Informational graphic that says "ACUE Leave a Legacy NWCC Spotlight"

NWCC Leave a Legacy

08/06/2024 |

Leave a

Legacy

Partner Spotlight

NWCC graduate receiving diploma during commencement ceremony

Northwest Mississippi Community College prioritizes teaching excellence and sees a 7.3x return on investment through student completion and retention.

Three Northwest Mississippi Community College (NWCC) leaders discuss how they execute their vision and institutional commitments by investing in faculty and staff development, leading to student success, course-completion, and a legacy of great teaching and learning.

Location

Mississippi

Institution Type

2-Year Public

Campuses

7 across 11 counties

Instructional Staff

0

Enrolled Students

0 +

Retention Rate

0 %

Q&A with NWCC

NWCC President Michael Heindl

Dr. Michael Heindl

President

About Dr. Michael Heindl

A community college graduate, Dr. Michael Heindl has experience in a number of areas, including finance, technology, legal issues, human resources, emergency management, campus leadership, student services, workforce training, and admissions. During his presidency, he has strengthened community partnerships, made strides in improving the organizational structure and culture of the college, and led the creation and implementation of Northwest’s new vision and strategic plan.

Bio
NWCC Vice President of Instruction​ Matthew Tomas headshot

Dr. Matthew Domas

Vice President of Instruction

About Dr. Matthew Domas

With over 29 years in higher education, Dr. Matthew Domas has served in almost every capacity at the community college level. His career started in workforce development and transitioned to student services, institutional research, and academics. For the past 6 years he as served as Vice President for Instruction at Northwest Mississippi Community College where he has responsibility for all modalities of instruction, athletics, institutional effectiveness, and early college programs. He received a BA in History from Louisiana State University, a MA in Political Science from the University of Mississippi, and an EdD from Vanderbilt University.

Bio
NWCC District Dr. of Humanities Instruction, Professor of American Literature and English Composition​ Leelee Haraway headshot

Leelee Haraway

District Dr. of Humanities Instruction, Professor of American Literature and English Composition

About Leelee Haraway

Leelee Haraway currently serves as the District Director of Humanities Instruction at NWCC, where she has taught English since 1996.

She previously served as the Co-Director of the Rangers Write! Quality Enhancement Plan at Northwest, working to develop and implement improvements in the First-Year Composition program, and as the eLearning Coordinator for the Humanities Department, supporting faculty and student success in online classes.

Bio

What motivated you to partner with ACUE?

We had a college mission for a very long time, but not necessarily a well-defined vision and values. Establishing our vision led to four institutional commitments: Instructional success, Institutional success, Personal success, and Community success. I heard about ACUE at a conference and found it very compelling in terms of taking steps to deliver on those commitments.

We came from a time at our institution where we had withdrawn a bit from resourcing development for faculty, staff and administration. They were yearning for professional development, and this was a very cost-effective way to provide training.

Dr. Heindl

ACUE covered all the bases and had data to show it. Many programs pitched to us say that they can do things but don’t have the data to prove it.

I had a desire to provide instructors with the type of development they could apply in a significant fashion that generates the kind of results we wanted to see around retention, student success and satisfaction.

Dr. Domas
NWCC faculty standing in a "U" shape in a large gymnasium.

What results have you seen at NWCC from your partnership with ACUE?

Courses taught by instructors certified in the ACUE framework realize a 4.18% increase in student success, which is a significant performance improvement. One instructor even realized a 20.49% increase in student success. He might not have had the opportunity to take that giant leap were it not for ACUE.

Dr. Domas

We’ve seen a 7.3 ROI. For every dollar we spend we receive $7.30 back through student retention, completion, and improved grades. I think about our strategic plan, our mission, vision and values. Our vision is that our college transforms students’ lives, that we enrich our communities, and that we strive for excellence in our educational programs and services. ACUE speaks well against all three facets of our vision.

Dr. Heindl

In my role I am face-to-face with students. The skills and strategies emphasized through ACUE’s framework build a positive stance toward students and improving instruction, which allows us to ensure they are successful and retain them. That helps us achieve our vision.

Professor Haraway

What feedback have you received from NWCC faculty about ACUE?

I‘ve heard positive things, and besides it being helpful, it is manageable. Not every development opportunity can be managed alongside our courseload, while also being immediately useful as you are teaching.

