Community College Summit: Re-Imagining Success
Workshop Session 1
Brief Abstract
It is not enough to enroll community college students in online programs, give them an online orientation, and set them free on their own to succeed! In this panel, student success defined as persistence to completion will be critically examined. Panelists will discuss equitable models that foster inclusivity by removing financial barriers and creating a sense of belonging for online students. A special emphasis will be placed on the role of the employer in the success of part-time, exclusively online students; the efficacy of work-based learning experiences; and the impact of empathy and connection in instructor-student relationships. Three break-out sessions will follow the panel and explore: (a) engaging employers in student success, (b) designing work-based learning opportunities to cultivate marketable skills, and (c) building a sense of belonging through humanized online teaching and learning.
Presenters
Dr. Luke Dowden joined the Alamo Colleges District as its Chief Online Learning Officer and Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs in April 2018. Through Alamo Colleges Online, he will lead and support capacity building initiatives at all five Colleges so each may gain a greater market share of online learners in their respective service areas.
Prior to joining Alamo Colleges Online, Dr. Dowden founded the Office of Distance Learning at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2010 and served as its Director for 8 years. Under Dowden's leadership, the Office of Distance Learning earned the 2013 Online Learning Consortium Award for Excellence in Faculty Development for Online Teaching. Dowden was honored in 2014 as the inaugural recipient of the Online Learning Consortium Bruce N. Chaloux Award for Early Career Excellence in Online Education. Aside from creating and implementing the university's ULearn faculty professional development for online teaching program, significant achievements under Dowden's leadership include the creation of an electronic course design and certification process, facilitating the development and delivery of 13 new online degree programs, and creation of a suite of instructional technology tools for online course delivery.
Prior to joining UL Lafayette, Dowden founded the Division of Accelerated Learning at Bossier Parish Community College. He led creation of 6 online, accelerated degree programs with wrap-around student support services. During this time, the Louisiana Board of Regents tabbed him to found the Center for Adult Learning in Louisiana. As Executive Director of CALL from 2008-2013, he worked primarily with 6 community colleges and regional universities to create and launch over 18 accelerated online degree programs, introduce prior learning assessment policies and strategies, and coordinate marketing the programs statewide to the over 500,000 adults with some college and no degree. He is a past Steering Committee and Executive Council Chair for the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET). WCET is the leader in the practice, policy, & advocacy of technology-enhanced learning in higher education.
Dowden earned a bachelor's in History and a master's degrees in Adult Education from Northwestern State University before earning his Doctorate of Education in higher education administration in 2009 (Nova Southeastern University) He is a 2010 Graduate of the Penn State and Online Learning Consortium Institute for Emerging Leaders in Online Learning (IELOL). He also is a member of the graduate faculty in the College of Education at UL Lafayette.
Haley leads Lumina's mobilization strategies, focusing on communities and institutions of higher education, and on work to define and expand student pathways to success. This also includes Lumina's efforts to support incarcerated and re-entering learners, and the Foundation's work with major employers to leverage investments in employee talent development.
Prior to joining Lumina’s staff, Haley served as associate commissioner for policy and planning studies at the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. She has also served as the director of fiscal and administrative policy of the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, and as a fiscal policy analyst for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Administration and Finance. Early in her career, Haley served a researcher for the Center for Economic Competitiveness at the Hudson Institute and as a development associate for the National Dance Institute of New Mexico.
Haley holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education, English and American history from Franklin College in Franklin, Indiana. She earned a Master of Arts in liberal arts from St. John’s College Graduate Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and a Master of Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.
Haley serves as President of the Herron-Morton Place Foundation, on the board the Landmark Farms Foundation, and as an advisory board member of several local and national programs.
Glover lives in Indianapolis with her husband, Eric, and daughter Harper.
Michelle Pacansky-Brock (@brocansky) has received two Sloan-C/OLC awards for her online teaching effectiveness and served as Chair of the 2015 Sloan-C/OLC Emerging Technologies for Online Learning Symposium (ET4OL). She is the author of Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies, in its second edition with Routledge, and is currently serving the California Community Colleges as Faculty Mentor for Online Teaching and Learning with CVC-OEI/@ONE. Michelle is also researching the impact of humanized online instruction to improve equity gaps in online STEM courses with grant funding from the California Education Learning Lab.
Mike Gage has spent his whole professional career, over 20 years, dedicated to the field of education. Deeply committed to student success, he is currently the Director of Student Support and Outreach at Pueblo Community College. In his role, he oversees academic advising, Link Success Coach Program, career services, transfer services, Trio Upward Bound, Trio Student Support Services and Children First. He is a member of the State Concurrent Enrollment Advisory Board, Colorado Department of Higher Education General Education Council and on the Board of Directors for Pueblo Community Health Center. He also serves as the project lead and manager for the implementation of EAB Navigate for all PCC campus locations. During his free time, he is a Colorado High School Activities Association certified football and basketball official and is also an official for semi-pro football. Mike has been a teacher from 8th grade through college, an administrator at the college level (both 4 year and 2 year) and an advocate for all students. A native of Pueblo, Colorado, he holds a Bachelor’s degree from Adams State University (CO) in English and a Master of Education degree from Arizona State University.
Extended Abstract