Working With Your Comprehensive Community College (CCC)

Comprehensive Community Colleges (CCCs) are responsible for the stewardship of adult learning opportunities within their defined region of Alberta. They do this by providing a broad range of programs that prepare learners for employment or further study.

Connecting and working directly with your CCC can create tremendous benefit for your CALP’s learners. Taking the time to establish a relationship with your CCC gives you an understanding of the programs, services and delivery opportunities that are available through your local college. This makes it easier for you to help learners navigate the transition to post-secondary when it is appropriate.

It is also beneficial to provide the CCC with information you gather through your learner needs assessment, and to share your understanding of the trends and challenges that learners are facing at any one time. Sharing data helps your CCC ensure their programs are responsive, and establishes a relationship between your organizations that is mutually beneficial.

*Note: At the time of filming this video, CCCs were classified as "Comprehensive Community Institutions" in Alberta, and were thus referred to as CCIs, for short.

Any time you're working with your CCC on behalf of a specific learner, it's helpful to have that learner's information handy before you start the conversation. Here's a list of all the basic student information you should have ready:

Student's name
Name of program the student is interested in
Highest education attained (high school, post-secondary, etc.)
Interest in distance education or attending on campus
Barriers: financial, distance, technology, child care, etc.

Who's Who?

One of the most common tripping points in working with CCCs, especially for less experienced CALP staff, is simply knowing who to talk to. Each CCC operates slightly differently, but in general there are 3 key roles within a CCC that you are most likely to connect with. Here is an overview of their typical roles and responsibilities:

Position	Role	Name	Contact
Distance Learning Coordinator	The Distance Learning Program Coordinator is responsible for the distance learning program, including non-credit coursework, offered by the post-secondary institution. They can share information about the programs offered and the requirements necessary for each program offered through distance or online learning.	Name_Here	Contact_Here
Student Services	All post-secondary institutions have a student services office whose function is to help students achieve success. Student services can support a student to address funding opportunities, admission requirements, mature student status, part-time or full-time learning, assessment (including prior learning) and registration applications.
Program Specific Coordinators	Every program offered by the post-secondary institution has a contact that can answer questions or discuss program specifics. Generally the contact information can be found directly on the program’s web page. It is useful for your adult learning program to identify popular programs and record the contact names for future prospective students in your community.

Questions to Ask Your CCC

Setting up a phone call with your CCC specifically to gather some basic information and increase your own understanding is a great way to build a healthy working relationship. This also helps to streamline future contact with the CCC. The best time to gather information is when you have an open half hour in your day and a full cup of coffee, not when a learner is sitting across from you at your desk. It's also a good idea to update this information once a year, even if you already had it mapped out once upon a time.

What opportunities exist for adult learners to access programs and services in their own communities (community-based learning)?
Who is the best person to talk to (and what is their contact information) for questions regarding distance learning, student services, and program-specific questions? You can add these individuals to your address book, or copy and paste the table above to record the names and contact information for your CCC.
How can we work together to promote CCC programming and make it more accessible to adult learners?
How would you like to receive information from our CALP about trends, supports and challenges we see in our community?
Who else should we engage with in your organization?