Kim Greene knows what she wants and she’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers to get it. As coordinator for dual credit and high school admissions at Ozarks Technical Community College, Greene has the unique position of working with three distinct groups: college faculty, high school administrators and high school students.
During her two-year tenure as coordinator, there has been a more than 100 percent jump in dual credit high school partnerships. Student enrollment has doubled during the past three years, with a 30 percent increase during the fall 2013 semester.
“I am often told I am a disruptive innovator, which I take as a compliment,” Greene says of a recent major organizational change in her division, resulting in admissions changes for five high school programs. “Change is not always accepted, and this was a big accomplishment for me and our department.”
A large part of the increase is due to a program Greene developed, OTC Online Dual Credit, which aims to help make dual credit more accessible for the area’s rural high school students. Greene says the program, allows high schoolers the rigors of college-level courses through online learning, at a fraction of the cost of traditional classes, while accelerating their degree programs.
Greene is all about maximizing efficiency. During the past year, OTC created a new high school division, and Greene worked with each area high school to streamline the registration system.
“We are now able to automate more than 700 applications and acceptance letters,” she says. “The automation cuts man hours and staff effort, which is huge in a time of growing enrollment, but not growing staff.”
LaRaine Bauer, OTC dean of special academic programs, says Greene is a driving force in the department.
“Kim is a visionary,” she says. “(She) looks beyond what is currently being done at the college to anticipate the community needs to create more access and opportunity for our student population and workforce.”
Greene also lends her communications talents to the school as an adjunct professor, helping students conquer their fear of public speaking.
“The disdain I feel on the first day of class is palpable,” she says.
“But my No. 1 objective is to show students how they will use this skill in their everyday life.”
Off campus, Greene is an active Rotary member, serving since 2008, and was honored as the Rotary Paul Harris Fellow.
In April 2013, Greene got the chance to combine her two loves when she was selected as a team member of the Rotary District 6080 Group Study Exchange to Central America. The team of five traveled to El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama to learn about each country’s culture, vocations, economy and trade.[[In-content Ad]]
