Building Capacity to Serve Adult Learners Across the K-16 Sacramento Collaborative Region

Career Development Workshop Series (1)

Lead Organizations

Lake Tahoe Community College, Los Rios Community College District, Sacramento State

Who engaged in this project?

ADVANCE – Lake Tahoe Adult Education Consortium, Marriott Management Leadership Team, North Far North (NFN) Regional Consortium, and CIS employers (through Chamber, TPC, and NFN outreach), Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce, and JFF / College Futures Learning Community

Total Funding Received

$267,852

Type of Funding Received

Workgroup Proposal

Who were the intended beneficiaries?

Students of Color, low-income learners, first-generation learners, rural learners adult learners, and comebackers.

How many students were served?

96 students

A regional effort to reengage adult learners through targeted outreach, advising, stipends, and readiness tools to boost reenrollment and graduation.

How is this project reaching high-priority or underserved student populations?

LTCC RTC is intentionally designed to reach underserved learners through proactive outreach to adults who have stopped out, personalized re-enrollment support, and milestone-based financial incentives that reduce the immediate costs of returning to school. The program also expands access to Credit for Prior Learning and paid work experience, helping rural and first-generation adults convert their prior credits, work history, and new training into credentials that lead directly to stronger employment and economic mobility.

Progress towards goals

We track progress through quarterly metrics on outreach, re-enrollment, persistence, and completions.

Current data shows the project is meeting key targets. We also monitor participation in paid work experiences and career development activities to ensure students are advancing toward employment. In Spring 2025, RTC had a 94.4% Winter-to-Spring retention rate. RTC currently supports 93 actively enrolled students. The average age of RTC students is 33, and 44% identify as Hispanic. To date, the program has served 202 students and awarded more than 60 certificates and degrees.

Have you had any notable successes?

The project has already demonstrated meaningful impact. Of the 63 students eligible for milestone incentives in Fall 2025, 30 successfully completed all steps and received awards totaling $7,500, along with certificates that students described as affirming, motivating, and helpful in supporting their continued enrollment. The pilot internship program confirmed strong demand for paid professional opportunities among adult learners and led to new employer partnerships through the Tahoe Chamber.

Five RTC students participated in the Women in Leadership Luncheon, and a month-long Career Development Workshop Series equipped learners with stronger résumés, portfolios, and networking skills. Interest in the internships has surpassed available placements, with nine students already submitting candidate forms for five positions.

Additionally, the project launched a new targeted marketing campaign to reach adults with some college and no degree, expanding visibility and access to RTC. Together, these accomplishments show clear progress in re-engaging comebackers, strengthening career readiness, and increasing student confidence and momentum toward completion.

Have you run into any challenges?

A key challenge has been providing the level of personalized outreach and student support that RTC students need, due to limited staffing capacity within the program. In addition, many activities require coordination across multiple LTCC departments and external partners, all of whom have limited bandwidth. While we are deeply grateful for the collaboration from staff and partners, these constraints have required adjustments to project timelines as we work to balance quality, capacity, and rollout.