Learning Resources & Web Services has changed to Academic Planning!

 

Academic Planning is now serving the district in some of the usual ways and in some new ways including:

• Help desk services
• Educational technology training (faculty and staff)
• Classroom technology standards
• Distance education (online and video conference)
• Curriculum coordination
• After school program (serving over 1,000 K-12 students) 

This new direction allows us to focus our energy on the e-campus model that our Distance Education and Online Student Services strategic planning processes have both identified are important next steps for our future.

 

And we are so glad to have Lupe back from maternity leave; her new baby, Camila is a terrific addition to their family.

The Board of Trustees approved the fiscal year 2009-2010 budget.Iit has been uploaded into Datatel. You can review your budget details via the WHC Portal or in Datatel.

 

On September 1, 2009, Anne Jorgens provided Datatel Budget Lookup & Report training for WHC Coalinga administrative, management and confidential staff. She also provided the same training at WHC Lemoore campus for their administrative, management and confidential staff on October 12th.  If you missed this training opportunity but would like to have the training please contact Anne Jorgens at Ext. 2116. 

 

WHCC DISTRICT RISK MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE:

The District Risk Management Committee met in September, the first meeting of the fall semester.  There are two new members;  Marlon Hall is replacing Stephanie Atkinson-Alston for Lemoore and Mark Gritton, replacing Carlos Diniz for Coalinga.

 

N1H1-Swine Flu:

Recently all district staff received via mail the OSHA Quick Cared on How to Protect Yourself in the Workplace during a pandemic.  This is such an important topic for all of us, both at work and home.  While most cases of the Swine Flu are reported as mild and not requiring hospitalization, the biggest concern is that it will mutate to create a more virulent strain which may be more serious. Please remember while most cases of the Swine Flu to date have been classified as mild to severe, it is still very serious and deadly for those people at risk. People who have a weakened immune system, the elderly and very young need to be especially careful and seek medical assistance. 

 

Thanks to Frances Squire, district marketing director, for working so hard on getting the postcard prepared and out, but also for making sure posters were prepared for the residence halls, the child development centers and other areas on the campuses. 

 

There are links to important Swine Flu sites on the West Hills College web site, and as soon as it is available; information will be posted regarding the flu shot clinics, locations and times. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has posted the “CDC Guidance for Responses to Influenza for Institutions of Higher Education during the 2009-2010 Academic Year” online at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/institutions/guidance/ 

 

Thanks to the EECU, the district’s CDC’s, West Hills Lemoore College and the district who have all generously donated funds to provide antibacterial wet-wipes (alcohol free). The wipes have been distributed in computer labs, classrooms, staff offices, residence halls and child development centers.  Our goal with these wet-wipes is to remind students, staff, visitors and parents to wipe down frequently-touched common surfaces (computer keyboards, telephones, etc) and to wash your hands frequently. 

 

Training Opportunities:

The Chancellor’s Office DRCCC (Disaster Resistant California Community Colleges) 2009 Workshop Series is offering:

• Executive Seminar: Prevention, Deterrence, and Response to Campus Emergencies, November 9-10, 2009, at Merritt College, Oakland.

General Safety Items:

There actually was some good news from the governor’s office!  Last year the Supreme Court ruled that good samaritans could be held legally liable for providing emergency assistance to injured or hurt victims at the scene of an accident, thus removing immunity good Samaritans were given previously.

On August 12, 2009 Governor Schwarzenegger signed two very important pieces of legislation; AB 83 and SB 39 addressing this issue.

AB 83 - Good Samaritan personal liability immunity bill provides personal immunity for any person, not including medical, law enforcement, and emergency personnel, who in good faith, and not for compensation, renders emergency medical or non-medical care or assistance at the scene of an emergency. They shall not be liable for any civil damages resulting from any act or omission, as long as that act or omission does not constitute gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct. 

SB 39-Personal liability immunity: disaster service workers provides the same immunity provisions for disaster service workers when acting within the scope of their responsibilities under the authority of a governmental emergency organization, including local agencies.

