Debt. Poverty. Then What?

At a recent Rotary presentation we heard from the Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) talking about debt. For me, the presentation was one of those moments where something of which I've been generally aware was suddenly magnified. Periodically, we see news reports about the mind-numbing level of personal debt in this country. The Utica branch of the CCCS sees it every day. It has about 350 people seeking counsel every month. A while ago, it used to see people walking in with an average debt of $30,000 (mostly credit card) and could help about forty five percent, in terms of getting fees reduced and debt restructured. For the past two years or so, its clients now come in with between $50,000 and $100,000 of debt piled up. CCCS says that these levels are so deep they can only help about twenty percent of the cases reduce and restructure their debt. Bankruptcy cases, on the other hand, represent fifty percent of the CCCS load.

In some cases, people try to hold on to material-based lifestyles long after debt or job loss have transformed personal economies. An increasingly large portion of CCCS's client base finds itself at the other end of this spectrum. Having never seen affluence, they are bottoming out in their own chapter of generational poverty. But much of this landscape is changing. John Zogby, in his book “The Way We’ll Be”, cites survey research that indicates people are increasingly looking to escape many of the trappings of affluence and leave more balanced, meaningful lives. In my opinion, a return to fiscal sanity - both personal and institutional - can't come soon enough.

David Mathis (MVCC Trustee and MVCC Alumnus of Merit) discussed a related view recently, in an O-D guest editorial, about the recent New York State Poverty Report. Federal guidelines define poverty based on household size (e.g., less than $22,050 for a household of four, etc.). Almost fifteen percent of Oneida County residents live in poverty; slightly more than twelve percent cite the high school diploma as their highest level of education; and less than four percent have earned a bachelor’s degree. Twenty percent of households in the cities of Utica and Rome are headed by single parents. In Oneida County, of families in poverty, a majority (56%) are headed by single parents. Almost one of every three Oneida County residents living in poverty is currently employed. Overall, more than 31,000 of the 231,000 people in Oneida County are living in poverty. A quarter of all Oneida County children are poor by definition. When we know generational poverty is a difficult cycle to break and we know one in four children in our community is being raised in poverty, intentional action is needed to secure a better future for our community.

The burdens and barriers faced by so many poor in our community are significant. Apart from the fact that the overwhelming body of research tells us so, we know intuitively that education is the single best way out of poverty. We, at MVCC, can pride ourselves on the rich history of providing access to opportunity. But, I think, access is defined too often by many as "keeping tuition as low as possible." And, frankly, that definition is simply too narrow. The time has come for us to think beyond the "traditional" concept of access. We must think more broadly. We need to think in terms of "delivery"....and (dare I say it again?) "serving" those most in need. For example:
• How do our current class offerings fit for the single parent looking for a way out of poverty?
• How do our current hours of operation fit for the nearly one in three individuals living in poverty who are currently working and wondering when they’ll ever fit in going to college?
• While we regularly enroll thirty percent of recent Oneida County high school graduates, we know there are significant sectors of our community that can’t find their way to college fairs and open houses. How do we reach them?

Addressing these issues and breaking these barriers will take creativity and attention. If we, as a community college aspiring to excellence, are to remain proud of the role we play in this region, what must we do to address these issues - and others - to insure that the MVCC mission is as relevant to tomorrow's students as it has been for those who have come to us in the past?
MVCC will be hosting the second annual Poverty Symposium this June in partnership with Mohawk Valley Community Action and the Resource Center for Independent Living. That, in and of itself, is a good thing. But I believe there’s more to do. Let's join together to make sure MVCC is doing ALL it can do to help create a bright future today....tomorrow....and all the days after that, for every member of this wonderful region.

