Staff Development Newsletter
Quinsigamond Community College
New Editor: Erica Merrill
Layout & Design: Erica Merrill
This month's issue:
"Legal Developments and Liability" by Mary E. Scott, Esq.
"Best Practices, Innovations, and Teaching Excellence" by Joan Ladik, Jean McLean and Maria Addison
Last
night I was sitting in the library of my “other” college, my pen poised over
a blank piece of paper (yet again) and oozing a spot of blue ink.
One of the tutors that works for/with me noticed my “glazed eyes,”
and she asked me, “What are you doing?”
Without even looking at her, I answered promptly, “I’m waiting for
inspiration.” She snorted
derisively which finally tore me out of my half-trance.
“You don’t wait for inspiration,” she said, “inspiration waits
for you.”
Now
it was my turn to give a derisive snort.
“Yeah,
inspiration waits for you . . . to be in the most inconvenient place imaginable
before striking,” I finished lamely, only to realize just how true that is.
When inspiration hits me like a slap in the face (or sometimes more like
a punch in the stomach), and I dream up the “perfect” idea, I’m usually in
the shower, or driving in my car, or more often than not, on the edge of sleep.
No, inspiration never decides to take a leisurely stroll through my brain
when I’m sitting with a blank piece of paper, or my blank computer screen, in
front of me, my fingers just itching to write or type something, anything.
Okay,
show of hands (or emails) – just how many of you know this exact feeling?
How many of you have sat at your blank computer screen, your glazed eyes
staring at the “whole lot of nothing but whiteness” in front of you, feeling
it mock you as you sit there tapping your pen against your desk or tapping your
fingers on your mouse, glancing occasionally at your watch, hearing the seconds
tick away in your brain, counting down to that 4:00pm deadline for that status
report to your supervisor, or budget report to the Business Office, or revised
curriculum proposal to your dean, or even that innovative lesson plan or
syllabus for one of your courses?
Trust me – you are not alone.
Legal Developments and Liability
By: Mary E. Scott, Esq.
When
I attended the Sixth Annual Employment Law conference sponsored by the
Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc., one of the highlights was the
presentation on recent developments in decisions rendered by the Massachusetts
Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD). The
MCAD has been extending liability for workplace discrimination to supervisory
and non-supervisory employees.
Historically,
where they have found illegal discrimination in the workplace, the courts and
administrative agencies have been holding employers, specifically chief
executive officers, personally liable for failing to adequately enforce policies
of non-discrimination.
Even
if a CEO did not personally engage in harassment of an employee, and even if he
or she had no knowledge of the harassment, he or she could be found liable for
the conduct under a theory of vicarious (strict) liability.
The idea was that CEOs are in the position to enforce polices of
non-discrimination in the workplace, and therefore can be held liable for the
actions of their employees. The trend, however, has been to hold more employees directly
accountable. Thus, supervisors and
co-workers have been held personally liable under Massachusetts law for their
own conduct in “aiding and abetting” discriminatory conduct or for
“interfering” with an employee’s rights.
In
four cases heard by the MCAD the commission held employees personally liable for
their role in discriminatory actions against other employees (Damon v. INCRE,
Inc. 25 M.D.L.R. 5; Woodson v. Town of Norton, 25 M.D.L.R. 63; Bendell
v. Lemax, Inc. 25 M.D.L.R 106; Mercurio v. Atamian Volkswagen, Inc.,
25 M.D.L.R 55).
These
cases reinforce the principle that diversity is everybody’s business.
It is not solely the responsibility of the CEO or supervisors to maintain
a workplace free of discriminatory conduct; it is the responsibility of all
employees to respect the rights of their co-workers, to maintain a work
environment free of illegal and harmful discrimination, and to support a climate
of civility and appreciation for the rights of others.
This
is even more important at a workplace such as a community college where
diversity among faculty, staff, and students furthers the institution’s
mission and educational goals. The
legislature, the courts, and federal and state agencies have made
non-discrimination in the workplace the legal responsibility of the college;
however, as an institution of public higher education, we have accepted and
embraced pluralism as our moral responsibility.
Quinsigamond Community College strives to achieve diversity reflective of our society. It is our goal and commitment to promote understanding and acceptance of diversity, and to create an atmosphere of dignity for all employees and students.
The
College Board/NECC Conference
“Best
Practices, Innovations, and Teaching Excellence: Focusing on Student Success at
Associate Degree-Granting Institutions”
By:
Joan
Ladik, Director
Jean
McLean, Coordinator, Advising Center
Maria
Addison, Coordinator, Health Careers Center
The College Board/NECC held its conference at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Worcester, on October 22, 2004.
Innovations
in Advising and Evaluating Academic Progress – Middlesex Community College
Middlesex
Community College, through a series of reorganizations, has established two
Academic Enrollment Centers – one on each of their two campuses.
Academic Counselors, formerly Academic Advisors, meet with students to
advise them and assist them in course selection.
