And now that middle and high school students in public school systems across the Commonwealth are being introduced to the one-stop resource for career and higher education planning, that number will continue to grow.

In a news release about the milestone, Chancellor Glenn DuBois said he was not surprised.

“The worst economy since World War II is pushing people to really think about how to begin or even restart their career. The Wizard puts a wealth of information right in their hands and makes it so easy to use.”

It’s particularly gratifying to see the surge of visitors just since the start of school in September, notes Craig Herndon, special assistant to the chancellor and the architect of the Wizard project.

Planning has already begun for Wizard 2.0 – which will launch in the spring and include additional information from coalition partners in K-12 and higher education - and Wizard 3.0, scheduled for next fall, which will allow students to create and store academic and career plans, merge career pathways into those plans, and allow guidance counselors and teachers to create Wizard reports.

First Lady Anne Holton moderates student panel

The 2nd Annual Great Expectations Educational Forum featured heartfelt testimony from Virginia’s foster youth about the difference it makes when a student in the foster system receives the coaching and guidance to get higher education experience at a Virginia Community College.

Marian Wright Edelman

Marian Wright Edelman, guest speaker for the event, and First Lady Anne Holton, who moderated a panel of foster youth, inspired the youth and an audience of more than 200 at the event, held Oct. 23 at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens.

But the real draw was the youth themselves – all participating in Great Expectations programs at Virginia Community Colleges around the commonwealth.

The programs put small groups of youths who have been in foster care with mentors and coaches who can help them “navigate” the system – attending community college and beyond.

Tiffany Dunford of JSRCC prevews the Great Expectations Resource Center Web site

The forum also served as the “unveiling” for a new online resource center specifically for the Great Expectations program, which will also serve as the program’s main website.  Explore the resource center at GreatExpectations.vccs.edu.

Great Expectations is supported by many private sponsors and is an initiative of the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education.

–posted by Susan Hayden

The Center for Digital Education has surveyed community colleges for the past five years about their use of technology – including online registration, distance learning, tutoring and advisory services, technology training for students and faculty, and Web 2.0 social and collaborative capabilities.

Community colleges are divided into three categories by size.  Among largest community colleges, NVCC and TCC are #2 and #3, respectively, in the digital survey.

Among mid-sized colleges, RCC comes in tied for #4, LFCC ties for #5; MECC is #6; SWCC is #8; and PHCC and PVCC tie for #10.

Among our small colleges, DSLCC is #2.

Quite a showing!

Marina Light, vice president of the Center for Digital Education that runs the survey, says

Community colleges, year after year, impress us with their forward thinking and abilities to adapt quickly….Our survey results show overwhelmingly that community colleges are fact embracing cyber technologies used by ‘first digitals,’ fostering collaboration in learning by using tools in which students are familiar. Those institutions chosen as this year’s top community colleges are exceptional examples of this investment in learning.”

– posted by Susan Hayden

This show is well on its way to being a hit, and is probably more engaging than the pilot of Community.  Besides you can do a lot more with an hour.

A native of Grundy, Jayma began her acting career as a student at Southwest Virginia Community College, and was hooked after performing in her first play. She graduated in 1998 with an associate’s degree in science. Here’s Jayma describing her character, Emma, on Youtube:

Jayma has also starred in guest appearances on a number of television shows, including House, Joey, Heroes, and Pushing Daisies. She recently also starred in Paul Blart: Mall Cop.

More and more we are seeing that for individuals and families, community colleges ARE the economic recovery plan.

Joel McHale of "Community"

OK, I laughed.

It took me a while to find the right link to actually start watching the pilot of NBC’s comedy about a group of students (including actors Chevy Chase and Joel McHale) at a fictional community college, which airs on Thursday at 9:30 p.m., just after “The Office.”

But once I did, I have to admit, I was laughing after just a couple of minutes.  It may have been partly that the goofy dean in the opening sequence reminded me of a former VCCS president – always looking for a laugh.

There’s been a lot of hand-wringing about this new tv show among the community college community nationwide. We’re pretty sensitive about our status in the world of higher education. 

Time to grow up!  Doctors, lawyers, politicians and countless other institutions and professions have been lampooned for years on national tv…. the fact that it’s our turn may mean that we have truly “made it.” Let’s make the most of it.

