August 19, 2005

Opening Day:  Thanks so much to all of the people who helped make our Opening Day work.  That could not have happened without:

       All the presenters on stage who were classy, spirited and concise in their presentations:  Peter Monrroy, Donna Elliott, Carla Campillo, Chip Chandler, Rick Hough, Regina Stanback Stroud, Lori Adrian, and Ray Hernandez.

       Linda Ghio for the program and the stage setup

       Julene Rhoan for arranging the killer desserts

       Jerry Peel for arrangements with the photographer

       Theresa Tentes and Maria Norris for signing faculty in

       Rich Tidd for the management of the Main Theater

       And everyone in my office pitching in all sorts of ways to make it go smoothly.

We will conduct a debriefing on the event at the first College Council meeting so that we can build on what worked well, and improve on what did not work as well.  Please let me or your representative know if you have suggestions for us for next year. 

Getting ready for the students--signage, sprucing up, safety improvements, a new map, and the "Ask Me!" buttons:  Many, many thanks to everyone who helped get the college ready for the opening of the fall term:

* Thanks to the Student Services Staff for developing the 43 red way finding signs, and to Facilities for posting them.  Having them up prior to the first day of class improved dramatically students’ ability to find their way around the college. In the first two days of registration, the One Stop experienced a significant decrease in the number of inquiries for Building 7, PH and the portables.

* Thanks to Facilities staff who, in addition to their regular duties, focused upon making Skyline particularly beautiful for the beginning of the term.  These improvements have really made a difference for our students and made the campus look "spiffy". They also worked to improve safety, re-striping the crosswalks and repainting the speed limit signs.

* At Opening Day, we distributed copies of a new version of the Skyline map, thanks to Donna Elliott. This version includes the latest information about student and staff parking, about disabled access, and about building closures.  It is designed to augment the interactive map which appears on our website.  In case you would like another copy of this particular version, we have made it available on our website at http://skylinecollege.edu.  Click on the red "Maps" button, then on "Detailed map".

* We distributed "Ask Me!" buttons at our Opening Day festivities for our use during the first couple of weeks to help welcome students and invite them to take advantage of all the people who know their way around the college. I am hearing from numerous faculty and staff that students appreciate them enormously.  Thanks for wearing them!

Executive Report to the Board of Trustees:  The report on Skyline which I gave to the Board of Trustees Wednesday night is available in its usual location on our website at http://www.smccd.net/accounts/skynotes/ Just below we now have an archive of Skyline Shines.

SLOAC Workshop a success:  49 faculty from across the college, representing every division, participated in a well-designed workshop on student learning outcomes Tuesday, sponsored by the Student Learning Outcomes Advisory Committee.  Karen Wong, Skyline’s Coordinator of the effort, and Ray Lapuz, her counterpart from Canada, lead the workshop.  They collaborated on a similar workshop at Canada that same morning.  The discussion was rich, spirited, and sophisticated.  I felt privileged to listen in on it.  Karen has posted the handout and the ideas generated at this address: http://smccd.net/accounts/wongk/sloac.htm.

Faculty Door Cards:  As you know from an early August email from Regina Stanback Stroud, we now have a very slick, easy to update way of creating and revising Faculty Door Cards.  Thanks to Regina, Jasmine Witham and Theresa Tentes for their work to get this to happen.  And thanks to the 77 faculty who have submitted their Fall Semester Door Cards as of right this minute. The door card is located on a user friendly website: http://www.smccd.net/doorcard/ .  As you know, the new door card system has several key advantages:

       Door cards are stored in an online database so you can update them at your convenience.

       You can have several door cards per semester as your schedule changes.

       You can use door cards from previous semesters as a template for future semesters.

       Door cards are searchable and stored in one central location.

       Students can access your door card information from home.

       You have two print settings: full sheet (large) and half sheet (small)

In order to create a door card, faculty members simply log on at that website using their e-mail username and e-mail password.  If you do not have an e-mail username and password, please ask your Division Dean to request an account for you.

Skyline leads the way on cutting textbook costs:  Tom Bauer, Director of the SMCCD Bookstores, has done some analysis of used book sales that indicate that the Skyline College Bookstore has achieved a 50% used book ratio! The growth at all three stores in used book sales the last two years has been impressive; however, Skyline College is leading the way in providing used books for our students. A 50% used textbook ratio would not be possible without the steadfast cooperation of the faculty at Skyline College. Tom says he has worked in college bookstores for 22 years and has never had a 50% used book ratio anywhere. Skyline College faculty had 81% of the Fall 2005 booklist submitted in time for the May 2005 buyback period. This enabled students to benefit at the buyback counter and allowed Kevin Chak and the staff to source used books from additional vendors for an extended period of time.  This success was no accident–it relied upon the efforts of many people.  Faculty received emails from Connie Beringer, Nick Kapp, Kevin Chak, the Deans, and Regina Stanback Stroud all urging on-time submissions of books.  As well, the senate held a couple of high profile discussions on the cost of books and encouraged the use of used textbooks to help keep cost down where appropriate, and balancing attention to cost with academic situations that compel the use of a newer addition.  This is an achievement of which we can be very proud!

Community College Readership Program:  The Skyline College President's Innovation Fund and the Beta Theta Omicron Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society are participating in The Community College Readership Program, an initiative to promote civic engagement and broadened awareness of current issues through newspaper readership.  Increased newspaper readership strongly correlates with students’ desire to engage in their community, thus developing civic-minded students.  Skyline College will receive USA Today for student and faculty use in the classroom throughout the semester. Faculty may wish to encourage students to read the papers and participate in classroom discussions on national and international issues. The newspapers will be delivered to the stands in front of the TLC (Bldg 5) and at the Student Services horseshoe (Bldg 2).  For further information, contact Chris Case.

Victoria P. Morrow, Ph.D.
President, Skyline College
650-738-4111
morrowv@smccd.net
3300 College Drive
San Bruno, CA 94066