Initial Publication Date: August 11, 2021

Cohort 3 Leadership Extension

The whole team from Leeward Community College participated in the extension of Cohort 3 that focused in helping Change Agents improve their leadership skills.

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Leadership Accomplishments and Lessons Learned

Alyssa MacDonald

  • Increased awareness of leadership approach and how to communicate with others with other Bolman and Deal leadership preferences
  • Understand how to move beyond data-driven information in presentations to include implications of the data in relation to students, faculty, staff, and the college mission.
  • Apply strategies to motivate others based on how they would like to be treated

Luca Preziati

  • Increased understanding of Bolman and Deal leadership theory and how to apply it to improve personal leadership skills
  • Understand the importance of how to communicate with others from different leadership frames
  • Mentored new faculty member

Donn Viviani

  • Developed collaboration with scientists outside the college in which community college students contribute to research projects, resulting in the students gaining experience, meeting with scientists, working on real oceanography research, and getting paid
  • Learned through SAGE workshops and discussions how to jumpstart initiatives 
  • Leverage existing relationships and connections to build opportunities that grow organically 

Activity Report

Activity Plan

The goal of our activity was to gather information regarding the success rates of Associates of Science Natural Science (ASNS) majors at Leeward CC based on gender, ethnicity, and financial aid status. We gathered data from the Office of Planning, Policy, and Assessment (OPPA) on our campus to assess the following:

  1. Course success rates for all ASNS required program courses, broken down by ethnicity if possible.
  2. Course success rates for all ASNS required program courses, broken down by financial aid status (low income focused).
  3. Course success rates for all ASNS required program courses, broken down by gender.
  4. Success (completion) rates for ASNS students by ethnicity
  5. Success (completion) rates for ASNS students by financial aid status
  6. Success (completion) rates for ASNS students by gender
  7. Financial aid status by ethnicity (if possible)
  8. Financial aid status by gender (if possible)

After analyzing the data, we presented the results of our findings along with information regarding the ASNS program review and ASNS counseling perspective to the ASNS faculty members. We then had a brainstorming session about ways we can better support our students. The results of our findings were included in the ASNS faculty and student surveys sent out for Summer 2021. Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions on campus, we elected to have our session presented via Zoom on May 7, 2021. We were originally planning on providing lunch for participants; however, due to the virtual format, we relied on faculty self-interest as motivation for attending our presentation.

Results

We successfully received and analyzed the ASNS success rates and were able to present our findings to 15 faculty members on May 7, 2021. The results of our analysis and discussion helped shape the ASNS faculty and student surveys and the survey results will be analyzed in Fall 2021 to help us strategize how we can improve success rates for students in the future. While no policies changed, we were able to strategize ways we could be proactive in our course to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion along with providing support to our students who are not utilizing financial aid (~62% of our student population) in order to help them apply.

The participants in the session were surprised by some of the results, particularly the high percentage of students who receive no form of financial aid. The overall assessment of the program success was high for all students (69%); however, there is still room for improvement in the Pacific Islander (non-Native Hawaiian), African American, and American Indian student success rates. The participants brainstormed the following ideas for implementation in their courses and as program sponsored events in the 2021-2022 school year:

  1. Scientist Spotlights
  2. Financial Aid Information presented during class to help students understand the process and who to contact
  3. Training for Faculty regarding financial aid, counseling, and other student services
  4. Panel Presentations from professionals in different disciplines
  5. Movie nights with panel discussions

Overall, the participants found the session highly informative and would like to have more program-level meetings each semester to help keep us on track and working together to help our students.

Lessons Learned

We anticipated that the data would take some time to receive; however, we were pleasantly surprised at the turnaround time and commend the OPPA for their hard work. We had several requests from participants to see course-level data in more detail and will be working with them to navigate the data request process. The ASNS Program Coordinator and Counselor were excited to be a part of the presentation and provided valuable insights into the overall program success and student challenges. Based on the participant feedback, we are already planning another meeting for Fall 2021 to present the results of the faculty and student surveys and discuss strategies to address any concerns that arise from the survey.

We were pleased with the initial attendance of 15/30 faculty participants, but will need to find a better recruitment strategy to include all of the ASNS faculty in our future meetings. There was representation from all sub-disciplines; however, it would be nice to have more input.

The two pieces of advice we would share with other faculty working on similar projects would be:

  1. Start the data request process early. It takes time to get into the requesting system (if you have one on your campus) and to process the data request.
  2. Work with program coordinators, student services, and counselors (if available) to bring different perspectives into the planning process. It can be a challenge to navigate schedules; however, the more input you have, the better you will be able to strategize ways to improve student success.

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