Chancellor's Chat  
March 11, 2013 
 


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Greetings!     

I had the pleasure of participating in a regional conference about the Common Core State Standards.

It was great to see over 130 K-12 and college faculty and administrators come together to discuss how the Common Core Standards will help to improve college readiness and potentially reduce the profound need for remediation at the college level.

What became most clear to me and most everyone else in the room was the need for collaboration between all of the educational systems - K-12, community college and the four-year universities. 

One of the most serious disconnects right now is between what students are learning in high school level English and Mathematics and what is assessed for college placement.

It's great to see our faculty working more closely with their K-12 feeder schools to discuss these issues. 

The Early Assessment Program has been beneficial to identify high school students in their junior year who need remediation in their senior year in Math and/or English. This is just one aspect of improving student success. 

The Student Success Task Force has identified 22 measurable goals that all California Community Colleges will be held accountable for implementing.
It is essential that we are proactive in building an organization that internalizes those goals, integrates them into our strategic plans and our resource allocations. It's a good bet that the Governor's proposal to fund colleges based on attendance at the end of a semester will be implemented in some manner over the coming years.

It is also clear that the State Chancellor's Office is strongly supporting regional efforts in Career Technical Education, with colleges working more closely with local business and industry and nonprofit agencies to develop strategies to get people educated and to work as quickly as possible. 

It will be the synergy that we are able to create with our regional partners that will determine our relevance as we move down this road. It is this synergy that will determine our ability to receive grant funding and to be players in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

I am so proud of this District.  We are making progress on every level.  I have high optimism that we will meet every challenge, all of which means our students will be more successful. We will continue to increase the contributions that we make to the local economy.

Sincerely,  


Bruce Baron 
Chancellor 
   
Good police work
On Tuesday, March 5th at 10:30 a.m. a student walked-off with a laptop computer while the other students and the faculty member were working outside on a project.

As the student exited the building into the parking lot, one of the other students observed him, recognized him, and pointed him out to the instructor.

Campus police were notified and  Sgt. Kenneth Stills was able to recover the computer and bring the student to justice.

This is a good example of the community acting swiftly to report an incident and the police acting quickly on the information to resolve a crime. 
Workers Comp claims decrease
As of February 2013, Workers Compensation claims continue to fall. For this quarter the total number of claims were 17 and the total dollars claimed was $99,983. In the same quarter in 2012 there were 31 claims and $226,609 claimed.

This is a reduction of 14 claims and $126,626 in 2013 in comparison to 2012. 

I want to personally congratulate all of you in your efforts to work safely. 

I also want to thank our Safety Officer, Whitney Fields, and the work of our campus and District Safety Committees for their efforts to help make SBCCD a safe place to work.  
Omnitrans "Go Smart" program continues to grow
As of February, 2013 the  total ridership on Omnitrans buses through our partnership in the "Go Smart" program continues to grow.

So far this year, SBVC has logged 409,435 total trips by 3,422 different students, which is about 30% of enrollment.  CHC has logged 88,497 total trips by 803 different students, which is about 16% of enrollment.  These data show much higher usage than the projected 10%, and, it fits our sustainability goals by eliminating over 80 tons of emissions. 
New full-time faculty and counselors on the way 

Based on discussion in Chancellor's Cabinet, each college has been given the green light to recruit new, full-time faculty and counselors for the Fall 2013 semester.

SBVC will hire three teaching faculty and two counselors.  CHC will hire two teaching faculty and one counselor.

This will help the campuses address the large number of faculty lost over the past few years to SERP retirements.  It will also begin to address the requirements of the Student Success Initiative. 
SBCCD in the news

The stories for the week of February 21st can be found here:

  • SBCCD students participate in March on March
  • SBVC Sports Roundup 
KVCR rating up

KVCR TV ratings hit an all-time high in January 2013, with over 954,000 viewers. This is a 5.2% increase from the previous high (July, 2011) which was 906,704 viewers and a 7% increase from January 2012, which had 891,164 viewers.

 

Some of the contributing factors include:

  • the very popular drama series Downton Abbey.
  • better maintenance of the transmitter this year. Often in the winter, the transmitter would go down for a few hours at a time.  We've upgraded to more reliable equipment with an increase in "up" time.
  • some good PBS kids' specials (an hour-long special of the popular series Wild Kratts).
  • some of our local specials are becoming more popular, like Man in the Kitchen, Let's Dine Out, and Inland Empire Explorer.

Also, First Nation's Experience (FNX) is now entering into agreements to be broadcast on PBS stations in Wyoming, Alaska, El Paso, and Chicago.  This is an important step to national access.

 

There will be a Board Study Session on KVCR on March 28th, at 4:00 p.m.

My Vision

We will:   

  • be considered the "best" community college in the State.
  • build a culture of trust with open and respectful communication.
  • increase all partnerships with business and industry, other academic institutions, non-profit agencies so that we can be stronger through combining resources and working together.
  • improve student success as measured by the State Chancellor's Office and any additional indicators that we determine are appropriate.  
  • increase our resource development and bring new grants and fundraising dollars to the colleges.
  • continue to develop and implement new academic programs that meet the needs of our community.
  • use technology to work smarter and to improve opportunities for student success.
  • provide service to students that reflects quality and excellence.
  • enhance our safety programs and be responsive to staff concerns about environmental health and safety.
  • hold professional development, including wellness, to be an integral part of our commitment to faculty and staff.
  • be good stewards of the environment and continue to develop and implement the SBCCD Sustainability Plan and alternative energy programs.
 
Please let me know how I can help you in the performance of your important work on behalf of our great District.

Sincerely,
Bruce
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