CCE Dean Discusses Building Adult-Ready Institutions on Recent Podcast Appearance
Dr. Jenni Murphy, Dean of the College of Continuing Education [CCE] at Sacramento State and Senior Innovation Fellow for Workforce and Education Partnerships, believes there’s an opportunity to better serve adult learners.
In California, there are over six million working adults who have a high school diploma but no college degree. In a recent report, about half of those six million Californians have earned some college credits, showing that at one point they pursued college education but stopped.
During a conversation on the podcast “Degrees of Change,” Dr. Murphy and Dr. Kate Mahar of Shasta College spoke with host Dr. Su Jin Jez about how listening to learners has prompted campuses to rethink their institutional practices around course schedules and meeting the adult learners where they are.
“It’s not you. It was never you. It was us. Our institutions were not built to meet people where they are. Our institutions were built to screen people out. And we’re in a different era,” Dr. Murphy says on the podcast.
“Degrees of Change” is a podcast hosted by California Competes: Higher Education for a Strong Economythat explores how smart higher education and workforce policies can help Californians learn, contribute, and thrive.
The conversation also dives into such topics as the interrupted college journey, recognizing the benefits of a college degree for families, communities, and California’s economy, and how the California Partnership for Adult Learner Success (C-PALS) is connecting research, campus innovation, policy change, and student partnerships to help build a higher education system where adults can return, complete, and thrive.
About The College of Continuing Education
Sacramento State’s CCE has been offering courses, seminars and workshops since 1951. Although times have changed since our founding, we remain committed to serving the community through higher education. The CCE extends the mission of Sacramento State by providing access to educational and professional programming that meets student and industry demands.