ANNUAL REPORTAugust 2019-July 2020

Mission. The Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, at North Carolina State University’s College of Education, develops and sustains exceptional community college leaders who are committed to advancing college access, the social and economic mobility of their colleges’ students, and the economic competitiveness of their regions. The Center conducts and disseminates research to address current and emerging student success challenges facing community college leaders and policymakers in North Carolina and beyond.

Vision. The Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research aims to be a nationally recognized model of critical partnership with North Carolina’s community colleges in advancing equity in student access and success and increasing the attainment of postsecondary credentials of value.

Commitment to Equity. To date, our work at the Belk Center has focused on economic mobility, community building, and improving success outcomes for historically underserved populations in higher education, in support of the mission of community colleges and their efforts to uplift their communities. We recognize there is room for continuous improvement in elevating an understanding of and explicitly integrating a focus on racial equity across our existing work. Moving forward, the Belk Center will prioritize the following commitments and work in tandem with communities of color and leaders from diverse backgrounds.

We commit to racial equity through dismantling the systemic barriers that impede historically underserved populations, especially Black, Latinx, and American Indian students, from achieving their academic, economic, and social success through our evaluation, research, and support for developing the next generation of community college leadership.

We commit to enabling executive leaders to utilize evidence-based tools and culturally relevant strategies to inform decisions that lead to equitable student success for historically underserved populations, especially for Black, Latinx, and American Indian students.

We commit to centering the experiences and outcomes of Black, Latinx, and American Indian students in our research and in the preparation of future community college leaders.

ABOUT THE BELK CENTER

Audrey J. Jaeger, Ph.D.Executive Directorajjaeger@ncsu.edu

James Bartlett, Ph.D.Associate ProfessorDirector of Academic Programsjebartl3@ncsu.edu

Jemilia S. Davis, Ph.D.Director of Strategic Initiatives & External Relationsjemilia_davis@ncsu.edu

Andrea DeSantisAssistant Director of Researchaldesant@ncsu.edu

Kenneth Ender, Ph.D.Professor of Practiceklender@ncsu.edu

Mary Rittling, Ed.D.Professor of PracticeSenior Fellow at the Aspen Institutemerittli@ncsu.edu

Kim Sepich, Ed.D.Director of Executive Leadership Programskwsepich@ncsu.edu

Robert Templin, Ed.D.Professor of Practice and Senior Fellow at the Aspen Institutergtempli@ncsu.edu

Jane WaltersProgram Specialistjhwalter@ncsu.edu

Lauren ArsenaResearch Associatelearsena@ncsu.edu

Renee BargerResearch Associaterwbarger@ncsu.edu

Monique Colclough, Ph.D.Postdoctoral Research Scholarmonique19@ncsu.edu

Julia Ahrns HoffmanResearch Associatejmahrns@ncsu.edu

Laura Maldonado, Ph.D.Senior Research Associatelagarlan@ncsu.edu

Holley NicholsResearch Associatehbnichol@ncsu.edu

Greyson NorcrossNILIE Research Associateganorcro@ncsu.edu

Emily VanZoestNILIE Research Associateervanzoe@ncsu.edu

Daniel WestNILIE Research Associatedrwest2@ncsu.edu

Melissa Whatley, Ph.D.Postdoctoral Research Scholarmewhatle@ncsu.edu

Rachel WorshamResearch Internreworsha@ncsu.edu

Leadership Research Associates

OUR TEAM

Acknowledgements for Report Development: Jemilia S. Davis, Shauna Morin, Renee Barger, and Erin O’Quinn

