Creating amd Leading the Learning College

Abstract

To increase institutional effectiveness and enhance student success, the three community colleges of Baltimore County, Maryland (Catonsville, Dundalk, and Essex), consolidated to become a single multicampus, learning-centered institution, The Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC). The new community college, now the state's largest, serves more than 27,000 credit and 33,000 noncredit students each year. LearningFIRST, the strategic plan for fiscal years 1999-2003, provides the vision and direction for creating a premier learning college for the 21st century. CCBC has developed numerous successful projects and programs as a result of this strategic plan. Among them are the Council on Innovation and Student Learning, the Learning Outcomes Assessment program, the Virtual Academy program and the Weekend College program. This article stresses the importance of developing a comprehensive institutional assessment system to evaluate the effectiveness of all college operations and of adapting indicators, evaluative components, and information to the learning college model.