December 4, 2020 | Issue # 176
It’s hard to believe that it has been nine months since the coronavirus pandemic caused many of our institutions to move operations fully online. Many of us continue to operate in a largely virtual environment today. The pandemic has been difficult on many of us, upending our daily lives, and the ways in which we interact with each other. Implementing strategies to keep our students, staff, faculty, and administrators safe has been necessary. At the same time, it has limited the many interpersonal connections that fulfill us and encourage us to keep doing this very important work.
As we enter this season of gratitude, let’s choose not to focus on what we have missed, but let’s be thankful that we have been able to design solutions to delivering critical services that make a difference in the lives of the people we serve. My wish for you, our leaders, is that you stay encouraged and healthy as we continue to move through this unprecedented event.
“Growing a School Within a School”
Butler County Community College’s (BC3) 23-year-old College Within the High School program has exceeded 500 students in a semester for the first time. Learn about the program and its success in this CC Daily article.
An education professor at Anne Arundel Community College writes about engaging students through intrinsic motivation rather than letter grades. Read more at the AACC 21st Century Center blog.
The deadline to submit applications for the Equity Transfer Initiative (ETI) has been extended to December 11. ETI aims to increase transfer rates for African American, Hispanic, adult, and first-generation learners. It was created through a collaboration between AACC, AASCU, and APLU, and is made possible through support from ECMC Foundation and Ascendium Education Group. Learn more here.
AACC is now accepting submissions for session proposals for both the AACC Live and AACC Digital conferences. Read the proposal guidelines for AACC Live here. Submit proposals for AACC Digital here. Proposals are due by December 31 at 5:00 p.m. (ET).
We’re also accepting nominations for the Awards of Excellence and the Dale P. Parnell Faculty Distinction Recognition. The deadline to submit nominations is December 31 by 5:00 p.m. (ET).
AACC’s 2021 Workforce Development Institute (WDI) will be held virtually January 27-28. WDI will celebrate community colleges’ ability to adjust through adversity. Check out the schedule here, and register here.