Last week, the Education Trailer Bill Language for this year's Governor's proposed budget was released. While there does not appear to be any major surprises, those individuals, programs, and schools connected with the Adult Education Block Grant (AEBG) may want to take a look. Relevant sections for the ACCE community include:

308 Strong Workforce Program
309 Career Technical Education Pathways Program
310 Adult Education Decision making Procedures Clean-up

​We'll keep you posted as budget announcements and updates occur. 

The California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office filled a key position with the addition of Debra Connick to the role of Chief Information Officer and Vice Chancellor of Technology, Research and Information Systems. See the full press release below.

For more information about the California Community Colleges, please visit http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/

Set in stunning Monterey, CA, the ACCE Annual Statewide Conference begins at the end of this month on Wednesday, February 24. The ACCE Board just announced the full schedule today. What breakout sessions excite you most? Here's a quick look:

ACCE 2016 Spring Conference Schedule
 
Wednesday, February 24
 
1:30 pm 
​Conference Kick-Off
Plenary Speaker: Steinbeck and the 'Common Good': Educating America Dr. Susan Shillinglaw is the Director of the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas
 
3:00 pm          
Community Education: Hot Certifications with Healthcare Focus
Continuing Education: Assess for Student Success, Common Assessment Initiative
 
4:00 pm          
Sponsorship Presentation
 
5:00 pm          
President’s Reception
 
Thursday, February 25
 
8:00 am          
Conference Registration and Continental Breakfast
 
9:30 am          
Keynote Address: Luis Chavez, Career Ladders Project, California Community Colleges
 
11:00 am        
Community Education: Business Plans/Organizational Planning in Community Services
Continuing Education: Adult Education Block Grant (AEBG) update
 
12:00 pm        
Lunch, Awards, Business Meeting
 
1:30 pm          
Community Education: Updating Community Service Guidelines w/Chancellor’s Office
Continuing Education: Panel - Building Vocational Courses for Older Adults 
 
2:30 pm          
Community Education: National Steinbeck Museum Tour
Continuing Education: Labor Market Analysis (LMI) for CTE Program Development
 
3:30 pm          
Community Education:  Continuing at the Steinbeck Museum
Continuing Education: Regional Consortium Project: I-BEST in Action
 
5:45 pm          
Monterey Waterfront & Cannery Row Guided Walking Tour
 
Friday, February 26
 
8:00 am          
Continental Breakfast and Sponsor Presentation
 
9:00 am          
Community Education: The “Wow” Factor - An Alternate Education Technology Pilot
Continuing Education: The Latest in Adult Education Legislation and Policy
 
10:00 am        
Community Education:  Competition: How do we stand out? Or work together?
Continuing Education: SSSP update, SSSP data elements
                       
11:00 am        
Community Education: Community Ed Roundtable: What’s Hot in the Fee-Based World
Continuing Education: Scaling student support services in a multi-site noncredit program
 
12:00 pm        
​Conference Wrap-Up

We’ve begun to make very modest changes to the ACCE website we believe will benefit our members and visitors. Here’s a brief rundown of some of these updates:

Navigation & Site Organization
Finding the information you need on a web site is critical. We’ve reorganized many of our headings so you’ll have a better sense of where to go and what to do when you locate what you’re looking for. We’ve removed dated content and will continue to do so to make sure what’s listed is timely and relevant. In addition, our ARCHIVES section includes a list of sub-menus to better categorize the content you might find important.

Responsive Site Design
So much of the work we do now is on the move. To meet the growing, diverse needs of our members, we’ve selected a template that is mobile-friendly and adaptable to whatever device (smartphone, tablet, laptop, desktop) you’re working on. 

Connect
The only formal mechanism we use consistently to share information is through the quarterly ACCE Journal. Because information and ideas change so rapidly, quarterly is simply not enough. In addition to the Journal, we plan to use the ACCE blog as an outlet to share news and ideas with you. We’ll continue to utilize the ACCE listserv to keep you abreast of everything that's happening, as well as leverage our Facebook page and Twitter account to engage with the continuing education community more fully.

How You Can Help
Simply put, if you have questions, ask them. If you have ideas, share them. If you want to contribute or guest blog, send it to our attention. Should you have any questions, please let us know.

We look forward to connecting with you!