Vol. XXXIII, No. 08

October 11, 2004

This Week at Valencia.

Benefit Fair-
Mon., West, 11 am & 5 pm;

Tues. WP, 11 am;

Wed., East, 11 am & 5 pm

Fri., DTC, 11 am

Tuesday, Oct. 12,
-1 p.m.-OC Faculty/Staff, Osceola Campus, 1-232
-1:15 p.m.-Faculty Senate, West Campus, 1-151
-2:30 p.m.-Calendar and Scheduling Committee, East Campus 5-112
-2:30 p.m.-Learning Evidence Team, East Campus 3-113

Wednesday, Oct. 13,
-8:30 a.m.-College Executive Council, Winter Park 123
-2 p.m.-Collegewide Curriculum Committee, West Campus 9-235

Thursday, Oct. 14,
-8:30 a.m.-Public Safety Institute Groundbreaking, CJI Bldg.
-1 p.m.-Faculty Senate, East Campus, 3-113

Friday, Oct. 15, 3 p.m.-Career Staff Recognition Reception, East Campus 5-112

Night of January 16 by Ayn Rand - East Campus, Black Box Theater, Oct. 13, 14, 15 & 16 at 8 p.m. and October 19 at 2 p.m.

Ongoing through Oct. 30 - Printmaking by Robert Skelley, East Campus, Anita S. Wooten Gallery, 3-112

Summary - District Board of Trustees

Recognitions
Dr. Sanford Shugart, president, opened the meeting with a presentation to the Honorable David Simmons, a Florida State legislator. Dr. Shugart thanked Rep. Simmons, the chair of the Education Appropriations Committee, for all his support for community colleges last year, and in particular his support for Valencia. He presented Rep. Simmons with a collection of college photographs in appreciation for his efforts.

Dr. Shugart also recognized Mr. Edward Moore, immediate past chair of the Valencia Board of Trustees, thanking him for his exceptional leadership. Board Chair Ms. Jerry Buchanan presented Mr. Moore with a crystal gavel in recognition of his time as chairman. Dr. Shugart presented Mr. Moore with a framed caricature, noting that it is tradition at European colleges to present outgoing leaders with a gargoyle on the building in their honor. Dr. Shugart said the caricature of Mr. Moore was Valencia's version of a gargoyle, and that a duplicate one would be hung in the Downtown Center.

Reports
East Campus Update: Interim Provost Anthony Beninati gave the Board a five-minute video presentation of the various developments on East Campus, including recovery from each of three hurricanes. The video included the latest phases of construction for building 8, as well as an overview of student enrollments and other issues that were also affected by the Hurricanes. Dr. Beninati then introduced East Campus Student Government Association President Alex Matias for his report.

SGA President's Report: Mr. Matias reported that the Student Government Association had been focusing heavily on activities that informed students about the upcoming presidential election. These activities included "Rock the Vote," as well as a mock election with help from the Orange County Elections office. Mr. Matias also noted that there had been a number of blood drives and other forms of support for hurricane victims, and that a rally to end violence against women was in the planning stages.

Hurricane(s) Report: Dr. Tracy Edwards, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Chief Learning Officer, and Keith Houck, Vice President for Administrative Services, reviewed the impact that the four Florida hurricanes had on the college. Dr. Edwards noted that accommodations had been made to help students, including a hurricane relief fund established by the Valencia Foundation. She also reported that Financial Aid awards were up 21.7%, and that FTE for the fall semester was up by 4%. Mr. Houck reported that the cumulative effects of four hurricanes caused a loss of 3 days of business operations and 5.5 days of instructional operations. Damage caused by the hurricanes has been initially tallied at $125,000-$150,000. Dr. Shugart added that the college had become quite adept at preparing for hurricanes and returning to normal operations once the storms have subsided. He thanked the college's Facilities, OIT and Security personnel for their diligence during all the storms.

Year-end Financial Report: Mr. Houck reported that the college was maintaining approximately 7% in its reserve fund, which is 2% higher than the state requirement of 5%. He also noted that the college's expenditures with minority-owned vendors had gone up 20% over the previous year.

