Innovations
San Jacinto College has launched a general studies associate degree pilot program that provides significant cost savings to students who now do not have to buy traditional course materials such as high-cost textbooks.
In lieu of traditional print textbooks that can cost as much as $300 per copy, students who participate in the new program use digital open educational resources (OER) course materials which are free and accessible online. San Jacinto College full-time students previously paid approximately $700 per semester for printed textbooks, which amounts to nearly one-third of the total...
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February
2017
New articles pop up daily in email and in the few print sources we still receive to keep up with what’s in the news about higher education. At San Jacinto College, we do our best to stay informed and respond to the news. Currently, much of that coverage is about completion. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports on all facets of postsecondary education, and focuses heavily on completion and the data surrounding it. The Chronicle’s site called, appropriately, College Completion: Who Graduates from College, Who Doesn’t, and Why It Matters, gathers, analyzes, and posts graduation data from...
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February
2017
Reading and writing skills aren’t typically taught outside the English or Academic Success departments. But, having worked with faculty in various disciplines, I know even college-ready students struggle to read and comprehend effectively. If the student is deemed college ready, reading is generally not formally taught and students may be asked to complete complex writing tasks with little instruction. One remedy to counter under-prepared, college-ready students is low-stakes writing opportunities.
Peter Elbow suggests that the low-stakes written responses can make learning visible for...
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Congratulations to the 2016 recipients of the League's Innovation of the Year Award!
The League initiated the award over thirty years ago to recognize local community college projects and initiatives that reflect extraordinary achievement and the spirit of innovation and experimentation on which the League was founded. The competition provides an opportunity for League Board and Alliance member colleges to showcase their innovative programs, practices, policies, partnerships, and resources; to celebrate the dedicated educators who are responsible for such exceptional work; and to promote a...
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February
2017
The reason faculty make such good leaders is because they have excellent skills in coordination, organization, and motivation from working with large groups of diverse students in the classroom. I remember an interview for a corporate position early in my career when the interviewer said, “Oh, good, you’re a teacher—there’s not much we could do that would rattle you.” It was true. Juggling multiple tasks all the time, keeping track of all of them, and moving the involved parties forward toward a goal are all in a day’s work for faculty.
Faculty lead discussions, debates, assessment, and...
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February
2017
Interestingly, I thought, just as I was about to sketch out some notes for this blog entry about critical thinking, the Pavlovian bell chimed on my email, to which I obediently directed my attention, and the message was asking me to take a quiz on Critical Thinking. Ooh—how convenient, my procrastinating angel whispered in one ear as my task-oriented angel rolled her eyes from my other shoulder. I happily clicked down two levels into the site, but I stopped short of actually taking the quiz because I would have had to provide my email and name, and I know from well-honed experience that would...
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February
2017
At San Jacinto College, we’re very good at celebrating our victories, including high rankings in lists for graduating minorities and veterans as well as our status as a top 10 finalist for the prestigious Aspen Prize. We often commemorate, congratulate, analyze, and pause for a moment to reflect on what we’ve done to reach the milestones we have. But the key phrase there is for a moment. By no stretch do we bask in our own glory or ever rest on our laurels. The stakes are too high. We have students to mentor, classes to teach, and a world to change—one student at a time.
The incessant drive...
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February
2017
One of the least discussed elements of most student success initiatives in higher education, including the various completion agendas government leaders promote, is the crucial role adjunct or part-time faculty fill in these projects. How to incorporate increasing numbers of adjuncts into the culture of the institution and invite these dynamic and dedicated faculty to share in the enthusiasm of all-inclusive student success is at the very least challenging. For the most part, adjunct faculty aren’t around campus as much as full-time faculty, may have other full-time jobs, and aren’t usually...
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This fall, HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, began offering a fully online two-year associate degree in building construction management that prepares students for the growing demand in construction careers.
HACC is one of the only schools in the nation to offer this program fully online. In addition, it is the only community college in Pennsylvania to provide the opportunity to complete the program online in two years.
“Word is getting out and we have fielded inquiries from Western Pennsylvania and the D.C. metropolitan area. Construction companies in Central Pennsylvania have...
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Meeting the demand for quality professional development programming in times of constrained resources created an opportunity for innovative and creative thinking at Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) in Charlotte, North Carolina. Over 1,200 full-time employees at CPCC are required to complete 20 hours of professional development credit annually, and all full- and part-time employees—more than 1,800—must complete a series of three required annual trainings, thus creating a demand for over 60,000 hours of professional development opportunities annually.
This demand occurs at a time of...
2017
Avery Thompson, Mathematics faculty at Northern Caribbean University, expresses her concern that students are expected to complete their courses without consideration of how their studies relate to the workplace, entrepreneurship, and nation-building.
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2017
Mary Arthur, an IT Project Coordinator at St. Louis Community College, discusses the importance of students setting an educational goal in order to realize success.
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2017
Angela Hendershot, an English instructor at Zane State College, discusses how her college is influencing student retention by forming an early intervention plan, which focuses on students who may be at risk and figures out ways to get them back into the classroom.
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2017
Julie Shattuck, an Associate Professor of English at Frederick Community College, discusses the need for institutions to focus on addressing student needs, such as food and housing, to facilitate student retention and completion.
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2017
Donna Powell Wilson, Executive Director of The Council of the Community Colleges of Jamaica, finds that students attend community colleges for a variety of reasons and suggests that rather than focusing on completion rates, the value that students add to society should be considered.
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2017
Curtis Daniels, Career and Technical Education Division Chair at Crowder College, discusses instituting problem-based learning tailored to industry in the classroom to mimic a real industrial environment and working with local employers as curriculum advisors and classroom visitors.
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2017
Rita Wheeler, an Instructional Technology Specialist at Moberly Area Community College, discusses student success and completion and the services that colleges can provide, particularly for nontraditional students.
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2017
China Jenkins, Faculty & Instructional Leadership Development Services manager at Houston Community College, discusses faculty the importance of faculty eliminating the deficit mindset and believing that their students can accomplish any goal they set out to achieve.
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2017
Linwall Mcfarlane, Campus Director at Montego Bay Community College, idiscusses the teaching and learning practices that he uses in his classroom to promote student success, including experiential learning, simulation, group work, and a student-centered approach.
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2017
Mary Jane Batchelor, a licensed Vocational Nursing instructor at Vernon College, discusses teaching on her smaller campus. A collegewide program being implemented on her campus to aid student completion has been intrusive advising.
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