By Terrence Leas, Riverland Community College

My past columns summarized the College Board&8217;s National Commission on Community Colleges&8217; report, &8220;Winning the Skills Race and Strengthening America&8217;s Middle Class:

An Action Agenda for Community Colleges,&8221; that outlined a new vision for community colleges:

– Continue to be open access, but strive to increase completion rates.

– Continue to offer multiple educational options.

– Establish new partnerships with the local business community.

– Commit to a &8220;culture of evidence.&8221;

– Continually reflect on and improve policies and practices.

Today&8217;s column focuses on how the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and Riverland Community College are implementing this new vision.

As part of the 2007-2009 appropriation, the governor and Legislature set five performance goals for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. The system achieved all five performance goals, which align with objectives stated in the report.

Specifically, the system goals and results sought to:

– Increase the number of students taking college courses in science, technology, engineering and math by 3 percent between fiscal years 2005 and 2008. Enrollment increased 3.2 percent from 108,998 to 112,504.

– Increase enrollment in four Centers of Excellence courses by 2 percent between fiscal years 2005 and 2007. The system&8217;s four Centers of Excellence focus on engineering, manufacturing, health care, and information technology and security. Enrollment increased 2.3 percent from 19,427 to 19,868.

– Increase the number of students trained in using electronic medical records by 700 between fiscal years 2007 and 2008. The number of students trained in this technology increased 971 from 177 to 1,148.

– Increase the number of students taking online courses or the number of online courses offered by 10 percent between fiscal years 2007 and 2008. Enrollment increased 11.3 percent from 59,853 to 66,635.

– Expand the &8220;awards of excellence&8221; or other initiatives that reward member institutions, faculty, administrators or staff for innovations to advance excellence and efficiency by 10 percent between calendar years 2006 and 2007. The number of awards of excellence increased 277.5 percent from 253 to 955!

The system&8217;s Board of Trustees&8217; Action Plan also established system goals and a new system of accountability measurement, &8220;Dashboard.&8221; Dashboard puts the Minnesota public higher education system significantly ahead nationally in measuring and reporting accountability measurement results to the public.

Dashboard will report measurements for the system and each institution regarding:

– Access and opportunity, which encompasses enrollment, tuition and fees.

– Quality programs and services, including licensure and exam pass rates, persistence and completion rates, high-quality learning and student engagement.

– Meeting state and regional economic needs, through partnerships and related employment for graduates.

– Innovation and efficiency in facilities condition.

&8220;Winning the Skills Race and Strengthening America&8217;s Middle Class:

An Action Agenda for Community College&8221; supports the key role community colleges must play to ensure America&8217;s well-being.

By achieving the report&8217;s goals and working with our state government and other governing bodies, community colleges can remain at the forefront of enhancing American communities and ensuring national competitiveness.

Terrence Leas is the president of Riverland Community College.