NEXT STEP Program featured in Book Release entitled Enhancing Creativity in Adult and Continuing Education: Innovative Approaches, Methods, and Ideas 
and CUNY Partners receive $20 Million Dollar Grant to further explore Cohort Education for their general students.

Chapter 7, Page 67, entitled "Creating Innovative Partnerships" was submitted by Nassau Community College, Paula Setteducati, Program Coordinator. Her co-authors were James F. Polo and Louise Rotchford. The chapter describes Next Step as a model for cultural change on the Nassau college campus. The chapter further cites Ivan Seidenberg as first envisioning the Next Step program in 1994; since then the program has had broad impact in Community College Education in general. Indeed, the techniques used to enhance instruction and create a learning organization of students and faculty are changing the way all of our partner colleges provide education to all of their students.  

Special credit goes to Paula for all of her efforts as Program Coordinator and to Verizon for giving us the innovative support, leadership, and resources to do the job!

Some of our partner colleges are currently exploring the Next Step cohort education model. CUNY partners received a $20 Million Dollar Grant to explore the concept of cohort education for  general students. Faculty report that the development they receive at Next Step sponsored Faculty Institutes translates to their teaching assignments with all of their students. The enthusiastic teaching faculty donate several days of their time each year to attend the Faculty Institute.  

Congratulations to all of us for being world-class, but especially to Nassau Community College, Queensborough and Bronx Community Colleges for expending the time and effort to gain these significant recognitions.

Next Step has been strongly supported by its union partners since the very beginning under the leadership of CWA's President Morty Bahr and IBEW's President J.J. Barry. From its inception the program has modeled a strategic partnership. The Next Step Program has been recognized nationally by former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reisch, who commended 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 visited our partner New Hampshire Technical College on more than one occasion, citing Next Step as successfully promoting 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.