What’s Up with DEI: Norwalk Community College

Over the next several weeks, we’ll be sharing some of the DEI state policy team and college accomplishments from the last year of work. We’re making our way (alphabetically!) through the six DEI states, profiling the DEI colleges in those states as we go. Yesterday, we introduced Connecticut and their state policy team; now it’s time to learn a bit more about Norwalk Community College in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Norwalk Community College (NCC) serves close to 6,500 students in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Norwalk chose to expand an ATD pilot of learning communities as part of their DEI work. We’ve selected some highlights from their last year of DEI work in three main categories: scaling, institutional policy change, and academic and supportive service innovations.

Scaling

• As NCC has undertaken an expansion of learning communities, they also have expanded related professional development. The college’s Learning Community Leadership Team identified six common elements of learning communities at NCC: Collaborative Learning, Effective Communication, Technological Literacy, Critical Thinking, Integrative Learning, and Reflective Practice. Focusing on these common elements in both individual and shared assignments helps faculty to create integrative learning experiences that contribute to the learning outcomes of each course. The college has also standardized several learning community activities that include both classroom assignments and reflection by participating faculty.

Institutional Policy

• In fall 2010, NCC hired two new institutional research (IR) staff. The new IR director was awarded a Presidential Scholarship for the Association of Institutional Research’s Data and Decisions workshop through a program funded by the Lumina Foundation.
• At the end of spring 2010, NCC began creating a five-year strategic plan through the concerted and comprehensive efforts of the entire college. Since this endeavor is occurring simultaneously with DEI, many of the initiative and strategic plan objectives are coordinated and complementary.

Academic and Supportive Service Innovations

• In the coming year, NCC will have a master’s student from a local university on staff serving as a case manager for learning community students. This case manager will administer and analyze a Noel-Levitz instrument for high-risk students in the learning communities, assess those students’ needs and concerns, and provide follow-up services, as well as leading a weekly group activity with learning community students identified as being particularly high risk.
• Having identified the common elements of learning communities to facilitate more integrative learning experiences that contribute to the learning outcomes of each course, the LC Leadership Team has started a resource bank of successful assignments from which faculty can draw. 

Abby Parcell is a Program Manager at MDC.