Figuring It Out Page 6 - Community College Week
Transcription
Figuring It Out Page 6 - Community College Week
THE INDEPENDENT VOICE COVERING COMMUNITY, TECHNICAL AND JUNIOR COLLEGES, SINCE 1988 JULY 11, 2011 A L L T H I N G S C O M M U N I T Y C O L L E G E www. ccweek.com VOLUME 23, No. 24 $3.50 Figuring It Out Statistics shaping the higher-ed landscape States with High CC Enrollment Community colleges account for nearly half of the nation’s higher education enrollment, but some states have higher proportions of community college enrollment. Here are the states with the greatest percentage of students enrolled in two-year schools: Wyoming 70% California 63% Arizona 60% New Mexico 55% Mississippi 53% Illinois 53% CCWEEK FILE PHOTO SOURCE: NATIONAL CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY AND HIGHER EDUCATION Turning to Technology 3 Sudden Departure The reorganization of Connecticut’s higher education system prompts a chancellor to step down. 5 A Fresh Look A new commission will examine the growing and evolving mission of community colleges. 11 Colleges Dealt In Developers of a pair of casinos in Ohio eye twoyear colleges for workforce training. The Next Generation Learning Challenges initiative seeks out innovative ways technology can boost collegereadiness and completion Page 6 12 Growth Industry A college in Washington launches the state’s first funeral service program. REGISTER TODAY! 2011 … Where the Rubber Meets the Road! October 2-5, 2011 JW Marriott Indianapolis Indianapolis, Indiana Join us in Indianapolis at the beautiful JW Marriott as we gather for the second annual STEMtech conference. This interactive learning experience will help educators ramp up their STEM programs and curricula, as well as increase their effective use of technology across the institution. STEMtech features timely tracks focused on STEM disciplines — science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — in general education and workforce training. In addition, STEMtech continues the 25-year legacy of the League’s Conference on Information Technology as the place to explore the intelligent application of information technology in community and technical colleges. OPENING KEYNOTE SPEAKER David Thornburg Founder and Director Thornburg Center CLOSING KEYNOTE SPEAKER Jim Brazell Technology Forecaster and Strategist Are you unable to travel to Indianapolis for the conference this year? Save your travel dollars and register for STEMtech Online, our new virtual offering that provides numerous opportunities for collaboration, education, and networking! Visit www.league.org/stemtech/online for additional information about the most exciting professional development opportunity to come along in some time. Register online at www.league.org/2011stemtech/reg Early registration deadline: September 9, 2011 GROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE www.league.org/2011stemtech Hosted by Ivy Tech Community College Follow STEMtech on: @LeagueSTEMtech #11STIN www.facebook.com/LeagueSTEMtech Request exhibitor information at [email protected] www.ccweek.com Index around the nation July 11, 2011 newsbriefs to news around the nation La. Lawmakers OK Tuition Hike 9 7 8 1 2 3 10 6 1 HARTFORD, Conn. Connecticut’s chancellor quits after change in higher education governance. Page 3 2 3 A new commission will look at the growing and evolving mission of community colleges. Page 5 The Compton Community College District is being sued over changes in its boundaries. Page 5 TAMPA, Fla. Virginia’s education chief, a community college graduate, is selected to head Florida’s public schools. Page 8 WASHINGTON COMPTON, Calif. 5 4 4 5 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. 6 7 A new law requiring public employees to contribute part of their pay to the state pension fund is being challenged in court. Page 8 3 NEW ORLEANS The state Board of Regents is faulted for failing to update the state’s master education plan for a decade. Page 9 PHILADELPHIA 8 COLUMBUS, Ohio A company building casinos in the state wants community colleges to help with training. Page 11 9 KIRKLAND, Wash. Lake Washington Technical College starts the state’s first funeral service program. Page 12 10 JACKSON, Miss. A legislative proposal would allow some illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at state colleges and universities. Page 10 New rules designed to stop the abuse of foreign exchange students still leaves them vulnerable. Page 13 BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Lawmakers have agreed to raise tuition rates for students at most community and technical colleges across Louisiana, one of the only college tuition increases to win passage this session. The measure, given final passage with a 30-5 Senate vote, will standardize the tuition rates charged to students at the community colleges. The two-year schools will be able to charge about $2,400 a year for full-time students, not counting studentapproved fees. Technical schools will be able to phase in tuition increases as well. The tuition hike, backed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, will generate $5.3 million in the 2011-12 school year and $10.4 million two years later. Other tuition and fee increases supported by Jindal failed to gain traction this session. Volunteers Will Train at Oahu CC HONOLULU (AP) — The Hawaii Host Committee for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation has selected an Oahu community college to train volunteers and workers for November’s conSee Briefs, page 14, col. 1 Reorganization Prompts Departure Of Conn. Community College Chief H ARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The longtime chancellor of Connecticut’s community colleges explained his sudden plans to step down, saying he decided to retire earlier than expected after the General Assembly approved a plan to change how much of the state’s higher education system is governed. Marc Herzog, who officially retired as of June 1, said he believes it’s time for new leadership, given Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s plans to create a new Board of Regents that will ultimately oversee the administration of the community colleges, the Connecticut State University system and Charter Oak State College. “I think there’s going to be a new team of people and they’re going to move in a different direction,” said the 63-year-old Herzog. Herzog’s job as chancellor was eliminated as of July 1, and he said he was not interested in filling a new vice president position that would oversee the community colleges. Despite his retirement, Herzog remained on the job until July 1. Louise Berry, chairman of the board of trustees, said the full board gave her the ability to hire Herzog on an interim basis until the new president of the yet-to-be formed Board of Regents is named and that person decides what’s next for the system, which includes 12 two-year public colleges. “I feel an absolute dedication NOT INTERESTED The chancellor’s job was eliminated as of July 1, and he said he was not interested in a new vice presidential position. to making sure that we don’t leave the community college system without leadership,” Berry said. But Malloy’s senior adviser, Roy Occhiogrosso, criticized the move, saying it highlights one of the reasons why the state’s higher education system is not working. “Something like this should never be allowed to happen, and it’s exactly the reason why Governor Malloy proposed and the legislature passed his plan to reorganize the higher education system, putting the emphasis on student learning in the classroom as opposed to bloated and inappropriate compensation for executive level employees,” he said. Herzog confirmed that in June he received a monthly pension payment as well as a month’s worth of salary. He said the salary will be at a reduced rate — 75 percent — of his current salary, which is $232,874 annually, or about $19,400 a month. He said he did not know the amount of the pension payment, but the Hartford Courant reported it was $14,000 a month. Herzog’s retirement came as a surprise to many in state government and within the community college system. He said he kept his decision quiet because he didn’t want to overshadow the recent college graduations. “I didn’t want any attention on me,” he said. Malloy and legislative leaders still need to make appointments to the Board of Regents, which is charged with coming up with a strategic plan, including staffing levels, for the combined governance of the community colleges, the four state universities and Charter Oak State College, a distance learning institution. Herzog has been chancellor of See Resign, page 4, col. 1 point of view 4 July 11, 2011 www.ccweek.com THE INDEPENDENT VOICE COVERING COMMUNITY, TECHNICAL AND JUNIOR COLLEGES, SINCE 1988 How Can Technology Support Today’s Community College Students? I n the current economic climate, where budget cuts and increasing enrollments are daily headlines, students and colleges alike continue to face challenging financial times. Additionally, a growing number of students no longer fit within the “traditional student” profile and are juggling competing priorities such as jobs, families, and financial stress. For thousands of increasingly diverse students who need an affordable and flexible postsecondary education, community colleges are the best choice. In fact, community colleges today enroll 45 percent of all college students—almost 7 million students. Getting more students ready for and through college is vital to maintaining the global competitiveness of our nation and the well-being of our citizens. Just 12 percent of young people who enroll in college complete an associate degree by age 26. Among low-income students, only about 14 percent earn an associate degree. At the same time, it is predicted that by 2018, 63 percent of all U.S. jobs will require some sort of postsecondary education. Unfortunately, creating access to college is not enough to help students achieve an education and a degree with value in the workforce. And we can’t expect to increase student achievement by doing the same things we have always done. Students and instructors need new, flexible tools and systems that can help engage students in deep and relevant learning that leads to better outcomes for students, and ultimately success in careers and in life. Through the innovative and committed work of many people and institutions, we are now beginning to see the promise of technology as a way to transform education. When applied well, technology can amplify the impact of great instructors, energize students and connect them to the information and support they need faster than ever, and help create more empowering learning environments. The League for Innovation in the Community College has long been an organization focused on catalyzing the community college movement, and working with experts in the field to create meaningful change in students’ lives. Last year, the League joined the Next Generation Learning Challenges as a founding partner to deepen our commitment to this work. This initiative is aimed at identifying and helping expand the most promis- Resign, even greater impact. Chattanooga State Community College and City Colleges of Chicago are expanding cutting edge developmental math proPRESIDENT AND CEO grams —one of the greatest chalLEAGUE FOR INNOVATION IN lenges facing community colTHE COMMUNITY COLLEGE leges. The colleges are both using unique, modular online content that disrupts the traditional math class structure, and ing programs and tools that can help stu- empowers students to learn and master dents prepare for and complete college in math at their own pace. These programs the U.S. also allow instructors to focus their supNext Generation Learning Challenges port for students where they need it most, provides investment capital to organiza- and increase one-on-one assistance for stutions, institutions, and businesses through dents who need it most. Both colleges are waves of funding every six to 12 months focused on increasing college completion — each focusing on a targeted set of chal- for low-income and minority students. lenges. The first wave of funding, Understanding the need to stay laserannounced earlier this year, is focused on focused on the importance of high quality supporting postsecondary students. Many instruction, whether virtual, hybrid, or in of the recipients of grant funding are com- the classrooms, technology is an increasmunity colleges which are working to ingly important tool to help optimize identify and develop technology tools that learning and support student success. To can help community colleges serve more these ends, the League for Innovation is students better and smarter, despite tremen- excited to be working in partnership with dous budget and enrollment pressures. community colleges, leading educational Among the field of community col- organizations, K-12, four-year colleges leges leading the charge to expand promis- and universities, corporate leaders, and ing technology-enabled learning tools to philanthropists to make a meaningful difmore students, three stand out as particu- ference and bridge opportunities for stularly compelling examples of how the dent completion. thoughtful use of technology can make a Simply put, technology is an important big impact on students. resource to help more college students Sinclair Community College (Ohio) succeed. The question now is: how can uses a program called Student Success community colleges collaborate, conPlan Software to improve outcomes for its tribute and build a community of practice at-risk students. The program provides that embraces technology and pushes it tools and information to instructors that forward for the next generation of learners can help them manage student relation- and leadership? ships more efficiently, and allow them to identify and provide supports for at-risk students more quickly and efficiently. CurIt’s YOUR TURN rent funding from the Next Generation CCW wants to hear from you! Learning Challenges is enabling this project to become open source, which will allow the college to share the program How important is with others schools, expanding it to serve technology is helping many more students. students succeed? The Iowa Community College Online Consortium (ICCOC) provides analytic Share your Comments: information to academic advisers about ccweekblog students who are presenting risks or failures in their coursework. Over the past five years, the consortium has seen online ALL THINGS COMMUNITY COLLEGE course completion rates of at-risk students increase by nine percent. This modest but meaningful improvement shows promise for replication across institutions, and an GERARDO E. DE LOS SANTOS Q Published by Autumn Publishing Enterprises, Inc. Publisher Pamela K. Barrett