TCCTA Blog

President Hails Community Colleges, Announces Summit

At Northern Virginia Community College, during a bill signing ceremony on Tuesday, the president announced that Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joseph Biden, and an English instructor at the college, will lead a summit on community colleges at the White House this fall. President Obama called these schools "one of the great undervalued assets in our education system," adding, "We need to invest in our community colleges, we need to invest in the future of this country."

The president had proposed a $12-billion plan to improve and expand two-year institutions. However, according to media reports, the student loan bill signed Tuesday provides only a portion of the funds he had sought. The new legislation, which was part of the health care reconciliation bill, ends the bank-based lending system for student loans. Under the law, loans will now come from the Department of Education directly. 

The measure does provide $2 billion for job training at community colleges. A version of the bill that passed the House of Representatives in September "had contained $10-billion for the institutions and would have financed a broader array of programs, including the colleges' efforts to meet the president's 2020 graduation goal," according to the Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription).

Ms. Biden appears in a video provided by the White House, explaining the new law. The presentation is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/03/30/higher-education. 

Retention Benchmarks Emphasize Early Engagement

Kilgore College is among the nation's two-year schools profiled in a new report based on the Survey of Entering Student Engagement, or SENSE, which is administered by the Center for Community College Student Engagement. The survey was given to more than 50,000 new students at 120 community colleges last fall to assess early impressions of institutional practices and student behaviors.

The report is titled "Benchmarking and Benchmarks: Effective Practice With Entering Students," and offers six benchmarks for colleges that are trying to improve students' habits during the critical first weeks of the semester.

Not surprisingly, some of the benchmarks deal with college readiness and expectations. But there is also a clear preference for early intervention and personal engagement by college staffers and faculty. Students apparently profit greatly from a social support network. Otherwise they tend to get "lost." This is especially the case with first-generation students who don't know the ropes of campus life. Interestingly, it appears that online orientation is less successful than face-to-face contact.

Here's what the report said about Kilgore College: 

Kilgore College (TX) began redesigning student orientation after reviewing unenthusiastic student evaluations. Then, SENSE data revealed that fewer than 30% of entering students believed any staff member other than their instructors knew their names. Armed with these data and with strategies developed at the Entering Student Success Institute, the college abandoned plans to introduce online orientation and instead adopted a high-touch orientation that emphasized interaction with faculty and staff. A staff member who gives each student his or her contact information, along with two current students, conducts orientation in groups of 25. To help students with individualized degree planning, Kilgore doubled the number of faculty advisors available during orientation.

Reading Comprehension Declines When Scrolling

Students have lower reading comprehension when scrolling text online than they do when reading printed material, according to a recent study by Arizona State University and University of Illinois researchers Christopher Sanchez and Jennifer Wiley, published in the journal Human Factors.

The report, "To Scroll or Not to Scroll: Scrolling, Working Memory Capacity, and Comprehending Complex Texts," described how two groups of 20 students each wrote essays after reading passages in printed or scrolled formats. Those reading the scrolled versions had poorer comprehension of the material.

"Quite simply, scrolling means that all information does not fit in a single screen, and information 'overflows' off the screen out of immediate view," the study says.

According to the abstract, "These findings show that the way text is presented can interact with learner abilities to affect learning outcomes." These results "have implications for both educational technology and human interfaces that present information using displays that can vary in size and construction."

Of particular interest is the increasing use of smaller hand-held devices that may make the phenomenon even worse. The authors state that more research is needed to examine the educational implications. If comprehension declines measurably in other studies, it may hold back the movement toward electronic textbooks as a means to control costs. 

The entire study is available online here.

Survival Tips for Mid-Level Administrators

Knowing how to say "no." Knowing the difference between battles and wars. Letting go of grudges. Admitting when you're wrong, and apologizing when appropriate. And, most basically, "It's not about you."

These are just a few tips for mid-level administrators offered by Dean Dad in the "Confessions of a Community College Dean" segment of Inside Higher Ed. The title of the article is "She Gets It"—as in some administrators do and others don't. The brief article is definitely worth reading in its entirety and the author invites comments.

Dean Dad's personal perspective is that of a former faculty member who became a dean at an unnamed community college. As all experienced campus practitioners know, many who make such a switch perform admirably while others crash and burn. Faculty members occasionally assume that good teachers make good administrators, but most admit the jobs are truly different. Also, it's likely that administrators may be skeptical of an experienced or popular faculty member when it comes to making tough decisions, setting budgetary priorities, and looking at the "big picture." There is no magical formula or perfect skill set, and what works on one campus may not work at another. 