If you have any thoughts on this, please contact me directly at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Good Administration

Through the wonder of Facebook, I recently had the good fortune of reading a poem that did what good poetry does – it moved me. It was written by Lew Kahler, Dean of Arts and Humanities, here at MVCC. It describes the supreme challenges associated with good teaching and succinctly captures the essence of the magic when learning happens. I connected with the poem from my own teaching experience, and my experience as an administrator focused on organizational learning. That phrase, “those who can’t do, teach” has always cut me the wrong way, especially with the corresponding addition, “and those who can’t teach administer.” We so often hear about the importance of good leadership and rarely talk about the manner in which leadership manifests itself in good administration or good management. While good teaching changes student lives at the micro level, good administration changes student lives at the macro level. It’s what keeps me going every day, helping the College learn, develop, and do a little better every day for our students and our community. The last nine lines of the poem culminating in, ”as a thought sets in and changes the course of a life" puts that poetic blanket around our organizational vision of transforming lives...one day, one conversation, one thought at at time. As National Poetry Month kicks off this week on April 1st, it’s my pleasure to share this poem with you. If you have any thoughts here, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.


Poem # 75 - “Good Teaching”

He espoused, the old cliché,
“Those who can’t do, teach.”
I wanted to reach
across the table
and choke him.
but violence
rarely proves a point,
so I sat and waited.
He was jaded,
had made good money
at a job he hated
with a wife he no longer loved
and a house that had become a burden
of affluence.
“You were a teacher,” he said,
sipping his drink
as I suppressed a feeling of dread.
“How would you define good teaching?”
“It’s reaching,” I said “beyond any thought you can grasp.
It’s hoping that through it all
a light will shine
inside a mind
that will release someone
from the bonds of their own limitations.
It is struggling each day
to stay above water
as the tides
of ignorance rise.
It is slashing at windmills
climbing the hills of bullshit
that are piled on the young
by an uneducated,
high-strung, self-important society.
It is quiet hours of despair.
It is the shatteringly self-aware doubt
that nothing you say matters.
It is that moment,
when what you say,
that idea phrased in a certain way-
that moment of delay,
as a thought sets in
and changes the course of a life."

The Future "Ain't" What it Used to Be

After nearly three years of living in upstate New York, I'm getting better at finding the value of a well placed Yogi Berra quote - hence the title here. This Yogism comes to mind of late, having completed a tour of Oneida County school districts, meeting with Superintendents and asking for a tour of one of their schools - whether it be an elementary, middle or high school. I saw smartboards (the 21st Century chalkboard) in classrooms at every level; in some districts, I witnessed insightful curriculum linkages between grade levels ; and was encouraged by so many districts, both large and small, that have struck effective balances between emphasizing science and technology while simultaneously celebrating the arts. Coupled with Curriculum Night at our daughter's elementary school, I've been exposed to what's going on in the primary and secondary grade classrooms.

One of the most interesting updates is Bloom's new taxonomy. More than 50 years ago, Benjamin Bloom and his colleagues developed a framework that captured the various levels of learning. A few years ago, the taxonomy was updated to reflect relevance to 21st century work. The result is a powerful reflection of the shifting sands moving through education and the challenges we face that lends relevance to the YouTube video ("Shift Happens"). The video posits that things are changing so fast we are "preparing students for jobs that don't currently exist; using technologies that haven't yet been invented; in order to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet." I found it most interesting that the updated taxonomy changes the nouns of the old framework to action verbs in the new one - symbolically addressing the need for learning to be an "engaging activity" and not a thing in the context of these changing times.

I have been extremely encouraged by conversations I've had with students at my monthly luncheons regarding their experiences with engaging teachers at MVCC. I know it's happening here, but I can't help believing that we must continue to bring active learning to scale in every discipline and in every class through every delivery format (online or on campus). The early success of our Fall and Spring Institutes combined with the impressive willingness of faculty to share their best practices with one another (e.g., CATS with Katz) and new opportunities for Academic Affairs and Student Services to work together like the Pathway to Academic Recovery mid-year intervention program have us pointed in the right direction to achieve great success in this important endeavor.

If you have any thoughts on this post, please contact me directly at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Lobbying and a Little More

Sometimes you wonder if lobbying matters or not. I recently had an experience that made me see how a trip to Albany can matter in unexpected ways. Last week, the New York Community College Trustees Association coordinated a day of advocacy for community colleges. Each community college in SUNY brought trustees, staff and students to Albany for meetings with our respective elected officials. As the saying goes, it was a day to remember.

I joined two other administrators in taking two students to Albany for a day of scheduled meetings. The students had never been to Albany. One was a returning adult student who already had a college degree, but came to MVCC to get a business degree to help her husband with their growing family business. The other student was a second year student who overcame a number of barriers as a youth to attend MVCC right after school.

