News

SWIC Faculty Tackle Cultural Diversity

Oct.1, 2009 – Through the Title III grant, the college’s division of Faculty Development hosted two faculty workshops on the topic of cultural diversity. Presented by Samuel Betances, Ph.D., a biracial, bicultural and bilingual citizen of the world, the workshop included personal stories of resiliency, insight into the cultural obstacles students face today and resources for enhancing students’ cultural competency.

 According to Title III staff, feedback from faculty members was very positive after hearing this dynamic educator. One faculty member reported feeling more comfortable crossing the diversity line, while another listed “become transformed” as a personal goal. As Betances points out, “You cannot be a transformer unless you have been transformed.”

Title III Hosts Developmental Learning Communities Conference

Aug. 1, 2009 – The SWIC Title III group hosted a conference Aug. 18 and 19, 2009, at the Shrine of Our Lady of Snows in Belleville. The focus was creating learning communities for developmental courses!

Evidence shows that learning communities increase student retention and success. Leading the conference were Sue Jenson and Linda Mitchell from Grossmont College, a college recommended by Evergreen State College's Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education. The Washington Center is considered a premier resource for colleges and universities involved in developing learning community cohorts. 

Title III Efforts Expand Learning Communities Model

July 1, 2009 – Title III is expanding the existing learning communities model and focusing on creating learning communities that pair developmental classes. Coordinating the effort is Title III Learning Specialist, Cynthia Jenkins. Developmental Learning Communities will be launched in Spring 2010 at SWIC.

Learning Circle on Active Learning Strategies

April 15, 2009 –  Research indicates that active learning strategies are superior to lectures. They complement a wide variety of student learning styles and promote collaborative learning, which engages students more fully than traditional lecture methods. As a follow-up to the January opening week workshop, English faculty members Faith Christiansen and Judi Quimby organized a faculty learning circle. Over the course of four meetings, participating faculty reviewed the book, "Active Learning: 101 Strategies to Teach Any Subject," revised a lesson using a selected strategy, and then shared their results and observations. Faculty and staff who participated included Sue Vaughn, Brad Eilering, Debora Trainor, Linda Schink, Mardy Eisloeffel, Marsha McCleod, Bernadine Chapman and Title III staff members Cynthia Jenkins and Donna Holesinger.

Team Reviews E-Porfolio Products

March 30, 2009 – A dedicated team is working on a Title III project that reviews the use of student electronic portfolios.The team has identified two primary purposes for portfolios: assessing student learning and engaging students more fully in their learning. Committee Co-Chair Charlie Hannon states,"The bottom line is that we will be able to offer students and instructors a new way of evaluating learning,which goes way beyond the old standardized testing method we have all relied on so heavily in the past.We will also be giving students a new way to organize themselves and create a safe storage space to showcase their work which can be accessed from anywhere."

The varieties, types and scope of student e-portfolio products available today are rather extensive.This past fall, the team evaluated four products after viewing theirWeb-based demonstrations."Viewing these demos provided us with a better idea of the types of portfolio systems available and how we might use them at SWIC,"notes Title III Activity Coordinator Donna Holesinger.

Title III Takes on Academic Advising

March 15, 2009 –  The newest Title III technology project under way is the implementation of a degree audit system. The new "Academic Advising" system will be incorporated into the Student Center on eSTORM and will provide new tools for students to monitor their progress toward graduation in real time. Also, students will have access to "what-if" functionality so they can understand how their existing coursework would apply toward a different degree or certificate.

Future enhancements of the system will allow students to run a degree audit and actually click links on the resulting report to register for classes they still need to take. This will help students who choose online registration to make sure they are enrolling in classes that will count toward graduation. While these efforts are designed to help SWIC students make informed decisions, students still need to visit the Counseling Center at least once each semester to make sure they are on track to achieve their goals.

Online Student Orientation Takes Shape

Oct. 1, 2008 –  One of the new Title III technology initiatives is online student orientation. Providing orientation information anytime, anywhere through eSTORM is one way the college hopes to meet the needs of its diverse student population. For some students, issues of time and transportation prevent them from attending an in-person orientation. For others, convenient online access to important information is what they desire and expect.

Dean of Counseling Martha Nelson views the implementation of an online orientation as an additional resource for entering students. By no means does online access eliminate the need for in-person orientations that provide valuable face-to-face interaction, she said. However, online access will allow a broader base of students to acquire vital information on resources and services that can help them succeed.

A team of staff met in August to celebrate completing the second of seven project phases. Committee members include, left row, front to back, Rick Gregory, Debbie Politsch, Martha Nelson and Chuck Whitehead; middle row, Debbie Alford, Lyn Waller, Debra Rahn, Sandra Call and Laurie Almodovar; right row, Laura Mondy, Donna Holesinger and Marilyn Quitmeyer.

Title III Begins Work on Technology Initiatives

Aug. 1, 2008 –  Initiatives implemented with Title III funds typically fall into two broad categories: enhancing curriculum and instruction, and strengthening student administration technology. In January, Laura Mondy began her role as Title III student administration technology specialist. Mondy will lead a number of exciting projects related to the expansion of the college's technology capabilities. There will be a particular focus on online student access to information and a relatively new concept in higher education - student intelligence, modeled after business intelligence in the corporate world.

"A comprehensive student intelligence system will build upon the PeopleSoft technology already in place and greatly enhance our analytical ability to maximize the usefulness of student data," said Chief Information Officer Chris Leja. "The expansion of online access to orientation, academic advising and electronic portfolios will allow the college to frontload success and help remove barriers for our students."