The new president of the
American Association of Community Colleges will embark on a national listening tour this month as phase I of an 18-month initiative to gauge the top issues confronting two-year colleges and to help develop a national roadmap to guide community college leaders into a new era of change.
Listening tour dates and locations
Jan. 25—Newport Beach, Calif.
Jan. 31—Austin, Texas
Feb. 18—Detroit, Mich.
Feb. 23—Washington, D.C.
March 3—Tallahassee, Fla.
March 17—New York City
March 21—Jamestown, N.C.
March 30—Gresham, Ore.
The remaining two dates and locations will be posted when they are confirmed.
Walter Bumphus, who began serving as AACC’s president and CEO on Jan. 1, will kick off the tour on Jan. 25 in Newport Beach, Calif., in conjunction with the annual AACC Workforce Development Institute. Bumphus will hold the listening forums in an additional nine regional sites (see list, below).
“It’s intended to give me a chance to get a flavor of the issues facing community colleges around the country,” Bumphus told
Community College Times.
He plans to provide a preliminary summary of what he heard from community college presidents, administrators, trustees, state officials and other stakeholders at the association’s
annual convention April 9-12 in New Orleans.
Feedback from the field
The listening tour is part of Bumphus’ 21st Century Initiative, which will also include a national commission to review and synthesize the findings of the listening tour and then develop a report on the future of community colleges. The initiative is designed to allow member colleges to express what they want from AACC, as well as provide an opportunity to share best practices, especially in developmental education, financial resources and research-based promising practices.
“We don’t do enough as community colleges to identify promising practices, scale them across the country and share those ideas,” Bumphus said.
On the listening tour, Bumphus will also outline his vision for AACC. Attendees will also hear from AACC senior staff on the association’s key areas, including legislation, federal funding, workforce development, partnerships and communications.
However, Bumphus emphasized that the primary purpose of the tour is to listen.
“I’m excited about getting on the road and hearing from our colleges,” he said.
Revisiting the vision
The idea for the initiative, which is partially funded by the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, originated from Bumphus’ plan to review the status of community colleges and to establish a new vision. He noted that over the 110-year history of community colleges, the movement has been shaped by two national commissions and the reports that they produced. The 1947 Truman Commission report and the 1988 Commission on the Future of Community Colleges report both set an agenda for public two-year colleges.
Although several issues addressed in the 1988 report remain top issues on campuses—such as developing partnerships with K-12, universities and employers—new ones have emerged, primarily related to technology.
In a concept paper outlining the initiative, Bumphus noted that he will institute a new commission that will partly address issues such as using technology to strengthen and speed up learning; redesigning college structures, processes and calendars to better match student needs; and closing participation and attainment gaps to achieve greater equity, among other issues.
Bumphus said the timing for such a study is ideal given the national spotlight on community colleges, particularly given their role in graduating more college students and serving as a workforce development engine for the economy. However, while community colleges are expected to do more, most face tough financial constraints with shrinking local and state funding. Such challenges will likely be discussed on the listening tour and in the subsequent commission study.
The key outcomes for the 21st Century Initiative include:
- Gathering information to develop strategic work by AACC and the broader field in order to enhance the effectiveness of community colleges in serving community and national interests over the next five years.
- Building focus and momentum for the community college completion agenda.
- Identifying critical roles for AACC in promoting higher levels of community college completion.
- Building support for rigor, transparency and accountability to appropriately measure and monitor community college performance.
- Promoting better understanding among policymakers, business leaders and the general public regarding the contributions and challenges of U.S. community colleges.
A new commission
At AACC’s annual convention in April, Bumphus will convene a 21st Century Commission that will examine the issues and outline recommendations to “take community colleges to a higher level,” Bumphus said. The committee will spend a year researching and debating the issues before presenting a final report at the 2012 AACC convention.
The committee will comprise 20 to 25 of the “best thought leaders on higher education,” which will include critics of community colleges, Bumphus said. It will likely include researchers and representatives from universities who often criticize two-year colleges on areas such as student success rates.
“We’ve been a little defensive about graduation rates and developmental education rates,” Bumphus said. “We want a frank discussion on what we can do to improve in those areas.”