WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Paul R. Watson II, dean of academic success at Pennsylvania College of Technology, has been asked to speak at a Pennsylvania Department of Education workshop about best practices for a performance indicator related to student retention or transfer.
Watson will present at the Perkins Central Workshop, to be held April 11 in Harrisburg. The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006 was enacted to enhance the skills of secondary and postsecondary education students nationwide who enroll in career and technical education programs.
In his presentation, Watson will focus on Perkins performance indicator 3P1, which involves student retention and transfer. Penn College exceeded the statewide performance for the indicator.
Watson will describe a multifaceted approach at Penn College that includes academic mentoring (clarifying students’ goals, enhancing time-management skills and connecting them to appropriate college resources), an early alert team protocol (identifying at-risk students early in their college experience and coordinating intervention and communication among support services), and disability services (ensuring accessibility and usability for all, focusing on the transition to the postsecondary level; sharing strategies for self-examination; and considering potential challenges and opportunities).
Watson holds a master’s degree in teaching and curriculum from the University of Rochester, a master’s degree in mathematics education from Syracuse University, and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Houghton College. He is pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership and management, with a concentration in creativity and innovation, at Drexel University.
Previously, Watson served as dean of academic services and college transitions and assistant dean of programs in the former School of Integrated Studies at Penn College.
Before his employment at the college, Watson coordinated mathematics instruction and curriculum at Jefferson Central School in Jefferson, New York, and taught mathematics full time at Houghton College and part time at Genesee Community College, as well as the SUNY campuses at Cobleskill and Oneonta.
For more about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, visit www.pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call toll-free 800-367-9222.