New Year's Resolutions

Having worked at and studied community colleges for two decades, I am often intrigued by the relevance of personal health as a metaphor for organizational health. Like human beings, organizations are living, ever-changing, complex systems. Metaphors abound about the “health of organizations"; about "organizational wellness” as a framework - taken right off bookstore self-help and dietary shelves; and about organizations as “lean” or “lethargic” when describing the operations or sense people have about them. Community colleges, like all complex organizations, are comprised of individuals whose collective efforts combine to make a unified whole, in order to make a difference.

This time of year many of us think about the Holiday Season and the fast-approaching new year - often accompanied with New Year resolutions. If I were to make a list of New Year resolutions for MVCC, it would reflect a number of elements gleaned from many recent conversations I’ve had with faculty and staff around both campuses!

For example:

- We resolve to be a more kind organization. With an estimated fall unduplicated headcount of more than 7,200 individual students, students and families come to us with more needs than ever – needs more complex and sensitive than those we've experienced in the past. Each of us needs to be more kind and helpful - being more intentional with every interaction with each student and with each other. The Rev. Jesse Jackson captured this notion when he said, “Never look down on anybody unless you're helping them up.”

- We resolve to be a more respectful organization. It would seem being respectful is simple. For whatever reasons, however, rudeness and disrespect are on the rise all around us and people are more sensitive than ever. Employers often tell me that “the ability to relate to others in a respectful manner” is a top concern. We should be no different. In fact, modeling respect is as important for us as it is for our students. Baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson once declared, “I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me…All I ask is that you respect me as a human being."

- We resolve to work more on trusting and earning trust. Research increasingly shows the importance of positive, productive relationships to achieving happy, healthy, and long lives. The same likely holds true for achieving the long, happy, and healthy life of an organization. At the core of any relationship is trust. Our community trusts us. Our students' families trust us. It’s critically important for us to trust our partners and, as well, to trust each other. The importance of trust is highlighted in a quote attributed to Frank Cane, “You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough.”

- We resolve to be a more accountable organization. The ongoing and increasing efforts of leadership organizations within the Institution, like the Cabinet, College Senate, Bargaining Units, Strategic Planning Council, Institutional Effectiveness Committee, and a host of other college councils and committees are helping MVCC become more accountable, both collectively and individually. Achieving accountability is not easy and maintaining it requires constant attention. “Walking the talk” as they say; being responsible for our actions and not passing blame are the key elements. The work of holding ourselves and each other accountable is difficult. In the book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencione writes, “Some people are hard to hold accountable because they are so helpful. Others because they get defensive. Others because they are intimidating….accountability is hard, even with your own kids.” But the work of building an accountable organization in the new year will make us better. When we've achieved full accountability we will, individually and collectively, be able to serve the students who choose to enroll here, their families, regional business owners and companies, and our entire community by providing the best access to excellence....and that opportunity will have immeasurable benefits.

- We resolve to be a more patient organization. As I’ve often said about life at MVCC, things move too fast for some, too slow for others. Exercising patience leads to understanding and an appreciation for the "why." Not that it’s okay to explain everything away or disregard the importance of accountability but often, when impatience is foremost in an organization, focus is lost, words are said, and things are done that might be regretted. It's all about courtesy and perspective. With regard to this notion, author Bill McGlashen is quoted as saying, “Patience is something you admire in the driver behind you, but not in one ahead.”

The collective resolve to be more kind, respectful, trusting, accountable, and patient comes from many at MVCC who are embracing a simple, understated action plan for a better MVCC. My thanks to all who have offered their thoughts and energies along these lines, as my intent here was to capture their ideas in the form of a New Year’s resolution. As Oprah Winfrey said, “Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right.”  If you have any thoughts on this post, please contact me directly at presblog@mvcc.edu.

More than a Ribbon Cutting

When we first moved to the Valley, I was continually amazed at the unexpected places MV Alumni turned up. I am no longer as surprised when someone tells me they “got their start” or “their restart” at MVCC. A couple weeks ago, in this blog, I described the good fortune of having many homegrown businesses in the Mohawk Valley, with a number being led by MVCC grads. Most of my experience for that post came from visiting many local businesses recently, to better understand their needs.

Another way I've gained exposure to “the amazing Mohawk Valley” is by attending community events, like a ribbon cutting this past week at the Air Force Research Lab in Rome. I responded to the invitation because the Lab is both a great community asset and a great partner with our engineering programs. Truth be told, I was also very curious about a ribbon cutting for a computer. The AFRL unveiled its newest supercomputer, the Condor.

In this case, a healthy dose of curiosity was a very good thing because we learned an awful lot in a relatively short period of time. The program flyer included phrases like “computing power of supercomputers is measured in FLOPS or floating point operations per second…a typical household laptop can achieve 10 billion FLOPS,” and the Condor will “…achieve 500 trillion FLOPS…equivalent to 50,000 laptops.” Whoa! Digesting that kind of information, I could only look forward to the rest of the presentation. They went on to describe the acceleration of information processing and supercomputer development over the recent past. We learned that supercomputers are closer than ever to being able to process information at speeds equal to the human brain. According to the Lab, we'll likely surpass that mark in the next few years. My head was spinning.

The more specifics they provided, the more interested I became. The Department of Defense was looking for a cost effective way to power and run a supercomputer for critical information processing of detailed imagery for the Air Force and other state-of-the-art research. In response, AFRL engineers connected and optimized 1,716 Sony Playstation III (PS3) game consoles (no kidding) and 168 General Processing Units – all off-the-shelf products. With the ability to put these processors in “sleep mode," the Condor produces an energy savings multiplier of 15 from comparable supercomputers. All that computing power, with far less use of electrical power to drive it is truly an amazing work of human ingenuity – produced right here in Oneida County.

During the ceremony recognizing folks who played an important part in conceiving and creating the Condor, several individuals stopped to say, “I’m one of yours.” I stayed long after the program finished to talk with a half dozen engineers and technicians who, upon completing their studies at MVCC, earned their B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. Each one is now working in a degree relevant field at the Air Force Research Lab. Each spoke of the rigor, quality, and pride of their MVCC experience. Each noted the incredibly supportive learning environment they experienced at MV.

