1. Community College Futures Assembly Box 117049, 229 Norman Hall
College of Education Gainesville, FL 32611-7049
School of Human Development and Organizational Studies in Education (352) 273-4293
Fax: (352) 846-2697
December 10, 2015
2016 Bellwether Award Finalists Announced
For immediate release
Gainesville, FL. The Community College Futures Assembly announced ten outstanding community
college programs (each from the usual three categories) as the Finalists to compete for the 2016
Bellwether Awards. The Assembly had issued a call for Bellwether Award nominations in the fall of 2015,
and 30 finalist colleges in three categories were competitively chosen from the applicants. The field of
Bellwether nominations was very competitive this year with nearly 300 Bellwether applications. Prior to
the application process, over 1,000 community college programs were nominated from a wide range of
agencies including peer institutions, conferences, and the media. The ten finalists were selected in each
category: Instructional Programs and Services, co-sponsored by the National Council of Instructional
Administrators; Planning, Governance and Finance, co-sponsored by the Council for Resource
Development; and Workforce Development, co-sponsored by the National Council for Continuing
Education and Training. All finalists will present at the Assembly on January 25th, 2016 in Orlando,
Florida, and one winner will then be selected from each category by a panel of national experts within
each category. The winners will be announced on Jan. 26th at the annual meeting in
Orlando.
The Community College Futures Assembly has the following programs as 2016 Bellwether Finalist
programs:
Instructional Programs & Services (IPS):
Programs or activities that have been designed and successfully implemented to foster or support
teaching and learning in the community college.
Austin Community College, FL
ACCelerator: ACCelerating Student Access and Success with the Ultrapersonalization of
Learning
Bossier Parish Community College, LA
Fast-Tracking Skills for Student Success: Open Sourcing at Bossier Parish Community College
Cañada College, CA
Developing an Intensive Math Preparation Program to Enhance the Success of
Underrepresented Students in STEM
Carroll Community College, MD
Re-Designing Transitional Education
Chipola College, FL
Creating a Pathway to Graduation
Community College of Baltimore County, MD
Accelerating Math to Get on Path

2. Gaston College, NC
It All Begins with a SPARC3: The Power of Inquiry and Undergraduate Research at the
Community College
Jackson State Community College, TN
Great Expectations for Brighter ‘Futures’: Navigating Unbounded Pathways
McHenry County College, IL
Breaking New Ground: An Integrative Approach to Reducing Dependency on Developmental
Math
Mt. San Antonio College, CA
Pathways to Transfer: Accelerating Students into Transfer-Level Courses
Planning, Governance & Finance (PGF):
Programs or activities that have been designed and successfully implemented to improve
efficiency and effectiveness in the community college.
Bellevue College, WA
OLS: A Replicable Associate Degree for Adults with Cognitive Disabilities-A Turn-Key Approach
Bergen Community College, NJ
“Don’t Let Your Graduates Die On the Vine”… A Community College Approach to Increase
Graduation Harvest
Central Community College, NE
GRADES - Guiding Reintegration and Directing Educational Success for Veterans and Military
Students through Faculty and Staff Professional Development
Community College of Beaver County, PA
Designing Academic Pathways: CCBC's High School Academy
Lone Star College - University Park, TX
The Education and Career Positioning System – Linking Students Pathways to Careers
North Lake College, TX
The One Stop Shop, Where Veterans Can Start a Successful Journey
Rhodes State College, OH
Saving Lives: Critical Incident Prevention and Response
St. Petersburg College, FL
The Evolution of the College Experience at St. Petersburg College
Tarrant County College District, TX
Critically Thinking about Student Success and Completion
Wake Technical Community College, NC
Scaling Applied Benchmarking Innovations for Learning

3. Workforce Development (WD):
Public and/or private strategic alliances and partnerships that promote community and economic
development.
Alamo Colleges, TX
Alamo Colleges I-BEST: The Student's Unique Journey
East Los Angeles College, CA
Great Outcomes for East Los Angeles (GO ELA) A Pathway for College and Career Success
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, with Berkshire, Greenfield and Holyoke Community
Colleges, MA
Achieving Regional Reach: The 413 STEM Ready Program
Meridian Community College, MS
Building Student Workforce Skills and Character Within the Community – Brick by Brick
Metropolitan Community College – Longview, MO
Missouri Innovation Campus: An Early College Approach to Future Workforce Demands
MiraCosta College. CA
To Protect and Serve – Putting Veterans to Work!
Moorpark College, CA
Moorpark College’s Biotechnology Program: No Ordinary Pathway - Only Extraordinary
Outcomes
Pueblo Community College, CO
Mobile Learning Labs – Paving New Pathways: Removing Excuses in Each Student’s Journey
South Mountain Community College, AZ
No Ordinary Pathway to Entrepreneurial Success
St. Louis Community College, MO
Building a Degree Pathway in Biotechnology from High School to Employment
The Community College Futures Assembly, celebrating the 22nd anniversary this year, convenes
annually as an independent national policy forum for key opinion leaders to serve as a think tank in
identifying critical issues facing the future of community colleges, and to recognize Bellwether Finalist
colleges as trendsetting institutions. For more information, consult the Community College Futures
Assembly website, http://education.ufl.edu/futures or email futures@coe.ufl.edu.