Special Board Meeting Tuesday August 30

Last night I was at school till 9:30 pm. Why was I there? I was there because the Board decided to have a special closed meeting. The meeting was held in the President's office.  After the CSEA pointed out that any meeting must start with an open session and the board must report out  their decision the Board under the direction of our "Dear Leader Ted" hastily opened the meeting in public. Henry V.P. of student services lead us in the pledge of allegiance. As usual Dr. Martinez did not say the pledge but just stood there. The only trustees present in person were Maria Elena and Madeline Shapiro. Two Trustees were present for the roll call on the phone and Gary Mendez was not present  for the roll call. (Gary contacted me and told me that he was there but missed the roll call due to a prior engagement.).
Students past and present, the CSEA and a few faculty member all dressed in red waited till the President of the Board Maria Elena returned at 7:56 PM to report "No Action was taken".

After she left the room there was a discussion that lasted till 9:00 PM. Many students past and present including Fernando (Area Two Candidate for the Board of Trustee) spoke about how we can protect the family feeling at Rio Hondo College. I could sense the frustration of the 40 or so people present in the room. It was agreed that we do not wish for this place to be run as a  a corporation but we wish to be a family where we stand united for our weakest brothers and sister. I was truly impressed by the unity that I observed last night.

Driving Dr. Smith & Thursday

I have started carpooling with Dr. Smith again. He made the observation that I do not post to this blog anymore, and when I do post it is a video. I confessed that it is hard to be so witty. Also Dr. Smith informed me that he has been published. The process of getting published is gruelling and I suggested that he should write a post on the subject.
At school the excitement for the day was Rebeca losing her wallet and talk of security of our offices. Hector told us how to open our offices without a key but once we tested his method we failed.
At the Division meeting the Anthropology guy tried to take advantage of Martha's absence and tried to change the name of our Division by dropping Humanities from our Division name, but we tabled it again after having a good laugh.
After the meeting I drove Dr. Smith home and he was tired.
If you did not like this post, I suggest that you log on and post something.

Birthday Boys and Girls

Today we served up cake at our Division meeting in honor of Adam, Carol, Jill, and Melissa. Jill was missing in action. Her excuse was some student club meeting. Sondra kept quiet but I found out that it was her birthday too.

B.I.G. Writing the B.P.A.

I attended the first B.I.G. (Banner Implementation Group) meeting on Monday. I replaced Jim N. on this committee. B.I.G. is the committee that will implement our new MIS system. The other faculty on the committee is Belen. There are two consultants, one works for Rio Hondo and the other works for Banner/Sungard (the software company). Our consultant seems like a no nonsense type of a man. He is in the process of figuring out Rio's business practices.
He asked each group to come up with business practices that we can implement. The software is very flexible and robust. However, it has to be customized to fit our business practices. Once the system is programed, it will be hard to go back and make changes. We have to decide on our procedures before we start implementing the system. The software is flexible but having contradicting procedures can lead to failure of the MIS. We need a road map before uploading any features because it will be messy to change anything midway through the process.

So here is my homework: I have to sit down and write down how teachers submit grades, Add/drop, and get our roster now. I need to get the Curriculum people to walk me through the curriculum process, so it can be duplicated in the software. I may have to consult with the SLO people too (I hope not. They are so slooo) if the software can track these tedious forms. I will have to consult with A&R and the Academic Senate to come up with acceptable procedures.

This is going to be a big change and people do not seem to realize how big! It will end all back door channels and the software will enforce the procedures. Before we write anything down please contact me and relay your concerns. As I write these BPAs I will post them here and send them out to faculty before presenting them to the Committee. If you see anything you do not like please hit the reply button or post your comment on this blog.

We Should Drink To Raise Our Income

I need a raise. I need a drink. Adam has proposed Thursday April 26th at 4:00pm. If you want the written report click on the title of this post.

FW: April 5 Division Meeting

From: Rebecca Green
Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2007 1:44 PM
Subject: April 5 Division Meeting

Guess what!!! (This is going to make you totally want to get through Spring Break and get back here on campus!)

We have received a grant to fund lunch for our April 5^th division meeting. This meeting is going to have a theme. That theme is…is…(is the anticipation killing you)? Okay here it is: The theme for the meeting is S.L.Ooooooos!

That’s right. We’re going to spend time together developing our Division level SLOs. This informative and inspirational gathering will feature our very own Irma Valdivia as facilitator. Rene (yah! for Rene) will be picking up Quiznos sandwiches and goodies so…don’t be late or you’ll only get the leftovers.

