Community College Week articles from April 2011

Community College Week archives from April 2011

Average faculty salaries.(Figuring It Out: Statistics shaping the higher-ed landscape)
April 18, 2011... Average salaries for full-time faculty on a nine-month contract at public 2-year colleges climbed by less than 1 percent between 2000 and 2010. At 4-year schools, the increase was 3 percent. Here is a look at salary trends at public colleges:...

UMass woos community college graduates.
April 18, 2011... BOSTON (AP) -- A new program is aimed at making it easier for graduates of two-year community colleges to attend--and afford--the University of Massachusetts flagship Amherst campus.. Community college students with a grade point average of...

Kansas College offers free classes for a day.
April 18, 2011... OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) -- It turns out paying nothing for college classes is pretty popular. A northeast Kansas community college is again offering its Free College Day, with a variety of one-time, 45-minute class offerings. Johnson...

Calif. budget cuts mean 400,000 fewer slots for CC students.(SQUEEZE)
April 18, 2011... SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- The 112-campus California Community Colleges system may be forced to enroll 400,000 fewer students and cut thousands of classes because of the state budget impasse and funding shortages. Chancellor Jack Scott said...

Five lessons on college retention from early colleges.(point of view)
April 18, 2011... Through the work of the Middle College National Consortium and the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, we are learning about why early college students succeed in college. The intentional links between secondary and postsecondary...

Beyond first responders: community colleges embrace new homeland security paradigm.
April 18, 2011... Long before the 9-11 terror attacks made calls for coordinated homeland security efforts an urgent national priority, community colleges were providing training and resources for local security needs. Data from the National Center for...

College becomes first NJ to offer homeland security degree.(GROWTH INDUSTRY)
April 18, 2011... TOMS RIVER, NJ. (AP) -- There were just six students in the new class on homeland security at Ocean County College, all young men with buzz cuts or close-cropped hair atop serious gazes. Appearance-wise, each could pass for a cop. For some in...

W.Va. looks to colleges to help build thriving economy.(tracking trends)
April 18, 2011... HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) -- When Derek Gregg was growing up and going to school at Philip Barbour High School in Barbour County, he wasn't really into science. Computers were more his thing. And it was that interest in computers that led him to...

Ark. college students bring the classroom outdoors.(tracking trends)
April 18, 2011... BATESVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- Mercedes Kent can appreciate lack of cell phone service every once in a while, which is a little unusual for an 18-year-old. But sometimes she would rather be on the banks of a lazy river or among towering trees hunting,...

Maricopa County Colleges raise tuition by 7%.
April 18, 2011... PHOENIX (AP) -- It will cost more to attend a community college in Maricopa County. The college district board has approved a 7 percent tuition increase. That means a the cost of a credit hour will rise from $71 to $76. The Arizona...

RI lawmaker proposes student loan tax break.
April 18, 2011... PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- A Rhode Island legislator is proposing tax breaks that would make it easier for students at state colleges to repay their loans, while also spurting business. Under the bill proposed by Rep. Christopher Blazejewski,...

Former employee accused in theft of loan money.
April 18, 2011... LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A former Southern California community college financial aid officer and an accomplice have pleaded not guilty to allegations that they swindled the government by taking out federal student loans in straw borrowers' names. ...

Ariz. budget cuts mean tuition hike likely.
April 18, 2011... FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) -- Education budget cuts mean a likely tuition hike at state community colleges. Coconino Community College officials say they expect a modest tuition increase as its state contribution falls by about $1 million. The...

Kansas College tables tobacco ban for now.
April 18, 2011... GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) -- A proposal to ban smoking at Garden City Community College has been tabled, at least for now. The Student Government Association led a campaign to ban all forms of tobacco from the campus. But Micah Kasriel, adviser...

Interim president gets full-time dodge city job.
April 18, 2011... DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) -- Trustees of Dodge City Community College have chosen Don Woodburn as the school's new president. Woodburn had been serving as interim president of the southwestern Kansas college since January. The previous permanent...

Updates to browsers offer improved internet surfing.(technology today)
April 18, 2011... The recent release of upgrades to the world's three most popular Web browsers, Windows Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome, makes it a good time to consider whether to explore a change. Windows Internet Explorer (IE), the...

