The Bellwether Award Announces North Florida College as Finalist
Finalists representing 18 states and 29 community colleges were selected to compete
SAN ANTONIO, TX – The Bellwether College Consortium announced 30 Bellwether Finalists will compete for the 2024 Bellwether Award at the 30th Annual Community College Futures Assembly (CCFA). This nationally recognized award identifies and honors outstanding and innovative community college programs in three award categories.
“The ingenuity and innovation demonstrated by these community colleges make them shining examples of the solutions-focused culture prevalent in these organizations,” said Rose Martinez, Ph.D., director for the Bellwether College Consortium. “The consortium looks forward to hosting 30 award-winning finalists at the Community College Futures Assembly.”
A Bellwether Finalist is a community college with a program that scores highest in the first round of competition and is invited to compete in the final round of award competition. Finalists were announced on November 15, 2023. The Bellwether Award categories are instructional programs and services, workforce development, and planning, governance, and finance.
North Florida College is a finalist in the Instructional Programs and Services category, which recognizes programs and services that foster or support teaching and learning. Other finalists in this category of distinction are:
Reading Area Community College (PA)
Hudson County Community College (NJ)
Ventura College (CA)
Columbia Basin College (WA)
Leeward Community College (HI)
Cerritos College (CA)
Allan Hancock Joint Community College District (CA)
Northwest Mississippi Community College (MS)
Pima Community College (AZ)
Finalists representing 18 states and 29 community colleges were selected to compete from a pool of submissions. College teams will conduct presentations to a jury of anonymous judges and fellow community college practitioners and CEOs and share how they significantly addressed a critical issue affecting community colleges.
In the competition, NFC will present the success of the iCARE Mentoring Program, with a project titled "Mentoring: Low-Cost Initiative with Immediate Results". NFC recognized a need to support underperforming subgroups within its student body to achieve equitable outcomes. College leadership formed the iCARE Mentoring Program and gained remarkable improvements in at-risk subgroups without placing limitations on participation and simultaneously engaging over 30% of faculty and staff.
To represent NFC in the competition will be Dr. John Grosskopf, President; Dani Mays, Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Research; Ellie Morgan, Director of Learning Resources; and Cheri Green, Associate Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Research.
“While this event is a competition to be nationally recognized for our efforts,” states Morgan, “it is an opportunity to share significant achievements of NFC students who benefited from a dedicated and concerted effort by multiple departments.”
“Without the iCARE Mentoring Program, these students may have continued underperforming and potentially decide college isn’t for them,” states Mays. “NFC is proud to showcase that with the help of a mentor, students are performing at average and in some cases higher rates than that of their peers.”
Event co-sponsors include the National Council of Instructional Administrators, the National Council for State Directors of Community Colleges, and the National Council for Continuing Education and Training. The national competition will be held February 25 - 27, in San Antonio, Texas. The 2024 Bellwether Award recipients will be named at the event.
The Community College Futures Assembly convenes annually as an independent national forum for innovators to work as a think tank. It identifies successful responses to critical issues facing the future of community colleges and hosts its national award competition annually.
Visit the Bellwether College Consortium website for more information, www.bellwethercollegeconsortium.com, or email rmartinez1702@alamo.edu.
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