Classified Professionals
Staffing Request Form
Office Use Only
Rec. Date: ___________
Fiscal Year: __________
Program Review: _____
Please fill out one form for each classified staff position that you are requesting for your division/unit. This form
is to be submitted as an appendix in your program review each fiscal year and a copy should be forwarded to
the classified prioritization chair. For positions requested outside the program review cycle (e.g., retirements,
resignations, grant/categorical funded positions), this form should be submitted to the classified prioritization
chair and will be used for information/tracking purposes. (Please see the program review website for more
information.)
Division/Unit: AHSS / Geography
Position Title Requested: Instructional Assistant / Lab Systems Administrator
Request Number (i.e., 1 + # of times position requested, but not granted, in past five program reviews):
5
Please indicate if this is a request for/to:
☐ Fill a currently vacant position (Must attach District job description; see Classified Prioritization Chair for assistance.)
hours per week
months per year
☐ Increase of an existing position (Must attach District job description; see Classified Prioritization Chair for assistance.)
from: ☐ 9, ☐ 10, ☐ 11 month
to: ☐ 10, ☐ 11, ☐ 12 month
from: 0
%
to: 50
%
■
■
☐ New position (Must attach proposed job description; see Classified Prioritization Chair for assistance.)
hours per week
months per year
Estimate Increase / Proposed Annual Salary Cost:
(assume step 1 for vacant position)
$ $14960
Note: total cost of position will include salary + benefits.
Funding Source:
☐ General
☐
✔ Categorical 100
☐ Grant
Grant name:
%
%
%
Justification:
Why is this position necessary?
The Social Science computer laboratory (room 507) serves as an essential instructional environment
for several courses across discipline and division boundaries. The lab was, in fact, designed in the
planning stages of renovation of building 500 by faculty, staff, and consultant participants to include a
workstation and counter space area for the lab's systems administrator and instructional equipment:
printers, scanner, storage cabinets and drawers for maps, models, and supplies. This lab, consisting of
46 PC workstations, was never envisioned to be without a resident lab systems administrator: i.e. a
classified staff position filled by a qualified technical expert who can support instruction. The District
job description for Instructional Assistant and the list of the duties of the Instructional Assistant specific
What educational programs or institutional purposes does this position support? How does the request
to operation and instruction in the Social Science Laboratory accompany this request form.
relate specifically to your Program Review, the College’s Strategic Plan, and/or Accreditation Recommendations?
Firstly, this request is directly aligned with the strategies of Chabot’s 2012-2015 Strategic Plan which
seeks to provide more support in helping students achieve their educational goal. Desktop Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) technologies and internet-based tutorial modules are critical components in
delivering instruction about applications of the constantly changing technological tools in geography
and other disciplines in the social sciences and natural sciences. The lab enables delivery of course
content on the topic of methods in using GIS, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), remote sensing of
environment, and statistical analysis, in addition to the 'core' topics of physical geography, such as
reading topographic maps, visualizing plate tectonics, interpreting climatic data, and making maps.
This classified staff position for instructional and technical support directly relates to Chabot’s
strategies "to offer instruction more efficiently" and "make our classes more productive."
Secondly, the May 28th draft of the 2015 Accreditation Report for Review addresses the concern about
insufficient technical staff who support usage of our technical resources, which "can threaten the
Where will the individual work? To whom will the person report? Are there any special equipment/facilities needs
to be considered?
The Instructional Assistant works primarily in the Social Sciences Computer Lab (room 507) and
reports to Don Plondke, the full-time Geography Instructor. In order to service the networking and
architecture of the 45 PCs in the lab, he needs administrative access to make changes and updates.
Geography’s courses, particularly the GIS courses and the physical geography lab course, educate our
students using contemporary tools to illustrate the valuable technologies of GIS, GPS, the internet, and
What is the consequence of not funding this position?
remote sensing. These tools depend on reliable maintenance of some very specialized software.
The immediate consequence of not funding this position is degradation of the operational quality of
this major computer laboratory on campus that is critical to Geography's course content delivery, and
is important for course delivery in other disciplines that presently depend on the lab's consistent
operational quality. Over a period of 1-2 years, lack of funding for the position will result in
discontinuance of GEOG 1L (Physical Geography Laboratory) as it has been taught for 28-30 years
using computer applications, cancellation of GIS courses (GEOG 20, 21, 22), termination of the GIS
certificate program, and an overall decline in Geography at Chabot. Courses in other disciplines - e.g.
What
have
been5,
considered
in meeting
the programmatic
demands
request?
PSY alternative
5, MCOMapproaches
20, BUS 16,
GNST
Math Labs,
and other
classes that would
likeoftothis
use
the lab's
resources - will of
have
to find
labs on is
campus.
Reinstatement
funding
forother
this position
the only realistic approach to fulfill the program needs of
Geography in its computer-based instructional components. Instructors using the laboratory for a
portion of any discipline's course delivery, though usually very familiar with the functionality of specific
software designed for student learning, do not have a comprehensive view of system configuration,
applicable user login paths, and program module interactions that the Lab Systems Administrator has.
Instructors must devote their attention to the students’ understanding of the content of tutorials,
exercises, and learning modules, and to help students in acquiring useful sets of skills. The
How
will the campus
community (students,
staff, faculty,
be positively
impacted
by fillingof
this
Instructional
Assistant/Systems
Administrator’s
roleand
is tocommunity)
assure consistent
quality
of operation
position?
hardware and software, to support the instructor and students in timely and productive use of the
computers,
and and
to trouble-shoot
and
systemto
problems
that inevitably
in a complex
Students, staff,
faculty have network
been, and
continue
be, positively
impactedemerge
by this position
since
computing
1999 whenenvironment.
the position was originally instated. Geography's Instructional Assistant has been, and
continues to be (though unpaid), essential in fulfilling our discipline's long-standing goal to “evaluate
and support the use of technology in courses based on relevancy to the workplace” (see Unit Plan
Update, Part 2, March 2008). Our courses that include a major computer lab component (GEOG 1L,
19, 20, 21, and 22) require highly skilled technical support and maintenance of a multi-tiered
architecture of software and hardware for teaching and learning of Geographic Information System
What
personnel currently
providelaboratory
support to for
thisSocial
program
and these
students?
(GIS)other
technologies.
Our computer
Science
(room
507) was carefully designed
under the Measure B Bond to nearly double the number of desktop workstations available for student
Chabot IT staff install the computer hardware and software. But the job responsibilities of IT do not
use and configure them to support a variety of computer-based courses. Frequent version updates and
include monitoring and support of the lab's instructional resources during class meeting times and only
service-pack installations for our software require a continuing and, in fact, growing need for expertise
the lab's system administrator (currently not funded) has the expertise and experience to service the
and system administration to assure operational quality of the lab. Use of lab resources is expanding,
real-time needs of a classroom environment that depends on the performance quality of the installed
not only for Geography courses, but for other Social Science disciplines and cross-division programs
hardware and software.
that benefit from use of our lab. Our one part-time Classified Staff Instructional Assistant has growing
responsibilities for assuring the operational quality and up-to-date maintenance of the lab’s software
and hardware.
Requested by:
Don Plondke
Area Manager Notes/Response:
Date:
10/26/15
Area Manager:
Carla Walter
Date: