Year 4 Annual Report: Advance Program

The program worked closely with 9 partner technical tertiary institutions across 21 campuses and 21 corresponding degree programs to strengthen their capacity to better serve disadvantaged students. The program maintained a strong operational foundation by implementing all core administrative activities, including costshare plans and submitting cost share reports from 6 of the 8 institutions with subawards under Advance. The program also worked directly with formal and informal university task forces at partner institutions to carry out program activities and ramped up communications activities through increased activity on the program's Twitter account and project website. Under Result 1, the program made key advancements in the areas of curriculum development, faculty and staff professional development, and labor bridging strengthening. The program completed curricular revisions for three degree programs in each country and launched half of these degree programs with students. The program also developed and implemented professional development offerings in areas such as technical content expertise and pedagogical techniques for improved instruction and hosted a second study tour to Mexico for faculty and staff from all three countries. The program also had key achievements under Result 2 in the areas of recruitment, admissions, and scholarships. To improve outreach to potential future students, the program built capacity of universities to incorporate low-cost recruitment strategies within their admissions and recruitment teams. Additionally, the program awarded 150 new scholarships to disadvantaged students in Jamaica and Honduras, exceeding the current life of program target for scholarships. The program met or exceeded annual targets for 6 of the program's 12 indicators, including indicators related to the number of degree programs with revised curricula, students receiving labor bridging support, participants in international exchanges, and students enrolled. However, the program fell short of the annual target for indicators related to the number of students with new or better employment and the number of students with improved academic performance. The program's progress was made possible through the implementation of 100% of the 18 activities included in the Year 4 workplan. Activities in all five intermediate result areas were tailored to the needs of each of the 9 partner institutions and their target degree programs. The program also facilitated 19 key partnerships between the private sector and partner institutions to provide learning and development opportunities for students and staff. The program's achievements under Result 1 and Result 2 demonstrate its commitment to improving the quality and relevance of technical degree programs and increasing access to technical tertiary education for disadvantaged youth. The program's progress towards its indicators and activities will continue to be monitored and evaluated in the coming year. The program's work in Honduras, Guatemala, and Jamaica has had a significant impact on the lives of disadvantaged students and has contributed to the development of a more skilled and competitive workforce in the region. The program's achievements will continue to be built upon in the coming year, with a focus on sustaining and scaling up the program's impact. The program's quarterly report highlights the progress made during Quarter 4 of Year 4, which includes the period from July 1 to September 30, 2019. The report provides a summary of the program's accomplishments during this quarter and updates on the program's principal achievements. The report is broken down into three main sections: Core Administrative Activities, Result 1 Activities, and Result 2 Activities. Each section begins with a summary of Year 4 annual accomplishments based on the Year 4 annual work plan, and then provides a summary of Year 4, Quarter 4 activities.