Innovations
Adding to the long list of accolades it has received in its over 70 years of service, Laredo College is honored to have been designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security jointly sponsor the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) program. The goal of the program is to reduce vulnerability in our national information infrastructure by promoting higher education and research in cyber defense and producing professionals...
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2019
The purpose of the League’s Walmart Brighter Futures 3.0 (WBF 3.0) project was to scale further the Retail Management Certificate (RMC) program being offered at community colleges in 14 Western states in cooperation with the Western Association of Food Chains (WAFC). The League identified 12 colleges to expand the RMC footprint and enhance delivery options for incumbent retail workers.
Since 2000, over 150 community colleges have been approved by WAFC to offer the RMC, establishing a community of practice in retail management education. Based on the collective experiences of the partner...
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Every student who graduated from Jackson State Community College’s nursing program in 2017 passed the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) on his or her first attempt, an achievement that earned praise from the Tennessee Board of Nursing.
The NCLEX is a nationwide exam for nursing school graduates to obtain a license, which allows them to practice. It is administered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.
Sherry Richardson, nurse consultant with the Tennessee Board of Nursing, wrote a letter to Jackson State after students achieved the 100 percent pass rate, saying, “...
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Community colleges enroll over half of the undergraduate students in U.S. higher education and increasingly serve as the gateway to a postsecondary credential, particularly for first-generation and underrepresented students. As noted by researchers (Astin, 1984; McClenney & Marti, 2006; Tinto, 1993), student engagement within and outside of the classroom setting remains central to an institution’s ability to advance student success. At the same time, the growing demographic diversity of community college student bodies means there is no one-size-fits-all institutional approach to...
Arapahoe Community College (ACC) and Centura Health, the region’s health care leader, launched Colorado’s first registered Medical Assistant Apprenticeship Program designed to meet local workforce needs in July 2018. A dozen students are enrolled in the initial cohort of this innovative work-based learning program, which is made possible by funding from the Colorado Workforce Development Council, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Centura Health, Colorado First, and Existing Industry Grants (CFEI) jointly administered by Colorado Community College System and Colorado Office of...
Two years ago, student and Valencia Technology Club member Richard Haynes asked if club members could take Valencia College’s obsolete computers and refurbish them for students who need a computer and can’t afford to purchase one. At the time, the project did not move forward. A year later, however, representatives from the Information Technology (IT), Legal, and Finance departments; the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP); and the Valencia Technology Club met, and, collaboratively, developed the club’s computer donation and repair programs. Now, selected LSAMP students...
Untapped Leaders: Faculty and the Challenge of Student Completion is a report on findings from the League for Innovation in the Community College’s Faculty Voices Project (2014-2018). The project’s goals were to engage community college faculty in the national conversation about student completion, and to hear from faculty their perspectives of what works in the classroom and across the college to facilitate student success and completion.
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Breaking Down Nonacademic Barriers: Outcomes From the First Two Years of a Community School Approach
Historically, community colleges have lower completion and retention rates than their four-year counterparts. Hongwei (2015) suggested that this is in part due to the fact that leading retention models were designed for four-year institutions, not community colleges. Community college students often face unique nonacademic barriers which impact their retention and persistence rates (Goldrick-Rab, Broton, & Eisenberg, 2013; Goldrick-Rab, Broton, & Gates, 2015; Hongwei, 2015; Troester-Trate, 2017). Such barriers include, but are not limited to, a lack of resources such as food,...
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Recognized as a state model in noncredit instruction, San Diego Continuing Education (SDCE) continues its reputation of leadership and innovation by implementing open educational resources (OER) that increase accessibility and textbook affordability to adult students in San Diego.
“It’s about access,” said Matthew Rivaldi, a member of SDCE’s business faculty. “The goal is to offer SDCE students free textbooks or high-quality educational materials using OER.”
OER has been a buzz-term in the California legislature since 2012, when Governor Brown signed two bills that recognized that the cost of...
