Spotlight on Excellence
ACCSC knows that innovative and exciting projects are happening every day at our schools. Through this platform, we hope to provide an opportunity for our schools to share best practices with each other as a means to support student success in the workforce.
Download the Spring 2021 Spotlight on Excellence, featuring articles from accredited schools and ACCSC's Executive Director, Dr. Michale McComis.
- What We Can Learn from Kindergarten
- Eye on the Prize
- Vet Tech Students Get the Most Out of Their Externships
- The Job Club
- Celebrating the Opening of Occupational Therapy Assistant Lab
- By Facing Challenges Together, Four Schools Work Together Through COVID and Beyond
ACCSC recognizes that schools had to suddenly innovate how to deliver their programs and services, mostly through online instruction, and often for the first time.
In this Special Edition of the Spotlight on Excellence, ACCSC highlights and shares the solutions and strategies schools have implemented to address the current challenges brought forth by COVID-19 and to celebrate the great work happening at ACCSC-accredited institutions.
It is ACCSC's sincere hope that these stories inspire other schools as we continue to work together to provide a quality education that enhances student success in the workforce.
Click Here to Read the Whole Story
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Relationships are the Glue that Bind Us Together in Moments of Challenge and Beyond
By Mark Quinn
Director of Education
Miami Media School
I am lucky to work with some of the most exciting, creative, and energetic people in any industry; and I am speaking of my students and my team. The most wonderful part about my campus is that as a team we aim to focus on the little things that build relationships as a part of our daily work, and that focus leads exciting success stories and a sincere feeling of family on the campus.
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Serving Our Socks Off
By Sarah L. Kiepper, MA, MS
Director of Career Services
National Aviation Academy—New England
Socks. Many of us have more than we need or care to count (and several without a match). Many of us don't really even think about socks, but most likely if you are reading this article, you aren't homeless. When you are homeless, socks matter – a lot. At National Aviation Academy (NAA) we strive to cultivate opportunities for team members and students to participate in community and professional activities that will enhance our qualities of life. After hearing about a local sock drive, we knew we could help and utilize the opportunity to work together and make a difference.
Looking Out the Window, While Keeping a Mirror Close By: Creating a New Self-Evaluation Culture
Dr. Julie Basler
Platt College
Aurora, Colorado
I suppose looking back at my lack of experience, I imagined people high-fiving, running to sign up with their team members for certain sections of the report, and cheering for the total inclusion of everyone that was employed in participating in accreditation. As you might guess, the reaction I imagined did not come.
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Welcome to Bryan & Associates! An Unreal Law Firm
Nola Wright, J.D.
Program Director, Paralegal Studies
Bryan University
Tempe, Arizona
Students learn by doing – that is the overarching educational philosophy of our paralegal program – and the "doing" part is done best when it replicates as close as possible a real-world working environment. That is why from day one, every student enrolled in the paralegal studies program at Bryan University is considered a newly hired paralegal at Bryan & Associates (an unreal law firm).
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Service Learning in Technical Programs: Not a Bridge Too Far
Susan Ogilvie
Director of Education
Northwest College of Art and Design
Tacoma, Washington
Service Learning is a component of education that is sometimes undervalued in the effort to focus on career-based skills. But, there is opportunity to infuse service learning into technical skill programs with great positive effect for the institution, students, and the community.
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Teaching Kids to Fly
Dr. Joel English
Aviation Institute of Maintenance
Chesapeake, Virginia
There is an age-old saying that that I am sure you have heard which says, "teach a man to fish and he will eat for life." At Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM), we have taken that adage to heart and have teamed up with the City of Norfolk, VA to teach kids to fly! While I am not referring to "flying' in the sense of actually flying airplanes, but in the sense that we are helping these students see that they can soar to heights that they may not have ever really thought possible.
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MAKING STUDENT LEADERSHIP MATTER
Steve Chandler, Executive Director
TONI & GUY Hairdressing Academy
Colorado Springs, Colorado
In career-focused programs, creating leadership opportunities for students has not always been a priority. But, we all have them in each of our campuses and we work hard to develop strong student leadership teams that serve as a liaison between the student body and the staff and faculty of the institution.
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ACCSC will be accepting submissions due on the 1st business day of every quarter (i.e., January, April, July, and September). Contributors must be from an ACCSC-accredited school, and the blog posts must be 400-800 words in length.
- Click Here to learn more about the Spotlight on Excellence submissions guidelines