Connecticut Community Colleges'
Statutory
Mission
Sec. 10a-80.
(Formerly Sec. 10-38l). Community service programs at
regional community-technical colleges.
(a) The primary
responsibilities of the regional community-technical colleges shall
be (1) to provide programs of occupational, vocational, technical
and technological and career education designed to provide training
for immediate employment, job retraining or upgrading of skills to
meet individual, community and state manpower needs; (2) to provide
programs of general study including, but not limited to,
remediation, general and adult education and continuing education
designed to meet individual student goals; (3) to provide programs
of study for college transfer representing the first two years of
baccalaureate education; (4) to provide community service programs
as defined in subsection (b) of this section and (5) to provide
student support services including, but not limited to, admissions,
counseling, testing, placement, individualized instruction and
efforts to serve students with special needs.
(b) As used in this
section, "community service programs" means educational, cultural,
recreational, and community directed services which a
community-technical college may provide in addition to its regular
academic program. Such community service programs may include, but
shall not be limited to, (1) activities designed to enrich the
intellectual, cultural and social life of the community, (2)
educational services designed to promote the development of skills
for the effective use of leisure time, (3) activities and programs
designed to assist in the identification and solution of community
problems and (4) utilization of college facilities and services by
community groups to the extent such usage does not conflict with the
regular schedule of the college.
Connecticut Community Colleges'
Vision
The twelve
Connecticut Community Colleges will be recognized by the State, its
citizens and communities as premier providers of education that
works for a lifetime.
Connecticut Community Colleges'
Core Values
The core values
that identify and differentiate the Connecticut Community College
system from other institutions of higher education include:
-
Accessible
locations statewide that serve student and community needs
-
Open door
admissions
-
Comprehensive
services including instruction and student support to promote
academic success
-
Low tuition and
fees supported by financial aid opportunities
-
Relevant
curricula and responsive program development including education
and training services for business and industry
Connecticut Community Colleges' Strategic Priorities
Background:
A shared vision of
student success has always been the spirit that brings the mission of
community colleges to life. That vision has not changed since the
founding of our first colleges and our system. It is evident in the core
values that differentiate community colleges from other institutions and
it is supported by Board of Trustees policies that ensure affordable,
accessible, and widely available educational opportunities to help
students succeed.
While that vision of
student success has not changed, and will continue to be the guiding
principle of Board policy and programs, changes have occurred in student
demographics, in workforce development, and in the economy of our state
and our country that challenge Connecticut’s community colleges to
expand and invest resources in order to enhance student success.
A recent report on
enrollments from the Department of Higher Education noted: “The
unprecedented growth in the ranks of full-time students (many of whom
are new high school graduates) markedly changed the community college
population and poses unique challenges for the system to meet the
instructional and support service needs of these students.” Fall 2007
College and University Headcount in Connecticut, November 2007
Therefore, the Board of Trustees expresses its
endorsement of the key strategic priorities that have been considered by
the Board as recommended by the Council of Presidents and other
leadership councils to guide system and college planning efforts.
Establishing goals,
objectives and strategies for implementation in each of these priority
areas will allow the system and individual colleges to advance student
success, serve student and state needs, expand the resources needed for
investment in student success and college capacity to fulfill the
community college mission of educational opportunity. Aligning our
efforts on the system and college levels to address each* of these
priorities will enable us to deliver on the promise of community college
education in terms of both access and success.
The involvement of our
system and colleges in numerous statewide initiatives has great
potential to advance student success in Connecticut. These initiatives
will strengthen our efforts and provide valuable support for
collaborative solutions that will serve our students, our state and our
nation. Among these initiatives are:
- the redesign of high school curricula being
undertaken by the Connecticut State Department of Education
- The collaborative agenda of the PK-16 Council
and its Know How 2 go campaign
- The expansion of the guaranteed admissions
agreement with UCONN and the memorandum of agreement between the
community colleges and the Connecticut State University System
- Grant funding from the U.S. DOL that
encourages community college students to enter and succeed in the
fields of allied health and advanced manufacturing
- Legislative initiatives that call for:
- Plans to increase graduation rates
throughout higher education;
- A study of transfer and articulation
agreements and the establishment of common placement
standards for college level study;
- The addition of more full-time faculty
and student support staff at our colleges;
- Additional financial aid for
Connecticut public college students;
- A strategic plan for higher education.
