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The North/Far North Regional Consortium (N/FNRC) is one of seven consortium established by the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges through competitive grant. The N/FNRC includes 14 member colleges, geographically distributed from Sacramento to the south, the Oregon border to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Nevada state line to the east.
The consortium is funded to enhance the development of vocational education leadership and economic development. As such, it provides an avenue for coordinating regional programs, increasing collaborative responses to state and regional needs, and serving as a primary link between local colleges, Economic & Workforce Development Program Centers and Initiatives, and the California Community College Chancellor's Office.
Goals of the consortium
- Communication: The consortium facilitates communication among the California Community College Chancellor's Office, The Economic and Workforce Development Program Centers and Initiatives, Offices of Contract Education, and college workforce development programs and services within the region.
- Professional Development: The consortium provides professional development and disseminates best practices primarily to staff of member colleges and districts.
- Marketing: The consortium markets economic and workforce development/occupational programs and services to employers and to students within the region.
Examples of consortium Activities
Communication
- Facilitate regular regional meetings of Chancellor's office staff, occupational deans, faculty, and economic development staff of the 14 member colleges for purposes of sharing information, providing training, and endorsing new occupational programs.
- Sponsor discipline specific meetings of faculty, administrators, and staff to facilitate collaboration, coordination, curriculum development, and sharing of expertise and resources.
- Co-Chairs meet with Chancellor's Office staff and representatives from the other six regions to provide input on vocational education, economic development, and workforce preparation policies and plans on a statewide basis.
Professional Development
- Collaborate with other regional consortium to provide the annual statewide conference on Special Populations.
- Collaborate with other regional consortium to provide the annual Workforce Leaders Institute.
- Collaborate with the State Academic Senate to finance the Vocational Faculty Leadership Seminar.
- Collaborate with the California Community College Association of Occupational Education to provide two annual statewide conferences.
- Host and conduct a wide variety of professional development workshops in conjunction with regional meetings, as break-out sessions at various statewide conferences, as on-line training, and as drive-in/fly-in workshops throughout the region.
- Award mini-grants to member colleges to develop innovative programs and services, provide for local articulation and community-building activities, and meet local professional development needs.
- Fund conference attendance and travel for staff of member colleges/districts.
Marketing
- Develop, refine, and implement regional marketing strategies to enhance the image of community colleges as the primary providers of workforce preparation and economic development in the region.
- Award mini-grants to member colleges to market local programs and services.
Linda Zorn, Far North Co-chair, Butte Community College, Oroville, California
Diane McKnight, North Co-chair, Sierra Roseville Gateway, Roseville, California
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