Educational Model
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♦ The “Parent” institutions will maintain their program autonomy/independence (the “Many Flags”)
♦ The “Parent” institutions will maintain their program autonomy/independence (the “Many Flags”)
♦ but the education at the campus will be “Seamless” and transparent for the Student
♦ We envision One Administrator & One Counseling System for the Higher Ed Side (the “ One School”)
♦ Degrees conferred by the “parent” institution
♦ This concept may generate new revenue Stream for “parent” institution
♦ Many Flags will promote early College experience
♦ We will strive to integrate programs through out the Campus
♦ Where feasible, we will share state of the art facilities.
♦ We anticipate efficiencies through shared costs
♦ Many Flags will be a diverse campus – ages, backgrounds, educational goals, etc
Before and After Model
The “before” model illustrates how our current educational system works – while these institutions collaborate and work cooperatively with each other, they do not come together to create a clear “critical mass” of educational resources for the Midcoast.
The “after model” illustrates how a common campus can foster increased integration of educational programs while creating a clear “critical mass” of high performimg/applined learning resources in the Midcoast.
High School/Voc Tech School Vision
Our Vision for the HIGH SCHOOL/CAREER & TECH ED SIDE of the Campus
Students & Learning
♦ Students will arrive ‘high school ready’ in knowledge, skills & aspirations.
♦ Throughout high school, all students will make continuous progress.
♦ Vocational education and academics will be integrated and available to ALL students.
♦ Students will be involved in a focused and exciting learning & exploration experience.
♦ Remedial assistance will be available during the school day and integrated as part of a student’s broader curriculum.
♦ Every student will be required to participate in at least one extra curricular activity.
♦ Among other things, every student will be engaged in his/her specific area of interest.
♦ Many civic and citizenship opportunities will be available for students.
♦ A full range of diverse sports opportunities, both varsity and intramural, will be available so that all students can participate and succeed if they so desire.
♦ Creative scheduling opportunities will be available to meet individual needs and many classes will be demand driven.
♦ Students will know what it means to be a student and will understand what is expected of them and what their responsibilities are.
♦ Wellness will be a focus for all.
♦ All students will have exposure to the arts.
♦ A wide variety of learners will have opportunities to access Advanced Placement classes and college classes.
♦ The Junior and Senior years will allow for more flexible scheduling, allowing students to follow their interest after meeting the academic standards during their Freshman and Sophomore years.
♦ Students will graduate ‘college ready’ and some may graduate with an Associate Degree.
♦ Dual enrollment in high school and college courses will be possible.
♦ Students will have access to mentors from the community and local businesses.
♦ Graduation rates will increase.
Teachers & Teaching
♦ Teachers will utilize a research driven applied learning model of teaching.
♦ Excellence will be an explicit goal.
Teachers and staff will:
Be enthusiastic & excited.
Be critical thinkers & teach critical thinking.
Possess deep content knowledge.
Know and use best instruction and assessment practices.
Be open to & model change.
Understand the value of and participate in collaboration with peers.
Make data driven decisions regarding instruction.
Feel ownership for ALL learners in the school.
Tailor instruction to the needs of individuals and small groups.
Be unaccepting of failure.
Counselors will:
Be innovative & effective.
Be highly skilled and well trained.
Possess areas of expertise and match caseloads to those areas.
Work closely with teachers.
Have a clear understanding of the roles of parent, teacher, & child.
♦ All staff will promote and model wellness and fitness.
♦ Special academies may be offered in areas such as marine trades, marine biology, and pre-engineering.
♦ A Regional Teacher Development Center will be part of the campus.
♦ Rigor and relevance will be required of every course of study
♦ Teachers will offer many opportunities for students to solve real world unpredictable problems.
♦ Teachers will value their involvement in the professional learning community.
Learning Community
♦ Our high school and Many Flags campus will become a center for the community and business leaders in our area and a high level of interaction among them and the students will occur.
♦ Research and development will occur on our campus.
♦ Small business assistance will be available on our campus.
♦ Tech support for businesses could provide additional revenue streams.
♦ A wide range of summer experience will be available to both students, businesses, and the community in general.
♦ Parents will be engaged and supportive through parent education opportunities as well as through direct involvement in the school.
♦ Mentors from local business and the community will work with students.
Facility/Campus
♦ The campus will consist of a combination of HS., voc. school & college facilities.
♦ State of the art technology will be built into the infrastructure.
♦ Fully functional and fully equipped labs will be available.
♦ While integrated and coordinated with the Higher Ed side of the Many Flags Campus, the HS will have clear lines of physical separation from the Higher Ed side of the campus – with appropriate safety, security and health protections for high school students in place at all times.
♦ The integrated high school/voc tech school will be a part of a larger Many Flags Campus, consisting of a minimum of 100 acres in size.
