Make sure you join us next week when we'll talk more about the issues that affect you the most.

And you can watch us each weeknight at 630 eastern, 530 central on Kentucky edition.

When we break down some of these very issues each week.

Night for you.

Thanks so very much for watching.

Take really good care and I'll see you soon.