Sinclair Community College’s online student success planning project has been named one of two recipients of the EDUCAUSE Award for Excellence in Information Technology Solutions.
EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. Membership is open to institutions of higher education, corporations serving the higher education information technology market, and other related associations and organizations.
EDUCAUSE programs include professional development activities, print and electronic publications, strategic policy initiatives, research, awards for leadership and exemplary practices, and a wealth of online information services.
EDUCAUSE’s award program for Excellence in Information Technology Solutions honors original and creative campus projects that apply emerging technologies to improve the scholarship, service, or management practices and policies of the institution or that have the potential for changing the technology infrastructure so that new technology solutions become possible. Such projects may serve the institution itself or its external constituency.
Other EDUCAUSE awards recognize excellence in the specific areas of teaching and learning on an enterprise-wide scale, of networking, and of administrative information systems.
Sinclair’s Student Services and Information Technology staff collaborated to create a system combining student success counseling with on-line support systems serving both students and counselors. Faced with statistics showing high rates of dropout for first year students, Sinclair’s Student Success Planning system provides tools for counselors to proactively identify students at risk, develop an individualized plan for each student including course selections or service referrals, and track student progress. Students also receive “to-do” lists to help them in following up on counselors’ recommendations.
The awards committee noted that Sinclair’s “advising and counseling system was exciting and effective, yielding impressive student retention rates and valuable new research tools that will be of interest to many other institutions in our community.”
Past award winners include Washington State University, University of California at Berkley, Georgetown University, University of Virginia, and Indiana University. Sinclair is the only community college known to have ever won this award. Sinclair won the predecessor to this award category back in 1995 for its then innovative kiosk system.
EDUCAUSE’s current membership comprises nearly 1,900 colleges, universities, and education organizations, including more than 180 corporations, and more than 13,000 active member representatives.
For more information, contact Ken Moore, Sinclair Vice President for Facilities and Technology Services and Chief Information Officer, (937) 512-3107, or ken.moore@sinclair.edu