Arriving a little early, we walked over to the Capitol to look around some before our first meeting. Just as the students were commenting at their new surroundings, we started up the escalator and said “good morning, Governor” as Governor Patterson and his staff were headed down the escalator. As we stepped off and came to the information desk, I asked the staff member where we might go for a self-guided tour. She quickly responded, “It’s early, I have time to show you around.” She grabbed her keys and took us into the Senate Chambers and gave us a wonderful tour, describing the beautiful architecture and some of the history in our view. Soon after, we went through the Assembly Chambers, walked the million dollar staircase, and toured the beautiful law library. It was a fantastic way to start our day.

During our scheduled series of meetings with Assemblymen Magee and Townsend, Assemblywoman Destito and Senator Griffo, we met staff and students from other community colleges and got familiar with many of our fellow New Yorkers in the crammed elevators – to the point that we were using the stairs by the end of the day. We were able to hear the latest challenges our elected officials are facing – cutting $9-10 billion out of a $56 billion budget. The revenue streams keep falling short of expectations and the solutions for simply “cutting” are becoming increasingly scarce. We were there the day the proposed “bailout” solution was proposed, which would prohibit any basic transformational pain that is likely to be the only long-term solution for New York State government. We were able to talk about the exciting initiatives at the College, the challenges we face and demonstrate the difference MVCC makes in its students' lives through the personal stories of the students with us who shared their experiences and perspectives with the officials (they did a fantastic job.)

It is hard to quantify how much our visits mattered in the overall scheme of the 2010 political session in Albany. However, it was pretty easy to see how much our visits mattered to the students, and in turn, to the rest of our team. To see their reactions and listen to their reflections throughout the day was a real treat. It was evident that the day created multiple lasting memories for the students and for us. The 90 minute ride from Utica to Albany also mattered in that the five of us got to know each other better and truly feel part of a team, so proud to represent MVCC. An added bonus for me was within 24 hours after our trip to Albany, I happened to cross paths with both students. We smiled and said hello – knowing that our time together was much more than just lobbying. If you have any thoughts on this post, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Previewing the Future

Over the past year, I have had the tremendous good fortune to visit with the superintendent of nearly every school district in Oneida County (I'll complete my tour later this month).  I did this in preparation for our 3rd annual superintendent’s breakfast that will take place March 18th.  The possibility was too tempting – to get to walk the halls of every high school, sometimes the middle schools and junior highs, and sometimes even the elementary schools in every district.  The experience has allowed me to see first-hand what MVCC students of tomorrow are experiencing today…and think about what their expectations will be when they arrive at our doors.

An early indicator came in my first visit when the Superintendent told me that they had installed smartboard technology in every elementary and junior high classroom and were scheduled to finish the high school in the fall.  I later walked through many schools where smartboards were in every classroom in the district.  Fortunately, we are well on our way with smartboards and related faculty training in the active use of the technology – clearly, many of our future students will be expecting it. Although the classroom furniture was often the porcelain tablet armchairs, they were often in mixed arrangements and, as a percentage, more classrooms had tables and chairs than we currently have.  Our recent efforts to update classroom furniture need to continue and help create a more tangible difference between a high school and college classroom experience.

I received countless positive comments about the opportunity our dual credit offerings in the high schools provide their (our) students.  The changes we’ve made over the past year as a result of receiving national accreditation of our dual credit offerings have all been well received.  The curriculum, textbooks, and assessment processes are far more consistent than ever and the instructors feel more connected to MVCC as our adjunct faculty.  These responses were very affirming for me and signaled a shift from dual credit feeling like an expansive enrollment paper shuffle to the significant and relevant academic partnership effort that it needs to be.

Consistent challenges that became increasingly evident include the need to take action on aligning our curriculum better.  The number of students testing below college level is alarming - however, I received very insightful feedback that should prompt us to take a very close look at our basic skills testing processes and benchmark current practices of both two-year and four-year schools.  In addition, many schools are looking to us in the area of career education.  Not just to simply expand our partnerships with local BOCES, but to find creative ways to partner and have the College serve a larger role in creating opportunities for younger students - perhaps career awareness activities in elementary, career exposure activities in middle and junior level schools, and partnering with the School and Business Alliance and others to create career experiences at the high school level.

