Learning from the Best: Durham Tech seeks external assessment from Aspen Institute, Achieving the Dream, and Belk Center
Durham Tech will embark on a strategic planning process with the help of three of the country’s best thought-leading institutions: Aspen Institute’s Center for College Excellence, Achieving the Dream, and the Belk Center at NC State.
The College asked the three organizations to develop a joint approach to assessing existing institutional efforts against key student outcomes, and provide recommendations to inform the College’s strategic focus. The goal is to help the College emerge from the pandemic positioned to succeed while identifying priorities and new directions from best-in-class institutions.
Recommendations from these organizations will create a framework for the strategic plan that Durham Tech is building for the next three to five years. It’s believed to be the first time the three groups have worked together on such an assessment.
“Bringing together the nation’s premier higher education organizations together with our state’s premier postsecondary organization, the Belk Center, is intended to produce recommendations that challenge us and help create an innovative plan anchored in creating value and equity,” said Durham Tech President J.B. Buxton.
The external assessment launched in October and will conclude with a final report in March 2021 while ongoing consulting and other related services from Achieving the Dream will continue through June 2021.
The assessment will center on Aspen’s four-part definition of critical community college outcomes and what excellent community colleges do:
• Completion: earning degrees and meaningful credentials
• Equity: ensuring equitable outcomes for low-income students and students of color
• Learning: setting expectations and measuring what students should learn
• Labor Market: preparing students for well-paying jobs
The assessment team will be led by Dr. Robert Templin, Senior Fellow at Aspen and former president at NOVA Community College; Dr. Karen A. Stout, President and CEO of Achieving the Dream; and Dr. Audrey Jaeger, Executive Director of the Belk Center.
“Durham Tech and NC State have long partnered in their shared goal to remove systemic barriers for underserved populations in our communities,” Jaeger said. “The Belk Center at NC State is excited to join Durham Tech through this important strategic planning process. We see the potential and capacity for Durham Tech to have an even greater impact in its community.”
In addition to the assessment by the three organizations, Durham Tech is conducting a College-wide employee survey, division-level strategic planning sessions, student forums, and external engagement with key employer and educational partners.
“We believe the recommendations will create a focus and sense of urgency that informs our internal strategic planning process and results in a groundbreaking and innovative go-forward plan of action,” Buxton said. “We are committed to responding to the reality of a post-pandemic economy and ensuring equitable educational and labor market outcomes for our students that lead to upward mobility.”
ABOUT
Aspen Institute’s Center for College Excellence: Aims to advance higher education practices and leadership that significantly improve student learning, completion, and employment after college—especially for the growing population of students of color and low-income students on American campuses.
Achieving the Dream: A national, nonprofit leader in championing evidence-based institutional improvement. Its mission is to lead and support a national network of community colleges to achieve sustainable institutional transformation through sharing knowledge, innovative solutions and effective practices and policies leading to improved outcomes for all students.
Belk Center at NC State: Supports community colleges across North Carolina and the nation to help them improve student access and success in three ways: Executive Leadership Programs, Research to Action, and a Doctor of Education Program.
Durham Technical Community College: Durham Tech provides a high-quality, affordable and convenient technical and career education to more than 18,000 students who want to build lifelong skills, gain career experience, achieve certifications, or begin working toward a bachelor’s degree or university transfer experience. The College offers more than 100 credential programs under a structure that combines curriculum and continuing education programs to help students enter their career sooner and successfully complete their credential. In 2019 alone, the College expanded its program offerings to include cosmetology, culinary arts, and electrical line technician.