September 30, 2005

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/

Hurricane Katrina relief event planning: A group of students, faculty and staff, led by ASSC Vice President Peter Monrroy, will meet again on Wednesday, October 5, in Room 2305 at 2 pm. The group will be discussing advertising for the upcoming event, described below, confirming the menu and determining which organization(s) will receive the monies raised at the event.

SAVE THE DATE!

Mardi Gras Festival

Wednesday, November 2

11AM to 2PM, and 5PM to 8PM on the Quad between Buildings 2 & 3
Join us for music, food and fun
All proceeds will benefit the victims of Hurricanes Katrina

How Homophobia Affects Us All: Come join a discussion led by a panel of Skyline faculty, staff and students on issues of homophobia and how it affects all of us regardless of our sexual orientation. The event is sponsored by the Associated Students at Skyline College and the Gay-Straight Alliance. It will be held

Thursday, October 20

12:00-1:30 in the Gallery Theater.
Refreshments will be served.

All USA Academic Team nominations for students: The All-USA Academic Team is a prestigious award ($2500 plus All-California Team Awards and additional recognition). Skyline can nominate two students for the Team. Only 20 students nationwide make the team. Since 2000, two Skyline students have been on the All-USA team, one Skyline student was the California New Century Scholar (there's only one per state), and nine students have been on the All-California team. Nominees must have a GPA of 3.7 or higher, be eligible for an Associate degree between December 1, 2005 and August 31, 2006, and demonstrate a commitment to community and college through service. Please send possible nominees to see Chris Case (7301) as soon as possible.

Skyline Shines in financial aid: The Financial Aid Office has just learned that Skyline has a very low student loan "cohort default rate." Skyline’s low cohort default rate means that our Financial Aid Office staff has done a successful job in providing financial advice to our students and in helping them to manage their loans. A cohort default rate is the percentage of a school’s borrowers who get into difficulty paying on certain categories of loans during a particular fiscal year. Skyline’s cohort default rate for the fiscal year 2003 is 1.9, which is significantly lower than the college’s cohort default rate of 6.2 in 2002, and much lower than the national cohort default rate of 4.5 percent. Please join me in congratulating the Financial Aid Office staff for their excellent work with Skyline students!

College Council update: Last week I included the College Council agenda in Skyline Shines as part of our efforts to improve college wide communication. This week I am providing a brief update on the status of some items that I think might be of particular interest. In each case in which an issue is still under consideration, it will be taken up by each of the constituent groups and then brought back to the Council (i.e. the Academic Senate Governing Council, the Classified Council and the Associated Students Governing Council):

Emergency Preparedness: The council reviewed plans for the college’s Emergency Response training and drill slated for October 19-20. I will remind you again of this event as the date nears. As I explained last week in Skyline Shines, it should not disrupt classes or the college’s regular business.

Accreditation: The Council reviewed and approved the structure and membership for the Steering Committee for our Accreditation Self Study. They also heard about the training which has taken place recently on how to develop "student learning outcomes" for courses and programs. There was a preliminary discussion of a student survey to be conducted this spring in conjunction with our work on the Self Study. Options for how to conduct it and the content will be considered by the Accreditation Steering Committee and then discussed more widely.

EEOAC (Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Committee) proposed new name and charge: The proposal involves a broadening of the charge beyond employment issues to issues of equal employment, equity more generally and diversity. The proposed name is Stewardship for Equity, Equal Employment and Diversity (SEEED) Advisory Committee. This item will be discussed by each of the constituent groups and action is slated for the October 26 College Council meeting.

Smoking on Campus: the Council received a report and recommendations from the Health and Safety Committee. They included identification of five areas to be identified as "Designated Smoking Areas": in the quad area between Buildings 1 and 2, in one of the circular seating areas between Buildings 2 and 3, near Building 7 at the top of the stairs, near Building 1 across from Building 8, and a location at Pac Heights. In each case benches and ashtrays would be moved to these areas and shelter would need to be provided. The cost for shelter options is being investigated. Many benches and ashtrays have already been moved away from doors, windows and vents. The committee also made signage recommendations. Establishment of "Designated Smoking Areas" would require creation of a college policy and procedures for enforcement of it. The Health and Safety Committee is drafting such a policy. Meanwhile the approach they are proposing will be discussed in each of the constituent groups, and brought back to the College Council for its October 26 College Council meeting.

Art on Campus: the Council received the report of the Art on Campus Task Force and its recommended guidelines for art on campus. The recommendations will be discussed by each of the constituent groups and the item is slated for action at the October 26 College Council meeting.

Compendium of Committees: If you want to know when a particular committee or council meets, or who represents you on it, you can get that information from our Compendium of Committees. It is posted on our website at http://www.smccd.net/accounts/skynotes/. The compendium includes each group’s charge, its membership and its meeting times.

Bookstore carrying books for Skyline events: Books for the 1906 earthquake commemorations and October’s WOW! author series are available on the bookstore’s website (www.smccd.net/skylinebookstore <http://www.smccd.net/skylinebookstore> ). You can order and have them shipped by clicking the appropriate image.

Invitation from Foothill College to a forum on faculty academic freedom and student rights: Bernadine Fong, President of Foothill College, has asked me to share this invitation with you:

As you know, there has been a nationwide effort on the part of some student groups to have colleges and universities adopt the Student Bill of Rights. Most recently the US House of Representatives passed the Higher Education Act section 103 of which will codify the Student Bill of Rights into federal law should the US Senate take similar action. Foothill has been addressing this issue and the college and the academic senate thought that the most proactive response is to initiate a thoughtful and informed dialogue on the subject of academic freedom and students' rights, including free speech. On October 12th, we are initiating the first of a series of discussions on these issues. Professor Gerhard Casper, president emeritus of Stanford University, former provost of the University of Chicago, and noted constitutional law professor, will address issues of faculty academic freedom and student rights. We wish to invite you and your faculty and administrators to join us for this event. The presentation is free, and we hope your schedule permits you to participate in this thoughtful discussion.

The event will be from 12-1:30 on Wed, Oct. 12, in Appreciation Hall, building 1500 at Foothill College. There will be free parking in Lot 1. All other lots will be $2.

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