Some of the most important, cutting edge work in the world of supercomputing is being done just down the road...and all of it by highly trained and incredibly skilled professionals, many of whom got their start at MVCC. Driving back to the office, I marveled at what I had just experienced...and, from a slightly different perspective, that much of it didn’t surprise me at all. The work many of our colleagues did years ago played a significant role in the astounding demonstration of high technology I witnessed at the Rome Research Site last week. This technology will inevitably benefit millions of people around the globe - in so many unknown ways it’s hard to comprehend.

Like the work done with our alumni at AFRL, the work we do with students today, tomorrow, and next week will reap unknown accomplishments in the future. Every MVCC faculty and staff member should be proud because of the work we do to help every student who chooses to study here. Because of that work, the promise of the community college comes alive in the most fascinating ways every day. If you have any thoughts on this post, please contact me directly at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Student Loan Debt - the next financial crisis?

Now that Black Friday has passed, holiday shopping is in full swing. The media is making regular references to consumers “shopping on a budget” and “credit card use is down this year.” As federal regulations changed over the past few years, credit card use has changed also. Lower credit card limits, increased minimum payments, and a collective uncertainty about the economy have changed consumer spending habits. The slowing pace of credit card debt reached a little known nexus this past June when total student loan debt in this country actually outpaced total credit card debt. I’m not kidding. When I heard about this it was hard to believe and after a little research it’s quite possible that student loan debt is a likely future chapter yet to be written in the troubling and complex economic storyline in this country.

The industry website www.finaid.org has a revolving clock (similar to the national debt) that displays the current estimate of current student loan debt, including both federal and private loans – it increases at a rate of about $2,853.88 per second and totals more than $870 billion. The reasons for escalating student loan debt are many and include the fact that rising tuition costs at colleges (particularly, but not exclusively, private colleges) have outpaced need-based grants; unemployment has increased and remains stagnant; the housing market drop has limited home equity loan possibilities; and perhaps the biggest factor of all is the inability to resist the temptation to accept student loans simply because they are accepted without a thorough plan to repay the excessive debt.

The average cost of college can vary greatly depending on the college or colleges of choice www.collegeboard.com/student/pay/add-it-up/4494.html. More than fifty percent of all college freshman in New York (and nationwide) attend a community college where tuition ranges between $2,900 to more than $4,000 in New York (MVCC is $3,400 for a full-time student). Four-year schools have even greater variance in tuition from as low as about $6,000 at some public institutions to more than $50,000 at some selective private four-year schools. Advice and best practice suggestions for limiting student loan debt abound on the Internet and in financial aid offices at colleges around the country, including MVCC. Although paying for college for my own children is still a few years away, I’ve reviewed many of these suggestions and developed my own list to keep in mind.

• Assess all your options and choose a college that is the right fit for the student in terms of education, degree, environment, AND finances.
• Borrow as little as possible – just because the funds are there doesn’t require that they be accepted.
• Look ahead to the career cluster (even if you don’t have a specific job in mind) to see what type of job and income level might be possible after graduation and factor in repaying the student loans along with rent/mortgage payments and other living expenses.
• Know that student loan debt will be factored in to overall credit scores and could haunt the student for years to come and limit possibilities with future loans for a car and/or a house.
• Do your research and understand loan terms like unsubsidized loans and the various governmental programs.
• Don’t get lured into a fee for service financial aid consultant – the process is confusing, but you don’t need to extend even more dollars to figure out how much debt you’ll acquire along with a college education.
• Upon graduation, don’t defer repayment of student loans if at all possible. At the very least, make interest-only payments so that the payment doesn’t include interest on top of the original loan interest.

Hopefully, with more of us following an advice list like this we’ll see student loan debt decline rather than continue to escalate toward a national crisis – the magnitude of which is rarely mentioned in the media. If you have any thoughts on this post, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.  (My thanks go to our financial aid office for raising this topic and helping me understand the magnitude of the issues.)

Thanks for Homegrown Businesses

As the Thanksgiving holiday arrives, I am certainly thankful and honored to be serving in my fourth year as President of MVCC. I am also thankful for the incredible opportunities I have to call on local businesses to better see their operations and listen to their issues and needs. I keep my ears open to better understand how MVCC can be aligned to help local businesses succeed in these ever-changing times. We can always be more successful educating their current employees or placing our interns or graduates in their operations. These visits often include a behind the scenes tour and this is where I’m consistently amazed at what goes on right here in the Mohawk Valley.

I have found that local businesses here:
• Produce 50% of all straps on helmets for firefighters in this country.
• Include one that ships so much product around the world, they rank in the top 5 customers of Federal Express.
• Include five with manufacturing plants in China – challenged to find 50 well-trained technicians locally some pursue 500 manual labor workers in China.
• Produce nanotechnology components utilized in every Motorola cell phone sold around the world.
• Produce every uniform for the U.S. forest service.
• Package 55% of all retail olive oil & 80% of all olive oil on Wal-Mart shelves.
• Include one that dominates its entire industry east of the Mississippi river.
• Produce every glove used by the Transportation Security Administration staff in every U.S. airport.
• Include one that does business with companies in more than 100 countries.
• Include one that produces large video screens in use at sports stadiums throughout the country.

These are local, homegrown, home-based businesses that are not just surviving – they’re thriving! And these are businesses additional to solid employment opportunities in healthcare and emerging growth in cybersecurity-related industries. A recent editorial in the Observer-Dispatch by Alice Savino highlighted the fact that, contrary to the common experience, jobs are available. However a big challenge we face is that employers and potential employees aren’t always finding one another.

When talking to employers, I hear a reoccurring theme about skill gaps they're finding in many job candidates. Even more than people well-trained for specific jobs, employers need people who are punctual, respectful, possess a positive attitude, have a willingness to learn, and (and I'm not kidding here) read, write, and utilize mathematics. More than anything, employers want people who can reason critically, solve problems and, above all…think! MVCC has a workplace success curriculum that addresses these gaps. But, frankly, the need seems greater. Every degree and certificate program could, and should, integrate these themes as much as possible. It will make our graduates even more marketable! If we can further develop our local workforce around these basics, small businesses - and the entire Mohawk Valley region - will grow more effectively.

