This content was published: June 2, 2015. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Terry OâBanion, renowned education âthought leader,â visits PCC
Story by Kate Chester
An award-winning leading author and community college advocate stopped by °”ÍűTV last month to offer a workshop at Rock Creek, followed by a full house-presentation in Sylvaniaâs Performing Arts Center auditorium.
Terry OâBanion, a nationally acclaimed thought leader on higher education initiatives and the former president of the League for Innovation in the Community College, an international âthink tank,â visited the college on May 11. His nearly full-day slate of activities offered insight on the completion agenda as well as student success methodologies that support higher completion and graduation rates. OâBanion shared troubling national trends and statistics including the high percentage of community college students who drop out by the second year, as well as those in need of remedial education upon arriving to college. This was balanced with acknowledgement of the work under way in Oregon and °”ÍűTV, specifically, to reverse such trends.
The work of PCCâs completion investment council, the âPanther Pathâ as a means to guided access for students, and financial literacy advising for incoming students were examples of PCCâs commitment to ensuring higher student completion that OâBanion noted. Additionally, he shared a series of broad principles or guidelines to enlist the help of entire institutions in the effort to improve the odds for student success.