Kellogg Community College's (Mich.) Air Rescue Fire Fighter Program will train more than 80 fire fighters employed by NASA at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.(around campus)
April 18, 2011... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Kellogg Community College's (Mich.) Air Rescue Fire Fighter Program will train more than 80 fire fighters employed by NASA at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This will be the second time that KCC's ARFF trainer...

At the English for Advanced Manufacturing and the Skilled Trades Initiative graduation ceremony are standing.(around campus)
April 18, 2011... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: At the English for Advanced Manufacturing and the Skilled Trades Initiative graduation ceremony are standing, from left: Daniel Barron from AMMEX; Raul Ruiz from South Texas College; Larry Garver from Hi-Tech...

Sean O'Hagan was the lucky winner of a 2010 Harley-Davidson Vivid Black Sportster motorcycle in the Raritan Valley Community College Foundation's scholarship raffle.(around campus)
April 18, 2011... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sean O'Hagan was the lucky winner of a 2010 Harley-Davidson Vivid Black Sportster motorcycle in the Raritan Valley Community College Foundation's scholarship raffle. O'Hagan is a student at the New Jersey college plays...

Forty-seven Texas workers are finding their voices through a new South Texas College English program.(around campus)
April 18, 2011... Forty-seven Texas workers are finding their voices through a new South Texas College English program. "One thing they have gotten out of this, according to one manager I spoke with, is the ability to better make their arguments and stand up for...

Northeast Lakeview College, the newest of the five Alamo Colleges in Texas, announced receipt of a grant totaling nearly $600,000 to provide scholarships for mathematics majors.(grants & gifts)
April 18, 2011... Northeast Lakeview College, the newest of the five Alamo Colleges in Texas, announced receipt of a grant totaling nearly $600,000 to provide scholarships for mathematics majors. A check $599,098 from the National Science Foundation to fund...

Texarkana College Foundation.(grants & gifts)
April 18, 2011... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The family of William T. Smith, owners of Super Bingo, recently presented the Texarkana College Foundation with the fourth installment of an endowed scholarship. The scholarship will be used to help women, 25 years or...

Northwestern Technical College.(grants & gifts)
April 18, 2011... Georgia Northwestern Technical College aviation student Travis Smith was announced a recipient of a Coastal Empire Professional Aviation Maintenance Association Scholarship. Smith is one of the three students in the state awarded the...

Medical records are going digital and that means that the x-ray of your chest needs to move from x-ray film into a computer.(faculty lounge)
April 18, 2011... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Medical records are going digital and that means that the x-ray of your chest needs to move from x-ray film into a computer. The Volunteer State Community College (Tenn.) Radiologic Technology Program has new equipment...

The Coastline Art Gallery's newest exhibit, entitled "Collective Knowledge, will run through April 23 in Huntington Beach, Calif.(faculty lounge)
April 18, 2011... The Coastline Art Gallery's newest exhibit, entitled "Collective Knowledge, will run through April 23 in Huntington Beach, Calif. To kick off the show, the gallery hosted a special reception to honor Jay Sagen, an acclaimed local artist,...

With electric drill in hand, Southwestern Community College (N.C.) electronics engineering technology instructor Ron Poor excitedly, but cautiously, opened the large wooden crate he had been anticipating a long time.(faculty lounge)
April 18, 2011... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With electric drill in hand, Southwestern Community College (N.C.) electronics engineering technology instructor Ron Poor excitedly, but cautiously, opened the large wooden crate he had been anticipating a long time. He...

Essays written by San Jacinto College students Chris Shelton and Pauline Eklund placed among the top 10 finalists in a national essay contest sponsored by Community College Week and the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development.(honors & awards)
April 18, 2011... Essays written by San Jacinto College students Chris Shelton and Pauline Eklund placed among the top 10 finalists in a national essay contest sponsored by Community College Week and the National Institute for Staff and Organizational...

John Bookstaver.(honors & awards)
April 18, 2011... John Bookstaver, a professor of chemistry at St. Charles Community College, received the Governor's Award for Excellence in Teaching in Jefferson City, Mo The award was presented at a luncheon sponsored by the Missouri Community College...

Johnson County Community College.(honors & awards)
April 18, 2011... Kansas's Johnson County Community College debate team was awarded the prestigious McClintock Award, presented to the national champion community college team, at the Cross-Examination Debate Association National Tournament. The CEDA national...

The Eastern Iowa Community College District Board of Trustees.(APPOINTMENTS)
April 18, 2011... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Eastern Iowa Community College District Board of Trustees appointed Donald Doueette as the district's next chancellor. Doucette currently serves as senior vice president and provost of Ivy Tech Community College of...