I think we’d all be more thankful of what we have in the Mohawk Valley if we could more easily recognize that success in this region is no longer (and likely won’t be again) found in a few major businesses with 5,000 employees each but, rather, is more likely found in a hundred or more companies with 250 employees. We’re not there yet, but based on the successfully homegrown companies like those listed above, we’re well on our way – we just don’t know it! If you have any comments on this post, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Everyday is Veterans Day

"A Veteran is someone who, at one point, wrote a blank check payable to the United States of America for an amount up to and including their life. That is beyond honor..." - Anonymous

Last Thursday was Veterans Day. I participated in the flag-raising ceremony at our Utica Campus and was moved by the attendance of former and current MVCC students who have served our country. With 140 veterans, 12 dependents of active duty personnel, and 15 national guard/active reserve personnel currently enrolled, MVCC is proud to have been named a "Military Friend School" for 2010 by G.I. Jobs Magazine - a designation given to the top 15 percent of all institutions of higher education in the United States which are dedicated to helping today's Veterans realize their career goals.

The day after our Veterans Day ceremony, I had the opportunity to speak as part of a panel presentation to the Continuing Education Association of New York. The conference was held at the Thayer Hotel on the campus of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. While our country is involved in two wars that have little resemblance to any previous wars, my trip to West Point afforded me an opportunity to pause at Trophy Point overlooking the Hudson River and reflect on the incredible sacrifice so many have made for our country.

My work with the Homeless Coalition has informed my thinking about how easily it is for veterans to fall into homelessness upon returning to civilian life and the many challenges that come with that transition. MVCC has partnered with the local Workforce Investment Board and others to help the local Utica Center for Development - Veterans Outreach Center redevelop the former Utica YMCA facility.  Our faculty and students transformed the entrance area of the building into a modern Internet Cafe' where veterans can access 100% of their government benefits online. As funding becomes available, we will continue to assist as we can with the transformation by updating the residential units on the second floor for homeless veterans and partner with the OMH-BOCES and other local colleges to offer classes in a new educational access center at that location.

The needs of our current and former veterans are great and certainly deserving of everything our communities can offer. The President of the MVCC Veterans Student Club, Ron Metz, did a great job serving as the Master of Ceremonies at our Veterans Day Ceremony.  His words were echoed by our guest speaker, County Executive Tony Picente, whose words ring true with great significance - "everyday should be Veterans Day."  If you have any thoughts on this post, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

More Than a Grant

I am often reminded of the notion that success is the product of preparation and opportunity.  Last week a series of on-campus events actually turned out to be more than what might have, at first, appeared.  On the surface, last week’s College Senate meeting might have appeared to be a singular moment in time, comprised of civil discussion, a vote, a resulting recommendation...just another day at the Senate. I would argue that it was much, much more.

Preparation
For the past 18 months, a great deal of work has gone into refining the College's governance system.  From two joint Cabinet/Senate Advisory retreats where great strides were made to review committee by-laws; create simplified charters; define Councils and Workgroups (that operate apart from the normal Senate committee structure); and clarify communication channels between the Cabinet and Senate, we've accomplished much.  After the first-ever joint meeting of Senate committee chairs, many Senate committees are taking a proactive approach to fulfilling their charters - going beyond simply reacting to issues as they arise. Agendas and attendance at Senate meetings this fall have been full and engaging, with candid discussion and give-and-take dialogue.  Simultaneously, the Strategic Planning Council has found its rhythm; is refining institutional strategic priorities; and leading a vocal charge for the need to infuse data and measurement into our decision-making processes. Their work prompted the Cabinet Conversations this fall that have expanded unprecedented dialogue and reflection across the entire institution.  It’s as though we were preparing for something…

Opportunity
One month ago we witnessed the first-ever White House Community College Summit where the nation turned its attention toward community colleges and the critical role they play in America. The event also prompted the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to announce a $35 million Completion by Design Initiative.  They selected nine states (NY was one) and specific community colleges within each of those states (MVCC is 1 of 8 in SUNY) that would be invited to apply.  The general thrust of the initiative is to accelerate efforts to move community colleges from simply providing access to focusing on student completion and success by taking proven programs and services and bringing them to scale for a more significant impact.  The work will require making hard decisions and overcoming daunting challenges – most of the toughest changes required will be fairly unknown early on - all in the name of increasing student success and completion.  It is an initiative that should not be taken lightly.   It will require the collective will to want to become better than we are. It is a tremendous opportunity to rise to the call of a nation and perform on a national stage – an opportunity that has potential to serve as a catalyst to even greater success.

Success
It may seem odd for me to talk about success while we’re just finishing the application but, as the saying goes, “the journey is often as important as the destination.”  As an organization with an emerging vibrant culture, the process to get us to the point of applying to participate in the Completion by Design initiative is a success in itself.  For the Grants Council and Cabinet to stay on top of an information stream that was changing daily, with national and state implications, is testimony to MVCC's responsiveness and increasingly effective interdepartmental communication.

The capstone step in this process was last week's College Senate meeting, where the work of the last 18 months came into full view with a thoughtful, civil, and measured conversation about the pros and cons of our participation in this national initiative. This collaborative process was repeated as the MVCC Professional Association worked with college administrators to come to a full understanding of the grant opportunity and its implications for the college community. The process we followed in this effort clearly made this more than a grant – the start of the Completion by Design process felt more like "Enlightened Civil Discourse by Design."  Who knew that the formula for success could have unexpected derivatives and pay multiple dividends?

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

Understanding Our Education System

MVCC is proud to be a member of the Strategic Horizon Network (SHN) - a network of 7 community colleges across the country connected by a common interest in learning as much as we can from arenas outside of education. Recently, I joined a team from MVCC to the fall colloquium of the SHN where we had the chance to connect with our friends from the other network colleges.  We spoke of our common challenges and individual items of interest and touched on the overarching theme of moving from student access to student success and completion that is sweeping the country.  What I like most about this theme is that it brings community colleges and higher education into the center of the conversation about transforming education in this country.

