NFCC Receives 2018 Best Practice Award

Florida College System recognizes NFCC’s innovative use of video conferencing technology to significantly improve educational access for dual enrollment students

MADISON, FL - North Florida Community College was awarded the 2018 Chancellor’s Best Practice Award by The Florida College System in November 2018 during the Association of Florida College’s 69th Annual Meeting and Conference in Orlando.

The award recognizes NFCC’s innovative use of video conferencing technology to significantly improve educational access for dual enrollment students throughout the rural service areas in the North Florida region.

“The Chancellor’s Best Practice Awards is an opportunity for our colleges to showcase innovative program strategies that have proven successful at their colleges and in their communities,” said Madeline Pumariega, who served as Chancellor of the Florida College System through December 2018. "The best practice awards recognize colleges for creating successful programs and then sharing the high impact practices with all institutions in the Florida College System."

Traditionally, Florida offers dual enrollment in one of three ways: at a high school site, at the college site, or as a traditional internet-based course. NFCC’s innovative dual enrollment video conferencing model coordinates all three into an effective and efficient delivery system.

NFCC works closely with its partner high schools to video conference live college class sessions taking place at NFCC directly into the area high school locations. The students and professors can both see and hear each other between the linked classrooms. This method allows dual enrolled students to participate in college-level instruction and interaction, including the opportunity to ask questions and participate in live classroom discussions, without the need to travel away from their high school campuses. The NFCC model provides flexibility and responsiveness, including college instructor visits to the high school sites one or two times a semester. It is a win-win situation for district high schools and NFCC.

“Being recognized for our efforts to make instruction more accessible to dual enrollment students across our large service area is an honor we share with Aucilla Christian Academy, Branford High School, Hamilton County High School, Lafayette County High School, Suwannee High School and Taylor County High School,” said Jennifer Page, NFCC Dean of Academic Affairs. “These high school partners along with NFCC’s faculty and staff work together to make the video conferencing of courses an innovative way to meet the needs of students who, due to distance, may not be able to attend courses on NFCC’s campus. I am most thankful for the support that NFCC’s Computer Services department provides to keep the video conferencing technology running smoothly for our instructors and the students they teach. This practice involves boots on the ground by many key personnel, and without the dedication and commitment of all involved, it would never effectively meet the needs of our community’s dual enrolled students.”

In Fall Term 2018, 13 dual enrollment video conferencing classes were offered at six secondary school locations - Hamilton (28 miles), Lafayette (43 miles), Taylor (33 miles), Aucilla Christian Academy (26 miles), Branford (55 miles) and Suwannee (31 miles). Each campus has at least one room designed for interactive video conferencing. NFCC currently has three classrooms equipped with the Polycom audio and video equipment.

“This is the correct and appropriate use of technology, not to replace teachers or excellent teaching, but to create a classroom that bridges the access gap and addresses the difficulties of serving a geographically large, rural district,” said John Grosskopf, NFCC President.

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