Here are some quick takes for the second week of the fall semester:
-- On Saturday at the
Opportunity Nation Summit, I shared the story of MCC’s partnerships with industry on workforce education that advance the economic and social mobility of our community. The summit, which drew over 1,000, also served as the formal launch of the group’s bipartisan agenda to promote
youth opportunity. As another participant in the Summit remarked, successfully bridging partisan divides requires good will, a commitment to go with the evidence, and an ability to compromise. Thankfully, Opportunity Nation has a strong track record of building coalitions that advance policy and drive action that can improve the future for America’s youth. Because the work of Opportunity Nation directly impacts the lives of our students and the life of our community, MCC has been on the leadership council of the organization for several years.
-- In keeping with MCC’s Wellness Council’s push to get our entire College walking more, I’ll be starting “walking office hours” in addition to my traditional office hours at Brighton, ATC, and Damon; and have encouraged all members of President’s Staff to do the same. If you see me walking at a more leisurely pace rather than hustling to another meeting, assume it’s a walking office hour. I’ll also send out a quick tweet from @MCCPresident before setting out, sharing where I’ll likely be. Pull me into a class or office or just chat and take the walk with me.
-- Since All College Day, more than a few people have approached me with variations on the same question: “If student retention is so important, why doesn’t MCC have a ‘retention office’?” My answer is always a variant of “because retention is so important, everyone’s office is a retention office” (which I do believe). I also point to the powerful retention potential of the Student Success Networks embedded within the MCC Schools. However, a forthcoming report from Eduventures/Inside Higher Ed suggests that a key challenge to improving student outcomes appreciably has been that few colleges have a single office tasked with this key responsibility. Thus, everyone and no one is accountable: fingers are pointed in all directions, and nothing changes. I’m interested in your thoughts on this question. Please share them in the comments on the
blog.