Much work needs to be done, but much of it is already underway.  We have many ‘boutique’ programs and various pilot models in place with school districts throughout the area.  With the unprecedented fiscal constraints facing us all, now is the time to bring these smaller programs to scale.  A perfect summary statement made at the end of one school visit captures the general tenor of most districts, “if you and your colleagues at MVCC have any ideas for innovation, creativity, or bold thinking with regard to programming, call us. We’re in.  We want to make it happen for our kids.”  We need to make it happen.  If you have any thoughts on this, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

A Multi-Campus College

All the other community colleges where I’ve worked have multiple campuses. The fact that MVCC has always had multiple campuses appealed to me from the very beginning. However, my understanding of MVCC history is that the multi-campus past of the College has not always been straight-forward or easy, but the present may provide a clearer path for the future.

Soon after the College was founded in 1946, two campuses were in operation – one at the former country day school in New Hartford (for the business and retail programs) and the State Street center (for the engineering and technical programs). By 1953, the business activity in Rome and the emergence of the Air Force Base helped prompt the opening of the Rome Campus. 1960 brought the establishment of the current campus in Utica that combined the two existing sites. Despite being in operation for more than 50 years, the last few years has seen a number of questions surrounding the Rome Campus. A SUNY study group spent a year examining the options associated with the future of the Rome Campus. Their recommendations led to the creation of the Rome Campus Commission – a group of dedicated community volunteers and key MVCC staff members.

Over the last two years, the recommendations of the Rome Campus Commission have helped to accelerate incredible results that were already underway. Overall, the number of course sections offered has increased 13% and credit hour enrollment has increased 43% between 2004 and 2009 and that trend continues this year. Our creative partnerships at the Rome Campus are thriving with Sage Trucking and the tractor-trailer training school, SUNY-Canton and the Dental Hygiene program and Rome Memorial Hospital supporting our strong nursing program offerings there. In addition, student activities are on the rise in Rome with a significant increase in the number of events and attendees, as well as expanded Cultural Series offerings.

About 14% of all student credit hours this semester come from the Rome Campus and 74% from the Utica Campus (the remainder come from Online offerings and dual credit partnerships with local high schools). While less than 1/5 of all enrollment, the central geographic presence in Oneida County and the close proximity to the Griffiss Business & Technology Park cannot be understated in terms of the importance of the Rome Campus. Our current master planning process is assisting our collective thinking with regard to forwarding the notion of MVCC as one college with two campuses (or more when we think of a virtual, online campus, but that’s for another post). Whatever the past may be, our current perceptions are greatly influenced – sometimes good and others not so good. Looking to the future, students must be the center of our thinking – the community and our students need more than a narrow mindset of Utica vs. Rome or vice versa. Dated arguments rooted in parochial notions fail to demonstrate a commitment to excellence and a spirit of service from every angle. Regardless of where students attend classes at MVCC, Rome, Utica, or Online, they’re all MVCC students and should receive the same high level student experience.

If you have any thoughts on this post, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

The "Community's College"

Community colleges around the country often refer to themselves as their “community’s college” – MVCC is no different. However, many community colleges also often refer to themselves as “the best kept secret in town.” In contrast, I’ve never heard that statement in reference to MVCC and that is something special to me. Although we may not be the best kept secret around (what do you think it is?), most people only understand the part of MVCC with which they interact and remain unaware of the full scope and magnitude of our programs and services.

Credit Programs

For the past 64 years, MVCC has offered a comprehensive array of career programs that help students – young and old – to develop skills for the workplace. From Accounting to Welding and most things in between, students can find their career of choice here. Our transfer programs continue to expand – whether it’s creating new agreements with the likes of Cornell or Syracuse or continuing long-established agreements like we have in engineering, as three of our students were recently recognized by the Mohawk Valley Engineer’s Executive Council for winning scholarships and competitions at Clarkson and RPI.

