with Dr. Jan Gehler
Dr. Jan Gehler recently marked her five-year anniversary as president of Scottsdale Community College. In recognition of this important milestone, we have asked Dr. Gehler to answer this question:
Q:
What have been the college’s top five achievements during the past five years?
1.
By integrating academic and student affairs, both organizationally and operationally, we created a true seamless experience for our students. They expect and deserve a one-stop shop when it comes to their college enrollment experience, particularly at the beginning when the whole process can seem overwhelming. Our friendly Welcome Center is their starting point, where we help students get a successful start at SCC…with everything they need in one location or nearby. Organizationally, our service is more holistic. We have integrated career and instructional advising, faculty and student affairs professionals are co-chairing committees and work teams, we are cross-training personnel – all to better support our students’ success.
2.
SCC2020 is SCC’s strategic plan, and it contains our three key goals that drive all that we do. All of our resources – time, treasure and talent – are directed to our students’ success. They are best served when we partner with the community. To that end, we have created more than 30 community advisory committees, which provide advice, guidance, curriculum feedback, networking and fundraising to enhance student success. Aspiring to affirm that SCC is a Great Place to Work, we understand the relationship of employee engagement to satisfaction, productivity and, yes, student success. So, in truth, all strategies lead us back to our relentless focus on success.
3.
The wholesale transformation of the campus grounds and learning places, reflects the principle that ALL students deserve an exceptional experience here, whether classes are held in a more than 40-year-old building, or a brand new one. Recently, I had the chance to look at two aerial photos of our campus – one from 2003 and the other from 2013. The change is remarkable and our beautiful Two Waters Circle as the centerpiece is a site to behold. The best part is that this sacred space not only represents our partnership with the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, but also is a living biology lab that is used for our own science courses and as a resource for local elementary school science class field trips.
4.
Uniquely situated on the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community reservation, SCC seeks to fulfill past promises, share talent, create new collaborations, and generally enhance our relationship with the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community. Our Jr. ACE, ACE (Achieving a College Education) and Hoop of Learning programs for middle and high school students are all designed to light a clear pathway to a successful educational experience for our Native American students. The goal of these programs is to instill an expectation of college attendance while preparing students academically for that transition. Once Native American students enroll at SCC, they have the benefit of extensive support services coordinated by the American Indian Program (AIP) office. The SCC— SRPMIC partnership reflects the Community’s generous financial support of our new Indigenous Scholars Institute, allowing us to leverage additional funding for scholarships and student development opportunities.
5.
We have and continue to innovate as we apply technology to teaching and learning and to our business practices. MySCC is the stand-out, followed by SCCTech Talks, and the many innovations either from Information Technology (IT) or from others in strong partnership with IT. SCC’s culture encourages innovation, risk-taking, and leveraging technology to improve student outcomes. In both 2010 and 2011, SCC’s Instructional Technology division was recognized as being in the top ten community colleges nationally by the Center for Digital Education. SCC also was recognized as a Bellwether finalist for our instructional innovation, and we were an Aspen Award finalist on behalf of our rate of growth in student satisfaction. The SCC brand also says innovation as we lead in successful developmental education, new instructional strategies – think Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and Open Educational Resources, high quality undergraduate research (yes, at a community college), and much more.
12