Editor Paul Bradley Contributing Editor Tom Barrett Marvelene M. Franklin Senior Writers Sara Burnett Scott Dyer Ed Finkel Marla Fisher Eric Freedman Ian Freedman Mark Lindsay Harvey Meyer Charles Pekow Director of Graphics and Production Mark Bartley Production Assistant Heather Boucher Additional production services provided by Autumn Publishing Enterprises, Inc. Advertising Director Linda Lombardo Community College Adviser Bob Vogt COMMUNITY COLLEGE WEEK (ISSN 1041-5726) is published biweekly, 26 issues per year, by Autumn Publishing Enterprises, Inc., PO Box 1305, Fairfax, VA 22038, (703) 978-3535. Single subscription: $52 per year; two years: $90. Canadian and foreign rates furnished upon request. Autumn Publishing Enterprises, Inc., reserves the right to refuse any advertisement. Only the publication of an advertisement shall constitute final acceptance. The publication of any advertisement or article by Community College Week does not constitute an endorsement of the advertiser, products, services or ideologies presented. Autumn Publishing Enterprises, Inc., is not responsible for any claims made in an advertisement or column. Advertisers may not, without publisher’s consent, incorporate in subsequent advertising that a product or service has been advertised in an Autumn Publishing Enterprises, Inc., publication. © Autumn Publishing Enterprises, Inc., 2006 Letters to the Editor should be addressed to: [email protected] FOR SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES ONLY PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT FAIRFAX, VA 22030 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Community College Week PO Box 0567 Selmer, TN 38375-0567 Phone: (800) 475-4271 CCW Letters policy Community College Week wants to hear your views on our news stories, feature articles and guest opinion columns, as well as other matters affecting two-year institutions. In our Point of View section, education professionals find a forum to discuss and debate today’s issues facing community, technical and junior colleges. We welcome: * Letters to the editor, which should be brief. * Insightful commentaries, which can range up to a maximum of 1,000 words on topics of interest to community colleges. IMPORTANT: Unsigned letters can’t be considered for publication, so be sure to include your name, address, phone number and e-mail. Please add your title and college, if applicable. from page 3, col. 5 the community colleges since 2000 and has worked in the system since 1974. He said he originally intended to remain on the job as chancellor through the end of this calendar year. He acknowledged there remain concerns about the fate of the community colleges once the Board of Regents takes over. The current CSU and community college boards of trustees are set to remain in place until the end of the year during the transition. “There are lots of concerns when community colleges are combined with baccalaureate institutions,” Herzog said, adding how they have different missions. Herzog said he hopes the new board will embrace the concepts of academic and economic access to higher education as well as the efforts to develop the workforce, offering training that’s tailored to specific needs in the job market. Comments: ccweekblog.wordpress.com Community College Week reserves the right to edit submissions for clarity, style and space. E-mail contributions to [email protected]. Be sure to include “Point of View” as the subject line. www.ccweek.com July 11, 2011 5 Commission Will Take New Look At Community College Mission BY PAUL BRADLEY W ASHINGTON — Community colleges are preparing to take a fresh look at their broad and growing mission with the naming this week of the 21st-Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges. Appointed by the American Association of Community Colleges, the commission is made up of 36 members, including some of the nation’s leading community college experts.. The group will work to examine the challenges and opportunities confronting the nation’s largest and fastest-growing higher education sector. The commission is the brainchild of AACC president Walter G. Bumphus, who has lead AACC since January and has been traveling around the country on a community college “listening tour.” Earlier this year, Bumphus announced that the commission would be headed by three cochairs: San Diego Community College District Chancellor Emeritus Augustine Gallego; Cuyahoga Community College president Jerry Sue Thornton; and Kay McClenney, director of the Center for Community College Student Engagement and former chief operating officer for the Education Commission of the States. “We have very intentionally selected commissioners who bring diverse viewpoints and backgrounds,” Bumphus said in a news release. “That includes a few friendly critics who have consistently challenged community colleges to increase accountability and improve student outcomes.” Over the next 10 months, the commission will meet in person and virtually to examine the community college mission in light of current economic realities. President Obama has challenged community colleges to educate an additional 5 million students with degrees, certificates or other credentials by 2020, at a time when states are cutting spending on higher education. The first commission meeting will be held Aug. 12 in Washington, D.C. “We do not intend to be timid or superficial in confronting the hard choices and need for innovative thinking our leaders face in the coming decades,” Bumphus said. “We will focus the collective intellect of the commission on such issues as use of disruptive technologies to speed learning and the redesign of structures, calendars and processes to better match the needs of our increasingly diverse student population. We will also not shy from criticism.” Community colleges currently enroll nearly 12 million full- and part-time students, close to half of all U.S. undergraduates. The lingering recession and persistently high unemployment rates have pushed enrollments upward by double digits over the last three TIMING The first commission meeting will be held Aug. 12 in Washington, D.C. years. Families seeking lower college costs and workers seeking new skills continue to flock to community colleges. Leading policy makers have called the colleges critical to the country’s economic recovery. The new commission marks the third such effort to realign the community college mission to reflect national needs and changing times. The Truman Commission (1947) challenged higher education to provide universal access based on its belief that then-junior colleges could broaden and further democratize their mission by becoming community colleges. Four decades later, the AACC Futures Commission (1988) set forward a reform agenda designed to strengthen the comprehensive mission the Truman Commission originally proposed. Members of the commission include, in addition to Bumphus: J. Noah Brown, president & CEO, Association of Community College Trustees; Kenneth P. Burke, trustee, St. Petersburg Col- Latino Residents Sue Over Compton College Voting Areas C OMPTON, Calif. (AP) — Two residents of the Compton Community College District sued the district over its voting areas, charging the boundaries are preventing Latinos from fairly participating in governing board elections. Alex and Luis Landeros, brothers who are active in local Latino political affairs, filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on grounds that the district is violating the California Voting Rights Act of 2001, the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment, and the California Education Code. Attorney Joaquin Avila said the lawsuit seeks to change the way the college district’s four voting areas are drawn because the current apportionment dilutes the Latino vote. One voting area, which includes the city of Compton, elects two trustees on an at-large basis. Three other trustees are elected from single-member areas. The suit seeks to have five, single-member areas, each representing a similar population based on the 2010 census, said Avila, a law professor at Seattle University who specializes in voting rights law. Compton Community College lost state accreditation in 2005 and is now operated by El Camino Community College District, but retains its own Board of Trustees as it works to regain accreditation. The Compton district comprises seven cities with sizeable Hispanic populations located southwest of downtown Los Angeles. One of the district’s five trustees is Hispanic. The lawsuit is similar to one Avila filed in December against the city of Compton on behalf of three Hispanic residents. The suit seeks to overturn Compton’s system of at-large City Council elections in favor of a district election system that would more easily enable a Hispanic resident to win office. Although the city is nearly 70 percent Latino, no Hispanic resident has been elected to the City Council or other offices. A judge denied a request to delay the council elections to be held this month. A full trial is scheduled on the case next year, Avila said. Avila said he is preparing a lawsuit against the Compton Unified School District board on similar grounds. Comments: ccweekblog.wordpress.com lege (Fla.); Gerardo E. de los Santos, president & CEO, League for Innovation in the Community College; Myrtle E. B. Dorsey, chancellor, St. Louis Community College District; Peter T. Ewell, vice president, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (Boulder, Colo.); Bernadine Chuck Fong, senior managing partner, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; and Marie Foster Gnage, president, West Virginia University, Parkersburg. Also, Allen Goben, president, Heartland Community College (Ill.); Kati Haycock, director, the Education Trust; Alex Johnson, president, Community College of Allegheny County (Pa.); Christine Johnson, chancellor, Community Colleges of Spokane (Wash.); Dwight D. Jones, superintendent, Clark County School District (Nev.); Jane A. Karas, president, Flathead Valley Community College (Mont.); William “Brit” Kirwan, chancellor, University System of Maryland; and Jennifer Lara, professor, Anne Arundel Community College (Md.) Also, Paul E. Lingenfelter, president, State Higher Education Executive Officers (Boulder, Colo.); Michael B. McCall, president, Kentucky Community & Technical College System (Versailles, Ky.); Mark David Milliron, deputy director, Postsecondary Improvement U.S. Program, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle, Wash.); Eloy Oakley, superintendent-president, Long Beach City College (Calif.); Diana G. Oblinger, president and CEO, EDUCAUSE; Daniel J. Phelan, president, Jackson Community College (Mich.); and DeRionne P. Pollard, president, Montgomery College (Md.). Also, Richard M. Rhodes, president, Austin Community College (Texas) as of Sept. 1, 2011; Rod A. Risley, executive director, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society; John E. Roueche, professor and director, Community College Leadership Program, The University of Texas at Austin; James T. Ryan, chairman, president and CEO, W.W. Grainger, Inc. (Lake Forest, Ill.); Randy Smith, president, Rural Community College Alliance (Okla.); and Mary F. T. Spilde, president, Lane Community College (Ore.). Also, John “Ski” Sygielski, president, Harrisburg Area Community College (Pa.); Vincent Tinto, distinguished university professor, School of Education, Syracuse University (N.Y.); Philip Uri Treisman, professor of mathematics and public affairs and director, Charles A. Dana Center, The University of Texas at Austin; and Nancy L. Zimpher, Chancellor, The State University of New York. Comments: ccweekblog.wordpress.com IT’S HERE! Dive in, Land the big one! COMMUNITYCOLLEGEJOBS.CCWEEK.COM Employers | Employees | Resumes... and more SEARCH, FIND or POST JOBS! 6 July 11, 2011 www.ccweek.com Finding and Funding What Works Next Generation Initiative Aims To Expand Technological Innovations By Paul Bradley PHOTO COURTESY NEXT GENERATION LEARNING CHALLENGES B y now, the statistics and trends about American education have become a deflating drumbeat of bad news and unrealized expectations. Despite billions of dollars in spending at federal, state and local levels, educational achievement levels in America remain astonishingly low. Some 30 percent of high school students drop out before graduation. For African Americans, Hispanics and lowincome students, the numbers are even worse, closer to 50 percent, according to federal statistics. For higher education, the landscape is scarcely better. Though college enrollment has been on a steady upward climb for decades, only 42 percent of students who enroll in college earn a bachelor’s degree by age 26. Only 12 percent earn an associate degree by the same age, federal data shows. The numbers are more that merely data. In an era of globalization, they have grave implications for the future of the American economy. Lowerskilled jobs have vanished, never to return, due to technological advances and global competition. Americans with only a high school diploma, or less, face a “How can harsh new reality: we...use our their education no longer qualifies technology infrastructure them for the kind of job that can to scale up support a family and get more or ensure ecostudents nomic security. through?” The long-term trends seem set in — STELLA PEREZ concrete. By EXECUTIVE VP 2018, 63 percent LEAGUE FOR INNOVATION of all jobs will require some kind of post-secondary credential, according to the Center for Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University. The center projects that 22 million workers with postsecondary degrees will be needed by the American economy 2018, but current trends will leave the country 3 million workers short of that mark. Even as these trends have been accelerating, educational institutions have been slow to adjust. Hidebound instructional methods fail to engage a new generation of learners raised amid technological innovations. Neither do they account for students with serious challenges such as financial constraints and work and family obligations. Ira Fuchs, at left, is executive director of the Next Generations Learning Challenges initiative. He has been traveling to conferences around the country to talk to educators about it. To be sure, colleges around the country — especially community colleges — have been making great strides to deal with these sobering realities. They are streamlining developmental education sequences and improving assessments. They are embracing distance education and offering midnight classes. But too often, these initiatives exist in splendid isolation, educators say, benefitting only a tiny sliver of students. Now, an effort led by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is seeking to move these islands of innovation