Internal Auditor's Report: The Board welcomed their new internal auditor, Ms. Undria Stalling, for her first report. Ms. Stalling said she was working on two key projects. The first is a calculation of a return on Title IV award monies. She noted that a recent state-wide audit by the Florida attorney general's office revealed that aid through Title IV had been miscalculated, and that a return of award monies, including funds awarded to Valencia, had to be determined. She said she was also working on a schedule for the college's internal audit, and hoped to have that prepared by mid-November.

Faculty Association Report: Association President Chris Borglum reported that the faculty was hard at work on two significant projects - the first was completing a key component of the recently adopted Faculty Compensation plan. Borglum said an umbrella committee was hard at work on institutional effectiveness and professional development, which are the remaining parts of the Compensation Plan. He also reported that the faculty was working on finalizing their Constitution, with surveys out among the membership and a final draft of a Constitution expected by the beginning of November.

Foundation Report: In the absence of Trustee Larry Slocum, Dr. Shugart reported the Foundation continued its work on positioning itself for a capital campaign. He said that the quiet phase of the campaign is expected to begin in early 2005, and that surveys and assessments of prospects and partners would begin soon.

President's Report: Dr. Shugart praised the efforts of college staff during the recent hurricanes, with particular emphasis on the careful work done by the OIT department. He noted that the servers were being upgraded during one of the storms, and that staff worked through the night to ensure that the upgrade was completed because otherwise there would have been a delay in financial aid checks being ready. He also praised the college's grants staff, who came in during Hurricane Charley to finish work on a quick-response training grant with Hughes Supply. The grant was finished on time and awarded ten days later.

The president said he had traveled to Tallahassee to speak with the governor about the impact that the hurricanes were having on enrollment at community colleges. He said he urged the governor to essentially "hold harmless" the community colleges for one semester for lower enrollment due to the storms. Dr. Shugart said the governor was receptive to the suggestion, and that the "hold harmless" would likely be applied during the spring term.

Dr. Shugart praised the Foundation for its immediate response to help faculty, staff, and students who were impacted by the hurricanes. He said the Foundation made $70,000 available to staff for emergency grants, and $100,000 available to students on a first-come, first-served basis to help with tuition costs for those who had damage to their homes or property. Dr. Shugart said the most significant effect of the hurricanes has been the lost instructional time. He noted the cancellation of College Learning Day to make up one lost day, and said that the college's two faculty planning days in October could also be used to make up instructional time. He said the college was trying to be as flexible as possible with faculty and deans, and adjusted deadlines for grades and other processes to help with that.

Dr. Shugart asked the board to authorize hazardous duty pay for key staff who worked throughout the hurricanes, noting that they had to leave their own families behind during the storms. He also asked the board to authorize special leave, known as hurricane leave, for all faculty and staff who needed extra time to repair their homes or deal with insurance and related issues. He said he was relieved to report that all the college's construction sites did well during the storms, with little to no damage.

Dr. Shugart concluded his report by reminding the Board about the upcoming ground-breaking ceremony for the Public Safety Institute, slated for October 14.

New Business
The Board voted unanimously to postpone their originally scheduled October meeting to deal with all Board business at the December 21, 2004 meeting instead.

Sick Leave Pool Enrollment

Enrollment materials for the Sick Leave Pool were sent out October 4, 2004, to eligible full-time employees. A full-time employee is eligible to join the Sick Leave Pool if he or she:
a) has been employed full-time with the College for 12 months, and
b) has accumulated at least 10 days of unused personal sick leave as of September 30, 2004, and
c) has not declined a previous enrollment opportunity as a regular employee of the College.

If you are eligible and elect to join, your Letter of Authorization must be received in Human Resources, by the close of business on Thursday, October 14. Three days of sick leave will be transferred from each new member's personal balance on October 22. Membership in the pool is voluntary and will be effective October 25, 2004. If you are eligible to join and elect not to, you may not receive another opportunity, but please return the form to 4-25 with the waiver information completed.