With a Facebook page, a Twitter site with give-aways for re-tweets, and a webpage for the fictional “Greendale Community College,” web teasers, sneak peeks, and now, perhaps (I didn’t see how far I could get without paying something) the pilot episode on line, these folks are following all the new social media rules to market this show.  I first read that the pilot was available online on a facebook page — Germanna’s facebook page, to be exact.

I don’t know if the writing, characters and comedy will be enough to sustain it more than a season or two — if it will fold early or run for years. 

But I think I’ll have to turn it on Thursday night. After I see if I can watch the rest of the pilot online.

– posted by Susan Hayden

Here’s where I found the pilot:  On Amazon Video On Demand, today (9/14) the link to “Community” is in the right hand column. I clicked “watch for free” and got a “sneak peek,” not the pilot.  But if you look below the sneak peak, I saw the link to the actual pilot.  Good luck.

In ‘Crossing the Finish Line,’ William Bowen and Michael McPherson, former presidents of Princeton University and Macalester College, along with researcher Matthew Chingos, chime in on what many experts consider American higher education’s greatest weakness: college completion rates. By some measures, fewer than six in 10 entering college students complete a bachelor’s degree, among the worst rates in the developed world.

Student success is a big topic in higher education today, and I appreciate the story.

However, one of the book’s conclusions reported in the Pope story is just flat-out wrong:

Students starting at two-year schools aren’t as likely to complete a bachelor’s degree as comparably prepared students who start at four-year schools. Those findings cast some doubt on the wisdom of programs in several states, such as New Jersey and Virginia, encouraging students to start at two-year colleges, then transfer.

At Virginia’s Community Colleges, we are finding that our transfer students go on to finish their four-year degree at at least the same rate as students who spend all four years at a university.  In fact, we are finding that the better they do at our community colleges, the better they do after they transfer.

Students with an Associate degree are more successful upon transfer.  In a 2009 Working Paper on transfer, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) states that national transfer research establishes a clear link between earning an associate degree and baccalaureate completion.  Further, SCHEV states that in Virginia, 68% of students transferring with the associate degree completed the baccalaureate within four years compared to 56% of those transferring without the degree.

*Note: That 68% figure is higher than the “six in ten” American graduation figure that Pope cited above.

Students enter community colleges with differing intents.  Some are on a path to pursue a bachelor’s degree; others are seek an applied degree to enter the workforce upon its completion. Recognizing varied student intent, the VCCS now captures student intent as part of application process so that students can be more effectively advised to meet academic goals.

In Virginia’s Community Colleges two out of three students are part-time. Part-time students may not enroll continuously, but instead stop out for a variety of reasons and reenter later. These students require an extended time frame than the traditional window for measuring graduation

To serve those students (and really, all Virginia students), we have launched a new interactive tool called the Virginia Education Wizard that provides extensive information on going to college, transferring, financial assistance and scholarships, and much more. 

A recent study of 2008 bachelor’s degree recipients from Virginia’s public and private institutions recipients showed that over one-third (36%) had Virginia community college experience.  (The study was conducted by the VCCS in partnership with the National Student Clearinghouse)

Virginia has built a transfer infrastructure whose benefits key off of completion of the associate degree. This includes more than 25 guaranteed admission agreements and financial incentives for students and families through the Virginia Two-Year College Transfer Grant.

As a result of these unique and enhanced transfer opportunities, we have evidenced increases in transfer enrollments, associate degree graduates, and the number of transfer students completing the associate degree before transferring. 

• Fall enrollments in VCCS transfer programs have increased by 30%  in 2008.
• Transfer associate degree graduates in the VCCS increased in 2007-08 by 42%.

In a 2009 Working Paper on transfer, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) reports that from 2002-03 to 2005-06, one in four students transferred with the associate degree.  In 2008, one in three transfer with the degree.

So, while it is true that student success is a challenge throughout America’s institutions of higher educations, let’s immediately put to rest the unfortunate myth that those who begin their pursuit of of a four-year degree at a community college are less likely to finish their degree. It’s certainly not true in Virginia.

Posted by Jeffrey Kraus

This cut is coming at a time when Virginia’s Community Colleges are seeing record enrollment levels across all 23 colleges.

What remains to be seen is how these budget cuts will be felt by the individuals who are attending community college to start or restart their careers.  No doubt, more information will be coming out as it is available.

Posted by Jeffrey Kraus

Glenn DuBois, chancellor of Virginia’s Community Colleges, showcased a new tool today that will help Virginia’s students and workers find the top job markets for the future. The Virginia Hot Jobs Index, presented by the Virginia Education Wizard and powered by JobsEQ, proprietary software from Chmura Economics & Analytics, reflects the top 10 occupations where demand for workers exceeds current supply.