into the mainstream of American education by identifying and supporting practices which use technology to improve both college readiness and completion. Scaling Up Announced last year, the Next Generation Learning Challenges will funnel tens of millions of dollars to higher education and K-12 public schools to find technological innovations that work — and more importantly, that can be scaled up to the larger education community. “The purpose is to have a demonstrably solid impact on college readiness and completion, especially for low-income students,” said Ira Fuchs, executive director of the initiative. “The goal is to seek out solutions that have been shown to work and scale them up to much larger numbers of students and institutions.” Though the Gates Foundation is providing most of the funding for the effort — and grants could eventually total $80 million or more — it is being led by a consortium of groups with a wealth of experience in educational instruction, leadership and management: EDUCAUSE, the Council of Chief State School Officers, the International Association for K-12 Online Learning and the League for Innovation in the Community College. Gerardo de los Santos, the League’s president and CEO, said the initiative is part and parcel of the completion agenda that now dominates community college education, but is distinctive in that it also addresses college readiness. “As we look at the completion agenda, we know that we can’t do one without the other,” he said. “We have to maintain our focus on the front door, but also concentrate on completion.” “There is a great deal of pressure on colleges to make sure students earn credentials,” he added. “But we need to have students succeed on the front end, where so many students get lost.” The initiative is being guided by three overarching goals: financial support for innovators to refine and test their ideas; the compiling of a body of evidence on what works; and, perhaps most importantly, building a broad community of innovators who can create a robust marketplace of solutions, and a larger pool of participants. “We really wanted to do something that was driven by the community, instead of a single Gates initiative,” Fuchs said. The response to the Next Generation initiative has been promising, Fuchs said. Plans call for a “wave” of grants to be www.ccweek.com released every six to 12 months and designed to remove barriers to educational success. The first two waves already have been released, while a third is in the planning stages. More than 600 Apply More than 600 applications were received for the first “wave” of grants, from which 29 were approved in April, including eight community college initiatives. The first wave, aimed at post-secondary education, asked applicants to address four specific challenges: Increasing the use of blended learning models, combining face-to-face instruction with online learning activities. Deepening students’ learning and engagement through use of interactive applications, such as digital games and social media. Supporting the availability of highquality open courseware, particularly for high-enrollment introductory classes like math, science, and English. Helping institutions, instructors, and students benefit from learning analytics, which can monitor student progress and customize proven supports and interventions. Stella Perez, the League’s executive vice president and liaison to the Next Generation initiative, said the responses were both broad and deep, ranging from online analytics to early warning systems for developmental math students. “I think the results, and where we are now, in this recession, is a very hopeful sign,” she said. “I think people captured that unique blend of innovation and collaboration.” The second wave of grants, aimed at K-12 education, attracted more than 200 applications. Proponents of the program are “The goal is quick to point out to seek out that technology is solutions not the sole that have answer of Ameribeen shown ca’s educational to work and woes, but only part of the soluscale them tion. up.” “We are not saying that tech— IRA FUCHS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR nology by itself NEXT GENERATION will solve or save LEARNING CHALLENGES anything,” Perez said. “It may be that a hybrid approach using technology is the best way we can scale innovation. The question is, how can we leverage resources, and use our technology infrastructure, to scale up and get more of students through? It’s a resource and a tool.” Added Fuchs: “Technology is an amplifier. It’s not the answer, but it’s a matter of taking what we do well and expanding it.” Now that he first two waves of funding have been approved and disbursed, the initiative is planning the third wave July 11, 2011 Next Generation Learning Challenge Grant Winners T he first wave of funding under the Next Generation Learning Challenges was announced last year and focused primarily on postsecondary education. Grantseekers were asked to address four challenges: deployment of open core courseware; scaling of blended learning programs; encouragement of deeper learner engagement; and mobilizaCentral Piedmont Community College (N.C.) Online Student Profile Learning System: A Learner Analytics Model for Student Success Central Piedmont Community College will lead a consortium of community colleges from across the nation in the adoption of the Online Student Profile Learning System (OSPLS), a technology-enabled solution that has a proven track record of improving the academic success of young adult learners enrolled in developmental education courses. The OSPLS technology platform and four integrated OSPLS components include an orientation course, student assessment tools, online student profile and staff professional development. The partner colleges will implement the OSPLS on their campuses and will support the goal of scaling up across the nation beyond the NGLC project period. Cerritos Community College (Calif.) Open General Education Curriculum at Multi-Institutional Scale The project will create and scale a comprehensive, first-year, general-education curriculum that uses existing open educational resources and technologies. The project will not develop new OER, but will invest to identify and improve the best of the existing stock. The project will bring together senior leaders from institutions that are seeking to adopt OER with OER experts, in order to create effective, sustainable, collaborative models to support the academic success of underserved populations. Chattanooga State Community College (Tenn.) Do the Math! Increasing Student Engagement and Success in Math through Blended Learning “Do the Math! Increasing Student Engagement and Success” will aim to increase student success in developmental math by utilizing software, disrupting the traditional math class and introducing a new approach where students work in the math classroom and teachers spend their time assisting students individually. Chattanooga State Community College, Jefferson Community and Technical College (Ken.), University of Hawaii Maui and the Education Trust will join forces in this project which promises to increase both student engagement and success in the area of developmental math. and expects to issue an RFP in October. While details are still being worked out, Fuchs expects that the third wave will attempt to bridge the gap between K-12 and higher education. Future waves will be based on the success of their predecessors, he said. “It’s all about adoption,” he said. “It’s all about scaling, where solutions were built for one school but have the promise of working for others. We need to find what’s out there, and scale it up.” tion of learning analytics. More than 600 institutions and organizations responded to the RFP. The field was eventually narrowed down to 29 grant winners. They were announced in April. Following is a list of community colleges among the grant winners and their descriptions of their planned work: Community College of the District of Columbia, Portland State University (Ore.), South Texas College, and St. Paul College (Minn.) Open Source Blended Learning Solutions Partnership for Retaining and Graduating Gatekeeper Course and Developmental Learners by Eliminating Traditional Developmental Writing Courses The goal of this project is to scale alternative methods of avoiding placement of students in developmental non-credit courses by supporting them in blended learning environments at four colleges led by the Community College of the District of Columbia and Portland State’s Learner Web. The strategy for disruptively implementing this project will include the evaluation of different blended strategies. This analytic approach to implementation will let the principal investigators determine see which online blended interventions are the most effective in supporting students toward the goals of improved completion, persistence, content mastery, and mastery of deeper learning outcomes. Iowa Community College Online Consortium eAnalytics — ICCOC Best Practices in Using Learner Analytics to Enhance Student Success The seven community colleges of the Iowa Community College Online Consortium (ICCOC) use commonly available learner analytics to improve instruction and student learning outcomes. This grant will give the ICCOC the opportunity to share what it does and how it does it with others who wish to start implementing processes of their own. In addition, the ICCOC will look at how improving communication between student services and instructors can be used to improve student retention and success. Sinclair Community College (Ohio) Scale-up and Sustainability of the Student Success Plan Software The project will open-source the awardwinning Student Success Plan system developed at Sinclair Community College. The system consists of (1) preventive measures, early alerts, assertive intervention, holistic counseling techniques, student self assessment; and (2) web-based software for tracking students and data analytics. The software is designed to increase the success and per- It’s YOUR TURN sistence rates of students with an emphasis on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students with key risk factors. Each college determines risk factors to target, such as lowincome or academically-unprepared students. The software will be transitioned to a sustainable open source model, including a community management organization. The City Colleges of Chicago Math On-Demand + Early Warning System Student success in developmental math courses is one of the greatest challenges facing community colleges. CCC’s project addresses this issue by adapting and scaling Math-On-Demand (MOD), a successful program at Wright College, to the district’s six other colleges. Fully implemented, this project will have two main components – Math On-Demand (MOD) and Early Alert System (EAS) – and will be renamed MOD+. Through the creation of a blended learning environment using computerized, modularized developmental courses, MOD+ addresses the objectives of improving content mastery, course completion and persistence and ultimately increases college completion rates for low-income young adults in Chicago. The SUNY Learning Network The SUNY SLN “Catch-up and Complete” Enhanced Blended Learning Initiative We know that education can disrupt the cycle of poverty and the intergenerational transmission of poverty. We know that 40 to 70 percent of incoming college students need remedial education. We also know that more than half that try, fail and drop out, and that billions of dollars are spent on activity that never leads to a credential for the student. To address this “Bermuda Triangle” of developmental education — where most students go in and never come out — the State University of New York’s Catch-up and Complete Enhanced Blended Learning Initiative will help students catch up so that they can then complete their education. The SUNY Learning Network will work with SUNY campuses to “blend” and enhance selected degree and certificate programs for this project, specifically targeting young adult single parents from underserved populations with educational options that focus on student success. Source: Next Generation Learning Challenges CCW wants to hear from you! Share your opinion of this story with us via: ccweekblog.wordpress.com Q What kind of technologies can best be scaled up to reach large numbers of students and colleges? ALL THINGS COMMUNITY COLLEGE 7 8 July 11, 2011 www.ccweek.com Va. Educator, a CC Grad, Is New Fla. Schools Chief T AMPA, Fla. (AP) — Virginia’s education chief has been picked to run Florida’s public school system. The Florida Board of Education voted unanimously to name Gerard Robinson as the state’s education commissioner. He was chosen from among five finalists interviewed by the board. Robinson was appointed Virginia’s education secretary in January 2010 by Gov. Bob McDonnell. Before that, he had focused his interests on charter schools, vouchers and other school choice issues. Those are also priorities for new Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who ousted previous education commissioner Eric Smith because the two clashed over their goals. “Gerard brings to Florida a long and remarkable set of accomplishments in innovation and proven results that will help us continue putting children first, improving our schools and ensuring Florida has the besteducated workforce,” Scott said in a statement. “His leadership as an experienced education reformer and advocate for school choice and closing the achievement gap is exactly what Florida needs to reach the next level of education reforms that will benefit both our students and the businesses of our state.” Robinson, who graduated from a Los Angeles community college before earning degrees from Howard University and Harvard, has served as president of the Black Alliance for Educational Options and worked on Virginia’s initial charter school legislation in 1998 when he was on the staff of state Del. Mary Christian. “Florida needs his energy, passion and leadership,” board chairman Kathleen Shanahan said in an e-mail. She was absent Gerard Robinson from Tuesday’s meeting because of a family emergency. Board member John R. Pad- get said he was impressed that Robinson started at a community college and then went on to pur- PHOTO COURTESY COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA BY MITCH STACY, ASSOCIATED PRESS sue a university education. That will allow him to relate to students with a wide range of education potential and “connect the dots” throughout the state system, Padget said. Other finalists included former New Jersey Education Commissioner Bret Schundler; Stacia Smith, also a top candidate for education superintendent in Ohio; Florida Career and Adult Education Chancellor Loretta Costin; and Thomas