Innovations
December
2014
Wake Technical Community College (Wake Tech) is the largest of the 58 community colleges in the North Carolina Community College System, enrolling more than 70,000 students a year. It is a two-year, public institution with an open door admissions policy, serving the 1,000,000+ residents of Wake County with five campuses, two training centers, and multiple community sites, and online. It is also one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the United States.
Wake Tech's mission is to improve and enrich lives by meeting the lifelong education, training, and workforce development needs of...
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November
2014
November
2014
Two years ago, when online registration opened for fall classes at Johnson County Community College (JCCC), the computer system slowed to a crawl and the telephone lines crashed.
Not the kind of spring morning that anyone wanted at the college, which serves nearly 20,000 students each fall in Overland Park, Kansas, part of the Kansas City metropolitan area.
The trouble was the timing. When registration opened at 8:00 a.m., students rushed to sign up for classes at the same time that hundreds of staffers were turning on their computers to start their day. The systems couldn't handle the load....
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November
2014
Thanks to a $22,500 grant provided by ExxonMobil Foundation, Midland College (MC) will be able to establish the Midland College Water Monitoring Center, directed by Mr. Greg Larson, faculty member in Biology. Mr. Larson is an authority on water quality in the Pecos River, having worked for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) as a field biologist specializing in this area for 23 years.
ExxonMobil is providing the funding through its 2013 Educational Matching Gift Program. The donation represents a 3-to-1 match of donations made to the Midland College Foundation by ExxonMobil...
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November
2014
Some might say that the most important part of Tallahassee Community College's (TCC) new Wakulla Environmental Institute (WEI) is already complete. After all, the breathtaking natural spaces that define TCC's recently acquired 158-acre property in rural Wakulla County, Florida, are destined to become the institute's most widely used classrooms. Nevertheless, it was with great excitement that the college broke ground for the institute's first building in April of 2013.
TCC President Jim Murdaugh and WEI Director Bob Ballard—with the help of TCC trustees and local and state dignitaries—...
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October
2014
Every time she attends a class at Tidewater Community College's Academy for Nonprofit Excellence, Melia Trost has another "aha" moment.
Whether it's a marketing recommendation, website help, or advice on event planning, Trost takes back practical recommendations she can implement at Samantha Makes It a Little Easier, Inc., a nonprofit she started in 2012 that provides needy children with medical equipment.
"I love the classes; they're wonderful," Trost said. "I knew enough about being a volunteer, but not the nitty-gritty. It's a business."
Trost completed her Certificate in Nonprofit...
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October
2014
Dr. Linwood Powell, Chair of the State Board of Community Colleges, presented the Distinguished Partners in Excellence Award to representatives of College of the Albemarle (COA) and Currituck County at a Board of Trustees meeting in spring 2014. This prestigious North Carolina Community College System award recognized the college's and county's collaborative efforts and vision in building the Regional Aviation and Technical Training Center in Currituck County.
"This honor is affirmation that the college and Currituck County have engaged in a significant opportunity for workforce and...
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October
2014
To gain insight on how educators can better prepare students for advanced manufacturing and STEM careers, the Sierra College Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) Collaborative engaged Elizabeth Dayton, Ph.D., to conduct a literature review on the value of adding the arts to STEM, making it STEAM. The resulting white paper, Exploring STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (Dayton, 2014), is now available on the Sierra School Works website.
Requests from manufacturing advisory committee members for graduates who are innovative and critical thinkers led...
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September
2014
Emergency planning has become a part of institutional life in America. Schools and community centers regularly prepare and practice what to do in an emergency. Volunteer State Community College (Vol State) students and faculty have taken part in a two-year project to help particularly vulnerable organizations: child care centers. State law requires that child care centers have emergency plans. But it's tough for a small business or nonprofit to find the time or expertise needed to develop a plan. Vol State classes have prepared and distributed emergency planning kits for child care centers in...
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September
2014
Great Falls College MSU, located in rural big sky Montana, has been working hard to bring unique educational opportunities and skills to students across Montana and the nation. According to Dr. Heidi Pasek, Chief Academic Officer, "This is a changing world, and we need to adapt to the needs of our students using all of the resources at our disposal." Great Falls College MSU has demonstrated adaptation through three truly unique opportunities—the SIM Hospital, NANSLO remote science lab, and SWAMMEI program.