Topping the list are registered nurses, followed by computer software engineers and accounting clerks.

The occupations included in the rankings are those that students can get the requisite training for at Virginia’s Community Colleges.

One of the most frequent questions we hear from students is ‘where does this all lead?’” said Dubois. “This index points to the jobs people can and should be pursuing through our colleges.”

The index offers a “forward-looking” perspective on jobs, instead of an analysis of what has happened in the past. The tool highlights the power of the Wizard, where students can put the job data together with courses, programs, financial aid and transfer advice.

To find the “hot jobs” across the state on the Wizard, see the “careers” section of the Wizard. Login to see the top jobs in your region. Or, see the news release about the Hot Jobs Index.

DuBois spoke with two-dozen media outlets today in a whirlwind “satellite media tour” held at the newest Virginia Community College campus, the Historic Triangle Campus of Thomas Nelson Community College.

He also highlighted skyrocketing enrollment at Virginia’s Community Colleges, where preliminary figures show increases of more than 13 percent for fall enrollment, compared to this time last year.

Posted by Susan Hayden

The answers will help contribute to efforts to refine the mission of Virginia’s 23 Community Colleges, located on 40 campuses across the commonwealth.

This survey only takes about 5 minutes to complete, and those who provide contact information are entered in a drawing for a $50 Amazon gift certificate.

Find the survey here. It’s hosted by the free service, polldaddy.com.

Jane Oates, Assistant Secretary for Labor and Workforce and Senior Advisor for Workforce, Danny LeBlanc

On Tuesday, Jane Oates, Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Administration, USDOL shared her perspective on the WIA reauthorization and its impact on economic development and education. That afternoon, guests were given a great example of how the workforce system operates in Virginia through a whirlwind tour at Thomas Nelson Community College.

At the college’s workforce center, Danny LeBlanc, senior advisor to Governor Kaine for Workforce, spoke to the liaisons about Virginia’s workforce structure, new initiatives and the role of community colleges in training individuals. Guests were then invited on a tour of the workforce center, which was co-designed and co-funded by the state, localities, the WIB, one stop, community college and university.

The next stop on the tour was the Northrop Grumman Shipyard and Apprentice School, where conference attendees were driven around each area of the shipyard and provided a thorough and entertaining snapshot of the detailed and expansive work the shipyard produces for U.S. military services. A walking tour of the Apprentice School was conducted by Dr. Robert Leber, Director of Education and Workforce Development at Northrop Grumman and Chairman of the Virginia Workforce Council. Dr. Leber took guests through the history of the school and explained the founding principles of the school, all based on “ships”: leadership, scholarship and craftsmanship.

Exploring the history of Virginia was next, as guests were guided by bus through the historic triangle and then led on a walking tour of Colonial Williamsburg, taking in the sites, sounds and smells of colonial life and following in the same footsteps as many of our presidents.

President Jefferson welcomes the group to Williamsburg

Finally, the group ended the tour with a warm reception from President Thomas Jefferson and Williamsburg Mayor Jeanne Zeidler at the Shield’s Tavern, followed by a hearty colonial meal, music and entertainment.  

Wednesday capped off the Workforce Liaison’s meeting with the formal business meeting and a candid discussion of cutting across issues and state innovative initiatives where guests were asked to share best practices, common challenges and to brainstorm ideas for addressing the challenges and improving service to the customers.

Virginia was thrilled to welcome workforce liaisons from across the country and to develop new working relationships, expand on opportunities and to identify best practices that can be implemented in the Commonwealth. 

For more pictures, visit the Flickr account.

Posted by Lauren Von Herbulis

The New York Times this morning cites community colleges — using Northern Virginia Community College as an example — as a place where white collar workers turn to update their skills and find new ones.

“When Wendy Scarborough lost her job after 10 years as a television news producer for NBC, she decided it would be smart to pursue a new career and to improve her skills,” the news story begins.

“It felt a little odd enrolling at (Northern Virginia) community college, she said, because she already had a bachelor’s degree…..”

The Times piece goes on to say that

Ms. Scarborough is among thousands of white-collar workers taking advantage of the nation’s nearly 1,200 community colleges, with their low-cost courses and local campuses.

Many of those workers are unemployed and eager to improve their skills or study for new careers in fields like nursing or information technology. Many students at community colleges have jobs and want to increase their skills to become more valuable to their employees and improve their chances for a raise.

