On Thursday, October 19, 2017, millions of Californians will “Drop, Cover and Hold On” in the Great California ShakeOut – the largest annual earthquake drill!

As proud participants who put students first, Skyline College will be conducting evacuation drills on Thursday, October 19 at 11:15 a.m. and 7:15 p.m.

What you need to do:

1. At around 11:15 a.m. and 7:15 p.m., all faculty, staff and students will be reminded of the drill time through an AlertU text message (for all registered cell phones), and SMCCCD DPS twitter. Please encourage your students to sign up for the AlertU text messages and follow SMCCCD DPS on twitter. Faculty and staff should do so also.
2. At 11:15 a.m. and 7:15 p.m. the Emergency Announcement System will be activated with an announcement “Drop, Cover and Hold On” for one minute. Stay calm and follow instructions. If you do not hear the announcement, proceed to “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” for one minute.
3. While under cover on the floor, look up and around for objects that could become hazardous in a real earthquake.
4. After one minute, look around for anyone who needs assistance.
5. Evacuate your class outside, to the nearest parking lot away from buildings and tall objects. Make certain your classroom is empty. Building Captains will assist in evacuating the building.
6. Once everyone is out of the buildings and safe in parking lots, the Emergency Announcement System will announce an “ALL CLEAR” message. You may then return to your classrooms.

Major earthquakes may happen anywhere in California and the Great ShakeOut is a chance to be more prepared. For more information visit: http://www.shakeout.org/california/index.html.

Please contact the Dept. of Public Safety if you have any questions.

Article by MCPR

Last year, the district initiated a process to sell a portion of land on the edge of Skyline College’s campus referred to as “Parcel B.” 

As part of this project, the District will be building a third employee housing development and the remainder of the site will be developed by SummerHill Homes, the firm that purchased the parcel.

On “Parcel B”, the District will be constructing two buildings that will contain 30 total employee housing units (1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments) similar to those at College of San Mateo and Cañada College.  SummerHill Homes will be constructing 40 single family homes on their adjoining property.

The District and SummerHill Homes have been working through the permitting process with the City of San Bruno and project applications are under review by various city commissions and groups.  This review process will continue over the coming months before the project is presented to the San Bruno City Council for final approval.  The District is very optimistic about the project’s sign-off by city officials.

If all holds true, the following general timeline describes the project sequence:

• Fall 2017/Winter 2017 – Required approvals received from City of San Bruno (permits, maps, etc.)
• Spring 2018 – RFP for employee housing development released and awarded
• Summer 2018/Fall 2018 – Groundbreaking on employee housing development at Skyline College
• Spring 2020 – Employee housing development at Skyline College completed and opened

Article by Mitchell Bailey

 

 

This past summer Skyline College opened the doors of its Base 11 Innovation Center and Fabrication Laboratory to high school students for a Summer Engineering Camp!

On July 10, 2017 students 13-17 years old came from high schools across the local Bay Area and went through a 5-week camp where they learned how to engineer prototype designs using 3D printing, laser cutting, electronics and CAD tools, while learning skills for entrepreneurship with product marketing lesson modules provided by Base-11.

Inspired by the Base-11 STEM Entrepreneur Accelerators curriculum, the camp was geared towards youth to pursue a STEM field with the basis of having an entrepreneurial mind set – and to develop products that will better serve the community.

The camp also included a tour of San Francisco State University’s Engineering Program and a visit to Autodesk gallery– a company whose software has been used as a tool of innovation globally for creative advancements in construction, urban planning, entertainment, and technology.

The camp was led by adjunct Engineering Faculty Maryam Khan, Fabrication Laboratory Lab Technician Marco Wehrfritz, BAEC faculty member Terri Wade and Student Support Specialist Jenny Le, who all contributed immense efforts to pilot this program and engage the students for success!

