IMPACT of NEXT STEP

This corporate education initiative has had wide-ranging impact on educational delivery at HVCC, STCC and the partner colleges. The program provides a rich array of faculty development opportunities for the partner colleges, where resources are supplemented by semester stipends to the partner colleges for strengthening faculty skills and broadening their knowledge in support of the program. This enhancement of faculty expertise has spilled over to other curricula as well. At STCC, for example, the experience of incorporating notebook computers into the program's instructional methodology served as the foundation for the college's receipt of a state grant to extend the virtual leaning environment to one of the principal bases for the college's successful competitive application to the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create the National Center for Telecommunications Technologies . This center is only one of twelve NSF National Centers of Excellence in Advanced Technological Education and the only one to focus on the critical telecommunications technology field.

Faculty are using web-based learning and Blackboard virtual course support. Next Step is realizing its dream of becoming a virtual learning organization across six states, where employee teams work with each other and with their faculty members to learn from one another.

Graduates Excellence on-the-job
The CTAC Team featuring Next Step Graduates has been a team winner of the Verizon Excellence Award  for 2 years in succession,  years 2003 and 2004.  

Classroom cohorts in Next Step have translated to workforce cohorts for troubleshooting customer installations by phone and by computer on the internet, thereby significantly reducing installation time. ( Reported by students at Program Reviews.)

The Program's impact on enrolled employees is noticeable and positive. Employee interaction within and outside the classroom has led to an understanding of, and appreciation for, the work responsibilities of the various craft ratings within Verizon. The common bond among employees seeking to meet the challenge of the rigorous curriculum has provided a strong foundation for many of the umbrella competencies. In addition, employees have noted the reawakening of the desire to learn, and the value of the course work in providing the much needed theory to under-gird their previous training and to assist them in their current work assignments as well as to prepare them for those of tomorrow.

Some of our partner colleges are currently exploring the Next Step cohort education model with a major GRANT. 
CUNY partners received a $20 Million Dollar Grant to explore the concept of cohort education for  general students. Funded by monies from the city and Mayor Bloomberg's Commission for Economic Opportunity, ASAP emphasizes enriched academic support services, mentoring, block programs, and graduation with an Associate degree within two to three years.  

Nationally Recognized

The Next Step Program has been recognized nationally by former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reisch, who commended then Bell Atlantic and its unions for setting up a program that treats its workers as "assets to be developed rather than costs to be cut." Former Vice President Al Gore has also used Next Step as an example of a successful program that promotes lifelong learning. Numerous articles about the program have appeared in the popular press, including the Chicago Tribune, InfoWorld, Internet Week, Human Resource Executive, and Parade magazine.