Innovations
January
2016
Two things posted last fall in Inside Higher Ed (week of 11/15/2015) caught my eye about college completion. The US Department of Education has submitted proposal language giving them the authority to force accrediting agencies from approving colleges where students are not completing at acceptable rates. At the same time, the National Student Clearinghouse is reporting decreasing numbers of student completing across the board in higher education. Before us then is the big problem: Student completion is a huge agenda in most circles and try as we might, it is tough to improve the rates at...
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January
2016
“California dreaming” is a theme in American folklore. California’s Upward-Mobility Machine (David Leonhardt, The New York Times, Sept. 16, 2015), discussed how educational opportunities in the Golden State provide a catalyst for economic empowerment. “The big challenge for American higher education,” said the chancellor at the UC Irvine, “is that it has to be a gateway through which talented young people can thrive, regardless of their background.”
In this regard, California is a national leader. As the College Access Index indicated, a measure of economic diversity at institutions of higher...
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January
2016
Student Success is certainly on our collective mind these days.
On community college campuses we have long been concerned about our students and working with them to achieve their goals. I expect that nearly all colleges have specific efforts underway, falling under the big category of Student Success. Faculty are definitely critical to the execution of these efforts and thankfully many have stepped up to provide leadership in the work.
As a faculty leader on your campus focusing on students and improving their success—including their staying around to complete a degree or certificate—...
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American College Testing, with over fifty years of college readiness research, defines college readiness as students having “a 50% chance of obtaining a B or higher or about a 75% chance of obtaining a C or higher in the corresponding credit-bearing college courses, which include English Composition, Algebra, Social Science and Biology” (ACT, 2012, p. 3). Unfortunately, the majority of students graduating from high school are not college ready, and the need for improvement in the American high school educational structure is clear. Test results from 2015 give the percentage of high school...
Snead State Community College began its Presidential Scholars program in 2009 as a leadership development opportunity for incoming students who demonstrated academic excellence. Including the 2015-2016 group, 62 students have received the distinction of Presidential Scholars, and the graduation rate among those completing courses at SSCC is 97 percent.
Presidential Scholars represent Snead State at a variety of events, including donor recognition and alumni functions. The students participate in two signature activities each year—completion of the BOLD team building ropes course at Berry...
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January
2016
At the end of each workday, when American community college educators reflect on their day, it’s the little successes and setbacks that stand out.
I got my papers graded before dinner? Cool!
The student who flunked the last exam just turned in a great assignment? Awesome!
The electricity went out just as I was presenting today? Chocolate – stat!
My point is that these daily high notes and low notes are loud in an educator’s life. By comparison, the voices of policy makers and college leaders calling for student success and completion can seem like a distant Greek chorus. It is natural to...
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2016
Karen Hattaway, an English professor at San Jacinto College, discusses the Student Voice program at her college and how it contributes to student completion.
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December
2015
The Maricopa Community Colleges has announced a new program that will help children who are aging out of the foster care system to get into and complete college. The Bridging Success Initiative, funded by the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, was introduced at an event with partners from across the Valley.
The initiative advisory board has representatives from Arizona State University (ASU), Children's Action Alliance, Arizona's Children Association, Arizona Friends of Foster Care, College Success Arizona, College Depot, Florence Crittendon, and the Arizona Department of Child Safety.
The...
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December
2015
Established over thirty years ago to recognize significant community college innovations, the League’s Innovation of the Year awards are designed to honor faculty, staff, and administrators at member institutions who have created and implemented innovative programs, practices, partnerships, policies, and activities that improve the college’s ability to serve students and the community.
The following descriptions of four 2015 award-winning innovations reflect the diversity of programs and projects honored last year, which range from improving student success and promoting sustainable education...
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December
2015
In an historic meeting, Lake Land College and Eastern Illinois University trustees committed to building upon opportunities between the two institutions for the benefit of their students, communities, and state.
During the April 23, 2015, joint board meeting, trustees learned of the many partnerships the university and community college have developed over the past few decades. They also identified opportunities for future collaboration.
Located just 11 miles apart, the university, in Charleston, IL, and college, in Mattoon, IL, have a strong, supportive relationship. Students in East...