Simulated (SIM) Hospital
Great Falls College MSU is extremely proud of its nursing and...
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September
2014
Ask just about anyone associated with the engineering profession and they'll tell you it's traditionally been a man's field. But times are changing, albeit slowly. Women are increasingly finding a place among those who speak the math- and science-heavy language that may as well be Greek to some of us.
Case in point: Ariana Hargrave, P.E., a 28-year-old electrical engineer who taught a two-day course July 15-16 titled Transformer Protection Relay at Del Mar College's Center for Economic Development. "I've always liked power," she said. "It's important to be able to turn the lights on but...
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July
2014
Community colleges serve a huge variety of students--traditional and nontraditional, daytime and evening, part-time and full-time, as well as career- and academic transfer-oriented. To meet the wide-ranging needs of their student population, they offer a complex variety of programs and courses. This vast range of choices can be confusing for students, and can result in students making unexamined decisions that may waste their time and money or divert them from a promising academic or career path.
Community colleges want to better help students navigate the wide range of choices they face, yet...
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July
2014
The proliferation of composite materials used in our aerospace, transportation, infrastructure, and recreation sectors is creating a growing need for waste management and sustainable practices. Couple this with current and pending legislation, and it becomes clear why businesses need to focus on new recycling technologies. Although many companies have extensive research and development efforts underway, including both reclamation and re-use of composite materials, training people for careers that utilize recycling technologies is new for educational institutions.
One college helping to lead...
June
2014
Congratulations to the faculty, staff, and administrators who are this year's 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 member colleges to showcase their innovative programs, practices, policies, partnerships, and resources; to celebrate the dedicated educators who are responsible for such exceptional...
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May
2014
The engineering technology (ET) program at Del Mar College recently received a significant boost with the approval of a grant for $332,267 by the Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) Advisory Board, chaired by Texas Comptroller Susan Combs. The funds will be used to purchase equipment to train students for high-demand jobs in fields such as automated manufacturing, energy production, and refining.
"The grant is very important to our ET program," said Larry Lee, the college's Dean of Business, Professional and Technology Education, who led the grant team-writing effort. "Major industries are...
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May
2014
Step UP is a grassroots program that evolved from the 25 member, cross-functional Developmental Education Committee that, in 2003, sought to create a program to improve the success and retention of developmental education students. The objective was to design a program at Howard Community College (HCC) that would provide positive support and encouragement to students as they make the often difficult transition and adjustment to college. After researching programs and interviewing students, a model for Step UP was created.
The program was piloted with five coaches and students in spring 2005....
April
2014
While many people dream of turning their good idea into a bestselling product, Colfax High School engineering and design students are off to a quick start because their Fast Forward ski sensor idea is going through the design process with Quirky. The New York based company makes invention accessible by reviewing as many as 4,000 ideas per week from inventors all over the world, and using a community selection and development process to bring the best ideas to market. A limited number of the ideas make it through the first stage so being chosen for evaluation by Quirky was a rare honor for...
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April
2014
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April
2014
On the second floor of an otherwise unassuming office building in Bellevue, WA, Donna Hudson is leading a lecture on environment and community. It's the type of scene you'd expect to see in a movie depicting college life: The professor asks a question of the class and in short order, a lively discussion is underway that quite possibly brings up more questions than are asked. It's the kind of student-teacher rapport most of us rarely get to experience—let alone on a regular basis.
As class progresses, however, it becomes clear that this class is more than just a picture-perfect college...
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April
2014
From left: Brett Mellington, LEDA Manager, Business Development and LCTCS Board member; Bud Barrow, CEO, Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center; Kathy Bobbs, CEO, Regional Medical Center of Acadiana and Women's & Children's Hospital; Laurie Fontenot, Dean of Nursing, Allied Health, and Safety, SLCC; David Callecod, President/CEO, Lafayette General Health; Dr. Natalie Harder, Chancellor, SLCC
A new program at South Louisiana Community College (SLCC) will help fill a growing need within Acadiana's healthcare industry. SLCC administrators, along with the Lafayette Economic Development...
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