This story about Dr. Jose Coll really gives me hope. In the face of tightening budgets, shifting enrollments, unpredictable policy, and a public that questions the value of a degree, Dr. Coll is showing us how the best leaders can leverage their lived experience in moments of crisis.
Dr. Coll went from earning a GED to leading a university, and he is using that path to reshape how students enter, move through and succeed at Western New Mexico University. He's doing this with a vision shaped by his own circuitous journey into and through higher education, and he's creating an ecosystem that welcomes recent high school graduates and nontraditional learners without distinction. This should matter to every university in the US because millions of adults have some college credits, a stalled degree, or a GED and a goal. The institutions that design for these learners from the start will be the ones that survive, grow and continue to meet their social obligation.
Leaders like Dr. Coll show that lived experience is a strategic asset. This is what the moment demands. We need more leaders like Dr. Coll who combine empathy with strategy, who see students others overlook, and who build institutions that serve learners and their communities.
No comments:
Post a Comment