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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

President's Wednesday Message


Sometimes we get so deeply involved in a project, we forget that not everyone is “in the know.”  Right now, Academic Services, Student Services, ETS, and the Grants Office are tightly focused on two funding opportunities provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: Completion by Design and the Next Generation Learning Challenges.  So that everyone has a better idea of what these projects are and what MCC’s involvement might be, I wanted to spend a bit of time giving you an overview.  Here goes . . .

Completion by Design
The Gates Foundation has limited participation in Completion by Design (CbD) to community colleges in nine states that both serve a high percentage of low income adults and have at least two campuses. Each proposal must name a “managing partner” institution and include at least four other colleges. MCC has been asked to serve as the managing partner on the SUNY application, and we will work with 5 to 7 of our sister community colleges. Gates has provided a concept paper that describes the project in detail
https://completionbydesign.org/sites/default/files/CBD_Concept_paper_.pdf), but the one minute version is this: colleges participating in CbD will create a highly structured, evidence-based program targeted at young adults that promotes degree and/or workforce credential completion within two years. Gates is especially interested in what the foundation refers to as “loss and momentum points”: “These moments are concentrated early in the college experience — some even before they reach their first class — and occur less frequently as students build academic momentum and the confidence required to persist. These moments could be considered potential loss points — where thoughtful intervention can make the difference between success and failure.“ In other words, this project asks colleges to design a program that addresses how and where we can intervene in students’ experience to support completion.   Hence, the name. Both the Faculty Senate and the Faculty Association have been briefed on MCC’s involvement in this project and have signed on in support of our proposal. This is expected to be a highly competitive process, with no more than (and likely less than) one award per state.

Next Generation Learning Challenges
As one might guess, the Gates Foundation also has a keen interest in the role that technology can play in advancing student learning and completion. It is partnering with leading education technology groups, including the League for Innovation, on the Next Gen project (
https://nextgenlearning.org/), which will be released in stages called “waves.”  The first wave addresses “Building Blocks for College Completion” and seeks proposals for “transformative educational technology solutions” in four areas:

-- Open Core Courseware: online materials or modules for high demand, foundational courses that can be shared freely across institutions

-- Blended Learning: hybrids that mix in-class time with quality online learning to maximize learner flexibility

-- Deeper Learning: technologies that advance subject mastery, course completion, and retention within developmental and high demand gatekeeper courses

-- Learner Analytics: systems that provide faculty members with more information about their students to assist in identifying students who might be at risk

As might be anticipated by their emphasis on evidence, Gates wants to fund “scale ups” of projects that have been proven successful already. Right now, MCC is considering participating in Next Gen’s first wave of funding by partnering on an application from Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC). Their proposal involves the “learner analytics” area. As presented by CPCC, its Online Student Profile Learning System grew out of its Title III Strengthening Institutions project. The basic goals of the grant project were to improve the retention and academic success of under-prepared students. Over four years, this system has proven highly successful at improving the completion and persistence rates of a high number of low income students (aged 26 or under) who were new to the college and enrolled in two or more entry-level English or Reading developmental courses. Vice President Jeff Bartkovich (Educational Technology Services) and Interim Vice President Kimberley Collins (Academic Services) have more detailed information on the CPCC model, and I’ve asked them to get it out to you. As with CbD, Next Gen will be a highly competitive process.

I know this is a brief overview of two fairly complex projects, so I would encourage you to check out each project for more specifics. Also, for information on both of these projects and more about the state of the college — as well as an opportunity to ask questions about it all, I encourage you to attend one of the fall Message to the College Community sessions: Monday, November 15, from noon to 1 pm, on the Damon City Campus; or Friday, November 19, from noon to 1 pm, on the Brighton Campus.

I hope to hear from you
on the President's Wednesday Message blog or at these meetings!

Anne M. Kress
President's Office
11/10/2010