Past Winners

2018 AWARD WINNERS

Instructional Programs & Services

2018 Bellwether Award Winner

College of the Desert Palm Desert, CA

“Breaking Down the Basic Skills Barrier: Creating Pathways through the Basic Skills Sequence to support Student Success, Equity, and Completion (EDGE)“

Planning, Governance, & Finance

2018 Bellwether Award Winner

Johnston Community College, Smithfield, NC

“One College – New Operational Model for Community Colleges“

Workforce Development

2018 Bellwether Award Winner

Pueblo Community College, Pueblo, CO 

“Mobile Learning Labs – Paving New Pathways Addressing the need for skilled workers”

2017 AWARD WINNERS

Instructional Programs & Services

2017 Bellwether Award Winner

Pensacola State College – Pensacola, FL: Virtual Tutoring at Pensacola State CollegeThe Pensacola State College Virtual Tutoring Program increases academic support services and makes those services easily accessible. Instructors and peer tutor offer free, online, synchronous tutoring to students from any location with any electronic device with internet access. This quality academic support is offered at times most convenient to students.

2017 Bellwether Award Finalists

• Anne Arundel Community College- Arnold, MD: Persistence in Pajamas: AACC’s Virtual writing center
• Bossier Parish Community College: Starting Below Ground: Channeling Paths to Completion in Developmental Education
• Columbia State Community College – Columbia, TN : Participate, Lead, Succeed: Building a Bridge to Graduation
• Estrella Mountain Community College – Avondale, AZ: Student Success Fair: Increasing completion rates using Tinto’s practices
• Hillsborough Community College – Hillsborough County, FL: Empowering Black and Latino Males Towards Academic Success in Community Colleges
• Lake Sumter State College – Leesburg, FL : RISE Summer Math Academy- Creating a Pipeline for the Academic Middle
• Maricopa Community Colleges – Tempe, AZ: Supporting Veteran Student Success: Dedicated to Serving Those Who Serve
• Pellissippi State Community College – Knoxville, TN: Utilizing Learning Communities as a Completion Pathway for Adult
• Pensacola State College – Pensacola, FL: Virtual Tutoring at Pensacola State College
• South Mountain Community College – Phoenix, AZ: The Foundations Academy: Meeting Students Where They Are

Planning, Governance, & Finance

2017 Bellwether Award Winner

Amarillo College – Amarillo, TX: Education Across Barriers: Creating a Systemic Approach Addressing Poverty in Higher EducationIn June 2011, Amarillo College (AC) revolutionized its institution when it created a systemic approach to addressing poverty barriers for students. Today, AC’s No Excuses Poverty Initiative is the connector between campus programs, services and projects designed to support students, boost graduation and transfer, and increase student persistence.

2017 Bellwether Award Finalists

• Amarillo College – Amarillo, TX: Education Across Barriers: Creating a Systemic Approach Addressing Poverty in Higher Education
• Bergen Community College – Paramus, NJ: Don’t Let Your Graduates Die on the Vine … a Community College Approach to Increase the Graduation harvest
• Davidson Community College – Lexington, NC: Redesigning the Redesign of Developmental Education at Davidson County Community College
• Elgin Community College – Elgin, IL: Integrated Career and Academic Preparation System (ICAPS) – A Story of Success, Sustainability, and Scale
• El Paso Community College – El Paso, TX: Teachership Academy: Creating Our Own Master Teachers through a Two Phase Cohort Experience Focusing on Teaching and Learning
• Hopkinsville Community College – Hopkinsville, KY: CIVIC CLUBS as Partners in Progress. Flipping finance: Funding Unbound! Finding Philanthropy, Focusing on Private/Public Partnership
• Johnston Community College – Smithfield, NC: One College Philosophy: Organizational Change for Student Success
• Kentucky Community and Technical College System – Versailles, KY: The KCTCS Innovative Educator Academy: Enabling Innovation in the Community College
• Salt Lake Community College – Salt Lake City, UT: The Salt Lake Community College OER Initiative
• West Kentucky Community and Technical College – Paducah, KY: Free Community College Tuition Does Make a Difference

Workforce Development

2017 Bellwether Award Winner

Cuyahoga Community College – Cleveland, OH: Integrated Pathways: From Pathways to Pipelines to Student SuccessThe Manufacturing Center of Excellence provides students with an integrated and accelerated pathway to completion and a pipeline to industry through training in high demand areas. Our goal is to be more than a training provider; we are the catalyst for connective solutions between industry, our college, and the community.

