Learning College Paradigm

The Cascadia Community College Self Study for Consideration of Accreditation Candidacy 2002 (Cascadia Community College, 2002, p.1-10) makes a clear statement of commitment to the ideals of a learning college: As one board member wrote on the Board of Trustees' Survey, "The mission statement is used as the basic context against which all actions and directions are measured." As such, everything ultimately derives from the college's vision, mission, and values.

A Learning Organization

The introduction to Cascadia's institutional core values identifies the college as a "learning organization:"

As a learning organization, Cascadia continually strives to reach the highest levels of quality in its academic, student and administrative programs and services through continual analysis, assessment and improvement.

The concept of the "learning organization" was introduced into the organizational development literature by Peter Senge. In the opening paragraphs of the book, Senge describes learning organizations as "organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together" (p.1). Senge identifies five "core disciplines" of learning organizations: personal mastery (without personal learning, no organizational learning occurs), mental models (the practice of "surfacing, testing, and improving our internal pictures of how the world works," p.174), shared vision (building a common sense of purpose by developing shared images of the future we seek), team learning ("the process of aligning and developing the capacity of a team to create the results its members truly desire," p.236), and systems thinking (understanding and utilizing the forces and interrelationships that shape the behavior of systems).

The concept and disciplines of a "learning organization" are at the core of Cascadia's identity, and are reflected throughout the college's organizational structures, processes, and programs as discussed throughout this Self Study document. Particularly noteworthy are the many opportunities for professional growth and development provided to Cascadia employees-discussed here because they reflect the college's vision, mission, and strategic directions.

As a learning organization, Cascadia is strongly committed to the professional development of its employees. A Professional Development Committee helps shape and direct several distinct professional development opportunities, including the Professional Development Request For Proposal (RFP) Process, the Presenter's Fund, the Innovations Project, the Employee Learning Institute (ELI), and the Teaching and Learning Academy (TLA). A brief description of each follows.

• Professional Development Committee: Chaired by the Vice President for Finance and Information Technology, this group serves a coordinating function to help ensure that the various professional development initiatives are at the same time comprehensive and complementary of one another.
• Professional Development RFP Process: Employees may apply, individually or in groups, for funding to support attendance at conferences, workshops, institutes or other training events. In their applications, employees must connect the requested training to aspects of their jobs and describe how they and the college will benefit from their attendance. As part of the award, employees are required to "give back" to the college in some way, typically by sharing some aspect of what they learned at a forum or seminar for other Cascadia employees.
• Presenters' Fund: This fund is designed to support Cascadia employees who have had proposals accepted at national conferences. It was established in 2001-2002 specifically to support those individuals who submitted proposals for the League for Innovation's Innovations 2002 conference (Boston, March 2002) in direct response to encouragement from college executive staff to do so.
• The Innovations Project: This project invites proposals from Cascadia employees, including those who are part-time and/or temporary, as well as students with an employee sponsor. Proposals are considered that will bring innovative ideas to "life" at Cascadia, whether these ideas be novel/creative approaches, practices, perspectives, or solutions.
• The Employee Learning Institute (ELI): An outgrowth of discussions within the Professional Development Committee during 2000-2001, ELI was initiated in 2001-2002 as a way to support employee learning on many different levels. The institute offers training opportunities through nine different modules: (1) employee orientation, (2) learning organization, (3) learning-centered hiring and selection process, (4) information technology, (5) governance, (6) employee wellness, (7) strategic planning, (8) learning-centered employee evaluations, and (9) employee awareness. Some of the training is required (e.g., sexual harassment, ethics), some is specific to Cascadia (e.g., learning organization, governance, employee orientation), and some is related to job requirements (e.g., information technology, hiring committee training).
• Teaching and Learning Academy (TLA) focuses on extending the scholarship, research, and artistic creation of the faculty as well as every member of the Cascadia community of learners. The TLA organizes a variety of development opportunities such as forums, discussions, seminars, debates, and mentoring in support of Cascadia's vision, mission, and values which emphasize a student centered, innovative community for optimal teaching and learning. Through the TLA, faculty receive support for all aspects of teaching and learning, from preparation of course syllabi through assessment of effectiveness. Continuous research into best practices in education plays a significant role in the work of the TLA.

