Yavapai College will be well represented at the 2022 American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) National Conference in New York, New York, from April 30 through May 3.
College President, Dr. Lisa B. Rhine will join her Executive Leadership Team to lead three separate presentations to the conference attendees about successful initiatives that have been implemented at Yavapai College. The three presentation topics are:
AACC is the primary advocacy organization for the nation’s community colleges. The association represents more than 1,000 2-year associate degree-granting institutions and nearly 12 million students. The organization strives to:
A summary of the three presentations are as follows:
Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Presented by Dr. Lisa B. Rhine, President, and Mr. Rodney Jenkins, Vice President of Community Relations and Student Development at Yavapai College As a new president arriving on campus and following an initial listening tour, it became evident that campus climate and culture needed some attention before launching into intensive college planning. Yavapai College engaged in a college-wide professional development effort that focused on understanding individual and collective mindsets and working toward an outward orientation that focuses employees on others’ needs, challenges, desires, and the humanity of others to turn the tide toward achieving an aggressive strategic plan.
Open Educational Resources: Improving Educational Access
Presented by Dr. Lisa B. Rhine, President, and Dr. Diane Ryan, Vice President of Academic Affairs at Yavapai College Education is tied to the economic prosperity of people and places, yet the educational attainment of people living in rural areas – particularly those from traditionally underrepresented populations – is markedly lower than in urban areas in Arizona. It is imperative for rural communities to close this educational attainment gap that impacts underrepresented students disproportionately. Implementing an Open Educational Resource initiative was an important first step to addressing access and affordability and led to a statewide consortium anticipated to save students millions of dollars as well as improve persistence.
A Promising Start: Early Results from a Self-funding Promise Program
Presented by Dr. Lisa B. Rhine, President, and Dr. Clint Ewell, Vice President of Finance and Administration at Yavapai College Yavapai College had a two-year completion rate of 9%, somewhat below the national average of 12% for community colleges. Like many community colleges, enrollments had been in decline since the depth of the Great Recession. We needed to improve both trends. Following best practices, we designed a last dollar Promise scholarship; however, ours is unique. The YC Promise reimburses students for completing a degree on time. This self-funding program increased enrollments while raising two-year completion rates to twice the national average.
Yavapai College operates six campuses and centers throughout Yavapai County and offers over 100 degrees and certificates, student and community services, and cultural events and activities.
To learn more about YC, visit www.yc.edu.