(By the way, I’m just the messenger! Email Irma if you have a complaint!!) J

See you then – and have a great Spring Break.

-Rebecca Green

March 15 Make Time To Attend

The following is the agenda for March 15. The Datatel people will come to Rio Hondo. They are a software company that wants to sell us the capability to submit our grades online, add and drop online and download our roster from online.
The other software company Banner, came and presented their product. I did not see many instructional faculty there, because it was scheduled during popular teaching hours.
Please show up in between classes and ask questions!


Presenters
Sales Account Manager: Doug Currie
Senior Sales Consultant: Suzanne McCool
Senior Sales Consultant: Von Maxy
Sales Consultant: Michelle Clifton
Sales Consultant: Tricia Score
Product Manager: Susan Hallenbeck


Colleague Demonstration Agenda
March 15th 2007
Introduction to Datatel
9:00 am – 10:00 am
Overview/Introduction
(All are encouraged to attend)
• Introduction to the Datatel Enterprise Solutions

10:00 am – 10:15 am
Break

Introduction to Datatel Colleague Student
10:15 am – 11:15 am
Instructional Management and Schedule Administration
(Registrar, Curriculum Committee, Bursar are encouraged to attend)
• Developing the Curriculum
• Scheduling People and Facilities
• Web Access and Reporting (Including MIS)
11:15 am – 12:15 pm
Admissions and Records
(Admissions and Records Staff are encouraged to attend)
• E-Recruitment
• One-to-one Marketing
• Coordinating Articulation Agreements,
• Reviewing Applicant Assessments & Test Scores
• Enrollment Management

12:15 pm – 1:00 pm

Lunch

1:00 pm – 2:15 pm Admissions and Records (continued)
(Admissions and Records Staff are encouraged to attend)
• Registering Students Anytime, Anywhere
• Simplifying Attendance Accounting
• Processing Grades
• Posting Degrees and Certifications
• Responding to Transcript Requests (Academic History)
• Web Access and Reporting (Including MIS)

2:15 pm – 2:30 pm

Break

2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Counseling and Advising
(Counseling Center Staff are encouraged to attend)
• Reviewing Student Academic Information
• Administrating Education Plans
• Tracking EOPS, DSPS and VATEA Information
• Utilizing Contact and Relationship Management Tools
• Web Access and Reporting (Including MIS)
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Continuing Education
(Continuing Education Staff are encouraged to attend)
• Creating Continuing Education Offerings
• Instant Enrollment
• Integrated Billing
• Web Access and Reporting



Q & A Session

March 7 Important Repost

On Wednesday March 7 Banner (software company) will visit the school and put on a show. It is important that faculty attend. It is especially important that we attend between 10:45 AM and 2:00 pm. During this time they will demonstrate "We’ll see what the system looks like through the perspective of the student, of the faculty, and of the staff".
I have class on Wednesday between 9:40 to 2:00 pm, and I am hoping that others attend.
Below I have copied, pasted, and highlighted the schedule

UDC Presentation for Rio Hondo College

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

9:00am – 10:30am – “The Unified Digital Campus”
This session will give an overview of the administrative systems, self service, and custom individualized portals (including the Student Web Portal). We will show “A day in the life” of a student, an instructor , of an executive, a department head, and staff. We will show how all the pieces in our proposal will come together under the Unified Digital Campus (UDC) umbrella.
Banner Student System
During the Student System sessions, we will follow a student through the system from recruiting, registration, admissions , advising, and progress reporting. We’ll see what the system looks like through the perspective of the student, of the faculty, and of the staff.
10:45am – 12:00pm -- Admissions & Records Management
Banner Solutions for the Admissions Office:
Tracking Prospective Learners
Managing Admission Records & Processing Registrations
Communicating with Learners
Evaluating Transfer Students
Reporting & Instututional Intelligence
12:00pm – 1:00pm -- Lunch
1:00pm – 2:30pm -- Admissions & Records Management (Continued)
Banner Solutions for the Records Office:
Developing Catalog & Schedules
Maintaining Learner Records
Processing Registrations
Instructor authorization codes
Class Rosters, Grading, Academic Record Management
Instructor & Student Access to Academic Records via “UDC”
Certifying Graduation, Transcripts, Enrollment Verification, Degree Audit
2:30pm – 3:00pm -- Counseling Center
Banner Solutions for Counseling:
Education Plan, Advising & Academic Records
Support Services – (DSP&S, EPOS, Cal WORKS, etc.)
3:15pm – 3:45pm -- Student Accounts Receivable
Banner Solutions for Student Accounts:
Assessing Registration & Other Fees
Billing Learners
Web Access to Accounts
Cashiering Services
3:45 – 4:14 Automating processes across the campus (Workflow)
4:15pm – 4:30pm – Q&A & Identification of any Follow-up Issues by SGHE


