CSUMB Seeks Collaboration for “Cradle to Career” Goal

The percentage of Americans with college degrees has risen in recent years, but a new study indicates there still may not be enough educated workers to meet future workforce needs. A partnership headed by CSU Monterey Bay may help boost local students to the level they need to compete.

CSUMB President Eduardo Ochoa is spearheading a plan to create a pipeline to take county kids from “cradle to career,” laying the path to a more competitive workforce.

Earlier this month, Ochoa met with the presidents of Hartnell Community College and Monterey Peninsula College, as well as the superintendent of the Monterey County Office of Education, to discuss an extended partnership through what’s called the Strive Network.

Many organizations work toward the same goal – in this case, educating kids – but don’t coordinate with each other to see it through, says Pranav Kothari, a Strive director from Chicago. “We all need to coordinate our work around a discrete set of outcomes,” he says. “We’re going to insist on measuring progress over time.”

Ochoa says the partnership will enable organizations and institutions to see the big picture, and work together to fill gaps previously obscured.

Nationwide, working-age Americans with two – or four-year degrees rose from 38.3 percent in 2010 to 38.7 percent in 2011, according to a study by the Lumina Foundation. In California, 38.9 percent of adults held degrees in 2011.

Monterey County came in at 30 percent, compared with 62 percent in Marin and 20 percent in Merced.

Strive networks have been implemented in other communities around the country, including Cincinnati.

“We’re trying to develop a shared understanding of the whole process,” Ochoa says.