The problem that arose with the Academic Counselors is that, not unlike
QCC, there are not enough faculty advisors to go around for all of our students,
so the Enrollment Center meets with students in programs that are very course
specific. In the case in point, the
Engineering programs are very precise, especially when it comes to which courses
transfer to which colleges. The
Academic Counselors began calling individual Engineering faculty and asking
specific questions regarding programs and course requirements. Thus began the working relationship between counselor and
faculty that has enhanced the Enrollment Center.
At
QCC we have a similar set up where we work with program coordinators and hold
group advising sessions at the Advising Center. This has opened new lines of communication that help our
students successfully navigate through our changing program and course
requirements. As I sat and listened
to the MCC staff speak about their Enrollment Center innovation, I was reminded
that we are also doing something very similar but with different programs.
This
group also discussed the use of their degree audit system (Banner) and showed
how it was available to faculty, staff and students. Again, we, too, offer the same degree audit online – but
ours is much easier to use (I have used the Banner degree audit and it is
difficult to navigate and harder to explain to students).
Metamorphosis:
Moving to an Enrollment Services Super Department – Southern Maine Community
College
Southern
Maine Community College experienced a 40 percent enrollment increase over four
years while transitioning from a technical college. Level state funding and a moratorium on tuition created a
demand for increased service capacity without an increase in staff.
A new One-Stop Enrollment Services “super department” emerged from
the previously independent admissions, financial aid, testing/advising, and
registrar offices. How they
accomplished this was the subject of this particular session by Linda
Gabrielson, Assistant Dean of Enrollment Services at Southern Maine Community
College.
The
initial step involved an evaluation of the institutional context (i.e. the
institutional transformation the college was experiencing along with rapidly
increasing enrollment and flat funding). The
change process included considering both external and internal factors.
Colleagues from like institutions and departments with good models were
contacted. Each affected unit was
asked to consider the following questions: What are you doing? Do you think you
are doing it well? What could be changed? How do you stack against similar
institutions? What are you doing to take down barriers for students?
The internal change process included several steps: meeting of the minds;
departmental buy-in; developing a core concept; attending to all the pieces;
implementation; evaluation; and revision. It
was a process that required the input of the entire college community –
faculty, staff, and students.
As
Ms. Gabrielson indicated, many valuable lessons were learned in this process –
change is challenging; communication is critical; the least suspected staff
members will rise to the charge of leading change; get the right people into the
right positions; don’t accept current practice as best practice; and through
it all, expect (more) change.
“Build
It and They Will Come” Does Not Work Anymore for Community Colleges: The Need
for Enrollment Management Practices – Northwestern Connecticut Community
College, Middlesex Community College, and Gateway Community College
This
workshop addressed the need for an enrollment management system that is
systematic, holistic and has an integrated approach to achieving enrollment and
retention goals. Activities
associated with attracting and retaining students include institutional
research, marketing, recruitment, financial aid, orientation, advising, student
services and instruction. All these
endeavors should be consistent with the college’s mission and service
offerings.
The
process relies heavily on the use of pertinent data for informed decision
making. These three Connecticut
colleges use a variety of instruments to gather the data that they use to
measure both the needs of the community for recruitment purposes and the degree
of student satisfaction to enhance persistence.
They
rely on their IR and marketing departments to assess community needs – for
example, what programs and services does the community want and when do they
want it – then they adapt to meet those needs.
Attributes
of a successful retention plan: set clear goals with specific retention
outcomes; mobilize resources; have a living plan that is part of the
institutional culture; be ready to modify and be flexible; have monthly, weekly,
daily action plans; and use data to support goals.
“Retention
should not be an institutional goal but rather a by-product of improved
educational programs and services for students. The goal should be to improve the quality of student life and
learning through improvements, enhancements, or additions to the institution’s
educational programs and services” (Noel Levitz).
Student
satisfaction surveys help colleges stay on track with their retention goals and
priorities. Noel Levitz, NSSE, and
MetLife all have assessment tools that can inform retention strategies.
It is important to define persistence since graduation is not the target
for many students. Nevertheless, having a strategic enrollment growth plan that
includes a retention plan results in improved service delivery, enhanced
learning communities, better quality student life, higher graduation rates,
greater student satisfaction, and fewer loan defaults.
From
Orientation to Graduation – Community College of Rhode Island
This
workshop discussed the benefits of using Accuplacer as the college’s
assessment tool, and how the results were used in their student-success model at
the college. CCRI uses its
Accuplacer test results as the basis of its retention program.
By understanding where students place, it is much easier to define
curriculum needs, and maximize student success.
Again,
this workshop validated the existence of policies and procedures established at
our own Assessment area. We use
Accuplacer and WritePlacer test results (CCRI does not use WritePlacer) to place
our students in appropriate level college courses.
Advisors at CCRI (no faculty advisors) review test scores, check to make
sure students are meeting academic standards, note whether students need
remediation or developmental coursework, and review progress as students move
toward completion of certificates or degrees.
They have also established a partnership with local high schools and
administer the Accuplacer test, as do we, to area high schools to assist
guidance counselors in understanding high schoolers’ readiness for college
coursework.
Springfield
Technical Community College Mentor Program: Vehicle for Student Success
The
STCC Mentor Program is designed to provide assistance and guidance to new
students entering the college. Presenters
Gregory James, Dean of Students, and Shelby Hall-Gibbons, Senior Advisor to the
Mentor Program, did an excellent job of explaining this initiative.
