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Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) publishes learning outcomes for each course offered. Reading department course outcomes include identifying and applying practical and efficient comprehension strategies for college-level texts. These outcomes are essential for academic success at the postsecondary level. Collaborative efforts between the Student Success Librarian and Reading coordinator and faculty began in 2018. In 2019, faculty in the Reading and Library departments developed a final course assignment intended to assess student learning for each course outcome.
The Assignment:...
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In July 2022, Rogue Community College’s (RCC) new President, Dr. Randy Weber, energized the college with an initiative to stabilize enrollment. This was identified as the first of five institutional priorities. Leveraging his expertise in strategic enrollment management (SEM), Weber, in collaboration with the newly appointed Dean of Enrollment Management, spearheaded a strategic shift. This transition moved the college from a narrow focus on recruitment and new students to a more comprehensive approach, embedding American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers SEM...
Moraine Valley Community College is committed to providing students with the resources they need to be successful. Understanding that students cannot accomplish their educational goals if they face challenges in meeting their basic needs, the college developed the Project Care initiative, which offers an array of wraparound services and resources to help them meet those needs, ultimately allowing them to better focus on their education.
According to Teresa Hannon, a counselor at the college’s Counseling and Career Development Center (CCDC), the initial focus of Project Care was the campus...
The Seattle Promise Initiative, a pioneering program launched by the City of Seattle, aims to ensure that all public high school graduates in Seattle have access to higher education without the financial burden of tuition. An innovative component of this initiative is the Path to UW program, a collaboration between the Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning, Seattle Colleges, and University of Washington (UW). The program provides targeted support to Seattle Promise students as they transfer from community colleges to one of the most competitive universities in the nation....
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In fall 2024, Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) began offering its first bachelor’s degree: a Bachelor of Applied Science in integrated digital manufacturing (IDM) engineering technology. To understand why Tri-C developed a four-year IDM degree, we need to look at some historic and recent economic data about Northeast Ohio.
Ohio has held a notable position in the manufacturing sector, typically ranked number three in the U.S. with over 14,000 manufacturing companies (IndustrySelect, 2024). More importantly, Northeast Ohio is a crucial player within the state, with over 6,000 manufacturers in...
The rapid growth of competitive eSports over the past 10 years has led to its emergence as a cocurricular program on hundreds of college campuses. Projected to grow to over a two billion dollar industry by the end of 2024 and forecasted to be a nine billion dollar industry by 2032 (Fortune Business Insights, 2024), there is a growing need on college campuses not only to provide opportunities for student engagement via competitive eSports programs but also to develop new and creative degree programs to support this growing industry. This article explores the development of the eSports program...
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In a new spin on the challenge of meeting students where they are, Santa Fe College is serving one student a time, at scale. The SF Achieve initiative offers a unique take on a Promise Program by providing not just financial help, but direct college coaching and mentoring to students in their high schools. College specialists, embedded at local schools everyday throughout the school year, meet with students regularly, get to know them, and help them understand how a college education can serve as a launching pad for their goals and dreams. SF Achieve is literally meeting students where they...
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When St. Louis resident Bobbie Simmons enrolled at St. Louis Community College (STLCC) to study medical coding, it seemed like she was finally on the path to a rewarding career in a high-demand field. Then a serious health issue set her back, threatening her ability to maintain a dependable source of income for rent. “It was hard focusing on my schoolwork when I didn’t know if I’d have a roof over my head,” said Simmons. Her story is not unique; many students at STLCC face similar challenges.
Thanks to a new STLCC program, students like Simmons, who face housing insecurity, now have a...
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When I was young, I used to look up at the night sky and dream. I lived in Atlanta, a location filled with light pollution, so it was rare that I saw more than a few weak pinpoints of light scattered around the moon. Still, I pondered. Where did the stars come from? Did everyone see the same sky? How did the moon change shape?
Since the dawn of humanity, people just like me have looked up to the sky and wondered. Cultures across the globe have developed mythologies about the cosmos, from stories of the creation of the sun and moon to depictions of constellations. Egyptians built the pyramids...
Incoming first-year students at Moraine Valley Community College who are interested in pursuing a degree in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) have an opportunity to participate in the Greer Scholars Program, which seeks to diversify STEM careers by funding and supporting students who are underrepresented in these fields.
The Greer Foundation, which champions organizations committed to helping people improve their lives, chose Moraine Valley as the first Chicago-area community college grantee to support a cohort of students as Greer Scholars. The foundation has been...