The Coalinga CDC is gearing up for its annual Sunrise Breakfast, which will be held on November 21 in conjunction with the Wham-O-Bass Balloon Festival.  The Sunrise Breakfast is one of the primary fundraisers for the Coalinga CDC, so SAVE THE DATE and join us for a great breakfast.

 

Although it is still six months off, the centers are preparing for the Week of the Young Child celebrations (this week in April is designated by the National Association for the Education of Young Children).  Three of the centers (Coalinga, Firebaugh, and San Joaquin) have applied for mini-grants from First 5 Fresno County for their celebrations. The Avenal Connections Family Resource Center has applied for a grant through Chevron for their celebration and to offer a summer math & science camp for children PK through 6th grades. All of these celebrations not only benefit the children who attend WHC centers, but also the communities.

Four WHCFA members attended the Fall Community College Association of California (CCA) Conference in Santa Clara the second weekend of October. The focus of the conference was on membership, so Scott Sutherland, WHCFA Membership chair, and Jacqui Shehorn, WHCFA secretary, attended the conference along with WHCFA President Marty Ennes. Matt Magnuson, the Coalinga librarian, completed his training in the Building Strong Locals Academy at the conference and will graduate at the Winter CCA Conference in San Diego.

Everything is moving smoothly in the foundation office. We are no longer located in the main district office. We have moved to building B at the district.

The grants office sadly reports that we were not awarded the Lumina Foundation grant that was written as a multi-group collaboration to develop a performance indicators portal and establish a process for longitudinal assessment of student access, retention, persistence and completion for Central Valley community colleges. We did have a conference call with the Lumina Foundation staff to discuss our area of weakness and better prepare us for the next round. 

We also were notified by the Department of Education that we were not selected for the Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions Title V Proposal submitted in collaboration with Central Valley Higher Education Consortium.  The goal was to develop a set of performance indicators around measures of student access, retention, persistence, and completion for Central California community colleges. Results would be utilized to identify appropriate interventions and encourage decision making that promotes student achievement in postsecondary education. The project will provide research and data for all levels of educators: college and university CEOs, faculty and mid-level administrators. The results would be utilized to promote “data driven decision making” through longitudinal tracking systems, and lead to the creation or modification of policies that will strengthen student access, retention, success and graduation rates on a large scale regional effort.

These were two excellent proposals. We have received feedback from the funding agencies to work on our weaknesses that unfortunately caused us to miss the awarding line by a few points. Ouch that hurts! But when we win, we win and dance like champions and when we lose, we lose like champions, get ourselves up, dust off our knees and start anew.

We are currently working with a number of program directors to ensure that all the annual performance reports are submitted with all the appropriate documentation and in a timely fashion.

We anticipate a ship load of new proposals starting as early as December. Like housework, the grant proposals are never-ending.

The October payroll will be the last check stub that will be printed.

 

Effective with your November pay check, you will be able to access your stub through the portal.

You will find the stub under My Services on the left side of the page.  Click on Employee Profile and you will see pay advices.

 

After the October payroll has been processed, this feature will be turned on for the November payroll processing.  You will also be able to see all your pay advices from January through October.

 

Effective for your January payroll, we will not longer be mailing out checks for those who have opted not to have direct deposits.  You will have to pick up your check at the district office.

Below are reorganization changes for those of you who are unaware:

 

West Hills College Coalinga

• Dolores Smith – At the request of the college presidents, financial aid will now be coordinated and managed at the college level. To accommodate this change, each college will have a director of financial aid. Dolores Smith will be moving to West Hills College Coalinga.
• Jill Stearns – Jill’s title has been changed from dean of student learning to vice president of educational services. Due to the retirement of Carlos Diniz, dean of student learning, Jill now has overall responsibility for all of instruction and student services. 