Successful administration is an art, and the course work in grad school doesn't begin to provide the training for it. 

If you are intrigued by such topics or are contemplating a switch  from teaching to administration, please set your calendar for TCCTA's forthcoming "Leading from the Middle" Conference, to be held July 18-20, 2010, at the Embassy Suites in Frisco, Texas. Check out the association's Web site frequently for program updates and registration information. 

Getting the Right Start in Developmental Education

Only about 60 percent of students needing developmental education actually enroll in the remedial course to which they were referred, according to a new study posted by the Community College Research Center. The results indicate that more students depart their developmental sequence because they did not enroll in the first or subsequent course than because they failed or withdrew from one. Here's the link. 

The study is called "Referral, Enrollment, and Completion in Developmental Education Sequences in Community Colleges," by Thomas Bailey, Dong Wook Jeong & Sung-Woo Cho, published in the March issue of the Economics of Education Review (subscription).

In a typical scenario, after being assessed, students entering community colleges are referred to one or more levels of developmental education. While the need to assist students with weak academic skills is well known, little research has examined student progression through multiple levels of developmental education and into entry-level college courses, according to the abstract.

This would seem to indicate that the difficulty of the curriculum and college readiness may be less important than the initial process of referral and counseling. It's not that they fail, it's that they don't start properly.

Online Lectures: To Share or Not to Share

More and more professors are choosing to share their class presentations online with anyone who wishes to see and hear them. From an instructional perspective, there are the obvious pedagogical issues: Why should students bother to come to class if they can view it in their pajamas at home? Is the online experience the same as in-person participation? 

Technology now allows students to ask questions and participate live—or at least subsequently in online chat rooms—and many teachers say such experiences are superior to taking notes in a mass lecture.

There are also copyright issues. Who owns the content? Under what circumstances should colleges award credit or charge a fee? 

More than once professors have discovered that they have been recorded surreptitiously by students in class, utilizing the video function of their cell phones. Of course these clips have appeared on YouTube, often displayed out of context to showcase any embarrassing or comical aspects of a presentation. As you might expect, some professors are camera shy.

The latest Campus Computing Survey, which gathers data on classroom technology nationwide, found that 28 percent of colleges have a strategic plan to provide coursecasting equipment, and 35 percent more are working on a plan now, according to a recent article by Jeffrey Young in the Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription). The piece summarizes the various issues associated with online lectures. The discussion gets complicated very quickly. 

Here's an interesting passage from the article: 

And though hundreds of colleges have set up channels on YouTube or reserved sections of Apple's iTunes Store devoted to material from colleges, the majority of the public content on those sites consists of marketing material or sports highlights rather than course lectures.

It's worth noting that the famous aphorism "Information wants to be free" is part of a longer quote from Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Catalog editor who is also a computer pioneer. The other part of what he said, at a conference in 1984, was "Information wants to be expensive because it's so valuable. The right information in the right place just changes your life."

The next few years could be crucial for determining how this balance tips for lecture videos, which can be produced for next to nothing but remain highly valuable in the eyes of professors and administrators.

College Readiness Gap Examined

We've all seen the grim statistics. The majority of community college students need developmental education. Most don't finish the core curriculum or receive any credential in six years. It's a national phenomenon, but Texas lags behind most other states in virtually every indicator of student success. The Closing the Gaps initiative has been notably effective in beefing up enrollments, but students, all too often, don't finish what they start. The reasons are complicated, of course.

Various official reports, hearings, and studies have been passed along here, but it's rare for media outlets to cover the issue of college readiness extensively. A recent exception can be found in a fine article by Holly Hacker in the Dallas Morning News (Sunday, March 21). The piece looks at real students and faculty in the Dallas Community College District, with plenty of statistical as well as anecdotal observations. The basic problem, according to the article, is that young people are graduating from high school with minimal mathematical, reading, and writing skills. Many have passed the TEKS examinations and have taken the college-preparatory courses that are now required by default. Significantly, the piece also points out that many students don't take their classes seriously at first and are shocked to discover their academic deficiencies. 

This information will not come as any surprise to experienced community and technical college faculty members, but it's gratifying to note that the general public is becoming informed as well. 