Michelle Bartlett, Ph.D.Faculty Scholarmebartle@ncsu.edu

Diane Chapman, Ed.D.Faculty Scholarddchapma@ncsu.edu

Carrol Warren, Ed.D.Faculty Scholarclwarren@ncsu.edu

Faculty Scholars

Faculty & ResearchAffiliates

Frim Ampaw, Ed.D.Faculty Affiliateampaw1fd@cmich.edu

Sarah A. Deal, Ph.D.Research Affiliateshoffar@ncsu.edu

Pamela Eddy, Ph.D.Faculty Affiliatepamela.eddy@wm.edu

Rey Garcia, Ph.D.Senior Advisorrey.garcia@umuc.edu

Karen Haley, Ed.D.Faculty Affiliatekhaley@pdx.edu

Brett Ranon NachmanResearch Affiliatebnachman@wisc.edu

Jason Taylor, Ph.D.Faculty Affiliatejason.taylor@utah.edu

Xueli Wang, Ph.D.Faculty Affiliatexwang273@wisc.edu

TABLE OF CONTENTS

5 A LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

6 FOSTERING COMMUNITY COLLEGE EXCELLENCE7 Presidents’ Academy9 Trustee Support9 What’s Next for Executive Leadership Programs

10 EDUCATING FUTURE LEADERS10 Belk Center Fellows11 Executive Leader Mentoring11 Practice-Based Approach12 Next Steps for Doctoral Student Support

13 CONDUCTING ACTIONABLE RESEARCH13 Executive Leadership14 International Education14 Teaching and Learning15 Transfer Students15 What’s Next in Research

16 BY THE NUMBERS

18 STRATEGIC INITIATIVES18 Responding to COVID-1919 It Matters Conversation19 Dallas Herring Lecture20 Finish Line Grant20 Community College Climate Survey

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A LETTER FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Dear Colleagues,

Last year at this time, it would have been impossible to imagine what was in store for us in 2020—across the country and throughout the world. In the first half of this year, we have faced unprecedented changes to our daily lives in the face of systemic injustice, economic recession, and a global pandemic spurred by COVID-19. At the Belk Center, we have been laser focused on supporting North Carolina community colleges in their service to students during this challenging time. Though student access and success have always grounded our work, this spring we were challenged to imagine new ways of living out our mission. In this vein, we leveraged retired community college presidents serving as professors of practice to provide guidance for current institutional leaders. We also created a website with a host of resources for faculty designed to enhance student engagement in virtual spaces. Finally, we hosted bi-weekly “critical conversations” tailored for college presidents who were faced with high-stakes decision making in the wake of COVID-19. In parallel to our rapid responses to the pandemic, all of us at the Belk Center have been examining the ways racial equity is, and should be, centered in all we do.

This report highlights recent Belk Center achievements in three key areas: fostering community college excellence, educating future leaders, and conducting actionable research. It also features perennial strategic initiatives like the Dallas Herring Lecture and the PACE campus climate assessment for community colleges. For the past 12 months, these diverse offerings—alongside our responses to COVID-19—have been synchronized to maximize the scope and impact of the Belk Center in North Carolina and beyond.

In the year ahead, we will continue to foster leadership development in college presidents and trustees, educate the next generation of community college executives, and deliver high-caliber, actionable research to guide best practices. As leaders of colleges and the communities that surround them seek to restore their economies and close opportunity gaps, the Belk Center is equipped to support their efforts with resources, expertise, and an enduring commitment to excellence in community college leadership.

Audrey J. Jaeger, Ph.D.Alumni Distinguished Graduate ProfessorExecutive Director, Belk Center for Community CollegeLeadership and Research

The Belk Center706 Hillsborough StreetRaleigh, NC 27603Phone: 919-515-2238Web: https://belk-center.ced.ncsu.edu/

Follow us on social media: @ncstatebelkcenter

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

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FOSTERING COMMUNITY COLLEGE EXCELLENCE

Inspiring excellence in community college executive leaders is the first of three pillars that define the Belk Center. Since the Belk Center’s inception, we have directed resources and expertise to support the ongoing professional development of community college leaders. We believe success in this domain rests in our ability to foster robust relationships among leaders at all 58 of North Carolina’s

community colleges, create space for critical analysis of pressing problems hindering student access and success, and foster collaborative problem-solving grounded in high-quality research on community colleges and the students they serve. In the past year, we have realized these successes through myriad initiatives tailored for community community college leaders.

