Holiday Cheer!

We wish you and your family a very happy holiday season.

(We’ll return to the Cultivating Excellence blog early next year!)

Community College Headlines

Below we've posted a few links to browse: recent news and commentary concerning community colleges. Please feel free to comment or share additional resources in the CCCOnline Community.

First three links about the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence:
“For Community Colleges, a Time to Shine” by Kevin Carey (12/11/11)
Commentary from The Chronicle:
http://chronicle.com/article/For-Community-Colleges-a-Time/130064/?sid=wb

“Valencia College Wins First Aspen Prize for Community-College Excellence” by Jennifer Gonzalez (12/12/11)
Also from The Chronicle:
http://chronicle.com/article/Valencia-College-Wins-First/130091/?sid=cc

“Completion Comes First” by Paul Fain (12/13/11)
From Inside Higher Ed:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/12/13/valencia-college-wins-first-aspen-prize

“Completion Conundrum” by Paul Fain (12/8/11)
From Inside Higher Ed:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/12/08/state-budget-cuts-make-completion-goals-difficult-community-colleges

“Tracking Quality at 2-Year Colleges” by Paul Fain (12/1/11)
From Inside Higher Ed:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/12/01/community-college-association-releases-voluntary-accountability-measures

“Survey highlights trends in e-learning” (11/17/11)
From Community College Times (links to Pearson Foundation Community College Student Survey):
http://www.communitycollegetimes.com/Pages/Campus-Issues/Survey-highlights-trends-in-elearning.aspx

“7 Community Colleges Open an Online Doorway to Better Grades and Graduation Rates” by Josh Fischman (11/6/11)
From The Chronicle:
http://chronicle.com/article/7-Community-Colleges-Try-an/129605/?sid=cc

Introducing Our New eLearning Specialist

CCCOnline would like to extend a warm welcome to our new eLearning Specialist, Maria Schnell.

Maria brings enthusiasm, energy, and both higher education and corporate experience to CCCOnline’s Training and Professional Development Team. Since 2007, she has taught Communications courses, both online and face-to-face, for the University of Colorado, Pikes Peak Community College, and Community College of Denver. She also worked as a Project Manager for Global Channel Marketing in a Fortune 100 company; her responsibilities there included managing multiple projects, product launches, and international customer training. Maria earned her M.A. in Organizational Communication, emphasis in Leadership, from the University of Colorado.

A proud Colorado native and outdoor enthusiast, Maria grew up on a cattle ranch in Elizabeth, and says she “enjoys all of what my home state has to offer.” Her favorite activity is spending time with her family riding horses, and she also enjoys skydiving, snowboarding, hiking, longboarding, and being with her two dogs. Additionally, she is involved in charity and volunteer work with Seeds of Hope and Denver Children’s Advocacy Center.

Maria is excited to join us and shares that she “looks forward to supporting the staff and instructors at CCCOnline through continued improvement to training and online support.”