DCCCfkMo
Tau Beta chapter offi
cers (L-R) Nicole
Craver, Parker Tilley;
Darlene Trahan, Crystal
Kissee, Kelsey Mills,
Megan Lambeth and
Robin Beck show the
awards won at the
regional Phi Theta
Kappa conference.
DCCC's Phi Theta Kappa Chapter Wins Regional Awards
SPECIAL TO
THE CHRONICLE
The Tau Beta Chapter
of Phi Theta Kappa at 1
Davidson County
Community College
received multiple awards
during the annual Carolinas
Region Convention held
recently in Columbia, S.C.
Tau Beta was recog
nized for the second
straight year for its College
Project and earned an
Honorable Mention for
design and implementation
of an Honors In Action stu
dent leadership develop
ment project, lijese recog
nitions also netted the
chapter an Honorable
Mention as a Distinguished
Chapter, ranking fifth in the
region out of nearly 80
chapters.
By participating in a
variety of projects, leader
ship activities, service
opportunities and confer
ences nationwide, Tau Beta
received designation as a
four-star chapter and was
named one of the Most
Improved Chapters in the
region. DCCC was also
recognized for participat
ing in the regional Honors
In Action study topic and
assisting with the regional
service project.
"I'm so proud of the
progress that our chapter
has made over the past two
years," says Parker Tilley,
chapter president. "I'm
honored to have been able
to work with such a great
group of people this year
and to have helped our col
lege and local communities
in the ways that we have."
In addition, adviser
Sara Neeves was a recipi
ent of the Horizons Award
for new and exceptional
chapter advisers,
"I'm honored to be rec
ognized as an outstanding
advisor for such an amaz
ing organization," Neeves
says. "It's been a joy to
work with the students in
DCCC's chapter of Phi
Theta Kappa and watch
them achieve such high
levels of success. I'm very
proud of their accomplish
ments." ,
Tau Beta members
wprked with college
administration to strength
en ties between the college
and the local business com
munity for its 2015-2016
College Project. They
reached out to industry
leaders and made site vis
its, providing information
on programs offered at
DCCC and building
stronger relationships that
will benefit students seek
ing jobs in the future.
For the Honors In
Action project, the chapter
researched food insecurity
and food deserts. They then
worked with the Davidson
County Health Department
to survey local stores that
sell fresh produce and
worked with new stores to
help develop additional
programs.
"I'm so proud of the
work our chapter has done
this year," says Jeannine
Woody, vice president, aca
demic programs and serv
ices. "Their ability to iden
tify a need, develop and
implement a plan has been
outstanding. I know that
through these experiences
they have gained insight
into themselves and then
leadership abilities."
Tau Beta chapter mem
bers Robin Beck, Nicole
Craver, Crystal Kissee,
Megan Lambeth, Kelsey
Mills and Darlene Trahan
joined Tilley at the confer
ence, in addition to advis
ers Sharon Carter and
Neeves.
Over the past two years,
chapter officers have
worked to make Tau Beta a .
leader on both the regional
and national levels. Last
year, DCCC's chapter was
recognized for implement
ing one of the top 25
College Projects in the
world during the interna
tional conference.
For more information
on Phi Theta Kappa and
membership opportunities,
contact Sara Neeves at
336-249-8186 ext. 6705, or
SENeeves@DavidsonCCC
.edu.
Forsyth Tech announces new data analytics strategy
(S>
Special to the chronicle
Forsyth Technical Community College
(FTCC) has announced a new partnership
with Civitas Learning to use advanced data
analytics to enhance student support and
improve retention and graduation rates
over time. FTCC will draw on Civitas
Learning's technology and data expertise
to uncover hidden barriers to student suc
cess and help students plan the most effi
cient pathway to a degree.
To help ensure more North Carolina
students have the skills and training for
21st century careers, a number of major
initiatives are under way in the state v
including SuccessNC, which aims to dou
ble the number df students who earn a
postsecondary credential by 2020. To
achieve that goal, thousands of students
will attend one of North Carolina's com
munity colleges, which serve over 300,000
students statewide.
Increasingly, these colleges are looking
to data analytics as a strategy for improv
ing student success rates. Forsyth Tech
joins colleges like
Rowan-Cabarrus
Community College
in Salisbury using
data analytics to
make powerful
course corrections
and ensure students
are on track to com
plete a degree or certificate.
"We pride ourselves at Forsyth Tech on
our commitment to academic excellence,
whether that is adult and continuing educa
tion, lifelong learning, or preparation for
in-demand careers. In partnership with
Civitas Learning, this sophisticated data
strategy will help us to anticipate and
understand challenges to our academic
mission, provide personalized support to
students and better serve a diverse cross
section of learners across the region," said
Dr. Gary Green, president of Forsyth Tech.