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The Presidents’ Academy offers crucial support to North Carolina community college presidents by offering an organizing framework for their leadership development. The Academy is a centerpiece of the Belk Center’s work, designed to advance community college excellence and student success starting with those in leadership and governance roles. In the past year, it achieved this purpose by connecting presidents from 58 community colleges across the state. Opportunities for engagement included two symposia in Fall 2019 and Spring 2020, each comprising two regional gatherings.

PRESIDENTS’ ACADEMY

Fall 2019

“Presidential Strategies for Increasing Credential Attainment and Labor Market Outcomes” is the theme for a Presidents’ Academy Symposium held as two regional convenings in Western and Eastern North Carolina.

Spring 2020

Community college presidents and their leadership teams gather to craft data-driven solutions for more effectively reaching underserved student populations, and discuss strategies for improving retention, college completion, and meeting labor market needs.

These events were designed to deepen community college leaders’ understanding of North Carolina’s higher education and economic needs and equip them to develop institution-specific action plans for increasing degree attainment and credentialing. To this end, the Belk Center provided attendees with multiple data sources at each event, including county-level data on historically underserved populations and institutional enrollment, retention, and persistence data for students who belong to those groups. These data sources were considered alongside regional labor market trends to inform decision making and strategic planning.

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Beginning in April, the Presidents’ Academy sponsored five virtual gatherings to help community college leaders navigate abrupt changes and weighty decisions they were wrestling with as the pandemic unfolded. These one-hour events comprised the “Critical Conversations” series and were designed to address specific leadership challenges brought on by Covid-19. The interactive nature of these sessions helped attendees process global problems and collectively identify context-specific solutions. Nearly 40 presidents and other executives participated in each event. Topics included:

Sustaining a Positive Campus Climate focused on the value of surveying employees, ways survey data can be leveraged for decision making, and the Belk Center’s Employee Perspectives in Times of Uncertainty no-cost resource.

Maximizing Technology for Collegewide Success focused on strategies for maximizing technology to meet the needs of students and faculty, as well as best practices in technology use across institutions.

Planning for Financial Sustainability focused on funding models to guide presidents’ development and implementation of financial sustainability plans.

Planning for the Future with Enrollment Changes focused on reexamining student access and success agendas in light of anticipated demographic changes in the community college-going population.

Positioning for Success Through Data Use and Design Thinking focused on learnings from the data collected during the Covid-19 crisis and plans for improving educational equity for historically underserved groups.

“We have come to rely on the Belk Center to maintain engagement. The programs are elegant and bring together thought leaders, past presidents … and sitting presidents. There is no question it has had an impact.”

– Presidents’ Academy Member

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TRUSTEE SUPPORTSupport for trustees goes hand-in-hand with support for college presidents and, during the past year, leaders at the Belk Center have undertaken the first major initiative in this domain. With approval from the North Carolina Association of Community College Trustees (NCACCT), the Belk Center spearheaded a major revision of the statewide community college trustee manual. The Belk Center worked with the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) to complete this project. A draft of the revised manual was delivered to the Trustee Advisory Committee (TAC) in May with favorable reception. TAC is comprised of college presidents and board chairs from four colleges, the president of the North Carolina Association of Community College Trustees (NCACCT), and the former chief of staff/executive vice president of the North Carolina Community College System.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP PROGRAMSIn the coming academic year, staff at the Belk Center look forward to welcoming incoming community college leaders into the Presidents’ Academy and helping to support them in their new roles. There is also an opportunity on the horizon to collaborate with the North Carolina Association of Community College Presidents in developing a comprehensive new president orientation. In addition, the Belk Center seeks to catalyze the teaching and learning conversation in North Carolina and has sought the engagement of the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program. We will design and deliver a series of virtual and in-person workshops on how North Carolina’s community college presidents can develop and execute a comprehensive strategy for enhancing teaching and learning excellence. The workshop series will engage presidents in four virtual and in-person events structured around pre-work (self-assessments with senior leadership teams, data collection, and readings), expert-facilitated instructional activities anchored in data and peer-sharing, and guided planning for implementation and follow-up.