St. Louis Community College Foundation.(APPOINTMENTS)
April 18, 2011... Jo-Ann Digman has been appointed executive director of the St. Louis Community College Foundation. Digman assumed these duties April 1. Digrnan has served as executive director of InSight St. Louis since 2006; she founded the Digman Network in...

South Mountain College.(APPOINTMENTS)
April 18, 2011... Shari L. Olson has been named president of South Mountain College, one of the Maricopa Community Colleges in Arizona. She will begin work at the college July 1. Olson comes to SMCC from Minnesota's Anoka Technical College, where she has served...

Northampton Community College.(APPOINTMENTS)
April 18, 2011... Jeffrey W. Focht has been named vice president for academic affairs at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pa. Focht joined the-faculty at Northampton in 2002 as assistant professor of business. He taught courses in marketing and...

Hawkeye Community College.(APPOINTMENTS)
April 18, 2011... Linda Allen has been named president of Hawkeye Community College (Iowa). Allen has served as interim president of the college since September. Allen was named vice president of academic affairs at Hawkeye in 2006. During her tenure at Hawkeye,...

2011 Calendar.(Calendar)
April 18, 2011... APRIL April 20-23 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BRANCH CAMPUS ADMINISTRATORS * 2011 Annual Conference Seattle, WA www.nabca.net April 27-29 DEPARTMENT CHAIR INSTITUTE--DCI[c] Summerlin--Las Vegas, NV (702) 228-4699 MAY ...

Figuring it out.
April 4, 2011... Figuring It Out Statistics shaping the higher-ed landscape Degree Holders Among adults aged 25 to 34, the United States ranks ninth in the percentage of the population with a college degree. The rankings: % of ...

NC colleges get ok to opt out of fed loan program.
April 4, 2011... RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Legislation approved by the state House allows North Carolina community colleges to opt out of offering low-interest federal loans to students, only a year after the General Assembly mandated all campuses participate in the...

Man admits using college computer to download porn.
April 4, 2011... EAST ST. LOUIS, III. (AP) -- A southwestern Illinois man faces up to two decades in federal prison after admitting he downloaded several hundred images of child pornography using a community college library's computer. Twenty-seven-year-old...

Colleges partner with steelmaker on workforce training plan.(around the nation)
April 4, 2011... WEIRTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Steelmaker ArcelorMittal announced it's teaming up with two Ohio Valley colleges to launch a program that will train the next generation of steelworkers for its West Virginia operations. The "Steelworker for the Future"...

Tips and tools: strategies for implementing the ABCs of Effective Teaching.(point of view)
April 4, 2011... Last year, the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD)joined five other community college organizations in signing a commitment to boost student completion rates by 50 percent over the next decade. NISOD's unique role...

Correction.(point of view)(Correction notice)
April 4, 2011... Community College Week incorrectly reported in its March 7 edition that San Jacinto College opposes proposed Texas legislation that would allow licensed handgun owners to carry concealed handguns on campus. College trustees have not taken a...

Kansas college weighs campus-wide tobacco ban.
April 4, 2011... GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) -- Complaints about chewed tobacco and used snuff being left in sinks and water fountains have spurred student leaders at Garden City Community College to propose a campus-wide tobacco ban at the southwestern Kansas...

Feeding academic success: service learning promotes learning by doing.
April 4, 2011... Use the term service-learning in a community college setting and it usually conjures up images of do-gooders doing good things--students helping out at a homeless shelter, perhaps, or traveling to an elementary school to help youngsters with...

Administration asks nation's governors to boost college completion rates.(dateline: Washington)
April 4, 2011... WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration is calling on governors to help raise the nation's middling college completion rate, suggesting several educational strategies and making grant money available in its quest to see the U.S. lead the...

Calif. education advocates press lawmakers for vote on taxes.(money tree)
April 4, 2011... SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- With uncertainty looming over negotiations to close California's huge budget deficit, a coalition of teachers, parents and public school employees descended on the capital to lobby lawmakers to approve Gov. Jerry...

Miss. college adding new classroom building.(tracking trends)
April 4, 2011... GRENADA, Miss. (AP) -- Holmes Community College will build a $3.5 million classroom building at its campus in Grenada. HCC vice president Jim Haffey says the school expects to break ground in late April. He says the building should be open in...

