Developing Innovation in Community Colleges: Examples from Rural-Serving Colleges
Like all leaders in higher education, rural-serving community college leaders must deal with disruptions in today’s higher education landscape. Fostering innovation in rural-serving areas is especially critical as colleges in these locales are often the only choice for students as a point of access to higher education. Local and regional businesses rely on the career and technical education available at community colleges to meet their need for skilled labor.
The Belk Center for Community College Leadership serves as a convenor of leaders in North Carolina and provides resources to leaders across the country to support leadership development, tools to apply on community college campuses and models to catalyze change. Importantly, the Belk Center supports a Rural College Leaders Program to help rural-serving community college leaders support change on their campuses. At the heart of change is innovation.
