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Learning Abstract - Toward a New Way of Thinking and Learning: Becoming a Learning College


Toward a New Way of Thinking and Learning: Becoming a Learning College

By Steve Atkins and Connie Wolfe

At the start of the 1990s, a new way of thinking about education began to emerge from a great variety of sources, a way of thinking that places learning as the central aim of the education enterprise. – Terry O’Banion

Like many community colleges across North America, Surry Community College (NC) is engaged in the transformation to become a learning college. Two initially unrelated events launched our particular journey: 1) Surry’s reaffirmation by SACS, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools; and 2) our participation in the first open administration of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE).

These triggering events were viewed against the backdrop of Surry’s
introduction to the League for Innovation and the learning college. We have felt a bit like explorers as we have embarked on this journey: We are making significant discoveries, and these discoveries have helped to shape our transformation in a distinctive way.

REACCREDITATION AND A STUDENT SURVEY

In December 2002, SACS’ Commission on Colleges completed and adopted a
major revision of its accreditation process. While one component of the
process still focuses on meeting basic standards, a new quality enhancement component was added. As the commission stated in its December 2001 proposal, Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement, “The Commission on Colleges expects institutions to dedicate themselves to enhancing the quality of their programs and services within the context of their missions, resources, and capacities, and creating an environment in which teaching, research, and learning occurs.” Surry Community College is in the first group of colleges and universities to undergo official reaffirmation under the new Principles. We quickly found ourselves in uncharted territory – only one other community college in North Carolina has come up for reaffirmation under the revised Principles, for example, and across the state interest in Surry’s quality enhancement plan is growing.

 
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Dr. Susan Salvador
Office for Student Services
10/09/2003