INSTRUCTIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
February 2011
Is it possible with these warm days that it’s only January? I hope you’ve all enjoyed the many
spring-like days during our winter break as much as I did. Let’s hope the rest of the semester is
this sunny. Many of you have already heard about the gloomy Governor’s budget (that is, the
budget is gloomy, not the Governor . . . or maybe he is). Nonetheless, there will be trying times
ahead of us this semester and next year given the state of the economy, but we need to remain
optimistic and continue to work together to get us through these dark times. With all of that
swirling around us, though, we do have good things happening at Cabrillo and among our
colleagues, and in this newsletter you can read about Rose Sellery winning the Gail Rich award,
Eric Hoffman’s book publication, professional presentations by Georg Romero and by Bette
Hirsch, and the opening of the 300 building. And the Spotlight this month is on the CIS
department and their new networking lab. Have a good spring semester.
~ Renee
REMINDERS
Spring 2011 semester deadlines:
Classes Begin: Mon, Feb 7
Presidents’ holidays: Fri, Feb 18 and Mon, Feb 21
Add deadline (for full-term classes): Feb 19
Drop deadline (with refund of fees for full-term classes): Feb 19
Census Rosters due (online submission): Feb 22
Drop deadline for full-term classes (without receiving a ‘W”): March 5
Pass/no Pass option deadline (full-term classes): March 12
Spring Break: April 4 – April 9
Withdrawal deadline for full-term classes (with a “W”): May 7
Memorial Day holiday: May 30
Final Exams: Tues, May 31 – Sat, June 4
Graduation ceremony: June 3
VPI Weekly Open Office Hour for Spring 2011: Thursdays, 11:00 – 12:00
Other Reminders regarding syllabi (for those of you who have not yet finished yours):
DSPS (suggested) Statement for Syllabi: Students needing accommodations should contact
the instructor ASAP. As required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
accommodations are provided to insure equal opportunity for students with verified disabilities.
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If you need assistance with an accommodation, please contact Disabled Student Services, Room
810, (479-6379) or Learning Skills Program, Room 1073, (479-6220).
Attendance & Participation Guidelines for Syllabi (Sample statement for those of you who
consider student attendance and participation in your grading rubric):
“Attendance/Participation: This course requires active participation each day of class so it is
important for you to attend every class session, arrive on time, and come prepared. Your
participation not only enhances your own learning, it benefits other students in the class,
especially when the class is doing group work. Your level of participation is reflected in your
grade and since you can’t participate if you are not in class, absences will also be reflected in
your grade.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Financial Aid: Instructors Beware (from Debbie Soria, Financial Aid Director)
Thanks to an instructor who discovered that there were several students with the same Stockton,
California address in one of her online courses who had not been attending during the Fall 2010
semester, we were able to expose fraudulent activity. The instructor notified Admissions and
Records and the Financial Aid Office about this suspicious activity. As a result, we discovered
more students who were enrolling in classes yet not attending only so they could receive
financial aid funds, which is a federal offense.
Students who never attend class are not eligible to receive financial aid and you can assist the
Financial Aid Office by dropping students who never show up to your class. If students receive
financial aid without attending classes, the money must be repaid to the federal financial aid
program by the college; it is a District liability even if the student never repays the college.
Please do your part to fight against this crime and protect financial aid for future students.
Bookstore: (from Robin Ellis, Bookstore manager)
Students will have affordable textbook rental access increased through a new partnership
between the Cabrillo College Bookstore and online textbook rental company CHEGG. This
partnership will add convenience and access to thousands of popular textbooks for rent at huge
savings to students. The bookstore will host 4 easy-access kiosks for online rental with the
additional convenience of in-store delivery and return. The bookstore continues to expand its
own "on-the-shelf" rental program as well. These books are in stock and are 60% less than the
purchase price. Encourage your students to visit the bookstore now for all their course materials
at big savings.
As Theo Offei, the Cabrillo College Student Senate President, adds: "The CHEGG program is a
major step forward towards textbook cost reductions for students at Cabrillo. This is another
option for students at a time when textbook costs are skyrocketing. As president, on behalf of
the Student Senate, I am thrilled about this opportunity."
FTTW: Fast Track to Work has a new interim program manager. One of our own staff,
Catherine Lachance, was selected for this position late last fall. Catherine has been a member of
the classified staff since 1990, and served in high school articulation outreach for eight years.