As I was overwhelmed with the thought of writing a blog post about a topic as large as understanding "what's wrong with education in this country", a brilliant colleague from a SHN college shared the following video with us.  As he indicated, don't watch it until you can spend the 12 minutes watching uninterrupted.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

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

Swimming in Whitewater

We are increasingly engaged in a national conversation regarding the need for more college graduates in America. President Obama introduced the American Graduation Initiative last spring, which calls for an additional 5 million community college graduates by 2020, and recently hosted a White House Community College Summit (http://www.whitehouse.gov/communitycollege) on the issue.

The Lumina Foundation has set a goal that they hope to influence with substantial grant support to increase the number of Americans with a two-year or four-year degrees to 23 million by 2025 (http://www.luminafoundation.org/goal_2025/). In addition, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has made student completion a significant priority by launching its Completion by Design initiative, in an attempt to bring successful and proven community college programs and services to scale in large states like New York, California, Florida, and others. MVCC is fortunate to be eligible to apply in the first round of funding, joining other SUNY community colleges in a collaborative application.

These newly articulated objectives seem daunting, to say the least - 5 million additional community college grads, 20+ million college graduates…in ten years! The harsh reality is that, collectively, we are failing to keep pace with what we know are dramatically changing times that challenge our assumptions about educational attainment in this country. Based on 2008 Census Bureau data, only 8.4% of American adults 25-64 hold an associate degree; 19% hold a bachelor degree; and 10.5% hold a graduate or professional degree. At a time when a high school diploma is surely the minimum required to gain any form of reasonable employment, 12.8% of adults have not achieved that level of education.

According to the Lumina Foundation report A Stronger Nation Through Higher Education, the U.S. ranks tenth in the world in postsecondary attainment – trailing nations in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. As U.S. graduation rates continue to underperform, in contrast to growth in other nations, the youngest generations of Americans risk becoming the first less educated generation than their elders – making them a world-wide anomaly.

Global comparisons are only one lens through which to consider increasing student completion. The Lumina Foundation illustrates the importance of higher education attainment as it relates to economic recovery and growth. “Conventional wisdom goes this way…first, the economy creates jobs, and then higher education responds to the knowledge and skill demands of those jobs so people can fill them…in this recession, there is a growing consensus that the economic recovery is being hindered by a lack of workers with advanced skills and knowledge demanded in this economy.”

With national economic interest, opportunity, and pressure mounting for community colleges to transition from the "stepchild" to the "golden child" of higher education - offering effective approaches to an increasingly under-prepared workforce - we have much to consider. The fact is that we are seeing unprecedented demand from our communities, while simultaneously feeling the effects of federal, state, and local financial crises that are resulting in decreasing state support for community college operations. Many of these changes are prompting efficiencies that are good and, in some cases, long overdue. That said, the effort to maintain high quality and effectiveness, in an environment with fewer and fewer resources, has its natural limits.

Rather than simply keeping up with double digit enrollment growth and celebrating our ability to provide access, we must amplify our mission of "student success" by thinking in terms of "access to completion." Of course defining completion will be important and, unlike the No Child Left Behind initiative, it will be imperative that we not lower academic standards as the means to an end. We need to fight hard to secure and maintain the resources needed to carry out our mission; vigilantly search for and, then, integrate proven best practices from community colleges around the country; and recognize and strengthen what works right here at MVCC.

Indeed, whenever we get the chance to "come up for air" from our everyday responsibilities, we are most certainly swimming in whitewater that, at times, leaves us breathless and searching for a patch of dry ground (which often seems far too distant).  With all that has happened and is happening we are, most certainly, facing a “new normal.”

As one community college colleague recently said, “We're living in the Land of Oz. We were blown here by a tornado we didn’t see coming, and it will take every ounce of our collective brains, hearts – and most importantly – courage, to find our way out!” If you have any comments on this post, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

The Transformation of the American Dream

I made a reference last week that took me back to an increasingly valuable touchstone – John Zogby’s book, The Way We’ll Be. Adults scrapping current careers and coming to MVCC to study in subjects that give them fulfillment beyond a paycheck is part of a tapestry of trends identified through polling by Zogby International and described in his book.

The subtitle of the book is “the transformation of the American dream.”  Based on polling results, it's estimated that one in three of adults in this country is reprioritizing his or her life to focus on the basics, finding value, and leaving the world a little better than they found it. This new segment of society (a subgroup that is continuing to grow) is a significant force that is truly transforming an American dream that has, for many decades, been more about material acquisition and consumption than spiritual and personal fulfillment. In fact, Zogby polling results over the past twenty years describe the trend of people taking intentional pay cuts to work in jobs that bring them less income but more satisfaction and fulfillment than their previous jobs - by 2007, this group comprised twenty-five percent of the American public.

Since the economic downturn in 2008, many people have found themselves working in jobs that paid less than a prior job (or found themselves with no job at all), but not so much by choice.  Likewise, our enrollment growth of nearly twenty percent in the past three years at MVCC has been influenced by the economy.  As I’ve stated before, that enrollment growth also was made possible by improvements in our operational systems – priority registration and increased retention; waitlisting and offering more class sections; hiring more faculty and increased support for adjunct faculty. So with record enrollments and people looking to MVCC like never before, another truth emerges from The Way We’ll Be - people are increasingly seeking value and, as John Zogby writes, “bypassing the sizzle to find the steak.” We can no longer just say, “we’re the best" at what we do and point to an anecdote as proof. The public is increasingly able to assess the extent to which institutional "promises" are delivered - or not! And, as they're able to identify alternatives, they're increasingly taking action based on the information gleaned. If a college says it provides an excellent education, in a personal friendly environment, it had better deliver - or be willing to live with the consequences. Unsubstantiated claims of being "student-centered" or of offering "outstanding academic preparation" can and are being tested broadly. The era of unsubstantiated claim is over and the time of assessment and demonstrated results is increasingly present.

These ideas were amplified at my Think Tank meeting last week. The Think Tank is a really cool committee (no other description will do) of faculty and staff whose purpose is to meet with me for a good monthly exchange to inform each other’s perspective. At our meeting last week, I learned a few harsh realities where our sizzle is seemingly outweighing the steak - fortunately, they are things that can be resolved with a little attention. We then spent some time talking about a few basic operations at the College that were not performing as we all might think.  Coupled with similar feedback I received from my monthly luncheon with students, my frequent phrase, “getting a little better each day” seems to fall short of creating a culture of assessment and continuous improvement that society is increasingly demanding of us.  Regardless of our role and responsibilities at the College, each of us can and should be able to do better!  Our students - and the public - deserve no less.

