MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
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September
2013
Higher education has traditionally been divided along very clear lines: colleges and universities offer bachelor's and graduate degrees, while community colleges offer two-year associate degrees and certificates. That line is not as clear anymore, with 21 states now allowing their community and technical colleges to develop bachelor's degrees, up from 11 states just eight years ago. The community college baccalaureate is an increasingly popular trend because it's an effective way for community colleges to fulfill their workforce development mission.
Washington's Higher Education Coordinating B...
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September
2013
With the prediction of more than 4,000 new manufacturing jobs to be created in Upstate South Carolina in the next few years, there is a call for a new way of preparing people to satisfy the needs of the manufacturing sector. In order to grow a workforce that has the skills to close the gap between what employers need and what's currently available, industry requirements must be aligned with education.
At Greenville Technical College, we are doing that through partnerships with companies like General Electric (GE), BMW, Michelin, and Bosch Rexroth. These programs allow companies to create the s...
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August
2013
When Wharton County Junior College (WCJC) opened its fourth campus in the small town of Bay City, Texas, in August 2007, it did so through a strong industry partnership. Bay City, home to nearly 20,000 residents, lies just 30 minutes from the Texas Gulf Coast and serves as the county seat for Matagorda County. Major employers in the county include the South Texas Project (STP) nuclear power generation plant and the Celanese and Equistar petrochemical plants, all of which have representatives on WCJC program advisory committees. In all, there are 40 plants within a 50-mile radius of Bay City....
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August
2013
As Iowa's economy slowly recovers and more local employers start hiring, the gap between the state's workforce and employer needs is becoming increasingly evident.
According to a report by Iowa Workforce Development (2012), roughly 50 percent of Iowa's available jobs and growing career areas are considered middle skill, requiring more than a high school education but less than a four-year degree. However, 66 percent of Iowa's unemployed or underemployed have no recognized educational credentials past high school. The same study highlights worker shortages stretching far beyond the current work...
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July
2013
The Family Engagement Institute (FEI) was established in 2010 in partnership with Foothill College to promote equity and access to quality education from early childhood through college. FEI works to close the opportunity divide by providing educational opportunities for underserved families with children, starting at birth and continuing through adolescence. By focusing simultaneously on strengthening the capacity of families, schools, and communities, we are able to build family engagement strategies that are systemic and integrated to ensure student success.
FEI defines family engagement...
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July
2013
How do we engage students in meaningful, community service activities that reinforce classroom learning? Germanna Community College (GCC), in northern Virginia, makes a dedicated effort to engage in programs and support activities that help students connect classroom knowledge with community needs and service learning. GCC engineering students participated in the local CANstruction competition held January 18-21, 2013, in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The event was held as one of many National Day of Service events in tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. During the CANstruction competition, team...
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July
2013
The League for Innovation recognized and highlighted many outstanding programs, events, and achievements by its member colleges in the League Alliance Member Spotlight, a segment in our monthly newsletter—League Connections. Colleges showcased in this year's Member Spotlight included:
Housatonic Community College
Lone Star College - University Park
Cuyamaca College
Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City
Central Ohio Technical College
Phoenix College
Columbia Gorge Community College
Heartland Community College
North Iowa Community College
Nebraska Indian Community College
Brookdale Communi...
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June
2013
Neosho County Community College (NCCC) was recognized at the Community College Futures Assembly annual meeting held January 31, 2011, in Orlando, Florida, as a finalist in the Planning, Governance, and Finance category, sponsored by Council for Resource Development. The presentation, titled, "If You Build It, They Will Come," highlighted the construction of the Ottawa Campus completed in nine months using no state or local tax dollars. As one of the 10 finalists, NCCC presented at the Assembly and one winner was then selected from each category by a panel of national experts. The Community Col...
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June
2013
Salem Community College (SCC) is meeting the need for unique and high-demand careers, regionally and nationally. Located in Carneys Point, New Jersey, SCC offers two-year degrees in Scientific Glass Technology and Nuclear Energy Technology which support industry's need for employees with specialized skills.
Scientific Glass Technology
SCC's flagship program is the only one of its kind in the United States, and therefore attracts students from across the country. The associate degree program—which teaches students how to create glass apparatus for scientific research in laboratories, universit...
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May
2013
Reach students where they live—on social media. Practice makes perfect. Show it, don't just tell it. Finances should not be a barrier to education.
