The Skyline College marketing department has just wrapped up a major marketing campaign to support Spring 2018 enrollment and also launched a campaign to recruit students to the Promise Scholars Program (PSP) for the 2018-2019 Academic Year. The multifaceted campaigns targeted potential students in San Mateo County ages 18-34 and the PSP creative focused on the tagline “We’ve got your back.”

The campaigns capitalized on a variety of media. Digital advertising included geo-fencing ads at local malls and high schools and broader format digital ads served on a wide variety of high-traffic websites – these ads could be seen on both mobile and desktop devices. Transit ads were placed on SamTrans busses, ads were placed in Saramonte Shopping Center, and print ads were secured in Pacifica Magazine.

Skyline College and Cañada College also launched a joint comprehensive media campaign in partnership with iHeart Media, owner of iHeart Radio, to be the exclusive educational sponsors of the Jingle Ball concert event. This exciting marketing opportunity, promoted across multiple platforms and media channels, revolved primarily around a contest to win tickets to Jingle Ball and a chance to meet Niall Horran, a member of One Direction. Contestants had to visit meetniall.com to enter the contest, a promotional webpage with information about Skyline College and Cañada College including buttons to apply and basic information on both college promise programs. The campaign, secured for $15,000 each from both colleges, garnered engagements and impressions whose total media value surpassed $575,000, a massive return on investment for a marketing campaign.

Launched with hundreds of radio broadcasts and streaming ads on the iHeart app producing hundreds of thousands of impressions and a strong web presence with call-outs of Skyline College and Cañada College on social media leading up to the event, iHeart Media saw contest engagement 50% higher than their average online contests. At Jingle Ball, both colleges received live call-outs on the jumbotrons in front of all 20,000 attendees, and student ambassadors actively engaged at outreach tables at the venue.

These campaigns proved an exceptional value, ultimately helping to promote both Skyline College and Cañada College to target audiences across San Mateo County. Beyond that, brand association with iHeart Media, a growing media resource, and Jingle Ball, one of the largest concerts of its kind in the Bay Area, helps to ensure that our colleges stay relevant and top of mind in an ever-evolving media landscape.

Article by Connor Fitzpatrick

SMCCCD Study Abroad is excited to offer students the opportunity to participate in several short-term study abroad programs this summer: Costa Rica, South Africa, Ghana, Florence, or Brazil.  These courses are two or three weeks over the summer and offer students a chance to complete three units of college credit outside the classroom walls. Classes are CSU and/or UC transferrable and are led by SMCCCD faculty.

From July 25 – August 11, 2018, students will have the opportunity to take Communications 130: Interpersonal Communication in Costa Rica with Skyline College Communication Studies Professor Brielle Plump. Professor Plump submitted a proposal for this program in the summer of 2017 and received approval from the Study Abroad Advisory Committee in September 2017. For all new Faculty-Led Study Abroad Programs, faculty and staff conduct site visits through the Faculty Travel Grant, a President’s Innovation Fund Grant received by Study Abroad. In preparation for the Costa Rica Program this summer, Professor Plump, accompanied by SMCCCD Study Abroad Program Coordinator Stephanie Wells, conducted a site visit to San José, Costa Rica this past December. These visits are essential in order to review all safety and security considerations and forge academic collaborations.

During the site visit, Professor Plump met with several academic organizations and institutions to plan for the onsite lecture series in Costa Rica next summer. For example, the Centro de Estudios para la Paz (Center for Peace Studies/CEPPA), will conduct a multi-day workshop focusing on “Creative Conflict Resolution,” ideal for an Interpersonal Communication course, where relationships and everyday communication are a prime focus. With CEPPA, the students will have the space to learn more about power dynamics as they try on different approaches to conflict.

Another exciting collaboration will be with Dr. Delia Peña, an Intercultural Communication and Psychology professor at Veritas University in San José, Costa Rica. By working with Dr. Peña, students will have the opportunity to engage in deep conversations about how the culture in the US and Costa Rica differ, and how these differences influence both identity and relationships. At the end of the program, the students will return to Skyline College’s campus to share these learnings with the wider community.

SMCCCD Study Abroad recognizes that study abroad can often be out of financial reach for our students, and for this reason we make it a priority to help students find and apply for scholarships for study abroad. Students can attend workshops this February to learn more about the summer study abroad programs and scholarship opportunities for study abroad.