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EDUCATING FUTURE LEADERS

BELK CENTER FELLOWSThe Fellows program engages doctoral students with senior executives and other educational professionals from community colleges across the U.S. to gain a deeper understanding of the promising practices that guide their work. In the spring, twenty-two fellows represented the Belk Center at the Achieving the Dream (ATD) Annual Conference and the League for Innovation in the Community College (The League) Conference. Since the first DREAM Fellows cohort in 2018, the program has expanded to include partnerships with The League and American Association of Community Colleges, providing invaluable networking and professional development experiences. Fellows are convened before and after any conferences they attend to identify—and later report on—key deliverables from their experiences.

“I felt a part of the ATD conference beyond just an attendee. The interaction with the ATD president, staff, and DREAM scholars was enriching and motivating.”

– Belk Center Fellow

If we are to sustain the important work of current college presidents and trustees, it is imperative that we devote time and resources to educating the next generation of community college executives. For this reason, supporting future leaders in the Community College Leadership Doctoral Program at North Carolina State University is the second pillar on which the Belk Center is founded. It is our goal to recruit, retain, and graduate outstanding leaders from across the state with a diversity of backgrounds, identities, and experiences. As of July 2020, 83 students were enrolled across five doctoral cohorts. Each year, we see more counties represented in our Raleigh and Charlotte-based doctoral programs, with 31 counties currently represented across all cohorts. These students are afforded several distinctive opportunities to gain experiential knowledge, in addition to their classroom learning, through the Belk Center programs described below.

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PRACTICE-BASED APPROACHProfessors of practice are a hallmark of the Community College Leadership Doctoral Program. These recently retired community college presidents provide focused leadership and support across the curriculum, enhance the diversity and expertise of the program’s academic community, and ensure that students have ample opportunities for real-world application of knowledge and skills. Also unique to the program is its emphasis on practice-based dissertations. In their first year of study, students are asked to identify a problem of practice that will be the focus of their dissertation. This positions students to dive deeply into their identified problem over multiple years and within different courses, design research that is relevant and actionable, and refine their approach in light of experiential learning via mentorship and other program offerings. Last year, students in the program pursued dissertation research addressing myriad issues in community college education. Examples include research identifying predictors of academic achievement for individuals in adult basic education programs, examining features of effective transfer partnerships between 2-year and 4-year institutions, and exploring factors that promote persistence of African American males at rural community colleges.

EXECUTIVE LEADER MENTORINGMentoring is a vital tool for preparing graduate students in the Community College Leadership Doctoral Program to address complex, real-world issues facing today’s community colleges. Belk Center mentors represent varied institutional contexts and offer decades of experience serving as community college executives. They introduce students to invaluable field experiences throughout their course of study, including meetings with senior leadership teams, county commissioners, boards of trustees, philanthropists, and legislators. Additionally, mentors create engagement opportunities for students with state and national community college leaders. Promisingly, the Belk Center has seen an increase in the number of dedicated mentors over the past year, with 28 mentors now serving up to four students each. Every incoming student is now assigned a mentor within their first year in the doctoral program.

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NEXT STEPS FOR DOCTORAL STUDENT SUPPORTAs the Fellows program continues to evolve, we anticipate that learnings from participant involvement in national conferences will be disseminated to Belk Center partners via executive summaries and practice briefs. New partnerships with community college professional associations are also being explored to offer fellows a diverse array of networking and leadership development opportunities. In the mentoring program, we look forward to cultivating a more extensive pipeline to ensure program sustainability as current mentors’ conclude their terms of service. Efforts to solicit recommendations for future mentors are already underway.

