Innovations
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...
Tags:
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...
Tags:
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...
Tags:
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...
Tags:
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...
Tags:
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...
Tags:
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...
Tags:
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...
Tags:
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...
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...
Tags:
2017
Nathan Rom, Chairman of the Board, Montego Bay Community College, discusses his concern about what happens to students when they leave the college and enter the workforce and stresses the need to prepare students adequately for employment and industry.
Tags:
2017
Renne Emiko Brock, a Multimedia Communications instructor at Peninsula College, discusses the importance of finding community mentors to guide students to success and completion.
Tags:
2017
Bernard L. Monette, a Web Development instructor at Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, discuss those practices he uses in the classroom to make the environment authentic, in terms of both technologies and social skills, to ready students for the workplace, instilling in them resilience and grit to prepare them for success.
Tags:
2017
Esmerelda Adame, Advanced Manufacturing Technology program chair at South Texas College, discusses how the college supports new students through open orientation and mentoring.
Tags:
2017
Jed Peterson, History faculty at Kirkwood Community College, contends that students don't care about what you know until they know that you care.
Tags:
2017
Henry Osborn, a Computer Information Sciences instructor at Northern Caribbean University, discusses student success and completion and the importance of providing students resources (e.g., books, practice exams, simulations) so they can perform as effectively and efficiently as possible in their chosen field of study.
Tags:
2017
Angelic Cole, Business Administration professor and chair at St. Louis Community College, discusses the pressing concern about student completion and the importance of community colleges building strong partnerships with employers to make sure that needed credentials are incorporated into programs.
Tags:
2017
Alex Ranc, a Fine Arts instructor at Angelina College, discusses engagement and cocurricula activities to engage students equally and throughout their education path.
Tags:
2017
This guide was developed by Public Agenda for use in Choicework Moderator Training Workshops held as part of the League for Innovation's Faculty Voices Project. It is intended for use wtih the Moderator Training Videos and the Moderator Guide.
Tags:
2017
Moaz Ben Azzouz, Mathematics faculty at Sinclair Community College, is concerned that quality of education does not seem to be the most important goal of the student success and completion initiative.
Tags:
