Innovations Library

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Investing in Change
Elizabeth M. Zachry, Erin Coghlan, Rashida Welbeck July 2010
Volume: 23 Issue: 7
Count all 428
Imagine walking into the first day of your presidency at a renowned community college knowing that 60 percent of your freshman students have placed into one remedial course or more and are not yet ready for college-level work.(1) Imagine also that over 50 percent of your student body is expected to drop out before completing a degree or certificate program and that only 35 percent will attain a certificate or degree within six years.(2) Even more daunting, the enrollment at your college has risen 28 percent in the past 14 years and is projected to grow by another 13 percent in the next eigh
Tags: Leadership and Organization, Innovations
Early College Innovation: Access and Opportunity in North Carolina
Joel Vargas, Jason Quiara June 2010
Volume: 23 Issue: 6
Count all 428
The Early College High School Initiative serves more than 46,000 students at 212 early colleges in 24 states. One-third of these schools are in North Carolina, where state officials have enacted policies that enable innovative school designs to provide underserved youth and first-generation college students with the opportunity and support to simultaneously earn a high school diploma and one to two years of transferable college credit--tuition free.
Tags: Leadership and Organization, Innovations
The Skunk Squad
Allison Rhea May 2010
Volume: 23 Issue: 5
Count all 424
In 2007, a small number of innovators at Sinclair Community College were hand-picked for inclusion in a super-secret group that became known as the Skunk Squad. The name was a play on the theme of "Skunk-Works," a concept made famous by Lockheed Martin. Defined as "a group within an organization given a high degree of autonomy and unhampered by bureaucracy, tasked with working on advanced or secret projects," a Skunk-Works style organization on your campus is the perfect vehicle for innovation.
Tags: Leadership and Organization, Innovations
Retiring Leaders, New Challenges: Technology Leadership in the Community College
Wayne A. Brown April 2010
Volume: 23 Issue: 4
Count all 428
This article reports on the fifth iteration of a higher-education chief information officer (CIO) study conducted by The Center for Higher Education Chief Information Officer Studies (CHECS), Inc., and the first survey of a group known as technology leaders (TL). In organizational bureaucracy, technology leaders are often on the layer just beneath the CIO. The results of the surveys were examined in their totality and broken down to examine the similarities and differences between the two positions, CIO and TL, and the two-year college and other institution types.
Tags: Leadership and Organization, Innovations
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
Chip Heath, Dan Heath February 2010
Volume: 23 Issue: 2
Count all 423
Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, and in our own lives? The primary obstacle is a conflict that's built into our brains, say Chip Heath and Dan Heath, authors of the critically acclaimed bestseller Made to Stick. Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two different systems--the rational mind and the emotional mind--that compete for control. The rational mind wants a great beach body; the emotional mind wants that Oreo cookie.
Tags: Leadership and Organization, Innovations
Interventions to Support Readiness, Recruitment, Access, Transition, and Retention for Postsecondary Education Success: An Equity of Opportunity Policy and Practice Analysis
Center for Mental Health in Schools, UCLA January 2010
Volume: 23 Issue: 1
Count all 427
Recognition is growing about the public health and civil rights imperative for reducing the high rate of school dropouts. However, too little policy attention is paid to enhancing equity of opportunity for those transitioning from adolescence to young adulthood by increasing enrollment and success in postsecondary education.
Tags: Leadership and Organization, Innovations
The Nature of Innovation in the Community College
Terry O'Banion, Laura Weidner December 2009
Volume: 22 Issue: 12
Count all 497
It is well known that the community college itself is an innovation in higher education, an American social invention quite different in purpose and structure from the American four-year colleges imported from England and the American university imported from Germany. The community college is as American as apple pie brimming with the can-do frontier spirit. It is robust and fearless and utilitarian, willing to try anything that works.
Tags: Leadership and Organization, Innovations
Clever: Leading Your Smartest, Most Creative People
Rob Goffee, Gareth Jones November 2009
Volume: 22 Issue: 11
Count all 431
Clever: Leading Your Smartest, Most Creative People by Rob Goffee and Gareth JonesHarvard Business Press, 2009ISBN: 978-1-4221-2296-9
Tags: Leadership and Organization, Innovations
Letters from Leaders: What Would You Write?
Henry O. Dormann October 2009
Volume: 22 Issue: 10
Count all 430
Letters from Leaders: Personal Advice for Tomorrow's Leaders from the World's Most Influential People, compiled by Henry O. Dormann. The Lyons Press, 2009. ISBN 978-1-59921-501-3
Tags: Leadership and Organization, Innovations
Leading by Listening: Lessons From a Maestro
Roger Nierenberg September 2009
Volume: 22 Issue: 9
Count all 428
In MAESTRO: A Surprising Story About Leading by Listening, Roger Nierenberg tells the story of a struggling manager who finds an unlikely source of wisdom and inspiration—the interplay between a symphony orchestra and its conductor. Through a series of rehearsals and conversations, the manager is inspired to think about leadership and communication in an entirely new way.
Tags: Leadership and Organization, Innovations
Serving Displaced Workers: Lessons Learned and Recommendations to Other Colleges
Terri Manning, Jeanie Moore August 2009
Volume: 22 Issue: 8
Count all 430
The fledgling textiles and apparel industry in North Carolina took a big hit in July 2003 when the Pillowtex Corporation filed for bankruptcy and permanently closed its operations nationwide. Overall, North Carolina lost 4,790 jobs while Rowan and Cabarrus counties (two rural counties north of Charlotte) accounted for 3,984 of those lost jobs. This left more than 4,000 displaced workers in the Rowan and Cabarrus county service area. Of the more than 4,000 persons who lost jobs, 45 percent lacked a high school credential.
Tags: Leadership and Organization, Innovations
A Game of Chance: Community College Hiring Practices
Suzanne Flannigan, Barbara Jones-Kavalier July 2009
Volume: 22 Issue: 7
Count all 430
Moving From Point A to B We knew we were taking a risk in writing a book about community college hiring practices. We acknowledged the seriousness of the subject matter, appreciating the daunting task that board members and administrators face when searching for leaders, and recognizing that little research has been conducted on this topic. We expected raised eyebrows from some administrators and legal advisors who work diligently to protect the sanctity of policies and procedures that govern how we bring new employees into the college.
Tags: Leadership and Organization, Innovations
A Grassroots Approach to Strategic Planning at St. Louis Community College- Meramec
Rebecca Winter June 2009
Volume: 22 Issue: 6
Count all 431
Like many higher education institutions, St. Louis Community College treats strategic planning as a continuous process that begins with the college's mission and, through careful planning and reflection, leads to a clearly articulated set of priorities. Because it ultimately calls for action to implement identified goals, strategic planning has the potential to play an integral role in shaping the course of a college. Still, making the move from identifying goals to accomplishing goals is no simple task.
Tags: Leadership and Organization, Innovations
Community Colleges Receive $3.5 Million From the Walmart Foundation to Train Americans Seeking Employment
League for Innovation May 2009
Volume: 22 Issue: 5
Count all 431
The League for Innovation in the Community College announced today a $3.5 million grant from the Walmart Foundation designed to help Americans hit hardest by the economic downturn and provide training opportunities for those who are out of work. Eight community colleges located in areas experiencing a high rate of job loss and unemployment across the U.S. will be selected to work with their local and regional workforce development community to offer a variety of services and training to people who are seeking employment.
Tags: Leadership and Organization, Innovations
Let the Conversation Begin: How Do We Deal With a Rogue Trustee?
Terry O'Banion April 2009
Volume: 22 Issue: 4
Count all 430
For decades community college presidents have been communicating through a private and confidential network with each other about one of the most challenging issues they face—the Rogue Trustee. This has been a closet issue in the community college, whispered about when presidents convene during state and national conferences and reviewed in private phone calls to each other in desperate attempts to seek resolution of the problem. I believe that, until now, this has been fairly uncharted territory.
Tags: Leadership and Organization, Innovations

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