Student Recruitment
New Approach to Transferring Workforce Courses
The University of North Texas (UNT), a grant partner of the National Convergence Technology Center (CTC), continues to develop its innovative Bachelor of Arts in Information Technology (BAIT) program. The manager of the BAIT program – principal lecturer David Keathly – recently delivered a webinar to interested faculty and administrators from the CTC’s community of…
Read MoreMessaging Strategies for Increasing Student Diversity
Laura Nicholas – a communications consultant for IBM – provided remarks at the National Convergence Technology Center’s (CTC) recent two-day “Diversity Summit” workshop. Specifically, Laura talked to the attendees (ten teams comprised of a faculty member, an administrator, and a counselor) about messaging as it relates to improving their programs’ student diversity. Here are select…
Read MoreSeven Recruiting and Retaining Tips from the Diversity Summit
The National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) recently hosted a special two-day “Diversity Summit” workshop for ten select schools from its Convergence College Network (CCN). Each school sent three attendees – an instructor, an advisor, and an administrator. The “Diversity Summit” provided a forum to hear best practices on recruiting and retaining under-served populations from a…
Read MorePHOTOS: Diversity Summit 2017
The National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) recently hosted ten schools from across the country for an intensive two-day workshop environment called the “Diversity Summit.” The educator teams were first presented with the latest best practices by experts in recruiting/retaining under-served student populations, then worked with those experts to develop concrete, focused diversity action plans. The…
Read MoreA New Approach to Helping Foster Diversity
Most community college educators know what it takes to recruit and retain under-served populations (hands-on activities, early outreach, success stories, role models, community events, data tracking, intrusive advising, and the list goes on). The trick is that those strategies must be employed again and again in order to deliver sustained results. But with community college…
Read MoreInforming Students About IT Career Paths
The National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) works hard to support convergence programs (IT and communications) around the country and prepare students for lucrative jobs in the IT space. But no matter how well-trained faculty members are or how cutting-edge curriculum may be, students won’t get jobs unless they know what jobs are out there. We…
Read MoreStrategies to Track Graduate Success
The National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) recently posed this question at a meeting of its community of practice, the Convergence College Network (CCN): “how do you keep track of your graduates’ success?” It’s important to measure a program’s effectiveness to understand what works and what doesn’t. Are your students leaving with the skills they need…
Read MoreBoot Camp for Recruiting Strategies
The National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) recently helped promote a unique “boot camp” workshop for IWITTS (the National Institute for Women in Trades, Technology and Science) to deliver in-depth recruiting and retention strategies to select community college teams. Three schools ultimately participated in the workshop: two from Texas, one from Maryland. Each fielded a team…
Read MoreTale of the Thumbtack: Updating a Program Bulletin Board
Developing strategies to successfully recruit students is a key goal of the National Convergence Technology Center (CTC). The CTC staff recently rolled up their sleeves to tackle this problem head-on when we decided to update a bulletin board in a classroom hallway here at Collin College. The bulletin board is in a high-traffic area students…
Read MoreSharing Best Practices
The National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) manages a community of practice called the Convergence College Network (CCN). The CCN is a cohort of 45+ community colleges and universities from around the country that share best practices and receive CTC benefits and resources. The goal is to enhance the CCN’s IT programs. Quarterly meetings are one…
Read More