SEATTLE, WA (October 23, 2024)- The 2024 ACCT Community College Leadership Congress kicked off in Seattle Wednesday with calls for community college leaders to help catalyze their institutions and discussions about how artificial intelligence may be the tool to do just that.
“We are in the middle of a major technological industrial revolution, and our colleges are challenged with keeping up with the times,” ACCT Chair Jay Nardini, who also serves as chair of the Hawkeye Community College board of trustees, told attendees during Wednesday’s opening keynote session. “It’s going to require a lot from us—focus, attention, planning, engagement, and perhaps most importantly, supporting our leaders as they try out new ideas.”
With a dedicated AI lab and multiple sessions focused on the technology during the 2024 Congress, AI is front and center among these new ideas. Wednesday keynote speaker Melissa Loble highlighted the technology’s potential—and its potential pitfalls, stressing the need for data policies to ensure privacy, efforts to ensure that the technology does not exacerbate the digital divide, and the importance of AI literacy for students, faculty, and staff alike.
“You’ll have deep conversations about AI, inspiring and scary,” Loble, chief academic officer of Instructure, told Congress attendees. “The first step is really making sure that everyone is fully literate in how and why to make good choices with AI. I’m excited for you all over the next couple of days to develop that understanding and your ideas around how to apply AI, because it truly has the ability to have a significant impact on the work your institutions are doing.”
Kiran Kodithala, CEO of N2N services, highlighted how colleges can use dedicated versions of generative AI models to leverage the technology to power chatbots, advising, and course design, keep student data secure, and help identify potentially fraudulent applications. “There’s a huge opportunity for community colleges to be a true leader in education by using the power of AI,” he said.
Also Wednesday, ACCT President and CEO Jee Hang Lee highlighted an array of new ACCT initiatives, including the growing Kids on Campus childcare initiative, new opportunities for global learning including a student exchange partnership with the UK’s Association of Colleges (AoC) and a U.S.-India workforce development coalition, and important surveys on CEO salaries and community college trustees.
“I don’t need to tell you that education is at a critical juncture,” Paul Francis, executive director for the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, told attendees. “This is a challenging time, but it can also be an exciting time.”
Earlier in the day, Congress attendees learned about how SNAP Employment & Training program funding can help colleges scale existing student success initiatives, ranging from tuition support to utilities, childcare, transportation, and books and supplies. “Speaking from a student perspective, SNAP is very useful. It’s a resource on top of a resource,” said Shoniqua Thomas, a student trustee at Compton College.
Members can share their experiences, takeaways, session materials and more on ACCT Connect and via social media using #ACCT2024.
The 2024 ACCT Congress continues through Saturday with more than 130 concurrent sessions.
The AI Lab
ACCT Board Chair Jay Nardini told attendees "we are in the middle of a major techno-industrial revolution," and while we all hear about artificial intelligence through the news, not everyone has had a chance to get firsthand experience with different types of AI programs.
That's why the ACCT Corporate Council has collaborated to bring ACCT Leadership Congress attendees an interactive AI Lab, where all participants are invited to stop by and get guided tours of different types of AI, demonstrations of programs being used by colleges today, and to play around with their own generative AI prompts.
The Corporate Council is an ACCT membership body of experts with deep experience in their respective industries.
Opening General Session
Participants were welcomed by Washington State Association of College Trustees Chair Amy Morrison, Washington State Association of College Trustees President Bertha Ortega, and Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges Executive Director Paul Francis. The Muckleshoot Canoe Family of the Muckleshoot tribe, deeply connected to the waters around the city of Seattle, opened the event with a traditional tribal welcome. Thanks also to the Seattle Seahawks Blue Thunder Drumline and Columbia Basin College's Free Form Jazz Choir for welcoming participants with stellar performances.
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