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November
2015
We had an exciting time at our recent STEMtech 2015 conference, held this year in sunny Phoenix at the beautiful Arizona Grand Resort. While at the conference, we had an opportunity to meet many of you and capture your thoughts on video for our Faculty Voices VLOG project. Please click on the hyperlinks below to check out the latest faculty VLOGS as your colleagues share their thoughts and challenges, as well as our screen shots below from our social media chat.
Samantha Snavely, El Centro College, Biology Instructor, Student mentoring and the flipped classroom
Paul Pasichnyk El Centro...
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November
2015
Onondaga Community College (OCC), in Syracuse, New York, began educating the next wave of nuclear energy industry workers in the fall of 2013 when it became one of only 36 colleges in the country to offer an A.A.S. degree in Nuclear Energy Technology (NET). The program was created in direct response to a workforce demand brought to the college by the nuclear energy industry. It estimates approximately half of its workforce will be eligible to retire during the next 10 years. The program and its curriculum were funded initially by a grant from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and a gift...
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November
2015
Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD) is having tremendous success in promoting completion and transfer among talented science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students through the DCCCD STEM Institute. The Institute focuses on a crucial leakage point in the STEM pipeline—the freshman and sophomore years of college. Much of the movement out of STEM majors occurs in these pivotal first two years. Since its initiation in 2009, the STEM Institute has evolved to include comprehensive extracurricular support for students preparing to complete a bachelor’s degree or...
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November
2015
The League for Innovation in the Community College has two awards programs each spring that recognize and celebrate community college innovation and excellence. League Alliance member institutions are encouraged to participate in this year’s awards season to showcase outstanding faculty, staff, and administrators and the creative programs and practices they have developed.
Innovation of the Year
Submission Deadline: April 18, 2016
www.league.org/ioy
Established over 30 years ago, the League’s Innovation of the Year award was devised as a way to recognize significant innovations at Alliance...
October
2015
The Wind Energy Department at Cloud County Community College (CCCC), Concordia, KS, held a two-day, 12-hour Introduction to Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Community Enrichment class in June 2015. The class gave any interested community member the opportunity to gain hands-on experience flying, configuring, and taking photos with UAVs. Those attending also had the opportunity to learn about the current FAA regulations for UAVs. Monte Poersch, CCCC wind energy instructor, taught the class.
CCCC Wind Energy instructor demonstrates how to fly a drone
The Wind Energy Department at CCCC has...
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October
2015
Sandburg Educational Network (SEN) is a technology partnership between Carl Sandburg College and the K-12 schools located in Carl Sandburg College District 518. Historically, the partnership consisted primarily of an annual Cyber Camp hosted and facilitated by the college for K-12 teachers. In 2014, the camp’s 13th year, the format was changed to include administrators and feature presenters from the K-12 district. Most of the schools within the district were moving to one-on-one initiatives which became the focus of the event. Attendance nearly doubled, and attendees requested that similar...
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October
2015
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September
2015
Wharton County Junior College (WCJC) students will soon have a cutting-edge career path to follow, thanks to an ongoing collaboration between the college, Tenaris, and the Bay City Community Development Corporation (BCCDC).
Through WCJC’s new Manufacturing Technology Program—which kicks off this fall—students will be able to obtain one of three different certificates or complete a two-year associate of applied science degree in Manufacturing Technology.
Students participating in the program will be well versed in the skills necessary for a host of industry-related fields, said Dr. Amy LaPan...
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September
2015
San Jacinto College veteran educator Dr. Karen Hattaway was selected by the League for Innovation in the Community College to author The Cross Papers, Number 18, a scholarly, in-depth monograph that will help to shape teaching strategies in many of the nation’s community colleges.
The format for The Cross Papers was established by K. Patricia Cross, a retired educator and scholar of educational research who wrote the first seven issues. Since the release of the inaugural issue in 1997, The Cross Papers have been designed to provide faculty with a body of useful, proven, practical strategies...
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September
2015
Workforce programs have long been acknowledged as centers of innovation on every community college campus, and now a new evaluation system can help college workforce leaders demonstrate the learning quality of their instructional programs.
The Workforce Education Implementation Evaluation (WEIE) framework, developed by SRI International in Menlo Park, California, is based on a six-year case study supported by the National Science Foundation of five workforce education programs across the United States. It features tools and concepts that make it possible for program leaders to assess the hard...
