On Wednesday, March 23, Skyline College hosted a Day of Action Honoring Cesar Chavez.  This event offered Skyline College students the opportunity to learn about local community and campus resources that support the Latino Community in the Bay Area.

Over 300 students interacted with community organizations such as Arriba Juntos, Big Brothers Big Sisters of SF, E4FC, The Latino Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services, Notre Dame de Namur University, Standing Brown, and ZIA SF.  The following on-campus resources were also present: EOPS/CARE and CalWORKS, Honors Transfer Program, International Students Association, Latin American Student Organization (L.A.S.O.), Puente, SMCCD Study Abroad, SparkPoint at Skyline College, TRiO Student Support Services, and the World Languages Department.

The event opened with a march around campus conducted by our Hermanos y Hermanas students from South San Francisco High School and Westmoor High School.  Following the march, attendees heard encouraging words from Dr. Angélica Garcia, Vice President, Student Services.  Guest speaker, Hector Camacho, San Mateo County Board of Education Trustee, shared stories of his own experience as a community college student.  He encouraged students to utilize the resources on campus to help them achieve their goals.

Attendees of the event were also treated to sunshine, delicious tacos, and amazing musical selections by Dr. Loco’s Rockin’ Jalapeño Band featuring our very own John Ulloa (Honors Transfer Coordinator, History Professor)!

Special thanks to all of the faculty, staff, and student ambassadors that worked tirelessly together to ensure the success of this event.

Article by Lauren Ford | Photos by: Grace Beltran and Claudia Paz

Skyline College’s Beta Theta Omicron Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society was named in the top 24 Distinguished Chapter at the 2016 Phi Theta Kappa Conference in Washington, DC on April 9. Distinguished Chapter is an international award and the highest honor given to a Phi Theta Kappa chapter. Skyline College earned the Continued Excellence Award for being a Distinguished Chapter for three consecutive years. Nearly 4,000 community college students participated in the three-day conference that was filled with scholarship and leadership forums. Keynote speakers included Lord John Eatwell, economist and president of Queen’s College Cambridge, and Katty Kay, lead anchor for BBC World News America.

“The breadth and depth of activities undertaken by our Phi Theta Kappa members is amazing. The members should be very proud of the recognition they have received,” said Christine Case, Phi Theta Kappa Advisor. “Phi Theta Kappa offers so many opportunities for our honor students to extend their education and experiences far beyond the classroom as they prepare for their futures.”

Skyline College’s chapter also received the 2016 College Project Award for their outreach efforts with senior citizens and children and earned honorable mention for their Case Study Challenge. The chapter has consistently earned national recognition since it’s chartering in 1999. And has earned the Nevada/California Regional Distinguished Chapter award five times.

The awards were the result of competitive essays documenting the chapter’s multiple projects this year, including a year-long service project that taught computer literacy to local senior citizens called Together We Thrive and a project that brought science labs to middle schools.

Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society is the largest honor society in American higher education with more than 1,280 chapters at two-year and community college campuses in all 50 of the United States and Canada, Germany, Peru, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the British Virgin Islands, the United Arab Emirates, and U.S. territorial possessions. There are 94 chapters in California.

Article by Christine Case

Members of the Administration of Justice Club helped bring good cheer and joy to some needy and less fortunate children by visiting two community action and service agencies located in San Mateo and in San Francisco.  Club members worked hard for several weeks planning and putting together over 40 colorful and age-appropriate Easter holiday baskets filled with goodies such as chocolate eggs and toys donated by club members’ own funds, and they were delighted to have an opportunity to help put a smile on the faces of the children they contacted.

On Friday, March 25, the group first caravanned to Samaritan House located in the City of San Mateo.  There they were welcomed by the staff who directed the group to the children and their families who came there to obtain various types of community services.  The children were thrilled to receive the Easter baskets, and the parents were very grateful for the club’s efforts.

Next, the group traveled to San Francisco and visited Hamilton House, another social services organization for families.  Again, the group was well received as we handed out the colorful Easter baskets to the children.

