Category: Education

When the World Is Changing Fast, College Moves Slow

More from Bruce’s Higher Education files:

In many industries today, change is constant. New tools emerge, new skills are needed, and job roles are redefined.

But in colleges? We form a committee. We write a proposal. We revise it. Then we wait.

And wait.

It can take years to create a new degree program. Not just a course, but an entire program.

Part of the delay is internal, but a big part comes from state-level approvals and accreditation bodies that move slowly. Their standards matter, but their processes were built for a different era.

Meanwhile, the world keeps moving. Cybersecurity threats evolve daily, and new surgical technologies are introduced regularly. Digital media, health care, skilled trades, AI, sustainability—none of these fields stand still.

The industry may have changed direction when a new program is approved, staffed, and launched.

This is not just an education issue. It is a workforce issue. Students end up with outdated skills. Employers struggle to find job-ready applicants. And the public wonders why college still feels out of sync with real life.

The job market is tough right now. Even highly motivated graduates are struggling to land junior roles. Companies want experience, so colleges must provide relevant, current, and adaptable training.

Career-connected learning is more important than ever. Real-world experiences, industry-informed curriculum, and partnerships that help students apply what they learn are no longer optional but essential.

We have done good work. Guided Pathways was created to help students stay on track, complete their programs, and move into meaningful careers. It was a step in the right direction. However, even that model is under pressure when we cannot build and adapt programs quickly enough to meet changing demands.

We need a new model: flexible, modular programs that can evolve with the world. These programs let us pivot based on what is happening in the workforce, our communities, and the global economy.

I will be honest. I do not have a solution. This is going to be hard. Most of us at community colleges run small programs. When you try to offer more options, enrollment gets spread too thin. Some classes fill up, and others may get canceled.

But the bigger issue is this. We are trying to prepare students for a fast-changing world using systems not built for speed (cue the Stray Cats).

If we do not start talking about this seriously, we will continue to send students into a world we did not equip them for.

#HigherEd #CommunityCollege #CareerConnectedLearning #WorkforceDevelopment #EducationReform #GuidedPathways #FutureOfWork

Coddle Less, Challenge More

More from Bruce’s higher education files:

At some point, we forgot that college is supposed to prepare students for life, not protect them from it.

Too often, students are bubble-wrapped around everything. Cheating? It’s barely addressed. Expectations? They’re softened to the point of meaninglessness.

I know I cannot fully understand every student’s challenges. I come to this work with much privilege, life experience, job security, and resources that many of my students may not have. Like many of my colleagues, I do everything I can to support them, listen to them, and create an environment where they can succeed.

But support does not mean lowering the bar or removing every obstacle in the name of comfort.

We are not helping them. We are stunting them. They are in for a rude awakening when they hit the real world (not that school isn’t the real world), whether transferring to a university or starting a new job. No boss is giving them a deadline extension because they were unprepared.

College should absolutely be a learning environment. But learning also includes learning how to meet expectations, deal with consequences, and function like an adult.

We need to be firmer. Kinder, yes, but clearer. Supportive, absolutely, but not indulgent. If we do not raise the bar, we do them a massive disservice.

You cannot bubble-wrap adulthood.

And yes, a few years ago, a post like this would have landed in Human Resources or with my dean. Thankfully, I have tightened the audience and turned off the drama faucet.

Please let me know what your thoughts are.

Tenure Made Me a Worse Professor (But I’m Taking It Back)

Today, May 24, marks my second anniversary of tenure. And I’ve got a confession. Tenure made me a worse professor.

Not worse in the “I don’t care anymore” sense. I still show up. I still teach my heart out. I still hand out pizza and rubber ducks, as if they were course materials. But something shifted during that long, grueling tenure process and hasn’t entirely returned.

The tenure process trains you to be careful. You learn to document everything, justify everything, and reflect on everything until your teaching feels more like a performance than a practice. You stop experimenting because experiments might not look great on paper. You stop taking risks because risks don’t always make for clean committee reports.

And if you’re not careful, you start teaching like someone is always watching. Because for a while, someone is.

That’s what happened to me. I slowly backed away from the version of myself who took bold swings and tried weird ideas. I started playing it safe, saying no to chaos and yes to control. I polished everything, trimmed the messy parts, and stopped leaning into the stuff that made my teaching mine.

But here’s the thing. I’m two years in now. I’ve got the stability. The security. The keys to the castle.

And I’m done playing small.

I want the pre-tenure Bruce back, who did things that made students laugh, think, and engage. The one who brought music into lessons. The one who asked, “What if?” instead of “Will this fit in my tenure binder?” The one who knew learning is supposed to be messy, unpredictable, and sometimes a little loud.

If tenure turned down your volume, I hear you. If it made you cautious, you’re not alone. But now that we’re here, we can choose how we show up again.

I’m choosing to take it back, one student, one duck, one slightly chaotic lesson at a time.

Let’s go.

Student Support Takes Time (And No, There’s Still No Pizza)

You wouldn’t walk into a restaurant 2 minutes before closing and expect a full-course meal, right?

So, why do some students show up for office hours two minutes before they end and expect a deep-dive code review, academic therapy session, and life coaching?

I get it. Life is busy, and sometimes the timing doesn’t work out. But just like a good meal (or a good slice of pizza), meaningful help takes time to prepare and serve.

If you need help, feel free to come in earlier. I’m literally doing this on the weekends, too. We can troubleshoot, brainstorm, or even debug your existential crisis. Rubber ducks and pizza references are optional. Office hours aren’t just for emergencies. They’re your reservation for success.

However, I want you to know that I will help you regardless of whether it’s late or last-minute. I’ve got your back.

And if my posted student hours don’t work for you, just let me know. We’ll find a time that does.

Video: How not to go about coding your CS50P Python problems

In this video, I will show you how I recommend that you go about solving the problems in Harvard’s CS50P Intro to Programming with Python course. Also, for my CTEC 121 Python course that I teach at Clark College. I encourage you to leave a comment, smash the Like button and subscribe to my channel.

Video: This technique might help you with your CS50P Conditionals Problem Set

In this video, you will learn how to make a simple program that simulates deposits and withdrawals from a bank account. The user will enter commands like “deposit 100” or “withdraw 59.99”. The program demonstrates how to use the Python .split() string method, while loops, conditionals, and more.