Jandris, vice president and dean of graduate programs at Concordia College in Chicago. Robinson applied for the job after the board extended the original application deadline. The process was reopened after only 19 people applied by the original deadline. The department ended up with 26 applications. Comments: ccweekblog.wordpress.com Teachers Union Sues over Fla. Pension Plan Changes BY BILL KACZOR, ASSOCIATED PRESS T ALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s statewide teachers union is taking the lead in a lawsuit that seeks to block a requirement for teachers, state workers and many local government employees to contribute 3 percent of their pay to the state pension fund. The suit filed also challenges a phase-out of cost-of-living increases in retirement benefits. The Florida Education Association filed the class action on behalf of 11 government workers representing several unions in state circuit court here against what FEA President Andy Ford called “essentially an income tax” on public employees. Two other unions later filed motions to intervene. The Florida Police Benevolent Association has asked to add two members, an Orange County sheriff’s deputy and a state correctional officer. The Florida Public Services Union, part of the Service Employees International Union, wants to add four members. They include Palm Beach County School District maintenance worker Bobby Mcghee, who said he took his job with the understanding it included a district-paid paid retirement plan. “By showing up to work every day and doing everything I’m asked, I have held up my end of the agreement,” Mcghee said. “Now they are trying to change the rules in the middle of the game so they don’t have to uphold theirs.” The Florida Retirement System covers 655,000 active employees and provides benefits to 219,000 retirees. The suit alleges the contribution requirement and benefit reduction violate existing public employees’ contract rights that date back to a law passed in 1974 and which are guaranteed by the Florida Constitution. “We believe that a promise is a promise and the state of Florida should abide by promises it makes,” Ford said. The suit, though, doesn’t challenge the state’s ability to impose the changes on workers hired after the new pension law goes into effect on July 1. It also alleges the law violates a state constitutional provision that guarantees employees the right to bargain collectively. The Republican-controlled Legislature passed the law without negotiating with public employee unions. Gov. Rick Scott, who had sought an even larger 5 percent contribution, said he was confident the law will stand up in court. “Asking state employees to pay a small percentage into their FIRST OF MANY? The suit is expected to be the first of many challenging what critics say is a string of “reckless legislation.” pensions is common sense,” the Republican governor said in a statement. “Floridians who don’t work in government are required to pay into their own retirement. This is about fairness for those who don’t have government jobs. Plus, we are ensuring a pension will be there for state employees when they retire.” The suit, though, won applause from Florida House Democratic Leader Ron Saunders of Key West. He said House Democrats “fought this unconstitutional attempt to balance the state budget on the backs of our public servants.” The employee contributions won’t be used to strengthen the pension plan, which is rated as one of the nation’s best-funded. Instead, they will be offset by equal reductions in employer con- tributions. That’s expected to save the state and local governments $1.2 billion the first year. At least one public employer in Pensacola, though, is not taking the savings. Escambia County is giving its employees a 3.1 percent pay raise to offset the pension contributions The suit was filed on behalf of two teachers from Hillsborough and Columbia counties, a pair of school maintenance workers from Leon and Madison counties, two Santa Rosa County sheriff’s deputies, a Hillsborough Community College staffer, a Hillsborough County solid waste worker and three employees of the Jackson Health System in Miami-Dade County. The plaintiffs are members of FEA, local teachers unions, the Fraternal Order of Police, the AFL-CIO, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Service Employees International UnionHealth Care Florida Local 1991. The suit names Scott as a defendant along with Attorney General Pam Bondi and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, all members of the State Board of Administration, as well as Department of Management Services Secretary John Miles. The board oversees pension fund investments and Miles administers the plan. FEA lawyer Ron Meyer said he expects the case to wind up in the Florida Supreme Court regardless of how it’s decided at the trial court level. The plaintiffs have asked Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford to order that the state set aside the employee contributions in an interestbearing account until the issue is resolved. The employees then could be reimbursed with interest if they ultimately win. The suit is the first of what may be several by the teachers union challenging what Ford called ``reckless legislation that was dreamed up by legislative leaders and heartily endorsed by our governor.’’ Meyer said “it would be a fair statement to say we will be litigating” portions of a new law affecting teacher pay and work conditions. It sets up a merit pay system based heavily on how much each teacher’s students improve on standardized tests and eliminates tenure for new hires. Ford said the Republican-controlled Legislature made “the state of Florida a colder and harsher state” by passing such laws instead of trying to fix the state’s economy. Comments: ccweekblog.wordpress.com money tree www.ccweek.com July 11, 2011 9 Audit Report Cites La. Board of Regents’ Weaknesses BY KEVIN MCGILL, ASSOCIATED PRESS N EW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana’s top higher education board hasn’t updated a constitutionally required “master plan” for state colleges and universities in 10 years, the state Legislative Auditor’s Office says in a new report that outlines numerous political and legal factors that muddle the board’s mission and weaken its ability to do its job. In its response, the state Board of Regents takes issue with some of the findings in the audit report, noting, for instance, that parts of the master plan have been updated from time to time and that other states’ master plans are five- to 10year plans. The board agreed with the report’s finding, however, that laws clarifying the board’s role are a good idea. The report was made public near the end of a legislative session that saw the failure of efforts to consolidate the state’s five higher education boards into a single body. The report doesn’t call for consolidation but suggests changes for the Legislature to consider in future sessions. More clarity is needed in budgeting for universities, the report said. Legislators appropriate money for colleges and universities and the Board of Regents has a role in creating a formula to distribute the money. But state law gives each of the board’s governing the different education systems — LSU, Southern, University of Louisiana and the Community and Technical Colleges system — authority to spend and allocate the money appropriated, the report notes. Plans for distributing funds are part of what is supposed to be included in the Board of Regents’ master plan for higher education. That plan also is supposed to include a broad statement of longterm policy and goals and an outline of the role, scope and mission of each institution. But the Board of Regents hasn’t updated its master plan since 2001, according to the audit. While the constitution calls for the Regents to have a master plan, there is no specific deadline for updating or replacing it, according to the audit. Historically it has been done every 10 years, but there was an effort to update the latest plan in 2006. Still that effort did not result in an updated plan, for a variety of reasons cited in the report, including changes in Regents leadership in 2008. Lawmakers should consider legislation spelling out what con- The report was issued at the end of a legislative session marked by the failure of efforts to consolidate the state’s five higher education boards into a single body. to require a regular report on the achievement of the Master Plan goals and BoR’s analysis of the appropriateness of the goals in the Master Plan, including the institutions’ mission statements.” Comments: ccweekblog.wordpress.com You can make a bigger difference in community college education. And you can start today. ONLINE PROGRAMS FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE PROFESSIONALS Ph.D. in Education Adult Education Leadership Community College Leadership Higher Education Leadership, Policy, and Change Learning, Instruction, and Innovation As a community college faculty member or administrator, you know how important it is to make an impact on your students. Walden University’s Richard W. Riley College of Education and Leadership is committed to helping dedicated educators like you make a bigger difference. Our master’s and doctoral education programs offer a wide range of specializations so you can gain the skills you need to guide student success. “Walden is fostering innovation in the community college with some of the most substantive graduate programs I’ve ever seen.” —Dr. Terry O’Banion President Emeritus and Senior League Fellow, League for Innovation in the Community College Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) Higher Education and Adult Learning Higher Education Leadership M.S. in Adult Learning NEW TIMING stitutes a “timely” update of the master plan, the performance audit suggested. In its response, the Board of Regents disagreed, saying a master plan should not be routinely changed. “Instead of redefining ‘timely,’ the Legislature may wish M.S. in Higher Education M.S. in Instructional Design and Technology Graduate Certificate in College Teaching and Learning Graduate Certificate in Enrollment Management and Institutional Marketing Walden, an accredited university with more than 40 years of experience in distance learning, is proud to be the choice of more than 47,000 education students and alumni. To learn more, talk to a Walden enrollment advisor today. 1-800-716-6905 WaldenU.edu/education Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association, www.ncahlc.org; 1-312-263-0456. Walden offers both state-approved educator licensure programs as well as programs and courses that do not lead to licensure or endorsements. Prospective students must review their state licensure requirements prior to enrolling. For more information, please refer to www.WaldenU.edu/educlicensure. Prospective Alabama students: Contact the Teacher Education and Certification Division of the Alabama State Department of Education at 1-334-242-9935 or www.alsde.edu to verify that these programs qualify for teacher certification, endorsement, and/or salary benefits. Prospective Washington state students are advised to contact the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction at 1-360-725-6000 or [email protected] to determine whether Walden’s programs in the field of education are approved for teacher certification or endorsements in Washington state. Additionally, teachers are advised to contact their individual school district as to whether this program may qualify for salary advancement. To instantly learn more about Walden, scan the image using your smartphone’s barcode app. tracking trends 10 July 11, 2011 www.ccweek.com Pa. Bill Seeks In-State Tuition for Illegal Immigrants BY KATHY MATHESON, ASSOCIATED PRESS Illegal immigrant students Keren Murillo, left, and Cesar Marroquin, with State Rep. Tony Payton Jr. Payton has proposed legislation that would allow some illegal immigrant students to pay in-state tuition. would allow them to pay resident tuition at 14 state-owned universities, four staterelated universities and community colleges. In-state tuition for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is $5,804 annually, compared with $8,706 to $14,510 for out-of-state residents. A system spokeswoman declined comment. Cesar Marroquin, 20, is among those who would qualify. He has been living in Pennsylvania for a decade and graduated two years ago from Springfield Township High School near Philadelphia. Now attending Montgomery County Community College, Marroquin pays about $900 a class — the tuition rate for foreign students — instead of the $300 paid by his in-state peers. Because his immigration status makes him ineligible for financial aid, Marroquin can afford only a small courseload. Marroquin said at the news conference that his parents, who brought him to this country from Peru when he was 9, “work hard and pay taxes every single year.” But the high tuition makes him feel like pursuing an education is impossible, he said. “All I’m asking for is the opportunity to contribute to the country that has given me so much,” Marroquin said. “An affordable education is the first step toward fulfilling my dream of giving back to my country, the United States.” DREAM Act supporters say the bill’s direct cost is negligible, in part because of the small number of students who would qualify. They also note that many illegal immigrants could not afford college without the benefit, so their in-state tuition payments would represent new revenue. DREAM stands for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors. Comments: ccweekblog.wordpress.com NJ Student Aid Bid Rejected Due To Mom’s Status BY SAMANTHA HENRY, ASSOCIATED PRESS N EWARK, N.J. (AP) — An American-born high school student from New Jersey has been denied state tuition assistance because her mother is an illegal immigrant, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU and a Rutgers University legal clinic are representing the high school senior — identified only as A.Z. — in an appeal filed on her behalf in a case they claim violates both state and federal laws. The 17-year-old, who has lived in New Jersey for at least a decade and is a graduating senior, applied for a Tuition Aid Grant from the state’s Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, or HESAA. Her state aid application was rejected, according to the ACLU, with the explanation that “her parents are not legal New Jersey residents.” HESAA representative Marnie Grodman, the acting director of legal matters for the agency, said she could not comment on active litigation or specific student cases. She said the agency requires students — or if they are not yet legally adults, their parents — to prove they have been domiciled in New Jersey for a period of at least a year