At the heart of the AJ Club is a commitment for taking opportunities to do meaningful work in the community, serving others, and making a difference in our world.

Article by Steve Aurilio | Photo by Joanna Sedillo

On Friday, April 8, the Administration of Justice Club arranged a tour of the San Francisco District Attorney’s Offices at the Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant Street, in San Francisco.  The tour was arranged by AJ Club member Robert Martinez and was attended by ten of the club members.  The tour of the D.A.’s Office was helpful in complementing what the AJ students learn about in the classroom concerning the inner workings of the criminal justice system relating to the filing of criminal charges and investigation and prosecution of crimes.  The group was also pleased to have the rare opportunity to meet with San Francisco’s District Attorney, George Gascón, who took time out of his busy schedule to pose with the club members for a picture.

Article by Steve Aurilio

The 17th Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition will be opening next week at the Skyline College Art Gallery. The exhibition will be on view in the Gallery from April 18 through May13.

We will have an opening reception for the Artists on Thursday, April 21, from 12 – 2 p.m.

Come join the fun!  Refreshments will be served.

The gallery is open daily, and is located on the ground floor of Building 1. For more information, including hours, please visit the gallery website or Facebook page.

The 17^th Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition features Sculpture, Paintings, Drawings, Photography, Ceramics, Mixed Media and Digital Media Artworks by Skyline College Students.

Be sure to come check out this fantastic exhibition!

 

Article by Paul Bridenbaugh

On Tuesday, April 12 students from the Violin/Viola class offered at Skyline College performed at the Child Development and Learning Center.  Led by music instructor Elizabeth Ingber, the string ensemble prepared a performance to entertain and engage the enthusiastic group of three to five year-olds.  The children participated by singing and clapping along with the string ensemble, which performed “Twinkle, Twinkle”, “Pop, Goes the Weasel”, and a selection of fiddle tunes.

The string ensemble will be performing next on April 28 at 12:00 p.m., in the Quad in front of building six.  All are invited to stop by to hear their noontime performance, which will include fiddle and folk tunes and classical selections.

Article and photo by Elizabeth Ingber

The Skyline College Library celebrated National Library Week (April 10-16, 2016) on Monday, April 11, and Wednesday, April 13, in the Cafeteria, Building 6 with Skyline students, faculty, and staff. The Library team encouraged everyone to share their stories on how libraries have transformed their lives as part of the American Library Association’s “Libraries Transform” initiative. Library faculty and staff spoke with students about how the Library fits into their academic success. The librarians also fielded several inquiries regarding how to access free eBooks through the Library.

Many students wrote that Library directly impacts them positively by offering computers, quiet study areas, group study rooms, guided research workshops, and other library resources. Other students were excited to share their love of reading, learning, and as well, “I get excellent grades b/c of the library! J” They were encouraged to share their thoughts on speech bubbles that are currently on display in the Library. One student shared that “The library has been a resource by providing information I need to succeed.”

As a part of National Poetry Month, students were also encouraged to participate in the Library’s Book Spine Poetry Contest, where they could enter and win a gift card to the Book Store. For more information, please click here. The Library is also collaborating with the English department to host poetry readings, displays, and workshops during the month of April.

Article and Photos by Kristen Lee

The College Governance Council met on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 from 2:10-4:00 pm, in Building 4, Room 4343.  In attendance was Alexander Alpi, Eloisa Briones, Kate Browne, Stephen Fredericks, Angélica Garcia, Sarah Perkins, Regina Stanback Stroud, Dennis Zheng.  Absent was Michele Haggar, Alana Utsumi, guest Aaron McVean.

 

Approval of Minutes

The January 27, 2016 minutes were approved. (M/C/U – Sarah Perkins/Kate Browne approved) Unanimously – 1 abstained.

The meeting started with the Academic Senate report.

