Creating, Implementing, and Sustaining The Democracy Commitment Initiatives
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Transcript of Creating, Implementing, and Sustaining The Democracy Commitment Initiatives
CREATING, IMPLEMENTING, AND SUSTAINING THE DEMOCRACY COMMITMENT INITIATIVES
DR. NORMAH SALLEH-BARONESUMEET SINGH
America’s Community Colleges Educating For Democracy
“A healthy democracy depends on engaged citizens, proud of theirrights, thoughtful about their responsibilities, and informed abouttheir choices.”
“Beyond access to education itself, community colleges have anobligation to: educate about democracy, engage students in both anunderstanding of civic institutions and practical experience of actingin the public arena.”
Moraine Valley Community College
• Second largest community college in Illinois• Three campuses: Main campus in Palos Hills, Education
Center in Blue Island, and Southwest Education Center in Tinley Park
• Spring 2014 enrollment of approximately 17,000 students• Offer 100+ degree and certificate programs
Our Demographics
0.32% 2.19%
9.73% 0.04%
19.72%
1.48%
55.48%
1.44% 9.61%
American Indian
Asian
Black
Hawaiian
Hispanic
More than one race
White
Student on a visa
Unknown
TDC - Prime Initiative
The Democracy Commitment (TDC) is a national initiative providing a platform for the development and expansion of community college programs, projects and curricula aiming at engaging students in civic learning and democratic practice across the country.
The goal of TDC is that every graduate of an American community college shall have had an education in democracy. This includes all of our students, whether they aim to transfer to university, achieve an associate degree or obtain a certificate.
Democracy Commitment and Community College
The American community colleges share this mission of educating about democracy because we are the gateway to higher education for millions who might not otherwise get a postsecondary education. More critically, we are rooted deeply in local communities that need the civic leadership and practical democratic capacity of our students for their political and social health.
MVCC Mission Statement
The mission of our college is to educate the whole person in a learning-centered environment, recognizing our responsibilities to one another, to our community, and to the world we share. We value excellence in teaching, learning and service as we maintain sensitivity to our role in a global, multicultural community. We are committed to continuous improvement and dedicated to providing accessible, affordable, and diverse learning opportunities and environments.
It’s About the Students
Exploring
Committee created representing both academic and student affairsThree team members attended 2011 National MeetingPresentation by Kevin Navratil and Lisa Kelsay to All-Faculty
meeting on September 8, 2011Presentation by Kevin Navratil and Lisa Kelsay to Student Life on
October 4, 2011 Part of the Student Life Leadership Development Series
Faculty members attended the “7 Revolutions Institute: Educating Globally Competent Citizens” October 28-29, 2011 Fresno, California
Creating
Developed workshops for faculty to encourage and assist them in incorporating civic practice and service learning in their curriculum:
CTL Workshops Staff development Days Community Organizing Training Learning Community Seminar
Creating
Provided opportunities for students, faculty and staff to learn about important social issues and encourage them to get involved through presentations :
Local and sustainable food event with local farmers Faculty lecture series ActOut Education through service fair Film screenings (Inequality for All and American Winter)
Surveyed Faculty to find out what they are already doing and what needs they may have in doing more
Faculty survey completed fall 2013
Results From the Faculty Survey
identify problems in the community.
uncover the root cause of a problem.
generate alternative solutions to a problem.
evaluate information for possible biases.
1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
By the end of the course, students would know how to:
Implementing
Work collaboratively with all areas of the college at the planning stage to ensure support and community effort :
ActOut fair is a collaboration between Mike McGuire, TDC Global Education and the library One-day seminar on civic engagement and learning communities was a
collaboration between Student Development and Academic Affairs
Sustaining
Providing a space for all levels of the college to get involved. Working with the TDC committee and inviting input from the college community:
Hosting a roundtable discussion for faculty to discuss this past year’s efforts and what we want to see in the coming years from TDC
Engage students through curriculum :
Link efforts that are college-wide to help students make the connections and see the importance of being engaged citizens.
Sustaining
Institutionalize the work
Develop communities of learning that students will expect to see every year
Develop a sense of community and shared responsibility on campus so that our small projects can grow and become a standard at MVCC
Collaborative efforts with other campus initiative (sustainability, global education, one-book)
Our Progression….
Hosted a regional conference for ADP and TDC area colleges on May 30, 2012
Hosted Brian Murphy, President of De Anza College (CA) and co-founder of The Democracy Commitment Initiative, to speak at In-Service Day on October 16, 2012
On-going Student Development and Academic Affairs programsSelected Faculty Program Coordinator
Tamarra Coleman-Hill, Assistant Professor of CommunicationUploading information to the national TDC website on MVCC
activitiesApplied for a Bringing Theory to Practice grant
2013-14 Short term goals
Implement a conversation board in building U Faculty Program Coordinator to present workshops Create a mission statement Select a graduate intern Add question to pool of interview questions Add a link to the Student Life Page to Service Opportunities Conduct campus-wide academic inventory Host a Naturalization Ceremony Create competition to create a tagline Create a Student Democracy Commitment award Outreach to local high schools and middle schools Create democracy commitment website Introduce The Democracy Commitment during orientations
2013-14 Long term goals
Research creating democracy certification/concentration program Host student presentation on democracy Determine process to select a student to attend /present at national
meeting Work with Kettering Foundation and National Issues Forums Institute Locate speaker on democracy for convocation Learning College Day workshop by students Add session to Leadership Series on how to be moderators of
discussions Educate faculty on how to align General Education Learning Goals
and Objectives to class learning objectives to incorporate TDC components
Determine what it means to be a TDC course and share with faculty Create a designation symbol next to classes that relate to TDC
Democracy Commitment Events
Institutional Resources
On MVCC’s WebsiteBlackboardSustainability In the CurriculumVolunteering OpportunitiesVoter RegistrationSocial Action & Political EmpowermentThe Democracy CommitmentDeAnza Community College
Conclusion
Our community colleges have enormous talent andcapacity, with faculty and staff committed to the
success ofour students, and with students bright with ambition
andpassion. All of us share a commitment to a
democraticnation. Now is the time to fulfill that commitment byparticipating in the democracy commitment.
Questions?!! Concerns?!