HEAD START: The Aspen Institute Prize for Community College Excellence

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

The Aspen Institute Prize for Community College Excellence

Congratulations to the top 10 community colleges that were named as finalists for the Aspen Institute Prize for Excellence
http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/aspen-prize

Also, a great article on the topic by Inside Higher Ed
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/09/13/aspen_institute_names_ten_community_college_finalists_for_million_dollar_prize

Out of the 110 community colleges that submitted applications, the top 10 were chosen based on
“relentlessly focused on three non-negotiable outcomes – a high bar for learning, a focus on college completion and real attention to preparing their students for 21st century jobs.” Completion records of disadvantaged students were also weighed.

Josh Wyner, executive director of the Aspen College Excellence Program stated “Community colleges have been underappreciated and under-resourced for decades.” Also, this is an area deeply in need of inquiry and reward to excellence.

The prize includes for the first place winner, which will be announced in December, gets a $700,000 share of
the $1 million prize pot, with three runners-up getting $100,000 each.

HEAD START Consulting can help your organization leaders consider its strengths and areas that most need support, in effort to submit highly polished grant and awards applications. Contact vaheyk@gmail.com to explore how HEAD START can work for you.

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Why HEAD START?

Higher education and student affairs offices face constant challenges that distract from the essential systemic learning purpose of advanced education. Such challenges include social and political issues, changing technologies, diverse demographics, demands for accountability, and increasing costs. All higher education institutions are faced with similar challenges, regardless whether the type of institution is a large university, regional state institution, community college, or small collegiate environment.

The way that employees respond to these challenges shapes a higher education environment. Specifically student affairs work will demand more creativity and flexibility as these challenges increase in complexity. Achieving professionalism necessary for student affairs staff to excel at their varied tasks requires professional development opportunities to acquire knowledge and skill. Empirical literature demonstrates there is widespread agreement about the value and need for professional development in student affairs. However, despite evidence supporting the need for continual training for employee and organizational development, a number of factors have made this a difficult goal to actualize.

A national review of staff development practices found that most student affairs divisions had inadequate workplace resources, among other issues, including senior staff that had time and skill to provide in-house training, or orientations to support employee best practices. Busy institutional leaders often must focus on immediate concerns and are challenged to provide development strategies for their organization's long term health. The paradox is, improved long term organizational health directly supports employee's daily work life.

Founder and principle for HEAD START, Katie Vahey, M.A., Ph.D., has the experience and skills to provide holistic assessment, program development, and leadership support for long term development in all types of student affairs organizations.

Let HEAD START work for you.