immediately before the academic period for which they are requesting aid. Alexander Shalom, policy counsel for the ACLU’s New Jer- sey chapter, said what appears to be at issue in this case — and similar rejections he’s seen in recent months — is HESAA’s definition of “domiciled.” “HESAA is apparently taking the position that to be domiciled in New Jersey, you must be a legal (U.S.) resident, which is contrary to established New Jersey Supreme Court precedent,” he said. Ronald K. Chen of the Rutgers Constitutional Litigation Clinic said immigration and legal advocacy groups have seen an uptick in New Jersey of students who are U.S. citizens born to illegal immigrants getting rejected for tuition aid. “As far as we can tell, it’s not an isolated incident or a bureau- cratic mistake; it’s clearly a policy decision HESAA has decided to take,” Chen said. “We respectfully think it’s not lawful to discriminate against a U.S. citizen because of their parent’s status.” Grodman said HESAA had not changed its policies or reinterpreted its regulations. Chen said the student at the center of the case was a hardworking senior at the top her class. Both Chen and the ACLU declined to give her hometown or her mother’s nationality, saying they wished to protect the family’s identity. The ACLU’s appeal, filed with the Appellate Division of New Jersey Superior Court, argues that the immigration status of an applicant’s parents is not listed as a determining factor in the legislation that created the aid program. They claim the denial violates equal protection laws. Access to education for the American-born children of immigrants — or for illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children — has been the subject of fierce debate in New Jersey and at the federal and local level nationwide. Much of the debate has focused on whether illegal immigrant students should be allowed to enroll in higher education or pay in-state tuition rates. Opponents say allowing illegal immigrants to enroll in colSee Status page 11, col. 1 AP PHOTO/MATT ROURKE P HILADELPHIA (AP) — Illegal immigrants would qualify for the less expensive in-state tuition rates at Pennsylvania colleges and universities if they meet residency requirements included in proposed legislation. The DREAM Act would offer an affordable education to college-bound teens who are here illegally through no fault of their own, its primary sponsor, state Rep. Tony Payton Jr., said at a news conference in Philadelphia. “They grew up Americans, they show civic pride, they have American values,” said Payton, a Democratic lawmaker from the city. “We should not be punishing kids for a choice that their parents made.” About a dozen states already offer tuition benefits to undocumented college students, many of whom were brought to America as children. Supporters say such legislation leads to a more educated workforce and costs the states almost nothing. But state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, founder of a national group of lawmakers critical of illegal immigration, blasted the proposed Pennsylvania bill and predicted it would fail to pass the Legislature. “All Pennsylvania parents and college students should be outraged that Rep. Payton has introduced legislation to make it more affordable for illegal aliens to attend college,” Metcalfe, R-Butler, said in a statement. The federal DREAM Act, which contains similar provisions, has repeatedly failed in Congress. Critics say it would encourage foreigners to sneak into the U.S. and amounts to amnesty. About 850 illegal immigrants graduate from high school in Pennsylvania each year, according to the Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition. If they are admitted to college and meet certain residency criteria — and if their parents have paid state income taxes for the past three years — the state DREAM Act www.ccweek.com July 11, 2011 11 Colleges Coveted as Training Sites for New Casinos in Ohio C OLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A company building casinos in Columbus and Toledo wants local colleges to train blackjack dealers and slotmachine technicians for the gaming operations. An increasing number of colleges nationwide are adopting casino-related training programs as more states legalize table-gaming. In Ohio, Penn National Gaming Inc. has been talking with officials at Columbus State Community College, Franklin University and Central Ohio Technical College in Newark about creating programs to train workers the $400 million Hollywood Casino Columbus, The Columbus Dispatch reported. Up to 2,000 people will be hired for the Columbus casino, and many of them will require specialized training, Penn National Status, from page 10, col. 5 lege takes seats away from legal residents, usurps scarce taxpayerfunded resources and encourages illegal immigration. Supporters of granting instate tuition rates to illegal immigrants say those who are brought to the United States as children and grow up in the local school system are faced with few options after graduating high school — regardless of how hard they work. Several of New Jersey’s community colleges, and some private colleges, currently allow illegal immigrants to enroll or don’t ask for immigration status on school applications. The County College of Morris, after pressure from the freeholder board and members of the public, recently reversed part of a new policy that allowed illegal immigrants who met certain criteria to enroll at in-county rates. State legislation that would have allowed illegal immigrant students who grow up in New Jersey to pay in-state tuition failed to garner enough support for a vote. In the current case, both Chen and Shalom emphasized that their client is a legal resident, born in the United States, who meets the criteria for state tuition aid. Comments: ccweekblog.wordpress.com spokeswoman Karen Bailey said. “The nearest gaming operation to the area is in Cincinnati, so we don’t really have an existing work force that we can draw on,” Bailey told the newspaper. Penn National also will open the $250 million Hollywood Casino Toledo next year and is in discussions about training those workers through a college in the Toledo area, Bailey told The Associated Press. About 1,200 workers will be needed for that operation. The Wyomissing, Pa.-company has promised to hire at least 90 percent of its workers from central Ohio for the Columbus casino and the same percentage from northwest Ohio for the Toledo one, but the specific numbers of workers needed won’t be known until later, she said. Penn National expects to begin holding recruitment and job fairs six months before the casinos open. Workers will be needed in general areas such as accounting, food service, maintenance and security, but table-game dealers and slot-machine technicians need the most specialized training, Bailey said. “They’ll represent a large proportion of our workforce, and they’re labor-intensive jobs that require very specific skills,” Bailey said. The average salary across the pool of workers is about $40,000, she said, adding that dealers can make much more than that because most of what those hourly-wage employees make comes through tips. Representatives of the Columbus area colleges say it is too early to know whether they can help, but they are excited about the possibility, the newspaper reported. “We stand ready to help customize a specific program for the company or help it tap into one or all of our credit and noncredit work force development courses,” said Ann Signet, Columbus State’s supervisor of continuing and professional education. Signet wasn’t sure about dealer training, but thought the school likely could help with slotmachine maintenance, customerservice and hospitality needs. Garry McDaniel, an associate dean and professor in Franklin’s MBA program, thinks that college could provide business-management and leadership training to Penn National. The Knox County Career Center in Mount Vernon offered classes in blackjack and baccarat dealing last fall but canceled them because not enough students signed up. The center hopes to try again next year, adding a ninemonth casino program that includes classes in customer serv- ice, hospitality and surveillance, said Jane Marlow, the adult-education director. “We’ve had some manufacturing jobs go away, and this is a great new industry for Ohio and our students,” Marlow said. A college in neighboring West Virginia also helps train workers for casino work. Blue Ridge Community and Technical College in Martinsburg, W.Va. has trained Penn National workers in leadership and computer skills, as well as English as a second language, for the Hollywood Casino in Charles Town, W.Va., for about six years, said Pat Hubbard, director of customized training and workforce development. “We trained over 400 people to start up the operation, and now we’re down to training about 40 people every six weeks,” Hubbard said. tracking trends 12 July 11, 2011 www.ccweek.com First Class in Funeral Service Graduates from Wash. College BY SUSAN GILMORE, THE SEATTLE TIMES AP PHOTO/THE SEATTLE TIMES, STEVE RINGMAN K IRKLAND, Wash. (AP) — One student was painting a mustache, completing the process of turning a waxcovered skull into the image of Walt Disney. Another was crafting the elongated ears of poet Allen Ginsberg. Randi Cloud had chosen to create the visage of Conan O’Brien, with a picture of the television talk-show host propped in front of her. The students were in one of the required classes of a new Funeral Service Education program at Lake Washington Technical College in Kirkland, the first such program in Washington state. The first class of seven students graduated in June, and a second class of nine will graduate in August. “This is something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while,” said Cloud, who has experienced deaths in her family. “I felt like this was something I could do a good job at because I’ve been through it. People don’t like going to funerals, but if I can be sensitive to those things I can be a good funeral director.” The need is so great for funeral directors and embalmers that the state added the program two years ago. Until Lake Washington began its program, local mortuary-science students had to travel to Oregon, California or even farther away to receive training required to be licensed in Washington. The program is complex. Students learn business aspects of running a funeral home, the psychology of dealing with grieving family members and the science of embalming. They also learn restorative art. They may be faced with restoring the body of a gunshot victim, or someone who died in a car accident — hence the skull class. Christina Graylee, 32, will graduate in August. She said she has wanted to become a funeral director since she was a teenager. She was reared by her grandparents, and she saw all the care that the funeral director gave when her grandmother died. “I want to help people who are grieving and be there for strangers who go through their worst days,” said Graylee, a single mother and former college dropout who was working for a tool company before she went back to school. “I had an interest in science and art, and I really respect the dead. The dead don’t have a say.” She said she was a little nervous about embalming. Once she did it, though, she realized the human body is a beautiful thing. “I Randi Cloud shows a wax figure she made to resemble television talk-show host Conan O’Brien. Students in the funeral service education program at Lake Washington Technical College in Kirkland have to learn how to restore a human face if it’s been disfigured. know the person is not there anymore, so I want to make them look as good as possible.” When Robin Grant graduated from Washington State University with a biology degree, she couldn’t find a job. So she decided to become a funeral director and embalmer. Grant, 24, was in the first graduating class. “I really liked it,” Grant said. “I love the science and the anatomy, putting things back together and seeing how it works.” Erin Wilcox, director of the program, said she began in the field by working at a funeral home in college, mowing lawns, washing the hearse and taking out the garbage. She graduated from college with degrees in English and religion, but her boss then asked if she’d consider being a funeral director. “I figured maybe deep down I did,” she said. “But I didn’t want to admit it.” She graduated from mortuary school in California and worked as a funeral director and embalmer “You sacrifice a lot for it, and it takes up a lot of your life. It’s very fulfilling, but it’s not for everyone.” — ERIN WILCOX DIRECTOR FUNERAL SERVICE EDUCATION PROGRAM LAKE WASHINGTON TECHNICAL COLLEGE for five years before joining Lake Washington. “It takes a special kind of person,” Wilcox said. “It’s very emotionally stressful, and you’re on call 24/7. You sacrifice a lot for it, and it takes up your life. It’s very fulfilling, but it’s not for everyone.” Although Lake Washington trains its students in both aspects, a funeral director and an embalmer have separate roles in treating deaths. The funeral director arranges for disposal of the body, prepares the deceased for viewing and arranges an embalming. The embalmer might not have contact with the family. He or she has been trained in the art and science of embalming, including anatomy and chemistry. Embalming involves washing a body and injecting a preservative to ready it for viewing and placement in a casket. Once that is completed, the embalmer rewashes the body, including shampooing the hair and cleaning the fingernails. The embalmer also applies cosmetics. Adam Horton, 33, has a teaching degree from the University of Washington and almost had his master’s degree in education, but he decided to change careers. He had worked in administration at a funeral home and decided he would like to be a funeral director. “It’s meaningful and worthwhile,” he said, while crafting his plastic skull into Ginsberg, one of his favorite poets. According to the Department of Licensing, the state has 285 licensed embalmers and 396 licensed funeral directors, and many hold both licenses. King County has 68 embalmers and 95 funeral directors. The Lake Washington program expects to receive accreditation from the American Board of Funeral Service Education this summer. Cameron Smock, president of the Washington State Funeral Directors Association and president and CEO of Bonney-Watson, said he is so pleased by the new program that he’s already hired a graduate. “For many people who are doing this as a second or third career, they have families and mortgages and can’t relocate out of state,” he said. “Having an instate program really aids their ability. And we don’t have an appropriate pool of qualified applicants.” Comments: ccweekblog.wordpress.com