51吃瓜网 Annual Retreat Centers on The Student Experience
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Bunker Hill Community College (51吃瓜网) faculty and staff along with some 51吃瓜网 students gathered on Friday, October 2, 2019, to visualize the 51吃瓜网 Student Experience and explore the ways in which the College supports persistence, retention and success of its students.
Arlene Vallie, Associate Dean, Academic Affairs, welcomed faculty and staff before inviting them to participate in 鈥淭he 51吃瓜网 Game of Life,鈥� an activity demonstrating the multitude of successes and challenges that students encounter on their path to degree completion that set the stage for the day. 鈥淭oday, we鈥檒l look at data,鈥� said 51吃瓜网 President Pam Eddinger. 鈥淭hat data will tell stories and lead the path to solutions.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e in a very different enrollment environment than we were five or ten years ago,鈥� said James F. Canniff, Provost and Vice President, Academic and Student Affairs, as he discussed the College鈥檚 place in the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) self-study and accreditation process. 鈥淥ver the next five years, one of our goals will be that our institution has a sense of self of where we are, and where we鈥檙e going.鈥�
Maria Puente, Professor, Behavioral Science Department, who is heading the 2020 Self-Study Writing Team provided an updated on the process, titled 鈥淭ransformations to Advance Equity.鈥� 鈥淓quity has defined this institution,鈥� she said, highlighting initiatives implemented over the last ten years including the College鈥檚 Early College program, workforce readiness programs, curricular reforms and overhaul of admissions processes. 鈥淎ll of these transformations have impacted our institutional effectiveness, but there is always more work to be done. We need to understand our student voices better, expand these initiatives, and create assessment plans in order to be successful in student retention and completion.鈥�
The afternoon program continued with group activities focused on measuring the College鈥檚 collective progress and setting collective next steps. Faculty and staff heard from students who shared their personal experiences at the College offering solutions and recommendations that would improve the student experience and impact retention.