Who Are We?
The Bellwether College Consortium is comprised of award-winning colleges charged with addressing critical issues facing community colleges through applicable research and the promotion and replication of best practices addressing workforce development, instructional programs and services, and planning governance and finance. The nationally recognized Bellwether Award focuses on cutting-edge, trendsetting programs worthy of replication. Annually, 30 community colleges are deemed finalists from a large group of applicants in the United States and its territories. The selected colleges compete for one of three Bellwether Awards. A rigorous selection process with two rounds of judging by peers and academicians in the field culminates with a day-long event of presentations by contenders for the Bellwether Award at the Community College Futures Assembly. The competition and selection bring a level of excellence that demonstrates the innovative spirit and results-driven mindset that exists among our finest community colleges. BCC is proudly sponsored by the Alamo Colleges District in San Antonio, Texas and celebrates its 29th Bellwether Award competition in February of 2023.
Membership Benefits
Membership benefits of the Bellwether College Consortium:
- Three complimentary registrations to the Community College Futures Assembly
- Early Notification of the Submission Portal for the Bellwether Award competition
- Subscription to the Bellwether Brief, the consortium’s quarterly e-newsletter
- Exclusive access to the BCC Innovations Webinar series featuring Bellwether Award winners and nationally recognized researchers and practitioners in higher education
- Webinars featuring Bellwether-winning programs with proven solutions worthy of replication to address critical issues facing community colleges
- Announcement of special sessions at the American Association of Community Colleges and Association of Community Colleges annual conference for your trustees and leadership team
- Opportunity to partner with BCC member colleges on grant proposals and conducting applied research.
As part of the new vision of the BCC here are some of the new member benefits:
- Invited presentation from our Outstanding Dissertation Award winner at the Community College Futures Assembly, and
- Free admission to our annual BCC Film Screening included in registration to the Community College Futures Assembly