www.ccweek.com July 11, 2011 13 New Visa Rules Leave Foreign Students Vulnerable to Abuse BY HOLBROOK MOHR AND MITCH WEISS, ASSOCIATED PRESS AP FILE PHOTO J ACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The State Department is publicly acknowledging that one of its most popular exchange programs leaves foreign college students vulnerable to exploitation, but it’s unclear if new regulations the agency is pushing will do enough to stop the abuses. The revised rules aim to shift more responsibility onto the 53 entities the department designates official sponsors in the J-1 Summer Work Travel Program. Historically, many sponsors have farmed out those duties to third-party contractors, making the sponsors “mere purveyors of J-1 visas,” according to the State Department’s proposed new rules published this spring in the Federal Register. Federal auditors have criticized the department for years for depending on sponsors, some of whom make millions of dollars off J-1 students, to oversee the program and investigate complaints. Yet the new regulations would require little or no direct oversight by State Department employees, leaving sponsors free to continue policing themselves and their partners. The changes are to take effect July 15, too late for thousands of students already in the country for another season of cleaning hotel rooms, waiting tables and working checkout counters. Students visiting under J-1 visas make ideal victims since they are here temporarily and may not know how to seek help. An Associated Press investigation published six months ago found that many participants paid thousands of dollars to come to the U.S., only to learn the jobs they were promised didn’t exist. Some had to share beds in crowded houses or apartments, charged so much for lodging and transportation that they took home no pay. Others turned to the sex industry, while some sought help from homeless shelters. In posting the proposed new rules, State Department officials detailed problems that largely mirrored the AP’s findings, then blamed lack of oversight by the sponsors, and expressed confidence the changes will help clean up the program, partly by requiring sponsors to verify that students have jobs and that the employers are legitimate. A review of the new regulations shows they have few teeth, however. While the changes spell out how sponsors are to vet thirdparty brokers and how often they Ievgen Kondzateko, an 18-year-old student from the Ukraine, stands by his only form or transportation, bicycles he found in the garbage. Kondzateko came to the U.S. and was promised a job in Florida as a lifeguard, but it never materialized. are to touch base with visiting students, the rules are vague on how vigorously the State Department will check to verify those duties are done. The proposed rules call for sponsors to compile reports, including background checks, on overseas brokers who put students in touch with them, and to submit those reports to U.S. consulates. The department also will conduct a spot check of the biggest sponsors. But the agency has just a handful of employees who keep track of this and other foreign exchange programs, which handle more than 300,000 participants, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank that plans to publish a report on the program. While the State Department acknowledged that housing and living conditions have been a problem, there’s nothing in the new regulations that addresses oversight of those issues. The revised policies also contain no mention of penalties if sponsors are found lacking. State Department spokesman John Fleming said rules already on the books allow sanctions ranging from written reprimands to revocation of sponsors’ designations. But the department also acknowledged that no Summer Work Travel sponsor has ever been removed from the program for its L A X R E G U L AT I O N S The new rules require little or no direct oversight from the State Department. Sponsors are free to police themselves. treatment of students, despite years of complaints of exploitation and deplorable living and working conditions, according to documents obtained by the AP. And only a few sponsors have ever been reprimanded, according to the State Department. “You can have all the rules and the regulations in the world, but if you don’t have enforcement, the rules are worthless. They’re not worth the paper they’re written on,” said George Collins, an Okaloosa County, Fla., sheriff’s inspector who has been complaining to the State Department for 10 years about the problems. The Summer Work Travel Program allows foreign college students to live and work in the United States for four months. It brought more than 130,000 men and women to the United States last year alone. Participation has increased dramatically over the last decade, but so have the problems. In one of the worst cases unearthed by the AP, at least two J-1 students from Ukraine were beaten and forced to work in strip clubs in Detroit. One said she was raped by her captors. “This is a dangerous program because the State Department has outsourced its oversight role to the program sponsors and employers who hire the participants,” said Daniel Costa, an immigration policy analyst who is working on the Economic Policy Institute’s report. State Department officials insist the “safety and well-being of all J-1 exchange participants is our top priority,” and note that the vast majority of visitors under the sprawling program enjoy their stays and return home with little trouble. The new regulations also promise closer scrutiny of participants from several nations, including Belarus, Bulgaria and Russia, that are “known sources of the types of criminal activity that the State Department wishes to avoid,” according to the Federal Register. Students have been used to launder money stolen from U.S. banks, and women forced into the sex industry through the J-1 program often come from Eastern Europe. The State Department, again shifting blame, said in the Federal Register that it wanted to publish the proposed rules changes sooner but waited after sponsors complained they had already signed contracts to provide workers this season to resorts and other employers. “Inadequacies in U.S. sponsors’ vetting and monitoring procedures contribute to potentially dangerous or unwelcomed situations for these participants,” the State Department said in the Federal Register. ``This past summer the Department received a significantly increased number of complaints from foreign governments, program participants, their families, concerned American citizens.” Yet the AP found that while law enforcement and others had complained to the State Department for years about abuse in the J-1 program, the agency didn’t start tracking complaints until last year — after the AP asked for the documents in a Freedom of Information Act request. Once the agency began keeping a log of complaints, the list quickly grew into the dozens, according to documents the AP obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. The AP investigation found abuse of hundreds of students in more than a dozen states. More recently, the AP obtained emails between several Thai students and their sponsoring organization, the International YMCA, based in New York. The emails said 12 foreign students were each paying $400 a month — a total of $4,800 — to live in the Florida Panhandle in a mobile home infested with cockroaches and rodents. The Thai students complained to U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., saying they were afraid of a thirdparty labor broker, Ivan Lukin, who arranged for their housing and jobs. They said Lukin threatened them with deportation when they complained, and that the State Department and the International YMCA did little to help them. When the AP asked about Lukin, the State Department said in an email the agency cuts ties with people or businesses that violate established procedures. Yet Florida police warned the State Department as far back as 2007 that Lukin was subjecting students to crowded living conditions in violation of housing codes, according to emails obtained by the AP. There also were concerns the students weren’t being paid. Lukin declined to comment about the allegations. Comments: ccweekblog.wordpress.com technology today 14 July 11, 2011 www.ccweek.com Cyberspace Is The Next (and Current) Theater of War BY REID GOLDSBOROUGH I f you thought that cyber warfare was the stuff of science fiction, think again. A number of recent events point to its current reality, and how it will become an increasing presence in the future. In the name of the new civil defense as well as self-protection, there are steps you can take now to avoid becoming a civilian casualty. As commander-in-chief of the U.S. armed forces, President Obama in May signed an executive order laying out guidelines specifying how far military commanders should go in using cyber attacks and cyber espionage against adversaries. The guidelines deal with matters ranging from planting computer viruses to bringing down another country’s electrical grid. Needless to say, the new Pentagon policy statement also stresses the need for cyber defense, with regard to government networks as well as those of critical private sector industries, including defense contractors, nuclear and other power plants, and the financial sector. In one of its infamous leaks, Briefs, WikiLeaks last November revealed that government officials in China oversaw a cyber attack on the U.S. information technology company Google. According to U.S. State Department cables, China’s Politburo tried to sabotage Google’s computer systems. Allegedly, China was angry because Chinese human rights activists had been using Google’s services to communicate with one another. Chinese officials have repeatedly denied involvement in the attack on Google or other U.S. companies. American officials, in turn, said that the WikiLeaks leaks were harmful to U.S. relations with other countries. China is among other countries devoting considerable resources in gearing up for cyber warfare, according to an article last year in the British publication The Economist. The others include Russia, North Korea, Iran, and Israel. In an article he wrote last year for the U.S. publication Foreign Affairs, William J. Lynn III, U.S. deputy defense secretary, said “the Pentagon has formally recognized cyberspace as a new domain in from page 3, col. 5 ference in Honolulu. The committee said Kapiolani Community College is to be responsible for training those who will be interacting with delegates and attendees of the APEC 2011 Leaders’ Week. More than 20,000 are expected to attend, including leaders of the 21 APEC economies, ministers, business leaders and media. About 1,200 volunteers are needed for roles such as greeting guests at the airport and escorting them on shuttles. Volunteers are to be trained in areas including customer service and Hawaiian culture. Maricopa CCs OK Tax Increase PHOENIX (AP) — The Maricopa County Community College District governing board has approved a 3 percent increase in the county property tax. The district says it was forced to raise the property tax to offset a big decrease in state aid. The property tax on a house assessed at $100,000 will increase about $2.95 per year. The new tax will generate about $11.3 million in revenue for the 10-college system. The Arizona Republic reports the vote was 4-1, with one board member voting no. Board members Dana Saar and Doyle Burke say the increase was needed because the system had absorbed rising enrollments while revenue shrank. State aid to the 10-college system has fallen about 85 percent, or $38 million. Lawsuit Aims To Save CC Garden SAN MATEO, Calif. (AP) — A lawsuit has been filed in an effort to save part of a Northern California college garden from being turned into a parking lot. Friends of the College of San Mateo Gardens say in a lawsuit filed that San Mateo County Community College District trustees failed to perform a staterequired environmental review before approving the paving project last month. The suit says the parking lot will destroy a campus green space that supports wildlife and is popular with students. About 13,500 square feet out of 50,000 square feet of garden will be uprooted for the lot. warfare ... just as critical to military operations as land, sea, air, and space.” Meanwhile, much of the combat in cyberspace over the past year remains of the terrorist sort, carried out by rogue groups that appear unconnected to governmental entities. The group that has attracted the most attention, which goes by the name LulzSec, appears to be a small band of computer hackers. It has claimed responsibility for high-profile attacks against the likes of the U.S. Senate, the CIA, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company and the Public Broadcasting System. Another major type of maliciousness waged over the Internet is carried out by international crime rings. In June, the CIA broke up several that had frightened more than a million people into forking over a total of several hundred million dollars. With one scam, fake pop-up ads directed users to a fake Web site promising a free virus scan. Only the virus scan planted viruses instead of getting rid of them. The virus subjected users to repeated pop-up ads saying that their computer was infected with a virus and the only way to kill it was to buy an antivirus program costing $129. The day may soon be arriving when many large companies feel compelled to pay protection money to “cyber mafia” groups to ensure that their databases are kept safe, worries David Seltzer, a selfdescribed “cyber crimes and criminal defense attorney” (www.cybercrimesdefense.com). Naturally, consultants have come out of the woodwork offering their security services to companies and individuals alike. In some cases, it can make sense for companies to take advantage of such services if their in-house expertise isn’t adequate. Internet service providers are also beefing up their protection to subscribers. The largest ISP in the U.S., Comcast, just rolled out its Constant Guard service. This free service supplements the existing free security offerings from Symantec that Comcast subscribers receive. Constant Guard protects against your PC or network being District spokeswoman Barbara Christiansen tells the San Francisco Chronicle that an attorney and a consultant say a full environmental review isn’t needed because the district is only modifying an existing project. State, Evansville, Southern Indiana and Franklin and St. Maryof-the-Woods colleges. Grants To Aid Ind. Veterans WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind (AP) — Twenty-five Indiana colleges and universities are receiving a total of more than $1 million in grants to provide services for the state’s student service