2017 Bellwether Award Finalists

• Bristol Community College – Fall River, MA: The Sustainable and Green Energy Technology One-Stop Workforce Solution
• Bunker Hill Community College – Boston, MA: Cultivating a Skilled Diverse Workforce through Strategic Community College and Corporate Partnerships
• Century College – St. Paul, MN: Fab Labs as Incubators for Disruptive Technologies and Pedagogies
• Clark State Community College – Springfield, OH: Pathways as a Start: Credentialing that Builds Tomorrow’s Workforce
• Cuyahoga Community College – Cleveland, OH: Integrated Pathways: From Pathways to Pipelines to Student Success
• Delaware Technical Community College – Newark, DE: The Advanced Manufacturing Pathway Program: The Power of Collaboration
• Patrick Henry Community College – Martinsville, VA: HOPE: A Student’s Pipeline to Employment
• Polk State Corporate College – Advanced Technology Center – Bartow, FL: A Public Safety Leadership Pipeline: Leadership Development in Public Safety Certification
• South Mountain Community College – Phoenix, AZ: Pathway to the Pipeline of Entrepreneurial Success
• The LeCroy Center, Dallas County Community College District – Dallas, TX: After the Pipeline: Promotions for Incumbent Workers

2016 AWARD WINNERS

Instructional Programs & Services

2016 Bellwether Award Winner

Gaston College, Dallas, NC: It All Begins with a SPARC3: The Power of Inquiry and Undergraduate Research at the Community College — This presentation highlighted the implementation and success of inquiry-based instruction, undergraduate research, and enhanced student services through the SPARC3 initiative at Gaston College. SPARC3 activities have transformed faculty and students and spurred dramatic increases in enrollment, retention, and graduation rates in the Associate of Science program at the College.

Planning, Governance, & Finance

2016 Bellwether Award Winner

Central Community College, Grand Island, NE: GRADES – Guiding Reintegration and Directing Educational Success for Veterans and Military Students through Faculty and Staff Professional Development — GRADES is a professional development program with a unique approach that engages faculty and staff in understanding the challenges veterans face reintegrating into the classroom. This flagship program continues to facilitate a cultural shift on campuses, which ultimately benefits veteran student success in colleges and communities across the country

Workforce Development

2016 Bellwether Award Winner

Alamo Colleges, San Antonio, TX: Alamo Colleges I-BEST: The Student’s Unique Journey — Alamo I-BEST serves low-skilled adults while meeting workforce demands in the San Antonio area. Participants have the unique opportunity to receive accelerated contextualized skills-based instruction while earning high-demand occupational certificates. This program is imperative to maintain and grow economic development in San Antonio and surrounding South Texas region.

2015 AWARD WINNERS

Instructional Programs & Services

2015 Bellwether Award Winner

Norco College, CA: Summer Advantage: A Collaborative Model for Building the Future with College Readiness — Norco College, in collaboration with local school district, developed a summer program for seniors placing below college-ready in English or Mathematics. In their first term, most participating students placed one to three levels higher, enrolled full-time in courses that included English/mathematics, completed a Student Education Plan, and demonstrated college success.

