For the second consecutive year,Montgomery County Community College has been ranked the number one technologically-advanced community college in the nation by the Center for Digital Education and Converge magazine.
The ranking was established based on the 2009 national Digital Community Colleges Survey, which examines and assesses how community colleges have progressed in using information technology to deliver services to their students, faculty and staff. Approximately 1,000 community colleges were invited to participate, and winners were grouped into three categories based on student population. The survey examines a variety of areas of technology, including online admissions, student access to transcripts and grades, information security and infrastructure, weather and campus security alerts, and online library capabilities.
According to Dr. Karen A. Stout, President, the College has ranked nationally in its use of technology over the past six years because of its "data culture," which helps administrators and faculty make informed decisions that support students and the College’s mission.
"The College’s data-informed decision making is essential for continuous improvement because unless you have a system-wide structure that collects data, analyzes it, and makes adjustments on a routine basis, you really don’t know if you’re achieving your mission," said Dr. Stout. "By adapting national best practices, we are constantly assessing ourselves, always trying to make our student outcomes better using technology as a tool to focus on teaching and learning."
For example, the College uses a Balanced Scorecard tool that allows faculty academic leaders to examine components of the strategic plan and to make adjustments according to the data. Academic Deans at the College use the tool to create "what if" scenarios and can quickly be informed on enrollment trends, student demographics and other criteria that can help them make strategic decisions.
Furthermore, the College integrates technology into its strategic plan, and it does not separate academic and administrative technologies, but rather uses a blended approach. According to Vice President of Information Technology Celeste Schwartz, the priorities of the College’s Information Technology team are clear. "We focus on student success and on supporting our technology users," she said. "Technology is used for process improvement and streamlining things so that the College can focus on educating students."
Faculty members at the College incorporate technology into their everyday classrooms. Eight-five percent of the College’s classrooms are equipped with SMART technology, which includes a computer, projector, DVD player, speakers, and a touch SMART board that enables instructors to annotate and store that data on the screen. Faculty members also use interactive classroom technologies, such as clickers and game show technology, to ensure that students interact with each other and with the subject matter to improve learning.
Students in specialized fields, such as Health Sciences, Communications, and Computer Science, use technology in emerging ways to advance them in their areas of study. For example, the College’s Nursing program uses high-tech mannequin simulators that enable students to practice procedures in realistic clinical situations. The simulators, in both adult and child size, can be programmed to mimic a large range of medical conditions and to react with lifelike vital signs and reactions.
Students in the College’s Communications program learn audio and video production in state-of-the-art laboratories with high-end equipment, dual cinema monitors, and industry-standard software and tools. A fully-functional television studio compliments the editing suites and classrooms, providing Broadcasting students with the opportunity to produce a weekly news shows from start to finish. Likewise, Computer Science students learn to develop programs and applications for the latest emerging technologies—with a iPhone apps course being the newest introduction this spring.
Other technology highlights include the implementation of a new student-alert system that tracks attendance and connects the student with an appropriate interventions; the expansion of a wireless pager system and a call center further enhance student success by reducing the amount of time students spend standing in line or on hold; the use of Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and You-Tube both inside and outside of the classroom; the availability of wireless Internet access over 100 percent of both of the College’s campuses; and the ability of students and the general public to download hundreds of academic and student-produced podcasts on Apple’s iTunes U.
Montgomery County Community College has received five previous awards from the Center for Digital Education. In 2003, the College’s website (www.mc3.edu) was named one of the top two sites in higher education in the country, and in 2004 and 2005 and 2007, the College was ranked in the top five suburban community colleges in the nation for its use of technology. Last year, the College was ranked as the number one technologically-advanced community college in the nation for 2008.
Montgomery County Community College has two conveniently located campuses in Blue Bell and Pottstown, with additional learning locations in Willow Grove, Conshohocken and Norristown. The College boasts a nationally recognized, award-winning faculty committed to working closely together with students in the learning process. The College’s comprehensive curriculum includes 85 associate degree/certificate programs in 59 areas of study, including eight complete degrees offered entirely online, and specialized workforce development and continuing education programs, all of which leverage the College’s nationally ranked use of innovative technology.
