October 2008, Volume 2, Number 12

Welcome to Fall 2008! Hook’Em Up is sporting a new format this month. All of your favorite segments are still included but in a slightly different order, with a slightly different feel. NISOD staff members have been busy with our annual membership drive and the final details for our 31st annual International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence. This month we celebrate the one-year anniversary of Dr. Evelyn N. Waiwaiole, who was recently named Suanne Davis Roueche NISOD Director, and Lecturer, Educational Administration, College of Education, at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Waiwaiole’s new appointments reflect wonderfully well on the terrific leadership she has provided to NISOD during the past year, as well as her abilities and achievements which will take us into NISOD’s next 30 years.

Our conference preliminary schedule, frequently asked questions, presentation proposal form, and Excellence Awards submission form are available online. Discover how Louisiana Technical College and PLATO Learning partnered to develop a standardized, online developmental education program, and learn about the STEM Transitions project implemented by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE). Read the most recent Innovation Abstracts and a featured article about Sinclair Community College (OH). Do not forget to join the conversation by blogging about the trend of two-year community colleges offering baccalaureate degrees.

We look forward to receiving your presentation proposals and Excellence Awards submissions! The deadline for both of these submissions is December 1, 2008.

NISOD Excellence Awards 20th Anniversary

Is your college interested in finding a significant way to honor faculty, staff, and administrators who are dedicated to learning and student success? The National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) honors this year’s Excellence Awards recipients at the annual International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence. This year is momentous because it celebrates this year’s Excellence Award recipients, along with each faculty, staff, and administrator who has been honored since 1989—more than 15,000 Excellence Awards recipients. There are many new features on the NISOD Excellence Awards webpages, including photos during last year’s conference; PowerPoint slides containing photos and quotes from the 2008 Excellence Awards recipients; past Excellence Awards Booklets; and past Excellence Awards videos. Join the many other colleges that want to ensure that their faculty receive recognition at this extraordinary event, and make submissions for your college by the December 1, 2008, deadline. (If you do not know your username and password for submitting names, please contact Sheryl Powell.)

Second Webinar Series on Developmental Education

NISOD’s hit Webinar Series presented the second in a series of panel discussions on October 21, 2008. Adobe partnered with NISOD to deliver an interactive panel discussion with professional experts in the field of Student Success and Developmental Education. Participants experienced a spirited exploration of emerging challenges and opportunities in developmental education. Our panelists drew from a rich collective history of faculty, administrators, and national policy advocates. A discussion of national trends set the stage for stories “from the trenches,” in which our panelists illuminated promising practices discovered through years of experience as leaders in classroom and college environments. Panelists included:

• Dr. Byron McClenney, Director of Achieving the Dream
• Dr. Rosemary Karr, President of the National Association for Developmental Education, named 2007 Community College Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education
• Marilyn Massey, Developmental Faculty member from Collin County Community College (TX).
  

The archived version of this webinar will be available to NISOD members by October 27.

If your college is not a NISOD-member and you want cutting-edge resources like NISOD’s Webinar Series and beyond, join NISOD now!

Sinclair Launches New Chair Academy

Sinclair Community College (OH) is pleased to announce the establishment of its New Chair Academy, a series of monthly workshops designed to provide professional development for newly appointed chairs on the essential leadership and management skills associated with being a successful department chair at the college, beginning fall 2008. 

Recognizing the critical importance of the chair role, all newly appointed chairs are required to attend these three-hour monthly workshops which will be facilitated by deans, the provost, and experienced chairs. The curriculum is designed around six major areas: 

Leadership: Taking Your Department to the Next Level

• Understanding the role of the academic department chair in higher education
• Developing a collective vision for your department’s future and a shared mission
• Leading faculty: Is it really like herding cats?
• Fulfilling the college’s mission: Connecting your department to the community
• Using Advisory Committees to support and advance your department

Personnel: Your Most Important Resource

• Hiring full and adjunct faculty
• Managing and supervising faculty and staff
• Encouraging and supporting professional development
• Mentoring to help “newbie’s” get off to a good start
• Using evaluation to develop your faculty and staff

Program Management: Suggestions from Experienced Chairs

• Scheduling classes: Juggling students, space, and other considerations
• Budget: How to match the department’s resources to its goals
• Payload do’s and don’ts

Curriculum: Foundation of Your Students’ Learning

• Using assessment to enhance quality
• The fundamental importance of general education
• Program review: Documenting current and future positions of your department
• Helping more students get more education through tech prep and transfer
• Using the Curriculum Management Tool to develop your curriculum

Technical Support:  Using Data to Guide Your Decisions

• Colleague
• DAWN portal

In addition to the above curriculum areas, discussions will be supplemented by readings in The Academic Chair’s Handbook (Second Edition), by Daniel W. Wheeler, Alan T. Seagren, Linda W. Becker, Edward R. Kinley, Dara D. Mlinek, and Kenneth J. Robson.  The final session will include a panel composed of “seasoned” chairs on the topic: “If I Had Only Known…Lessons Along the Way.” 

