Mother Nature may have delayed the start of the semester, but the students are back, and we are all striding confidently into the future.
My focus these first couple of months is to meet with as many of CCC’s internal and external stakeholders as possible and to take a lot of notes to get a sense of the educational needs of our students and the communities we serve. I will then compile a report of “The First 100 Days,” focusing on mid- and long-term planning, highlighting what was heard, what we’re planning to do and how the college will likely move forward. I’m excited to get busy.
In addition to getting a sense of the educational needs of our students and the communities served by CCC, I have also been involved with the Arizona Community College Coordinating Council, which represents all 10 community college districts in the state. On Wednesday, Jan. 25, CCC, along with all the other community college districts, visited the state Capitol to meet with Gov. Katie Hobbs and lawmakers to begin discussions on how best to fulfill our role in postsecondary education for Arizona. Perhaps you might not be aware that Arizona’s community colleges combined, at last count, serve nearly 297,000 students in an academic year, which is considerably more than the three state universities combined.
CCC, as with many community colleges, focuses on three areas:
- University Transfer: Providing an affordable pathway to a four-year degree. Many of CCC’s students come to us to get the first two years of a four-year degree path because community college tuition is typically a third of the cost of university tuition.
- Workforce Training: Getting people quickly into the workforce. By offering Career and Technical Education to help train and retrain people for jobs relevant in today’s workforce, CCC does its part to address that sector of need in Coconino County.
- Lifelong Learning: Providing continuing education and non-credit courses along a variety of artistic, academic and workforce interests for the residents in our communities interested in continued personal enrichment.
- These three foundational pillars align with CCC’s mission of being committed to providing accessible and affordable educational programs that prepare students for the future. We strive to be deeply engaged with our communities and work to promote student success through a welcoming and inclusive learning environment.
One of the CCC District Governing Board’s priorities is to go beyond championing diversity and inclusion, but also to put our Diversity Statement fully into practice by having our student body and our employees represent our communities for that ever-important notion of: “Yes, I do belong in college.” Furthermore, it is CCC’s goal to ensure as best we possibly can that all students receive the wrap-around services needed to be successful on their educational journeys, so they end up with a certificate in a new skill or trade, or a degree.
CCC’s primary guidance is to “put students first,” and that is what I intend to do with the help of what I learn in these first 100 days of my presidency at CCC. As soon as I am done compiling my report, I will share it publicly to begin a wider and continuing dialogue on how CCC can further focus our efforts to adapt, improve and grow as the communities in Coconino County do. I want to help invigorate all our communities with CCC’s vision of shaping the future of Coconino County by doing our part to empower individuals, to inspire communities and to educate with purpose!
Mother Nature may have delayed the start of the semester, but the students are back, and we are all striding confidently into the future.
For more information about what your community colleges are doing throughout the state, visit https://arizonacommunitycolleges.org. For more information about CCC, visit www.coconino.edu.
To success! FBN
By Eric Heiser
Eric Heiser, Ph.D., is the president of Coconino Community College.
