Bossier Parish Community College was named a 2021 finalist for the highly coveted Bellwether Awards.
BPCC was a top ten finalist in the Instructional Programs and Services Category. The innovative project presented was BPCC's Open Campus™ Mobile App: "Mobile Learning Apps at the Convergence of Neuroscience and Deep Game Structure."
The project represented three "firsts" in innovation:
- First to design higher ed learning for a mobile app, then reverse-engineer for desktop viewing.
- First to triangulate a design based upon the neuroscience, metacognitive applications, and game structure of learning.
- First to provide statistically significant evidence of increased student completion rates among students using the app.
Bellwether finalists represent leading community colleges whose outstanding and innovative programs and practices were selected among competitive submissions as exemplary.
This is not the first time BPCC has been recognized for its innovative excellence. Open Campus™ was a Bellwether finalist in 2016, 2017, and 2018; and, in 2019, the project drew a finalist nod for the Legacy Award which recognizes Bellwether’s most notable innovators.
“We’re thrilled to represent BPCC and the LCTCS system again this year,” Allison Martin, Director of Institutional Effectiveness Initiatives, said. “It’s truly an honor for BPCC to be consistently recognized among the top US higher ed innovators.”
BPCC’s Open Campus™ rolled out math, English and reading tutorials that students use for testing prep and for supplemental instruction in April of 2013, and the free online sites quickly caught on both at BPCC and across the state of LA.
Learners from all 50 states and on 6 continents have accessed Open Campus™ lecture videos, amassing a collective 5 million+ viewing minutes in the process.
Faculty and staff have steadily added course content so that the app now contains 5 math courses, 2 English, a medical terminology, soft skills, English as a Second Language, and a “Learning How to Learn” course. Math and writing courses have also been translated into Spanish.
The Bellwether Awards are widely regarded as one of the nation’s most competitive and prestigious recognitions for community colleges. For more information, visit www.bellwethercollegeconsortium.com.
BPCC Open Campus is free to use and open to anyone. In the app stores, search “BPCC Open Campus,” or, for desktop, visit www.bpcc.edu to sign up and start learning.