Chancellor making plans for district changes
After 100 days as the Lone Star College System's new chancellor, Dr. Richard Carpenter is making some changes to what he observed is a "top heavy" institution.
Immediately after he stepped on campus at what was then known as the North Harris Montgomery Community College District (the district changed its name in November), Carpenter enacted a hiring freeze.
Now that he has eliminated six senior positions - including vice chancellor for information technology and vice chancellor for legal counsel - that freeze has thawed. Carpenter created five new positions, including vice chancellor of student success, associate vice chancellor of planning and institutional effectiveness, chief information officer and executive chancellor of eCollege.
He also eliminated the executive vice chancellor position previously held by Dr. Steve Head, who officially became president of North Harris College in November. Carpenter will replace the position with a similar one - senior vice chancellor, who will be responsible for information technology, human resources and campus safety."It will be more of a pure administrative role that supports the chancellor, not overseeing the day-to-day function of each college," Carpenter said.
He has led two-year colleges across the country, and some of his employees have followed him. Randal Key, vice president for planning and development at CCSN was also Carpenter's vice president at the Wisconsin Technical College System and worked in the Adult Basic Education program at Calhoun Community College in Alabama.
Asked if he would tap into employee pools at those locations as he looks to fill open roles at LSCS, Carpenter said, "On any vacancy we have ... I'll recruit from places I know people." Carpenter has a history as an agent of change. He was hired in 2004 as the president of the Community College of Southern Nevada to bring constancy to an instable institution, CCSN's Chancellor Jim Rogers said in a previous interview."This community college was a real mess before he took over," Rogers said.New bond possibility? But will rocking the boat in rough waters locally translate to more support for the college district than it has seen in recent years? In November 2006, voters voted down a $250 million bond referendum that would have been used to build new classrooms and labs.Carpenter hopes so.
Although no new bond issue has been proposed by the board of trustees, Carpenter said a group of citizens culled by LSCS administrators has been studying the changes and additions needed at each of the college system's five campuses.Carpenter expects the group to make a formal presentation to trustees after the first of the year.
21st-century strategiesIn addition to the personnel changes, the college system will unveil the following strategies in the next year:Virtual classroom: Saying online courses are currently not the same across the college system's five campuses, Carpenter said LSCS will introduce eCollege, a new distance learning system. Instructional designers will meet with instructors to try to find ways to craft their curriculum online. Carpenter said students have been clamoring for degree programs offered online, and administrators will try to meet those needs.
Corporate college: LSCS is joining a consortium of community colleges across the country that offer specialized training for employees of specific corporations. A sales team hired by LSCS will approach businesses that are moving or expanding in its service area to contract for the skills training. The college system already partners with companies to provide training to students who will one day join its workforce."Every one of our colleges already does this," he said. "We worked with 50 companies last year. We're not inventing something totally new, but we are inventing a new approach."
Carpenter said the college system will treat the endeavor as a business, and it won't be funded by taxpayer dollars. Report card: Carpenter said college administrators will begin measuring the institution's performance against 13 benchmark community colleges from across the county, grading LSCS based on about 20 performance metrics, including distance learning enrollment, graduation rates and faculty credentials. In the summer or fall, the college system will publicize a "report card" showing the colleges' strengths and weaknesses.
Source: The Village by Tiffany Williams
Immediately after he stepped on campus at what was then known as the North Harris Montgomery Community College District (the district changed its name in November), Carpenter enacted a hiring freeze.
Now that he has eliminated six senior positions - including vice chancellor for information technology and vice chancellor for legal counsel - that freeze has thawed. Carpenter created five new positions, including vice chancellor of student success, associate vice chancellor of planning and institutional effectiveness, chief information officer and executive chancellor of eCollege.
He also eliminated the executive vice chancellor position previously held by Dr. Steve Head, who officially became president of North Harris College in November. Carpenter will replace the position with a similar one - senior vice chancellor, who will be responsible for information technology, human resources and campus safety."It will be more of a pure administrative role that supports the chancellor, not overseeing the day-to-day function of each college," Carpenter said.
He has led two-year colleges across the country, and some of his employees have followed him. Randal Key, vice president for planning and development at CCSN was also Carpenter's vice president at the Wisconsin Technical College System and worked in the Adult Basic Education program at Calhoun Community College in Alabama.
Asked if he would tap into employee pools at those locations as he looks to fill open roles at LSCS, Carpenter said, "On any vacancy we have ... I'll recruit from places I know people." Carpenter has a history as an agent of change. He was hired in 2004 as the president of the Community College of Southern Nevada to bring constancy to an instable institution, CCSN's Chancellor Jim Rogers said in a previous interview."This community college was a real mess before he took over," Rogers said.New bond possibility? But will rocking the boat in rough waters locally translate to more support for the college district than it has seen in recent years? In November 2006, voters voted down a $250 million bond referendum that would have been used to build new classrooms and labs.Carpenter hopes so.
Although no new bond issue has been proposed by the board of trustees, Carpenter said a group of citizens culled by LSCS administrators has been studying the changes and additions needed at each of the college system's five campuses.Carpenter expects the group to make a formal presentation to trustees after the first of the year.
21st-century strategiesIn addition to the personnel changes, the college system will unveil the following strategies in the next year:Virtual classroom: Saying online courses are currently not the same across the college system's five campuses, Carpenter said LSCS will introduce eCollege, a new distance learning system. Instructional designers will meet with instructors to try to find ways to craft their curriculum online. Carpenter said students have been clamoring for degree programs offered online, and administrators will try to meet those needs.
Corporate college: LSCS is joining a consortium of community colleges across the country that offer specialized training for employees of specific corporations. A sales team hired by LSCS will approach businesses that are moving or expanding in its service area to contract for the skills training. The college system already partners with companies to provide training to students who will one day join its workforce."Every one of our colleges already does this," he said. "We worked with 50 companies last year. We're not inventing something totally new, but we are inventing a new approach."
Carpenter said the college system will treat the endeavor as a business, and it won't be funded by taxpayer dollars. Report card: Carpenter said college administrators will begin measuring the institution's performance against 13 benchmark community colleges from across the county, grading LSCS based on about 20 performance metrics, including distance learning enrollment, graduation rates and faculty credentials. In the summer or fall, the college system will publicize a "report card" showing the colleges' strengths and weaknesses.
Source: The Village by Tiffany Williams
Labels: The Woodlands Schools
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