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Chandler-Gilbert Community College’s (CGCC) Title V and Enrollment Services teams offered a career exploration curriculum for ICAN youth in summer 2024. ICAN is a free, local program that provides K-12 students in Phoenix, Arizona’s East Valley with programs for educational development.
The relationship between CGCC and ICAN began in fall 2023 when the college was invited to participate in a parent information event hosted by a local school district. During this event, parents raised numerous questions about attending college, including affordability, accessibility, and admissions criteria....
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The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OMHAS) found a 353 percent increase in demand for behavioral health treatment between 2013 and 2019 (Hernandez & Lampl, 2021). Additionally, 2.4 million Ohioans live in communities that lack adequate behavioral health professionals (Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addition Services, 2023). In response to this crisis, a collaboration was formed between OMHAS and the Ohio Departments of Higher Education and Medicaid. The mission of the resulting Ohio Wellness Workforce Great Minds Fellowship is to increase the number of...
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In November 2021, 16 unemployed or underemployed individuals began their journey toward bettering their lives and those of their families by becoming the first cohort to participate in Santa Fe College’s (SF) new Achieve, Conquer, Believe and Excel (ACB Excel) program. ACB Excel’s mission is to empower members of the SF community who want to break the cycle of poverty, but need the financial and emotional support to do so. The concept for this program stemmed from conversations that the college’s president, Dr. Paul Broadie II, had with community leaders regarding local economic needs and...
Student access and success are foundational to the community college mission. The learning paradigm proposed by Barr and Tagg (1995) initiated the student success movement, which paved the way for the completion agenda in the 2000s. However, only approximately 26 percent of community college students transfer to a four-year institution (Sansing-Helton et al., 2021). The situation is even bleaker when we evaluate the STEM fields. According to the Community College Research Center (2022), low-income community college students are less likely to transfer to a STEM field, and only 14 percent of...
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Jackson College has been committed to providing excellent education and support to its students for over 95 years. In today's fast-paced world, college students' requirements and needs are evolving. To address these needs, Jackson College has initiated a pilot program called Harriet's Hub, which serves as a one-stop student resource center.
The name hearkens back to the college’s heritage, remembering a former faculty member, Harriet Myer, who helped college students by establishing a student assistance fund. With two rooms of dedicated space in the college’s library, the hub provides...
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Embracing neurodiversity in educational environments entails challenging traditional perspectives on cognitive differences. The term neurodiversity acknowledges the inherent variation in neurological functioning, emphasizing that diverse cognitive profiles contribute to the richness of the human experience. It encompasses conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, dyspraxia/developmental coordination disorder, Tourette syndrome, sensory processing disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and social pragmatic communication disorder,...
With a focus on accessibility, diversity, and job-relevant education, community colleges are well-positioned to address the evolving needs of students and the workforce. Within the broader field of higher education, community colleges can serve as laboratories for experimentation in pedagogy and curriculum while providing affordable and high-quality education (Hadzi-Antich, 2023).
Recognizing the crucial role of quality and innovative teaching, Johnson County Community College (JCCC) used its strategic plan to leverage student learning to the forefront of institutional initiatives. Goal 1,...
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Mesa Community College (MCC) introduced the new Associate in Arts, Emphasis in Anthropology, in fall 2023. This is the fourth Z Degree offered by the college that is entirely online and uses open educational resources (OER), saving students time and money. Chief Online Education Officer Laura Ballard said anthropology was selected for Z Degree learning because,
The department was already offering zero-textbook-cost courses, incorporating openly licensed content, library materials, and instructor-developed content. This allowed us to focus on design and copyright when building out the degree...
Malcom X (n.d.) once said that “education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today” (para. 2). In the age of information, research has become a key part of that passport to the future. Today, Americans exist in an information-rich world where they often feel overwhelmed. The Pew Research Center found that 35 percent of American adults are interested in improving their research abilities, but express concern about their skills to do so on their own (Horrigan, 2017). The same study showed 49 percent of Americans to be doubtful or wary of their...
Career development programs provide students with valuable skills required in today's job market. Technical proficiency alone is no longer sufficient; employers now prioritize strong interpersonal skills, effective communication, collaboration, and meaningful connections. In response to these demands, Miles Community College (MCC) introduced the Opportunity Realized Program in fall 2022, targeting high school students across eastern Montana. This program equips students with critical social and emotional competencies, bridging the gap between their aspirations and employer expectations and...
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