Phoenix College math professor James Sousa says all of the above motivated his creation of the Mathispower4u! website and blog. Mathispower4u provides free mini lessons and example videos with no ads. The website is organized by course and topics from arithmetic to calculus and beyond. The blog can be searched by topic. The videos make learning mathematics available to students anytime and anywhere with an Internet connection.
Initially, Sousa crea...
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May
2013
Kristin Grue doesn't teach a typical high school English class, and maybe it's because she doesn't teach in a high school, or to typical students. Grue is a teacher for the Access to Success program at Helena College University of Montana. The program aims to re-engage youth who have dropped out of high school, by bringing them to college.
Access to Success is a high school diploma completion program with an emphasis on earning a professional certificate or degree while completing high school requirements concurrently. All coursework is provided in an adult learning environment. The program is...
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April
2013
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April
2013
Snead State Community College has been educating students in the small town of Boaz, Alabama, since 1898. To celebrate its history and prepare for its future, the college recently completed a $7 million renovation project of the Administration Building. Originally designed by Magaziner, Eberhard & Harris of Philadelphia beginning in 1921, the neoclassical style building is the oldest, most architecturally significant, and most cherished building on campus.
After being forced to vacate due to safety concerns, services once offered in the building were relocated. Working from the campus mast...
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March
2013
As part of its ongoing mission to develop and manage private philanthropic support for the college, the Brookdale Community College Foundation secured a $100,000 donation from a new donor (who wishes to remain anonymous) to augment institutional and Foundation funding of the Brookdale Innovation Grant (BIG) program. The donation will be allocated at $10,000 annually for ten years. The BIG program is designed to promote innovative solutions to institutional challenges.
:Brookdale is committed to advancing student learning and achievement through innovative teaching, a dynamic curriculum, a sup...
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March
2013
South-Central Kansas high school students interested in careers in health-care professions have found a low-cost, high impact way to get a head start on their college education. The Butler Community College Early College Health Science Academy (ECHSA) offers an exceptional opportunity for students to integrate the last two years of high school with the first two years of college. The academy, which began in 2011, prepares students for healthcare careers and immerses them into the college experience. Students must meet specific admission requirements and class size is limited. The two-year prog...
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February
2013
What does it mean to live a better life? There is some truth in that we all may define this somewhat differently, and as individuals these definitions may even change throughout the cycle of life, but what are the commonalities? Most would say happiness and a positive outlook are key ingredients to living a better life; however, having a means to support yourself and your family is essential. Recently, positivity has been mapped by Gallop Inc. and while the results are interesting, what are they telling us? It would seem, from this evidence, that economic prosperity has little to do with it, a...
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December
2012
Kelly Ward and Samuel Scott work diligently as a team, creating their company's new flat screen televisions. Talking about the details as they assemble tiny parts, the two act as if they own the place.
Today, they do.
These fifth grade students from Charles City, Iowa, have become something for a day that many students don't even have on their spelling tests: an entrepreneur.
Fifth grade students from all districts in North Central Iowa are invited to participate in a unique program offered at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC), which they call Entrepreneur for a Day®.
The Entrepreneur...
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December
2012
Heartland Community College (Heartland) in Normal, Illinois, has taken a progressive approach to General Education Program assessment. Typically, colleges develop standard program outcomes, generate rubrics for measuring those outcomes, ask faculty to use the rubrics and share results, and then report results that demonstrate student performance. These methods are fairly well established, can be employed quickly (some standardized measures and cut and paste rubrics for common learning outcomes are available), and can produce documented results that please Boards and accrediting bodies. The pro...
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December
2012
What is the role of higher education in our world today? Some say universities and colleges should prepare students to think and research critically. Others proclaim that institutions need to mold future citizens of the world. But there is one thing people agree on—schools of higher learning are supposed to ready individuals to fill the workforce needs of tomorrow. Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC), in north-central Oregon, has been ahead of the curve in stabilizing the fragile economy for the last decade. As the only postsecondary institution in a service area of 10,000 miles, CGCC make...
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November
2012
When the doors opened to the Phoenix College Hannelly One-Stop Enrollment Center on January 3, 2012, a new era of student services at the flagship institution of the Maricopa Community Colleges was launched.
With 74 employees on hand to help staff the center, enrolling students were the first to experience the school's new strategies and processes for handling all aspects of enrollment services. Whether their issues involved Admissions & Records, Financial Aid, Advisement, the Cashier's Office, Recruitment & Retention, or Veterans Services, they were able to get their enrollment needs...