Innovations
March
2012
The need for students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career pathways is a nationwide issue. Community colleges are addressing this need by developing programs and partnerships that support and encourage students with an interest in STEM fields. In an effort to expose K-12 students to STEM concepts and job options in an engaging, hands-on way, Michigan Technological University scoured the research to find a solution. The result, a traveling road show manned by undergraduate and graduate students, has proven effective in engaging young minds and promoting the notion...
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February
2012
With the Government of Alberta projecting a labour shortfall of 114,000 workers in the province over the next decade, workplace innovation and collaboration are becoming increasingly important, says NorQuest College's President and CEO.
"Alberta's employment landscape is continually changing," says Jodi L. Abbott. "Businesses must adapt to shifting labour demographics and many depend increasingly on immigration to effectively compete."
For solutions, more businesses are looking to NorQuest College. In particular, many businesses are enlisting the services of the College's Centres for...
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February
2012
The Sadlon Centre for Health and Wellness at the Georgian College Barrie Campus is thriving. Now that the doors have opened to students and the public, state-of-the-art laboratories, study areas, and community health clinics are buzzing with activity as Georgian helps prepare Simcoe County's future health-care providers.
The largest expansion in Georgian history, the Sadlon Centre for Health and Wellness spans 172,000 square feet and houses all Health and Wellness programs at the Barrie Campus, along with six community health clinics: Oral Health, Massage Therapy, Georgian College Optical,...
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January
2012
J.F. Drake State Technical College in Huntsville, Alabama, is a member of the Alabama Community College System and is one of several higher education institutions serving the Madison County area. The enrollment is approximately 1,300 students of very diverse backgrounds. The college focuses on technical programs, offering associate degrees and certificates in the areas of Business, Engineering, Health Sciences, Manufacturing, Salon Management, and Culinary/Hospitality Services.
Renewable Energy Partnership
In the past year, Drake State has been fortunate to involve itself with two new...
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January
2012
Early in 2010, the College Board issued a report warning that nearly two-thirds of young black male college students fail to successfully traverse the educational pipeline. The report, titled The Educational Crisis Facing Young Men of Color, was a call to action for colleges and universities to close the achievement gap for black males.
Community College of Philadelphia already had a potential solution in the works with its Center for Male Engagement (CME), a federally funded program focused on black male students entering their freshman year. CME opened in September 2009 with a target group...
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December
2011
We invite community college science faculty to apply for a one-week workshop to learn the C.R.E.A.T.E. teaching strategy: Consider, Read, Elucidate hypotheses, Analyze and interpret data, and Think of the next Experiment. The goal of the C.R.E.A.T.E is to use the real language of scienc--the journal article--as an inroad to understanding "who does science, how, and why?" In a C.R.E.A.T.E course, students are challenged to take charge of their own learning by focusing on intensive analysis of primary literature. The intent is to help students:
experience authentic processes of science, in...
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September
2011
Cañada College in Redwood City, California, is a member of the California Community College System and is one of three colleges in the San Mateo County Community College District. The student body is genuinely multicultural, with Hispanic students as the largest single group. During 2009-2010, the college enrolled 10,451 unique students and 4,982 full-time equivalent students. There has been a real focus in the past several years on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. For Cañada College, we have focused on two main areas around STEM education: 1) accelerating...
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August
2011
The League is pleased to announce that Martha J. Kanter will be the keynote speaker for Innovator Spotlight. This online conference features community college programs and practices that have received the League's Innovation of the Year award, which celebrates the spirit of innovation and experimentation upon which the League was founded. The conference will be held February 15, 2012.
Martha J. Kanter was nominated by President Barack Obama on April 29, 2009, to be the under secretary of education and was confirmed by the Senate on June 19, 2009. Kanter reports to Secretary of Education Arne...
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August
2011
Students, staff, and the entire Barrie community have a lot to look forward to this fall at Georgian College in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, as construction progresses on the Centre for Health and Wellness. The college is focusing on providing first-rate health-care education to its students, along with access to health-care clinics for community members. Set to open in September, the Centre for Health and Wellness will feature community health clinics such as speech, language, and hearing services; oral health; massage therapy; vision; esthetics; and a Nurse Practitioner-led clinic. These...
