Perhaps you saw the headlines last week, like this one: “Free tuition coming to Virginia community colleges under service program” ( Read the story ) Gov. Ralph Northam said a formal announcement would be coming in a few weeks, but he was talking about the G3 program that community colleges across the state — including ours — have been working on since February. Virginia Western’s popular Community College Access Program (CCAP) is mentioned in the article, as an example of a free-tuition model. As part of the G3 (Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back) planning grant, VWCC is developing at least one stackable pathway for healthcare, our region’s most demanding high-growth job sector. We also wanted to learn the design-thinking mindset to help us replicate the process for additional pathways, so we hired the Education Design Lab to lead a series of design sessions for the college. REWIND << You can catch up on our G3 journey with my previous blog posts: 1: Introduction: Why I’m so excited about our G3 grant project 2: Design session #1 recap: What’s the ‘secret sauce’ for student success? Design session #2: Prototypes created Dr. Robert Sandel, president of Virginia Western Community College,… Continue Reading G3 update: We’re seeking feedback on 4 prototypesRead More
I love to read … and my rising first-grader is learning how to read … so lately I’ve been reading books about sharing the love of reading with kids. *Cue the “Inception” music* Before she was even born, I was designing my daughter’s life around books. For her baby shower, I didn’t want registry gifts … I just asked guests to bring their favorite childhood book. I knew a future library would have more long-term impact than newborn clothes and toys. But showcasing cherished books throughout the house just isn’t enough. So I’ve been testing some small habits to help instill a love of reading. When I was a kid, my stay-at-home mom required I spend some quiet time in my room reading while my younger sisters napped. I devoured Ramona Quimby books and “The Baby-Sitter’s Club” series (which inspired my very real neighborhood babysitting business). These regular quiet times were effective, but enforcing this habit is a little harder for our family, so I found another trick to pilot this summer. In “The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life” author Julie Bogart mentions the bedtime rule she credits with a lifelong passion for reading. Each… Continue Reading Have you tried this magical trick in your classroom?Read More
What’s the “secret sauce” for student success? You may already have a hunch. Because it came up time and again during the first design thinking session facilitated by the Education Design Lab on April 30. About 30 faculty, staff, and administrators from the college (including Dr. Sandel) gathered in the Natural Science Center for a three-hour session to learn more about design thinking and how it relates to our G3 Healthcare Pathways Design Challenge (catch up on the backstory here). Our special guests for the day included Todd Estes, Director of Career Education Programs and Workforce Partnerships, who is overseeing the G3 initiative for the VCCS, as well as eight students in various healthcare programs. We were thrilled so many students were able to participate, as students are the heart of our mission and this design thinking process. Small groups of our faculty and staff interviewed each of the eight students, starting with these questions: Tell me about your decision to attend VWCC? Why?What has been your favorite experience at VWCC?What could have gone better?Tell me about your major and how you decided on that path.What are your goals after graduation? Tell me more about how you got to this… Continue Reading G3 update: What’s the ‘secret sauce’ for student success?Read More
About Shelley
Shelley Lyons is glad to be back on campus as she is a Virginia Western alum, and has served as the Administrative Officer for Grants Administration at Virginia Western since early 2022. Prior to VWCC, her career focus was within the Human Services and Arts fields. She wrote her first grant in 1996 on a whim and has continued to plan and learn since that time. She most enjoys seeing a well-planned project come to fruition, where funder, project manager and beneficiaries can all feel success and see impact.
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