Thursday, March 8, 2007

Financial Aid Demonstration – 9:00 to 11:00
Navigation
Needs Analysis
Tracking
Budgeting
Packaging
Loan Processing
Disbursement
Return of Title IV Funds
Student Employment
Funds Management
Reporting
Banner Human Resources Overview - 11:00 – 12:30
Overview
Position Management
Applicant Administration
Employment Administration
Benefits Administration
Time Entry
Payroll Processing
Employee Self-Service
Web based applications (PeopleAdmin)
Lunch Break – 12:30 – 1:30
Banner Advancement Overview – 1:30 to 2:30

Technical Overview 2:45 – 4:30
How users can personalize the Rio Hondo secure portal
Oracle tools
Ease of customization
Questions and general review

March 7 An Important Date

On Wednesday March 7 Banner (software company) will visit the school and put on a show. It is important that faculty attend. It is especially important that we attend between 10:45 AM and 2:00 pm. During this time they will demonstrate "We’ll see what the system looks like through the perspective of the student, of the faculty, and of the staff".
I have class on Wednesday between 9:40 to 2:00 pm, and I am hoping that others attend.
Below I have copied, pasted, and highlighted the schedule

UDC Presentation for Rio Hondo College

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

9:00am – 10:30am – “The Unified Digital Campus”
This session will give an overview of the administrative systems, self service, and custom individualized portals (including the Student Web Portal). We will show “A day in the life” of a student, an instructor , of an executive, a department head, and staff. We will show how all the pieces in our proposal will come together under the Unified Digital Campus (UDC) umbrella.
Banner Student System
During the Student System sessions, we will follow a student through the system from recruiting, registration, admissions , advising, and progress reporting. We’ll see what the system looks like through the perspective of the student, of the faculty, and of the staff.
10:45am – 12:00pm -- Admissions & Records Management
Banner Solutions for the Admissions Office:
Tracking Prospective Learners
Managing Admission Records & Processing Registrations
Communicating with Learners
Evaluating Transfer Students
Reporting & Instututional Intelligence
12:00pm – 1:00pm -- Lunch
1:00pm – 2:30pm -- Admissions & Records Management (Continued)
Banner Solutions for the Records Office:
Developing Catalog & Schedules
Maintaining Learner Records
Processing Registrations
Instructor authorization codes
Class Rosters, Grading, Academic Record Management
Instructor & Student Access to Academic Records via “UDC”
Certifying Graduation, Transcripts, Enrollment Verification, Degree Audit
2:30pm – 3:00pm -- Counseling Center
Banner Solutions for Counseling:
Education Plan, Advising & Academic Records
Support Services – (DSP&S, EPOS, Cal WORKS, etc.)
3:15pm – 3:45pm -- Student Accounts Receivable
Banner Solutions for Student Accounts:
Assessing Registration & Other Fees
Billing Learners
Web Access to Accounts
Cashiering Services
3:45 – 4:14 Automating processes across the campus (Workflow)
4:15pm – 4:30pm – Q&A & Identification of any Follow-up Issues by SGHE


Thursday, March 8, 2007

Financial Aid Demonstration – 9:00 to 11:00
Navigation
Needs Analysis
Tracking
Budgeting
Packaging
Loan Processing
Disbursement
Return of Title IV Funds
Student Employment
Funds Management
Reporting
Banner Human Resources Overview - 11:00 – 12:30
Overview
Position Management
Applicant Administration
Employment Administration
Benefits Administration
Time Entry
Payroll Processing
Employee Self-Service
Web based applications (PeopleAdmin)
Lunch Break – 12:30 – 1:30
Banner Advancement Overview – 1:30 to 2:30

Technical Overview 2:45 – 4:30
How users can personalize the Rio Hondo secure portal
Oracle tools
Ease of customization
Questions and general review

FW: SunGard (Banner) Software Demo

I would like to encourage everyone in our department to attend this important demonstration. If you want online grade submission, and the ability to get your roster online in your desired format, this is important to you.

The following is an excerpt from an Email we all received:

....................................................

I’ve scheduled SunGard (Banner) for the MIS software demonstration on:

Wednesday and Thursday, March 7^th & 8^th 2007

9:00 a.m. – until

Boardroom

I would like the MIS Evaluation Committee and other interested staff, faculty, student or administrator to attend this demo.