Professor Haraway
Group of NWCC faculty posing for a photo outdoors for an ACUE pinning ceremony.

Dr. Heindl's legacy in the making

What is the legacy you hope to leave at your institution regarding teaching and learning?

I hope that our institution is better for having us here. We’re an educational services institution, so we must have great teaching and learning, because that’s the right thing to do. I hope that future instructors would say ‘Wow, they really cared a lot about supporting instructors and instruction so much so that they actually invested in it.’

NWCC President Dr. Michael Heindl posing with a recent graduate at commencement.

That’s why I get excited when I get to write hand-written notes thanking faculty. If they know that we care, maybe they will strive to achieve even more.

Ready to build your legacy?

Join institutions like NWCC in bringing effective teaching to your campus. The Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) has helped over 550 institutions achieve student success by supporting great teaching. Our faculty development solutions, endorsed by the American Council on Education (ACE), will help you build a culture of great teaching.

Let’s connect to talk about how partnering with us will boost retention, empower faculty in the classroom, and build the foundation of student success upon which you can execute your strategic vision. 

Get Started
Young college graduates holding their diplomas while standing in a row and smiling
UCNJ Leave a Legacy Spotlight ACUE

UCNJ Leave a Legacy

07/31/2024 |

Leave a

Legacy

Partner Spotlight

UCNJ president taking a photo of her and the crowd of graduates behind her.

UCNJ Union College of Union County, NJ supports faculty with pedagogical development to engage students, leading to increased course completion, and faculty love it .

Learn how ACUE’s Effective Teaching Practice Framework equipped Union College of Union County, NJ  (UCNJ) faculty with a toolbox of practices to implement in the classroom, leading to transformational results.  
Location

Cranford, NJ

Institution Type

2-Year Public

Aspen Prize Finalist

for C.C. Excellence, 2025

Instructional Staff

0

Enrolled Students

0

Retention Rate

0 %

Q&A

with UCNJ

UCNJ President Margaret McMenamin headshot

Dr. Margaret McMenamin

President

About Dr. Margaret McMenamin

During her tenure at Union, the College has quintupled its graduation rate. In October 2020, Dr. McMenamin was named the National Marie Y. Martin CEO of the Year by the Association of Community College Trustees. In 2023, the Aspen Institute for College Excellence named Union as one of the Top 25 community colleges in America and a Semifinalist for the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.

Bio
UCNJ Provost Maris Lown headshot

Dr. Maris Lown

Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs

About Dr. Maris Lown

Dr. Lown oversees all academic divisions, faculty, and instructional staff at the College. Since joining in 2011, she has transformed academic programs to prioritize student success. She is an experienced presenter at Middle States Commission on Higher Education conferences and serves as a peer evaluator. She received the inaugural Dr. Lawrence A. Nespoli Community College Leadership Award in 2018.

Bio

What goals or challenges led you to partner with ACUE?

"We have some of the most highly qualified faculty that I have ever worked with in terms of content expertise. But as we all know, getting a PhD in a discipline isn’t going to teach instructors how to teach students."

Dr. McMenamin

"I'm very connected to project-based, experiential learning. ACUE provides many examples within the modules. We were also already looking for ways to engage students. An engaged student is a successful student. It’s not a new thought, but it wasn’t happening in every classroom."

Dr. Lown
Group photo of the UCNJ community celebrating their Aspen Prize semifinalist status

How would you describe the culture of teaching and learning at UCNJ before and after partnering with ACUE?

We had a culture where we had passive, faculty-centric teaching and learning, and now we have an active, engaged teaching and learning culture.

It is far less frequent that I walk around and see classrooms where the instructor is lecturing from a chair at the front of the room."

Dr. McMenamin

"That before-culture was primarily lodged in the lecture approach. Some of us are brilliant speakers, but that is few and far between. The reality is that most of us could use a little bit of help. I think the success resulting from our partnership with ACUE, and the fact that it is anchored in data, were important factors in establishing faculty acceptance of the new culture."

Dr. Lown

What results have you seen at UCNJ from your partnership?

"I love the fact that you connect data to each class. I share reports with academic deans, and it resonates with faculty because they get to see that there is data associated with the program and that it does make a difference with students."

Dr. Lown
Large group of UCNJ graduates at commencement preparing to flip their mortar board tassel

We have seen improved course completion, which is a critical leading indicator to student success and graduation."