2015 Bellwether Award Finalists

• Chipola College, FL: ACE Is the Place: Providing New Pathways to Graduation
• Cuyahoga Community College, OH: Achieving Change Through a Positive Culture
• Maricopa County Community College District, AZ: Maricopa Millions OER Project: Scaling Use of ExtraOERdinary Materials
• Norco College, CA: Summer Advantage: A Collaborative Model for Building the Future with College Readiness
• Palm Beach State College, FL: Alternative Scheduling/Combined Courses
• Sinclair Community College, OH: A Mathematical Pathway to Success for Arts Majors
• South Mountain Community College, AZ: From Rhetoric to Reality: Innovating for Success at a Hispanic and Minority Serving Institution
• The Community College of Baltimore County, MD: The Evolution and Success of an Accelerated Mathematics Program
• Walla Walla Community College, WA: Pathways out of Prison: A Correctional Education Debate Project
• Wallace Community College – Dothan, AL: A holistic instructional approach to effectively closing the student achievement gap by significantly improving student learning

Planning, Governance, & Finance

2015 Bellwether Award Winner

Flathead Valley Community College, MT: Using Financial Aid Data and Fundraising Strategies to Improve Access, Persistence and Completion through Scholarships — The FVCC Foundation collaborated with Financial Aid and Institutional Research to examine the relationship of scholarships financed with Foundation event proceeds to persistence and completion. Study outcomes motivated the Foundation to improve marketing of the scholarship program, increase revenues for scholarships, and transform its scholarship program to better impact student success.

2015 Bellwether Award Finalists

• Bristol Community College, MA: Building a Zero Net Building for STEM. Improving Science Technology, Engineering, Math, and Health Technologies Programs in a Zero Net Energy Building in the North East.
• Broward College, FL  : Back to the Future – Pathway to Financial Literacy and Long-Term Student Financial Success
• California Community Colleges’ Success Network, CA: 3CSN Leadership Institute: Transforming Basic Skills Instruction College by College
• East Central Community College, MS: Connecting College with Communities
• Flathead Valley Community College, MT       : Using Financial Aid Data and Fundraising Strategies to Improve Access, Persistence and Completion through Scholarships
• Grayson College, TX  : Building Pathways to Careers through Partnership: Industry Intern Program (I2)
• Isothermal Community College, NC   : The WISE Program – Innovation in Education
• Mohave Community College, AZ: Your Student Loan Cohort Default Rate: What Every Leader Needs to Know
• Northeast Alabama Community College, AL: Trailblazing Math: The Path to My Success
• St. Louis Community College, MO     : Bridging the Gap in STEM Education

Workforce Development

2015 Bellwether Award Winner

Alamo Colleges, TX: Alamo Academies – An Industry-Driven, Higher Education Program of Studies, Workforce and Economic Development Partnership: Boosting the School-to-Careers Pipeline — Alamo Academies – An internationally recognized partnership between higher education and industry providing at-risk youth with tuition-free career pathways into critical demand technical STEM occupations. The program utilizes contextualized industry-driven curricula resulting in 95% of graduates entering higher education or high-wage careers in Aerospace, Manufacturing, Information Technology, Health and Heavy Equipment. One minute video description of the program – Watch Video.

2015 Bellwether Award Finalists

• Alamo Colleges, TX: Alamo Academies – An Industry-Driven, Higher Education Program of Studies, Workforce and Economic Development Partnership: Boosting the School-to-Careers Pipeline
• Alamo Colleges, TX: Alamo Colleges I-BEST: Creating Unbound Pathways to Living Wage Careers
• Cape Cod Community College, MA: Discovering Pathways to Independence
• Metropolitan Community College, MO: Missouri Innovation Campus: An Early College Approach to Future Workforce Demands
• Niagara County Community College, NY: Retail Partnership Preparing an Educated and Experienced Workforce
• Northern Virginia Community College, VA: NOVA’s College Pathway Initiatives: Facilitating College and Career Success through Collective Impact Programming
• Piedmont Technical College, SC: Center for Advanced Manufacturing
• Pueblo Community College, CO: Mobile Learning Labs – Paving New Pathways
• Santa Fe College, FL: Gator Engineering @ Santa Fe Program: A Community College and University Partner to Address Workforce Demand for Engineers
• Technical College of the Lowcountry, SC: Certified for Success

2014 AWARD WINNERS

Legacy

Outstanding Bellwether winning programs that have illustrated five or more years of successful implementation and replication

2014 Bellwether Award Winner

Cleveland State Community College and Chattanooga State Community College – Cleveland, TN: Do the Math: Solving the Nation’s Math Problems — Cleveland State’s Do the Math program won the 2009 Bellwether Award in Instructional Programs and Services. The program’s effectiveness has been documented by external studies. Since 2009, Do the Math has spread to Chattanooga State and other colleges across the nation, and is now being implemented in high schools.

