Association of Community College Trustees
Episodes
Jan 7, 2020
Jan 7, 2020
21 min
The leadership at Amarillo Colleges in Texas wants nothing more than for its students to succeed. And they knew that in order to empower every student to make the most of their potential, they need to understand every student. But how? The college has operated in its community for 90 years, and the makeup of the community and the needs of students have changed dramatically over time.
In this episode, Amarillo Colleges Regent Jay Barrett and President Russell Lowery-Hart profile the college's most significant student, Maria, and explain how getting to know her has transformed the institution.
Maria is a “the typical student at Amarillo College. She’s...female. She’s first-generation; 71 percent of our students are first generation. She goes to school part time; 60 percent of our students go to class 12 (credit) hours a year. She’s working two part-time jobs. She’s the mother of at least 1.2 kids, and she’s 28 years old," according to Lowery-Hart. She is highly intelligent and tenacious—but she won't reach her potential without higher education. Maria is a composite representative of the typical Amarillo College student, and understanding her needs and motivations has proven to be the key to success for the college.
By empowering Maria as a secret shopper, asking her to write the college values, and redesigning systems around her, completion rates at the college improved from 19 percent to 48 percent over three years.
This episode was recorded live during the 50th Annual ACCT Leadership Congress in San Francisco, California.
Dec 17, 2019
Dec 17, 2019
26 min
On this episode In The Know, ACCT Director of Strategic Communications David Conner and Educational Events Director Christina Simons talked with Dr. Kim Dale, the incoming president at Western Wyoming Community College, and Dr. Karla Leech, the outgoing president. They discuss how they have worked together to avail Dale of Leech's extensive experience and her relationships throughout Wyoming, while handing the college reins to Dale so that she can run the college in her own way. Their mutual respect is evident throughout the conversation, and it sets an example for an ideal presidential transition.
This episode was recorded in August 2019 during the Governance Leadership Institute (GLI) for New Trustees. Check out our events page for more information about the GLI and other events.
Dec 10, 2019
Dec 10, 2019
20 min
On today’s episode, ACCT Associate Writer Jacob Bray spoke with Director of Government Relations Jennifer Stiddard about what's at stake for community colleges in the coming year. In addition to an overview of the 2020 Community College National Legislative Summit, Jennifer discusses the legislative priorities that all community college leaders and advocates should be aware of during the next legislative session. A lot is changing next year with a presidential election, along with house and senate elections. It will be important to make sure your voice is heard in the higher education conversation.
To register for the National Legislative Summit visit NLS.ACCT.org. For more information, you can email Jennifer at jstiddard@acct.org.
Dec 3, 2019
Dec 3, 2019
24 min
For this episode of In The Know, we pulled together a panel of trustees and faculty from across the country to discuss the advantages of open educational resources, commonly referred to as O.E.R. Each of the three institutions represented, Pima Community College, Harper College, and South Florida State College, are at different stages in their adoption of OER, and everyone had valuable knowledge and experience to share.
Towards the end of the episode, our panelists shared a few resources they thought would be helpful. They are linked below.
Nov 26, 2019
Nov 26, 2019
39 min
The United States has a unique, ever-changing culture made up of people who migrate from throughout the rest of the world. Committed to open educational access, diversity and inclusiveness, community colleges have a special and vital role in guaranteeing a high-quality education to everyone in the country. Paying attention to demographic changes today and knowing what to expect tomorrow are imperatives for community college leaders.
In this episode of In the Know with ACCT, Pew Research Center Director of Global Migration and Demography Mark Hugo Lopez addresses the changing demographics of people within the United States.
Topics discussed include:
- What are diversity, equity and inclusion from a research perspective?
- How are these principles embraced today compared with how they were seen decades ago?
- How does the American perception of diversity, equity and inclusion compare with that of other parts of the world?
- How does the political partisanship seen in the media compare with research-based understanding of people's perceptions of diverse cultures within the United States?
- Are diversity and immigration one and the same?
- How do geographic and generational considerations relate to these issues?
- How do perceptions of higher education vary among racial and ethnic groups? What about different generations?
- How could changes to the 2020 Census affect perceptions of diversity and personal identity?
- Will future generations give greater or lesser attention to discrete aspects of diversity and differences?
For more information from Pew Research Center, visit www.pewresearch.org.