Vancouver Community College’s Leadership Club for Students: Lessons Learned from Year One Presented By: Sean Hinton and Melissa Grover 3 rd Annual Student Leadership Symposium May 22, 2008 Kwantlen University College – Richmond Campus

Overview Program Overview Program Development Recruitment Program phase 1 Program phase 2 Community Leadership Project Lessons Learned Conclusion

Program Overview VCC Leadership Club for Students: 8-Month Program Weekly Meetings 1.5 hour meetings 3 Parts Leadership Development 1 Part Guest Speaker 1 Part Self-Reflection 3 Parts Community Leadership Project Scrapbook

Program Development 1)Identified need, value and fit within the organization. 2)“Scrubbed” best practices. 3)Surveyed VCC students, employees and graduates through our annual student census and various meetings. 4)Approached the first year of the program as a pilot. 5)Guest speakers a must! 6)Project funding. 7)Recruitment material/web space. 8)Meeting material… distributed prior to or after the meeting?

Recruitment Web page developed on VCC site. Signage distributed around the college (banners, brochures, place cards, link to web page) inviting all students to an information session. Booths at student services orientation events. Information session at each campus. Club address and group created. Incentives are a must!

Leadership Club – Phase One September to December Started with 25, ended with 8 – 12 regulars. Heavy focus on introduction to leadership and guest speakers. Consistency and continuity is key in this stage. Focus on building a solid group dynamic. Mentorship is very important – Participants found their own or we helped identify them.

Leadership Club – Phase Two January to April Started with 4, ended with 3. More focus on facilitated discussion, dialogue and debate. Support the community leadership project. No guest speakers. Focus on compiling the scrapbook.

The Community Project Expectations Process Outcomes What We Learned

The Community Project - Expectations Opportunity to Use Leadership Plan and Leadership Skills Leave a Mark in the Community

The Community Project - Process Volunteer Opportunities - Ongoing Discussion Brainstorm Possibilities Draft a Work Plan - Assign and Perform Tasks Carry Out Project – Event

The Community Project - Outcomes Time Spent Choosing a Project Decision-Making Assignment of Responsibilities Carry Out of Tasks The Event

The Community Project – What We Learned Make Intentions and Expectations Clear Provide Participants with Direction Decide how Decisions will be Made Awareness of Available Resources Be Flexible

Lessons Learned Tailor your program to suit your institution, and even the cohort that you will be working with. Do not provide a lot of work to be completed outside of the group, no homework! Consistency is key; every meeting must take place as scheduled and should be with the same group of facilitators. There will be no shortage of guest speakers available. Our program could have been condensed; keep it simple and packed full of information. Those who finish the program will find it an invaluable experience that complements their studies. Incentives are a good way of keeping people motivated.

Lessons Learned Continued Attrition was our biggest challenge in year one. Funding will be a challenge to many; there are many sources of funding for these projects available. Strengthen your program by having a student advisory group (important for feedback). Taking time to extract feedback from those who completed the program was extremely useful. Understand the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities of your program. What made the program unique was the community project, access to mentors and guest speakers.

Conclusion Student Testimonials: “The club has helped bring me to my next step in my life journey” “ This club has taught me a lot about myself, others, and group dynamics”. “ This club has helped me on my journey of creating a legacy for the community”.

Contact Us Vancouver Community College Leadership Club for Students Sean Hinton – – Melissa Grover – –