For more information, contact Tom Huguley.

Developmental Education Program at Louisiana Technical College Leads to Continued Success

Louisiana Technical College (LTC) is a 38-campus institution with more than 15,000 students statewide. In December 2003, the college chose PLATO Learning, a brand-new NISOD Sterling partner, to develop a standardized, online developmental education program. With access to more than 1,100 online PLATO® instructional content licenses—for statewide student use as the primary instruction for developmental English, reading, and math courses—PLATO Learning became the core of LTC’s developmental education program. With a successful program solidly in place, LTC looked to continue adding efficiencies to its developmental education program and to expand the program to include assessment, GED-preparation, and additional mathematics tools.

Implementing online courses from PLATO Learning in 2003 improved and standardized the developmental education curriculum across LTC’s 38 campuses. Yet, program administrators considered necessary enhancements to continue improving the developmental education program for both students and faculty—assessment was at the top of its list of desired enhancements. The developmental education program’s process to create, grade, and evaluate student success trends in course exams was not as efficient as LTC desired. Administrators and faculty were spending too much time on testing without tracking key student data, and instructors lacked the ability to identify students’ learning gaps. Student performance trends demonstrated that many students, allied health students in particular, did not persist through their chosen area of study. “Multiple versions of mid-term and final exams have to be created to support the corresponding objectives and curriculum for each developmental and pre-Allied Health course,” said Jerry Johnson, senior PLATO Learning project manager at Louisiana Technical College. “LTC needed an engaging, cutting-edge solution to enhance test-building and administration. We needed a new method to keep our students’ interest, while decreasing attrition rates and improving overall results for our program,” said Laurie Fontenot, statewide coordinator for practical nursing and allied health for the Louisiana Community and Technical College System.

Because of the long-standing history of demonstrated success with PLATO Learning, discussions about leveraging the company’s assessment solution—PLATO® eduTest Assessment—as a “test engine” and assessment solution along with the online courses being used in the developmental education program began to crystallize. PLATO eduTest Assessment’s data-tracking and time-saving capabilities stood out as must-have benefits to a successful implementation at LTC. “The PLATO eduTest solution provides LTC faculty with a large bank of test questions from which to create and customize course tests based on their own specific instructional needs,” Jerry Johnson said. “Furthermore, PLATO eduTest tracks and reports on an array of student, class, campus, and state assessment data. Before implementing PLATO eduTest, instructors were limited in their ability efficiently track student performance or identify individual students’ areas of weakness to focus instruction.”

In its first semester of use, the college implemented 49 key assessments through PLATO eduTest, including 33 developmental education mid-term and final exams, 12 pre-allied health mid-term and final exams, and four pre-allied health placement tests. Designed to support LTC adult education programs, select LTC regions also implemented the PLATO® Simulated GED Test Package to assist local residents, businesses, and organizations by helping individuals obtain their GED.

“It is truly remarkable how PLATO Learning has helped elevate our performance and capabilities,” said Jimmy Sawtelle, vice president of career and technical education for the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. “The PLATO eduTest implementation alone has increased our test security measures, created a better means of remediation, and enhanced our data records within the developmental education and pre-allied health programs. We can now track data across classes, subject areas, regions, and across all of our 38 campuses.”

Since implementing PLATO eduTest, student pass rates have increased dramatically. Specifically, developmental education pass rates have increased 22 percent, and allied health reports an increase of seven percent.

For more information, contact 800.44.PLATO to learn more about PLATO® online learning solutions.

Download Louisiana Technical College’s complete story.

STEM Transitions: Enhancing Mathematics and Science Rigor through Evidence-Based Curriculum Projects

The Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) with the United States Department of Education implemented the STEM Transitions project to assist states in linking academic, career, and technical education at the postsecondary level. OVAE awarded a grant to the League for Innovation in the Community College (League) and the Center for Occupational Research and Development (CORD) to develop instructional materials and curricula for community college faculty that integrate academic and technical mathematics and science skills in six career clusters: 

1. Health Science
2. Information Technology
3. Manufacturing
4. Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics
5. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
6. Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources

The League and CORD are using an innovative, online collaboration technology to engage community college faculty and industry representatives across the nation in constructing 62 integrated curriculum projects. The projects will include rubrics for assessment, research-based teaching strategies, and authentic tasks that encourage students to apply academic and technical skills to solve real-world problems.