Higher Education Center Vision
Our Vision for trhe HIGHER EDUCATION SIDE of the Campus
Need:
♦ Many Flags region is definitely “underserved” by higher education.
♦ University College at Thomaston has a space problem. -- currently there’s a lack of space/ labs, etc needed for effective higher education.
Facility:
♦ One building leased which will house all higher education programs, office space, faculty space, shared administrative space, counseling space and student assistance space.
♦ Initially Higher Ed partners may share space with high schools at least in the late afternoons and evenings (scheduling conflicts must be worked out, especially with a high demand for computer and science lab space).
It is expected the building will contain smart, automated classrooms with ITV receive capabilities in most every room.
♦ At least ½ of all classrooms will have broadcast capability for video conferencing.
The plan would include T3 lines/ATM connections/data drop in each room and wireless technology throughout.
♦ College labs require a much higher level of technical sophistication than do HS labs. In a shared facility, there will need to be discussion about how to share that cost.
♦ Other designated spaces will include areas for electrical training, machine tool and equipment, allied health labs, nursing & CNA labs, automotive technology, welding and construction.
♦ The campus will be non-residential (at least as far into the future that we can see at this point).
♦ The facility should have the ability to expand/grow/evolve.
♦ The committee recommends a site of at least 100 acres.
Enrollment:
♦ It is estimated that the Many Flags Higher Ed Center will serve at least 750 students within 2 years and 1,500 students within 5 years.
♦ It is estimated that 15 – 20% of KVCC students will go on to earn 4 yr degrees.
♦ Initially, the majority of students will be non-traditional older adults.
♦ Early College/dual enrollment HS students will also be in the mix.
♦ There will need to be some “segregation” of HS students from college students. However, we will encourage as much “appropriate & supervised” sharing of space and facilities as possible.
♦ Each institution will charge its own tuition and fee rates.
Organizational Structure:
♦ It is the intent to make the administrative functions as seamless as possible for the students and community.
♦ No duplication of administrative positions.
♦ We will need to make decisions about who will be the employer of the Many Flags Higher Ed Ctr staff. Maybe staff will split functions: half under KVCC as employer; half under UMaine as employer, etc.
♦ The Many Flags Higher Ed Ctr will achieve real integration, not just co-location.
♦ A Memorandum of Understanding must be developed between the higher education partners.
♦ There would be a shared student service “advisor “program.
♦ There would need to be a grade reporting system. Each partner must “recognize” each other in terms of credit transferability.
♦ Students may get financial aid from 2 institutions simultaneously.
♦ UMaine and KVCC will not compete “head to head” for same time slot for same course.
♦ Student “market” demand will decide which courses will be offered and at which time slots.
♦ A specific agreement will be worked out between U Maine system and KVCC on non-compete areas (i.e., which programs, courses, degrees will be exclusively offered by those Institutions).
♦ At this time U Maine Hutchinson Center will primarily offer graduate degrees.
♦ Increased access to higher education is at the heart of the Many Flags Higher Ed Ctr philosophy.
♦ Our intent is to eliminate barriers and disincentives to post secondary education in the Midcoast.
♦ We also hope to reduce fear/anxiety of first generation Higher Ed attendees.
♦ We will link applied learning to all aspects --making it easier for Voc Tech students to migrate to post secondary education.
♦ The full Many Flags concept is a unique collaborative model –which we hope may be replicated elsewhere in Maine.
♦ It models integration of high school and early college. Many may graduate HS with both a ♦ HS degree and Assoc degree (or a very good start toward the Assoc degree).
♦ Many Flags campus integrates applied learning/ voc tech as a standard part of bridge to work/higher education.
♦ The Many Flags model fits the move to regionalization.
♦ The Many Flags model also creates an attainable education pathway – applied technology to associates degrees, bachelors degrees and beyond.
♦ Higher Ed Center faculty issues will be worked out as we go forward. Distance and travel may be a problem for some faculty –we may need to rely heavily on qualified local faculty (most would be part-time-- many would be retired -experts in a field of study – now living in the Many Flags region).
♦ Currently there are different pay rates for faculty between the Univ System and Community College System. This may create problems and as such will need to addressed.
♦ There’s a wealth of qualified, retired professionals, teachers and professors in the Midcoast who might be used.
♦ We envision a “Marine Systems Center of Excellence ” being established on the Many Flags Campus
♦ The primary focus of the Marine Systems Center will be on providing the highest quality training/education – based on the most current industry standards and needs
♦ The Center will use the facilities/resources being planned for the Many Flags campus (KVCC, U Maine, Voc Tech, etc ) as well as new classroom, labs, shops, and hands on facilities, as needed.