College Prep and Specialized Training Programs

Through the Center for Corporate and Community Education (CCED) at MVCC, nearly 2,000 individuals received some form of specialized training last year through our partnerships with more than 50 local companies - much of this training was delivered on-site at the workplace. In addition, college-prep courses are offered by many of our academic centers for those students who need to complete an English or Math sequence of courses to prepare for college-level work. Similarly, the number of English language learners continues to grow in this community and the College is responding with quality English as a Second Language courses, as years ago, MVCC was the first to offer an ESL Certificate program in the state.

Community Education

Perhaps the best kept secret about the College is that we serve about two-thirds as many students in our non-credit courses as we do in our credit courses. More than 1,000 individuals enroll in our swim courses and thousands more enroll in our wellness and community education offerings – from aerobics to yoga and finances to social media. In addition, we expect more than 200 area youth to explore their future career choices in our third summer of career camps, as part of our summer College for Kids program.

Partnerships

Creative partnerships are one of the five strategic priorities in our Strategic Plan at MVCC and they have produced some wonderful results. On our Utica Campus, the Mohawk Valley Police Academy has been training cohorts of future police officers for communities both locally and regionally for close to forty years and the ARC of Oneida and Lewis Counties operates the CollegeWorks program. At our Rome Campus, SUNY-Canton runs their Dental Hygiene program and Sage Trucking runs a tractor-trailer driving school. CCED takes the lead in many of our community partnerships, some of which receive special funding, that include offering employability skills and introductory human services classes on site at Johnson Park; partnering with Mohawk Valley Community Action to deliver training for soon-to-be-released inmates at local correctional facilities; partnering with the Veteran’s Center in Utica to renovate parts of the former YMCA to create an Internet Café and housing for veterans; partnering with Workforce Investment Board and Working Solutions to secure funding and provide services for unemployed and underemployed individuals seeking career changes; and the City of Rome to develop incubator space for small business development. The list of partnerships continues to grow, but I’ll stop here and save some for another post.

As the winter sun reveals itself on this beautiful morning, I could continuing writing (I haven’t even touched on our successful athletic programs, our amazing cultural series, exciting partnership with Kien Giang Community College in Vietnam, community contributions of TeamMVCC, and so many other special pieces to the MV puzzle.) but I’d be interested in what you think about what truly makes us our “community’s college.” You can share your thoughts with me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Beyond the Meetings

A significant part of my job consists of a daily calendar filled with meetings that leave little chance for genuine interaction with students. Fortunately, I’ve been able to seize opportunities and create others to keep me grounded through meaningful student conversations. These experiences provide me with tremendous perspective and insight into the student experience at Mohawk Valley Community College.

With the help of our student life office, I’m into my second year of monthly luncheons with 4-6 students. It is here that I receive the most direct feedback. In 90 minutes over a sandwich in the residence dining hall in Utica or at the Rome Campus, I learn the story behind the returning adult student and the record of the presidential scholar. I gain perspective on registration, advising, classroom and non-classroom interactions, course offerings in Rome, and of course…parking. One thing I’m always struck by is when the students say, “MVCC is harder than I thought.” I can then share stories of recent alums who stop by my office or come back to visit campus and comment on how well prepared they were for their next step. It’s the same for those that transfer as it is for those who are in the workplace – they’re ready.

In addition, I joined members of my Cabinet and the MVCC Board of Trustees for our annual dinner with student leaders. The small group discussions provided all of us with valuable insight into the student experience here. With the great support of Sodexho, I joined about 10 MVCC staff members who came in around 10 p.m. to serve a “midnight breakfast” for students in our residence halls just before final exams last December.

Our student clubs and organizations are another opportunity for me to meet students. Whether it’s talking with our Student Trustee or attending a Student Congress Officers meeting, I get feedback on how we’re doing as a College and how we can improve the student experience. And when I attend an event of our Black Student Union or production of our theatre students, participate in an induction ceremony for our Phi Theta Kappa honor society or athletic awards banquet, I get to enjoy and celebrate the growth and accomplishment of our students – making all of my daily meetings worthwhile.

And whether it’s meeting students who join us on our annual safety walk at night to evaluate improvements we can make on campus for safety measures or student athletes who I’ve come to know from attending games, the size and scale of MVCC is such that I don’t get lost in that calendar of meetings. Rather, I have the good fortune to meet so many of our incredible students and learn their individual stories that stay with me throughout my days at the College. After all, our students and their stories are why we come to the College each day to do what we do on their behalf.