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

College - it's not just for kids anymore

I once met a community college president who wore her college nametag everywhere - even the grocery store - to prompt conversations regarding the college. Fortunately, our community is such that I find myself in conversations about MVCC while I'm at various soccer and gymnastics events for our daughters, attending countless community events, and yes, even the grocery store. The conversations are comprised of the usual, "I'm an alum"; "I took classes there"; "My wife and I are taking a community education class together"; or "My kid is going there before they transfer." Lately, however, I've encountered a new angle in the interactions I have with adults when I hear things like: "I just started taking classes at MV" or "I've had enough with my current job, am making a big change for myself and going to MV." In addition, walking around campus this past week I had individual conversations with five students – all in their 40s and early 50s, three with bachelor’s degrees – enrolled full-time in degree programs matching their personal interests. Indeed, college isn't just for kids anymore.

Adults returning to college is not a new concept. When I was 29 years old, and Dean of Students at a community college near Denver, students averaged 30 years of age. Until a few years ago, the community college where I worked in Omaha had more of its 14,000 enrolled students in evening classes than in daytime sections. That pattern held true across the Midwest and much of the country. Lacking empirical data, my sense is that the more northeast one travels, the more likely one is to find a bent toward serving traditional high school graduates in community colleges. This has been tempered somewhat by a recent nationwide trend over the last ten years, with a dramatic increase in the number of high school graduates directly enrolling in community college. Many of these students' parents enrolled in community colleges themselves during the 1960s and 1970s, helping minimize the effect of the negative stereotypes and elitist views, which frankly, tend to be more rhetoric than reality about the community college.

Looking to the future, we need to go beyond our success serving recent high school graduates and evolve our focus to meet the changing needs in our community. Each fall, MVCC enrolls close to 30 percent of recent Oneida County high school seniors upon graduation. Our high school partnerships are critical to the long-term success of the College and our community. That said, we know, from the number of current elementary school students in Oneida County, the pool of college eligible high school graduates will decline 25 percent between now and 2019. At the same time MVCC needs to think and act differently, and as broadly as possible, to address challenges associated with our secondary school partners, we're experiencing the greatest surge in 25 and older students in more than two decades. Our mission demands that we address this challenge as well.

The question quickly arises, "can we serve both populations effectively?" My response is, "Certainly." But to do so, we must live out our commitment to being truly student centered. A few important items warrant consideration. As community needs have changed, our evening offerings have been greatly diminished. With current unemployment over seven percent locally; an estimated twenty percent of the local workforce underemployed; and current and emerging manufacturing jobs becoming more complex and high-tech, adults are facing the reality that lifelong learning is the only way to a successful future. The evening program used to be a signature part of MVCC's offerings and services through the 70s, 80s, and early 90s, so we know we have that kind of capacity. If evening study is not the answer, what about on-line? What about weekends? What about flexible starts? The question really is, "Do we have the collective will to create program delivery alternatives that meet all our potential students’ needs in ways that are meaningful and attractive to them?" If not, there may be other organizations - both public and private - who do, but the taxpayers of Oneida County deserve our best efforts.

One of every five Oneida County households is led by a single parent. How easy is it for them to take classes between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday - the bulk of MVCC's current course offering schedule. How much of an effort do they have to make to enroll, attend, and study on that schedule and still hold down a job and manage family responsibilities? It goes without saying that it would be difficult at best.

We have a number of good ideas in play with regard to refining programs and services to more intentionally serve our older students better – we just need to see them through in short order. With the social and technological changes underway, it's more imperative than ever that we find ways to facilitate lifelong learning for everyone – because after all, college isn’t just for kids anymore. If you have any comments on this topic, please contact me directly at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Shared Governance - Part II

Do you ever have that feeling that you're on to something really good and that if you just keep working at it the results will exceed your expectations - almost to the point that you know it's going to be good, but it's hard to imagine just how good? I feel this way about our shared governance system consisting of the College Senate and related committees, and the Councils and workgroups in place at the College. Last week I co-hosted a meeting of the College Senate committee chairs with Senate Chair, David Katz.

We accomplished some important, goals during the brief one-hour meeting. Online resources (committee memberships, agenda and minutes templates, etc.) were reviewed with the chairs to enhance their leadership roles. In addition, we had a brief training on the use of the “make a meeting” function in MS Outlook to aid them in one of the most important tasks of a committee chair – scheduling committee meetings. The key is for everyone to have their weekly calendars in the Outlook Calendar system. What was once a series of phone calls and emails over a number of days becomes the click of a button!

Beyond reviewing some technical resources, the meeting presented an opportunity to reinforce important messages about how the College Senate committees fit into the larger organizational context. If there is a “magic wand” to help overcome our institutional challenges and our community’s significant problems, I believe it is found in the activation and empowerment of the collective whole through an effective shared governance process.

The committees can generally be grouped into two categories. The first is comprised of those responsible for appeals, awards, promotions, and career appointment processes. These committees are essentially the keepers of excellence – how we define excellence is most visibly present in our organizational culture through the way we handle various appeals, and the way we determine awards, promotions and appointments. It’s no easy task, but the thought and integrity with which these committees go about their work is both appreciated and critical to managing these important symbols of all that we hope to resemble. The second category of committees is comprised of those more operational in nature (curriculum, facilities, safety, etc.). These committees are more like conveners of dialogue about improvements and innovations. They present an important opportunity to explore ideas and greatly enhance our collective ability to make informed decisions. Rather than making decisions in isolation and out of context, the primary work of these committees is to facilitate the dialogue necessary to manage change by engaging all relevant parties in the exploration of issues and making considered recommendations that help the College improve.

