LAHC Dean's Blog – Page 11 – dispatches from the dean

The Great Questions are for everyone.

Check out program testimonies from ACC students who completed the Fall 2018 GQ Seminar!

For most people who choose to attend college (and community college, in particular), one of the biggest motivations is improved economic prospects. And while this is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of post-secondary education, many students feel – for reasons as complex and diverse as the rich mosaic of our student body – that the traditional “academic” experience is not for them.

But pondering the “Great Questions” – the central concerns about what it means to be a human being – is a birthright that belongs to all of us, not just a few. And it’s for this reason that something grand is happening at ACC: we’re bringing the Great Questions down from the ivory tower and into the real-world lives of everyday students across the spectrum of the community college experience.

Spark some joy

I was in Miami last week for an Adobe conference. This is my “take-away,” as they say in the conference biz.

I’m not prone to idle praise or superlatives, but even I have to say that this conference was fantastic. It confirmed a trajectory that I’ve already been on for years: You shouldn’t have to give up a traditionalist’s commitment to scholarship to achieve digital fluency. In the past, this wasn’t easily achievable: the tools and technologies were so cumbersome that you had to take time out of your commitment to scholarship to get good enough to do anything anyone might care about. Not so today.

MSTA: Did you get noticed?

For some time (like, since we invented MSTAs), it’s bothered me that adjuncts get notices of MSTA openings when, in fact, there aren’t actual openings. I’d like to take a moment to explain three ways this can happen and tell you what I’d like to do about it.

Cheating: another pathway to success

If you’re expecting the usual lamentations about student behavior, you may be disappointed. Instead of disparaging “students today,” etc., etc., I invite you to join me in third grade.

My teacher was Mrs. Wooley. I’m not making this up: her name actually was Mrs. Wooley, which I viewed as a gift from the gods of comedy. When I found out a couple of weeks before school started, I longed for the moment that some classmate would complain about her, so I could say, “Yep. She’s a woolly booger.”

In fairness, Mrs. Wooley was a great teacher: She told us the truth when we didn’t know what we were doing, and she was not especially kind, but she was committed to doing whatever it took to equip us to meet her expectations. And that commitment included keeping me in relative solitary confinement, in my own desk at the front of the room, right next to hers.

Also, Mrs. Wooley gave a lot of quizzes.

HILTL HB2223: Mandate too

This is the third and final installment of “How I learned to love HB2223.” You can think of the series as a sandwich: data between two mandates.

And speaking of money, let’s turn to reimbursement. You probably know that, for each course enrollment, ACC is entitled to a reimbursement from the state — but there are conditions. In academic transfer areas, for instance, courses are not eligible for reimbursement unless we play by the state’s rules. If you look up your favorite course in the Academic Course Guide Manual, you’ll find an entry that looks like this:

HILTL HB2223: Talk data to me

In the first installment of “How I learned to love HB2223,” I talked about finding love through contextualized learning, which led me to propose a couple of ideas for pairing that might seem, well, nuts. That led to an observation: There are a lot of questions about CoReq-ing, some of which even involve data.

Consider this little data snapshot from last year, courtesy of Sam Echevarria-Cruz:

How I learned to love HB2223

As one of our development day events last week, we held a session concerning CoReq-ing (including a delightful and informative presentation by Dr. Sonya Armstrong), so I thought I’d take a moment to share a few thoughts about my relationship to HB 2223.

First, I must ask you to resist the temptation to write “co-wrecking,” even though that is the pronunciation. In fact, for reasons I will explain, I think — however we got here — CoReq-ing is good for student success. But before we get to that, what’s HB 2223 all about?

Welcome to Spring, 2019!

Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed a pleasant winter break and that you’ve returned rejuvenated and revved up for another semester!

I’d like to take a moment to offer a few reminders and outline my priorities for the spring. Let’s start with nudges.

Check your rosters! If students turn up in your classroom who are not on the roster, please refer them to an appropriate office to make things official. We have new Registration Liaisons at each campus to help!
Submit your Attendance Certification by the deadline. (And remember that Attendance Certification is a per student function, not per class. Students who add your class after you submit Attendance Certification won’t automatically be certified.)

There’s a lot going on in our division. Here are our priorities for this Spring:

IntFest2019, Friday, March 29
Vision+Voice
Badging project, including these pilots
- Critical thinking component skills
- “Soft” Skills in LA
- Leadership Skills
LAHC Internships (Anne-Marie)
English Proficiency assessment (ESOL partnering with ABE and CE)
Liberal Arts Institute 2.0 (with Sam and LASMS)
LA Co-Req Oversight workgroup
Honors
Enrollment Management Self-study (one part of which is our Gateway Courses study)
Dual Credit initiatives (including new dual credit coordinators for English!)

If one of these projects sounds exciting, be in touch — there’s plenty to keep us busy. I’m looking forward to working with you in pursuit of our mission.

I’m looking forward to Spring semester, including a bit of teaching. I’m teaching the second iteration of Logic for Game Design course.

Have a great semester!

ACC Student Holiday Art Sale supports student creatives

It’s that time of year again, folks.

You know, that special day of the year when you can purchase art and handmade goodies from ACC students working towards completing their degrees? Yes, that time of year is here again.

Join us at Highland Campus on Thursday, December 6th, from 10am – 6pm to shop for unique gifts this holiday season, all while supporting small student creators. That’s what we call a win-win!

ACC’s Answer to Ageism in the Workplace

Most are unaware that “age” is not included in the majority of American corporate and educational diversity, inclusion and equity strategies. As age affects all populations – we are either “old” or “future-old” – its exclusion is, at best, dissociative, and at worst, self-sabotaging.
~Ashton Applewhite, “Let’s End Ageism” TED Talk

How you can support the Senior Workforce Development Institute