The Academic Senate reported that its meetings regularly include visits and discussions with key administrators about the state of the College and issues for this year.  The February meetings included discussions of:

– Curriculum Development/Cross-campus consultation

– Community/Corporate Education [Bissinger, 2/4]

– Professional Development [Perkins, 2/4]

-Student Services overview [Garcia & L. Escobar, 2/18]

Actions on:

-Nina Floro nominated to State Academic Senate for RSS Diversity Award

-Faculty screening committee appointments for Dean of Counseling

– Museum of Tolerance nominee, Nathan Jones

-Faculty/Staff Scholarships [decision: 2 @$500)

Reports from Academic Senate Standing Committees:

Curriculum: Will be discussing cross-campus consultation

Educational Policy: Recording of Class Sessions; Faculty Handbook review; C-ID update

 

District Academic Senate has been addressing issues related to curriculum and minimum qualifications.  The curriculum policy revisions were not supported by the Academic Senate.  Dr. Perkins discussed it with the Senate.

The Academic Senate has been looking for appointments for screening and equivalency committees.

The Academic Senate has been working on the awards and celebrations

• Nathan Jones selection for MOT
• Regina Stanback Stroud Diversity Award candidate – Nina Floro
• Will have selection of Meyer Award (teaching/first 4 years)
• End of year celebration for faculty and staff
• Missed Deadline of Exemplary Program

There have been some academies

• Plenary Session
• Academic Excellence in March – will focus on Equity
• Accreditation Academy – interesting institute.

Dr. Perkins and Melissa Mathews brought an issue related to audio and video taping class sessions.

• Ed policy committee will review and bring back to senate

 

The Classified Senate provided the following report.

The February Classified Senate meeting was committed to voting on our scholarship amounts.  The Senate met their goal of matching the 2015 Classified Senate scholarship amounts of two at $400 each.  These funds are usually drawn from our annual See’s Candy fundraiser.  They are still working on implementing some additional fundraising ideas that could bring in more money for these scholarships in the future.  Many ideas have been shared, but Vice President Utsumi asked that some staff step up and volunteer to organize the ideas in order to see them through.

The Classified Senate also voted in conjunction with the Academic Senate to offer two Faculty/Staff scholarships of $507 each.  These funds are raised during the annual End-of-Year Celebration and the basket fundraiser.

Cherie Colin visited the meeting and asked for our support in composing a letter of support for the Skyline College Shuttle from Daly City BART.  The Senate voted on the support and the letter was drafted.  All of those in attendance agreed that it sounded like a great plan and saw the value in filling that missing piece of transportation for our students, faculty and staff.

Also discussed was the announcement for Classified Employee of the year nominations, and the very short window in which to nominate.  All in attendance agreed that they would add a discussion to a future agenda to start planting the seeds of that process in advance of the state announcement each year, in order to put our best foot forward in the applications for Skyline College.

At the very end of the meeting, during committee announcements, it was brought to our attention that the district wanted our opinion about arming Public Safety Officers.  Unfortunately, they had only 5 minutes left in our meeting and agreed that was not enough time to take on such a serious discussion.  Vice President Utsumi had intended to invite Jim Vangele to the next Classified Senate meeting for more information, there may be some campus-wide information in the works.  This is a very serious issue that needs to be addressed, and have input into.  It was tabled until the March meeting.

 

 

The Associated Student Body of Skyline College provided the following report

ASSSC reported the following outreach activities: ​

1. Sponsored the Library Book Collection with a $10,000 donation.
2. Volunteering at Rock the School Bells.
3. Volunteered at Glide Memorial- serving meals.
4. We supported the Transportation initiative by Dr. Garcia.
5. Sponsored Black History Month.

 

ASSSC also reported the following update:

1. Trojan Tuesday is every first Tuesday of every month. Students will get a 5% discount at Pacific Dinning and World Cup Coffee.
2. The ASSC is encouraging students to get Student IDs at events and offer more usage for IDs.
3. Currently the ASSC is writing a proposal and seeking for available rooms for the Reflection Room. Over 1000 signature have collected in favor of the room.  A list of the items needed for the reflection room was suggested.  Also Administration and Studnets are currently reviewing spaces for the Reflection Room.
4. Updating on Skyline Shines.