Revisions to the project will be made upon conclusion of the review phase, and final versions will be re-posted to the project website in November and December.

The project can be accessed from the homepage of the website by clicking on the “Integrated Projects” tab.

Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count Co-sponsors Developmental Education Institute

Achieving the Dream co-sponsored the Developmental Education Institute: The Future of Developmental Education in Texas Community Colleges, with the Texas Association of Community Colleges, on Monday, September 29, 2008.  The event was convened by the Community Colleges Bridges to Opportunity Initiative, a five-year effort, funded in six states by The Ford Foundation. The focus of this institute was on the Bridge’s Developmental Education Toolkit, designed for participants to consider future policy options and implications relevant to developmental education in Texas.

Approximately 150 participants attended, representing the Texas Senate, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and public and higher education institutions throughout the state of Texas to discuss critical issues in, and contribute thoughts on, strategic priorities relevant to developmental education. Dr. Byron McClenney, Project Director for Achieving the Dream, with the Community College Leadership Program, and Dr. Kay McClenney, Director of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), served as consultants for the Bridges Project Initiative, as well as facilitators at the institute. Other institute facilitators included Dr. Margaretta Brédé Mathis, Achieving the Dream Associate Director; Dr. Evelyn Waiwaiole, Suanne Davis Roueche NISOD Director; and Mr. Michael Collins, Program Director, Jobs for the Future (JFF) Youth Transitions Cluster.

Achieving the Dream’s primary goal is to enhance institutional capacity to increase student success and eliminate achievement gaps. The data tell us that students entering college through developmental education are at much higher risk of leaving college without obtaining a certificate or degree than students who are better prepared. The Developmental Education Institute provided a forum for attendees to discuss policy conditions to reduce the number of students entering college underprepared and increase the success of underprepared students who enroll in Texas higher education institutions. Achieving the Dream plans to continue co-sponsoring learning events that address critical issues and explore promising strategies to improve student success outcomes. The next learning event, the 2009 Board of Trustees Institute, is scheduled for March 26-28, 2009, for invited CEOs and Board members of Achieving the Dream colleges located in Texas.

For more information, contact:
Dr. Byron McClenney
Director, Achieving the Dream
Community College Leadership Program
The University of Texas at Austin

Each month, NISOD brings you conversations with educational leaders from across the globe, exploring urgent topics, innovative solutions, and success stories from NISOD members and partners. These short conversations are a great way to explore expert opinions on diverse topics from the comfort of any Internet-ready computer. No special software is needed—just click the link below.

This month, NISOD Director, Dr. Evelyn N. Waiwaiole, speaks with Dr. Pat Stanley, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Colleges, Dr. Gail Schwartz, Senior Advisor, and Mr. Gregory Henschel, Senior Research Analyst, from the Office of Vocational and Adult Education at the United States Department of Education, along with Mr. Benjamin Kushner, Workforce Analyst, from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. Learn about the upcoming release of "Pathways to Careers."

Listen to the podcast.

NISODcast is password-protected for NISOD members only. For access, email Sheryl Powell.

The Community College Leadership Program (CCLP) at The University of Texas at Austin has awarded more than 600 doctorates since the program began in 1944. This program is internationally known for producing more community college presidents and leaders than any other leadership program in the world. Each year cohorts (also known as Blocks) are students with varying experiences and diverse professional backgrounds. CCLP students are exposed to a learning environment that incorporates practical leadership theories, fostered in an atmosphere of collaboration in pursuit of excellence in learning and best practices in leadership. Professors John E. Roueche, Walter G. Bumphus, and William F. Lasher provide a vast amount of theory and over a century of experience in successful community college leadership.

At the onset of each fall semester, the Block takes on the tasks of developing a master plan, detailing the educational, financial, and ethical practices of the Block for the upcoming year. In this unprecedented political climate, Block 64 has chosen to be a campaign for the advancement of the community college arena. This election year of 2008 will be recorded as the year that the United States elected its first African American president or the first female Vice President. With the comprehensive diversity of Block 64, its members decided to embrace the campaign metaphor. The block has five African Americans, three Hispanic Americans, and one Kenyan national. Similar to the upcoming election, Block 64 is making history and anticipating future trends brought on by a global economy.

“Campaign 64:  Creating Change, Leading with Promise”

Block 64’s master plan includes a preamble that was signed by each member of the block, as well as descriptions of duties for each student within the block. Titles include Field Directors, Event Coordinators, and even a Director of Culture. The plan also includes diagnostic observations of community colleges and conferences that will enhance the block’s educational experiences. 

