Keeping Ahead of the Tech Curve
With JCCC leading the way, area community colleges are moving swiftly to keep up with rapid changes in digital technologies.
by Dennis Boone
A constant challenge for higher education is the technology arms race—not just financing new hardware and software, but absorbing the costs of implementing its use through training and operations programs.
Fortunately for Kansas City employers and students, there is one superpower in that race: Johnson County Community College. For five straight years—and six out of the past seven—JCCC has been ranked among the Top 10 digital community colleges by the Center for Digital Education and Converge magazine. The comprehensive survey explores integration of technology into both curriculum and campus life and its applications for faculty, students and staff.
Denise Moore, JCCC vice president and chief information officer, said the key to consistent recognition in that elite group has been the campus administration, from President Terry Calaway to the board of trustees.
“They have made a commitment that we’re going to use technology to provide the best possible services,” Moore said. The recognition, she says, “is a summary of what we’ve been able to do.”
The college put some muscle behind that commitment in the 2010–11 academic year, when it designated $3 from the cost of each tuition credit hour to support technology-driven initiatives.
That was important, Moore said, “because if you’re looking to make spending cuts, technology can be an easy area. But our senior leadership understands the importance of technology and not only improving how we teach and how students learn, but how we do business. If you use it right, you can save a lot of money.”
Having a funding mechanism was an important first step; putting in place a system for gathering metrics on its effectiveness and reporting those figures at monthly intervals has also proven effective, too, she said.
“Each month, I report to the board on how were doing in meeting our goals,” Moore said. “Accountability is a big piece of it, it’s not just ‘Here’s some money, now go do what you want with it.’ And we felt that since the students were paying for it, we wanted to be very transparent about how we use the money. We wanted to make sure we were targeting classrooms and teaching.”
Tech initiatives also command the attention of administrators at the metropolitan area’s two other community colleges, Metropolitan Community College, with its five campuses on the Missouri side, and Kansas City Kansas Community College in Wyandotte County.
KCKCC has developed a set of programs to help companies increase the digital IQs of their employees through customized training. It starts with basic computer skills and includes more advanced programs, like database construction and management in Microsoft Access, Crystal Reports, Web site development and more.
Among its clients with those ventures are organizations like Argosy Casino, the city’s Board of Public Utilities, AT&T, ConAgra, Owens-Corning and the Fairfax Division of General Motors, along with public school districts and even the University of Kansas.
On the Missouri side, Metropolitan Community College extends the digital outreach beyond students, faculty and staff with its Public Computer Center, funded in part by a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program grant. The centers, at all of the college’s campuses in the metropolitan area, allow non-students to use new and upgraded computers—at no charge—for both personal and professional needs.
Training course content includes computer basics, use of the Internet and e-mail, basic software programming, social media skills, computer security and privacy, the use of digital devices and opportunities in technology careers.