CLARA

The Consortium Leadership And Renewal Academy (CLARA) is a year-long regional leadership information, development, and renewal program created for the member institutions of the North Texas Community College Consortium. CLARA serves entry-level and mid-level administrators who desire to improve their leadership and management abilities, update their knowledge, upgrade their skills, broaden their perspectives, prepare themselves for administrative advancement, and renew their commitment to higher education in the community college. It is also designed for faculty members and others interested in exploring careers in administration.

CLARA has been designed especially to benefit those serving as program coordinators, division and department chairs, deans, directors, and others in comparable roles. The program is open to professionals in instruction, student development, business services, continuing education, workforce development, libraries and media, research and planning, resource development, professional development, human resources, learning resources, public information, facilities management, and other college areas. It will also prove helpful to faculty members wishing to explore community college administration as a possible career.

Program Organization and Design

CLARA has been developed with input from Consortium leaders over an extended period of time, especially from leaders on the Board of Directors, the Professional Development Committee, the Institutional Research Committee, the CLARA Advisory Council, and members of our CLARA alumni.

In addition to providing high quality leadership development activities, the CLARA program is also designed to be affordable, accessible, and practical.

It supports development of basic skills for those who have had minimal administrative training or experience. It also provides renewal opportunities for veteran administrators.

As a leadership growth, development, and renewal program, CLARA is built upon (a) annual professional development activities of the North Texas Community College Consortium, such as our fall and spring leadership conferences; (b) an online course site fostering interaction and leadership development; and (c) monthly workshops throughout the academic year scheduled specifically and exclusively for the CLARA cohort.

Fundamental Themes and Issues

CLARA focuses on basic leadership and administrative skills and current issues such as the following:

• Budget and Finance
• Building Professional Resources and Networks
• Compliance and Reporting
• Dealing with Change
• Effective Communications
• Equity and Diversity
• Ethics
• Finding and Developing an Appropriate Leadership and Management Style
• Global Education
• Legal Issues
• Personnel Assessment and Evaluation
• Planning, Research, and Institutional Effectiveness
• Professional Development
• The Dynamic Community College
• Time Management
• Using Technology to Enhance Administration and Teaching-Learning

CLARA Director

The director of the Consortium Leadership And Renewal Academy is Christine Hubbard.

Christine is the president of the North Texas Community College Consortium. Dr. Hubbard has served as an English faculty member, faculty association president, department chair, division dean, director of academic operations, vice president of academic operations, and Achieving the Dream campus coordinator over 14 years at Tarrant County College and as program coordinator for developmental reading and writing, TASP liaison, and coordinator of student success programs during her 5 years at the University of Texas at Arlington.

CLARA Instructors

Instructional staff for the program are experienced leaders at Consortium colleges as well as national and international leaders who are speakers, presenters, and facilitators at Consortium conferences and workshops.

CLARA Participants

Each of the Consortium member institutions may nominate as many candidates as it would like for participation in the CLARA program. Each institution may use its own internal selection criteria and process. The Consortium provides a brief form to be used in submitting selected participants to the Consortium office.

Non-member institutions may nominate candidates for participation in the CLARA program. Each non-member may use its own internal selection criteria and process. The Consortium provides a brief form to be used in submitting selected participants to the Consortium office.

Each CLARA cohort is limited to 50 participants. Priority shall be given to CLARA nominees submitted by member institutions. Candidates from non-member institutions may participate on a space-available basis.

Responsibilities of Participating Institutions

Institutions participating in CLARA commit themselves to the following guidelines and expectations:

• To select qualified participants using either an internal application and selection process or the application form suggested by the Consortium.
• To submit the participants to the Consortium for participation using the standard information form and meeting the announced timeline.
• To pay the full participation fee by the first week in November.
• To permit, facilitate, and encourage participants to attend all required CLARA events and complete all CLARA course requirements.
• To collaborate with each participant in selecting an administrative project for the year and a supervisor or mentor for the project.
• To participate in evaluating the effectiveness of the program from the institution’s perspective.

Responsibilities of CLARA Participants

Each CLARA participant commits to the following guidelines and expectations:

• To attend designated program events.
• To complete program pre- and post-assessments.
• To read designated books, articles, papers, and online information relevant to community college leadership, administration, and management.
• To discuss those readings with CLARA colleagues in person and/or online.
• To actively participate in the CLARA online course site, including discussion board postings, online assignment submissions, and online group work.
• To develop an administrative portfolio.
• To plan and implement a project on an administrative topic or issue of the individual’s choice. This project should be completed with a mentor or supervisor at the participant’s college or another college within the Consortium. Each completed project will be presented to the Consortium at large as a white paper, conference presentation, or webinar during the next academic year.
• To communicate regularly with the program director, coordinator, and participant colleagues via email and within the CLARA course site.
• To complete an evaluation of the program.
• To serve in an advisory capacity for future CLARA programs.
• To report to the appropriate individuals at the home institution regarding the CLARA experience.

Responsibilities of the Consortium

The director of CLARA, the CLARA coordinator, the CLARA Advisory Council, and other Consortium leaders will develop learning activities, secure faculty and presenters, facilitate communication among participants, and monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the Academy.

Program Credit

Participants who successfully complete the course of study will receive a certificate of completion issued by the Consortium. They will also be eligible for graduate course credit from the College of Education at the University of North Texas.

Program Cost

The annual cost for the Consortium Leadership and Renewal Academy is $900 per member college participant or $1400 for non-member college participant. This nonrefundable fee includes registration fees and materials for all workshops and conferences sponsored by the Consortium, including CLARA-required events and CLARA-optional events; all costs for special CLARA workshops; program materials and supplies; and administrative coordination of the program.

For Additional Information:

Christine Hubbard
President
North Texas Community College Consortium
1155 Union Circle #310800
Denton, TX 76203-5017
940-565-4035
christine.hubbard@unt.edu