SCUP Webcast

Building Student Success in the Community College

With the escalating emphasis on quality and accountability in undergraduate education, colleges are seeking ways, not just to understand what student outcomes are, but also how to improve those outcomes. The Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) provides an assessment of institutional practices and student behaviors that are associated with higher levels of student learning, persistence and success. Equipped with that information, community colleges are able to target their efforts and resources more effectively.

CCSSE was established in 2001 as part of the Community College Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin. Now completing its fifth national administration, CCSSE has surveyed about 700,000 students from 550 community colleges in 48 states, British Columbia, and The Marshall Islands.

From these students, and from emerging evidence across other initiatives, much is being learned about what matters most in producing more successful outcomes for community college students. We now understand definitively, for example, that student engagement matters—for all students, but particularly for students who may bring multiple challenges with them to college.

This webcast will feature a short interview with guest, John Merrow, correspondent and executive producer of Discounted Dreams: High hopes and harsh realities at America's community colleges. He will discuss the production and filming of this PBS special documentary.
For information about this PBS special, please visit:
www.pbs.org/merrow/tv/discounteddreams/

Discussion Points:

• Learn how CCSSE results promote understanding of the particular challenges community colleges must address to improve outcomes for students.
• How to make use of survey results
• Consider the potential power of re-thinking and then purposefully redesigning the educational experiences encountered by your students.
• Discover strategies for strengthening student engagement and success on your campus.

Who Should Attend?

This webcast is aimed at:

• Community college academic and student life administrators
• Institutional researchers
• Assessment coordinators
• Faculty members
• Coordinators of student success programs (first-year seminars, learning communities, etc.)
• Graduate students

Moderator:

Arleen Arnsparger is project manager of the MetLife Foundation Initiative on Student Success, a project of the University of Texas Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas at Austin. In addition, she works with colleges participating in the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), focusing on using CCSSE results to strengthen student engagement and retention. Arnsparger also consults with education organizations, foundations, community collaboratives, and others on organizational improvement and strategic communications.

Arnsparger has been a community college vice president, adjunct faculty in both two- and four-year institutions, and an education "policy wonk" working with governors, state leaders, and school districts throughout the country on education improvement.

A frequent speaker and facilitator, Arnsparger has produced and authored videos and publications highlighting student success, education improvement, and strategic communications. She also designs and conducts focus groups and helps leaders build capacity within their organizations. In her home state of Colorado, she works with communities that are welcoming new immigrants and striving to meet the challenges and the opportunities in their changing demographics.

Since Arnsparger's early career as a TV and radio reporter and newscaster, she has been asking questions that get to the heart of people's perceptions, experiences, and actions.

Presenter:

Kay McClenney is director of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) and a senior lecturer in the Community College Leadership Program (CCLP) at The University of Texas at Austin. Also within the CCLP, she is senior consultant to the UT work on the national Achieving the Dream initiative, part of three-person Initiative Consultant Team for the Ford Foundation's national Community College Bridges to Opportunity Initiative and director of the MetLife Foundation's Initiative on Student Success. Throughout the 90s, she served as vice president and chief operating officer of the Education Commission of the States (ECS).

McClenney has served as a consultant to education institutions, state higher education systems, state government, and professional associations in 48 states and internationally. Additionally, she was community college educator for nine years, during which she was a faculty member, system administrator, and interim CEO.

A frequent keynote speaker, McClenney has authored numerous publications on education issues, strategic planning, accountability, and assessment. She currently serves on the National Advisory Boards for the National Survey of Student Engagement at Indiana University and the League for Innovation's College and Careers Transition Initiative funded by the US Department of Education.

McClenney earned her PhD in educational administration from the Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas at Austin, and she has been named a Distinguished Graduate of that program. Her previous degrees include a BA from Trinity University and an MA in Psychology from Texas Christian University.

McClenney served as a member of the board of directors of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and the executive board of the American Association of Women in Community Colleges (AAWCC). She was a recipient of the 2002 PBS O'Banion Prize for contributions to teaching and learning in America.

Order the CD

To learn more about the the Community College Survey of Student Engagement visit: www.ccsse.org

Questions? Please contact Corrie Migneco at 734.998.6690 or corrie.migneco@scup.org