Cape Cod Community College Hosts Community College Leadership Academy

In June, CCCC hosted 30 faculty and staff members from every community college in Massachusetts as well as Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island for the Community College Leadership Academy. Cape Cod has had 14 of its faculty and staff participate in the year-long CCLA professional development program begun initially to "grow" Massachusetts community college leadership from within. Presentations designed to foster community college excellence covered academic support services, assessment of student learning, sustainability practices, online learning, and professional development methods. The keynote reception and dinner speaker was Bill Green, Chairman of Accenture; Patricia Crosson, Senior Advisor for Academic Policy for the Massachusetts Dept. of Higher Education, was a luncheon speaker.

Massachusetts Maritime Academy to Tap the Tides for Energy

A July article in the Cape Cod Times described MMA's plan to capture tidal power. The hydrokinetic turbine effort, dubbed the Muskeget Channel Demonstration Project, also draws on research from UMass Dartmouth. The turbine will be tested on August 15 in the Muskeget Channel between Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. MMA cadets - about half of whom study engineering - will work as maintenance technicians on the project. MMA president RADM Richard Gurnon hopes the turbine will produce hydrokinetic energy equal to MMA's 660-kilowatt wind turbine, which saves the school about $250,000 in electricity costs annually. Comments Pres. Gurnon, "the potential truly is to light the world with water."

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Massasoit Community College Takes Lead on Reverse-Transfer Program

A June 19, 2011 commentary in the Chronicle of Higher Education highlights a cutting-edge partnership between Massasoit Community College and UMass Boston. The program, known as "Reverse Transfer," allows students who transfer from community colleges to four-year schools with significant credits, to receive associate degrees upon completing necessary coursework at their new institutions. The program has been shown to significantly increase the numbers of students who successfully continue their educations at the four-year schools, while impressively boosting graduation rates at the two-year colleges. The program is being studied for possible region-wide implementation by all the CONNECT institutions. Click here to read the full article.

BCC's Attleboro Center has secured a Community Development Block Grant to help adult learners improve their math and reading skills. "Targeted Skill Building for Workforce Solutions" is aimed at adults who have had difficulty in obtaining and maintaining gainful employment because they are deficient in reading skills and lack a high school diploma or GED. A portion of the grant will be used for an Intensive Math Readiness class that will fit together with GED studies to provide students with help in passing the challenging math portion of the GED. Additionally, funds will be used to secure Reading Horizon software to help English as a Second Language students and non-readers improve their reading skills. The programs will begin in the fall. For more information, contact the Adult Basic Education program at the Attleboro Center at 508-678-2811 ext. 3532.