Over 40 percent of United States undergraduates enter postsecondary education through community colleges, according to the Community College Research Center, with four-fifths of those students indicating they intend to earn at least a bachelor’s degree. (1) These data highlight the need for community colleges and four-year institutions to ensure the pathways between their campuses are clearly marked and are as roadblock free as possible. Although articulation agreements, dual admission and other transfer strategies are in place at virtually every institution, community college advisors say more needs to be done to strengthen the transfer process.
Every academic leader invests time in strategic planning groups, presidential cabinets, councils of department chairs, dean’s council meetings, and similar regularly scheduled meetings. Academic leaders occasionally leave the campus for meetings of professional societies or to participate with other academic leaders in retreats. What few institutional leaders do is develop a meaningful retreat on campus or at a location close to campus for a day to day and one-half of their academic team including deans/assistant deans, service units (registrar, counseling, support services), institutional research, budget officer, etc.), head librarian, and the secretaries servicing major officers.