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CONDUCTING ACTIONABLE RESEARCH

The final pillar of the Belk Center’s mission involves the delivery of high-caliber, actionable research to guide best practices. We actively engage community college leaders to identify their most pressing needs; in turn, those needs drive our research agenda. To enhance the impact of our research, we help college leaders make meaning of data and leverage it to improve policy and practice—within specific institutional contexts and across the statewide community college system. In the past year, the Belk Center’s research team contributed to the knowledge base in this domain through its work in four key areas: teaching and learning, transfer students, executive leadership, and international education.

TEACHING AND LEARNINGRecent research on teaching and learning has included qualitative case studies at six community colleges across North Carolina involving more than 200 faculty, staff, senior administrators, and student leaders. Institutions were intentionally selected for the study to capture a diversity of rural and urban settings and institution sizes. The history and evolution of colleges’ professional development centers for teaching and learning were also considered during site selection, as was the proportion of part-time and full-time faculty on each campus. Rich data from each of the stakeholder groups interviewed illuminated (1) how teaching and learning was defined within the institution, (2) where and how faculty and staff are seeking professional development support, and (3) the relationship between student success measures and teaching and learning efforts. Actionable findings included the importance of an institutional culture that values teaching and learning, leadership that drives continuous improvement, and messaging that communicates the strategic importance of outstanding teaching and learning. The study also surfaced existing professional development opportunities at participating campuses and additional support that would meet faculty needs.

“[Belk Center research] has helped

us make the case that we need more

people in our Center for Teaching and

Learning. It confirmed we are on the right path and can keep moving forward.”

-Teaching and Learning Case Study Participant

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Using data from North Carolina State University and the UNC System Office, as well as institutional data from community colleges across the state, researchers are beginning to examine critical transfer issues such as: degree attainment for transfer students, course-taking patterns of community college transfer students, and outcomes of North Carolina’s Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CCA) between public two- and four-year institutions. At a Presidents’ Academy convening last spring, we shared data on transfer students behaviors and outcomes that highlighted differences based on race/ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic status to inform college leaders’ outreach to underserved student populations. A forthcoming report shares transfer-related findings that suggest the recently revised CCA has been largely successful in increasing the likelihood of bachelor’s degree completion and reducing the number of excess credits earned among qualifying program participants. It also identifies opportunities for growth in equitably serving certain student populations in the state.

TRANSFER STUDENTS

Researchers interrogating effective strategies for executive leadership adopted a three-pronged approach that focuses on strategic plans, presidential pathways, and collective action across the community college system. Last year, initial phases of the research were driven by two overarching research questions: (1) how do we develop a pipeline of diverse community college executive leaders who improve student success and post-completion outcomes?; and (2) what strategies do participating presidents utilize to improve student success in alignment with statewide goals? Data collected from community colleges across the state provided a snapshot of existing college presidents and their current strategies for advancing student success. Further, they revealed a need for support and common language to develop effective strategic plans; the importance of creating a talent development pipeline that prepares professionals for presidential roles; and the critical role of evaluation in identifying student success programs that are well positioned to be expanded across the community college system. Research focusing on strategic plans as guideposts for student success gained considerable traction in the past year, reaching national audiences within higher education.

EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP

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In the coming year, the Belk Center research team looks forward to publishing reports and briefs that synthesize research findings and outline practical recommendations for faculty, policymakers, and executive leaders. A series of reports specific to transfer students is forthcoming in the second half of 2020, which will focus on differences in transfer student degree attainment by student demographic characteristics, community college characteristics, and the type of associate’s degree students hold. Future reporting will also address the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement’s impact on credit generation and baccalaureate degree completion for transfer students. Finally, the Belk Center will continue to advance its focus on equity through research agendas that center the experiences and outcomes of Black, Latinx, and American Indian students in community college settings.

