Vision
COMBASE
focuses on supporting education that is community-based (CBE) and on enhancing
the ability of its members to serve their communities.
Mission
COMBASE
is a member-driven consortium created to improve community-based education
(CBE) in its member institutions and to serve as an advocate for maintaining
the importance of "community" in community colleges.
Goals
The COMBASE membership adopts the following goals
as strategies for accomplishing the above mission:
1.
Serve as a resource
clearinghouse for CBE experts, articles, and other materials that institutions
can use in developing their CBE initiatives.
a.
Create a file on
experts in CBE.
b.
Create a file on
articles and other materials that deal with the topic of CBE.
c.
In addition to hard
copy files, place the above items on the COMBASE website.
2.
Serve as an advocate
for CBE to all community colleges by means of convention/conference forums,
articles, speeches, the COMBASE and other websites, and other appropriate means
of communication.
a.
Present forums at the
AACC convention and submit proposals to other conventions.
b.
Submit articles on
program initiatives, and submit them to various sources for publication,
including COMBASE publications.
c.
Include all articles
on the COMBASE website.
d.
The COMBASE fall
conference should feature forums on program areas.
3.
Conduct demonstration
and/or experimental program initiatives, as well as improve existing program
initiatives, that connect the community college and its communities.
a.
Institutional
Representatives (IR's) should lead these projects.
b.
Program Areas (PA's)
should include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) Community building initiatives
(2) Citizenship Building
(3) Teacher Education
(4) Lifelong learning
(5) The community and technology
(6) Service learning
(7) Workforce development
4. Serve as the advocate for "community" in community colleges.
a. Create John Gardner Award for Excellence, arecognition program for exemplary
institutions that serve as advocates for "community."
b. Make awards at Assembly meeting during
AACC and seek publicity for the awards.
5. Emphasize
collaboration and cooperation among COMBASE members.
a. Encourage use of
conferencing feature contained in COMBASE website.
b. Encourage
collaboration in conducting CBE initiatives.
6. Conduct the business of COMBASE in an inclusive manner that
emphasizes participation and involvement.
a. Create standing committees, such as membership, budget,
publications, conference and nominations.
b. Select lead and possibly co-lead institutions for PA's.
7. Develop future CBE leaders by mentoring, supporting, and
involving Institutional Representatives (IR's).
a. IR's should direct an institution's program initiatives.
b. IR's should play a major role in preparing articles,
providing information for the COMBASE website and in leading collaboration
between institutions.
Process
Each member of COMBASE is expected to
participate in one or more PA's by adopting one or more program initiatives and
working toward the accomplishment of the above goals.
Each PA will have a chair, selected at
the winter board meeting by the President for three-year terms
(staggered). Presentations from each PA
will be made at the Fall Conference and forum proposals for the AACC and other
conventions could originate from within PA's.
Articles and WEB information could originate from within PA's as well.
Strategic Plan 