November 2008
Student Responses Needed
During the 2008 Summer Term, students in the MPPA,
MBA, MSCS, and ADEP Summer Term courses (11-Week
Programs) received an email invitation to complete an online
Course Evaluation form. The purpose of the pilot was to
address problems that occurred using the “paper and pencil”
forms, for example, faculty did not receive results in a timely
fashion. Faculty received feedback two weeks after courses
ended.
Students shared opinions about the process: “This on-line
survey is much better than the in class hardcopies. With the
on-line version, one can take the time to think and express
their opinions.” and “I like the online format, I felt pressured
in the classroom to come up with thoughtful answers.”
Following the summer pilot, faculty were asked how student
feedback was used to improve. The following were typical
responses: “I carefully consider the students' reactions to the
course, consider their perspectives (and motivation).”
The Online Course Evaluation system is continuing during
the 2008 Fall Term.
Students will be invited to provide confidential responses.
Again, faculty will receive feedback only after grades are
posted.
One concern we have is that the response rate ranged, by
program, from 43.8% to 77.5%. As a faculty member wrote,
“I care about the process and its reliability and quality. The
rate of response was low and this is a serious shortcoming in
the new system.” In the spirit of continuous improvement,
we need student feedback and look forward to a higher
response rate. Be sure to log-in to your CLU email!
CLU Celebrates New Oxnard Center
You are invited!
All graduate and ADEP students, faculty and public are
invited to celebrate the opening of California Lutheran
University's new Oxnard Center.
Reception: 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Friday, November 14
The Palms, 2201 Outlet Center Dr., Suite 600.
The center features 4,700 square feet of space with four
classrooms and a bigger conference room with full media
and information technology services.
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The expansion allowed CLU to add new areas of study to
its adult degree evening program this fall. Students can now
earn an accelerated bachelor's degree in psychology and a
minor in psychology at the Oxnard Center. The western
Ventura County center also provides an organizational
leadership program.
The expansion also allowed CLU to begin offering a
master's degree in counseling psychology with a marital
and family therapy emphasis in Oxnard. The satellite also
offers master's degrees in public policy and administration,
counseling psychology, business administration, education,
curriculum and instruction and educational leadership.
Students can also earn preliminary, single subject, multiple
subject and special education credentials through the
center.
For reservations, contact Karissa Faulconer at
kfaulco@callutheran.edu by Nov. 12.
John Noll
New MSCS Assistant
Professor
Dr. John Noll joins CLU to teach computer
science, software engineering and information
systems. Dr. Noll has taught in the computer
engineering department at Santa Clara University. Dr. Noll
has also taught courses in Computer Science, Software
Engineering, and Information Systems at the University of
Colorado at Denver, University of California, Los Angeles,
and the Marshall School of Business at University of
Southern California. Dr. Noll has research and industrial
experience at USC’s ATRIUM Laboratory, at
Perceptronics, Inc., and Hewlett-Packard Laboratories. He
earned a bachelor’s degree from Colorado College, and a
master’s and doctorate from USC.
Johnny Johnson
New MPPA Adjunct
Professor
This fall, the Master of Public Policy and
Administration program has a new addition to its
teaching staff. Johnny Johnson is the former
CEO of Ventura County. Retiring earlier this Spring as
county manager responsible for the $ 1.7 billion dollar
budget and organization of 8,000 employees, he is offering
students a rare look into the mind of a superb administrator
in his class on Leadership at the new Oxnard Graduate and
ADEP Center.
With a Master of Public Administration and extensive
executive experience as a city manager and in a variety of
city and county departments, he was hired to manage the
County at a time when it was just recovering from a
downward spiral of financial and managerial problems. He
brought it to a position of strength in just five years. The
Board of County Supervisors and other insiders have
testified to his merits and acknowledge the fact that
Ventura County is looked upon as a model of excellence
owes much to his stewardship. Johnson is known for taking
control of the budgeting process, helping settle a funding
dispute with law enforcement agencies, winning the
authority to hire and fire managers and making sure the
staff presented a unified front to the Board of Supervisors.
“One of the things that motivated me was that I’ll have to
face my neighbors in the community,” Johnston said. “I
didn’t want to read about myself in the papers as the guy
who got paid pretty well to give advice and left the county
in bankruptcy.”
Michael Gerson
Graduate Psychology
Presentation
Dr. Michael Gerson, Assistant
Professor, Graduate Psychology,
presented his paper, “Neuroscientific
Implications for Self and Identity Issues During
Adolescence” on July 28th, at the 2008 Annual Congress of
the International Neuropsychoanalysis Society in Montreal,
Canada. He was part of a prestigious assembly of scientists
and clinicians from around the world who are studying the
relationship between modern neuroscientific discoveries
and their applications to psychoanalytic theory and
treatment. The Congress was held at the Montreal
Neuropsychiatric Institute of McGill University, famous for
the pioneering brain research of Donald Hebb and Wilder
Penfield. Dr. Gerson’s paper discussed the importance of
differentiating self from identity, psychological processes
that have special importance for adolescent development.
He supported his proposals with recent brain research that
has identified distinct regions of the brain that correspond
to subjective and objective self awareness that change in
their organization during adolescence.
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CLU MPPA Student Wins
Ventura County Star
Contest
Francine Sprigel, won the Ventura County
Star “Hardest Worker in Ventura County”
Contest. Sprigel is a senior analyst with the
City of Thousand Oaks Community and Cultural Services
Department, where she manages and operates the Council
on Aging and the Teen Commission. She also writes
college recommendations for many of the teenagers.
Sprigel’s other tasks include being a regular volunteer at
the Goebel Senior Center. She recently found time to
climb Mount Whitney twice in one year! She was spending
at least 60 hours a week at her job, while successfully
pursuing her Master of Public Policy Administration at
California Lutheran University.
On Campus Housing
for Graduate Students
Next fall when the new Residence Hall opens, there will be
space available for graduate students to live on campus.
Graduate student housing will feature single bedrooms with
a shared living room, kitchen and bathroom. This is the first
time in CLU’s history that housing has been made available
for graduate students to live in residence halls. More
information will follow.
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