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June
2011
Which comes first at colleges: first-class educational programs or excellent customer service? Administrators at Northern Virginia Community College believe students deserve both.
NOVA, as the college is called locally, serves more than 75,000 credit students on six full-scale campuses and at multiple other locations around the Northern Virginia region. Another 24,000 students enroll in noncredit courses each year. When administrators realized that students--and even its own employees--frequently couldn't figure out which office to call for information, they created a Call Center to provide...
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June
2011
A nationwide mandate for electronic health records means the days of paper charts in the doctor's office are numbered—and a multitude of new jobs are available.
That manila folder your doctor carries into the exam room, full of papers and charts containing your medical history, is on the way to being as long gone as the house call. The new age of health care requires much faster and easier sharing of information between providers, so medical records are rapidly becoming, like your financial records, part of a secure electronic database.
In the long run, electronic health records (EHR) will...
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May
2011
Established in 1982, the League's Innovation of the Year Award was initiated to recognize innovations that reflect extraordinary achievement and the spirit of innovation and experimentation upon which the League was founded. The award provides an opportunity to showcase the innovations and the dedicated community college educators who are working to create new programs, improve processes, and enhance the opportunities available in their communities.
Criteria
Selection of award recipients is based on the following criteria established by the League:
Quality. Students and/or staff agree that...
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May
2011
With Miami's emerging culinary scene—one known for fusing a mélange of cultures and tastes into bold and unique creations—comes the need for the training and education of the people conceptualizing and serving up the newest and latest dishes. And with a 50-year history of working with industry and setting the bar for corporate training and development, Miami Dade College (MDC) is again stepping in to ensure an industry has a steady pool of qualified and highly trained employees with the launch of its Miami Culinary Institute.
The Miami Culinary Institute is anchored by three main components:...
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April
2011
In just a few years, Monroe Community College's Scholars' Day program has become a platform for students, faculty, and staff to successfully promote their creative and scholarly work. The event has provided an annual program around which to plan activities such as research and writing projects, performances, exhibits, symposia, panel discussions, and cooking demonstrations. Monroe Community College (MCC) believes that events such as Scholars? Day are worth the investment of time and resources because they are capable of combining inspiration and the celebration of academic quality like few...
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March
2011
In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, anyone could smoke indoors at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon. In the 1990s, federal laws moved smoking outdoors. Unlike bell bottoms, a return to smoking indoors has not occurred and federal and state laws have expanded. In 2002, Lane created several designated smoking areas to curtail smoking everywhere on campus and help make the campus accessible for all who came to Lane. Ironically, some of the smoking areas were placed next to main walkways and air intakes. Following the creation of these areas, Lane's Safety Committee received more complaints of...
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March
2011
"In designing Launch, it was important to us that program participants understand the steps that make a successful startup and to physically take their startup idea on that journey," said Tom McKeon, Tulsa Community College (TCC) President. "Oklahoma is one of the most active states for entrepreneurial activity. TCC's Launch program builds on that momentum and emphasizes the importance startups are to the economic health of our economy."
Since its beginning in spring 2009, more than 100 people have applied to be part of the program. Each cycle, or flight, uses local business leaders and...
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February
2011
Engineering instructors from across the United States will flock to Chandler-Gilbert Community College (CGCC) over the next three years to learn state-of-the-art technology thanks to a $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). CGCC received the Advanced Technology Education grant, "Developing the Digital Technologist for the New Millennium," in partnership with the University of New Mexico.
CGCC engineering instructor Bassam Matar coauthored the grant and says that, along with Drake State Community College in Alabama, CGCC will host two different workshops per year that will...
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November
2010
Planting for the Future
On a spring day, children from the Hiersteiner Child Development Center (HCDC) at Johnson County Community College (JCCC) gingerly tasted peas from the pods they snapped fresh off the vine, grown inside the hoophouse garden a short walk west of the HCDC. Children had planted peas and were now enjoying their harvest. "These are the students who are changing the way we relate to food," said David A. Smith, associate professor, hospitality management. Smith believes that school lunches and teaching children to appreciate food that comes from the garden are as important as...
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