* It should be noted that there is no rank order
within or among the priorities listed. But rather it is recognized that
all are essential to supporting student success and fulfilling the
community college mission and all must be addressed with equal
determination.
Meeting the Needs of a
Changing Student Population
and the Needs of Connecticut’s Businesses
and
Industries for an Educated Workforce:
The
unprecedented growth in student enrollment and the dramatic changes in
student demographics require the Connecticut Community Colleges to
address the changing needs of the student population. It is the
responsibility of the system to address the expansion of programs and
services necessary to meet the instructional, academic support and
student service needs of these students.
At the
same time, the State of Connecticut is striving to attract and retain
business investment by providing the competitive advantage offered by a
talented workforce and a climate that fosters business development. As
the demand for well educated employees grows and growing numbers of
students seek the opportunities offered by higher education, the
Connecticut Community Colleges must be in the position to provide the
opportunity for students to gain the knowledge and skills needed to
achieve economic self sufficiency, employment opportunities, and an
improved quality of life for themselves and their families. The changes
in our society are reflected in our student population as seen in the
academic and socioeconomic disadvantages that bring challenges for
colleges that constantly exceed existing resources and limit the ability
of the colleges to be responsive to meeting student and state needs. To
address the growing numbers of students and the needs of Connecticut in
the preparation of a skilled workforce, it is essential that the
changing needs of students and the role of community colleges in
addressing those needs receive recognition and the resources needed for
the enhancement of the effectiveness for the Connecticut Community
Colleges to serve as a “cross cutting foundation of economic
development.”
Expanding Access to Educational Opportunities:
Supporting Student Success
To
promote student success our commitment to traditional access must be
broadened to include access to the entire continuum of higher education
and employment opportunities, working in partnership with high schools,
colleges, universities, and employers so that the students who choose
community colleges are prepared to succeed in college, to achieve their
goals for further education, and to find opportunities for employment,
independence and self-sufficiency. To do this we must be actively
involved and engaged in supporting students in:
·
preparing for college
·
increasing student retention, completion and graduation
rates
·
graduating and transferring to advanced levels of higher
education
·
entering and advancing in careers by addressing workforce
skills gaps
Maintaining Affordability:
Tuition, Financial Aid and Resource Development
Expanding access to success must also be supported by maintaining
affordability. Certainly our historic commitment to low tuition and
fees and extensive financial aid, core values evidenced in Board of
Trustees policies, speaks of notable achievements in this area. But
this commitment must be sustained by continuing efforts to ensure the
availability of financial aid for the students we serve, the neediest
and most needed of Connecticut’s students, and through an increased
emphasis on resource development to attract private funding to ensure
student success. We must maximize the efficient use of all our resources
as well as identify supplemental funding sources.
Improving accountability:
To be
effective, our efforts must be documented and student success must be
accurately accounted for. Calls for increased accountability throughout
higher education require enhanced data collection, rigorous research,
and reliable reporting that will support decision making and demonstrate
the effectiveness of our interventions on behalf of student success
without relying on anecdotal information. We are striving to create a
culture of evidence that will measure student success in each of the
areas where we are exploring new approaches to engage and support
students.
Improving learning and assessment:
We must
also seek ways to improve the quality of student learning and outcomes
assessment by expanding our understanding of how students learn and why
they fail. We need to know what are the barriers to learning that need
to be eliminated, and what student outcomes, beyond traditional
measures, predict success in the 21st century knowledge
economy Part of our efforts in this area must be to create
opportunities for professional development for college faculty and
administrators that will help them to foster success for students
through new models of instructional and educational services.
Ensuring a safe, secure, and inclusive campus
environment:
Another
dominant issue on every college campus is the need to promote a safe and
secure environment that encourages inclusion and respects diversity.
Learning can only take place in an environment where concepts and ideas
can be expressed and explored without fear. While a community of
learners cannot be isolated from the external world, it can strive to
ensure that violence is excluded from its boundaries and that open
debate, challenging ideas, and different viewpoints are valued rather
than feared.