EDLD5345 Reflection

Standard 1: An education leader promotes the success of every student by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by all stakeholders.

This week I met with our Director of Institutional Effectiveness (IE) to draft the IE plan for enrollment services. The college uses Weave Online to develop goals, outcomes and strategies that are linked to our strategic directions and guiding principles. Departmental IE plans are incorporated into the institution’ strategic plan and must include implementation and sustainability plans. The IE cycle requires that plans are evaluated annually with a final report after two years. Both evaluation cycles enable the department to monitor, evaluate and revise plans if necessary. New plans are created every two years.

Standard 2: Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by promoting a positive school culture, providing an effective instructional program, applying best practice to student learning, and designing comprehensive professional growth plans for staff.

This week, I also attended GOT Coach training. GOT (graduate on time) coaches are assigned to students who have been identified as IPEDS eligible – first time, full time and degree seeking. These students, if they graduate within 150% of their degree plan, can positively impact the college’s graduation rate. A rate that all institutions of higher education monitor and are judged by. GOT Coaches are assigned to a group of 20-25 students. It is our responsibility to build a relationship with these students and to monitor their progress toward and until completion. We will work closely with the students to ensure instruction is maximized and that the students are challenged in the classroom and not in our processes…or by external barriers such as transportation, employment, child care, etc. GOT Coaches include both student and academic affairs administrators, promoting a culture of collaboration, trust, and high expectations. The program leverages existing portal technology to track student communication and transactions. The portal will also provide data to monitor GOT Coach interactions and students’ progress toward completion. Because this is a pilot year, the data will be used to benchmark future goals.

Standard 3: Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by managing the organization, operations, and resources in a way that promotes a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.

This summer, we launched the eSTC Virtual Campus, our sixth campus. I served as the student affairs liaison, ensuring that online students had access to our services which typically begin in line. To do this, I had to leverage all division resources and applications to develop seamless, online services for students. While student affairs does not have traditional curricular or instructional opportunities we do have learning outcomes for our processes. Again, we want to ensure that students are challenge in the virtual classroom and not our virtual processes. Throughout this 20 month process I monitored and evaluated our progress while delegating specific tasks to process owners and departmental experts. This process allowed me to build capacity for leadership, but also gave other division personnel to take on new leadership roles within the division. We launched the virtual campus on Tuesday with a virtual ribbon cutting for the virtual campus at vc.southtexascollege.edu.

Standard 4: An education leader promotes the success of every student by collaborating with faculty and community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilizing community resources.

Although I do not aspire to be a K-12 administrator, my current role includes coordination of college outreach and facilitation of dual credit registration. Both of these address competencies in Standard 4: An education leader promotes the success of every student by collaborating with faculty and community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilizing community resources. In order to develop and sustain effective outreach and dual credit programs, I provide our K-12 partners with the data they need to inform their college- bound and dual credit programming. The data includes matriculation and student success rates. In addition, I serve as the K-12 liaison, promoting an understanding and appreciation of the college’s diverse cultural, social and intellectual resources that can support or enhance their own instruction. I will leverage this strength as I continue to develop my skills as an educational leader.

Standard 5: Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by acting with integrity, fairly, and in an ethical manner.

The college’s conflict resolution team review’s student appeals and renders the final decision. While we are very much a student centered institution, the team does not always side with the student. I often meet with students who are not satisfied with the outcome. I have to carefully consider the situation and consequences for both the student and the institution, as well as the moral and legal ramifications, should I uphold or repeal the team’s decision. Integrity and ethics are the framework for a fair decision.

Standard 6: Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by understanding, responding to, and influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context.

While the legislature is in session, college leaders are often asked to testify before house and senate committees. This year, I had the opportunity to testify in front of the House sub-committee for higher education regarding the unintended consequences of a bill that was passed during the previous session. Because of my experience and knowledge of dual credit programs, I was asked to provide insight and examples of how the bill negatively affected dual credit students who transfer. Essentially, dual credit students were being charged out of state tuition once they surpassed the excess credit hour maximum. Traditional liberal arts students were not affected, but students in rigorous STEM programs were impacted. For example, college algebra is a standard core curriculum class at most community colleges. The standard sequence includes pre-calculus and calculus for STEM associate degrees. Unfortunately, receiving institutions did not apply those math credits to STEM degrees resulting in excess credit hours. The bill was amended and now students no longer experience the unintended consequences of legislation that was drafted to accelerate time to degree completion.