Instructional Programs & Services

2014 Bellwether Award Winner

Community College of Baltimore County – Baltimore, MD: Who Says Pigs Can’t Fly? A Grassroots Approach to Financial Literacy Education — Money Matters @ CCBC (Community College of Baltimore County) is a financial literacy component embedded within a first-year orientation course. The program is an academic initiative designed to assist with addressing some of the socio-economic needs of its student body; the two years of collected data shows promising results.

2014 Bellwether Award Finalists

• Bucks County Community College, PAThe ACTioN Project: “All my Patients” A collaborative integrated teaching/learning opportunity with NURSING and the ARTS
• Community College of Baltimore County, MDWho Says Pigs Can’t Fly? A Grassroots Approach to Financial Literacy Education
• Ivy Tech Community College, INEducational Arts Partnership: Increasing School Readiness in the Community College ‘Class of 2025’
• Polk State College, FLGrowing the STEM: Implementing A Collegiate STEM Program
• Roanoke-Chowan Community College, NCBOSS Minority Male Mentoring Program
• Salt Lake Community College, UTWriting Our Futures: Salt Lake Teens Write Community Mentoring Program
• Southside Virginia Community College, VACampus Within Walls–Serving Incarcerated Men and Veterans
• Tarrant County College District, TXImproving Success in Sciences Without Sacrificing Rigor
• Tidewater Community College, VAThe “Z Degree”: Removing Textbook Costs as a Barrier to Student Success through an OER-based Curriculum
• Valencia College, FLCircles of Innovation: Circling Back to the Future

Planning, Governance, & Finance

2014 Bellwether Award Winner

Wake Technical Community College – Raleigh, NC: Applied Benchmarking – Exploring and Implementing Best Practices — Applied Benchmarking asks every employee to identify an issue that needs addressing, find other institutions that have addressed it effectively, and adapt their methods at Wake Tech. It is an annual requirement for all college employees, and it has improved instruction, operations, and management as well as inspiring innovative thinking.

2014 Bellwether Award Finalists

• AATYC Leadership Institute/UA Community College at Morrilton, ARPreparing Future Leaders for Arkansas Community Colleges
• Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, NCPlant the SEED (Select – Expect – Evaluate – Develop) for your College’s Future Using a Competency-Based Performance Management System
• Chattanooga State Community College and Tennessee Higher Education Commission, TNSAILS Tennessee: A Model of Community College and High School Collaboration
• Elgin Community College, ILFinancial Education: Investing in Student Success
• Lone Star College System, TXMeeting Future Workforce Needs: A Comprehensive and Collaborative Process of Gathering Data and Industry Guidance to Make Workforce Program Development Decisions
• Lurleen B. Wallace Community College, ALTransforming Campus Culture through Student Housing at a Rural Community College
• North Hennepin Community College, MNA Data-Driven Approach to Strategic Enrollment Management at a Two-Year College
• Quinsigamond Community College, MATransforming Opportunity Through Partnerships: Entrepreneurially Creating a New Campus
• Ulster County Community College, NYEntrepreneurial Studies: A Degree, Certificate and Center
• Wake Technical Community College, NCApplied Benchmarking – Exploring and Implementing Best Practices

Workforce Development

2014 Bellwether Award Winner

Gateway Community and Technical College – Florence,KY: The CITI/Gateway Community and Technical College Partnership: How Employees Become College Graduates — The CITI/Gateway strategic alliance in its 10th year. Program components offered at CITI include the Gateway Center, academic advising services, Career Discovery classes, which focus on employee designed career pathway maps and academic goals; credit classes leading to academic certificates and leadership courses. To date, 2,861 employees have been served.