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During that time she was instrumental in the development of the Tech Prep program. After
serving as a coordinator in the VAPA division for one year, she joined FTTW as a project
manager. Over the last several years, she has also worked as the director of the Teacher
Preparation Pipeline project. Catherine holds a degree in organizational behavior &
management. Please join me in welcoming Catherine to her new position.
300 Building: It’s finally happened! We have completed the first project of the “secondary
effects.” For those of you who don’t remember what that means: the construction of the Arts
Education buildings and the Health and Wellness Center, funded by bonds passed by the local
community, has been completed. As a result, we have two buildings and a few other rooms
vacated from the move of VAPA and Allied Health. The “secondary effects” refers to the
remodel of the vacated buildings, and renovation of the 300 building is the first phase of these
projects. Through the space allocation process that occurred over a 2 year period, BELA was
slated to receive the 300 building, with some shared use with HASS. That renovation was
completed last fall. The BELA division office has moved in and classes in English, world
languages, and some social and behavioral sciences will be offered there this spring.
Many people have been involved in this project from start to finish, far too many to mention.
But I would like to acknowledge the faculty and staff from BELA who have been meeting with
the facilities department over the past couple of years so that the classrooms would meet the
needs of faculty and students. Those most involved during this time were Sarah Doub, Letitia
Scott-Curtis, Conrad Scott-Curtis, Steve Larson, Calais Ingel, Mo Hassan, Jason Malone, Nancy
Stucker, and Adela Najarro. A special acknowledgment also goes to the BELA Dean, Jim
Weckler, who has worked closely with the facilities development department and his faculty and
staff to ensure a successful transition.
IT Connection: (from Holly Costa, IT)
Sometimes your technology isn't working correctly or you can't access your voicemail. IT has
resources for you to get help, so don’t hesitate to let them know when you have technical issues.
The Help Desk is staffed with very kind people who can help you with any computer or phone
problem. Just call them at 479-6392. The Help Desk web site also has a lot of info, how-to’s,
and a service request form. Just type the word “help” into a web browser. Or go to
https://sites.google.com/a/cabrillo.edu/helpdesk/
FACULTY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Gail Rich Award: Rose Sellery was one of this year's recipients of the Gail Rich Awards held at
the Rio Theatre on January 26. The Gail Rich Awards ceremony is an annual showcase of the
most creative artists in Santa Cruz County, who “have contributed to the great mosaic of Santa
Cruz County's cultural life.” The award is named for Gail Rich, “a woman who embodied this
community's deep commitment to the arts.” Over the past 15 years, artists, businesspeople and
supporters of the arts have been honored. This year, we are fortunate that once again one of our
colleagues at Cabrillo College has received this prestigious award.
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Wallace Bain, of the Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote: “The passion of artist Rose Sellery is what's
called ‘wearable art,’ which is a term that needs a bit of explaining in her case. There's no
question that Rose's work is art, but wearable? Well, just barely. Her vision is much too
provocative to qualify as couture and while her dresses are often unforgettable, they won't be
seen on either Oscar red carpets or supermarket aisles any time soon, at least on this planet.
Using skills at sewing she learned as a child, Rose - who has a background in architectural
ceramics, and is also a sculptor and jewelry maker - has become a leading figure in the field of
wearable art as the curator for the Michaelangelo Gallery's annual FashionArt runway show.
Among her creations are a dress made of bones, another called "Spring Bride" made from bed
springs and a sculptural piece made of steel wire called "Punching Bag." They each serve as
testament to Rose's ability to see in the human figure a blank page on which to create.
Many past recipients have been Cabrillo faculty and staff, including Holt Murray, Morton
Marcus, Wilma Marcus Chandler, John Orlando, Dina Scoppettone, Maria Crush, Joseph
Ribeiro, Cheryl Anderson, Ray Brown, Sue Brown, Lile Cruz, Tandy Beal, and Phil Collins.
Congratulations to Rose for joining this illustrious group.
Publication: ECE instructor Eric Hoffman's children's book, "No Fair to Tigers," will be
included in a UNICEF resource packet highlighting literature from around the world that
introduces sensitive topics to young children. Their citation states, "the book is a model for
introducing social justice issues and for encouraging self-confidence in speaking up when an
injustice occurs. It is also a good example of how a bilingual book can be used to promote
second and indigenous languages." Congratulations, Eric!