WHAT’S NEXT IN RESEARCH

INTERNATIONAL EDUCATIONA collaboration between the Belk Center and the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) fueled survey research exploring how North Carolina community colleges address the system’s mission to “develop a globally and multi-culturally competent workforce.” Data was collected from respondents at 42 of North Carolina’s 58 community colleges and shed light on the nature and quantity of educational offerings that expose students to countries and cultures outside the U.S. Study findings revealed that North Carolina community colleges offer substantial and robust opportunities for international education via on-campus events, study abroad, and various other means. When asked about resources utilized to support international education, survey respondents pointed to external funding available through state, national, and international sources. Importantly, this research revealed ways that collective action throughout the statewide system could enhance international education efforts at North Carolina community colleges. Avenues included development of a study abroad consortium, state and regional meetings focused on capacity building, and globalizing the curriculum.

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BY THE NUMBERS

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Doctoral Program: July 2019-June 2020

91 students enrolled

across cohorts

31 North Carolina

counties represented

List of NC Counties Represented Across Cohorts:

Alamance

Bladen

Cabarrus

Carteret

Catawba

Craven

Cumberland

Durham

Edgecombe

Forsyth

Franklin

Gaston

Guilford

Halifax

Henderson

Iredell

Johnston

Lee

Mecklenburg

Mitchell

Moore

New Hanover

Onslow

Orange

PittRobeson

Stanly

Surry

Union

Vance

Wake

BY THE NUMBERS

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STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

The Belk Center staff initiated myriad responses to COVID-19 in addition to the “Critical Conversations” series described as part of the Presidents’ Academy. Professors of practice and retired presidents of North Carolina community colleges also availed themselves for confidential, one-on-one conversations with current presidents. These sessions afforded a safe space for presidents to seek guidance on unprecedented and critical leadership issues they were facing. Staff at the Belk Center were especially cognizant that these sessions would be beneficial for new presidents, and they were designed with that audience in mind. The Employee Perspectives in Times of Uncertainty campus climate assessment is another Belk Center resource that was made available to community college presidents during the pandemic. This assessment was developed specifically for use during COVID-19 and captured data on the following:

Ways in which financial stability, housing, mental health, and physical health were impacted for individual employees and their families.

Employees’ technology and communications needs and available resources.

Responsiveness of employees’ supervisor and other institutional leaders when there was a need for information and resources.

Greatest areas of need, as well as what was or was not working to support students (collected in an open-ended format).

A total of 21 colleges from across North Carolina participated in the assessment at no cost. Institutional response rates averaged 30% with 4,224 faculty and staff participating overall. Notably, 2,750 unique qualitative responses were received. The Belk Center research team analyzed data and ultimately provided participating campuses with two complimentary reports summarizing quantitative and qualitative findings. Key employee concerns surfaced by the assessment included childcare and mental health, with a larger share of individuals from minoritized racial and gender identities and younger employees expressing their mental health had been affected during the pandemic. A majority of employees also indicated their institutions supported flexible work schedules and their work teams remained collaborative and productive as operations moved online. Belk Center staff were also concerned for the well-being and preparedness of community college faculty in the midst of the pandemic. Accordingly, they worked quickly to secure funds for the creation of tools and resources that would facilitate a rapid transition to online teaching and learning. Virtual support for faculty took the form of webinars, live virtual meetings, and instructional videos. A system was also put in place for faculty to request individualized support, free of charge, and receive hands-on guidance from a member of the Belk Center team. Requests were varied, including how to foster active learning in an online environment, account for lab hours in a remote course, develop video lectures, and more. As one member of the Belk Center leadership team noted, “Those who joined us had student success at the heart of this transition process.” More than 600 individuals, representing nearly all of North Carolina’s community colleges, took advantage of these offerings.

Finally, several staff members at the Belk Center were expedient in their development of a website and cloud storage space to house FAQs and resources for community college faculty and executive leaders. These were shared broadly with the Belk Center’s network of presidents and trustees, as well as with national partners and doctoral students. It is anticipated that website and online resources will continue to be available to Belk Center partners in the coming year.

