BECOMING A LEARNING COLLEGE: MILESTONES ON THE JOURNEY by Kay M. McClenney
Three years ago, the League for Innovation in the Community College
identified through a competitive process 12 Vanguard Learning Colleges.
These colleges, committed to collaborative work on developing in their
institutions an ever more powerful and effective focus on student learning,
are Cascadia Community College, The Community College of Baltimore County,
Community College of Denver, Humber College, Kirkwood Community College,
Lane Community College, Madison Area Technical College, Moraine Valley
Community College, Palomar College, Richland College, Sinclair Community
College, and Valencia Community College.
Throughout the three-year project, the League and the colleges addressed
five strategic objectives that focused work in these areas: organizational
culture, staff recruitment and development, technology, learning outcomes,
and programs for underprepared students. Near the end of the grant-funded
period, each of the colleges hosted a final evaluation visit by League
staff and the project's external evaluator. The agenda included sessions
with the president and the college's Vanguard project team, an exhibition
of results related to the five major objectives, a special session on
evidence of learning, and focus groups with faculty and with students.
The prevailing metaphor for the Learning College Project has been "the
journey," emphasizing the conviction that becoming a learning college
involves a long-term and continuing commitment - a journey, not a
destination. From materials reviewed and from interviews, presentations,
and focus groups conducted, the project evaluation yields five important
milestones on that journey.
[Because of its length, the remainder of this article is attached.]
Dr. Susan Salvador
Office for Students Services
04/03/2003 |