At the end of September, the master plan was presented to the mentors, professors, and members of previous “Blocks.” During the presentation, Block 64 transformed a boardroom into a campaign war room, and Campaign 64 was born. Campaign music, balloons, and signs were utilized to make “Campaign 64” official. Block 64’s master plan accurately depicts the composition of its members who are truly CCLP: “Creating Change Leading with Promise.”

“The Story of Popo’s Salsa”

In the story of Popo’s Salsa, there are two men, two generations, and one connection. The two men are Amado Peña, Sr. (nicknamed Popo) and his son, Amado Peña, Jr., the noted artist who is also an adjunct faculty member with the Community College Leadership Program. Popo passed away in 2001, but he left behind a wonderful recipe for South Texas salsa that he learned during his childhood from his uncles. Over many years of Peña family gatherings, it became known as Popo’s Salsa.

Popo’s son had the chance to make his dad’s salsa available to the public, and Amado and his sister agreed to share with all of us. The best part of the story is that the net proceeds go to charity. When you order the salsa, $5.00/order will go to support the two CCLP/NISOD endowments that bear the names of father and son.

With the holidays soon upon us, the gift box of four 16-ounce jars (Original Hot, Original Mild, Raspberry Chipotle, and Black Bean), plus a limited edition Peña print, would make a great gift for colleagues, friends, and family. To order, please visit the website. The cost is $29.95 + shipping. Enjoy a bit of traditional Texas salsa, knowing that a portion of the purchase price supports future NISOD conferences and CCLP students yet to enroll.

Most Recent Issues of Innovation Abstracts

Innovation Abstracts, NISOD's flagship teaching strategies publication, disseminates practitioner-written descriptions of successful teaching and learning practices and strategies, programs and initiatives each week of the academic year. The most recent issues include:

The fully searchable online archives contain all articles published over the past 30 years. Innovation Abstracts is password-protected for NISOD members only. Members who do not have a password can complete a password request form.

Publish Your Good Ideas in Innovation Abstracts

Are you an administrator or instructor who has successful practices, innovations, programs, or initiatives that work for you, your college, and your students? Consider sharing them with NISOD readers in an upcoming Innovation Abstracts. Find out how!

NISOD’s 31st Annual International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence
Join us Memorial Day weekend, May 24-27, 2009, as NISOD celebrates its 31st annual International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence at the Austin Convention Center.

Call for Presentations!

Inspire other NISOD members with your great ideas and discoveries by participating as a presenter in one of our 350+ innovative breakout and roundtable sessions at this year’s conference. The program strands are:

• Teaching and Learning
• Developing Faculty
• Student Success
• Culture of Evidence
• Education Technology
• Diversity
• Economic and Workforce Development
• Leadership and Organizational Development

To assist you with developing a presentation proposal that will be selected by the conference committee, review our Presenter Tips. The deadline to submit a proposal is December 1, 2008.

Preliminary Conference Schedule

Take a look at the preliminary conference schedule to begin planning your conference experience now. Enjoy the traditions that make the NISOD conference unique. Dust off your dancing shoes, and brush up on your moves with dance lessons and a Southwestern-style buffet on Monday evening at the Hilton Austin Hotel, just across the street from the Austin Convention Center. Attend the inspiring, informative, and engaging general sessions. Meet, greet, and have your books signed by prominent authors at the NISOD Store. Make important contacts, and enjoy the camaraderie as you discover leading edge products and services in the Exhibit Hall.

Will this be your first NISOD conference? Visit the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section on our website for answers to common questions about our conference.

Conference Archives

Are you new to NISOD’s conference, or would you like to relive a keynote address, special session, or featured session from NISOD’s 2007 or 2008 Conference? Check out our Conference Archives for highlights from NISOD’s 29th and 30th annual International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence, including videos and conference programs. You will not want to miss these memorable sessions!

Registration

Take advantage of our early-bird conference registration discount. Early-bird conference registration will open in January, 2009, and continue through April 30, 2009. Please check the website for updates and further information! To have brochures and conference updates sent to your email box, join our conference mailing list.

A hot topic among our bloggers this month is “the trend of two-year community colleges turning into four-year colleges.” Join the discussion, and offer your own opinions, stories, and observations! Read more.

Coral M. Noonan-Terry, Editor-in-Chief
Hook’Em Up is published monthly by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), Department of Educational Administration, College of Education, 1 University Station, D5600, Austin, Texas 78712-0378, (512) 471-7545.

© The University of Texas at Austin, 2008, All rights reserved.