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Updates

Building Bridges for Community College 3.0 

Connecting Everything You Learn to Where You’re Going 

You’ve likely seen recent updates about one of our Strategic Plan initiatives within the Positioning Students for High-Quality Careers strategic direction: Building Bridges: Gen Ed to Career. At its core, this initiative reflects a simple but powerful promise to students—connecting everything you learn to where you’re going. 

That “everything” includes general education courses, technical coursework, and co-curricular learning that happens beyond the classroom. By intentionally linking all learning to real-world career applications, we help ensure every student is prepared, confident, and positioned for success after TCTC. 

For those who participated in the recent Our Story, Our Future institutional alignment workshops, this work aligns with how the community college mission has evolved. We’ve moved from Community College 1.0 (focused on access), to 2.0 (access plus completion), and now into Community College 3.0. Today, enrolling students and helping them graduate is no longer enough—we are increasingly evaluated on post-college success. 

In a world shaped by volatility and complexity, our students are not just working toward a credential; they are seeking economic mobility and meaningful careers. 

“Building Bridges” is one of the primary ways TCTC is responding to these CC 3.0 expectations through our 2025–2030 Strategic Plan. The initiative ensures that every class counts by intentionally connecting learning to a student’s chosen path. We are advancing this work through: 

  • Contextualized Course Design 
    Faculty teams are collaborating to connect classroom content to the skills students will need in the workforce. 

  • Skills Recognition 
    We are working to ensure every skill shows by helping students gain “proof of their growth” through co-curricular transcripts and other ways to validate learning beyond the classroom. 

  • Intentional Advising 
    By developing tools that highlight the career relevance of every course, we help students make informed, confident decisions about their pathways. 

This initiative is a cornerstone of our strategy to position students for high-quality careers. It reminds us that every experience matters—whether we’re designing a lab, advising a student, or telling TCTC’s story. 

By moving away from “Why do I need this?” and toward “I can use this,” we are fulfilling our institutional promise in the Community College 3.0 era. Together, we are building a learning experience where every step leads to purpose, opportunity, and success for our students. 

Building Bridges: Why it Matters  

“Now I want to learn more” 

English Instructor and a Building Bridges Strategic Initiative team member, Betty Stack, shares that in one English course, a mechatronics student was given the freedom to explore a topic connected to his field. Instead of a generic assignment, he researched and wrote about mechatronics, something directly tied to his future. 

The result? A shift in mindset. 

He shared that he could finally apply what he was learning—and more importantly, it made him want to keep learning beyond the assignment. 

This is contextualization in action. 

By connecting course content to students’ interests and career goals, learning becomes more than a requirement—it becomes meaningful. Students begin to see how skills like writing and communication matter in their field, from drafting clear emails to explaining technical processes. 

This is why general education matters. It builds the transferable skills students carry into their careers—and when those connections are made visible, engagement, curiosity, and motivation follow. 

Flow chart reading General education, transferable skills, high quality careers and thriving communities.

Meet the Curriculum Design Group

At its core, it’s about helping students clearly see how what they’re learning connects to their goals, careers, and the world beyond the classroom. Contextualization makes those connections intentional and visible, moving students from “Why do I need this?” to “I can use this.” 

Our Curriculum Design Group (Shelby Duffy, Laura Kaufmann, Matt Simon, Tim Bertoni, Jim Beal, Karen Kloeck, and Elizabeth Wallace) has been working behind the scenes to bring this vision to life across general education. 

This cross-disciplinary team is building a practical, faculty-driven framework for incorporating contextualization into Gen. Ed. courses. They have developed guidance to help identify where intentional connections can have the greatest impact and designed a structured, cohort-based implementation process that includes review, design, piloting, and full rollout over the coming years. 

Contextualization isn’t about redesigning everything or adding more. It’s about making learning visibly relevant and building meaningful connections between theory, workplace skills, career success and citizenship. 

The curriculum work is just one piece of this strategic initiative. More subgroup updates and ways to get involved are coming soon. 

Marlo Woodward, Initiative Core Group member and Advising Resources Subgroup Chair explaining her groups puzzle

General Education to Career Strategic Initiative

Prior to the winter break, members of the Building Bridges: General Education to Career Strategic Initiative came together for a large-group meeting to highlight the collective progress of the work. Each subgroup shared updates on their focus areas, offering insight into how their efforts support student success from multiple angles. A key highlight was the creation and sharing of puzzle visuals that connected each subgroup’s work to the broader goals of the initiative, illustrating how individual contributions form a cohesive, college-wide effort. 