Conference Presentation: Librarian and Library Director Georg Romero was invited to be one
of three presenters at a December program sponsored by the California Academic Reference
Librarians (CARL) on the topic of assessing reference and other services. The program included
presentations from a UC librarian, a CSU librarian, and a community college librarian. Georg's
presentation, titled Cabrillo's SLO Journey, covered the library's experiences with assessing their
services, as well as reviewing numerous other options for assessing service operations.
Information about the program, including links to videotape of the session, can be found at
http://www.carl-acrl.org/ig/carldigs/how-do-i-assess-that.html.
Conference Presentation: Bette Hirsch, French instructor, spoke recently at the annual meeting
of the Modern Language Association in Los Angeles. Her presentation was entitled,
“Community Colleges: at the Center of Change."
STUDENT TESTIMONIAL
Recently a CABT student sent an email that she had been hired for a job with the City of Scotts
Valley as Senior Recreation Coordinator. She writes, “Some of my job duties will be making
homemade birthday cards for the Seniors, a monthly newsletter, brochures, announcements, and
entering data for goods sold at bake sales. It makes me happy just thinking about doing this
rewarding type of work. Thank you to all of you in the CABT Department. I would never have
been able to get such a position if it were not for the skills that I have learned at Cabrillo and
your wonderful CABT Department.” It’s good to hear from students reminding us that the work
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we do at Cabrillo changes their lives in significant ways. Kudos to the CABT department for all
the students, like this one, whom they help to enter the workforce.
SPOTLIGHT ON
CIS and the Networking Lab: (from Jim Griffin and Gerlinde Brady)
The Computer Networking and Information Systems lab has found a new home in the CTC
building (Room 1403--previously the Music Department's Recording Studio) and has a new
name. The Network and Systems Technology Lab now contains 16 desktop computers from
which CIS students do their lab work.
Previously, in any given semester, 4 to 5 classes utilized the lab, then held in the trailers in 2504,
so the 16 computers were often a limited resource. Other times, a student would get stuck on a
lab and not be able to finish it in one sitting. Consequently those students had to schedule another
time to return to the lab, and recreate their work again from the beginning.
This January Jim Griffin (CIS Systems Administrator instructor) continued working on a project
to virtualize the computer networking lab to make it remotely accessible to students. Through the
department membership in an academic program (VMAP) offered by VMware Inc. we have
access to software that allows us to create virtual computers that have the same functionality as
the physical lab machines. Furthermore, the state of these computers can be saved and recreated
at a later time thus alleviating one of the problems mentioned: the need to start all over again.
With our Microsoft Academic Alliance, (MSDNAA), and Terminal Services licenses available
from the California Community College Foundation, we have used Remote Desktop Services to
make our virtual lab accessible from off campus and around the world. Thus, students are no
longer required to physically be on campus to access our lab machines.
Time management is one of the biggest obstacles preventing students from spending sufficient
time in the lab environment to acquire the skills our courses demand. By providing virtual lab
access 24/7 from anywhere, students are more likely to spend the time necessary to explore,
troubleshoot and complete their lab assignments and obtain the skills they need to be successful
in our programs.
In addition, over the winter break the networking lab was re-cabled so our students can see what
structured cabling looks like in a real-world network. Inferior cabling systems are the cause of
up to 70% of network downtime. Good cable management keeps the data moving. One of our
CIS networking students and TA in the networking lab installed the new cables. All the cables
are now color coded so the networking lab looks like a professional data center with racks, patch
panels, routers, switches, and servers.
Thanks to the collegiality of the CIS faculty, IT and M&O, this project has come to fruition:
Gerlinde Brady, Jim Griffin, Sue Nerton, Rick Graziani, Rich Simms, Joe Nugent, and Ray
Rider.
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WHAT WE’RE READING
Stephanie Stainback: Polar Dream, by Helen Thayer. This is a great book for any armchair
adventurer or dog lover. The author walked and skied for 27 days to reach the magnetic North
Pole. Her only companion was a dog trained to warn of approaching bears, given to her by the
Inuit natives. Their confrontations with polar bears, the bond that she developed with her dog,
and the challenges of traveling in the Arctic environment in general kept me on the edge of my
seat. Highly recommended!
Copies of previous Instructional Highlights can be found on the Instruction webpage:
http://www.cabrillo.edu/services/instruction/highlights.htm
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