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College is a finalist for the prestigious Bellwether Award

Saint Paul College and Minneapolis Community & Technical College were one of nine national finalists for the prestigious Bellwether award for its Power of YOU program—A New Strategy to Increase College Participation and Raise Achievement Levels Among Students of Color.

The Bellwether Award is bestowed on those two-year colleges in various stages of innovation which are most appropriate for replication at other colleges as determined and juried by the Community College Futures Assembly. The Assembly is an independent “think tank” dedicated to the discussion of critical issues facing community colleges and whose membership and conference participants are open to the idea of implementing best practices of leading-edge programs. The Assembly is sponsored by the Institute of Higher Education, the Department of Educational Administration & Policy in the College of Education at the University of Florida. It is co-sponsored by several other national organizations including the League for Innovation.

Conference participants and presenters included President Donovan Schwichtenberg, Vice President Peggy Kennedy, Dean for Student Development & Services Tom Matos, and Power of YOU Director Kathleen Gordon from Saint Paul College; and President Phil Davis, Interim Associate Vice President Laura Fedock, and Power of YOU Director Walter Novillo from Minneapolis Community & Technical College.

This was the first year for Power of YOU, a program open to Spring 2006 graduates of Saint Paul and Minneapolis public schools. One hundred and twenty-three students enrolled at the College for the Fall 2006 semester with the Power of YOU program. Of those 123 students 105, or 85.3%, have enrolled for classes this Spring. Nearly 41% of the 105 have grade point averages of at least a 3.0 and eight have 4.0 grade point averages.

Contributors: Tom Matos and Peggy Kennedy