Goal I. Access to Higher Education
Northwest Vista recently completed a reorganization of the writing labs to better serve student needs. Three labs are now open to serve specific student needs: the advocacy center, the cooperative learning center, and the Writing Across the Curriculum Center. The centers will assist students with both group and one on one tutoring for students. The centers will also help NVC respond to the new state law limiting student course drops by providing “Drop Counseling.”

PAC was awarded a National Science Foundation S-STEM Grant in partnership with Texas A&M University College Station for $597,435. This project will establish a Science Scholars Program at PAC and Texas A&M University (TAMU) which will enable 23 students to begin their studies at PAC and transfer to TAMU to complete their four-year degree. The students will transfer to the TAMU College of Science to pursue degrees in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, or Physics.

On Friday, September 14, the San Antonio College Services for Women and Non-Traditional Students, LULAC Council #2, Rey Feo Scholarship, Inc., and the Alamo Community Colleges and the ACCD Foundation held a reception honoring 25 recipients of the Parent-Child Rey Feo/Reina de la Feria de las Flores Scholarship Program for 2007-2008.

SPC administrators met with the Dean of Allied Health of the University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHSC) to discuss a partnership on initiatives to improve student access to higher education. Several ideas were discussed to include applying for a grant entitled “Bridges to Bachelor’s Degree,” funded by several federal agencies including the National Institute of Health and the Center for Health Disparity. The purpose of the grant is to increase diversity among students, improve student engagement and promote recruitment and retention of students working toward completing their Bachelor’s Degree in the fields of Behavioral Sciences and Biomedical Studies. There was also a discussion regarding promoting more articulation agreements between SPC and UTHSC for degree completion.

Goal II. Student Support
Dr. Eric Reno, NLC President and Mark Hagen, ACCD Coordinator of International Programs, attended a meeting of the College Consortium for International Studies (CCIS) on September 6-7th in Washington, D.C. Dr. Reno will serve as the newly elected 2007-2008 Chair of the CCIS Board of Directors. The College Consortium for International Studies (CCIS) is a consortium of two- and four-year, public and private U.S. colleges and universities whose members offer study abroad opportunities around the world.

As a Service-Learning project, Dr. Irma Ned Bailey’s English Composition I class at SAC is participating in the Veteran’s History Project sponsored by the Library of Congress. Based on the idea that 100 WWII veterans are dying each month, the Library of Congress wants to capture their stories. Working with local representatives from the USO and Lackland Air Force Base, students will interview veterans using note-taking skills and video recording equipment provided by the USO. On Thursday, September 13, the students met with USO and Air Force representatives to discuss the project details and learn about veterans who have agreed to tell their stories and to determine interview schedules. The Public Relations Office staff is communicating this to the college and local media to get coverage for this project.

Goal III. Workforce Development
PAC’s Corporate and Community Education Division have partnered with the Harlandale Independent School District to provide Basic Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Training to 17 high school seniors from Harlandale and McCollum. The Harlandale Board of Directors approved $15,000 for the project. In the spring, students will complete their coursework and begin their EMT Clinical rotations at Brooks Army Medical Center or Southwest Medical Center. Upon graduation, EMT students will take their state certification exam and at age 18, can become employed as EMTs.

The new Community Health Worker training funded by the Texas Workforce Commission enrolled its first cohorts of 30 students during the fall 2007 semester.

The Director of the Office of Community and Public Relations and the Director of Institutional Advancement met with the Miner Corporation. The Miner Corporation is seeking recent St. Philip’s graduates and students to work for its manufacturing and materials company. Both the President and Vice-President of the Miner Corporation met with these directors and discussed a curriculum plan to meet their future staffing and training needs.

Goal IV. Capacity To Serve
NVC was named one of the Top 30 Community Colleges by Washington Monthly magazine. According to the magazine, the selection methodology was designed to identify community colleges that excel in using teaching methods that researchers have linked to increased student achievement. Results were based on two sources: the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), and graduation rate statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Education. The magazine goes on to state that the list “is based on measures with a research-proven link to student success—or, in the case of graduation rates, a measure of success itself.” Kudos to NVC!

