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We’re in

Akron, Cleveland, and Youngstown are vying for $1 million in the Talent Dividend Prize announced in January by CEOs for Cities.  On behalf of the Northeast Ohio Talent Dividend, NOCHE submitted entries for the three cities this month and obtained signatures on a Memorandum of Understanding that will share a portion of the prize with the entire region—including Canton, which is ineligible to enter the contest—if one of our cities wins.  This puts the Northeast Ohio Talent Dividend in a unique position since our cities will be collaborating—not competing—to increase college attainment in the region.

The only other Ohio city currently entered into the Talent Dividend Prize (the deadline is May 1) is Dayton.  More information and a map of eligible and participating cities are available at www.talentdividendprize.org.

National Network Meeting final preparations underway

NOCHE has been invited to present at the National Talent Dividend Network Meeting to be held in Chicago on May 9 and 10.  NOCHE Executive Director Ann Womer Benjamin will speak to attendees three times in two days, focusing on leadership, action plan development, and implementation.  The Northeast Ohio Talent Dividend caught the attention of the meeting organizers by making substantial progress on the Talent Dividend since the immediate past Network Meeting in October.  During the intervening months, NOCHE has announced the Talent Dividend Action Plan and has convened the regional Steering Committee to begin implementation.  NOCHE’s staff will attend the sessions at the upcoming meeting and report back to the Steering Committee during its next meeting.

Transitioning from “Thought Leadership” to “Action Leadership”

The Northeast Ohio Talent Dividend Steering Committee had its quarterly meeting in April, during which the focus was continuing the implementation of the Action Plan announced in December.  A working group on increasing participation in dual enrollment programs has recommended convening colleges and universities to develop agreements on accepting dual enrollment credits similar to what the Ohio Board of Regents has done with credit transfer among public institutions.  The goal would be to make more uniform the acceptance of dual enrollment credits since some postsecondary institutions accept dual enrollment credits only if the student matriculates at the same institution.  A working group on engaging employers is looking for corporate partners to champion degree attainment among adults with some college and no degree, and is developing messaging to convey to employers the important role they play in promoting college degree attainment.  A newly formed metrics working group will be meeting to recommend goals for the Northeast Ohio Talent Dividend.  The Steering Committee will meet again in June.

NOCHE CAOs discuss student retention

During NOCHE’s April 1 meeting of regional Chief Academic Officers, Justin Bibb, Special Assistant to the Cuyahoga County Executive, shared Cuyahoga County’s vision for increasing college degree attainment through a new scholarship program linked to career pathways.  At the same meeting, NOCHE Executive Director Ann Womer Benjamin explored the Talent Dividend goal of increasing retention to degree completion.  The CAOs reported a variety of programs in place to improve retention rates on individual campuses, with peer mentoring emerging as a popular and effective program.  Participants also expressed an interest in further discussion about remediation, and NOCHE will be adding that to the agenda of a future CAO meeting.

Best wishes to Carol Coletta

On behalf of the Northeast Ohio Talent Dividend, NOCHE offers best wishes to Carol Coletta, who has stepped down from her position as president and CEO of CEOs for Cities.  Ms. Coletta was an instrumental force in bringing the Talent Dividend and Northeast Ohio together.  She remains on the CEOs for Cities Board of Directors while Ohio’s former Lieutenant Governor, Lee Fisher, has been named the new president and CEO.

Follow Us on Twitter

We recently launched a Twitter page for the Talent Dividend. Follow us to keep updated on college attainment news in Northeast Ohio and beyond.http://twitter.com/talentdividend

For More Details

For additional information, or if you wish to unsubscribe from this newsletter, please contact Sean McKinniss at 216-420-9200 x234 or smckinniss@noche.org.