Community College Summit: Re-Imagining Access
Workshop Session 2
Brief Abstract
Are community colleges the solution to providing access to all students? What are community colleges doing to be the gateway to mobility and achieving the American dream? Providing access to high-quality, workforce-relevant, and affordable education is at the heart of the community college mission. Panelists will discuss specific strategies to address college affordability, describe efforts to erase equity gaps in access and degree and credential attainment, and share how a holistic support infrastructure that addresses non-academic barriers such as food insecurity, clothing, and financial literacy fosters student success in the classroom, online, and technology-enhanced learning environments, as well as in the community and workforce.
“America is in an educational crisis, and community colleges are best positioned to address the challenge. Community colleges are the answer to the access and equity challenge, but we need leaders who believe it.” Kimberly Beatty, Chancellor, Metropolitan Community College Kansas City, MO
Presenters
Dr. Tina Parscal is the Executive Director of Colorado Community Colleges Online (CCCOnline), the online consortium of thirteen community colleges that comprise the Colorado Community College System. In this role, she provides strategic leadership and administrative direction for CCCOnline’s operational, academic, educational, and technical activities. She also chairs the Learning Technology Council for the Colorado Community College System. Dr. Parscal has more than 25 years of experience providing academic and administrative leadership in higher education and has served in such roles as provost/chief academic officer, dean, program director, and faculty.
Tina has published and presented in the areas of educational leadership and online learning as well as served as the Executive Editor of an award-winning peer-reviewed journal. She was honored as a “2014 Women Worth Watching” by Profiles in Diversity Magazine for her leadership in creating inclusive learning environments.
Tina brings a breadth of experience that supports CCCOnline’s strategic priorities including online teaching and learning, instructional design and innovation, open educational resources, accreditation, strategies for assessing learning outcomes, and models for enhancing the student learning experience.
Tina and her husband live in Highlands Ranch. They are wine enthusiasts who love travel and photography.
Joe Garcia is the Chancellor of the Colorado Community College System (CCCS). As Chancellor, Garcia provides leadership, advocacy and support to the state’s largest system of higher education, which serves 137,000 students annually at 13 colleges and 40 locations across Colorado.
Prior to his role at CCCS, Garcia served as President of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), an interstate compact created to provide access to, and improve the quality of, higher education opportunities for residents of the western United States.
From 2011 to 2016, he served as the Lt. Governor of Colorado and as the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education. During his time as Lt. Governor, Garcia focused on increasing equity in outcomes for all students, particularly those from low-income backgrounds and communities of color.
Garcia also served as President of Colorado State University-Pueblo from 2006 to 2010 and Pikes Peak Community College from 2001 to 2006.
Garcia’s public service positions have included serving as a member of the Cabinet of Governor Roy Romer and as a White House appointee under President Bill Clinton. He was the first Hispanic partner in the 100-year history of Denver-based firm Holme Roberts & Owen, where he focused on public education law.
Jory Hadsell, Ed.D., is an educational leader and innovator working to expand access to high quality learning opportunities for students. He currently serves as the Executive Director for the California Virtual Campus - Online Education Initiative (CVC-OEI) for the California Community Colleges. The CVC-OEI is a statewide project from the CCC Chancellor’s Office to dramatically expand student access to high quality online courses through a coordinated, innovative learning ecosystem that also facilitates student enrollment across the 115 college state system. Jory began supporting distance learning courses in 1994 when broadcast was the medium of choice, and has been involved with online learning since its inception in the California Community Colleges. He has gained experience in various roles including service as a tenured faculty member, educational administrator, and change agent playing a key role in development of regional and statewide technology infrastructure. He has worked to engage faculty, governance groups, statewide leadership, and professional development leaders to create iterative improvements in online teaching and learning.
As a faculty member at San Antonio College, Professor Black has severed as Senate President as well as Faculty Fellow. For the past two years, has been key in developing San Antonio College’s Student Advocacy Center (Center). The Center helps students with basic needs insecurity including a food pantry, clothes closet and case management services.
Extended Abstract