SLP enrollment packets are not sent to those employees who are current members of the SLP nor to employees who have declined a previous enrollment opportunity. Contact Sue Bouchard, ext. 1780, if you did not receive your materials or if you have any questions.

The latest from Leadership Valencia

Open Doors...Open Minds-Fostering a Safe Campus for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Students-This workshop seeks to raise the awareness of the college community (faculty, staff, and administrators) to the topics relevant to the GLBT student population. The purpose and goals will be to promote understanding, awareness, and support for the GLBT persons in order to foster an atmosphere that celebrates diversity and inclusivity for all members of the Valencia community. Tuesday, October 12, 9 a.m.-12 noon, Professional Development Center, registration code GGLBT.

Communication Tools-Online communication and collaboration can be an important aspect of your online course. WebCT offers several built-in tools to help you build an online community through synchronous and asynchronous tools. Topics include the importance of online communications, advantages and challenges to using online communications, and using WebCT communication and collaboration tools including Calendar, E-mail, Bulletin Board, and Chat. Prerequisite: Prior knowledge of WebCT or attendance at either What is WebCT? or Getting Started with WebCT. Tuesday, October 12, 2-4 p.m., Osceola Campus, Room 2-116, registration code TWCT1012.

Community and State Leaders Speaking Series-We continue our Path to Leadership series this academic year by expanding the theme and introducing a "Local Leaders" focus. This brown bag lunch series will spotlight local Orlando area leaders as they share their own story about their Path to Leadership. Each person's interpretation of leadership and their journey is unique. Note: Dessert will be provided. Sponsored by the Valencia Chapter of the American Association for Women in Community Colleges (AAWCC), members of AAWCC will receive priority registration. Wednesday, October 13, 1-2:15 p.m., West Campus, Room 7-114, registration code PCSLSS1013.

Lifespeak: Living From the Inside Out (Formation)-Why not take time out of your busy schedule to become reacquainted with yourself? Join your colleagues in a relaxed environment to discuss Parker Palmer's book, Let Your Life Speak, which explores finding one's authentic vocation. This workshop is not designed to place additional demands on our already busy schedules. Rather, it is an opportunity to delight our spirits. Thursday, October 14, 21, and 28, 2- 4 p.m., Professional Development Center, registration code LFORM.

Learning-centered Testing and Grading-Concepts about learning-centered testing and grading, taken from current literature, will be presented and discussed. Participants can expect specific suggestions and strategies to make their testing and grading more learning-centered. Essential Competency Enhancement: Assessment, Inclusion & Diversity. TWO DATES TO CHOOSE FROM: Thursday, October 14, 1-3 p.m., West Campus, Room 4-120, registration code LLCTG1014; or Friday, October 15, 1-3 p.m., East Campus, Room 4-133A, registration code: LLCTG1015.

Creating Quizzes for WebCT in Respondus-In this course, participants will work with Respondus, a third-party product developed for creating assessments in WebCT. Respondus allows you to easily create multiple choice, matching, true/false, and paragraph questions as well as integrate tables, fonts, and images as part of the questions and answers without knowing HTML. Questions are assembled into quizzes or surveys that are directly loaded into your WebCT course. Prerequisite: Prior knowledge of WebCT or attendance at one of the following three sessions: What is WebCT, Getting Started with WebCT, or Communication Tools. Thursday, October 14, 2-4 p.m., Osceola Campus, Room 2-116, registration code TWCT1014.

Service Matters-This highly interactive workshop is designed to leave participants motivated and confident to use proven techniques for providing superior customer service. Topics include positive attitude, customers' needs, what drives customers away, and what retains customers for life. TWO DATES TO CHOOSE FROM: Friday, October 15, 1-5 p.m., Professional Development Center, registration code PSM1015, or Tuesday, October 19, 9 a.m.-12 noon, West Campus, Room 7-114, registration code PSM0913.