Certainly there are times when we need to respond quickly. Sometimes decisions must be made in the moment. However, much of the operation is about improvement and how to make things better, which can follow a more considered process of idea exploration, research and analysis, thoughtful discussion, solid recommendations, and informed decisions. A deliberative decision-making process through shared governance needs to be balanced with speed and flexibility in meeting the needs of our community. The real strength of a strong shared governance system is that it will help generate better made and better understood decisions and changes at the College. Given this time of significant change in so many different arenas, I am convinced this will help us apply the insight of comedian Stephen Wright who said, “the early bird may get the worm, but it’s the second mouse that gets the cheese.” If you have any thoughts on this blog, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Paying it Forward

Since moving to the Mohawk Valley over three years ago, I have been amazed at the giving spirit of this community. From nationally recognized events like the Boilermaker and the Great American Heart Walk/Run to local telethons and efforts like Operation Sunshine, the ability of this community to come together and give of its time, talent and resources is inspiring. The faculty and staff at Mohawk Valley Community College are active members of this generous community and, as a result, that same community spirit resides in our college culture as we try to model it for our students.

A little more than two years ago, three staff members Dennis Gibbons, Jeri George, and Ann Popeo joined with Jed Kimball, the then-chair of the Professional Association community outreach committee, to coordinate MVCC’s presence at the Heart Walk/Run. We went from not knowing how many MVCC staff and/or students were participating in the event to having more than 100 participants and raising over $2,000. The event led to the creation of a group named TeamMVCC that has expanded from the original four members to an active standing workgroup at the College. TeamMVCC now coordinates faculty, staff and student participation in community events and fundraising opportunities throughout the year. We are very fortunate to be part of a special place like MVCC and TeamMVCC helps us bring meaning to the power of “paying it forward.”

TeamMVCC’s results this past year reflect the “paying it forward” giving spirit of the Mohawk Valley. Here’s a sample of their work:

• Making Strides against breast cancer – 160 participants raising $4,703 for the American Cancer Society.

• United Way Campaign – 119 donors (increase of 52% from the previous year) with an increase of nearly 40% from the previous year in the dollars raised.

• Salvation Army holiday bellringers – 45 faculty, staff and students ringing that bell!

• Heart Walk/Run – 125 participants raising $3,874

• 13th Annual Ted Moore Run/Walk was the most successful ever with 230 participants (20% faculty and staff) who helped raise more than $7,000 for the Ted Moore Scholarship Fund.

• MVCC Student Congress and TeamMVCC quickly assembled a raffle to raise funds for the American Red Cross Haitian Relief Efforts and raised $3,430.

• Food drives, toy drives, and support for the Special Olympics and World Refugee Day were also highlights throughout the year.

In total, TeamMVCC coordinated the participation of over 400 volunteers and participants; collected over 200 toys for local children; 11 boxes of food for local food banks; and raised more than $68,000 for local charitable organizations.

The importance of community service is making its way into our employee recognition system as well. Our Hawks that Soar! Awards program includes an Aeries Award for the college employee who most exemplifies a commitment and spirit of community service with the $1,000 award from the MVCC Foundation going to the local charity of choice in the name of the recipient. In addition, our Wings of the Hawk teamwork award went to our Welders Among Community student welding club for their incredible commitment to community service. We recently held a special recognition event for our first-ever “MVCC 4-Runners Club” for the 34 staff who contributed to both the MVCC Foundation and United Way annual campaigns and participated in at least two TeamMVCC approved events and the 20 students who participated in at least four TeamMVCC events.

We’ve seen tremendous results over the past year with an ever-increasing presence of MVCC faculty, staff and students in the community. The future is likely to see even more activity with possibilities emerging for new opportunities in service learning and a greater connection to student clubs and organizations. In the larger sense, TeamMVCC provides a wonderful mechanism to see that MVCC faculty, staff, and students continue to reflect and promote the giving spirit of the wonderful people of the Mohawk Valley for years to come. If you have any thoughts on this post, please contact me directly at presblog@mvcc.edu.

More Than an Anecdote

Anecdotes are short, interesting stories about real incidents or people. We all possess a few. Stories abound, amongst the community college crowd, of students who've overcome this barrier or that, and those who arrived a certain way, grew, developed and achieved their personal happy endings. I rely on anecdotes all the time to find inspiration for my weekly posts. As I write this week I'm overwhelmed with pride, having recently heard about the success of an old colleague. Her story is much more than an anecdote. To me, it reflects the simple, unvarnished power of the community college experience to transform lives.

Eleven years ago I was the new Chief Academic Officer at a large community college in Omaha. The secretary's position in my office was vacant and I needed it filled sooner rather than later! While visiting one of our campuses, getting to know faculty and staff, I was introduced to a recent graduate from the College, who had just begun using her office professional associate degree as a secretary. After talking with her, she agreed to come work in my office. Her name was Jody. Barely in her early twenties, Jody was very friendly, seemed to know everyone, and loved the college. As we worked together, her work ethic, positive attitude, willingness to help others, and instincts made Jody a valuable member of an increasingly effective team.

A few years later, she entered a baccalaureate program, catering to working adults, at a local university. Even before she completed that program, she set her sights on a master's program in Community College Administration at the University of Nebraska. Then, upon completing her master's degree, she enrolled in the Community College Leadership doctoral program at Iowa State University. Jody was on her way.

She played a significant role in the College's accreditation efforts, program reviews, assessments of student learning, and greatly expanding our adjunct faculty support. Jody also developed a great interest in the professional development of faculty - an interest that eventually became the topic of her dissertation. Over the eight years we worked together, her career blossomed - from faculty secretary, to Assistant to the Vice President, to Projects Coordinator (where she held positions of Interim Assistant Dean in two different divisions) and, finally, Associate Dean for Program and Curriculum Development (later completing a stint as an Interim Dean of Visual Arts), and last spring she accepted the position of Vice President of Instruction at a rural community college in Nebraska.

Last week she successfully defended her dissertation at Iowa State.

When Jody walks across the stage to receive her Ph.D. in a few weeks, her story will be much more than an anecdote about how the community college experience can change someone's life. Jody found her career path through her community college experience because of faculty who practice the ever-evolving art of teaching (the primary responsibility of community college faculty); a personalized learning environment (one of the primary commitments of every community college); advisors who helped clarify educational goals; food service, facilities, and safety staff who work hard to create the safe, healthy environment necessary to support good teaching and learning.

Jody's story is certainly more than an anecdote. Jody's story is the community college story. It's a powerful story of the magic, the wonder, and potential that the community college experience has to offer to all who come through the doors. Community college can unlock the first door and provide keys to many more! It can accelerate careers and bring those who study and learn there to places they may never have dared to dream.