Dr. Eric Reno and Dr. Martha Trevino, NLC Director of Development attended a meeting at Schertz Bank and Trust on September 5th. Convened by a local businessman, the meeting focused on coordinating a community-wide fundraising event for the Watts Lower Valley School project. Attending the meeting were several individuals from local businesses and the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District. Several fundraising strategies were discussed and a follow up meeting is planned for later this month.

Selso Casares, President of PAC’s Student Government Association, has agreed to serve a two-year term on the VIA Metropolitan Transit Citizens Advisory Council. The charge of the Council is to provide an information exchange forum for VIA to work with community representatives on transit issues as they relate to public transportation and issues impacting the agency. The Council is comprised of 31 members and Selso is the youngest member of the Council.

A new segment to this weekly report will provide updates of process improvements. Many of our 43 process improvement teams have made significant progress on revising and updating processes, identifying benchmarks and developing evaluation tools. Dr. Zaragoza and Mr. Laughlin have been asked that, as teams near completion, to present each process to the Chancellor’s Executive Committee. Brief updates will be shared with you, the first being changes to the motor pool. Our current motor pool of 100+ vehicles will be significantly downsized. Key changes include faculty, staff and students use of rental vehicles or personal vehicles for travel, and assigning of fuel cards to district vehicles. Ultimately this process will be more cost effective and increase efficiency.

Goal V. Organizational Communication
PAC and SAC both observed the 6th anniversary of 9/11. PAC held a Memorial Service with an overview of events that occurred on 9/11, followed by a student-led opening prayer, a Moment of Silence, prayers by Campus Ministries, and patriotic songs by student volunteers. More than 200 faculty, staff and students attended the ceremony, which also drew media attention from five television stations and the San Antonio Express-News. The SAC community observed a moment of silence in classrooms and offices at 9:30 a.m. In addition, the San Antonio College Catholic Student Center held a 9/11 Prayer and Reflections Service.

The Titan/Banner Projects Office made an onsite campus visit to Palo Alto College to meet and share current project status, organization and direction with 10 key offices involved with the Banner Student implementation. NVC, SPC and NLC onsite campus visits are being planned.

St. Philip’s College is renewing a connection and commitment to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission of San Antonio. St. Philip’s is preparing to host several events on campus that will engage our College and community during the Annual MLK March in January, which is one of the largest in the nation.

Dr. Leslie had a series of meetings this week, including the following:

• Met with Dr. Guillermo Zavala, Superintendent of the Harlandale School District, to discuss College Connections and other partnership opportunities;
• In his ongoing effort to meet with area superintendents, Dr. Leslie met with Dr. Richard Middleton of the Northeast ISD;
• Dr. Tessa Martinez-Pollack, President of Our Lady of the Lake University, and Dr. Leslie met to discuss various issues, including encouraging transfers from ACCD to OLLU;
• Dr. Leslie met with Comal County Judge, Danny Scheel;
• Mr. Zárate and Dr. Leslie met with the “Divas,” an group of Hispanic women active in the community. A variety of issues were discussed, including Hispanic student success.

We have an increasing number of events and activities district-wide and are taking the opportunity to showcase such events on Time Warner Cable channel 98 and Grande cable channel 23. This section of the Chancellor’s Weekly Report provides a schedule of the programming for our regularly scheduled times of 12 – 2 pm on Saturday and 9 – 11 am on Sunday. Programming varies due to the timing of Board and committee meetings, groundbreaking ceremonies, etc. The programming for the coming weekend is as follows:

Saturday, 9/22, 12:00 – 2:00 p.m.
The regular September Board of Trustees meeting and the LULAC Parent/Child Scholarship Awards Ceremony

Sunday, 9/23, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
The regular September Board of Trustees meeting and the LULAC Parent/Child Scholarship Awards Ceremony