FrontPage Advanced-Go beyond plain web pages and create animated content, share information and formatting across pages, and even create forms! You'll be a FrontPage Master after taking this challenging course. THREE DATES TO CHOOSE FROM: Tuesday, October 19, 1-5 p.m., West Campus, Room 6-221, registration code TFPA1005; Wednesday, October 20, 1-5 p.m., PDC Portable, registration code TFPA1006; or Thursday, October 21, 1-5 p.m., Osceola Campus, Room 2-246, registration code TFPA1007.

Writing as a Tool for Learning-This session will help instructors appreciate the link between writing and the creative and critical thinking skills already imbedded in their courses. In this hands-on workshop, participants will experience concrete strategies for instructing and evaluating student writing in the disciplines. Essential Competency Enhancement: Assessment, Teaching & Learning Strategies, Core Competencies (TVCA). TWO DATES TO CHOOSE FROM: Thursday, October 21, 1-3 p.m., Osceola Campus, Room 1-258, registration code: LWT1021, or Friday, October 22, 1-3 p.m., East Campus, Room 4-133A, registration code LWT1022.

Learning Evidence Team Produces Assessment Inventory

The Learning Evidence Team has been actively working toward a comprehensive assessment plan for the College. Part of this work has been to determine what assessments are already administered at Valencia. To accomplish this, a work group from the Learning Evidence Team has conducted a Programmatic Assessment Inventory in order to make a comprehensive list of the assessments currently administered at the College at the program level or higher. Check out this list to see if all assessments used in your program have been included.
Go to http://valenciacc.edu/lrcwest/LET/programmatic_assessment_inventory.cfm. If you don't see your program's assessments listed, please contact one of the work team members. Thanks to members of this team - Louise Pitts, Judi Delisle, Philip Bishop, Shawn Robinson, Allison Sloan and Cheryl Robinson - for completing this ambitious project!

Focus on the Workplace gears up

We are currently accepting applications to participate in Valencia's Focus on the Workplace program. Don't miss out on your opportunity to participate in Valencia's "Focus on the Workplace" program during 2004-05 and be on the cutting edge! We are now accepting applications for Spring Term and Summer Term A 2005. This is a great opportunity to gain information about today's job market; get a different perspective; learn about the future trends and technological advances in your field; and validate first-hand the critical skills your students need to be successful in the workplace!

All full-time, tenure or tenure-track faculty, 12 month non-teaching faculty, full-time counselors & advisors, professional staff and administrators are eligible to apply with your supervisor's approval. Eligible faculty are released from two, 3 credit-hour classes to participate. Administrators, professional staff, advisors/counselors and non-teaching staff are released for 40-80 hours (one-two weeks) and can participate any time during the year.

For more information and to get an application, go to: http://valenciacc.edu/focus/ or call LeSena Jones at ext. 3344. The deadline to apply is November 12th.

News from Procurement

Travel Agency: Travel Max is the current preferred supplier for travel used at the College. You may contact Robert Reed at the following address/phone number:
680 W. Kennedy Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32810
Phone: 407-875-8484
Fax: 407-875-0554

Ordering supplies from Office Depot is done easily with their user friendly on-line ordering web-site. To access our customized web-site for Office Depot, you must first have a purchase order number which defaults to a user. Once you create a standard requisition, amount based line type, with a specific amount encumbered, it will be turned into the Purchase Order number you will need to reference when ordering. Orders placed by 4:00 p.m. daily will be delivered the next day. Any questions or concerns-call Procurement at ext. 5532, email us at Valenciaprocurement@valenciacc.edu, or visit our website at valenciacc.edu/procurement.

Thank you.

My dear Valencia family: Thank you all for your emails, cards, and prayers during my husband's critical surgery. God heard and answered all our prayers. He is recovering slowly, but firmly. God Bless.
                                         - Gisela Acosta

Submissions to the Bulletin are encouraged, so please e-mail your achievements, awards, recognitions, and relevant information for the college community to Mary Jane Jones, Staff Assistant in Marketing and Media Relations. Deadline for submission is 5 p.m. on the Tuesday preceding each Friday's distribution. Mary Jane can be reached at ext.1017, or mjjones@valenciacc.edu.