Study Abroad Scholarship Workshops

• Wed. Feb. 7, 3:30 – 5:00 PM, Library Classroom, Bldg 5, 2^nd floor
• Mon. Feb. 12, 9:00 – 10:00 AM, Bldg 5-102
• Thurs. Feb. 15, 11:30 – 12:30 PM, Bldg 5-102
• Wed. Feb. 21, 3:30-4:30 PM, Bldg 5-102
• Tues. Feb. 27, 4:30 – 5:30 PM, Bldg 5-102

Visit smccd.edu/studyabroad or email studyabroad@smccd.edu to learn more.

Article by Brielle Plump and Stephanie Wells

The Global Learning Programs and Services Division invites members of the public to attend our Community Travel Program information session to learn about our exciting, socially impactful not-for-credit tours for adults to Ireland and Sicily in summer 2018.

Join us on Thursday, January 25 at 6:00 p.m. for an informative meeting where faculty leaders will present on the tours, costs, and detailed itineraries. Please RSVP via email to communitytravel@smccd.edu or call (650) 738-7098 and a parking permit, campus map and directions will be sent to attendees.

Event Details:

• Sicily & Ireland Community Travel Program Information Session
• Skyline College, Building 4, Multicultural Center
• Thursday, January 25, 2018
• 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

The Community Travel Program is administered by the San Mateo County Community College District Study Abroad Program housed in the Global Learning Programs and Services Division at Skyline College. For additional information about Community Travel, please visit www.smccd.edu/communitytravel or email Zaid Ghori, Director of Special International Programs at ghoriz@smccd.edu.

Article by Zaid Ghori | Photo by Grazia Manupella

The Skyline College Promise Scholars Program continues to build momentum as it prepares to double its cohort in fall 2018. The program, which is the college’s commitment to provide a full scholarship and comprehensive support services for first time, full time students for one year, is a key component of the college’s comprehensive redesign aimed at empowering more students to reach their educational goal on time. All elements of the redesign are part of the College’s replication of the City University of New York (CUNY) Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) model, which will launch here on our campus beginning in fall 2018.

The decision to replicate the ASAP model represents a transformational opportunity for Skyline College, and one that comes as a result of years of careful study. The ASAP model itself is a successful initiate proven to increase timely graduation rates among community college students. ASAP students at CUNY graduate from college within three years at more than double the rates of students who do not participate. To date, across seven cohorts, ASAP has an average graduation rate of 53.2%, in contrast to only 24.1% graduating of comparison group students. These results speak for themselves and provide a driving force for the work being done at Skyline College.

The Skyline College Promise Scholars Program piloted key components of the ASAP model in Fall 2016 (with 139 participating students) and in Fall 2017 (with 253 participating students).  The program currently provides students with dedicated counselors, fee waivers and book support for the first full year (Fall, Spring and the following Summer semester) of college.

So far, the Promise Scholars Program has seen a positive impact on student persistence.  For students who participated in the program in Fall of 2016, 96.4% persisted to the Spring 2017 semester (only 81.6% of the comparison group persisted). From Fall 2016 to Fall 2017, Promise Scholars achieved a persistence rate of 82% (only 60.5% of the comparison group persisted).  While it is a little too early in the semester to report results on the Fall 2017 cohort’s persistence rate, it is expected to be above 90% from the Fall 2017 to the Spring 2018 semester.  Ultimately, the Program hopes to substantial increase graduation and successful transfer (CSU GE or IGETC completion) rates within both 2-year and 3-year timelines for participating students.

The Promise Scholars Program team welcomed Scholars back for the start of the Spring 2018 semester with new supports and renewed access to lending library materials.  Kim Davalos and Ivan Silva, both Promise Scholars Program counselors, will offer drop-in counseling to students and are excited to launch group advising sessions – a new component of the ASAP replication model – to Scholars this semester.  Jessica Lopez, the Promise Scholars Program career counselor, will offer additional workshops and 1-to-1 appointments to Scholars looking to further their professional and career goals.

