May 6, 2015

North Carolina Community College Presidents and Senior Leaders,

I am writing to invite you to consider an opportunity to engage with The Aspen Institute in a process that will culminate in concrete recommendations—tailored to your own context—for next steps your community college can take to advance student success in four areas: equity, learning, completion, and labor market outcomes.

Over the past decade, North Carolina’s community colleges have collectively pursued student-focused reform and capacity-building strategies. Through collaborative efforts in partnership with Achieving the Dream, the Developmental Education Initiative, the Student Success Leadership Institute (SSLI), and Completion by Design, many of the state’s community colleges have worked together to make significant advances in student outcomes while maintaining their long-standing commitment to open access. To complement the significant student-success work already occurring across the North Carolina Community College System, Aspen is launching its North Carolina Roadmap to Excellence project. This project will provide eight colleges in the NCCCS a comprehensive review of strategic initiatives and a feedback report containing concrete recommendations for next steps to advance student success.

During two-day site visits to each selected college, leading community college experts and practitioners will interview leadership, staff, faculty, students, community partners, and others about student success efforts. Aspen staff and national experts will then carefully analyze quantitative and qualitative information and provide concise feedback reports that offer clear summaries of the college’s student outcomes, strengths, and potential areas for improvement, with specific reference to tools, models of excellence, and next steps the college may consider based on what has worked elsewhere in the field, including among Aspen Prize finalist colleges. Site visits will be conducted during the Fall and Spring of the 2015-16 academic year.

Through a partnership with the John M. Belk Endowment, we are able to substantially subsidize the costs associated with the site visit and feedback process so that each college will be charged only $10,000. This amount, to be paid by each of the eight selected colleges, will offset administrative, travel and research costs associated with gathering qualitative and quantitative information, preparing the feedback reports, and meeting with college leaders to discuss and answer questions about the report’s contents.

If you are interested in pursuing this opportunity, please complete the accompanying application and submit it to by June 19th. If you have any questions, or would like to discuss the opportunity further, please reach out to KC Deane, Program Manager at the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program (), who can answer your questions and, as needed, schedule a time for us to speak directly.

Thank you for your commitment to student success and community college excellence. We look forward to learning more from your application.

Sincerely,

Vice President, The Aspen Institute

Executive Director, Aspen College Excellence Program

North Carolina Roadmap to Excellence
Site Visit Application

All 58 community colleges in the North Carolina Community College System are invited to apply for the Aspen Institute’s North CarolinaRoadmap to Excellence project.

Overview & Submission Guidelines

For each of the eight selected community colleges, Aspen staff and national experts will carefully analyze quantitative and qualitative information aimed at revealing strengths and potential areas for improvement in four areas: learning, completion/transfer, labor market, and equitable outcomes. Fifteen-page feedback reports will offer clear summaries of the college’s student outcomes, strengths, and possible next steps for improvement, with specific references to tools, models of excellence, and next steps the college may consider based on what has worked at Aspen Prize finalist colleges.

Your institution and all other community colleges in the North Carolina Community College System are invited to complete and submit—by 5 PM ET June 19, 2015—this application for the North Carolina Roadmap to Excellence site visits. With generous grant support from the John M. Belk Endowment, we are able to provide the site visit and feedback report at a price of $10,000per college.

The application is designed to enable Aspen and expert site visitors to understand each college’s student success efforts so that we are able to tailor our inquiries and recommendations to your specific context.After submitting your application, Aspen will contact college leadership teams, as needed, to schedule a time to ask follow-up questions. Aspen will conduct site visits during the 2015-16 academic year to the eight colleges selected to participate in the North Carolina Roadmap to Excellence. Each community college will receive a thorough feedback report and will be provided an opportunity for a debriefing conversation within three months of the initial visit.

Additional information about the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program and the North Carolina Roadmap to Excellence can be found at

Application & Selection Timeline:

  • June 19, 2015: Application due.
  • July 1 –July 30, 2015: One-hour screening calls with presidents and two or three other institutional leaders (as needed).
  • August 2015: Aspen notifies colleges, and works with selected colleges to schedule site visits.
  • Fall 2015/Spring 2016: Site visits conducted.
  • Three Months After Site Visit: Feedback reports provided and debriefing conversations completed.

Instructions for Application Submission:

  • Applications are due by 5pm EST onJune 19, 2015.
  • Completed applications should be Emailed to:
  • Please label your submission using the following format:
  • Application Narrative: [FullCollegeName]-Application-2015.doc

For questions regarding the application,please emailKC Deane at .

Section 1: Institutional Information And Profile

Please complete the following contact information.

Institution name:
Designated contact person/Title:
Contact telephone: / Contact email:
Institution address:
City, State, Zip:
Website:
President’s name: / President’s Email:
Number of years current president has held the position:
President’s Assistant: / Assistant’s Email:
Institutional Mission:
In 120 words or less, describe your mission, the populations you serve, and the programs you offer.
Faculty composition
Number of Faculty / Percentage of All Faculty
Full-Time Faculty
Part-Time Faculty

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External Partners:On no more than one page total, please list between three and five external entities (including individual and consortia from K-12, business, non-profit, research, four-year colleges or other sectors) with which your community college is engaged in partnerships that are important to the student outcomes your institution has achieved. Provide a brief explanation of the role these partnerships have played in student success:

Partner
Entity / Key Contact
Name/Title and Email / Description
of partnership

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Section 2:Student SuccessStrategies

In each of the four areas listed below, please describe the two or three most important interventions or programs you employ to achieve high and improving levels of student success. In your description, please indicate how many students are served by those programs and, if available, provide specific evidence of the outcomes associated with each.

  1. Student Learning Outcomes (500 word maximum)

Reflecting efforts to measurably improve student learning at the course, program, and college-wide levels.

  1. Completion and Transfer Outcomes (500 word maximum)

Reflecting the community college’s efforts to improve the number of students who earn an associate’s degree, attain a certificate with demonstrated value in the labor market, or transfer to a four-year college.

  1. Labor MarketOutcomes (500 word maximum)

Reflecting efforts to ensure that degree and certificate programs result in employment opportunities that provide graduates with family sustaining wage.

  1. Equitable Outcomes(500 word maximum)

Reflecting efforts to improve equitable access and success among the college’s students who are often under-served, including those from threeunderrepresented racial/ethnic groups—African American, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian—and students from low-income backgrounds.

Section 3:Student Success Goals

In one page or less, please explain your community college’sgoals for student success and how the feedback that results from the Aspen site visit could best help you attain those goals.

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