Essential Principles toward Success: Best Practices of the Bellwether Programs

Leading an institution toward success is not an easy job. Community college leaders, in particular, often face challenges in meeting the diverse demands from their constituencies. Commitment in three essential principles, including being mission driven, practicing adaptability in alignment with that mission, and perpetuating strategic partnerships, has successfully guided institutions in situating themselves in the complex environment of higher education (Hendrickson, Lane, Harris, & Dorman, 2013). The special issue Essential Principles toward Success is an edited collection of case studies on leading programs in the community college sector. By introducing these programs in great detail, we aim to explore how the three essential principles are implemented in practice to solve critical issues in various areas.

This edited collection is also unique in sharing best practices of the Bellwether programs. The Bellwether Awards are an integral part of the Community College Futures Assembly, which was established in 1995 and annually recognizes outstanding and innovative programs and practices that are leading community colleges into the future. The Assembly is sponsored by the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Florida and focuses on cutting-edge, trendsetting programs that other colleges might find worthy of replicating. Each year, about 1,000 nominations are received and the nominated colleges are invited to apply and compete for the Bellwether Awards in three categories: Instructional Programs and Services (IPS), Planning, Governance, and Finance (PGF), and Workforce Development (WD). Ten Bellwether finalists and one Bellwether Award winner are competitively selected by a national panel of judges from the cosponsors of each of the award categories.

While the nominated programs are categorized into different institutional activities including supporting teaching and learning, improving efficiency and effectiveness, and promoting community and economic development, each program is closely tied to the three essential principles of institutional success. By analyzing the context, resources, and objectives of the program, we hope the readers will find resonance and inspiration in bringing these outstanding and innovative initiatives to their own institutions. Articles selected for this special issue are organized by the three essential principles, and each case study addresses best practice toward community college success.

Principle 1: Mission-driven institutions

According to Hendrickson et al. (2013), higher education leaders who understand their institutional missions and tie them to educational outcomes can provide the best learning experiences for students. The first case study, Breaking New Ground: McHenry County College Developmental Mathematics Approach, focuses on a core purpose of community colleges in providing remedial education. This article introduces the developmental math program introduced by McHenry County College in Illinois. As an integrative approach to reducing student dependency on developmental math, this summer bridge program successfully prepares students for a seamless transition directly into college-level courses and moves them toward the completion of a credential that leads to a career or matriculation to a four-year institution.

A second case study reflecting a community college’s mission-driven strategy puts emphasis on the growing importance of student completion. While access has always been a fundamental mission for community colleges, increasing performance accountability and fiscal austerity continue pushing institutional leaders to prioritize credential attainment among other core purposes. The authors of A Community College Approach to Increase Student Completion: A Case Study of Change Initiatives at Bergen Community College explore the actions and strategies used by the administration at Bergen Community College in New Jersey to change how the institution and stakeholders holistically treat graduation. On their way toward meeting their goal of a 25% increase in graduation rate, Bergen Community College provides a low-cost and highly effective approach for peer institutions facing similar challenges.

Principle 2: Adaptability in alignment with mission

Historically, the community college sector undertakes multiple missions to meet diverse demands from the constituents (Cohen, Brawer, & Kisker, 2014). However, these demands are never rigid and institutional leaders need to be constantly attentive to the environment, such as changing demographics of students and financial policies. Adaptability in alignment with their mission requires community college leaders to “interpret change through the lens of their institution’s mission” (Hendrickson et al., 2013, p. 12). Three case studies are featured in this section, starting with First in the World: Open Campus at Bossier Parish Community College. As the nation’s first full series of free online non-credit developmental cross-curricular courses, Open Campus™ was developed when the entire institution underwent an extraordinary change with few resources. Taking advantage of technology, Bossier Parish Community College in Louisiana created an innovative concept to increase the student success rate in gateway math and English courses and provided accessible courses for the entire community.

A second case study focuses on how Gaston College in North Carolina adapted to the growing need of graduates in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). As employment within STEM fields has been rising at a higher rate than employment in other fields (National Science Foundation, 2010), the growth in number of students entering STEM fields does not keep pace with the STEM labor market demand (Lowell & Regets, 2006). SPARC³: The Future of Associate of Science examines the innovative curriculum redesign of Gaston College’s Associate of Science program, which aims to increase persistence and retention among community college students in the first two years of STEM education. This case study further reveals how transformational leadership is implemented to tackle contemporary issues of STEM success in the community college sector.

Principle 3: Strategic partnerships

Like other higher education institutions, community colleges are open-system organizations that require a high level of collaboration (Birnbaum, 1991). The diverse constituencies determine that community colleges should develop internal partnerships with its own employees as well as external groups such as funding agencies and local community organizations (Hendrickson et al., 2013). One case study in this section, Scaling Applied Benchmarking Innovations for Learning, specifically addresses a bottom-up style of management used by Wake Technical Community College (WTCC) in North Carolina. To fully engage employees to become involved in the process of institutional improvement, WTCC started a program called SAIL (Succeed, Achieve, Improve, Learn). Recently, all employees have become involved in their Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) process; and they are empowered and impacted in a meaningful way by making a great contribution to the institutional effectiveness of WTCC.

Last but not least, the final case study in the special issue provides an overview of the Freshman Transition Program at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) and Towson University in Maryland. The author of Strategic Alliances to Transcend Boundaries and Manage Resources at the Community College of Baltimore County introduces the strategic partnership between a community college and a four-year university, with a focus on its positive influence on CCBC students with the plan to transfer to Towson University. The partnership between CCBC and Towson University provides a notable framework for breaking down traditional silos between community colleges and four-year institutions and implementing leadership theory in program development and institutional collaboration.