Kick-off for Benchmark Fridays

The Center for Community College Student Engagement has become a hub for the national student success movement. The Center serves more than 730 community colleges and has surveyed more than 1 million students. The Center is known nationally for its work and research and has received attention from media such as USA Today and The Chronicle of Higher Education. USA Today dedicated a new website featuring CCSSE data to communicate the importance of student engagement and to illustrate how community and technical colleges are addressing the learning needs of their students. The Center has also received support from researchers such as Dr. Vincent Tinto, Distinguished University Professor at Syracuse University. Dr. Tinto, a CCSSE National Advisory Board member, has written extensively on the topic of student success.

Dr. Kay McClenney, Director of the Center for Community College Student Engagement, will speak to us on Friday, September 11 at 8:30 a.m. in the Baxter M. Hood Center. You may recall Dr. McClenney’s segments in the Discounted Dreams video that we watched during our spring 2008 “What We Believe” sessions. One of her most notable comments refers to the truth that many of the reasons for student failures are due to their complicated lives. She states that “The problem is – community college people have all too often hidden behind that truth. With that truth as our shield, we have been able to defend ourselves against this massive reality that we simply don’t get enough of our students through to successful outcomes.”

The purpose of us gathering on September 11 from every area of our college – faculty, staff, Commission, Foundation – is to recognize the national significance of the journey we are on and that what we are attempting to accomplish in Maximizing Student Success is critical and doable.

I strongly encourage everyone to attend. The meeting will begin promptly at 8:30 a.m.

The dates and topics for future benchmark Fridays include:
· September 25: Active and Collaborative Learning
· October 9: Student Effort
· October 23: Student and Faculty Interaction
· November 6: Support for Learners
· November 20: Academic Challenge