Dr. Catherine Al-Maten, part-time instructor in Religious Studies (Social Sciences Department) recently attended a Oregon Community College Association (OCCA) 2011 retreat, and agreed to share some of her notes with us. Here are some excerpts from those notes:
The presentation on the Oregon State laws on ethics, and the
clear outline of who and what these laws and revisions entail, was most
helpful. This information is definitely important to share with the
college community, since everyone in our college community is bound by
these standards of behavior, and I do not think most people are aware of
how complicated and intricate these guidelines are--and how
all-encompassing. While the board and the president are the chief
financial policy makers, and therefore are most bound to these
standards, it is important for others in the college community to
understand so as to avoid the appearance of being unaccountable rather
than more accountable. I can see how sticking to such guidelines could
be misunderstood. Clarity is important.
Much of what was
discussed both formally and informally at the conference, dealt with the
changing focus and function of education in Oregon. As a leader in
educational reform, Oregon has mandated a significant change in the way
we do education and in how we envision educational purposes, focus, and
outcomes. Dedicating our resources to increasing levels of adult higher
education, requires that we change. The use of distance and electronic
forms of education and communication is a key issue that was touched
upon here, but needs to be a higher priority than it seems to be.
Distance forms of education and electronic technology both hold great
potential to meet needs and create new challenges. I believe the benefit
of distance education and technology far outweigh the challenges. I
would like to pursue this topic further. The one session I attended on
the Green technology certificate program encouraged me to consider other
possibilities for building course and curriculum for certification
programs and degree-based sharing among the community college community.
In the final session we received statistics on tuition
increases and the information about the impact on vulnerable student
populations (which is a fair share of CCC students), including the prevailing
trends, which show an ever-increasing reduction of state and federal
funding for education coupled with the trends among certain politicians
and their constituents that favor neither immigrants nor education.
These statistics indicate the depth of the crisis looming in public education. I believe
Horace Mann and my Grandfather would both roll over in their graves if
they could hear our country taking such a stand regarding the support of
public education. Our educational system is what guarantees our freedom
and a door to success. We, as a nation, are in great danger if we are
unwilling to support public education that is accessible to everyone.
Since my earliest education in the 1950s, through all the innovations, reforms, and cycles of change that have come and gone and come again, I think one speaker hit the nail on the head. Unless we break the cycle, and develop a long-term vision and then set in place workable goals and steps to achieve those goals, we’re going to continue allowing our legislators and educational systems to keep on reinventing the wheel.
The financial basis for education is one piece of the transformation. How to use all the technology and innovations we already have is a bigger challenge, and I would say, a huge gift. There is so much that can be done using collaborative resources (faculty, technology, equipment, expertise, and creative ideas) that we cannot afford to waste time not doing something with what we already have. My hope is that the vision quest that we are on be one that opens us to a way that opens doors, meets needs, utilizes the bounty of resources we already have, and minimizes the political squabbling and polarization that goes on. Fortunately, I saw none of that during this conference, and that was refreshing. The biggest argument I observed was a petty debate about the difference between mean and median (a total distraction to the session about a very serious and important issue).
I would have liked to have heard that last session, which included the statistics regarding tuition increases and vulnerable student populations, earlier in the conference, and and I wished the presenter could have gone on longer. It’s important to know the facts, trends, and situation we are in when compared to other states and regions.
Updates from the Dept. of Community Colleges and Workforce Development
http://www.oregon.gov/CCWD/
Oregon Community College Association Board Member Resources
http://www.occa17.com/cc-board-policies
The trend in public education is enrollment without academic prerequisites -- they want tuition money. I find that the idea of the Obama administration's goal of having most Americans with a college degree questions whether we are telling people that either we need to send people to college to create revenues or people need to continue learning after high school because they got nothing of value while there. So a McDonald's hamburger flipper will need to have a college degree to work there. WalMart greeters will also be required to have a college degree and if you get stoped by traffic police you will be asked to show your college diploma along with your driver's license.
ReplyDeleteThe issues presented in academic discussions is not about quality of education,"what is the purpose" of education and "how to improve it." It seems that they focus on colleges finding strategies to justify their existense when the budget is not supporting them. Colleges are acting like corporations - not like educational institutions providing skills necesary to perform in a vocation. Perhaps it is time we evaluated the role of academic and vocational education.