members, veterans and their families. Purdue University’s Military Family Research Institute awarded the grants last week to Purdue and Indiana universities and several of their branches. The grants also went to Ivy Tech Community College, several of its branches and other schools. The grants were made through Operation Diploma, the Purdue institute’s higher education initiative. Since 2009, it’s awarded more than $2.4 million to Indiana colleges and universities for support services for the students and their families. Other universities getting grants were Ball State, Indiana PRCC Will Not Increase Tuition POPLARVILLE, Miss. (AP) — The Board of Trustees has approved a $32.4 million budget that does not raise tuition for students at Pearl River Community College. Full-time, in-state students at PRCC will continue to pay $1,000 per semester in tuition. PRCC raised tuition in 2008 and 2010. The Hattiesburg American reports fall semester enrollment in 2010 set a record of 5,469, a 5.5 percent increase over fall 2009. Spring enrollment, historically less than fall, topped out at 4,908 in 2011, a 2.5 percent increase over the previous spring. Although tuition will not increase, students who live in campus residence halls will face a $100 per semester increase in room and board. Roger Knight, dean of business services, said the increase is due to rising food and supply costs. taken over by a bot, or Web robot, which engages in malicious activity against other computers over the Internet, including shutting down websites through “denial of service” attacks and email phishing attacks. But individual users still need to be vigilant, which can also help in the larger arena of cyber warfare. The tried-and-true advice still applies: Use reputable anti-virus and anti-spyware software; keep your operating system, web browser, and other software up to date with automatic patches; and be cautious about clicking on links in emails and instant messages. It’s always safer to go to websites directly through your browser by typing in their addresses or by pulling down a favorite or bookmark. Reid Goldsborough is a syndicated columnist and author of the book Straight Talk About the Information Superhighway. He can be reached at [email protected] or www.reidgoldsborough.com. Mo. Students To Rebuild Lodge JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — College students will help rebuild a historic lodge that burned down at Lake of the Ozarks State Park. Gov. Jay Nixon said that an agreement is being finalized in which students from State Fair Community College in Sedalia will rebuild the lodge as part of a yearlong training and education project. A fire destroyed the dining lodge at Camp Pin Oak last September. It had been built by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1934 and 1938. . College Balloon Festival Ending KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ The Pellissippi State Community College Hot Air Balloon Festival has become a victim of its own success. College President Allen Edwards told faculty and staff members in an email that the event will be stopped. Increasing upfront costs, risks associated with weather and massive traffic jams on the Pellissippi Parkway did it in, according to The Knoxville News Sentinel. around campus www.ccweek.com July 11, 2011 15 Gina Grasty and her father David Grasty graduated together from Salem Community College. G From left to right are Dale Ride interns Christina Humphrey, Cameron Ajdar, Jennifer Christine Alcaraz and Bryan Cortes. F our outstanding students from California’s Santa Monica College have been selected for the prestigious Dale Ride Internship Program and are serving this summer in Congress and with various organizations in Washington D.C. The interns, who come from a wide variety of backgrounds and interests, are gaining valuable experience through the eight-week summer internship program, believed to be unique for a community college. Each intern receives funding to cover housing, transportation and $2,250 in spending money. The program, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, has sent 97 students (excluding this year’s group) to the White House, Congress and other agencies. The internship program was established in 1991 in the memory of a man who had a long and distinguished career as an educator, administrator and public servant. Ride taught political science and served in administrative posts at SMC for 33 years until his death in September 1989. A still life by Richard Kilbride, part of the Raritan Valley Community College Creativity Expo. T he 8th Annual Creativity Expo 2011, featuring the creative works of people with traumatic or acquired brain injury, will be held this month at Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey. The exhibition will feature the creative works of more than 40 brain injury survivors. It will be held in the art gallery at the College’s Branchburg Campus. The Creativity Expo has provided a much-needed creative outlet for the brain injury survivors since 2004. Participation in the Expo has been life-changing for many of the presenters, aiding recovery and helping them to foster a positive identity after the trauma of brain injury. The Expo provides a rich professional arts experience for each presenter and for the viewing public. Although the event is non-profit and primarily for educational and entertainment purposes, participants are encouraged to sell their work. ina Grasty now has another name for her father: fellow graduate. David and Gina Grasty graduated from Salem Community College (N.J.) last month. David earned an associate of science degree in business administration while Gina received an associate of arts degree in liberal arts. Father and daughter even took Spanish course together. Gina, who played on the women’s soccer and softball teams, was named SCC’s New Jersey Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Woman of the Year. She completed her degree in two years. David took a bit longer. He began taking evening classes in 1995; however, due to a battle with colon cancer and a liver transplant, as well as a job that requires constant travel, David took 16 years to finish his degree. While Gina and David enjoyed the past two years together at SCC, they’ll soon be studying on different university campuses. David plans to transfer to Wilmington University where he’ll continue studying business. Gina is off to Rowan University to major in psychology. grants&gifts The Texas Workforce Commission has approved a $1.2 million grant to the Lamar Institute of Technology, the largest in LIT’s history. LIT is the fiscal agent for the Texas Workforce Commission Skills Development Fund Healthcare Consortium Grant. The consortium is composed of LIT, San Jacinto College, Lone Star College, Houston Community College and four components of the CHRISTUS Healthcare System: CHRISTUS Hospital (St. Elizabeth and St. Mary), CHRISTUS Gulf Coast (St. Catherine and St. John) and the CHRISTUS Corporate Support Center. The purpose of the grant is to provide critical healthcare training to more than 1,500 CHRISTUS employees over a 15-month period. The training that all four colleges will provide will assist the CHRISTUS Healthcare System by offering industry-specific courses geared toward professional development in nursing, allied health and healthcare administration. be used to provide training that will help increase production, improve efficiency and upgrade industry-specific skills for 93 new and incumbent workers. Those trained will include packaging and filling machine operators and tenders, store clerks and filers, and technical and scientific products sales representatives. Upon completion of the training, the workers will earn an average hourly wage of $18.47. Lone Star College representatives accept an incentive check from CenterPoint Energy for energy-efficient projects. Pictured left to right are: Al Lewandowski, director of energy and sustainability, LSCS; Jimmy Martin, associate vice chancellor facilities and construction; David Kaczynski, LSCS project director; Chad Crocker, executive director, facilities operations, LSCS; and Megan Frisa, representing CenterPoint Energy. Texarkana College has partnered with HUMCO Holding Group Inc. to provide job training, using a $179,454 Skills Development Fund grant from the Texas Workforce Commission. The grant will Lone Star College System (Texas) has been awarded an incentive of more than $200,000 from the School Conserving Resources Program (SCORE). The incentive funds come from CenterPoint Energy and Entergy Texas Inc. to boost energy efficiency of lighting and air conditioning systems in several buildings. SCORE is a program offering technical and financial support to help educational facilities identify and implement energy efficiency projects. LSCS was awarded an incentive check of $126,870 from CenterPoint Energy for increasing the energy efficiency of the lighting and air conditioning systems in several buildings at LSC-Tomball, LSCCy-Fair, and LSC-North Harris, and at its LSC-Greenspoint Center and LSC-Fairbanks Center. LSCS also received $73,950 from Entergy Texas for increasing energy efficiency at LSC-Kingwood and LSC-Montgomery as well as in its system office. The incentives were determined by the total amount of energy LSCS will save through the planned efficiencies. The CenterPoint Energy projects will save nearly 1.9 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, equivalent to preventing the yearly carbon dioxide emissions of nearly 260 passenger vehicles, according to EPA calculations. The Entergy Texas projects represent savings of more than 964,000 kilowatthours of electricity per year, equivalent to preventing the carbon dioxide emissions of more than 130 passenger vehicles. faculty lounge 16 July 11, 2011 www.ccweek.com A nn Marie Donohue, assistant professor of psychology, was recognized as winner of the 2011 Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award during Pennsylvania’s Montgomery County Community College commencement ceremony. Each year, a faculty member is selected by his or her peers, students and alumni to receive the award, given by the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation. Donohue integrates classroom lecture with in-the-field research. In 2006, she established a partnership with the Noyes Foundation for Schizophrenia Research, enabling 10 students per year to participate in research with a University of Pennsylvania research team. Several of those students went on to co-author articles in such publications as the Journal of Clinical Psychology. Donohue also served a faculty representative to the Psychology Advisory Board of the Pennsylvania Department of Education Statewide Articulation Project. The project strives to create a seamless educational pathway from community colleges to the four-year state system institutions. T Victoria Bastecki Perez, left, interim vice president and provost, presents Ann Marie Donohue with the 2011 Lindback Award for Teaching Excellence. C ynthia Gilliam, chief financial officer for Lone Star College System (Texas), has been recognized by the Houston Business Journal as the region’s 2011 best CFO in the large nonprofit category. The Best CFO of the Year Award luncheon recognized winners and finalists, all of whom were nominated by peers and associates for their outstanding performance in their roles as corporate financial stewards. Gilliam studied accounting at the University of Texas Austin where she earned her accounting degree. In her first job after college, she worked with a public accounting firm. She soon found herself auditing Splendora Independent School Cynthia Gilliam was honored by the Houston Business Journal. District student activity funds. That launched a career in government auditing. She worked with the Harris County Department of Education, where she was first exposed to Lone Star College System, then known as the North Harris Montgomery Community College District, eventually becoming CFO. ony Fontes of Bunker Hill Community College has been invited to present the college’s first student-run, sustainable business at the annual conference of the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship. Fontes is an assistant professor of business administration and advisor to the Entrepreneurship Club. NACCE is dedicated to helping community colleges gain new ideas, strategies and tactics that can be useful in developing their entrepreneurship programs. The annual conference brings together community college professionals and successful entrepreneurs to discuss entrepreneurship education, as well as local business development initiatives. Fontes’ presentation, “Entrepreneurship and Sustainability: Creating a Profitable and Green Student-Run Business,” is planned as part of a special extended breakout session at the conference. Fontes will showcase the business plan he developed with BHCC students for selling eco-friendly clothing and merchandise, adorned with the college logo, at a mobile kiosk. The kiosk will open on campus in fall 2011. honors&awards CSM Professor and CAE2Y Certification Coordinator Renee Jenkins works with one of her information technology students The College of Southern Maryland has been designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance 2-Year Education by the National Security Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The college joins an elite group of 13 community colleges across the nation to receive this honor, which recognizes the quality of the college’s cybersecurity educational practices and curriculum. The CAE2Y designation was announced by federal officials in a ceremony at the annual Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education in Fairborn, Ohio. NSA and DHS launched their joint effort to recognize exemplary cybersecurity education curriculum in 2004 in response to the Presi- The two wind turbines tower over the campus of Mount Wachusett Community College. dent’s National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace. The “CAE2Y” designation for twoyear college cybersecurity programs was added in 2010. Mount Wachusett Community College (Mass.) has been nationally recognized with a Climate Leadership Award from Second Nature, the supporting organization of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment. In recognizing MWCC, Second Nature highlighted the college’s successful renewable energy measures, including the recent installation of two 1.65 MW Vestas V82 wind turbines expected to propel the college to near-carbon neutrality for campus operations. With the college’s biomass and solar technologies incorporated into the mix, coupled with significant efficiency improvements, MWCC will be generating nearly all of its energy on-site to operate as a near-zero net energy campus. Eddie Triste, president of Allan Hancock College’s Associated Student Body Government, was recently chosen by the Student Senate for California Community Colleges as the President of the Year for the Southern Region of California. It was an honor that Triste never imagined he would receive. Triste has a lot of experience with the concept of duty. An Army veteran, he served for six years, first in Georgia, then Hawaii and finally Iraq. He is currently working at Hancock as a peer Eddie Triste advisor for the College Achievement Now program, helping low-income and first generation students navigate their way through college. Using the skills he gained in the Army as a topographical surveyor, he transitioned into the workforce, drafting for architecture companies. In 2007, Triste realized the importance of education and the importance of a college degree. Initially working during the day and taking classes at night, Triste made slow progress on his degree until 2010, when he decided to go to school full-time. Being Native American, Triste said he feels strongly about government and being involved in the democratic process. His goal this past year was to get more students involved in activities on campus. www.ccweek.com professional notes July 11, 2011 17 PROFESSIONAL NOTES Kevin Glen Walthers Ronald G. Cantor Melissa Denardo Pam Foust John Martin Kevin Glen Walthers has been named president of Las Positas College in Livermore, Calif. Walthers currently serves as the vice chancellor for administration for the West Virginia Community and Technical College System and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. Walthers earned his Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy from the University of Utah, a master’s in educational administration from Texas A&M University-Commerce and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Community College in Bothell, Wash., and a workforce education program coordinator for the community college system in Spokane, Wash. Foust is finishing her doctorate in higher education leadership with a community college emphasis at Washington State University. She holds a master’s degree in organizational management from University of Phoenix. