Introducing ODC/SDC to Homeless Organization

[harrypotter]

So I've recently been thinking about introducing these programs to the Los Angeles LGBT Center. They have about 100 micro-units that house homeless youth & another 100 units that will house homeless seniors, the campus also contains an education department that offers a free online high school diploma program & helps out with finding college scholarships. Since ODC/SDC are so quick, easy to comprehend, & affordable I think they would be a great fit for these temporarily housed individuals who are searching for an opportunity for a better life. I would love for them to add this ODC/SDC program plan to their educational offerings beyond the free high school diploma. If I get a nod from the center for this idea I would want to start a fundraiser & personally donate designated funds for a purpose that I haven't chosen yet - either to purchase 2 SDC courses (Ethics & English 1) for each student or buy tablets (Amazon Fire) that can be rented out from their technology lab to study. The plan would be for an Excelsior AS in Liberal Arts, since it has the most flexibility & doesn't require any writing course beyond English 1 - TESU's AA requires 3 writing courses, which generally speaking requires more time and/or comprehension/writing skills. Students would just need to complete 1 humanities course - using CLEP or other free/cheap sources & a free online info literacy course that's offered at multiple California CCs. I don't really know how to go about starting to speak to a coordinator at the center about this but if anyone has any experience or resources that would help in my venture or even personal input on my idea it would be very appreciated - Thanks!

[bjcheung77]

That's a great plan! I would recommend getting all the credit from ACE providers first, especially the FREE credits on the wiki. These credits can be placed into an AA or AS from COSC as it would be cheaper than one from Excelsior or TESU.

I would then recommend the cheap courses from CSMLearn $39, Onlinedegree.com $9/each, TEEX $45-$75/each, and/or Saylor at $25 (I think I read somewhere they're dropping the price to $13 as the proctoring service is moving over to another provider).

Since Saylor.org provides English I, the only course required at COSC would be the Cornerstone! To save $, I would only recommend StraighterLine/Study.com if there are some courses not available to complete the degree at COSC...

[harrypotter]

Thanks for the input! I didn’t know COSC accepted CSM Learn- hmm definitely something to consider.
Edit: Oh sorry I guess I misunderstood - still useful info.

[dfrecore]

For CA residents, I think it would be cheaper to go to a CA CC. Many are free for residents now, if you've never gone to college. For someone who's homeless, they qualify for all kinds of grants that would make it free that way as well.

[cookderosa]

This is a tough and wonderful goal.
ODC/SDC are great if you can literally hold their hands through the process and provide the tech resources / funding to do this for or with them. Perhaps you could apply for a program grant in your community? The only disadvantage of this avenue, is that if they don't finish the program you spell out, they may not be able to use their credit at a traditional college later, but I think that's an acceptable risk.

Some of the barriers you're going to experience if you try to use the public college system will be proof of residency, providing a SS number, disclosure of criminal history especially drug convictions (which will disqualify you for a lot of aid) and of course transiency.

No matter what you do, it's not going to be perfect- but perfect is the enemy of good - do it anyway.

We have a member here who is doing this. She is AMAZING and working with a segment of women that are in especially desperate situations. I don't think I should share her name, but I will pm her and see if she can offer you some encouragement.

[harrypotter]

This is a tough and wonderful goal.
ODC/SDC are great if you can literally hold their hands through the process and provide the tech resources / funding to do this for or with them. Perhaps you could apply for a program grant in your community? The only disadvantage of this avenue, is that if they don't finish the program you spell out, they may not be able to use their credit at a traditional college later, but I think that's an acceptable risk.

Some of the barriers you're going to experience if you try to use the public college system will be proof of residency, providing a SS number, disclosure of criminal history especially drug convictions (which will disqualify you for a lot of aid) and of course transiency.

No matter what you do, it's not going to be perfect- but perfect is the enemy of good - do it anyway.

We have a member here who is doing this. She is AMAZING and working with a segment of women that are in especially desperate situations. I don't think I should share her name, but I will pm her and see if she can offer you some encouragement.

These are some things I have not considered yet. They do have tutors in their ED department that will help with any level of education - I’d want to speak with them to see if they’re willing to help out students in my plan - I may need to see if I can bring in more tutors for some subjects & should also take that into account. I’ll definitely tie this info into my brainstorming, very useful input/encouragement. Thank you!

[SweetSecret]

I have been meaning to respond here, but have been really busy. Thank you Cookderosa for pointing the thread out to me!

OP, check with the colleges. As Cookderosa mentioned, I am in the midst of doing something similar. One of the things I discovered is the state where I am at has a specific employee who is in charge of coordinating dual credit enrollment between high schools and colleges. So many people want to get their GEDs these days rather than HS diploma, but I am trying to encourage people to stick it out with HS because they can get free college classes through the state if they are still in HS. I believe they are allowed to take two college courses per term but they have to be lower level courses. In this scenario the state pays for the courses and the HS covers the textbooks but students have to cover any lab fees or additional costs. Also, be sure to check with ODC/SDC to find out what their requirements are. I was trying to help someone sign up with Modern States to make use of the free CLEP vouchers but they would not let her because she did not yet have a HS diploma or GED. For her, what we figured out is that it's going to be best to enroll her in an online HS and then use the dual credit for her to earn college credits.

Hope that helps!

[harrypotter]

I have been meaning to respond here, but have been really busy. Thank you Cookderosa for pointing the thread out to me!

OP, check with the colleges. As Cookderosa mentioned, I am in the midst of doing something similar. One of the things I discovered is the state where I am at has a specific employee who is in charge of coordinating dual credit enrollment between high schools and colleges. So many people want to get their GEDs these days rather than HS diploma, but I am trying to encourage people to stick it out with HS because they can get free college classes through the state if they are still in HS. I believe they are allowed to take two college courses per term but they have to be lower level courses. In this scenario the state pays for the courses and the HS covers the textbooks but students have to cover any lab fees or additional costs. Also, be sure to check with ODC/SDC to find out what their requirements are. I was trying to help someone sign up with Modern States to make use of the free CLEP vouchers but they would not let her because she did not yet have a HS diploma or GED. For her, what we figured out is that it's going to be best to enroll her in an online HS and then use the dual credit for her to earn college credits.

Hope that helps!

Thank you for the helpful tips!