Report to the Board of Trustees: April, 2017

Accreditation Self-Study update

The accreditation process at Clovis Community College is well underway. The Accreditation Steering Committee has been meeting since January 2016, drafting the college’s Self Evaluation Report, including generating topics for the Quality Focus Essay. The college provided “Reviewer Training” to individuals who reviewed the draft reports for each accreditation standard. This included materials from ACCJC Team Training and the ASCCC Accreditation Conference. The Accreditation Steering Committee and Standard Committees are on track for the timeline to review and edit the drafts this semester, including the Quality Focus Essay, and to send out the completed report for constituency review this fall.

Strategic Plan update

Students, faculty, staff, and administrators continue to work together on the 2017-2021 Strategic Plan. Consistent with other planning processes, the Strategic Plan is rooted in the Clovis Community College mission and vision. Additionally, constituent input and student data have been used to brainstorm and develop the action steps for the new plan. A college forum was held March 23rd for staff, faculty, administrators, and the Associated Student Government. On March 30, a community forum was held and invitees included students, community leaders, local elected officials, and educational partners, in addition to the community at large.

City of Fresno Mayor Lee Brand visits CCC

President Lori Bennett was honored to welcome Fresno Mayor, Lee Brand, to campus on March 6. It was a great opportunity to share some of the wonderful educational programs and services offered to our students. The Mayor was able to see our students in action as he took a tour of classrooms, the tutorial center, and the student activities center. The “Crush” even stopped by to greet Mayor Brand.

Choir welcomes spring with enchanting musical performance

The choir performed some wonderful music ensembles for students and staff on March 20 in the AC1 Lobby Gallery. Being the first day of spring, the songs were themed around the changing season. In addition, the “Music 5 MIDI Music Production” class just completed the first nine-week session. Students will showcase their work on the college’s Soundcloud page. Visit www.soundcloud.com/cloviscollegemusic to listen to a delightful array of music.

Clovis Community College welcomes Dr. Pamela Walker

On Thursday, March 30th, the college hosted the Vice Chancellor of Educational Services from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, Dr. Pamela Walker. She met with various constituent groups and toured the campus in order to learn about all that CCC has to offer students.

Women’s History Month celebrated with social justice speaker

Renee Tajima-Pena is an Academy Award nominated documentary filmmaker and scholar, and her work focuses on immigrant communities, race, gender and social justice. Renee spoke about her documentary, Labor Women: No Mas Bebes, a fi lm about the class action lawsuit Madrigal v. Quilligan, fi led by Mexican-American women who were sterilized at a Los Angeles County hospital during the 1960s and 1970s. It was a great presentation followed by a question and answer session.

Information Systems instructors host

“Pizza with the Professors” on March 3 Instructors Tammy Katuin and Brent Nabors went the extra mile in an effort to increase their student success for both online and traditional students. Many students may be nervous to meet with their teacher during office hours and ask for help with a class. The instructors wanted to show the students that meeting with their teachers should not be scary and can actually be quite fun. They offered pizza to all students who attended their Friday office hours. Nearly 20 students came by and enjoyed sharing stories and asking questions of their instructors.

Librarians teach Information Literacy skills

Since the start of the spring semester, the librarians have taught 50 information literacy instruction sessions to 1,300 students in 16 different subject areas. Librarians provide everything from a general introduction to the library’s array of academic information sources, to a focused instruction session for a specific class assignment. Teaching students how to find, verify, and critically examine information, empowers them to succeed academically and personally.

Students combine art and science for interactive class projects

Students in the computer science program were tasked with building an open-ended project given a set of constraints specified by instructor Bill Kearney. Examples of the constraints included use of a transistor, two buttons, and making the project interactive with people walking by. The students’ projects are currently on display in the AC1 Lobby.

3D printer shapes success for entrepreneurship and engineering students

Currently, “Engineering 2” and “Business Administration 52” students have access to a 3D printer. A collaborative program is in the works to allow all students access to the printer, so they will be equipped to create new and innovative products.

The 3D printer was purchased to allow students to create physical models from their digital designs which provides a number of benefits for students. Engineering students can test the functionality of their designs. Entrepreneurship students can better test their business ideas by creating a prototype to show customers, investors, and manufacturers, to get feedback on the look and function of the design.

In the past, students constructed various designs by using materials such as wood and art paper. It was tedious and time-consuming to do this, but the actual physical manifestation of the objects can point out design fl aws that are not obvious even in 3D virtual modeling.

The 3D printer will allow the students to produce physical models far more easily. This is especially useful for designs that consist of several moving parts. Students can see how things fi t and move.

An update from the Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSP&S) at CCC

On February 21, DSP&S held a “College Ready” parent and student orientation. Nearly 30 high school seniors from Clovis Unifi ed School District attended, along with their parents. Students and parents learned about the various resources and academic accommodations for students with disabilities and how to easily access these services. In addition, DSP&S presented program information to students and parents at the Clovis Unifi ed School District Adult Transition Workshop held on March 21.

On March 20, the DSP&S team hosted representatives from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office. The guests received a tour of the campus and had an open dialogue about the program and how the Chancellor’s Offi ce and the CCC DSP&S program can continue to partner to ensure student success at CCC.

DSP&S also hosted an “Awareness, Accessibility and Empowerment Forum” on March 27 and 28. Gaier Dietrick, who is currently the director of the High Tech Center Training Unit, served as the speaker. The purpose of the forum was to provide additional training about Section 508 and how staff and faculty can better understand the guidelines to better serve students. The “Counselor to Class” option was available to faculty to request a substitute for their class. More than 40 staff and faculty attended the forum.