Structure – Leadership Academy for Students Success

At the state level, the Leadership Academy is led by the community college association or system office. Staff from these organizations serve as state leads.

The Leadership Academy uses a train-the-trainers model to maximize in-state expertise and sustain a cost-effective model that delivers content to as many college participants as possible.

Each state follows this process:

The state aims for roughly 40 participants in each year-long cohort. When states launch a Leadership Academy, they typically plan for two successive years of cohorts. NCII and the Aspen Institute provide support throughout the process.

Depending on the number of colleges in the state, each college is invited to nominate two individuals to join a cohort. States with more colleges may use a first-come, first-served approach.

The state lead recruits the facilitators who will deliver the Aspen Institute content modules. Most of the facilitators are presidents or vice presidents of colleges within the state. Association or system office staff members also provide state context for the Aspen Institute modules and deliver content for modules that focus on state policy.

Facilitators from all states come together for virtual training sessions conducted by the Aspen Institute and supported by NCII — one cross-state training session for each content session.

The state lead organizes the content sessions for participants in their state. The facilitators and state lead then deliver the content sessions to the college cohorts in their state.

Several additional components support the train-the-trainers model. These include:

Adapting the curriculum and materials to the state context. NCII works with each state lead to finalize the curriculum and related materials. With NCII’s support, each state lead adds essential state context to the curriculum. For example, they share the history of college reform efforts in the state, identify sources of data and related exercises to incorporate into various modules, and determine which practitioners to include on various panels throughout the program.
Supporting a cross-state network. NCII leads a cross-state community of practice to support and accelerate program implementation. The state leads come together quarterly to discuss adjustments to the curriculum, share successes and challenges, and suggest new offerings to support the program. For example, content in the following two bullets grew out of suggestions from state leads.
Holding workshops for senior teams. Through these workshops, conducted by NCII and the Aspen Institute, senior leaders at participating colleges become familiar with the Leadership Academy curriculum. With this understanding, senior leaders are better positioned to tap mid-level faculty and staff members’ newly developed skills.
Providing a webinar series for Leadership Academy alumni. NCII delivers webinars that address content that is not part of the curriculum. These webinars are available to all Leadership Academy alumni.

“The Leadership Academy was my first opportunity to learn directly from multiple presidents and senior executives in higher education. They were candid in sharing not only their successes but also their vulnerabilities, which made their leadership journeys feel authentic and relatable. That experience has influenced my own educational ambitions by reinforcing the kind of leader I aspire to become — knowledgeable, transparent, and grounded in service to students and colleagues.”

— Dean of Enrollment Management (Texas)