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

Effective Governance

I’ve always loved Yogisms from the famous New York Yankee catcher, Yogi Berra. His statements of the obvious and his wordplay bring a smile to my face – “just slice that pizza into four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six” or “nobody goes there anymore because it’s too crowded.” The closest thing I’ve said to a yogism is, “when you work at a college, you get to work with a lot of smart people.” The notion of being around a lot of smart people at MVCC drives me in my hope for making our collective decision making process better. As the new year gets rolling with our monthly College Senate meetings and the more than 30 or so Senate committees, college councils and workgroups commencing their work, my thoughts have turned to what makes an effective governance system.

Structure

In the summer of 2009, the President’s Cabinet (Administrative Leadership) and the Senate Advisory (Senate Leadership) met for the better part of two days in a retreat format to review all committees of the College Senate. We reviewed the by-laws of each committee and transitioned all committees to charters that more simply stated the role, purpose and membership of each committee. We also looked at groups outside the Senate and determined that some standing groups with a college-wide impact should be called Councils (Grants Council, Enrollment Management Council, etc.) and others that didn’t fit in either category would be called workgroups, think tanks, design teams, or other names. Membership on governance groups is a blend of elections (primarily in the Senate committees) and appointments. Over the past two years, the committee appointments designated to come from the Senate Chair and the President have been integrated through a new process. The current Senate Chair, David Katz, and I jointly review each committee’s composition and the election results. We then collaborate to make informed decisions in an attempt to maximize the talent and perspective for all appointments.

Process

My hope is to have an effective governance system where the charters for all groups provide clarity of roles, responsibility, and membership. We need a healthy collaborative process of information exchange from the bottom-up and the top-down. If the Senate committees do not engage in meaningful work or fail to make informed recommendations, it begins to feel like the Senate is just being “talked to” by the administration without having any meaningful impact on its decisions. Conversely, if no information is being shared by the administration and the only action is the cabinet’s receipt of Senate committee recommendations, disconnects and frustration will emerge on both ends. Additionally, if no information by senate committees is shared with the whole senate, or if the committees are inactive, the Senate is reduced to having endless discussions with weak connections to decision-making – increasing friction and frustration. Finally, Senators must understand their role as elected representatives. With the agenda published in advance, Senators have the responsibility to actively seek the opinions of those they represent and inform their own opinions so that they can fully participate in the Senate discussions and add to the overall effectiveness of our governance system.

Results

Over the past few years, the Senate has increasingly become the heart of our governance system. Elections are very competitive and attendance at Senate meetings has grown and remains strong on a monthly basis. However, the discussions are intermittently active and the committees are inconsistent in their effectiveness – some are very active and strong while others are lucky if they meet a few times a year. Additionally, the newly established Councils and workgroups are ironing out their charters and finding their focus, with many of them already yielding tangible results that are helping MVCC improve. An effective governance system in a place with so many smart people relies on everyone having a means to add their two cents – after all, “a nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.” If you have any thoughts on this post, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Recognizing Each Other

This post was coming together in my head last week as I was thinking about life at the College, but it became more significant with the sudden and unexpected passing of MVCC's beloved Sam Drogo. I've heard countless stories from Professor Drogo's colleagues and friends about his contributions to the College, commitment to students, unwavering professionalism, incredible work ethic, and mentorship of so many individuals. Anytime I hear about or experience the sudden loss of someone close I often wonder if they knew what friends and family really felt about them. I am reminded of the Garth Brooks song, “…because I’ve lost loved ones in my life who never knew how much I loved them. Now I live with the regret that my true feelings for them never were revealed; so I made a promise to myself to say each day how much (they) mean to me. And avoid that circumstance where there’s no second chance to tell (them) how I feel.”

Last year we implemented a comprehensive employee recognition that's primarily based on colleagues sharing how they feel about each another. Like most colleges, MVCC has had a number of awards in place for years. However, many of them have been based on self-nomination or self-promotion. And our "years of service recognition" was a standard certificate like one might expect. Based on recommendations from our Employee Recognition Design Team a number of important changes were made to these processes, to create a more personal approach to recognizing the best work at the College. All awards were changed to a peer-nominated process that makes the success of our system work when each of us recognizes and nominates others excellent service and work beyond what might be expected. This is not an easy thing to do – it requires paying attention to the work of others and making the effort to speak up and speak out when we see work that inspires us.

Similarly, the years of service recognition went from an agenda item at a year-end luncheon to individual ceremonies that recognize the contributions every single one of us make when we come to work at MVCC each day. Years of service now involves colleagues, supervisors, and other senior administrators joining me in presenting a framed certificate (along with a "thank you" cookie and balloon) to individuals achieving 10 to 40 or more years of service (in 5-year increments). The new process adds an important dimension – rather than just reading a name and presenting a certificate, these individual ceremonies allow anyone present (friends, colleagues, coworkers, supervisors, etc.) to express a few words of appreciation, tell a favorite memory, or simply say, “thank you for all that you do” in the presence of others.

While we've already experienced times when we've shared a lot of laughs and heard some wonderful things about those being recognized, we’ve attended others when it appeared as though those present seemed hesitant to say how they really felt – holding back on letting the person know how much they are appreciated. Recently, when I privately expressed my surprise at the reluctance I'd perceived, someone said “the culture just needs time on this…we just need to find our collective voice for appreciation so that it becomes the norm and not the exception.” I thought that was a very insightful comment, but it’s going to take intentional effort on the part of all of us who care to build up this vibrant organizational culture we're seeking. We need to work together so that MVCC can increasingly become that place where every person knows how much they’re valued by their colleagues. We must move away from that circumstance where we need a second chance to tell that friend, co-worker, colleague how much they inspire us and help to make MVCC the very special place that it is. If you have any thoughts on this post, please contact me directly at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Characterizing the Freshman Class

Ever since serving as a Dean of Students 14 years ago, I've read the annual Beloit College "mindset list" that is intended to characterize the incoming college freshman student class across the country. Something has always troubled me about the list and I finally figured out what - the list is too narrow in scope to define community college freshmen.