A Learning College

In a seminal article, "From Teaching to Learning-A New Paradigm for Undergraduate Education", Robert B. Barr and John Tagg describe what they perceive as a sea change in higher education:

A paradigm shift is taking hold in American higher education. In its briefest form, the paradigm that has governed our colleges is this: A college is an institution that exists to provide instruction. Subtly but profoundly we are shifting to a new paradigm: A college is an institution that exists to produce learning. This shift changes everything. It is both needed and wanted.

In their article, the authors compare characteristics of the old (instructional) and the new (learning) paradigms. Those comparisons are depicted in the following table which is excerpted from the Environmental Forecast and College Profile 1999- 2000, prepared by Cascadia staff in spring-summer 1999.

The concept of a learning college, as articulated by Barr and Tagg, as well as others such as Boggs, 1993 and O'Banion, 1997, lies at the heart of Cascadia's mission and values, and shapes many policies and practices at the new college. Furthermore, while Barr and Tagg's model focuses exclusively on teaching and learning between faculty and students, Cascadia's vision is to extend the principles of the learning paradigm to employee learning as well. To some extent, this extension leads the college into challenging and uncharted waters since it involves trying to define "learning paradigm" (versus "teaching paradigm") roles and relationships for all members of the community, not solely for faculty and students.

The following examples illustrate the college's efforts to infuse the learning college paradigm through everything the college does:

• Aspects of the learning paradigm are evident throughout Cascadia's core values: Community: The college is a community of learners...
  Success: Cascadia values highly the academic and personal success of all students. The Cascadia learning model approaches the learner holistically... Student achievement is a hallmark of our mission...
  Learning: All members of the community are learners... Learning is integrated and interconnected; therefore, our programs are interdisciplinary...
  Innovation: As a learning organization, Cascadia values creative pathways to fulfill the college vision and mission, consistently encouraging collaborative learning and growth...
• For students and staff alike, Cascadia focuses on learning and assessing four College-wide Learning Outcomes: (1) think critically, creatively, and reflectively, (2) learn actively, (3) communicate with clarity and originality, and (4) interact in diverse and complex environments.
• Cascadia is developing an electronic portfolio (ePortfolio) to chronicle student development, to showcase exemplary work, and to assess College-wide Learning Outcomes. This is reflective of the learning paradigm's emphases, assessment, and the development of learning technologies.
• Through its interdisciplinary Learning Communities, Cascadia breaks down traditional discipline boundaries and challenges faculty and students alike to synthesize knowledge across disciplines, to understand patterns, to make connections among different schools of knowledge, and to integrate personal experience and intellectual growth. Learning Communities embody many of the characteristics of a learning college.
• Cascadia has been chosen as one of twelve community and technical colleges to participate in the Vanguard Learning College Project sponsored by the League for Innovation in the Community College. Colleges were selected for this project because of their commitment to the learning paradigm, and because they demonstrated the potential to infuse the learning paradigm across instruction and support services within their institutions. The core purpose of the project is "to foster the development of more learning-centered community colleges by creating a network of 12 highly committed institutions whose efforts can serve as models for other institutions moving into learning-centered education". The project focuses on five areas within each institution: (1) organizational culture, (2) staff recruitment and development, (3) information technology, (4) outcomes assessment, and (5) underprepared learners. The Vanguard Learning College purpose and objectives are completely consistent with Cascadia's vision, mission, and values and are integrated into the college's annual planning cycle.

