By Jennifer Wilding, Consensus KC
Enrollment is at an all-time high. Agreements in place allow credits to transfer to most four-year colleges in the area. The debate team continues its march to national dominance. The college is expanding its space for technical education in a renovated facility. By most measures, the Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC) is doing well. So why embark on an extensive listening project now?
“We believe that the best way to meet the needs of our community is to talk with the people who are counting on us,” Ray Daniels said. Daniels is the retired superintendent of the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools and a trustee at the college. “We felt a deep curiosity about how people perceived the college and what role they want us to play in the future.”</
The trustees hired Consensus, a nonprofit with a 25-year history of engaging citizens and stakeholder in important issues. Consensus worked with a team of three trustees — Daniels, Cathy Breidenthal and Wendell Maddox — as well as Leota Marks from the college, to design a series of 15 focus groups.
The team identified the stakeholder groups they wanted to include and, in many cases, the individuals they felt should be invited. Four focus groups included current and former KCKCC students, one was with Sumner Academy students; others were with stakeholder groups like unions, neighborhoods, large and small employers, school counselors, nonprofits, and residents of Leavenworth, among others.
“We’re finding a strong feeling of goodwill for the college,” Jennifer Wilding said. Wilding is director of Consensus. “I had no idea what kind of reception I would get when I started inviting people to participate in these focus groups, and I’ve been very pleased.”
Cathy Breidenthal is chair of the board committee overseeing the project. She said, “There is already a buzz in the community about the project. I have had participants from several of the groups come up to me to express their appreciation for the opportunity to contribute and say how impressed they were with the process.”
The college and its trustees will use the results of the listening project to revise the college’s strategic plan and identify actions it can take to improve the college and its work in the community. This spring, Consensus will work with the entire board of trustees to analyze the focus group results and agree upon their priorities for action.
“We didn’t walk into this effort knowing the result we were going to get,” Wendell Maddox said. Maddox is a trustee and the executive director of the United Way of Wyandotte County. “It was an exploration, an opportunity to get a sense of how we’re seen in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. It’s exciting to think about the actions we might take as a college, based upon this information.”
