NCC Administrators Present Best Practices at National Congress
A team of Nash Community College administrators recently outlined best practices at the 45th Annual Association of Community College Trustees Leadership Congress in Chicago, Illinois. The title of the program, presented by NCC Board Chair Sam Dickens, NCC President Dr. Bill Carver, NCC Business Technologies Department Chair Dr. Amy Harrell and NCC Humanities and Social Sciences Department Chair Lisa Cooper, was “Transforming a College Culture Through the First Year Experience.” The audience consisted of board members and senior college administration from community colleges nationwide.
During the presentation, the group shared with peers NCC’s process of selecting the student “First Year Experience” as the topic for the college’s Quality Enhancement Plan. The Quality Enhancement Plan is a five-year plan designed to improve student learning accross the curriculum. The plan is focused, has specific goals, is supported by college resources, includes evaluation measures and is supported throughout the campus community. The Quality Enhancement Plan was a part of the college’s reaffirmation of accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
At the conference, NCC administrators focused on the implementation of NCC’s first year seminar course, and provided statistics on the skills that students have acquired in that course since implementation. An overview of the many other changes that have also transformed NCC’s campus, was delivered, including the reorganization of fundamental studies, FOCUS week, First-day FOCUS, high school onsite admissions, clinical outreach counseling available to all students, and the campus-wide annual read, “Nash Reads.” Each of these initiatives supports students, their learning and successful outcomes.
Incorporated into the presentation were videos featuring students, faculty, staff, and administrators telling about their experiences at Nash Community College. The presenters challenged attendees to think about the first year experience on their campuses and to brainstorm on ways they might improve services offered at their own institutions.
