Community

I loved this post from Kamran Swanson, one of our faculty members. One of the guiding principles during our Reinvention research is that students who feel more connected to faculty and the College are more likely to stay and complete.

I joke to people who ask me how may students we have at Harold Washington College that the reports I read tell me have 8,500 students, but I keep seeing the same 100 students over and over again. We have groups of students who do an outstanding job of finding or creating a community at our school. We need to find more opportunities for all members of our community to feel connected to our school and each other. 

I like Kamran's ideas about creating a space where we can come together.  Given the Mayor's guidelines, we won't be spending college money on the coffee, cups, or other textiles, but I commit to figuring out a way to bring us together in community to share.

I'd like to ask Kamran to take the lead on this and come back to me with some ideas based on what people are telling him. My job is then to figure out how to fund it and make it happen.

Tropical Storm Don

I am still getting used to living a more public life after years of relative anonymity toiling in the private sector. Even so, I never expected this kind of coverage:

"DON CONTINUES TO HAVE A SHEARED APPEARANCE 

ON SATELLITE IMAGES WITH THE LOW-LEVEL CENTER 

DISPLACED NEAR THE NORTHERN EDGE OF AN 

ELONGATED AREA OF STRONG CONVECTION."

You may read more here: 

NOAA COVERAGE

A Good Day

I just made the first of many calls offering an outstanding person the opportunity to join the wonderful faculty at Harold Washington College. It is a privilege and joy.

Powers

Several semis and trailers are parked in front of the College this morning. Some investigative sleuthing on the part of your ever-vigilant president uncovered this scoop.

Film crews are in place to shoot scenes for a new FX television series called "Powers" starring Jason Patric of "The Losers" and "In the Valley of Elah." Patric will play a homicide detective who only investigates cases involving people with superpowers, according to EW.com. One of the crew assured me that the show will have lots of "sex and violence." Let's hope it doesn't all take place in front of the school.

Career Education

I experienced a moment of deja vu when reading this article from last Sunday's New York Times discussing the threat to Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. This quote, in particular, prompted the feeling: "Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that 'at a time when local, state and federal governments are all facing tremendous budget pressure' advocates for vocationally oriented education 'must make a compelling case for continued funding.'” 

During the summer of 2008, when I was working as the oldest intern in CPS history, I had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Duncan and present my strategy for upgrading the quality of CTE programs at Chicago Public Schools. The strongest research has been MDRC's extensive efforts to evaluate career and vocational-oriented programs, or Career Academies. In an extensive evaluation of students in career academies compared to control groups, they found that students in career academies had higher earnings than the control group. Admittedly, most of the benefits accrued to the males (and less so to females), but the results were significant (in an econometric sense). Extensive research into what works in other countries also points to the value of career-oriented programs.

Based on that research,  Mr. Duncan approved the hiring of Aarti Dhupelia to develop an in-depth strategy for what she called "College and Career Academies." Under her phenomenal leadership, she convinced Mr. Duncan to invest sizable funds in upgrading the quality and capabilities of the College and Career Academies at CPS, an initative that continues today under Aarti's able stewardship.

I was nonplussed, then, to read of his recent call for more and better research. If it was good enough for CPS, surely it is good enough for the nation. In addition, President Obama's call for more college graduates to meet the needs of employers who require more skilled workers will require extensive investments in and improvement of career education. 

I was heartened, then, to do a little more research to see that the quote, in my opinion, was taken out of context. When I read the original speech, I saw that Mr. Duncan is calling for a re-imagining of CTE. When you read the speech, you can clearly see the positive view he has on the potential for CTE, in alignment with Aarti's strategy as presented to him a little more than two years ago. And further, it seems like a great opportunity for CCC to use Reinvention as a way to re-imagine what we ought to be doing for students.

Assessment

The Chronicle has a worthwhile read on assessment today. The article, "Learning Assessment at Community Colleges Is Growing but Fragile, Report Says," states that only 35% of community college teachers report using assessments to improve teaching. One of the barriers is lack of time. In our operating plan this year, we have planned for release time for faculty members to engage in and evaluate active learning strategies. We have also planned for increased time with adjuncts to help them evaluate their effectiveness.

Later in the article, the ten learning outcomes from Miami-Dade College are referenced. I list them here because I like their concise, clear explanation of what is expected of students.

1. Communicate effectively using listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills.
2. Use quantitative analytical skills to evaluate and process numerical data.
3. Solve problems using critical and creative thinking and scientific reasoning.
4. Formulate strategies to locate, evaluate, and apply information.
5. Demonstrate knowledge of diverse cultures, including global and historical perspectives.
6. Create strategies that can be used to fulfill personal, civic, and social responsibilities.
7. Demonstrate knowledge of ethical thinking and its application to issues in society.
8. Use computer and emerging technologies effectively.
9. Demonstrate an appreciation for aesthetics and creative activities.
10. Describe how natural systems function and recognize the impact of humans on the environment.

 Elsewhere on their site you can find each outcome defined in terms of proficiency.

I look forward to learning about what we are doing at Harold Washington College to measure student success from our Assessment Committee this fall and figuring out what resources we need to support those efforts.