In Fall 2018, the Skyline College Promise Scholars Programs will expand to serve 500 students and implement final components of the ASAP model, including monthly transportation incentives, blocked courses, and a peer mentoring program.  In an effort to reach a broader range of students, the Marketing, Communications, and Public Relations team at Skyline College has launched a comprehensive marketing campaign centered around the tagline “We’ve got your back.” This campaign aims to capture a youthful, friendly tone that catches eyes and sparks imagination. With marketing collateral appearing in traditional, digital and social media, the campaign will continue to run throughout the rest of the school year and beyond. Lauren Ford, campus recruiter, has helped strengthen relationships with surrounding high schools, and will provide on-site support for feeder high school students interested in matriculating into Skyline College and applying to the Promise Scholars Program.

The application for the Fall 2018 Promise Scholars Program is open on WebSMART, and prospective students can find information about eligibility and applying to the program here.   The program has already received more than 65 applications, so please encourage interested students to apply for the program as soon as possible.

Article by Ellen Murray

SparkPoint at Skyline College is currently accepting scholarship applications for 25 Career and Technical Education (CTE) students the Spring 2018 cohort.  Grove Scholarship applications are available online at the Sparkpoint website and are due by February 1^st at 3:00 p.m.

Eligible students will be selected for the program based on three short personal statements that describe who they are, why they have chosen their career path, and why financial literacy is important to them. Academic standing and GPA are not a factor in selection, as long as the student meets the minimum requirement of 2.0 GPA and 75% completion rate.  Once being selected for the Grove Scholars Program, students will receive individualized financial coaching and career counseling, as well as a $2,000 scholarship for the semester.

If you are interested in applying for the Grove Scholars Program or if you have any questions please visit SparkPoint at Skyline College in Bldg. 1, Room 1-214, call us at 650-738-7035, or email us at grovescholar@smccd.edu.

Article by Chad Thompson

In December 2017, a reporter from the San Mateo Daily Journal visited the SparkPoint Center at Skyline College. The article was originally intended to cover the newly launched NOVA Job Center at Skyline College and the workforce services that are offered to assist unemployed individuals in San Mateo County. However, the reporter chose to expand the article to cover the complete set of services that SparkPoint at Skyline College offers to students and community members. In particular, the article addressed the synergy of different services on offer at the SparkPoint Center, with the goal of assisting community members in San Mateo County achieve long term financial prosperity. The NOVA Job Center is a critical piece because increased income from a successful job search directly improves the financial situation of a family, enabling better housing options, increased ability to afford education, and more capital to account for in a budget.

Many thanks to Anna Schuessler from the San Mateo Daily Journal for taking the time to visit us. You can read the article at the San Mateo Daily Journal Website.

The NOVA Job Center at Skyline College provides job search support for students and community members seeking immediate employment. We offer individualized one-on-one career counseling, job search workshops, labs, an advice line, and more at no cost. If you know of any students or community members who are interested in obtaining a job or internship, please invite them to stop by room 1-221A or contact us at skylinenova@smccd.edu or 650-738-7904.  For more information about the NOVA Job Center, please visit the website.

Article by Kathleen Velasquez

The 6^th Annual Middle School Conference took place on Tuesday, December 12. With the primary goal of exposing middle school students to college, Skyline College hosted thirty eight middle school students at Skyline College.

The Herman@s Connection to College (C2C) program serves Latino and Latina youth starting in the 8^th grade. The program works directly with students at Parkway Heights Middle School and South San Francisco High School. The program seeks to provide information about college and financial aid to students at a young age.

Students started their day with a light breakfast and a motivational welcome from Jorge Murillo, EOPS program coordinator, and former Hermano and Skyline College Puente student. Students then participated in a college panel with current Skyline College students where they heard about their personal experiences in college and offered words of encouragement. Counselors, Alberto Santellan and Suzanne Poma presented to the middle school students about college and played a fun game of BINGO. Madison Steele presented on financial aid and later in the day students enjoyed lunch, participated in a campus tour, and visited the soccer/track field.

The Middle School Conference would not have been possible without the support of Jorge Murillo, Alberto Santellan, Suzanne Poma, Madison Steele, CTE faculty, former Herman@s students, and student ambassadors. Students went home with a drawstring bag with school supplies inside. Thank you for your kind donations; Skyline College Bookstore, EOPS program and Financial Aid Department.

Article and Photo by Liliana Rivera