♦ The Center will provide training/education in broad range of Boat Building and Marine “Systems” — curriculums and programs offered to be determined by the ever evolving needs of the Marine/Boat Building industry.
♦ We anticipate that most courses offered at the Center will meet ABYC, ACMA, MITC standards (as well as other international standards and ISO standards).
♦ The Marine Ctr will also conform to new standards that are expected to emerge within the composites technology sector.
♦ An Industrial Advisory Group will be established to guide the design and development of the Marine Ctr.
♦ The Marine Systems Ctr on the Many Flags Campus will be coordinated with the workforce development efforts of the North Star Alliance/WIRED Grant project.
♦ The Marine Systems Ctr will coordinate its efforts with MMTA and MBB.
♦ The Center will operate like the other Many Flags “partners” - i.e., it will use the programs, curriculums and instructors of existing programs in Maine – teachers from the Community College System, U Maine, the Voc Tech School, and private programs such as the Landings School and Apprentice Workshop, will all be encouraged to offer programs through the “Center” etc. We will also encourage our partners to provide non-duplicative programs and courses targeted to their core constituencies.
♦ Whenever possible, a common curriculum will be used – but once again – the needs of the industry will dictate – not the needs of the schools.
♦ The Center will work closely and cooperatively with the emerging Composites R&D and ♦ Production industry sector in Maine – design, engineering, CAD/CAM, Industrial Hygiene, etc— could all be offered at the Center on the Many Flags Campus – depending on the needs of the industry
♦ The “Center” may also hire outside “experts/instructors” as needed by the industry
♦ Distance learning will be used at the Marine Systems Center of Excellence – in fact, we hope that the Marine Systems Center of Excellence on the Many Flags Campus can become one of the primary suppliers of distance learning in the Marine Systems field in Maine and beyond – state of the art studio, distance learning “streaming/beaming” facilities/equipment will be a part of the Center design
♦ It will be essential that the programs that will be “sharing” the space/equipment, etc at the Center have articulation agreements with each other – we envision integrated programs and transferable credits as being common at the Marine System Center.
♦ A “portfolio” process may be used at the Center to allow students to acquire courses and certificates that will be applied to college credit and degrees.
♦ We envision a single Administrator and single student counseling service for this Marine Systems Center –much like the single administrator and counseling service planned for the Higher Ed Ctr on the Many Flags Campus – while many programs/schools may be offering course, certificates, and degrees out of the Marine Systems Center on the Many Flags Campus – there should be only one Administrator for the facility that coordinates the Marine Systems programs and ensures that they are all well integrated into the other parts of the Many Flags campus (HS, Voc Tech School, Higher Ed Ctr).
♦ Degrees, certificates, etc will not be conferred by the Marine Systems Center – but rather –the “parent” institution that is providing the training/education through the Center will confer the certificate/degrees, etc.
♦ For High School Students – we envision the following:
- Dual enrollment/Dual credit opportunities
- Pre-apprenticeship programs offer to HS Jr/Sr
- A coordinated “Marine Trades Basics” program – overseen by the Voc Tech School (may use the ABYC High School Curriculum outline).
- Special Martine System programs for alternative or at risk HS students –hands on, applied learning techniques used as a way to engage (and challenge) these students.
♦ A Marine Trades “Worker Readiness” certificate should be available
♦ We envision a full range of Marine Systems courses being made available to people at many differing skill levels - Adult Ed students; industry continuing education; incumbent workers; non-traditional students, etc.
♦ There is a shortage of skilled, highly qualified, available instructors for Marine Systems training in Maine – we therefore envision that the Many Flags Marine Systems Center will offer “Train the Trainer” courses to begin building the stock of qualified/available instructors for the growing Marine industry in Maine.
♦ To better serve the needs of the industry – the Marine System Center will offer individual “just in time” training modules as the needs are demonstrated by the industry (credits or CEUs will come with these individual modules)
♦ We envision that both the Voc Tech School and the Marine Systems Center on the Many Flags Campus will offer training on new products/equipment for the industry Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) testing/training
♦ Post Secondary course for the Maine Apprenticeship Program will be made available, as determined by the industry.
♦ The Center will coordinate and widely market/distribute information about the marine systems courses/programs offered at Many Flags campus to all industry partners, associations, and training institutions.
Site Location and Criteria
While detailed site and location decisions are quite a ways off for this project, it was important for the Steering Committee to set out basic criteria that could eventually be used to help make a decision on location for the Many Flags campus.
The campus will need to be conveniently located for all of the Many Flags partners. Since this will be a commuter campus (i.e., no housing is envisioned on campus), traffic patterns and transportation accessibility must be considered. Give those general guidelines, we believe that the campus will be located in the greater Knox County area – but also it must be within the RDHS and GVHS districts (the dotted line area shown in the map below).
