University Business - July/August 2011 - (Page 32)

COMMUNITY C O L L E G E S Put a Ring the foundation for success on It Engaging students to set By Ann McClure NgagEd sTUdENTs arE successful students. That is a well known fact on college campuses. The trick is encouraging that engagement, particularly for community college leaders. “about 80 percent of our students are low income,” says stephen Head, president of Lone Star College-North Harris (Texas). “Many of them are also the first in their family to attend college.” another common issue is lack of commitment on the part of the students. “Our classes are cheap, so it’s not a big financial hit to drop one and take it again,” says William rainey, professor of visual communications at Austin Community College’s south austin Campus (Texas). Engaging students and creating a sense of connection to campus is a group effort that requires a multipronged approach. Here are several areas to consider. FACuLty CoNNeCtioNS The main group of people students interact with on campus is faculty, and this first line of connection can’t be overlooked. Campus leaders realized years ago that students don’t want to walk all over campus to file paperwork, which led to one-stop shops for student services. The next level is not making students walk at all. “We’re encouraged by colleges finding ways to bring those services into the classroom,” says angela Orianodarnall, associate director of the College relations Center for Community College student Engagement at the university of texas at Austin. “With part-time commuters, the best way to engage students is in the class.” as more traditional-age students start at community colleges, faculty members are requiring students to come see them 32 | July/August 2011 E A recently renovated dining hall at Lonestar College-North Harris (Texas) encourages students to linger and visit with peers. after the first assessment, something older students did on their own, she says. “as we’re seeing the literature about what it takes to keep these students engaged, [faculty are] doing more academic counseling,” says amy Baldwin, an in- helping students succeed, she says. Faculty are using technology to expand office hours. “It is so much easier for them,” says rainey. “They can contact me when they are home, or in between classes in a computer lab.” Through the adobe ‘With part-time commuters, the best way to engage students is in the class.’ —Angela Oriano-Darnall, College Relations Center for Community College Student Engagement structor of English and student success at Pulaski technical College (ark.) and co-founder of the National Institute for student success. “I’m doing much more of that over my career. We’re taking much more of a ‘whole student’ approach.” Overall today, there is greater understanding about what role college services play in Connect system he uses for distance education, he can make himself available into the evening for students who work 9 to 5. “It makes me work harder during my office hours,” he quips, although he draws the line at weekend hours. If it wasn’t for the hurdle of funding, he thinks online tutors would be a great idea. universitybusiness.com http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - July/August 2011

University Business - July/August 2011
Contents
Editor's Note
Ad Index
College Index
Behind the News
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Financial Success
Money Matters
Community Colleges
Funding Capture
Models of Efficiency
Thwarting ID Thieves
Embezzlement Epidemic
What's New
End Note

University Business - July/August 2011