Measure Allowing Guns on Texas Campuses Gets First Approval
April 4, 2011... AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Legislation that would allow concealed handgun license holders to carry their weapons in college classrooms and buildings across Texas took its first step to becoming law, as dozens of students, faculty and administrators...

Clinical simulation labs gaining as training tools.(tracking trends)
April 4, 2011... COLUMBUS, Ind. (AP) -- From a hospital bed under the bright lights of the examination room, a robotic voice called out, "I feel like I could die." The plastic simulation manikin also can make coughing and moaning sounds, simulate a pulse and...

Backing governor, Duncan calls Wash. education system 'illogical'.
April 4, 2011... OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) -- U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan spoke to Washington lawmakers and top officials via video conference, saying the state's education system is illogical and has an organization plan that isn't a viable business plan....

Who invented the computer? It depends on who you ask.(technology today)
April 4, 2011... The recent death at age 86 of Jean Bartik, last of the original ENIAC programmers, shines light once again on the thorny but fascinating question of who invented the computer. What defines our times more than computers? That's a debate in...

Ky. Colleges agree on plan for dual admission.
April 4, 2011... HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Students can now be jointly admitted to Hopkinsville Community College and Western Kentucky University, thanks to an agreement signed by the presidents of both schools. The joint admissions program will help students...

Plan to merge Conn. boards raises concern.
April 4, 2011... HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- A proposal to reorganize the oversight of some Connecticut state universities and its community colleges is prompting concern from students and some lawmakers. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy proposes creating a single board of...

Proposed rule on barring risky students delayed.
April 4, 2011... RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A rule that would let North Carolina community colleges bar admission to students who appear to pose a threat likely will not take effect until next year. The state's Rules Review Commission acknowledged that it received...

Kan. College president takes helm early.
April 4, 2011... GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) -- The new president of Garden City Community College has taken over three months earlier than planned. The college's board of trustees voted to allow Herbert J. Swender to begin work as president on April 1, rather...

Forsyth Tech gets $40 million software grant.
April 4, 2011... WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) -- Forsyth Technical Community College has received $40.2 million worth of software for training students in product design, development and manufacturing. School officials say the gift from Siemens PLM Software is...

W. Va. College offers courses for gas industry.
April 4, 2011... WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) -- West Virginia Northern Community College will soon offer training for people eager to land jobs in the rapidly growing gas drilling industry. J. Michael Koon, vice president for workforce development, says courses at...

2 defendants dropped from gang-rape suit.
April 4, 2011... SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Two defendants have been dropped from a lawsuit filed by a teen girl who says she was gang-raped by members of the De Anza College baseball team. The San Jose Mercury News reports that plaintiff's attorneys have...

Program raises $42,000 for Ark. scholarships.
April 4, 2011... SPARKMAN, Ark. (AP) -- Leaders in a southern Arkansas community of about 500 have raised more than $42,000 for a scholarship program that will pay college tuition for the town's high school graduates. Officials announced they had received...

The nine-year era of building and renovation under Proposition R has come to a close at California's Cuyamaca College with the completion of its $4.1 million library expansion.(around campus)
April 4, 2011... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The nine-year era of building and renovation under Proposition R has come to a close at California's Cuyamaca College with the completion of its $4.1 million library expansion. The 3,950-square-foot addition to the...

Ozarks Technical Community College (Mo.) and a group of civic, community and business leaders are joining together on a project that will educate students while improving a local neighborhood.(around campus)
April 4, 2011... Ozarks Technical Community College (Mo.) and a group of civic, community and business leaders are joining together on a project that will educate students while improving a local neighborhood. Project CoRE soon will begin construction of a home...

Students at Pellissippi State Community College (Tenn.) have been learning to speak Mandarin Chinese since spring classes began in January, but it was at a dedication ceremony last month that they first got to view the Confucius Classroom plaque that symbolizes the college's commitment to international education.(around campus)
April 4, 2011... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Students at Pellissippi State Community College (Tenn.) have been learning to speak Mandarin Chinese since spring classes began in January, but it was at a dedication ceremony last month that they first got to view the...

The Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley, headquartered in Wheeling, W. V., has made two grants totaling $84,000 to West Virginia Northern Community College after deciding to deepen its focus on education needs in the region.(grants & gifts)
April 4, 2011... The Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley, headquartered in Wheeling, W. V., has made two grants totaling $84,000 to West Virginia Northern Community College after deciding to deepen its focus on education needs in the region. The Board of...