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Through rapid growth, acquisition of costly medical simulation equipment, and the expansion of technology-centered simulation facilities, Wake Technical Community College (Wake Tech) has become one of the largest and most advanced providers of healthcare simulation programs in North Carolina. New state-of-the-art simulation labs in nursing, radiology, emergency medical sciences, dental assisting, dental hygiene, medical assisting, natural sciences, nurse aid, and medical lab technology have also made Wake Tech a focal point in the simulation community. But with these advancements come new...
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Only 25.9 percent of individuals residing in Aims Community College’s taxing district in Northern Colorado have earned a college degree or credential. In order to assist parents, families, and prospective students who are interested in college, but have no experience with the application process, Aims Community College hosts College 101 for anyone who would like to learn more about going to college. The free one-hour session is held at various locations, including the college campuses, local libraries, and community outreach centers. Dinner is provided.
At College 101, attendees learn about...
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While many students entering community college aim to earn a bachelor’s degree, only a relatively small portion of these students transfer and go on to successfully do so within six years. Therefore, faculty and staff must create opportunities to clarify paths toward student end goals and establish transfer pathways through alignment of learning outcomes, program plans, and strong partnerships with transfer institutions.
The Transfer Playbook: Essential Practices for Two- and Four-Year Colleges—released by the Community College Research Center, The Aspen Institute, and the National Student...
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San Diego Miramar College: Revamped Academic Success Center Leads the Way to Greater Student Success
San Diego Miramar College is literally tearing down walls for student success. In October of 2017, a construction crew took a hammer to the plaster walls separating the college’s student computing lab—the Independent Learning Center (ILC)—from its tutoring center. The end result is a more encompassing Academic Success Center (ASC) dedicated to student success.
“We knocked down the wall so that we could have a continuation of services,” said Donnie Tran, ASC faculty coordinator.
Students can now move more freely between the Independent Learning Center and the area that was formerly known as...
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Before Tallahassee Community College (TCC) founded the Institute for Nonprofit Innovation and Excellence, there was no safety net for nonprofits in Florida’s Big Bend region, limited access to specialized training and resources, and no way for nonprofits to speak with a unified voice to local decision makers.
Leon County, where TCC is based, is home to more than 2,000 nonprofit organizations. These nonprofits are a critical part of the Big Bend’s economy, generating more than $3.1 billion in annual revenue and employing 1 in 10 workers. However, many nonprofits—particularly small ones—face...
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Congratulations to the 2018 Innovation of the Year Award winners! Forty-six institutions submitted innovations for a 2018 Innovation of the Year Award. Some of the innovations are described below. Click here for a full list of winners.
Wake Technical Community College: Launching North Carolina's First Associate Degree Program in Healthcare Simulation Technology
Wake Tech has become a leader in healthcare simulation in North Carolina by developing state-of-the-art simulation labs in its Nursing, Radiology, EMS, Dental Assisting and Hygiene, and other allied health programs. Working in this...
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Students and community members were invited to the Aims Community College Fort Lupton campus to celebrate National Agriculture Day and participate in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) career development event in March 2018.
Guests who attended the National Ag Day event saw baby chicks hatch; rode on the Precision Agriculture Mobile Educational Technology Unit (a John Deere gator equipped with auto-steer and GPS technologies); learned about dairy farming from June the Cow, an animatronic full-sized fiberglass Holstein that was provided by the Western Dairy Association; and interacted with...
The academic success outcomes of men of color remain deficient in community colleges compared to other student groups (Valliani, 2015). While many men begin their educational journey at community colleges, most African American and Latino men do not reach degree completion (Center for Community College Student Engagement, 2014). Men of color often report that they feel unwelcome in college environments because of negative stereotypes associated with their physical appearance and challenged by academic unpreparedness and financial stress (Gardenhire-Cooks, Collado, Martin, & Castro, 2010;...
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Mesa Community College (MCC) was the first college, among six in the nation, selected by Apple to launch the iOS app development project and the first to offer associated courses for academic credit. The college views the Everyone Can Code project as more than a collection of courses. This is a foundation for a successful future for a diverse body of students.
MCC faculty embrace the concept that the key to innovation is to provide something that is unusual, to test the norms, to do it in a timely and meaningful manner, and to embrace teaching excellence through diversity and differentiated...
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