The
Mentor Program attempts to minimize some of the anxiety new students face as
they enter the college environment. Mentees
are linked with an experienced college student (mentors) to ensure that they are
aware of campus support services and how to access those services.
Student mentors also model cross-cultural communication, cooperation,
understanding and leadership skills. The
student mentor program fosters self-esteem, access to information, orientation
to the institutional culture, and student empowerment.
The
program employs one hundred students who are assigned approximately sixteen
mentees apiece. Mentors must have a
GPA of at least 3.0, have completed 12 college level credits, be mature, and be
a positive role model.
The
mentors are paid $200.00 per year and must participate in at least four
activities in addition to Orientation. The
President’s Scholars Fund supports the cost of the program, approximately
$22,000.00.
Models
of Adult Basic Education to College Transition to the New England Region
This
presentation focused on the ABE-To-College Transition Project that comprises 25
programs working with more than 30 colleges in six states.
The presenters discussed how the project began, and what it took to
develop and implement a successful college transition program.
Brenda Dann-Messier, Executive Director of Dorcas Place, spoke of the
partnership they had with CCRI and how it furthered the successful transition
between ABE and college level coursework.
With
much funding being used for “No Child Left Behind” legislation, very little
is left to work with the ABE population. Programs,
such as the ABE-To-College Transition Project, pick up where the high schools
leave off, and work with individuals in securing college preparatory classes and
college courses in pursuit of a college degree.
Both Jessica Spohn, Director of the New England ABE-To-College Transition
Project and Brenda Dann-Messier spoke to the issue of providing opportunities
for success as partnerships between their ABE centers and local colleges.
They both have applauded our community colleges for their support and
encouragement toward this effort.
Success
Factors for Associate Degree Nursing Students – Middlesex Community College
and Central Maine Community College
As
part of her doctoral research, Cynthia R. Butters, Dean, Health Careers
Division, Middlesex Community College, conducted a study of almost 300 nursing
students to determine what factors contribute to student completion of associate
degree nursing programs. Through a
combination of both surveys and interviews, nursing students in six
Massachusetts community colleges identified factors associated with success in
their nursing education program.
The
survey conducted in May 2002 composed of 57 items, included attitudinal,
behavioral, ranking, and general data. There
was a response rate of 86.5% (or 268 respondents out of 310).
Dr. Butters sought to determine whether a student departure model (Bean
and Metzner Model) could account for attrition/retention behaviors of a group of
associate degree nursing students. According
to the model, there are four sets of interacting variables that affect attrition
decisions: background and defining variables; academic variables; environmental
variables; and social integration variables.
Not surprisingly, the two variables that most affected
attrition/retention of this cohort of nursing students were the academic
variables (i.e. study hours, study skills, academic advising, absenteeism, and
job certainty), and the environmental variables (i.e. finances, hours of
employment, outside employment, family responsibilities, opportunity to
transfer). This was further
supported by the data collected via a one-hour interview of six volunteers; the
interview questions organized and focused on factors contributing to success in
the nursing program. The themes
that emerged from the interviews included personal academic management, family
and time management, finances, and nursing program subculture.
Successful
associate degree nursing students are good managers – time, responsibilities,
studies, and work. Additionally,
built-in interactions between students and faculty support academic progress of
these students, and faculty need to be mindful of the importance of these
everyday interactions to their students.
Keynote
Speakers: Dr. Ervin Staub, Professor of Psychology at UMass Amherst; Dr. DeAn
Krey, Volunteer Advisor to the American Red Cross and Professor Emeritus of
Teacher Education at University of Wisconsin-River Falls; and Marilyn Felt,
Project Director, Education Development Center
Dr.
Ervin Staub began his presentation by speaking about war and violence as it
relates to our children. He stated
that as children grow and mature, they become passive bystanders, unwilling to
assist those around them. Also,
that we, as college professionals, are meeting these same passive bystanders as
they enter our colleges, and that we should aim to encourage our students to
become more courageous as bystanders, take a stand, help when necessary.
Dr.
DeAn Krey spoke to the issue of Humanitarian Law and a course that the Red Cross
has created and is now piloting through the curriculum of the National Council
of the Social Studies across the country. Marilyn Felt spoke about the course itself and how successful
this new program has been with high school students. Both women spoke about the humanitarian perspective in
teaching our students, creating an awareness they have not yet been privy to.
Film clips were shown that depicted captives, and a discussion on human
dignity and/or lack thereof was explored.
Much of what all keynotes addressed was prefaced by the current War. It seems, through much of their research, that students seem to be overwhelmed and discouraged by world events and America’s hand in them. In the wake of 9/11 they came “eye to eye” with a reality never before seen. Students have had difficulty in dealing with the moral dilemmas associated with our country’s point of view and responses to terrorism and threat. These materials, from the Red Cross’ Exploring Humanitarian Law course, are real and relevant. They are applicable to the world we live in, and stimulate creative approaches to bystanding – as individuals and as world leaders.