Ms. Hacker reports that the situation may be improving. For one thing, the recession may have brought students to community colleges who are better prepared. 

Brief excerpts would be posted here normally, but the entire article is worth a careful examination. 

National Policy Affects Two-Year Colleges

Last summer, community college officials applauded a proposed $12 billion federal investment in campuses throughout the country. The money was to come from savings due to changes in federal student loan subsidies. Eight months later, the funding has vanished—the victim of a growing multi-trillion-dollar national debt. However, according to a recent edition of Texas Government Insider (a weekly publication of Strategic Initiatives Inc.), $500 million per year from 2010 to 2014 will be available for career training grant programs.

"This is additional money for an existing program," Rey Garcia, president of the Texas Association of Community Colleges said. Dr. Garcia compared the program to the Skills Development Fund, a Texas job-training program. Most of the revenue is for training or equipment to assist with training, "but none is earmarked for the construction and renovation needs these colleges face as they outgrow existing facilities," the article states.

Although the construction costs community colleges are facing will not get additional funding, Dr. Garcia said, there will be increases in PELL grants. "That's good," he added. "That will help us."

The article also covers a surge in efforts around the state to create more satellite campuses and to enlarge the tax jurisdictions of community college districts. Apparently students and parents are increasingly willing to accept new taxes in order to avoid the out-of-district fees that accompany residence outside the taxing authority of a two-year school.

Below is a key passage: 

Growing numbers of students seeking admission to community colleges is resulting in an increasing number of communities seeking to become part of those colleges' districts. "We are definitely seeking a spike," said Garcia. "Every couple of years, there would be a couple of annexation elections. But now we're seeing more." Garcia said Austin, west Harris County and east Fort Bend County are among the areas most recently seeking to become part of existing community college districts.

There's a reason for that. Would-be students would rather pay in-district tuition costs than out-of-district costs. Garcia said the state average for in-district students is $62 per credit hour and the out-of-district cost is $91 per credit hour. However, he noted many districts are going even higher on their out-of-district costs. Austin Community College, for instance, charges $55 per credit hour for in-district students and $153 per credit hour for students outside the district.

Several communities - Bastrop, Elgin and McDade - are exploring becoming part of the Austin Community College district, said Garcia, with a goal of having a satellite campus in those communities, either in a single campus or in multiple sites to serve the different communities. Communities to the south - San Marcos and others in Hays County - are also being looked at as possible additions to a community college district. "Each of these communities is looking for more direct services at a cheaper price," said Garcia. He added that other community colleges are following ACC's lead in nearly tripling the cost per credit hour for out-of-district students. "Essentially, colleges are asking them (out-of-district students) to make up the difference that property tax payers in the district would have to pay," he said.

To become part of a community college district, entities must first file a petition bearing the names of 5 percent of the registered voters in that area. An election would then be called. If the election issue passes, a tax supporting the community college would be levied the following year. The community college would then be responsible for providing facilities and services in the annexed area.

"There is a burgeoning community college population in a number of parts of the state," said Garcia. "That is resulting in an increasing demand for services. The state's contribution to community colleges has been flat or declining in recent years, so the only place to turn is to non-state revenue sources." And that usually means property taxes or tuition revenue.

That's why community colleges were hopeful the proposed $12 million federal investment would hold up through the congressional appropriations processes. So far, it has not. "It was like being invited to the dance, but then not being asked to dance," said Garcia.

Professors Ban Laptops from Classrooms

If you have ever considered banning electronic devices, including laptops for taking notes, from your classroom, you are in good company. According to an article on the Washington Post by Daniel de Vise, professors have outlawed the machines from classrooms at George Washington University, American University, the College of William and Mary, and the University of Virginia, among many others. 

"Last month, a physics professor at the University of Oklahoma poured liquid nitrogen onto a laptop and then shattered it on the floor, a warning to the digitally distracted," the article reports. "A student—of course—managed to capture the staged theatrics on video and drew a million hits on YouTube."

Interestingly, many schools now require students to have laptops. Some actually provide the devices for entering freshmen. But an increasing number of faculty members, according to the piece, think educational institutions have become what therapists often call "enablers," contributing to an inability to concentrate on the content of class discussion. 