RESPONDING TO COVID-19

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DALLAS HERRING LECTURENamed for a pillar of the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS), the annual Dallas Herring Lecture is a nationally recognized program for community college leaders and thinkers. Each year, a prominent speaker addresses salient student success challenges facing community colleges in North Carolina and beyond. Since the inception of the Belk Center, the Dallas Herring Lecture has been strategically coupled with the annual gathering of the Belk Center’s Advisory Board. It is at the yearly Board meeting that the Belk Center’s research agenda is designed to examine students’ access to college, their social and economic mobility, and the economic competitiveness of their regions. The Dallas Herring Lecture points to related areas of focus, in the form of current issues, to be considered at the Belk Center’s annual Board meeting and in their strategic planning efforts. Last year’s Dallas Herring Lecture featured Dr. Sanford “Sandy” Shugart, who served within the North Carolina system before he became the fourth president of Valencia College in Florida. Valencia is one of the most celebrated community colleges in the U.S. and was the first winner of the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. Dr. Shugart’s lecture, “College Transfer 2.0: The Case for Reengineering the Transfer Ecosystem to Restore Opportunity to America’s Higher Education System,” was well received by more than 250 attendees representing a diversity of institutions, statewide organizations like the North Carolina Department of Commerce, and philanthropic organizations.

IT MATTERS CONVERSATIONIn the wake of the shooting deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor and the murder of George Floyd, civil unrest, and Black Lives Matter three community college presidents were prompted to join a public conversation about the impacts of recent events on their personal and professional lives. The event, coordinated by Dr. Jacqueline Greenlee of Guilford Technical Community College, invited Dr. Algie Gatewood (Alamance Community College), Dr. Pamela Senegal (Piedmont Community College), and Dr. Lawrence Rouse (Pitt Community College) to share steps community college employees could take to combat systemic racism, promote equity, and practice inclusion. The Belk Center team was grateful to support this event by creating and disseminating an assessment for participants and analyzing collected data. The assessment revealed among participants an overarching appreciation for the conversation, a motivation to act both individually and collectively, a desire to continue the conversation, and a need for guidance on next steps.

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FINISH LINE GRANT SYMPOSIUMSince 2018, the Belk Center research team has been involved in evaluating innovative student success programs at community colleges across the North Carolina system as part of the Finish Line Project. In Fall 2019, the Belk Center sponsored the Finish Line Symposium in partnership with NCCCS, the North Carolina Department of Commerce, and the Governor’s Office. The Symposium was designed to give Community College and Workforce Development Board professionals the opportunity to share strategies for effective management and implementation of the Finish Line Grants program. Earlier this year, an evaluation of the implementation of Finish Line initiatives was provided to the Governor’s Office. Guided by evaluation results, the Belk Center team made the following recommendations: (1) engage organizational leaders and staff in planning and implementation, (2) clarify student eligibility and anticipated expenses, (3) track students throughout the application process, and (4) develop a plan to continue sharing learning across the state.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE CLIMATE SURVEYThe Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research continues to support community colleges across the U.S. through its National Initiative for Leadership and Institutional Effectiveness (NILIE), which boasts more than 30 years of experience administering climate assessments like the PACE Community College Climate Survey. PACE is a nationally recognized assessment tool that gathers employees’ perspectives on their working environment to inform institutional decision making and strategic planning. During the past academic year, PACE was administered to 31 colleges in 17 states, with the largest number of partners in Illinois, Minnesota, and Texas. The PACE survey was also conducted at two rural community colleges through the Belk Center’s Home State Initiative, which offers free survey administration to qualifying community colleges in rural areas of North Carolina facing declining enrollment, stagnant student outcomes, and/or challenges with employee recruitment and retention. The expertise of the NILIE staff, along with infrastructures in place to administer PACE, made it possible for the Belk Center to quickly develop the Employee Perspectives in Times of Uncertainty campus climate survey following the onset of COVID-19.

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