Every two years, the Aspen Institute awards a $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence — what President Barack Obama described as “basically the Oscars for great community colleges.”
The 2021 winners were announced earlier this month. And lo and behold, Amarillo College — which I have spotlighted before — was recognized with a runner-up “Rising Star” award.
The first-place winner is another Texas institution, in the same city where I was born: San Antonio College (SAC), which serves predominantly part-time, low-income, and Hispanic students.
When I read more about why SAC has been so successful, I noticed the same theme that also animates Amarillo College, and that is:
Care.
Consider “CARE” our most important four-letter word — and inextricable from a relationship-rich culture, which I’ve obsessed about on this blog.
Both award-winning colleges “love students to success,” as Amarillo puts it.
Care applies when we design Big Initiatives, as well as in our small, individual interactions. No matter our role, we have an opportunity to strengthen our caring culture every day.
The Aspen profile of San Antonio College reads:
A culture of caring has become a hallmark of excellent community colleges. What distinguishes SAC are the ways the caring culture is undergirded by an unusually robust culture of inquiry and action-a remarkable balance of head and heart. Faculty and staff are equipped to effectively educate and guide their students, with clear expectations, strong analytical systems, and a commitment to ongoing improvement.
Throughout the college, leaders, faculty, and staff constantly analyze whether students are getting what they need — whether it’s math knowledge, child care, or useful information about their transfer destination — and adapt programs to meet the needs of their diverse student body. This commitment to continuous improvement yields results: In just five years, SAC’s graduation and transfer rate increased by almost 20 percentage points.
A culture of caring was also emphasized in a recent webinar hosted by the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice — which was just the latest in the center’s 9-month series of #RealCollege inspirational webinars to support students experiencing basic needs insecurities. The full schedule, with video recordings of previous events, are available by scrolling to the bottom of this page.
The May 19 session focused on supporting parenting students — and Paula Umaña, who joined us during Virginia Western’s January 2021 in-service, stressed the importance of making parenting students feel welcome. We should pay attention to our language … and work to de-stigmatize seeking out support, whether it’s financial or academic. I can’t wait to hear more about Virginia Western’s Single Stop efforts, and how the entire college can work together to promote all of the government resources (SNAP, TANF, etc.) available to our students.
I’m also very excited about two Hope Center sessions happening within the next week:
1.
Designing for Care with Jesse Stommel of Digital Pedagogy Lab. There has been much talk over the last year about maintaining ‘continuity’ of instruction and assessment, but it’s even more important for us to talk about how we maintain the communities at the heart of our educational institutions. There is no one-size-fits-all set of best practices for building a learning community, whether on-ground or online. Right now, we should begin our efforts toward building community by designing for the students who need that community most, the ones most likely to have been feeling isolated even before the pandemic: disabled students, chronically ill students, students of color, queer students, and students facing housing and food-insecurity. Just last month, I stumbled onto this article about instructional design by Stommel, who emphasizes humanity, not technology. Wednesday, June 2, at 3 p.m. Register here (it’s free).
2.
Basic Needs Insecurity Among Virginia Community College System Students: In fall 2020, over 10,000 Virginia Community College System (VCCS) students — including Virginia Western students — participated in the Hope Center’s #RealCollege Survey. The survey assessed students’ basic needs security and their well-being, as indicated by employment status, academic engagement, and mental health. It also explored the impacts of the pandemic, which challenged VCCS students, faculty, and staff in new ways. Get a first look at the survey results and hear about the VCCS’s growing work to support students’ basic needs and achieve the state’s college attainment and equity goals. Webinar is Thursday, June 3, at 3:30 p.m. Register here.
Want even more inspiration and ideas? Print and read this 20-page summary of the 2021 Aspen Prize winners and finalists.
Every week, Stephanie Ogilvie Seagle adds *free* professional learning opportunities to the Green House Grants Blog, which has a new URL (https://www.virginiawestern.edu/grants/green-house/) and now allows moderated comments — *gulp*. 🙂