The meeting served as a strong reminder of the value of collaboration and shared purpose. Rather than end-of-semester fatigue, the room was filled with energy, curiosity, and meaningful dialogue across roles and disciplines. Participants clearly saw the role they play in strengthening the bridge between general education and career pathways and how those connections are already taking shape. As the initiative moves into the spring semester, the focus will shift toward expanding awareness and continuing these conversations across campus. 

QEP meeting with participants sitting at tables in discussion

A Collaborative Start 

On August 15, the College officially launched its kickoff meeting for the "Building Bridges: General Education to Career" initiative. Originally part of a Quality Enhancement Plan, the core team, which includes Jennifer Darlak, Shelby Duffy (chair), Laura Kaufmann, Som Linthicum, Sarah Shumpert, Foster Sims, Marlo Woodward, spent the spring and summer developing timelines and preparing the structure for this five-year plan. During the kickoff meeting, subgroups composed of faculty and staff from every division of the College began work on the details.

The energy and excitement in the room reflected the momentum this project has built over the past year. As Shelby Duffy noted, “It was exciting to see a year’s worth of work expand and take flight. The conversations happening in each subgroup were incredible, and I look forward to seeing what this team creates.” Even though this initiative is no longer officially a QEP, subgroups are working and we ask that you be on the lookout for opportunities to engage with the project such as Focus Groups, Professional Development Opportunities, etc. 

“Can I actually afford this life?” 

Karen Kloeck, Math Instructor and Building Bridges team member, shares that in her MAT 103 course, students tackled a real-world question: Can I afford the life I’m planning? 

Through a financial literacy project, students started by researching the average starting salary for their intended career and where they hope to live. From there, they worked through calculations tied to real decisions, taxes, housing costs, saving for a down payment, loan options, and long-term investments like retirement. 

By the end, students weren’t just solving equations, they were making informed financial decisions about their future. 

This is contextualization. 

When math is connected to real-life goals, it becomes more than numbers on a page. It becomes a tool for planning, decision-making, and independence. 

This is why general education matters. It equips students with the transferable skills they need to navigate life beyond the classroom—and through contextualization, those skills become real, relevant, and actionable 

 

“There’s a process to everything.” 

English Instructor and a Building Bridges Strategic Initiative team member, Betty Stack, shares that in one English course an automotive student demonstrated how writing mirrors the work he does in the shop. 

Using a simple example, making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, he walked classmates through the importance of sequencing and precision. Then he connected it back to automotive work: if steps aren’t communicated clearly, the result can go wrong. 

Suddenly, writing wasn’t just an English assignment, it was a real-world skill. 

This is contextualization. 

When students connect what they’re learning to how they’ll use it, concepts click. Writing becomes process. Communication becomes safety. Clarity becomes essential. 

The impact goes beyond understanding content, it builds confidence and respect across disciplines as students learn from one another’s experiences. 

General education isn’t separate from career learning, it strengthens it. And through contextualization, students don’t just learn skills, they see why they matter.  

TCTC faculty sitting at desks during a QEP Meeting.

QEP Kickoff: Building Bridges – General Education to Career 

On August 15, the college officially launched its kickoff meeting for the QEP Topic, "Building Bridges: General Education to Career".  

This initiative introduces an integrated educational framework designed to highlight the real-world relevance of general education courses and strengthen career readiness across all programs. Through intentional course design, skills recognition systems, co-curricular contextualization, and robust faculty and advising resources, the QEP will provide students with a clear connection between their coursework and their future careers. 

A Collaborative Start 

The QEP core team: Sarah Shumpert, Laura Kaufmann, Jennifer Darlak, Foster Sims, Marlo Woodward, Som Linthicum, and Chair Shelby Duffy spent the spring and summer developing timelines and preparing the structure for this five-year plan. 

During the kickoff meeting, subgroups composed of faculty and staff from every division of the College began work on the details. Members include Gayle Arries, Meredith Dickens, Jon Warmington, Maggie Coughlin, Travis Durham, Tasheka Wright, April White Pugh, Kristen Lundkovsky, KC Bryson, Betty Stack, Isaac Moore, Erin Noel-McFerrin, Matt Simon, Randee Dorontich, Tim Bertoni, Jim Beal, Karen Kloeck, Michelle Herndon, Katee Fletcher, Frances Boyce, Rhonda Whitten, Elizabeth Wallace, and Amy Cromer. 

Looking Ahead 

The energy and excitement in the room reflected the momentum this project has built over the past year. As Shelby Duffy noted, “It was exciting to see a year’s worth of work expand and take flight. The conversations happening in each subgroup were incredible, and I look forward to seeing what this team creates.” As these subgroups begin their work please be on the lookout for opportunities to engage with the QEP such as Focus Groups, Professional Development Opportunities, etc.