2014 Bellwether Award Finalists

• Central Community College, NEMolding Careers to Learn, Earn $, Live
• Central Piedmont Community CollegeHealthy Futures Starting in the Kitchen
• Gateway Community and Technical College, KYThe CITI/Gateway Community and Technical College Partnership: How Employees Become College Graduates
• Houston Community College, TXTaking High School Students to the Jobs of Tomorrow
• Madisonville Community College, KYOvercoming Barriers to Employee Success: An Advanced Integrated Technology Curriculum That Works
• Maricopa County Community College District, AZConcurrent Enrollment Programs at MaricopaNursing – Meeting Current and Future Nursing Needs Through Progression and Innovation
• Northeast Iowa Community College, IAOpportunity Dubuque: An Employer-driven Workforce Solution
• Patrick Henry Community College, VAHOPE: High-demand Occupational Programs for Employment
• Quinsigamond Community College, MATransformation Agenda: Changing the Way We Deliver Workforce Training in Massachusetts
• Virginia Western Community College, VAVirginia Western’s Community College Access Program: Successful Public Private Partnerships as Enhancing Education Access to the Future

2013 AWARD WINNERS

Instructional Programs & Services

2013 Bellwether Award Winner

Elgin Community College, IL: One School Can Do So Little; Together We Can Do So Much

Planning, Governance, & Finance

2013 Bellwether Award Winner

Piedmont Technical Colleges, SC: LEAN in Higher Education: How It Continues to Change Our Culture

Workforce Development

2013 Bellwether Award Winner

Chattanooga State Community College, TN: The Wacker Institute: Diplomas with Job Offers!

2012 AWARD WINNERS

Instructional Programs & Services

2012 Bellwether Award Winner

Pasadena City College – Pasadena, CA: Math Jam: Setting First-Year Students on the Right Pathway — Pasadena City College, Pasadena, California, won in the Instructional Programs and Services category, which recognizes programs and services that foster or support teaching and learning in the community college. The program titled, Math Jam: Setting First-Year Students on the Right Pathway is an award-winning two-week, no-cost summer program that provides a creative, engaging, no-stress environment in which first-year community college students can experience math success before beginning college. The transition-to-college program offers innovative math instruction, structured supplemental support, and orientation-to-college activities.

Planning, Governance, & Finance

2012 Bellwether Award Winner

Alamo Colleges – San Antonio, TX: Collaboration, Communication and Consensus: An Organic Approach to the Budget Crisis — Alamo Community College, San Antonio, Texas, won in the Planning, Governance and Finance category, which recognizes programs or activities that improve efficiency and effectiveness in the community college. The program titled, Collaboration, Communication and Consensus: An Organic Approach to the Budget Crisis tackled fiscal cuts in the midst of unprecedented enrollment increases and rising operating costs. Fifty leaders from throughout the organization, including trustees, met the challenge head on during six days of budget retreats. Twenty-five budget reduction strategies, focusing also on student success, were identified and implemented.

Workforce Development

2012 Bellwether Award Winner

Quinebaug Valley Community College – Danielson, CT: Breaking Down the Walls: A Pathway to the American Dream. STRIDE (Skills, Transition, Respect, Integrity, Direction, and Employment) — Quinebaug Valley Community College, Danielson, Connecticut won in the Workforce Development category, which identifies strategic alliances that promote community and economic development. The program titled, Breaking Down the Walls: A Pathway to the American Dream. STRIDE (Skills, Transition, Respect, Integrity, Direction, and Employment) is an innovative, state-funded transitional workforce program serving parents both pre and post-release coming out of incarceration. Curriculum and post-release case management supports are designed to assist parents in reentering the workforce resume their parental roles and reduce recidivism.