 

Past Events:

1. Chinese New Year
2. Valentine’s Day
3. Black History Month: Afia Walking Tree Drum Circle

 

Upcoming Events

Women History Month

Sexual Assault Awareness

Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

 

March 1: 19th Amendment voting booth,

AAUW and ASSC are going to encourage female students to register to vote. Also information will be handed out to students about the 19th Amendment and ERA (Equal Rights Amendment).

 

March 8: HeForShe,

ASSC and Skyline Model United Nations want to bring awareness to equal rights to women. And bringing awareness to not only women but men as well of the importance of equal rights for women. Petitions will be signed and brochures will be handed out with information about the

HeForShe campaign.

 

March 16: Body Positivity,

Photo booth with signs: “I am not my weight” “Happiness is not gender specific” Also bags will be given out with tampons, panty liners, chocolate, tea, inspirational note, and a compact mirror.

 

March 22: Lady Trojan Services and Emporium Fair,

Many programs, learning communities, and organizations will table to let female students know what resources are available.

 

The ASSC discussed the issue of Public Safety caring a weapon.  Concerns were discussed related to:

• Police brutality and excessive force by college & police department
• Additional costs. Insurance and raises for officers or police officers and how the budget will affect the students and classes.
• Non-lethal weapons
• How will this affect student dynamic and the environment on campus
• Transparency and open discussion
• Research (are they bias?)
• Perspective of all students not just those interviewed (Survey size)
• What does the students know already (How educated are our student population)

 

Recommended Professional Development Committee Structure

Dr. Sarah Perkins, Vice President of Instruction, shared with the committee the Professional Development Committee structure and changes.  Dr. Perkins will prepare and present recommendations at the March 23^rd CGC meeting for action.

 

Recommendation to Adopt the Revised MVV for Skyline College

​Aaron McVean, Dean of PRIE, presented the recently revised Mission Vision Value (MVV) document to the committee.   Based on the revision from the January meeting, Aaron recommended the committee to adopt the revised MVV.

Dr. Angélica Garcia, Vice President of Student Services suggested a change to the Open Access section to read “status, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation”.

(M/S/U – Eloisa Briones/Kate Browne – recommend the MVV statement provided by SPARC as amended to include “gender expression” to the President for recommendation to the Board of Trustees) – Unanimously.

SEEED Discussion Regarding Arming Public Safety

Dr. Angélica Garcia, Vice President of Student Services reported to the committee a discussion at the SEEED committee related to Arming our Public Safety.  Many questions were raised such as:

• What is the process that the district using to do the research?
• Who is the research firm is the firm unbiased?
• How was that firm selected?
• What is the timeline that the firm will do the research at the campus?
• What does it mean “armed public safety”?
• Does every public safety officer will carry a weapon?
• What it would mean regarding the tone on campus?
• What is the problem we are trying to solve?
• What are the financial implications and liability?
• Could public safety officers escalate a situation since they would have firearms?

 

The SEEED Committee would like to support the students who expressed concerned over wanting more information and transparency about the process for community input.  They also asked for CGC to take up a discussion about how we can encourage Skyline College community participation when it is time appropriate. VPSS Garcia and VPI Perkins agreed to also place this as an agenda item at the next VP Council district meeting.

 

Skyline Promise

Dr. Stanback Stroud provided an update on the implementation of the Skyline Promise.  The first component of the promise includes recent high school grads and alternative secondary programs (adult ed, GED, etc.) completers to be able to attend the college full time, identify a goal, have fees waived, receive support with books and transportation as needed.  The college is in the process of raising foundation funds and identifying other eligible funds to make it possible.  The second component of the promise focuses on the college developed clear paths to the degree or certificate.  Often referred to as structured pathways to the degree in both transfer and CTE areas, college faculty will consider the design of the curriculum and majors and make the path to completion clear.  Additionally, multiple measures for placement will be a key element, processes for dual enrollment will enable students to advance along the way.  Finally a key component to the promise is the availability of the Summer Scholars’ Institute where students can complete the program in the summer and be placed in college level English and Math.

