Please submit your ideas for MCC's strategic priorities for the next three years related to the Core Principle of "Innovation" by posting a comment below.
Innovation - To collaborate with stakeholders to anticipate their needs and pioneer creative and effective solutions
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What areas in education are changing most rapidly? This area needs constant vigilance.
ReplyDeleteWhat is our competition doing that we are not? And why? What are they not doing that we are? And why?
ReplyDeleteOne of the biggest failings of community colleges is that we don't learn quickly from one another and remediating this would make us all better.
What do our students want that we can't offer? What can we impart to our students that will help them meet the needs of future employers?
Continuing to hold forums with faculty and staff is a very practical way to exchange ideas and see that these groups' needs are being met.
ReplyDeleteInnovative strategies for sustainability are needed over the next three years. MCC needs to be innovative in how we utilize resources, what training we provide for students to employ in the workforce, and how we meet community needs.
ReplyDeleteThe Illinois Community College Sustainability Network has just been established. MCC is part of this network of 48 colleges. This is an opportunity to collaborate with other colleges and bring cutting edge information and technologies to our students and our community.
ReplyDeleteI think we need to bring our IT infrastructure up-do-date in order to be in a position to be innovative: i.e. wireless access across campus, access to H:\ drives from home, robust online student services, etc.
ReplyDeleteInnovation can be very costly if there are not clear goals on the return value to the college. Implementing innovative ideas must go beyond the initial development to really gain those benefits.
ReplyDeleteSometimes innovative projects need increased manpower to achieve and sustain. The college needs to be prepared not just add a project to the budget but to fund the manpower required.
ReplyDeleteOne of the innovations we need to consider is updating our science labs. We need more space, and the equipment and rooms are in great need of repair.
ReplyDeleteWe need to speak with all hospitals within mchenry county and all surrounding counties to assess where opportunties and need lie for the development of new health science programs.
ReplyDeleteEmphasize student-centered learning, including project-based assessment.
ReplyDeleteContinue to reinvent how we offer classes such as late starts, shortened seat time, more blended scenarios, etc. Others are doing it and so should we!
ReplyDeleteStop telling us all the reasons we CAN'T do things and start brainstorming about how to make things possible. Currently we are all waiting to see if the ERP will support the ever-growing wish list, if it can't, find a way.
ReplyDeleteBuild service learning into our courses and culture
ReplyDeleteOffer a greater variety of course format options. Consider one-week "intersession" experiences.
ReplyDeleteI think that we should adopt one of the tactics used in many business arenas. We should have a "think-tank" on campus; a group of individuals across functional areas whose job is to meet regularly to literally just brainstorm on ideas that would benefit the students and community. This group could be an open group, a set of leaders who organize the flow of informaiton but really anyone who wants to talk about potential programs, plan, options, etc could participate. Having a regularly scheduled time to just talk can generate some pretty great ideas. Just seeing how well this planning process has gone so far is a testament to how a think-tank could really work as a development tool.
ReplyDeleteIs it at all feasible to the college to be a part of the greater economic development planning of our district and surrounding communities? Do we regularly interact with the major community planers to know what they are thinking? Can we use their plans to look forward to potential needs of the community? Where is the next business development going and what kinds of business? how much housing is going in and who will it serve? What is going on just north of the border and can we effectively partner with those groups to provide training opportunities? If we are truly thinking global then we need to reach beyond our district borders and evaluate areas that we could excel in.
ReplyDeleteI think greater participation in the Illinois Community College Sustainability Network is a fabulous idea. It would help us to comparatively evaluate the current state of things here at MCC, not to mention affording future opportunities for collaboration on various innovation initiatives at the Community College level.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, this is something I've had the chance to talk about with my counterparts at some of the other community colleges in the area. The idea for a "visitation day" is one that has been kicked around here recently, so that each Grounds Dept. would in turn be able to have a glimpse at other campuses, their Dept. facilities, equipment, layout, etc. I think this is something we could use to create a model for similar type program(s).
In addition to innovation in terms of creation of new programs (which can be costly), we also need to look at innovation in terms of doing the things we already do, better.
ReplyDeleteWhat tools are available as labor-saving devices for our services areas? We can provide better service to students when there is less manual work.
What kinds of innovative things can we be doing in the classrooms that we aren't already doing? Faculty who attend professional conferences may be hearing of some cool things (e.g., new in-class exercises, new means of classroom assessment, etc.) that may not cost a lot to implement, but would lead to an improved teaching/learning experience for both faculty and students.