Many years ago the list inspired a sociologist colleague of mine to survey his own Introduction to Sociology students with what he called "a cultural canon – things every college student should know." He would then report his findings to the College Senate with general summary results, along with his favorite answer to each question. I remember one of his favorite questions was,"What job does Clarence Thomas hold?" His favorite answer to that question was, "Linebacker."

The Beloit list is an annual ritual in higher education. It serves as a "back to school" marker for some. But, similar to my good friend's survey results, the Beloit list makes broad generalizations that limit its utility and application and, at times, it can be viewed as disrespectful to the students characterized therein. The list is produced by a four-year school and has been around for almost two decades but, with today's community colleges being what they are, we need to understand the differences between the distinctly different freshman classes entering these very different types of colleges.

More than ever, learning is for life - and I believe our community colleges reflect that fact clearly. Beyond the 6,000 individuals who will participate in one of MVCC's many non-credit offerings in the coming year, the freshman class is comprised of much more than recent high school graduates. When I think of a typical community college freshman class I think of:

• Valedictorians and students who graduated in the top 10% of their class. Over 20% of Oneida County's top high school graduates are attending MVCC on Presidential scholarships this year;
• Recent high school graduates who were not in the top 10% of their class;
• GED recipients;
• English language learners from refugee and immigrant populations;
• Laid off workers who never thought they’d attend college;
• First generation college students from families who have a limited understanding of the college experience;
• Females returning to college to complete a degree or start a career that was interrupted by the most important job in the world – raising children;
• Returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan;
• Homeless individuals living in cars or shelters while somehow completing their studies as part of their journeys to self-sufficiency;
• Underemployed adults holding down two and three jobs to get by while taking a full load of classes;
• Single parents taking care of their children, themselves, and sometimes even their parents while trying to advance or change their careers;
• High school senior Bridge students finishing graduation requirements by enrolling in classes at MVCC;
• Formerly incarcerated individuals looking for a second chance;
• Reverse transfer students who didn't find what they were looking for at their four-year college;
• Professionals in a different type of “post-graduate study”- enrolled in classes or short-term certificates to complement their bachelor or graduate degree.

The "average" MVCC freshman class defies stereotypes and is worthy of our respect. Our freshman class cannot be characterized simply by the events of the past 18 years. It is a rich tapestry reflecting the very fabric of the communities we serve. The diversity of our students, and the ability of our faculty to facilitate active learning that builds on the talent and experience of all students, helps create the magic and wonder that is the community college experience at MVCC.

And while the Beloit list changes each year, we celebrate the list found above each and every day, as these students come to us all year long. If you have any thoughts on this post, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Honoring the Past to Create the Future

The start of a new academic year always comes with a sense of great anticipation for me. This year’s MVCC Fall Convocation included a profound connection with our past, as we welcomed the return of MVCC’s first faculty member, Dr. Steve Eskow. I was fortunate to spend time with Steve and his wife, Sarah, prior to the program and the magic of those interactions has inspired a renewed sense of commitment for me, along with an unrelenting focus on the importance of, and manner by which, we deliver our work.

My time with the Eskows began Saturday night when I picked them up at the Syracuse Airport. What started like an ordinary scene from daily life in Central New York (a tight connection through Chicago, no time for a meal, and “your luggage will be on the next flight”, etc.) ended up as one of those dialogue-rich clips from a movie like “My Dinner with Andre.” After a full day of travel, and local dining options at 10:30 on a Saturday night being what they are around the Airport, they graciously accepted my offer to take them to the Fayetteville Service Plaza McDonald’s. Our conversation moved quickly from introductions and luggage to the future of education as we know it; their former company – the Electronic College Network (Steve and Sarah were into online education before there was online); the evolution of online and hybrid education; and, having recently returned from one of their many trips to Ghana, West Africa, the power of leveraging technology with service learning through international experiences. The conversation was so engaging and unexpected (I was expecting more “…back in ’46 we used to…”) it took me nearly an hour to finish my Wildberry Smoothie.

On Sunday, I picked them up from the hotel and provided a tour of Utica and our Utica Campus. It was a pleasure to collate all the information I’ve gained on various buildings, businesses, organizations and historical artifacts of this area – particularly the changes that occurred in the 20th Century. We continued our conversation from the night before regarding trends in education and new models that need to be explored in our global society. Steve would often ask pointed questions about organizational change, limitations, and frustrations with delivery structures of our current educational model. He asked other questions that peeled back layers of assumptions that many of us (and I’m including myself in this statement), carry around every day. Throughout the day he also shared stories about his first days at MVCC. He expected to get into educational theory and inspire his students… then realized that the most pressing need was to assemble the desks by the first day of class. He also retold early conversations with colleagues at MVCC, each knowing they were part of something special at this new institution.

I was reminded of a few simple truths from our time together. They include:
- Never stop learning,
- Never stop looking for new ways of doing things and improving what you do for a living.
- The fact that sixty four years after starting his career this remarkable man continues to publish articles that push current educational models toward new ways of thinking clearly sets the bar high for us all.
- Remind ourselves daily about the importance of working at the community college - this community college in particular!
- The stories he told of working at MVCC in the early days, starting from scratch with nothing more than a general sense of mission, amplified the importance of what we do here, and how we do it, today.
- Teamwork and collegiality are important building blocks for success; if there is a problem, everyone owns it on behalf of the college and has a role to play in the solution.

These two principles were present at the founding MVCC. A team atmosphere and “we’re in this together” feel of the stories Dr. Eskow shared about the early days, made me think how easy it is for mature organizations like MVCC to hold themselves hostage to barriers and less than perfect processes and systems because, “that’s the way it’s been and I can only do my job.” We need to remember that excellence is founded on tradition, not mired in it.

When he took the stage at Convocation, I was more than thrilled to see him there before faculty and staff. What started from a brief conversation on this blog (he sent me an email after MVCC was featured in the New York Times) culminated in a standing ovation as he left the stage. As Dr. Eskow said, “a community college must continually change with the communities they serve.” Ours is changing in more ways than we can know. For us to continually change, we must adhere to these timeless messages from our first faculty member and our first dean of instruction, professor and dean emeritus, Dr. Seymour (Steve) Eskow. If you have any thoughts or comments on this blog, please contact me directly at presblog@mvcc.edu.