MOVING TOWARD LEARNER ENGAGEMENT
In November of 2007, the Counseling faculty launched an Advising Summit. The purpose of the Summit was to evaluate the advising process at JCCC. A group of faculty and administrators volunteered to participate in this Summit, and they met every other week during the spring 2008 semester. In mid-May the Advising Summit leadership committee met with us and delivered a report that spoke to the history of advising at JCCC and to the need for several significant changes that would provide more comprehensive support to JCCC students.
One of the recommendations made in their report was to establish a new division focused on engagement and student development. This new division has been created, reporting to Dr. Dana Grove, with the Counseling Center the first group to move into it. A national search will soon commence for the dean of this new division.
What began as a mission to evaluate campus advising has evolved into a campus movement of student engagement. The next step in this process will be to form a campus-wide think tank that will include key people and departments that have a direct connection with student engagement. Many areas on campus play a critical role in student engagement, and the intent is to bring them together to discuss, plan and set forth strategic initiatives that will lead this campus toward a commitment to student engagement.
Attached is a link that will take you to the Advising Summit Report. Please take some time to read the report as this group has set forth recommendations that will impact student learning and student success in the years to come.
http://www.jccc.edu/home/download/19090/AdviseRpt.pdf
Terry A. Calaway, President
Dana Grove, Executive Vice President, Academic Affairs
