Big Idea	Description	Implications
Anyone can learn anything under the right conditions	Students have all the biological gifts, the inherent capabilities to learn anything they are taught.[6]	Encourages leaders and educators to move beyond the myth that some students aren’t “college material” Shifts focus from the deficiencies of the learners to the conditions of learning Underlies initiatives that aim to create supportive learning spaces, diverse instructional approaches, academic support systems, and a welcoming campus climate
Start Right	The greatest challenge and opportunity for improvement in student success and graduation at Valencia is at the beginning of every new experience a student has at the institution. Valencia’s rallying cry is “make the first minute of the first meeting, in every course a learning minute.”	Encourages a detailed understanding of students’ early college experiences Encourages a student success-oriented focus on the front door Underlies initiatives that enforce early application deadlines, required orientations, required entry testing and prerequisites, success courses for developmental students, and restricted late adds
Connection and Direction	A student must make a personal connection very early in her experience at the college with staff, with faculty and with other students. A student needs clear direction and a plan to graduate as soon as possible in her college career.	Encourages a focus on helping students make real connections with college faculty/staff and other students as early as possible Underlies initiatives and LifeMap, Career Program Advisors and LinC
The college is how the students experience us, not how we experience them	Students are unique individuals and they experience college in powerfully personal ways. Measures of success should be found in what students’ experience.	Encourages a focus on individual student, rather than aggregate student (e.g. section, cohort, demographic) as the basic unit of analysis When paired with other Big Ideas, supports a model in which each student experience consists of a career goal, relationships with others on campus, high engagement, and increasing self-sufficiency as they progress to graduation
The purpose of assessment is to improve learning	The most important beneficiaries of authentic assessment are the learners and those who facilitate learning. Establishing clear learning expectations and identifying the methods of assessments are essential steps to creating partnerships between groups that can improve learning.	Encourages stakeholders to think about assessment from the perspective of the student and faculty or staff member Encourages assessment designers to design the process with improvement as the primary inspiration and accountability as secondary
Collaboration	The best ideas are formed and embraced when everyone collectively contributes to a shared purpose through an ongoing dialogue. All of the Big Ideas depend on authentic collaboration for their legitimacy.	Underlies collaborative governance, Valencia’s strategic and initiative planning process, and the process through which Big Ideas are formed