Dr. McMenamin

What feedback have you received from faculty who have become certified in ACUE's Framework?

Every single person who’s taken an ACUE course has loved it. Every single one. That is very unusual for higher education.

And faculty can be a skeptical lot. The positive feedback from course-takers helped to recruit the next group. They also appreciated ACUE’s expertise and respect for faculty. The fact that ACUE’s instructors and Academic Directors have a background in higher education goes a long way."

Dr. Lown
A table filled with printed ACUE Framework certificates

"In many cases, our faculty wanted this. They’re like sponges. They wanted to learn about teaching because they knew their subject, but let’s face it, kids are different today and they’re not going to put up with someone at the front of the room talking for an hour and a half. "

Dr. McMenamin

Dr. McMenamin's legacy in the making

What is the legacy you hope to leave at UCNJ regarding teaching and learning?

UCNJ president taking a photo with a graduate during a commencement ceremony

“We are committed to supporting faculty in the classroom so that our students get better instruction and our faculty become the best professors they can be. The institutional goal of many colleges, in the past, was to expand access, to give people an opportunity. Getting women, people of color, and impoverished people into higher education. But that didn’t get students across the finish line. So, the focus moved beyond access to thinking about how we can support students so that they earn their degree.  

Now, we are starting to think about students’ post-completion agenda. Are they matriculating into bachelor’s programs in their majors? Are they graduating with a bachelor’s in a reasonable time after they transfer? For career students, are they earning family-sustaining wages?

But we can’t do that unless students are completing their degrees, so the focus on student success remains vibrant.”

Ready to build your legacy?

Join institutions like UCNJ in bringing effective teaching to your campus. The Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) has helped over 550 institutions achieve student success by supporting great teaching. Our faculty development solutions, endorsed by the American Council on Education (ACE), will help you build a culture of great teaching.

Let’s connect to talk about how partnering with us will boost retention, empower faculty in the classroom, and build the foundation of student success upon which you can execute your strategic vision. 

Get Started
Young college graduates holding their diplomas while standing in a row and smiling
USM Building

Higher Student Retention and Stronger, More Equitable Outcomes Through Quality Teaching

11/01/2023 |

Higher Student Retention and Stronger, More Equitable Outcomes Through Quality Teaching

In 2016, The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) began an institution-wide commitment to its faculty, evidence-based teaching, and student success by launching the ACUE Faculty Development Institute. From the start, USM and ACUE worked closely to lead high-quality, large-scale research to evaluate student impact.

Today, more than 200 faculty have participated across USM and—with 1 out of every 4 full-time faculty ACUE-certified—the university is on track to ensure every student benefits from high-quality, evidence-based instruction in every class.

 

Stronger Achievement in First-Year Gateway Courses

 

First-year students see increased performance when taking gateway courses with ACUE instructors.

 • 6.4% pt increase in passing rates

 • 5.3% pt decrease in DFW rate

 • Impact on DFW rates was 6% pt larger for Black students relative to White students

Read The Research Brief
A group of faculty members walking around campus engaged in conversation

Stronger, More Equitable Student Achievement

11/01/2023 |

University of Arkansas – Pulaski Technical College Achieves Stronger, More Equitable Student Achievement Through Campus-Wide Investment in Quality Teaching

As a 2-year community college, the University of Arkansas – Pulaski Technical College (UA-PTC) plays a key role in the education and workforce training pipeline in the Central Arkansas region. However, while many UA-PTC faculty are working professionals with direct industry experience, they had not previously been equipped with the practices needed to teach those vocations to students.

In 2017, the college began its partnership with ACUE to equip all of its instructors with evidence-based teaching practices. Today, 98% of all UA-PTC full-time faculty have become ACUE-certified.

 

Greater Impact for Black and Latino Students

 

Year 1 (2017-18):

Increase in students passing courses and receiving fewer DFW grades. The positive drop in DFW grades was greater for Black students, down 7 percentage points.

In this study alone, 120 additional students passed their courses and 145 fewer students received DFW grades in their courses the year after faculty completed the ACUE.

 

 

Year 2 (2018-19):

Fewer students received DFW grades and average course grades improved, with greater impact for Hispanic/Latino students.

In this study alone, 250 fewer students received DFW grades while faculty were completing the ACUE course, and 201 fewer students received DFW grades the year after faculty completed the ACUE course.