Spotlight: Noteworthy
Record-Breaking Honor: 12 Years of Great Colleges to Work For
Howard Community College (HCC) has once again won the Great Colleges to Work For award, one of the most prestigious workplace awards in higher education. This award marks 12 consecutive years that HCC has been honored. HCC is now the only community college in the country to be acknowledged every year possible for community colleges.
The results, announced in a special insert of The Chronicle of Higher Education, are based on a survey of 221 colleges and universities. Only 79 institutions were selected as Great Colleges to Work For, which included only 25 two-year colleges. Howard Community College received special recognition in the category Facilities, Workspace & Security for standing out in comparison to others of its size.
ModernThink, a research and consulting leader on the workplace, conducts The Great Colleges to Work For program through a two-part assessment of each institution, surveying all employees and reviewing data and workplace policies. The primary factor in recognition was the employee feedback.
Excelencia in Education Honors Ambiciones
The Ambiciones program, which builds community among Hispanic/Latinx students by providing networking, educational, and recreational activities and workshops, has been recognized by Excelencia in Education as a finalist for 2020 Examples of Excelencia in the associate category. According to the organization, this award is “the only national effort to bring attention to evidence-based practices that work for Latino students in higher education.” HCC is one of 20 finalists from 112 submissions from 24 states, DC, and Puerto Rico.
Bellwether Award Celebrates Innovation
The 2020 Community Colleges Futures Assembly selected HCC as the winner of this year’s Bellwether Award, which recognizes outstanding and innovative programs in community college education. HCC won for the efficiency and effectiveness of the information technology cloud migration, in which HCC was one of the first community colleges to move its administrative information system to a cloud hosting service.
New Programs Offer Career Training
The Google Information Technology (IT) Support Professional Certificate is now being offered by HCC to prepare students for entry-level IT support positions. With a commitment of at least five hours per week, the program features five courses that
can be completed in less than six months. The program is part of Grow with Google, an initiative that
helps ensure that the opportunities created with technology are available to everyone. Learn more at howardcc.edu/googleit.
HCC also launched a brand-new apprenticeship program in biomedical engineering technology to train the next generation
of technicians who install and maintain medical equipment used at hospitals and other patient care locations. Students in the
three-year program earn an associate of applied science and 2,000 hours of on-the-job training with an employer each year. More information is available at howardcc.edu/apprenticeship.
Remote Classes and Operations Continue During Pandemic
With the health and safety of students, faculty, and staff as its priority, HCC is delivering a blended learning environment to students during the fall semester, with classes offered in scheduled remote, flexible online, and hybrid formats. Scheduled remote classes meet at designated times through Zoom or another virtual platform; flexible online classes allow students to study on their own time; hybrid classes let students learn both online and in person for classes that need some face-to-face instruction. The college continues to offer all its services remotely. Limited on-campus appointments are available for admissions, advising, testing, and registration.