"Community colleges like Forsyth
Tech play a critical role in supporting local
innovation and economic growth. We are
increasingly relying on them for next gen
eration jobs in tech, life sciences and man
ufacturing," said former North Carolina
Governor Bev Perdue who serves as a sen
ior advisor to Whiteboard Advisors. "I
applaud the efforts of our local community
colleges that are using data analytics and
advanced research strategies to help stu
dents graduate and create a stronger future
for North Carolina."
Civitas Learning works with partners
to build institution-specific predictions of
student success, enabling colleges and uni
versities to develop a clear picture of the
specific trends and factors driving student
success on campus. The partnership will
enable Forsyth Tech to combine discon
nected data sources from across the institu
tion into a single platform that provides
teal-time insights and recommendations
for supporting students in highly-personal
ized ways. Forsyth Tech is Joining Civitas
Learning's community of leading higher
education institutions and systems, which
now reaches more than 880 campuses
serving close to 3.2 million students across
the nation. ?
"Through this pioneering work using
analytics and data strategy to improve out
comes, Forsyth Tech is proving their com
mitment to innovation and ensuring all stu
dents successfully complete their journey,"
said Dr. Mark Milliron, Co-founder and
Chief Learning Officer at Civitas
Learning. "This partnership is a com
pelling example of how institutions in
North Carolina and across the nation can
make the most of data to improve student
outcomes and experience. We're thrilled to
welcome a leader such as Forsyth Tech to
the Civitas Learning community."
WFU Law joins two schools
to blaze trail for new
standardized testing option
SPECIAL TO
THE CHRONICLE "
Several years ago Wake
Forest University blazed a
trail by deciding to waive
SAT scores for undeigradu
ate admissions. Now Wake
Forest Law is joining the
University of Arizona
James E. Rogers College of
Law, which invited Wake
Forest and the University
of Hawaii at M3noa
William S. Richardson
School of Law, to partici
pate in its experiment to
assess the reliability of the
GRE? revised General
test as an additional stan
dardized test for possible
admission to law school.
"The LSAT has been
the Only test for law school
admissions for decades -
and satisfies no other grad
uate program," says Dean
Suzanne Reynolds (JD
77). "In an era when appli
cants are often thinking
about more than one gradu
ate or professional pro
gram, we should assess
whether the more familiar
GRE test predicts success
in law school as well as the
LSAT.
"We are in the process
of testing the relative relia
bility of the LSAT and the
GRE test. Like the LSAT,
the GRE test also assesses
verbal reasoning and ana
lytical writing and is taken
by about five times as
many students around the
world." . . *
Reynolds adds, "While
the LSAT will remain the
primary standardized test
for law school admissions,
if the GRE test proves to be
a reliable alternative, we
may find that our applicant
pool becomes more
diverse, an outcome that
would make these efforts
worthwhile."
As part of its research
efforts, Wake Forest Law
has asked current students
and recent graduates
(Classes of 2013 and later)
to volunteer to take the
four-hour GRE test in
February or share past
scores from August 2011 or
later. The law school is also
asking them to share their
LSAT scores, law school
grades, and demographic
information. The
Educational Testing
Service will use the data for
anonymous comparisons.
The University of
Arizona law school
announced on Feb. 9 it will
become the first to accept
applications from prospec
tive students who have
taken the GRE General
Test instead of the LSAT.
Effectively immediate
ly, Arizona will consider
either LSAT or GRE scores
in admissions, a move
Arizona law school's dean,
Marc Miller, said would
help it reach a broader pool
of would-be applicants.'
That, in turn, should result
in a stronger student body,
?
he added.
"The fundamental
impetus for this comes
from the desire to put
together the best and most
diverse class we can,"
Miller told The National
Law Journal's Karen
Sloan.
Arizona law school
made the decision to accept
the GRE after a study con
ducted by Educational
Testing Services, which
administers the GRE, con
cluded that the test, cou
pled with undergraduate
grade-point average, is as
reliable as the LSAT in pre
dicting the taker's success
in the first year of law
school.
Wake Forest Law
expects to have the results
of the reliability studies in
the next several months. If
the results prove the GRE's
reliability, Wake Forest
Law will open the GRE to
current, applicants, Dean
Reynolds says.
The Wake Forest
University School of Law
offers the following
degrees: the JD, the TVvo
Year JD for International
Lawyers, the JD/MA in
Bioethics, the JD/MDiv,
the JD/MA in Religion,
JD/MA in Sustainability,
the Master of Studies in
Law, the Master of Laws in
American Law, the SJD
and the JD/MBA in con
junction with the universi
ty's School of Business.
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