Anoka-Ramsey Community College leveraged a previously planned professional
development day for the conversations about the extraordinary education we provide.
After watching the Chancellor’s video together, the academic departments discussed
the extraordinary experiences currently provided at ARCC as well as opportunities for
new initiatives. Each department was asked to create a poster highlighting the
following areas:







Active learning, project-based, or problem-based learning
Learning that is relevant to the world of practice ( encouraging
collaboration with employers and tied to career pathways)
Achieving one or more of ARCC’s core learning goals (clear thinking,
effective communication, accepting diversity & ethical decision-making )
Collaboration amongst divisions within our institution (and/or across our
colleges and universities)
Graduates who are prepared for work, life, and citizenship
Graduates who are creative, innovative, and/or are able to respond with
agility to new ideas, new technologies, and new global relationships
Scalability to meet the needs of multiple students at a reasonable cost to
the College
The day culminated in a poster competition, with the faculty scoring each of the posters.
The winning departments received a trophy and money to pay for refreshments at their
next departmental meeting.
For existing extraordinary initiatives, the overarching theme was providing innovative
opportunities for students to apply concepts in practical settings. Some examples
include:



A collaboration between ARCC and EverCat fuels has fueled expanded
opportunities in the biology curriculum for undergraduate research. Initially
started with a Minnesota Job Skills Partnership grant for non-credit training in
biofuel production, the learning experiences have expanded into credit-bearing
courses, including chemistry, biology and computer networking.
Students in general chemistry complete an inquiry-based research project where
they design experiments and analyze data independently. Projects often include
current problems in environmental, food or energy topics.
In the nursing program faculty and students partner with local pediatric
homecare, k-12 schools and Girl Scout troops to provide service to the
community, and also have pediatric care experiences.

LEARN, EARN, RETURN; a comprehensive program that offers critical thinking
experience through case studies and active learning. Students gain
comprehensive training/skills that preparing them for an immediate job and also
have the opportunity to go on to a four-year degree with our learning partners,
plus return for additional certifications while employed.
Online education was another theme and much discussion focused on using social
media. One example comes from foreign language classes where instructors pair in
Minnesota with English-language teachers abroad to promote dialogue between
language learners.
For several years, Anoka-Ramsey has been supporting a Quality Improvement Process
(QIP), particularly emphasizing new online and hybrid courses. The Quality
Improvement team (faculty peer mentor and teaching, learning, technology specialist)
supports faculty in new course planning and development; upon completion, course
design is reviewed for readiness before the course goes live.
The conversations at Anoka-Ramsey Community College also encouraged faculty to
dream of new collaborations which could benefit students. Some examples included:


Collaboration Across the Curriculum - an initiative where courses would be
mapped in D2L with classroom resources listed by Learner Outcome. The goal
being that any instructor could access information for use in class. This would
save preparation time, provide instructors with expert/in-field knowledge from
learned practitioners to apply in their particular courses and provide common
resources for use by students. There would be opportunities to facilitate
combined classroom events, a general bulletin board for special events, speakers
and other classroom activities can be announced and an instructor "Lounge"
where department biographies and areas of expertise can list for collaborative
purposes. The goal is to use existing resources to enhance student learning
opportunities.
MinnMATYC Mentorship Program where students who are interested in
becoming math teachers attend a math education conference with a faculty
mentor.
In addition to the conversations with faculty, staff participated in conversations about
their role in providing extraordinary educational experiences. A new grass-roots
initiative, Campus Connection pairs faculty and staff with new incoming students to
assure that students have at least one individual they can connect with at the college.
The Green Dot program is another program which provides extraordinary
opportunities for our student. This program provides Personal Power-Based Violence
Prevention training for faculty and staff focused on bystander intervention to prevent
violence. 115 students were trained in 2012, with an additional 2700 students learning
about it through classroom visits.