Here's a key passage:

"A generation ago, academia embraced the laptop as the most welcome classroom innovation since the ballpoint pen. But during the past decade, it has evolved into a powerful distraction. Wireless Internet connections tempt students away from note-typing to e-mail, blogs, YouTube videos, sports scores, even online gaming—all the diversions of a home computer beamed into the classroom to compete with the professor for the student's attention."

Oh, and here's the YouTube video of the professor destroying the laptop. Just don't watch it while you are supposed to be doing something else!

The Blog is taking a vacation for Spring Break. See you on the flip side. 

Phi Theta Kappa Leader Addresses General Session

TCCTA members attending the annual convention always look forward to the remarks of the Texas Regional President of Phi Theta Kappa International. It is especially gratifying to see and hear the direct result of our efforts to provide instruction to students, who so often report that their lives were changed positively by community and technical college faculty. 

Below are the remarks of Matt Oates, Tyler Junior College, at the General Session of the annual convention, held in Houston on March 4-6.

Address by Matt Oates, Texas Regional President of Phi Theta Kappa

Hello everyone!  I am going to have to ask you to pardon my nervousness in advance.  Normally it is not a very big deal to speak in front of a group this size but looking out there, I am having some scary flashbacks to my early classroom days.   You might remember that feeling in the pit of your stomach when you  go up before the class to speak while the teacher gives you that stare . . . like they are trying to figure out what your grade is about to be, and it might not be looking too good?    Well, take that feeling and multiply it by a couple of hundred teachers – I’m surrounded here – and you might get a taste of how I am feeling up here!  All I ask is that you wait to tell me my grade until after I finish tonight’s presentation.

            You see, I’m going to tell it like it is tonight.  All of you are really very sneaky people!  We students walk into your classrooms prepared for English, History, Math, and Science; whatever your subject matter is.  You ably teach us your curriculum, but somehow, you also find time to teach us so much more and at the time, we might not even notice your extra effort.  You share with us a life-long love for exploration, for research, for learning.  For instance, take that group project you made us work on…you taught us teamwork; how our actions reflect and affect other’s success.  That presentation where you required us to dress for success and stand in front of the entire class taught us to speak up and defend our ideas and how to conduct that discussion in a professional manner.  Sneaky, sneaky professors!  Your love for the subject you teach has become our love for that subject – before you know it, we are signing up for an advanced class just because you made it sound so interesting!  We students find ourselves reaching further than we ever thought possible.  You manage to calm the fears of a 17 year old freshman who’s never been farther from home than wherever their high school basketball team plays, and for non-traditional students like myself, you – yes all of you – have inspired us to follow a dream that life talked us into forgetting years before.  So, from traditional and non-traditional students alike, let me say THANK YOU for your “sneakiness” on our behalf.  Your hard work has not gone unnoticed.  You can see the results in the faces of every graduating class, every new group of employees, every student who rushes to your office with their acceptance to a senior institution or a scholarship letter that you wrote the recommendation for. 

Some of you know me and have seen me around different events whether it be Phi Theta Kappa or the Texas Junior College Student Government Association, and I definitely recognize some faces out there.  For those I have not met yet feel free to come up and say hello.  I have to say that one of the greatest pleasures of this year in office has been getting to know more of you as fellow scholars and friends as well as professors.  The ideas that change the future and affect all of us are born in each of your classrooms.   Because my educational history is a bit longer than most, I have attended both community colleges and big four-year universities, and I have one message for our legislature – Why?  Why do community colleges, the institutions that serve a more diverse group of students, the campuses that provide the doorway for so many to better paying jobs or higher academics, the faculty that teach servant leadership and promote community service as a way of life, WHY are these highly successful stewards of the funds allocated to them continually given less and less of that infamous funding formula??  It’s a mystery to me, but one I will consider as I pursue my continued education in the legal arena.  You never know, one day in the future you might see me utilizing those public speaking skills and powers of research and persuasion on behalf of community colleges in Texas!

            While I do well in English, I have to say there are no words to express my heartfelt thanks to all of you and the many professors you represent.  I cannot compress all the time and effort individuals in this room have spent on students just like me.  I will say I know I would not be standing here if it were not for people like you.  There are thousands of current, former, and future students who are counting on you to keep on doing what you do.  Take pride in what you do - the students in your classes right now are already thinking new thoughts and getting ready to step into a new life… because of each of you.  So I leave you now with the assurance that we, your students, notice what you do for us.  Thank you for your patience, intelligence, wisdom and mostly for caring enough to be professors in the community college system.   We appreciate you!