One would think, based on this title, I might supply the summary of my year as your president. And although May 21st, 2013, the day I took office, was exciting and full of promise, it was actually 17 days later, June 7th, when a man with a gun stepped on our campus...
This was the title of a paper (Crosta and Kopko, 4/2014, Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University) that poses a broad question, but even in the opening abstract, narrows the definition to “…earning a transfer-oriented associate degree.”...
Here is the ideal bachelor’s degree program offered at a community college: “The Southern Illinois University program is an accelerated bachelor’s degree program in Aviation Management, held in our classrooms at Mt. San Antonio College. Students completing the A.S....
I know that I promised a part two to my position against community colleges offering BA/BS degrees, but that will have to wait for my April blog post. I prefer to discuss how I help students make decisions and take responsibility for those decisions. I have a son who...
Would you ask Pepsi to make Coke? You want your heart surgeon to do your brain surgery? Do you want the Common App…scratch that. The current buzz in California higher education is discussion around community colleges offering bachelor’s degrees. Although there are...
This month's article is blog lite. We just had our December Board meeting, and we continue to move forward. My job as president is to listen a lot, speak a little, and be genuinely grateful for all these folks do for our association. Balancing their committee...
A very good friend asked me to address the following question about attending a community college, so I thought I would share my response this month. “What will the student be giving up in bonding/relationship/experience/alumni/networking benefits if they don’t go the...
“Hey, aren’t you the Transfer Guy?” , said the young woman as I was walking across the SMC campus during the last week of September. Of course, I was thinking about the upcoming college fair, budget issues, UC and CSU application workshops, the Common App, and, after...
Since Mrs. Loomis’ kindergarten class at Parkway Elementary School in Fall 1963, through and including last Monday, August 26, 2013 at Santa Monica College, I have celebrated, and I do mean celebrated, 50 straight “First Days of School”. I have either worked in or...
Starting with an apparent oxymoronic title seems problematic, but feels right to me. As a native Nevadan, born in Las Vegas, it was where my parents began their professional lives in earnest. My mom was a radio DJ, and my dad was a mechanical engineer. They moved...