SKIP DOWNING is an international consultant in the field of faculty development and student success strategies. His popular text, On Course: Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life (Wadsworth/Cengage Learning) is used in both student success courses and college writing courses.

Dr. Downing has earned degrees from Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Santa Monica, and Carnegie Mellon University.  He holds advanced degrees in both English and counseling psychology. He was Professor of English at Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) for 32 years.

In addition to his role as an academic instructor, Dr. Downing created and coordinated BCCC's Student Success and Learning Community Programs. These programs teach students how to apply proven strategies of success to achieve their full potential in college and in life. The College Success Program resulted in a significant increase in both student academic success and retention.  Click here to see the data from BCCC as well as many other institutions using the On Course text.

Before developing the College Success and Learning Communities Programs at BCCC, Dr. Downing was Coordinator of Writing for eight years, overseeing the revision of the college's writing program, including the creation and implementation of an innovative curriculum and assessment process for freshman writing and developmental writing courses.

The American Community College Trustees has recognized Dr. Downing as its Northeast Region teacher of the year.  He is a recipient of the NISOD Community College Leadership Award for teaching excellence, and he was named in USA Today as one of the fifty best community college teachers in the United States and Canada.

Dr. Downing has made numerous presentations at national conferences and conducted faculty development workshops at many two- and four-year colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, Bermuda, and the Virgin Islands. Since 1996, he has facilitated the On Course Workshops, intensive four-day retreats for college educators focusing on proven strategies for empowering students to become active, responsible partners in their education and to achieve greater success in college and in life. These workshops offer participants the option of earning three graduate credits in a follow-up course on-line.