 

Dr. Stroud will be visiting the Academic Senate to discuss the promise and will continue to update the CGC on its status/implementation.

 

Adjourn

The College Governance Council met on Wednesday, March 23, 2016 from 2:10-4:00 pm, in Building 4, Room 4301.  In attendance was Alexander Alpi, Jazmena Bannag, Eloisa Briones, Kate Browne, Stephen Fredericks, Angelica Garcia, Sarah Perkins, Regina Stanback Stroud, Alana Utsumi.  Absent was Michele Haggar and Dennis Zheng.  Our guest was Aaron McVean.

Approval of Minutes

The February 24, 2016 minutes were approved. (M/C/U – Fredericks/Utsumi approved) Unanimously.

The meeting started with the Academic Senate report. The Academic Senate reported that its meetings regularly include visits and discussions with key administrators about the state of the College and issues for this year.  The February meetings included discussions of:

February meetings included

Discussions of:

– Review of Board Policies & Procedures, from DAS & DPCG meetings

– Public Safety & developing plan [[Zack Bruno volunteered for District planning committee]

– Academic Academy attendance [ for 3/18-19-Counseling group, L Shaw presenting on ESOL]

-State Plenary attendance [for 4/21-23 KW Browne, S Fredricks, L Shaw]

-Canvas- faculty training initial plan

-Skyline Promise

-CTE update and state issues

-Announcement of SEEED representative to Academic Senate:  Jessica Lopez

Actions on:

-Consent of Board policies; ongoing discussions continuing for Min Quals, Textbook, DE, Curriculum.

-Faculty screening committee appointments for Sociology

Reports from Academic Senate Standing Committees:

Curriculum: several new certificates and program development; program reviews in April

Educational Policy: Recording of Class Sessions; Faculty Handbook review report in                    April.

 

The Classified Senate provided the following report.

The March Classified Senate meeting set a new record of 20 attendees.  This was partially due to the meeting being held on a Flex Day, allowing staff members who would otherwise not be able to attend the chance to do so.  No matter what, it was noted of the great attendance and participation, including new staff.

Professor Christine Case visited the Senate and report about a BOO (Phi Theta Kappa) contest through freerice.com, run by the United Nations World Food Programmer.  It is basically a series of quiz-like questions, and as a person plays, the individual gain grains of rice.  For each answer you get correct, they donate 10 grains of rice.  The students have a competition going to see who can get the highest score, and at the end, $100 will be awarded to the winner.  They have also opened a group for the staff to play/donate.

The majority of the Senate meeting was spent with Karen Wong, from PRIE, reporting about the Institutional Effectiveness Framework update.

Also, it was discussed the lucky staff members who were chosen by random lottery for the upcoming Classified Leadership Institute, and NCORE.  For these spaces (NCORE – 2, and CLI – 3) the funds will be taken separately out of the Classified Staff PD funds, not counting towards their $1,000 maximum amount.  The Senate is very excited at this opportunity for staff to grow through these events.​

State 4CS –Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud was nominated and won the State Leadership Award from State 4Cs.

 

The Associated Student Body of Skyline College provided the following report

• The A.S.S.C. will soon be voting on Student Body Fee increases, which will align with the other two College Governments, in which it will raise the fee to $15 a semester, with a $5 fee during the summer session.
• The Skyline College Primary Election for Student Trustee took place today, with only one candidate on the ballot, A.S.S.C. President Dennis Zheng, results are too early to call at this time.
• The general election for our full council will take place on May 3-5, and the election packets will go live the Monday after Spring Break.
• We had Women’s History Month, in which we held events including: HeForShe, which engaged men in gender equity on 3/8, the Body Positivity event that took place on 3/16, the Women’s Fair, which took place on 3/22, and tomorrow, 3/24, there will be a Women’s Career Panel.
• There will be a mixer between the student governments of all three colleges, the time and place has not yet been determined at this time.
• Jose Antonio Vargas will be coming to our campus as a part of our College Lecture Series, on April 7^th, with a screening of his film, ‘Documented’ to take place on the 6^th.
• Next month, the A.S.S.C. will be holding Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, which will include a ukulele performance on the 18^th, an Asian wellness demonstration on the 19^th, a tattoo lecture and display on the 26^th, followed by a film screening of the film ‘Kumu Hina’ on May 2^nd. The month will be closed with the Faces of Asia Pacific Islands Bazaar on May 9^th, and a spoken word event led by Aimee Suzara on May 11^th.
• Jazmena is working with the local AAUW group to create a AAUW group on campus.