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Texas A & M University and an associate degree in agriculture economics from Casper Community College. ed to the position in August 2008 on a temporary basis to fill the position vacated by former vice president Kent Propst. Martin was selected to permanently fill the position in January 2009. He served as the regional director for U.S. Senator Larry Craig’s North Idaho office from 2004 to 2008. Prior to that, he was the disabled veterans outreach program manag- er for the Idaho Department of Labor. His background also includes more than 30 years in both in private industry and the military. He retired as lieutenant colonel from the U.S. Air Force after 24 years of service. At NIC, Martin is responsible for overseeing the college’s marketing efforts and furthering the college’s agenda with local and state legislators. John Martin, vice president for community relations and marketing at North Idaho College, has announced his retirement, effective Dec. 31. Martin was appoint- The Community College of Beaver County (Pa.) announced that Melissa Denardo is the new vice president for learning and student success/provost. Denardo most recently served as the assistant campus dean for Kent State University in Salem, Ohio, a position she has held since 2009. She earned her doctorate in educational leadership in higher education administration from the University of Pittsburgh. She also holds a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in business education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Pam Foust recently joined John Wood Community College (Ill.) as dean of career, technical and workforce education. Prior to joining JWCC, Foust was a workforce education manager at Cascadia An International Organization of more than 850 Member Colleges and 160 Corporate Partners Dedicated to Catalyzing the Community College Movement. Conferences, Institutions, Projects, Web Resources, Research, Publications, and Partnerships. 4505 E. Chandler Boulevard Suite 250 Phoenix, Arizona 85048 480.705.8200 www.league.org Ronald G. Cantor, associate vice president and dean at Mohawk Valley Community College, has been appointed president of Southern Maine Community College. Previously he served as an associate dean at Jefferson Community College in Watertown, N.Y., and as vice president of the Great Lakes Colleges Association. Cantor holds a Ph.D. from Syracuse University, a master’s in higher education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and a bachelor of science degree from the University of New Hampshire. 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When you want to attract the best-qualified pool of candidates for your professional position, make Community College Week the “must buy” in your media selection. Community College Week is published every other Monday and read by more than 30,000 community, technical and junior college professionals. C O N V E N I E N T Community College Week covers state and national news affecting community, technical and junior colleges. It highlights exemplary programs, features opinions from leading authorities and decision-makers and furnishes a classified marketplace for conferences, workshops and product services. Community College Week also provides a recruitment section, Career Connections, which is exclusively devoted to two-year institutions. G R E A T V A L U E Advertising in Community College Week is easy and convenient. There is no additional charge for typesetting your ad. Community College Week Advertising Department PO Box 1305 Fairfax, VA 22038 ADVERTISING RATES: Connections Display: $67 per column inch (boxed) 4-color rates: available on request For more information, call (703) 978-3535 FAX (703) 978-3933 Mail, fax or telephone your ad to: Weirton Campus Dean Located in Weirton Heights on a 20-acre wooded site, the Weirton Campus of West Virginia Northern Community College at 150 Park Ave. is a contemporary facility containing classrooms, chemistry and biology labs, state-of-the-art computer labs, nursing, respiratory care, and surgical tech labs, video conferencing classroom, campus bookstore, and a modern library offering the latest in technology. Classes in Weirton were offered beginning with the college’s creation on July 1, 1972. By 1975, the college acquired land and modular buildings in Weirton. The first phase of a permanent instructional facility was constructed in 1982, with the second phase to replace the modular buildings constructed in 1999 2000. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held May 24, 2011, for a $2.1 million expansion of classroom space at the campus expected to be completed by March 2012. West Virginia Northern Community College is accepting candidates for the Weirton Campus Dean position. The Campus Dean serves as the administrative officer of the campus and reports to the Vice President of Academic Affairs. The Campus Dean is responsible for but not limited to identifying community and campus needs and for planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating programs and services in collaboration with appropriate college-wide administrators. The Campus Dean is the principal college liaison to the community served by the campus and must possess the distinct qualification of a dynamic personality which can interact with the community to ascertain needs and grow the campus. Minimum Qualifications/Requirements Master’s degree; five (5) years of mid- to upper-level management experience; five (5) years of supervisory experience; prior teaching and administrative experience, preferably at a community college; leadership in coordinating programs with business and industry or community organizations; experience in development of curriculum or training programs; demonstrated ability to raise enrollment or profit in an organization; demonstrated effectiveness in communications and interpersonal skills; and ability to use a computer in work setting. Salary/Benefits Salary will be based on the incumbent’s education and experience. A benefit package which includes but is not limited to retirement with employer matching, health insurance, paid vacation and sick leave, holiday pay, life insurance, social security, WVNCC tuition waivers for self and dependents. Application Process To receive full consideration submit letter of intent, detailed resume, and names, addresses and phone numbers of three professional references no later than Aug. 5, 2011, to: Human Resource Office WV Northern Community College 1704 Market Street Wheeling WV 26003 Or electronically in Microsoft word format to: [email protected] AA/EOE If you need assistance with the application process or have questions regarding the position, call 304-214-8902. E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.ccweek.com Issue Date Ad Deadline August 8 August 22 Sept. 5 July 21 August 4 August 18 DEADLINES To ensure placement, copy and artwork must be received by 5:30 p.m. on the deadline dates shown. Typewritten copy is acceptable. Minimum display ad accepted: 1 column by 1 inch. No cancellations or changes will be accepted after the deadline closing (5:30 p.m. EST). Career Connections www.ccweek.com July 11, 2011 19 CALENDAR Davidson County Community College Located in Lexington, NC seeks a Dean, School of Health, Wellness, & Public Safety Master’s Degree and related experience. Salary: $60,819 - $79,065 Electronic Applications Only Deadline: July 15, 2011 or until filled See Employment Page: www.davidsonccc.edu An Equal Opportunity College 9-month Faculty Open Rank Located at the John H. Daniel Campus Keysville, VA Positions begin August 16, 2011 Look out for CCweek’s 2011-12 Conference and Meeting Planning Calendar. JULY, 2011 AUGUST, 2011 July 9 - 12 August 16-19 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY BUSINESS OFFICERS 2011 Annual Meeting Tampa, Fla. www.nacubo.org This comprehensive supplement covers events for community college professionals. Find out what is happening, when it’s happening, where it’s happening, who should attend and why. July 25 – 28 HI-TEC High Impact Technology Exchange Conference San Francisco www.highimpact-tec.org July 26-29 APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY FACILITATOR TRAINING – AIFT San Diego, CA (702) 228-4699 APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY FACILITATOR TRAINING – AIFT UNR; Reno, Nevada (702) 228-4699 August 22-25 APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY FACILITATOR TRAINING – AIFT Cape Town, South Africa (702) 228-4699 Send entries to: Community College Week P.O. Box 1305-1918, Fairfax, VA 22038 FAX: (703) 978-3933 or E-mail: [email protected] Southside Virginia Community College, a comprehensive community college, is seeking individuals to complement our quality facilities. The successful candidate must be committed to our mission to provide quality education to a diverse constituency. The following positions are available: Welder or Welding Instructor, Position F0096 Developmental Math Instructor, Position F0095 Health Education Instructor, Position F0094 Responsibilities include: Teaching 15 credit hours (day, evening, and/or weekends) per semester at locations served by the college, including local area high schools, correctional facilities and off-campus centers, and maintaining 10 hours of scheduled office time per week. Serves on committees; advises students, participates in professional activities; mentors adjunct instructors, and program development and assessment. Responsible for student recruitment; internship supervision. Visit our website at www.southside.edu/about/employment for additional information on qualifications for each position. Positions are full-time, 9-month, teaching faculty and include state and VCCS benefits. Salary commensurate with experience, qualifications, state and VCCS guidelines. Satisfactory reference and background checks are a condition of employment. Positions dependent upon available funding. Application process requires submission of a Commonwealth of Virginia application and resume electronically through the RMS website at http://jobs.virginia.gov/ Applicants must create an RMS user account to apply. Official transcripts will be required of successful candidate. Review of candidate materials will commence July 6, 2011 and position will remain open until filled. Auxiliary aids and services available upon request to individuals with disabilities. SVCC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Peter Hunt, Vice President of Finance and Administration, 109 Campus Drive, Alberta, VA 23921, 434-949-1005. Women, minorities, and those with disabilities are encouraged to apply. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA and ADAAA), SVCC will provide, if requested, reasonable accommodation to applicants in need of access to the application, interviewing and selection processes. SVCC is committed to Diversity, Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action. July 25 Renew your Subscription today! Community College Week brings you the news about issues affecting the nation’s community, technical and junior colleges not provided by other sources - and it is currently read by thousands of two-year college professionals! Please check one: $52 (24 issues: one year) (Plus 2 free bonus issues -26 issues) $90 (48 issues: two year) (Plus 4 free bonus issues -52 issues) NAME Subscribe today! Tel: (800) 475-4271 Fax: (703) 978-3933 Community College Week PO Box 0567 Selmer, TN 38375-0567 TITLE ADVERTISE WITH CCWEEK Advertising Deadline 8/8/2011 7/21/2011 8/22/2011 8/4/2011 9/52011 8/18/2011 Special Reports ADDRESS CITY STATE TEL: Showcase your higher ed resources in one of these upcoming issues. Contact a CCW advertising representative today: (703) 385-1982, [email protected]. Issue Dates COMPANY/INSTITUTION Bonus Distribution ZIP E-MAIL MY CHECK IS ENCLOSED. PURCHASE ORDER # BILL MY CARD NO. EXP. DATE SIGNATURE Academic Kickoff CODE: AMISS www. ccweek.com C O U N T D O W N 8 T O : 11 22 ACADEMIC KICKOFF 2011-12 S P E C I A L R E P O R T Challenges for a New School Year! Economic, political and social conditions are driving underprepared students to community colleges in increasing numbers, and some two-year colleges are scrambling to meet their unique needs. See how some institutions are coping. Join Community College Week as it confronts these and other issues. AD DEADLINE: AUGUST 4 ISSUE DATE: AUGUST 22 For Advertising Opportunities, Contact a Community College Week representative at (703) 385-1982 or [email protected]. Don't miss this opportunity to get your message across to the most influential community college decision makers.