Innovations 2000 Program Streams

Innovations in the community college can be thought of as streams that flow through the larger body of works that educators and students engage in each day. The Innovations conference incorporates ideas, initiatives, and inspirations from five key streams into the broader conference goal of encouraging and facilitating student and organizational learning through innovation, experimentation, and institutional transformation. 

The conference features forums, roundtable discussions, and plenary sessions for each innovation stream, along with general session keynotes aimed at inspiring innovation and change in all areas of community college education 

I. Basic Skills and Developmental Education
The increasing needs of community college students demand that basic skills educators develop new and innovative ways to help under prepared students become successful members of a community of learners.

This stream showcases a variety of organizational and instructional strategies to improve basic skills and developmental education programs in community colleges, including placement testing, intrusive advising, peer-tutoring, targeted mentoring, support groups, technology tools, faculty training, and outcomes assessment. Innovations in GED programs, adult high school, developmental education, and other basic skills programs are featured in this stream.

II. Leadership and Organization
The rapid pace of change, accountability mandates, fluctuating funding, and demographic shifts continue to challenge community college administrators to engage innovative strategies for leadership and organization. 

Learning organizations, chaos theory, quality principles, liberation management, and "leading from the soul" are only a few of the techniques used today to meet community college leadership challenges. In this stream, the League invites colleagues committed to transforming their community colleges to share their leadership programs, processes, and perspectives in an effort to help all community college leaders learn how to weave diverse innovations together to make a difference in community college education. 

III. Learning and Teaching
Community college professionals continue to develop new and innovative ways of approaching teaching and learning, many of which promote the new learning-centered movement. This conference stream affords educators the opportunity to share their innovations with colleagues around the world. 

Classroom assessment and research, learning styles, learning communities, service-learning, distance learning strategies, interactive computer-aided instruction, multimedia in the classroom, critical-thinking skills development, and ethics in instruction are only a few of the wide range of instructional strategies that are showcased.

IV. Student Services and Activities
The diverse needs and backgrounds of community college students have challenged student services personnel to develop and implement some of the most innovative approaches to serving students in higher education. Unique and exciting methods for tackling the challenges of recruiting, admissions, advising, assessment, accessibility, orientation programs, early-warning systems, learning support systems, enrollment management, retention services, and counseling are featured in this stream. In addition, a wide array of student activity and leadership programs is highlighted. 

V. Workforce Preparation and Development
The League for Innovation's Workforce Initiative explores the many ways community colleges are meeting the workforce needs of their communities. In a continuing effort to further this initiative, this stream showcases the individual and collaborative work of community colleges, K-12 institutions, businesses, and government agencies in contract training, continuing education, tech-prep programs, school-to-work initiatives, work-based learning activities, business and industry training, integrated academic and technical learning models, and community college and industry partnerships.