If you have any comments on this post, please contact me directly at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Success Behind the Scenes

During the past twelve months we have witnessed wonderful examples of teamwork, collaboration and alignment at the College. For so many different areas to accommodate the significant influx of new students in such a short time should be a real point of pride for all involved.

When I arrived at the College nearly 3 years ago, I received a great deal of input from many perspectives. One thing that stood out was the need for better communication, better alignment, and focused strategy. Experience teaches that these things cannot be willed or mandated. This kind of change requires individuals throughout the organization to make the conscious choice to engage in open dialogue, the free sharing of perspectives, and a willingness to collaborate for the benefit of the College.

While there are a number of examples from the past year, efforts in the Information Technology area come to mind as week after week, it seems, a new milestone reached. Often, in the world of IT, milestones come and go with little fanfare. Here, I want to shine a bit of “bloglight” on them.

In previous posts I’ve mentioned the significant impact “priority registration” and “waitlisting” have had on our enrollment increases. These increases have, however, been assisted through other system improvements, like online payment; online placement testing; online access to financial documents; automated phone-call reminders to students (thanks to the good work of the business office); web notifications for cancelled classes; online registration and payment for non-credit classes; and server upgrades to support self-service applications.

During the recent semester break, we expanded bandwidth access 500%! In addition, wireless access for laptops was expanded in all common areas as well as some outdoor areas.

Campus safety has also been enhanced by fully implementing the NY Alert emergency notification system and creating an online safety reporting system for our Airframe & Powerplant program. We’ve also significantly expanded the number of web-based security cameras at both campuses.

Computer labs are being upgraded at a swift pace, with the creation of two new Mac labs and increasing the number of computers for tutoring and libraries. All STEM Center labs have been upgraded this year, along with adding two new facilities. Significant upgrades have been made to computer hardware and software for students, faculty, and staff. And new computers are planned to be installed in all open student computer labs by the end of spring break. Both campuses will be completely ready for Windows 7 upgrades this summer or when that final decision is made.

While we still have many planned improvements ahead, all of this has been accomplished with effort, focused prioritization, patience and collaboration among departments. None if it could have occurred without the expertise, time, and commitment to service leadership in the Information Technology department. To each of them, and to all those who collaborated with them, your work is gratefully received and deeply appreciated. If you have any thoughts on items in this post or technology in general, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Breaking Barriers

The Karen New Year celebration at our Utica Campus this past weekend, coupled with a meeting I attended last week, spotlights the notion of breaking barriers for me. The Karen ceremony was beautiful and to see the faces of hundreds Karen refugees was an inspirational sight – thinking of them celebrating the Karen New Year 2749 here in their new hometown. I met one Karen MVCC student who I’ve come to know and met another refugee who has already gone through our ESL track and, then, completed his Associate’s Degree in Computer Information Sciences. Watching the crowd file in from the frigid cold temperatures, it was easy to reflect on the barriers they all face with regard to everyday life – let alone engaging in college study and career planning.

Similarly, last week I joined a number of creative staff in a conversation about their experiences serving students and the most common barriers to student success at MVCC. It would be nice if all students could just go to school full-time and have no other responsibilities beyond “finding themselves.” That scenario, however, is far from the common student profile. Work, sometimes multiple jobs; child care; elder care; financial constraints; transportation; and personal history sometimes combine to make pursuing a college education nearly impossible…or so it seems.

From passing the proposed American Graduation Initiative to securing private financial support, the coming years will see us turning much of our collective energy toward breaking barriers for students (and potential students) with the most challenges. We must strive to make our campuses (Rome, Utica and Virtual) as welcoming as possible and enhance them with innovative programs and even unexpected support services that meet both normal and non-traditional needs of our students. With that kind of effort MVCC will be even more significant. Tomorrow’s students will have more success than today’s, and our community will benefit in ways we’ve only begun to explore. To paraphrase the great composer Ludwig van Beethoven, “…. Barriers are not erected which can say to aspiring talents and industry, ‘Thus far and no farther.’”

Ni ta tha’ thah pwii (Happy New Year). If you have any thoughts on barriers that need to be broken or solutions that break them, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.