West Hills College Lemoore

• Stephanie Atkinson-Alston – dean of educational services, has received and accepted on an offer to serve as the new dean of academic affairs at Los Angeles Mission College.
• Sylvia Dorsey-Robinson will become the vice president of student services. Her primary responsibilities will include supervising counseling and advising.
• Jana Cox – At the request of the college presidents, financial aid will now be coordinated and managed at the college level. Jana Cox (formerly the director of human resources), will be moving to West Hills College Lemoore to serve as the director of financial aid. Jana’s move to the college will leave a vacant director of human resources position. While the position is vacant, the function will remain under the responsibility of the vice chancellor of business services. 

District Office

At the district office, the main responsibilities of the director of enrollment services (the position vacated due to the retirement of Darlene Georgatos) have been delegated to three individuals. Due to the additional functions, titles have been changed to more accurately reflect the job:

• Carole Goldsmith – Carole’s title has been changed from director of workforce development/Title V/VTEA to vice chancellor of educational services and workforce development. Her functions include categorical funding and grants, child development, information technology and MIS reporting, state and federal programs, Westside Institute of Technology (WIT), and workforce development and planning.
• Pedro Avila – Pedro’s title has been changed from director of institutional e ffectiveness and planning to vice chancellor of institutional effectiveness and enrollment management. His functions include accreditation and strategic planning, enrollment management, institutional research and effectiveness, marketing and publications, and web services.

• Susan Whitener – Susan’s title has been changed from dean of learning resources and web services to associate vice chancellor of educational planning. Her functions include distance education, curriculum coordination and after school programs.

 

Program Review Team Sites

The office of institutional effectiveness has created team sites to house documentation for the Lemoore and Coalinga program review processes. As data is prepared for each program, the instructor leading the program review process will receive an e-mail with a link to the team site where they can access all of the necessary data to complete their program review documents. Also, the program review team sites are being expanded to include program review templates, schedules, and other information related to program review.

 

American River College Accreditation Visit

During the month of October, Pedro Avila took part in the accreditation team that reviewed American River College (ARC). Located in Sacramento, ARC is part of a four college district that has centralized and decentralized services at the college and district office. Their research department, composed of a research director and two full-time researchers, does a magnificent job at providing all college committees and administrators with the necessary data for decision making.  It was interesting to learn that ARC is utilizing data from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) to develop their institutional level SLOs.

 

Lyles Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Pathways Program-CSU Fresno   

We are providing Monte Paden with data for a survey of Bus 32 students in an effort to obtain grants.  The survey asks for the number of Bus 32 students that have received an associate's degree or transferred to CSUF and majored in entrepreneurship. To complete part of this report, we relied on our friends Tina Leimer, who’s the research director for CSUF, and her staff. We are very excited to have developed collaboration with CSUF’s research office and look forward to continuing to grow this relationship.

 

Fall 2009 VTEA Student Survey

This survey went out in September to all students enrolled in career technical education courses.  VTEA funds are allocated to the colleges to ensure that Perkins Act dollars are used to improve student performance.  These federal dollars have been established to improve career-technical education programs, integrate academic and career-technical instruction, serve special populations, and meet gender equity needs.  If you’re an instructor teaching a vocational course, please remind and encourage your students to complete this survey.

 

Curriculum Committee

For the past eight years, Maria Lourenco has been attending and providing support at the college’s curriculum committees. As part of the reorganization, Maria will no longer attend curriculum meetings. The colleges will be assuming some of her responsibilities but Maria and the enrollment services office will continue to provide enrollment and Datatel support and serve as a resource to the curriculum committees.

Marketing has been busy with lots of things. We are currently working on a district report to the community titled @ West Hills. @ West Hills is the new name for our newsletter, which was formally known as Dialogue. The report should be in homes sometime this week, so be sure to look for it.

 

There are lots of new albums on the Kodak gallery web site including an album from the WHCL multi use sports complex groundbreaking, sports games, campus activities and field trips. Our login information for the web site has changed. The new login is francessquire@whccd.edu and the password remains falcons.

Tanner Naeher is currently working on an electronic brochure for prospective students.  The brochure will generate a PDF document from inputted data from the student and then email them a customized brochure based on the options selected.  The e-brochure will stand as a centralized point for prospective students to find more information on programs, services, and other important information such as registration and financial aid offered by each college.

