johnobrien.org
under constructionArchive for Student Success/Completion
NHCC Graduation Inspires and Transforms Lives
Pictured L to R: Francois Vang, Doris Robinson, President John O’Brien, and Carol LaFleur
Article celebrating NHCC graduation and sharing a few student stories, published in the SUN newspapers: Graduation Inspires and Transforms Lives 062411.
Guest Column: University Partnerships
November’s monthly column for the SUN newspapers on NHCC’s remarkable partnerships with universities, making it possible for community college students to earn university degrees on our campus: Published SUN Column 112410.
Guest Column: NHCC Faculty at White House Summit
October’s monthly column for the SUN newspapers on faculty member Dr. Eugenia Paulus’s participation in the White House Summit on Community Colleges: Final SUN Column 102810
Guest Column: Focusing on Finishing
September’s monthly column for the SUN newspapers on the national drive and local efforts to improve student completion: Final SUN Column 090910
University of Minnesota Completion Efforts
Minnesota Public Radio – September 15, 2010, Tim Post. Minnesota’s colleges are trying new strategies to convince students to earn their bachelor’s degrees in four years — a schedule that could save them, and their parents, thousands of dollars in tuition and expenses. Fewer than half of Minnesota’s college students earn their degrees in that time and many take five of six years — if they don’t drop out. The University of Minnesota is considering a plan that could mean higher tuition for students who have the credits to graduate, but don’t seem ready leave campus. For freshmen at the university’s Twin Cities campus, the expectation to graduate in four years is less than subtle. Full audio article at http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/09/15/university-four-year-graduation/
3rd Annual NHCC Student Success Day
Tuesday, September 14, 2010, is NHCC’s third annual Student Success Day. The day is set aside to recognize students, encourage learning, support achieving academic goals, celebrate diversity, and strengthen our college community. No classes are scheduled on SSD to allow students, faculty, and staff to participate.
Information at http://www.nhcc.edu/studentsuccessday.
Flyer for Student Success Day 2010 NHCC
Entrepreneurship Communities of Color Certificate
We are having a pre-launch event for those interested in learning more about the North Hennepin Community College Entrepreneurship Communities of Color Certificate program. The 13-week certificate will focus on minority-owned businesses and the removal of cultural barriers to entrepreneur success. Come to learn about this unique and powerful program and meet and greet successful community leaders and business owners. More information at http://www.nhcc.edu/Announcements/ECC.aspx.
Does finishing college have to be so hard?
If you didn’t make it to graduation this year and need a healthy dose of inspiration and appreciation of the challenges many of our students face, visit the Degrees of Difficulty web site. Watching a few of these videos does the trick. The videos ask outloud: does finishing college have to be so hard?
Take America to College
Mark Milliron referenced this engaging project today at the Action Analytics Symposium. The video is from the project site, where they explain their work to gather stories from students across the nation about the challenges and hopes of students…clearly with a view toward advancing graduation and academic completion/success. Their Facebook page suggests they are especially focused on non-traditional students, promoting an “upcoming web series that follows non-traditional students through their daily struggle to complete school.”
The video stories are inspiring–like our students.
The consistent theme in the videos is that the underlying challenge for so many students is the balancing of work, home, and college, a compelling finding of the Gates Foundation report, With Their Whole Lives Ahead of Them: Myths and Realities About Why So Many Students Fail to Finish College.