Educational Activities

All educational activities, from the overall programs offered at Cascadia, (e.g., its degrees and certificates) through the learning outcomes defined for each course in the Course Outcomes Guides, are a result of the college's planning based on its vision and mission. Perhaps the earliest building blocks to be put in place were the College-wide Learning Outcomes, developed during the 1999-2000 academic year (before the opening of the college) by college staff and the Curriculum Learning and Design Team (a group of four faculty members hired to design Cascadia's curriculum). These four outcomes, based on the college's vision and mission, inform not only all the curriculum development at the college but also all of its policies, processes, and procedures. The College-wide Learning Outcomes are the learning goals for all Cascadia students, faculty, administrators, and staff. The extent to which they are infused into the curriculum is reflected in responses to the Cascadia Student Survey conducted in fall quarter 2001, in which 80% of respondents reported that "faculty have successfully integrated the four learning outcomes into the content of classes."

The development of the initial curriculum is described thoroughly in the Annual Report 1999-2000, including a graphic, which depicts the curriculum design and development process at Cascadia. In addition to the College-wide Learning Outcomes, the Intercollege Relations Commission (ICRC) guidelines for degrees , and the Shoreline Community College curriculum guidelines were utilized in developing appropriate degrees and certificates.

Cascadia's vision as a community of learners is also reflected in its offering of a combination of stand alone courses, Learning Communities, linked courses and other unique activities to enhance the educational activities and fulfill the college's vision of "pioneering innovative pathways to successful learning." The organization of all college staff into four Learning Outcome Teams (LOTs), each of which includes a faculty component to oversee curriculum, also reflects the effort to include all staff in the community of learners. The LOTs are discussed in this Self Study in Standards 2, 4, and 6.

Admission Policies

Cascadia's admission policies are in compliance with Washington State law regarding admission of students to a community college. Generally, students who are 18 years of age or high school graduates are admitted on a first-come, first-served basis in accordance with state law, (Revised Code of Washington 28B.50.090(3)b)

• Cascadia Community College maintains an open-door policy, and it is the intent of the college that no student shall be denied admission because of her/his educational background. Notwithstanding the foregoing, certain special procedures (AP3: 4.10.01-05) are followed for special programs and populations of students. These procedures are part of Cascadia's Policies and Procedures Manualand also listed in the Catalog and quarterly Schedule of Classes.

Selection of Faculty

The faculty selection process was created to reflect both the college's institutional values and its College-wide Learning Outcomes. The goal of the collaborative and innovative process is to identify those instructors who can best contribute to building upon the foundations of the college to help create a learner-centered, comprehensive, culturally rich, and technologically advanced environment that will foster educational excellence and the success of all college learners. The faculty selection process includes several steps: (1) recruitment, (2) screening, (3) a fishbowl exercise to help assess an individual's ability to work collaboratively in a team to problem solve, communicate effectively, and think creatively and reflectively, (4) separate interviews with a team of faculty and with the Executive Team, (5) reference check- ing, and (6) decision to hire by the President. Throughout the process, candidates are asked questions and/or presented with situations to determine their understanding of and commitment to Cascadia's vision, mission, and core institutional values. A detailed explanation of these steps is published in the Annual Report 1999-2000 , and in the Policies and Procedures Manual, Administrative

Procedure AP6: 3.31.03, and Standard 4 of this Self Study Report. Similar processes are used for the hiring of administrative and classified employees (administrative procedures AP6: 3.31.01 and AP6: 3.31.02).

Planning and Allocation of Resources

Planning and the allocation of college resources is accomplished at Cascadia through the continuing cycle of planning, budgeting, and assessment, which is necessarily tied to the college's vision, mission, and core values pursuant to administrative procedure AP9: 5: 10.01. General strategic directions are determined through a collaborative process, and goals and specific strategies are developed to take the college in those strategic directions. The Executive Team develops priorities, and available funds are allocated against those priorities. In the 2001-2003 biennium, for example, identified critical issues (of top priority for both funding and effort) are accreditation, assessment, curriculum expansion, alternate scheduling, and delivery. Refer to Strategic Plan 2001-2003, for a detailed explanation of the planning, budgeting, and assessment process.

Cascadia Community College. (2002). Cascadia Community College Self Study for Consideration of Accreditation Candidacy 2002. Bothell, WA: Cascadia Community College.

View these and other exciting initiatives by clicking on the options to the left.