Budget issues took a backseat to student success during Friday’s faculty convocation.
“There’s never been so much emphasis on student success, and it’s sweeping the nation,” said Student Success Committee Co-chair Bob Martinez, referring to President Barack Obama’s inclusion of the issue in his most recent State of the Union.
The focus on meeting the needs of students was highlighted by Terri Manning, Ed. D., associate vice president for institutional research in Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) in Charlotte, North Carolina, who delivered the keynote presentation on the millennial generation.
In her lecture, Dr. Manning distinguished between the different generations present in today’s community college system, from the baby boomers to the millennial generation, and touched upon the issues surrounding this diversity.
Because the character of the student population varies for each generation, it is imperative to revise the teaching methods implemented by professors if student success is to be prioritized, said Dr. Manning.
“At Pierce, you have mostly all millennials in the classroom,” she said. “You see a diversity that not a lot of people see. There’s a unique set of values.”
A number of the teaching methods Dr. Manning suggested include real world connections to lessons, more direct interaction between students and faculty, and mini learning communities.
“We have to do a better job with what we have,” she said.
Dr. Manning advocates this concept because it’s not expensive to do.
“It’s not like you have to buy a bunch of stuff,” she said. “It’s about faculty working together.”
She does admit, however, that modifying teaching methods won’t be an easy transition. She counts diversity, budget cuts, and poor basic skills as some of the hindrances community colleges will be faced with.
“What confounds all this is the economy,” said Dr. Manning. “Making changes is not always easy.”
CPCC is already seeing the benefits of focusing on practices that are agreeable to students of the millennial generation, as retention rates and graduation rates have increased, according to Dr. Manning.
“It’s wonderful to get into all this. It’s confirmed my ideas,” said Donna Accardo, chairman of the English department.