With special thanks to Skyline College’s partnership with Base-11, contributions from our Vice President’s office, and support from Skyline College’s Science Math and Technology Division, the students left with newer skills and sparked interest in engineering, technology and rapid prototyping. The Engineering Program at Skyline College plans to run the camp again and continue efforts to influence bright and young minds to pursue a future as creative makers and entrepreneurs.

Article by Maryam Khan

Fake news? Biased media? Perpetuation of untruths through social media? Such criticisms are fired from the full political spectrum. What can be distilled from these critiques is the need for people to be empowered to critically evaluate their information sources, especially given the proliferation of information available online. Our democracy depends on it.

At a town hall co-hosted by the Institutional Effectiveness Committee and the Academic Senate, faculty and staff explored how Skyline College students are faring with the Information Literacy Institutional Student Learning Outcome (ISLO). Competencies include the ability to effectively locate and access information; evaluate the relevance, quality and credibility of these sources; and use information ethically and legally.

Town Hall participants discussed the results from the Fall 2016 assessment, when twenty-two faculty members from across the disciplines embedded research-oriented projects in their classes, eventually evaluating 742 students’ work. For example, Psychology and Health Science students created pamphlets to inform the public about psychological disorders and the pros and cons of health related propositions on the ballot respectively. All students enrolled in the assessed English classes attended two library information literacy workshops, whereas a little under half of non-English classes attended only one workshop, typically on evaluating sources.

While the results show students generally use information ethically and legally, students seemed to struggle with using sources that are relevant, high quality, and credible. Only 67% of student work was scored at proficient or higher; the remaining 33% may have chosen sources that were inappropriate and/or of dubious quality and credibility.

In addition, 627 students from the assessed courses took a survey in which they evaluated how often they employed information literacy strategies. Students who attended two library workshops were more likely to use effective search strategies, evaluate sources, and cite sources properly than those who attended none.

Student responses from the survey also provided us a unique opportunity to explore how students’ self-assessment compares to their actual performance. Students identified their own skills in the survey as higher than their actual competencies as scored on the rubric. For example, 95% of surveyed students claim that they sometimes/ frequently/ always evaluate their sources, yet as the aforementioned notes, only 67% of student work was scored at proficient or higher in this competency.

Of the three information literacy competencies, surveyed students scored lowest in statements pertaining to search strategies. 83% sometimes/ frequently/ always use search strategies and/or the credible databases paid for by the College. The challenge is in reinforcing to students how search skills are important since they can be applied to any source– particularly digital, and in persuading students to make use of the databases to which the college subscribes.

While every issue was not resolved during the Town Hall, there was much food for thought as the college prepares its students to take their seat at the table of democracy. Having received departmental results, and/or their own class’ results, faculty who assessed the Information Literacy ISLO in collaboration with the librarians will continue to explore the implications of these findings, and how our College can support students in acquiring these skills.

Results can be downloaded from the Skyline College SLOAC website at https://skylinecollege.edu/sloac/assets/islos/information%20literacy%20islo%20results%20fall%202016.pdf.

Article by Karen Wong

On Saturday, October 7, 2017, the International Student Program took a group of international students out for a day of adventure at California’s Great America amusement park in Santa Clara.

The goal of the event was to expose international students to more of the bay area and let them relax before the midterm exams. It would also serve as an opportunity for students to mingle with one another.

The goal was surely met as the students all had an unforgettable time. They found out how loud they could scream when they went on the thrill rides like “The Grizzly” and “Flight Deck” which really tested their fear limits. They were also fortunate enough to have warm weather and clear skies, which made the experience more enjoyable.

The best part of the trip was seeing how well people from completely different parts of the world could come together. Students bonded by sharing food and telling stories about their lives in their native countries. The event really embodied the sense of fellowship within the international student body.

ISP will continue to provide international and cultural programs and events for Skyline students, faculty and staff members and the greater Skyline community. Please check future events on the ISP website at: www.skylinecollege.edu/international/

Article by Naledi Mthembu | Photo by Soe Thuya Hlaing