In these times, community colleges like NVCC are attracting folks with not only a bachelor’s degrees, but also those with master’s degrees and even doctorates.  They are at all stages of their work careers. They are at the center of communities, with a pulse on what is needed there.

The article is a reminder that career paths are not always linear, and higher education plans don’t always move in one direction. But community colleges are still a vital step.

“I have not seen anything like this,” said [TCC President Deborah] DiCroce, who came to lead TCC in 1998 and has seen record enrollment each year. “There’s no way that it is not a result of the economy.”

The Virginian Pilot wrote a story about the increase today.

Perhaps the most impressive thing in the story is the mention that nearly half of the area’s college students are attending Tidewater Community College.

About 46 percent of all South Hampton Roads residents who were enrolled as undergraduates in a Virginia college or university last fall were TCC students, DiCroce said.

Tomorrow, we are all going to get a sense of how deep the next round of state spending cuts will be. But that isn’t slowing down the demand for the opportunities that community colleges are helping to create, nor the obligations the colleges have to serve those individuals.

“We’re committed to responding to that demand,” DiCroce said. “We want to be part of the solution…. A strong, skilled, educated work force is a critical component of the solution.”

Posted by Jeffrey Kraus.

It was so significant that it had some traditional media reporters asking, “Where’s the press release?”

The thing is, you see, there was no press release.  And there was no press conference – a move some may consider blasphemous for an old fashioned government agency.

Instead, we began a conversation and we did it through social media, which is based on the premise of eternal conversation.

The Announcment:

Virginia’s Community Colleges, the Virginia State Department of Education (VDOE), the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), the Virginia 529 College Savings Plan and the Education Credit and Management Corporation are joining forces for the biggest collaboration in Virginia’s history of public education.

They are joining together to build the next generation of the Virginia Education Wizard.

What does it all mean?

The partnership means that every student will get a personalized education plan beginning in the seventh grade and that plan will help them help them break through the myths, mysteries, red tape and barriers that can make the process of going to college unnecessarily difficult.

Students will be able to work on that plan with their parents, guidance counselors and career coaches on the Wizard - a tool that more than 125,000 people have visited since it launched last March.

Why make the announcment on social media?

What makes the Wizard’s story so interesting is that through the Wizard, these partners are smartly using technology to help educate children, who are growing up on technology.

“For these youngsters, technology is not an option.  It’s a necessity,” said Patricia I. Wright, superintendent of the Virginia Department of Education.

What better way to announce a technology meant for techno-savvy students than to make use of some of that technology ourselves?

Under the masterful moderating of John Sarvay, we sat the partners down for a meal at Morton’s Steakhouse in RIchmond’s Shockoe Slip, and had a conversation about public education and how it can better serve Virginia students and families.

Sarvay even quipped that he was taken back to see government employees actually focused on providing better service to the people who are paying the bills.

But the conversation didn’t end there.  It was recorded and will soon be published – perhaps in whole, perhaps in parts, on the Wizard’s Facebook page.

And the conversation was tweeted live on Twitter (you can find it by searching “#steakchat” on Twitter), where people took part from around the state and, in some cases, around the country.

(Special thanks to the Social Media Club who gave our event a lot of attention.)

The interviews we video taped at the event will be used to produce a web video documentary about the collaboration and what the partners are hoping to accomplish through it.

What did we learn from the experience?

Aside from the fact that the food at Morton’s is rather tasty, we learned that this might just be the evolution of the news conference.

While it is always a challenge to engage the traditional media, who are simply burdened with more leads and stories to follow than they have good people in their newsroom, we were able to engage with newsrooms and reporters for this event.  (A special thanks to NBC 12 photojournalist Dwight Nixon, who covered the announcement)

And we were able to share a conversation with virtually anyone about the paradigm-shifting accomplishments that are being made through this partnership and the Wizard tool.

While we consider the evening a great success, we know that its benefits will continue to be felt as more and more people take part in the conversation.

And it’s a fair bet that this won’t be the last time we work through this new and exciting format.

Posted by Jeffrey Kraus.

It’s also hard to ignore the financial advantages. In today’s challenging economy, community colleges are an increasingly affordable way for students from middle-class families to complete the first two years of a baccalaureate degree before moving on to a four-year university.

