When Lucia Rios’ mother attended college in Mexico, things were decidedly different from the American educational system. She wants to help her daughter through her Harper College journey – the financial aid, scholarships and support services, for example – but it’s tough when your Spanish is so much better than your English. PASO, Rios said, […]
Completion Articles
Using the summer to sharpen online delivery
In mid-June, well before most colleges and universities, Northern Essex Community College (NECC) in Massachusetts announced that the fall semester would be offered 90 percent online. By making a decision early, the college had time to focus on making the online experience equal to what students could experience in a face-to-face classroom, said Bill Heineman, […]
Taking advantage of open-air classrooms
Earlier this summer, nine Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC) agronomy management students gathered in a field on the east side of Menomonie, where instructors had previously planted corn, soybeans and oats to do what they call “crop scouting.” “We’re looking at growth stages and checking to see the health of the crops,” said Jake Ingli. […]
Extra support for military students
About 20 percent of the veterans at Mesa Community College in Arizona withdrew during the spring semester, says Bill Clites, director of veterans services. Many of them signed up for regular face-to-face classes and weren’t prepared when Mesa transitioned to distance learning in the middle of the semester, he says. “Spring started out normal. Then […]
Kicking off the new year…virtually
Polk State College’s incoming freshmen received a virtual welcome to the college that did not lack the energy or information of traditional First Flight Freshmen Welcome events held as part of the First Year Experience (FYE) Program for first-time-in-college students. A week-long program that culminated on August 7 with the official First Flight Freshmen Welcome […]
Student Story: Adjusting college plans and priorities
Last November, when Hunter Ringwood received an acceptance letter from a local four-year university, the idea of a global pandemic wasn’t even on his radar. For him, a few things were guiding his decision on where to go to college: Does the school have a good sports program, how close was it to his parent’s […]
Prison education adapts to pandemic challenges
Prisons don’t generally give inmates access to the internet, and many have become COVID hotspots. That is causing major disruptions in colleges participating in the U.S. Education Department’s Second Chance Pell pilot program. Due to the pandemic, Chaffey College has transferred its inmate education to a correspondence model for the spring and summer. The college […]
Breaking through barriers
Driven by a passion for science and technology, College of DuPage (COD) engineering student Cierra Desmaratti is shattering the glass ceiling and pushing the envelope in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). In her third year at COD, Desmaratti is president of the Society of Women Engineers, a candidate for an internship at Argonne National […]
High-tech, high-touch
With nine sites serving 60,000 students, Collin College in Texas transitioned 3,100 classes online March 20, launching the new programming a week later. The campus closure exacerbated a “digital divide” where some learners were less likely than others to have consistent access to reliable technology. In response, Collin College opened a designated drive-in Wi-Fi space, […]
Report roundup
Here are three reports you should know about this month. Earning a few community college credits can benefit four-year college students’ academic, STEM and employment outcomes without increasing their student loan debt, according to a new report from the Community College Research Center (CCRC). Four-year college students who took one to 10 credits at a […]