2011 AWARD WINNERS

Instructional Programs & Services

2011 Bellwether Award Winner

Sinclair Community College – Dayton, OH: Pioneering Online Science Labs — Sinclair Community College (SCC) won in the Instructional Programs and Services category, which recognizes programs and services that foster or support teaching and learning in the community college. The presentation by SCC, titled Pioneering Online Science Labs, described the successfully development of an online science curriculum delivered using lab simulations. The strategies and technologies SCC used to develop and deliver online labs ensure that online students meet the same learning outcomes as traditional students. SCC has experienced great impact and student learning outcomes through their online science lab. Learn more about SCC’s science programs at http://www.sinclair.edu/online/.

Planning, Governance, & Finance

2011 Bellwether Award Winner

Prince George’s Community College – Largo, MD: Engaging Students & Empowering a Community: A Campus-based Community Organization — Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) won in the Planning, Governance and Finance category, which recognizes programs or activities that improve efficiency and effectiveness in the community college.  PGCC’s presentation, titled Engaging Students & Empowering a Community: A Campus-based Community Organization, discussed PGCC’s Community Financial Center support for economic improvement of Prince George’s County residents through its Finance 411 education program, year-round free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, and financial information network. Through involvement of students, faculty, and community volunteers, PGCC provides needed financial resources and education, residential support and assistance by partnering with existing organizations. For more information, visit the college Web site at www.pgcc.edu.

Workforce Development

2011 Bellwether Award Winner

Houston Community College – Houston TX: Exporting Houston Community College — Houston Community College (HCC) received top honors in the Workforce Development category, which recognizes strategic alliances that promote community and economic development. The HCC presentation, titled Exporting Houston Community College, detailed the development of a fully American accredited associate degree programs offered in Vietnam, a pioneering consortium partnership in Brazil, and multiple accomplishments in the Middle East. Through international partnerships, HCC has reassessed and redefined its service community to educate adaptable and resilient students prepared for the global economy. To learn more about HCC’s attempts to “think local and act global” visit their website, http://www.hccs.edu/portal/site/hccs.

2010 AWARD WINNERS

Instructional Programs & Services

2010 Bellwether Award Winner

Jackson State Community College – Jackson, TN: SMART Math: Removing Roadblocks to College Success — Jackson State Community College (JSCC), TN – JSCC won in the Instructional Programs and Services category, which recognizes programs and services that foster or support teaching and learning in the community college. The program, titled SMART Math: Removing Roadblocks to College Success, is a successfully implemented re-designed math program. The SMART program (Survive, Master, Achieve, Review, and Transfer) combines three developmental math courses into one course. The SMART math program reduced the total cost per student by over 20%, while increasing the percentage of passing student by 54%. Learn more about JSCC’s exemplary math program at http://www.jscc.edu/smart-math/.

Planning, Governance, & Finance

2010 Bellwether Award Winner

Lakeland Community College – Kirtland, OH: Going Green Doesn’t Have to be Sexy — Lakeland Community College (LCC), OH – LCC won in the Planning, Governance and Finance category, which recognizes programs or activities that improve efficiency and effectiveness in the community college. Lakeland’s program, titledGoing Green Doesn’t Have to be Sexy, resulted in the college achieving natural gas, electricity, and water volume reductions of 46%, 36%, and 18%, respectively, and a 40% reduction in direct and indirect creation of greenhouse gases. LCC’s practical, incremental approach set the standard statewide for energy conservation. To find out how LCC’s journey can be used as a model for other colleges and universities, please visit http://lakelandcc.edu/about/energy.asp

Workforce Development

2010 Bellwether Award Winner

Mid-South Community College – West Memphis, AR: The Power of Partnerships Equals The Power of Success — Mid-South Community College (MSCC), AR – MSCC won in the Workforce Development category, which recognizes strategic alliances that promote community and economic development. The MSCC program, titled The Power of Partnerships Equals The Power of Success, detailed the process by which the Arkansas Delta Training and Education Consortium (ADTEC) trained more than 8,000 new and incumbent manufacturing workers in 3 years, and more than 200 students in the first-semester of enrollment for renewable energy technology. Visit http://www.southernideabank.org/items.php?id=2637 to learn more about this outstanding program.