From a policy perspective, community colleges make sense; from an economic perspective, they make sense. But I am a teacher, and my experience with community colleges is personal. People sometimes ask me why I choose to teach at one and why I have continued to teach since moving to Washington, D.C. I’m always surprised by the question because there was never a doubt in my mind that I would stay in the classroom. The reason is simple: The students are inspiring.

Dr. Biden goes on to mention that across the nation, community colleges are educating 11.5 million students this year.  That’s an incredible number when you think about it and it is only going to get bigger as more people pursue their dream of a better future despite the economy.

The numbers are staggering here in Virginia as well.  Virginia’s Community Colleges educate two out of every three undergraduate students in the state.  When you add in the individuals who are benefiting from our workforce development programs, our colleges are serving more than 370,000 people!

The awards, chosen from 350 nominations, recognize higher education institutions that “take technology investment to new heights.”

Craig Herndon, director of the Wizard project, is featured on the cover of the print version of the magazine.  A feature on the Wizard appears online this weekend.

At the 23-school Virginia Community College System, an old cliché has proven true: Sometimes the best ideas are conceived on the back of a napkin….

the article begins, citing Chancellor Glenn DuBois’ original idea that planning for college and careers should be as easy as booking a vacation on a travel site.  More than 100,000 visitors have now accessed the Wizard, with more expansion on the way.

Recipients gather around one of the donated computers from IBM with United Way representative, Trish Steiniger

This morning Heritage Public Library, Chamal Community Development Corporation and Beautiful Temple Ministry were recipients of three new computers donated by IBM, in partnership with the United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg and the SHARE (Showing How Access to Resources Empowers) Network, to connect individuals to employment resources, job training and educational opportunities.

Trisha Steiniger, assistant vice president for information and referral of United Way presented representatives of each organization with the computers and introduced them as the new SHARE Network Access Points (SNAPs).

“We see job-seekers every day,” said Barbara Winters, librarian at Heritage Public Library, “We serve them in as many ways as possible and we have to thank IBM, United Way and SHARE for giving us the tools we need, the technology, the software and the support, to better serve our community.”

The Virginia SHARE Network Program works in collaboration with One-Stop Career Centers and faith- and community-based organizations to connect job seekers to employment services in their communities. It is operated throughout the Commonwealth by local workforce investment boards under the guidance of the Virginia Community College System.

To learn more about SHARE Network and other employment resources, visit the Virginia Workforce Network online.

Posted by Lauren Von Herbulis

Hancock

Gary Hancock of Pulaski presides over his first meeting today as chairman of the State Board for Community Colleges. In a news release about his appointment, Hancock, an attorney, said he first intended to be a teacher.

Nathaniel Marshall is vice chairman. They were elected to a one-year term for the 2009-10 year at the board’s May meeting.

Listen to a podcast with Gary Hancock

Marshall

The president will be outlining a plan to spend $12 billion over the next 10 years on community colleges, including increasing partnerships with business and industry, boosting graduation rates, renovating aging facilities, and increasing online education opportunities.

In some of the pre-released remarks, he says:

“Time and again, when we have placed our bet for the future on education, we have prospered as a result – by tapping the incredible innovative and generative potential of a skilled American workforce.

“That is why, at the start of my administration I set a goal for America: by 2020, this nation will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world…Today, I am announcing the most significant down payment yet on reaching this goal in the next ten years. It’s called the American Graduation Initiative. It will reform and strengthen community colleges from coast to coast so that they get the resources students and schools need – and the results workers and businesses demand. Through this plan, we seek to help an additional five million Americans earn degrees and certificates in the next decade.”

The audio will be available here, about 3:40 p.m., according to WhiteHouse.gov:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/live/

Excerpts are already available at some news outlets, including here:
White House releases details of Obama community college plan – Michigan Messenger

Here’s the official excerpts from the White House:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Excerpts-of-the-Presidents-remarks-in-Warren-Michigan-and-fact-sheet-on-the-American-Graduation-Initiative/

Obama to boost community colleges - Boston Globe
An Infusion of Cash for Community Colleges- New York Times
Obama Joins Predecessors In Lauding Community Colleges - Wall Street Journal Blogs
Obama Plans Cash Infusion for Community Colleges - Washington Post 
Obama to unveil $12 billion community college plan - Reuters 
Obama plans $12B boost to community colleges - USA Today 
Obama Plans Community-College Initiative Wall Street Journal 
Obama says new jobs will require greater training - The Associated Press 
Community College Awaits Obama With Faith, Hope, and Skepticism - Chronicle of Higher Education