The future of online education: Invest in your adjuncts
Picture it: a college basement adjunct lounge, 2017. In four years, I never saw anyone be able to print anything from the printer. There was a random toy castle on one of the shelves —…
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Holding two truths: ‘Thickening’ the narrative on community college students
In narrative therapy, a technique that asks clients to examine the stories they tell themselves, “thin” and “thick” are used to help users seek out more complicated, subtle and meaningful stories. The time is now…
Community colleges need to rediscover their roots
The challenges of the past few years have pushed America’s community colleges across the country to the brink, with bleak enrollment figures, strained finances and new questions about how these institutions should retool themselves to…
Washington Watch: Another big Biden budget for community colleges
President Joe Biden is pitching for a 13.6% increase in funding for the U.S. Education Department and an 11% boost for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), continuing the administration’s series of generous requests for…
AACC statement on the president’s proposed budget
President Biden’s budget proposal showcases his commitment to the nation’s community colleges and the millions of students they serve. By significantly increasing the funding to programs and services aimed directly at supporting community college student…
Washington Watch: Different paths to same goal
Two bills have been introduced in the 118th Congress to provide Pell Grant eligibility to students in short-term workforce education programs. While the end goal of both is the same, they take different paths to…
It’s not personal
Leadership is not easy. It requires you to balance today’s needs while striving to reach tomorrow’s goals. You must respect the culture while implementing needed change. It is arduous and wonderful when those goals are…
ChatGPT: Or how I stopped worrying and learned to love the bot
Higher education seemed to embrace the concept of AI for administrative systems and student relations support. There was a lot invested in technologies that could “personalize” systems and connect students with departments, divisions and support…
A bright idea for Fulbright
The 2024-2025 Fulbright U.S. Scholar competition opened recently. It closes September 15. It was 20 years ago in fall 2003 that I was honored to participate in this program as a community college professor. The experience has greatly…
Black history woven into its fabric
Black history is woven into the fabric of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) whose tapestries are rich in Black culture, tradition, triumphs and tribulation. The University of the District of Columbia, which is the…