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NWTC is a finalist for prestigious 2021 Bellwether Award
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» NWTC is a finalist for prestigious 2021 Bellwether Award
NWTC is a finalist for the prestigious national Bellwether Award.
NWTC's transition from semesters to eight-week terms, “The 8-Week Advantage: Turning Change into Transformation,” was judged a Top 10 Bellwether Finalist in the category of Planning, Governance & Finance. The award recognizes excellence in three categories: Instructional Programs and Services; Planning, Governance and Finance; and Workforce Development.
Leaders from NWTC will make an hour-long presentation in the next round of judging to determine one national award recipient. In fall 2020, about half of NWTC's degree and diploma programs had been converted to eight-week terms, which have been shown to help more students complete their classes and graduate on time. In fall 2021, the transition is expected to be complete. See the 8 Week Advantage page for details.
Thank you to all of the faculty, staff and students who have been on this journey with us!
The official announcement from the Bellwether College Consortium is as follows:
30 Community Colleges Named as Finalists for the Bellwether Award
SAN ANTONIO, TX —The Bellwether College Consortium announced its list of 30 community colleges selected as 2021 finalists for the highly coveted Bellwether Awards in a first round of competition. Bellwether finalists represent leading community colleges whose outstanding and innovative programs and practices were selected among competitive submissions as exemplary. The finalists will undergo a rigorous second and final round of review at the fully virtual 2021 Community College Futures Assembly in January, 2021. Each selected college provides a 60-minute presentation on its program or model to an anonymous panel, recognized as skilled practitioners and thought leaders in the field. The Bellwether Awards are widely regarded as one of the nation’s most competitive and prestigious recognitions for community colleges.
“The Bellwether College Consortium prides itself on identifying and celebrating replicable, scalable and results-based programs and models and disseminating these highly lauded examples of institutional success to peer institutions,” said Dr. Rose Martinez, director of the Bellwether College Consortium. The consortium honors community colleges with awards in three categories.
The Instructional Programs and Services category recognizes programs and services that foster or support teaching and learning in the community college. The following ten institutions have been named finalists:
College of the Canyons
Pima Community College
Bossier Parish Community College
South Mountain Community College
Broward College
Naugatuck Valley Community College
Oxnard College
Reading Area Community College
Pima Community College
Madisonville Community College
The Planning, Governance and Finance category recognizes programs or activities that improve efficiency and effectiveness in the community college. The following ten institutions have been named finalists:
Southwest Tennessee Community College
Northeast Wisconsin Technical College
Onondaga Community College
El Paso Community College
Blinn College District
Collin College
Pensacola State College
Broward College
Pima Community College
University of Arkansas Community College at Hope Texarkana
The Workforce Development category identifies strategic alliances that promote community and economic development. The following ten institutions have been named finalists:
Houston Community College
Broward College
Pima Community College - HPOG
Rogue Community College
Oxnard College
San Jacinto College
Polk State College
South Mountain Community College
Pima Community College - USAF Paramedic
Holyoke Community College
All finalists will be presented at the 2021 Community Colleges Futures Assembly and one winner will then be selected from each category by a panel of national experts.
The assembly, now in its 27th year, convenes annually as an independent national policy forum for key higher education leaders to work as a “think tank” in identifying critical issues facing the future of community colleges, and to recognize Bellwether winners and finalists as trend-setting institutions. The Bellwether College Consortium Policy Summit kicks off the signature events on Friday, January 22, 2021, and includes a film screening of the 2021 Bellwether Film Choice. This year’s film is The Right to Learn by Canadian filmmaker Conor DeVries.
The Bellwether College Consortium is a group of colleges charged with addressing the critical issues facing community colleges through applicable research and the promotion and replication of best practices addressing workforce development, instructional programs and services, and planning governance and finance. The Bellwether Award is proudly sponsored by the Alamo Colleges District in San Antonio, Texas.
For more information, consult the Community College Futures Assembly website, www.bellwethercollegeconsortium.com or email rmartinez1702@alamo.edu.
NWTC is one of 20 community colleges being considered for a $1 million national prize that recognizes excellence in student outcomes, both in college and after graduation