Nebraska Career Pathways Project
FutureForce Finance
April 18, 2008

Location:  TierOne Bank, Lincoln with Dena Stevenson as our hostess.
In Attendance: Bonnie Macolm for Carol Andringa, Donna Dudney,  Kath Henebry, Laura Ilcisin, Kathryn Ballobin, Richard Schenk, Joni Sundquist, Linda Miller, Brad Schroeder, Bonnie Sibert, Dena Stevenson, Tom Upton, Randy Vlasin

Next Meeting: Friday, September 19  from 9 - 11 a.m. at Blue Cross Blue Shield, Omaha with Brad Schroeder as our host.

1. Introductions and Welcome – Randy Vlasin, Executive Director of FutureForce Nebraska, provided an update on the NebraskaCareerConnections.org web site. A total of 50,000 students have taken assessments and Randy provided some disaggregated data from this year’s assessments that showed that for both males and females the Finance Career Cluster continues to rank second in the list of  Career Search with Person Match. Randy explained a new concept for the web site that is being developed to allow business sponsorship (Connect2Business or C2B). Tentative plans are being made to have this component built into the site this summer.
2. FutureForce Finance Update - Randy and Bonnie discussed the possibility of the committee being in existence for one more year (4 more quarterly meetings). This timeline would allow FutureForce Finance to be involved with the Money Smart Week being planned by the Nebraska Financial Education Coalition and the delivery of a Personal Finance Institute and an Insurance Institute to be held for secondary teachers during July 2009. When the committee sunsets, members will have the opportunity to become involved in other pathway committees that focus on other areas of technology or business, marketing and management.
3. Money Smart Week – Richard Schenk gave a report on an initiative that is being developed by the Nebraska Financial Education Coalition. A subcommittee of coalition members is developing a statewide initiative that would promote financial education. Businesses, nonprofits, or educational institutions (K-16) will be asked to determine how they might best promote financial education during the second week of November, 2008. Kickoff events are being planned on November 10 in Lincoln and Omaha and a web site will provide publicity of events occurring across the state. Once the public relations materials have been developed, FutureForce Finance committee representatives will receive information about how they might promote an activity within their respective businesses/institutions.
4. FutureForce Finance flyer – Joni Sundquist provided a draft of a one-page flyer that could be used for promotion. Those present spent time editing her good work. Randy Vlasin will add the appropriate graphics and add this resource to the FutureForce Nebraska web site located at www.futureforcenebraska.org. This flyer will also be distributed to business teaches attending the Nebraska Career Education (NCE) Conference and the Mt. Plains Business Education Conference in June. Thanks, Joni, for helping us accomplish this important task.
5. Careers in Banking flyer – Joni was also responsible for developing the Consider a Career in Banking brochure that has been printed for distribution at the NCE and MPBEA Conferences this summer. The flyer will also be posted on the BMIT web site at www.nde.ne.state.us/BMIT so that teachers can print copies for their respective students.
6. Additional Teacher Resources – Donna Dudney of UNL and Laura IlIlcisin and Kath Henby of UNO were instrumental in sharing career information for finance through the BMIT listserve. Any business or college wishing to share finance-related resources or announce events directed at business teachers and/or their students should send an email to Bonnie Sibert at bonnie.sibert@nde.ne.gov.
7. Upcoming Presentations – A big thanks to the following individuals who will be presenting sessions in June:
   • FutureForce Finance—Dual-creditCollege Principles of Accounting
     Wednesday, June 11, Holiday Inn Kearney, 10:45 – 11:45 a.m.
     Brian Klausen, Linda Miller, Laura Ilcisin, John Schultz
   • FutureForce Finance taskforce members will overview the proposed dual-credit course for delivering College Principles of Accounting in high schools. Representatives from a high school, 2-year postsecondary and 4-year postsecondary institutions will discuss opportunities for students at their respective institutions. You will learn about new accounting teaching resources available from the Nebraska CPAs, including recruitment materials.
   • (FutureForce packet of resources will include: FutureForce Finance flyer, online web resources, names and email addresses of presenters, dual-credit course draft for College Principles of Accounting, NECC accounting syllabi, OPS/Metro articulation agreement explanation, and UNO accounting syllabi. All business teachers will have received the Accounting poster in their registration materials.)
   • Do Your Students Have the Skills Needed for a Career in Finance?
     Saturday, June 21, Embassy Suites, Lincoln, 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
     Tom Grafton, Dena Stevenson, Dennis Pfeffer
   • Learn from a panel of accounting, banking and insurance business representatives as they identify the skills your students will need to be successful in a career in finance. Come prepared to ask specific questions.
   • (Handouts will include the FutureForce Finance flyer, Banking Careers flyer, Finance resources provided by UNL, online web resources. We’re still looking for a simple resource for insurance that could be distributed or referenced online. If you have suggestions, please send them to Dennis Pfeffer or Bonnie Sibert.)
8. AP Accounting – Bonnie provided an update on the AP Accounting course curriculum that is being piloted by Dan Deines at Kansas State University. Professor Deines will be presenting a full-day workshop for accounting teachers in June 2009 at the NCE Conference.  Bonnie has a hard copy of the pilot program which she will send to the college accounting instructors on FFF. KSU is interested in having a pilot in Nebraska and would provide full financial support for teacher training.
9. Dual-credit Research – Kathryn Ballobin had previously shared several online resources that documented that secondary students with at least 9 hours of articulated or dual-credit have a much higher success rate of completing advanced education degrees. Please reference the following 3 web sites for additional details:

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080130/NEWS/775602245/1006/news

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The Community College Research Center (CCRC) is delighted to announce that it has been awarded a three-year grant of $4.4 million from The James Irvine Foundation (www.irvine.org) to manage and evaluate a new career and technical education dual enrollment initiative.

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The Postsecondary Achievement of Participants in Dual Enrollment: An Analysis of Student Outcomes in Two States. Published by the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE).
 
October 16, 2007, New York, NY -- High school students who take college courses while still in high school - a strategy known as dual enrollment - are more likely to enter higher education and experience greater academic success there than similar students who do not do so. Dual enrollment programs present a promising strategy for helping all students prepare for college, including those enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) courses of study. These programs have proliferated around the country; however, little has been known about their effectiveness - until now.
 
CCRC’s report, “The Postsecondary Achievement of Participants in Dual Enrollment: An Analysis of Student Outcomes in Two States,” is the first rigorous study that provides quantitative evidence that dual enrollment may live up to its promise. CCRC found that students participating in dual enrollment programs, whether enrolled in a general education or CTE program of study, were more likely to earn a high school diploma, enroll in postsecondary education, and persist in college. These findings have important implications for policymakers and educators, as they indicate that outreach to underserved populations regarding dual enrollment opportunities should be enhanced.
 
Download the report at: http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=547