Skip to main content

SLCC Among Nation’s Top ‘Innovative Colleges for Adult Learners’

The national magazine Washington Monthly named Salt Lake Community College to its list of “Twelve Most Innovative Colleges for Adult Learners.” The list recognizes institutions that have adapted to better serve adults who are 25 and older, which is about 40 percent of college enrollment on average around the country. Each institution on the list, the magazine points out, is “doing something right that other schools ought to emulate.”

SLCC was singled out by the Washington, D.C.-based magazine for taking a “risk” on using a $2.3 million federal grant to convert nearly 20 programs in its School of Applied Technology (SAT) and Technical Specialties over to a competency-based education (CBE) model that began 2014. This grant provided the SAT the resources needed to transition 20 short-term, workforce-based programs from a “clock-hour model” of learning based on time spent in classrooms to a CBE model that emphasizes learning that takes into account skills already acquired, usually on the job. About 70 percent of SLCC students are employed while attending school.


“We strive to make our learning environment conducive to working adults who are coming back for retraining in a new job or to upgrade their skills in their current position,” said Eric A. Heiser, SLCC dean of the School of Applied Technology and Technical Specialties.We believe competency-based education is a great way for adult learners with real-life experience to accelerate their studies and move more quickly towards certificate and/or degree attainment. Our innovative, subscription-based tuition program gives these students the ability to save not only time but money as well.”
SLCC has labs open for its CBE learners from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day, and students can come in at different times on different days and make a schedule that works for them instead of having to be in a classroom at a scheduled time each day. To date, SLCC has converted nearly all of the 20 programs covered by the grant to CBE with full completion expected by the end of 2017.



SLCC has also been approved by the Department of Education as an “Experimental Site,” which gives it the ability to award federal financial aid dollars to those in CBE programs, opening the door to many new programs participating in CBE. SLCC’s School of Science, Mathematics and Engineering is transitioning its biotechnology program to CBE with a launch date of January 2018. And SLCC’s first associate of applied science program, beginning with automotive, within the School of Applied Technology and Technical Specialties, has started the process of transitioning with plans to launch in the fall of 2018. Many other programs at SLCC are considering the shift to the CBE model as well, with an aim toward launching a full-fledged CBE degree program under general education by the end of 2018.

Popular posts from this blog

SLCC's Undergraduate Annual Research Conference Registration Deadline

Salt Lake Community College’s annual Undergraduate Projects, Performances, Presentations, and Research Conference (UP3RC) is set to take place on April 2, at the Taylorsville Redwood Campus, offering students a chance to showcase their academic achievements, fostering a culture of intellectual exchange.  The UP3RC is an annual event designed to celebrate and highlight the academic accomplishments of undergraduate students. It provides a supportive environment for students to share their work, hone their presentations skills, receive constructive feedback, and engage in meaningful discussions with their peers and faculty. All SLCC departments and programs, including faculty and staff, are encouraged to support and visit the day of the event. Students with their poster from last year's UPRC event “The goal of this event is to make sure every school and student is given the opportunity to participate,” says Dr. Kamal Bewar, interim director of the STEM Learning Center, who is chairin

SLCC Business School is Utah’s First to be Named Exclusively After a Woman

Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) proudly announces a partnership with the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation to modernize its Business Building and transform its School of Business. The improvements are made possible through a generous $10 million gift from the Miller Family Foundation and Gail Miller, the largest-ever single cash donation received by the college.  SLCC is renaming its Business Building the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Business Building in honor of the Miller family’s legacy and contributions to the community. The business school will be named the Gail Miller School of Business in recognition of the strong business acumen Gail Miller displays as a community leader and as the owner and immediate past chair of the Larry H. Miller Company. This name change will make SLCC home to the only business school in Utah and one of only a few in the country to be named exclusively after a woman.  “We are deeply humbled by the generosity of Gail and the Miller fam

You’re Invited to A Party! Open House Kicks off New Herriman Campus

  Complimentary food truck fare, live music, and family activities spotlight new campus.   There’s something for everyone at the upcoming Herriman Campus Community Open House on Friday, August 4 (3:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.). See schedule below.   The public is invited to celebrate the opening of this new campus with festivities that include free local food truck fare, live music, and a Mocktail Mixer, where you can mingle with others, including Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) and University of Utah (U of U) faculty.   Families with kids can engage in face painting and a craft station, see the Super Mario Brothers movie, and high-five mascots Brutus, Swoop and Yeti.   This is an opportunity to have some summer fun for all ages and to check out the Juniper building on the new 88-acre SLCC Herriman campus.    At the open house, prospective students and their families can meet SLCC and U of U faculty and staff, take a tour the building, or even check out the Application & Transfer Lab a