 

Skyline Promise – Scholarship

The Skyline College Promise is the institution’s effort to ensure that 75% of students Get in. Get through. Get out on time. One of the components of the “Get in” thread is assisting to mitigate the financial stressors that may keep some students from pursuing full-time unit load.  The Promise Scholarship is scheduled to launch in Fall 2016 to any high school, GED, or Adult School graduate who seeks to enroll in Skyline full-time for the 2016-2017 academic year.  The Promise Scholarship will address the following financial needs:

Tuition and Fees

Textbook loan program

Chromebook loan program

Transportation and parking support

Dedicated Counselor for the academic year

The estimated number of students that the Promise Scholarship can serve is approximately 200 students.

Skyline Promise – Structure Pathways

Skyline College Promise is our commitment to support students to Get in. Get through. Get out…on time.  Structured pathways work will support students getting through their studies to get to their educational goals.

The college is beginning to work on the design and implementation of pathways including:  providing students with completion maps for degrees and certificates; designing Meta-Major pathways; developing themed general education paths and building a robust dual enrollment program with our high schools.

Selecting a Meta-Major helps students choose a degree completion path based on their interests, knowledge, skills and abilities. Meta-Majors are cluster groups of degrees with clear pathways to completion and/or transfer. Choosing a Meta-Major helps students select classes that relate to a specific degree and gives the student the support they need to be able to complete their degree.

General Education pathways builds on themes that run across general education areas A-E.  Our General Education team was accepted to attend the AAC&U GE workshop this summer.  The team is made up of faculty, staff, and administrators.

Dual Enrollment will support connections between high schools and the college through curriculum offered in high schools that allow students to have college credit when the leave high school and have that college credit connected to paths through to degrees or certificates.

Skyline College is working with the Career Ladders Project as consultants to help us design and implement various aspects of the Skyline College Promise including guided pathways.

While preliminary work has started on pathways, the joint Division meeting on April 15 will be the launch of the design and implementation of guided pathways.  Additionally, at that meeting faculty will be introduced to the Skyline College Promise Scholarship and the Summer Scholar Institute.

IEPI

Aaron McVean, Dean of PRIE, report that the PRT had two meetings with Skyline College constituent groups. Based on the outcomes of those meetings, Skyline College was presented with a menu of options (MOO). From those options, the College Innovation and Effectiveness plan was created, focusing on utilizing technology solutions to improve our accreditation evidence processes and enrollment management processes, including space utilization. If approved by the State Chancellor’s office then there will be assistance by Skyline College constituent groups to allocate the $150,000 Skyline College will be awarded.

Definition of Student Success

Skyline College has begun dialogue and discussion around the definition of student success.  The recently completed District Strategic Plan focuses strategies on improving student success, but left out a clear definition that could be used to measure the impact of initiatives. Skyline College has taken the lead on recommending the definition after researching other approaches used across the nation and the State.

 

The definition has recommended by the Institutional Effectiveness Committee (IEC) and will be presented to the SPARC Committee, Academic Senate, Classified Senate and Associated Students of Skyline College before it is voted on at the College Governance Committee for recommendation.

 

Other

Kate Browne shared with the CGC that the Academic Senate elections will be coming up soon.

 

Adjourn

(M/C/U – Fredericks/.Bannag approved) Unanimously.