 

From October 7-9, Tanner Naeher, Jeff Seed, and Pedro Avila received Sharepoint training to better understand the administrative side of the software and possible ways to customize the program.  Thomas Robb and Priscilla Balcazar also received half a day of training on work flows, survey, and a few other items within Sharepoint.

The Westside Institute of Technology (WIT) continues to make a difference in the rural communities by providing skill-based training to area residents. In September, WIT started a new electrical course. The course is a basic residential electrical course that is designed to assist community members to obtain the skills needed for improving their own homes and for entry level employment.

Recently, WIT has been helping residents find jobs by working with the City of Mendota, Clean-Tech America and Goldent State Utilities with the Cal-Renew 40 acres solar project being built in Mendota. WIT has assisted in the efforts to find the nceessary labor for the construction and installation of this project. Thus far, 50 people are employed working full time. This comes at an opportune time as many farm labor jobs have come to an end and the holidays are around the corner.

We continue to offer not-for-credit, skill-based training in truck driving, truck maintenance, maintenance mechanic, basic automotive and residential elect.

Call David Castillo at 559-934-2166 to get additional information.

 

Let’s start this month’s report off right with a few success stories…

 

The staff at the Coalinga Workforce One Stop is currently working with Labor Staffing, the company that is hiring people for the new alternative energy plant that is coming to Coalinga.  To date, they have placed six local job seekers as crew leaders.  Staff will continue to work with this company to recruit people from our service area for construction jobs.  A total of 25 people will be employed with this company throughout the next 22 months.

 

The staff has also been busy with two other alternative energy companies who are gearing up for production in our region – one in Coalinga the other in the Mendota-Firebaugh area. The One Stop team has provided screening and initial interviewing services.

 

GO GREEN TECH JOBS!!!!

 

The Workforce and WIT staff are also working on 17 different contract programs, all designed to help our residents get back to work, or re-trained and then work…but all are focusing on assisting our community during these difficult economic times.  Below are just highlights of a few of these programs:

 

Veterans Educational Assistance Program (VEAP): We are currently working with twenty-five veterans through our VEAP Grant.  Seventeen of these individuals are now enrolled in career technical education programs; many are in WHCC or WHCL programs - psych tech, registered nurse, culinary and adminstration of justice. Three have completed training. All three were provided with employment assistance and are now working.

 

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) & Formula Funds:  Through both of these funding sources, One Stop staff is  providing supportive services  to thirty-five  psych techs, fourteen nurse assistant students, ten  heavy equipment students and four  WIT truck driver training participants as well as other trainings.  In this program alone, staff is providing services to over 200 adult and dislocated workers.

 

ARRA Direct Training:  Staff is working with the WIT and Fresno County WIB ARRA Coordinator to put into action our not-for-credit training for diesel maintenance, EEG/EKG, sterile processing and water technician training.   Once implemented, these training programs will serve 45 job seekers.

 

All Youth One System (AYOS):  Staff continues to work closely with high school personnel at Coalinga, Kerman, Firebaugh, Tranquility, Mendota, Riverdale and Washington Union High schools to work with at-risk youth.  AYOS staff members are at the high schools at least once per week but very often they spend a couple of days at each school helping youth with their school work.  The goal is to keep them engaged in school and their community.  We offer an array of activities to accomplish this goal.  To date, the program has met the goal of 80% obtainment of a basic skills upgrade through assessment that demonstrates a two-grade gain in reading. Through September, we have served 126 youth. 

 

Older Youth Work Experience Program:  Due to the success of the ARRA Summer Youth Program, we were recently awarded a funded extension.  This will allow for eighty-eight additional area youth to receive services through March 2010 by providing an opportunity to work up to 150 hours.  This grant is focused on green tech jobs and all of the city managers have agreed that they provide our youth with experiences to see green technology in action. 

 

Kudos to staff at the Coalinga One Stop for their hard work!

 

Kudos to the faculty throughout WHCCD who are dedicated to providing superior career technical education that help our community members gain the knowledge and skills needed to find meaningful employment.