• Strengthening Workforce Programs to prepare students for high-demand, family-sustaining careers.
• Increasing bachelor’s degree transfers to expand long-term opportunities for economic mobility.

Southwest will focus on four high-impact Reform 3.0 Initiatives to strengthen our workforce programs and increase the number of students transferring into four-year degree programs.

• Embedded Certificates and Navigation into High-Value Career Pathways
  Credential & Workforce Navigation Committee – Leads: Alfreda Brooks-Davis, Manager Workforce Solutions Center; Dr. Derrick Wheatley, Department Head, Business and Legal Studies
  Oversees the embedding of credentials in academic programs and supports students with structured career and transfer navigation.
• Meta-Major Onboarding & Career Advising
  Meta-Major Advising & Onboarding Committee – Leads: Jhona Gibson, Director of Advising; Bill Turner, Associate Professor, Communications, Graphic Design and Fine Arts and Curriculum Chair
  Designs and implements purpose-driven onboarding models and academic advising structures aligned with students’ career and academic goals.
• Dual Enrollment and CTE-Aligned Exposure
  Dual Enrollment and CTE Exposure Committee – Leads: Rosie Britton, Director, Recruitment and K-12 Partnerships; Shelley Trigg, Associate Professor Emergency Medical Technology
  Strengthens early college access for high school students and aligns CTE experiences with postsecondary and career pathways. Develops articulation agreements with TCAT-Memphis and university partners.
• Articulation Agreements and Reverse Transfer
  Transfer and Articulation Committee – Leads: LaToya Chavers, Director of Transfer and Articulation; Katrina Muldrow, Director of Academic Support and Operations
  Advances seamless transfer pathways through the development and maintenance of articulation agreements, reverse transfer protocols, and aligned academic program maps with TCAT-Memphis and four-year institutions. Ensures that associate degree programs are fully optimized for transfer and that students transition efficiently into high-value bachelor's degree programs.

We also have a Data, Technology, and Evaluation Committee that supports the 4 High-Impact Initiative Committees. Leads Erica Hughes, AVP, Institutional Research and Effectiveness; Katina Phillips, Deputy CIO
Leads the development of performance dashboards, tracks key performance indicators, and ensures reforms are data-informed and outcomes-driven. Serves as support to the other committees.

Each committee monitors annual progress and provides data-driven updates through performance dashboards and annual strategic plan reviews.

Terika Hughes, Director of Career Training, serves as the Director of Strategic Initiatives coordinating reform execution, facilitating collaboration among teams, and ensuring alignment between day-to-day initiatives and long-term strategic goals.

Sign Up for Committees Here

Reform 3.0 will now define student success by the paths students take once they graduate from Southwest.  Post-graduate success will include obtaining high-opportunity careers, transferring to high-opportunity bachelor's degrees, and securing employment with family sustaining wages. 

Leaders across Southwest are dedicated to the success of the Reform 3.0 strategic plan and will monitor progress through five key Presidential Metrics:

• Increased enrollment in high-opportunity programs
• Increased high-opportunity credential completion at all levels
• Increased graduate employment in high-opportunity fields of study
• Increased attainment of family sustaining/living-wage careers
• Increased transfer into and bachelor’s degree completion in high-opportunity programs of study

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