New Jersey students seeking a future in the human services field will have comprehensive career pathways to follow from high school through college and beyond when Camden County College completes work under a $1.2 million state Department of Education grant.(grants & gifts)
April 4, 2011... New Jersey students seeking a future in the human services field will have comprehensive career pathways to follow from high school through college and beyond when Camden County College completes work under a $1.2 million state Department of...

The first group of students in the certified nursing assistant training class arrived on the Schenectady County Community College (N.Y.) campus this week, eager to learn the essentials toward becoming trained in the growing field of health care.(grants & gifts)
April 4, 2011... The first group of students in the certified nursing assistant training class arrived on the Schenectady County Community College (N.Y.) campus this week, eager to learn the essentials toward becoming trained in the growing field of health care....

Don Stiehr, factory representative with Pro-Cut, talked to a group of automotive educators about a product designed for resurfacing brake rotors during the first day of the spring Illinois College Automotive Instructor's Association Conference.(faculty lounge)(Conference news)
April 4, 2011... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Don Stiehr, factory representative with Pro-Cut, talked to a group of automotive educators about a product designed for resurfacing brake rotors during the first day of the spring Illinois College Automotive...

A benefit concert and silent auction was held at the College of Southern Maryland, La Plata Campus, Fine Arts Center Theater.(faculty lounge)
April 4, 2011... A benefit concert and silent auction was held at the College of Southern Maryland, La Plata Campus, Fine Arts Center Theater. Lynn Hollyfield and Grace Griffith presented a program of inspirational songs from Celtic ballads to light jazz to...

North Carolina's Guilford Technical Community College's "Focus on Civility" program was held on three campuses and received a boost from visiting professors from Johns Hopkins University and UNC- Chapel Hill.(faculty lounge)
April 4, 2011... North Carolina's Guilford Technical Community College's "Focus on Civility" program was held on three campuses and received a boost from visiting professors from Johns Hopkins University and UNC-Chapel Hill. P. M. Forni, professor and co-founder...

President Obama named 11 people and four organizations as recipients of the prestigious Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring.(honors & awards)
April 4, 2011... President Obama named 11 people and four organizations as recipients of the prestigious Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. The awards are given by the White House each year to individuals or...

Raritan Valley Community College.(honors & awards)
April 4, 2011... The Raritan Valley Community College (N.J.) chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society earned several honors, including the prestigious Award of Achievement, at the 24th annual Middle States Regional Convention. The Award of Achievement...

George S. Boggs.(honors & awards)
April 4, 2011... George S. Boggs, retired president and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges, was honored with the NASPA Outstanding Contribution to Higher Education Award at the 2011 NASPA Annual Conference. The award is reserved for an...

River Community, and Technical College.(APPOINTMENTS)
April 4, 2011... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] David J. Ayersman has been named vice president of technology services at new River Community, and Technical College in West Virginia. Ayersman is a native West Virginian who returned to the state in 2007 after spending...

Kellogg Community College.(APPOINTMENTS)
April 4, 2011... Kellogg Community College (Mich.) announced the appointment of Catherine Hendler as vice president for instruction. Hendler previously served as the College's chief information officer. Prior to coming to KCC in 2005, she held various leadership...

Monroe Community College.(APPOINTMENTS)
April 4, 2011... Michael McDonough has been appointed provost and vice president for academic services at New York's Monroe Community College. McDonough, MCC's dean of liberal arts since 2007, was a professor of English for 20 years at Alfred University, serving...

Miami Dade College.(APPOINTMENTS)
April 4, 2011... Thomas W. Meyer, dean of academic affairs at Miami Dade College's Wolfson Campus, was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the American Conference of Academic Deans. A veteran educator with more than 20 years of teaching and training...

Collin Higher Education Center.(APPOINTMENTS)
April 4, 2011... Norma Smith has been named director of Human Resources and Organizational Development at the Collin Higher Education Center, the new university center at Collin College (Texas). Previously, Smith served as the college's director of employment...

2011 calendar.(Calendar)
April 4, 2011... APRIL April 4-8 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COLLEGE TEACHING AND LEARNING Sawgrass Golf Resort & Spa Ponte Verda Beach, Fla. www.teachlearn.org April 9-12, American Association of Community Colleges * 91st AACC Annual...