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FROM THE OFFICE OF ANDREW LAMANQUE
Interim Vice President of Instruction & Institutional Research
This fall we
have seen many changes at Foothill College. Through it all the one constant has been your dedication to giving students an opportuni
ty to learn. Many people have asked me what I like about being Interim VPI. My response is having the opportunity to work with even more people from throughout the college. It has been a pleasure to learn about the hard work and dedication of faculty, staff, and administrators around the college. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you and our students. Please click here to let me know how I am doing.
Here are some of the Office of Instruction activities this fall:
Vice President of Instruction & Institutional Research Search
The VPI search committee has met once and the announcement has been posted to the district HR
website. After EEO training we hope to select candidates and interview in January / February with the goal of having a new VPI on board by spring quarter.
Enrollment Planning
Unfortunately, Foothill's enrollment declined this summer and fall compared to last year. Resident enrollment is estimated to be down about 150 FTES between the two terms. Non-Resident FTES was down -9% in fall 2016.
On the plus side, Sunnyvale Center enrollment is up compared with Middlefield and Non-Credit appears to continue to grow. We are continuing to work with our high school partners to expand our courses taught in the high schools as well as through Middle College located on campus. In addition, work continues on a range of new programs from AD-Ts in Biology, Social Justice, Global Studies, and Elementary Teacher Education as well as Certificates in Instructional Design and Technology, Sheet Metal - Apprenticeship, and Non-Credit Certificates in EMR and ESL. The 14 new faculty searches that are under way this fall should result in a greater capacity to serve the college next year.
Accreditation
About 60 leaders from around the college attended the Accreditation
Leadership Summit on November 18 and 19. Valerie Fong led extended discussions about potential topics for our Quality Focus Essay - innovation areas that we want to work on as a college over the next 4-6 years. The topics came out of the analysis of the accreditation standards and ranged from Communication to Professional Development to District / College Alignment (among others). You will hear more about this in the coming weeks as we continue to prepare for the ACCJC site visit in fall 2017.
The Dental Hygiene program welcomed their first cohort of bachelor degree seeking students this fall as part of a state-wide community college pilot to offer 4-year degrees in applied fields. ACCJC will visit the program on February 02, 2017.
Master Planning - Facilities, Technology, Equity, Basic Skills
Based on feedback from PaRC, the Facilities Master Committee will meet again to re-prioritize the list of projects in the plan. We will reconsider the recommendation to build a new student services building and revisit the project recommendations connected to goals already highlighted in the plan. We will be considering how to emphasize:
- What can be done to naturally establish a sense of student community on campus?
- How can facilities/technology be used to create sense of community for online students?
- ADA Accessibility - How can we make campus more wheelchair friendly?
- Any additional information regarding plans for the Sunnyvale Center?
Judy Baker has led the effort to update our technology plan, found
here.
The district has put together a nice planning document for the League of Innovation outlining the many exciting activities taking place at the College - the document can be found
here. Elaine Kuo, our Interim Director of Equity Programs leading efforts to integrate our Equity, 3SP, and Basic Skills planning. Further information is available on the Student Success Collaborative
website. In addition, work on implementing the Equity Plan continues:
For more information, please refer to the following Student Equity presentation.
Disaggregated Program Outcomes Pilot
Several departments (Psychology, Biology, Business, Kinesiology) with support from the Office of Instruction have been looking at their program outcomes assessment data in ways that make the information more meaningful to their work.
Preparing Future Professors Mentor Program
Several faculty members will be acting as mentors to Stanford Ph.D. students this winter in a program aimed at giving students a better understanding of what it is like to work at a community college.
Assessment Taskforce - College and District
Math, ESL, and English are working on mapping their courses to the state list of competencies to prepare for Common Assessment. In winter, we will examine the results from our Multiple Measures of Assessment pilots. We are also discussing a District re-testing policy.
Faculty Teaching and Learning Academy and New Faculty Orientation
Professional development for faculty continues to be a priority with multiple opportunities for learning.
Learning Programs: FYE, STEM Core, Umoja, and Puente
We now offer 4 different learning programs with faculty and staff devoting their time and energies to providing opportunities for learning and growth for students in these programs. Like the allied health programs, these cohort based programs provide students a clear pathway in their program of study.
FYE Program Learning Outcomes include:
At the end of the FYE learning program students will:
- Become more motivated in pursuing higher education.
- Become more integrated into the Foothill College community.
- Develop positive relationships with faculty and staff that support them in their learning process.
- Develop a more positive self-concept, including confidence, strength of characters, determination, and independence.
- Understand different academic approaches to learning.
- Understand and access campus services that will assist them in their academic, professional, and personal lives.
More information about First Year Experience (FYE) can be found here.
STEM Core goals include:
More information about STEM Core can be found here.
Reflections on Umoja
(By Tracee Cunningham)
This fall, Foothill College introduced our new Umoja Community program. Umoja, the Kiswahili word for 'unity', is a year-long learning community and critical resource dedicated to enhancing the cultural and educational experiences of African Americans and other students. The Umoja community is currently serving over 50 students this year by providing curriculum in our English, Math, Communications and Psychology courses that are responsive to the legacy of the African and African American Diasporas. This learning community provides a safe and inspiring environment to help students be successful.
Our first event was our opening Umoja ceremony and dinner for our students and their families. In addition, we just returned from taking six Umoja students to the Umoja Conference XII in Los Angeles, where our students learned more about the Umoja practices behind the foundation of student success. Students were able to meet other Umoja communities across the state, share their stories and articulate what this community means to them. Students were also introduced to the HBCUs and listened to motivational and empowering keynote speakers. We are looking forward to our upcoming events including a talk by author, veteran and businessman Wes Moore and a visit to and tour of UC Berkeley with five other Umoja programs.
At the end of the learning program students will be able to:
- Communicate their authentic (academic, standard, Black English, and theoretical) student voice across various formats.
- Complete an abbreviated and comprehensive Student Educational Plan (SEP), as well as create a Transfer Alliance Program (TAP) profile.
- Become aware of their connectedness to African Diaspora.
- Participate and take a leadership role in campus activities or an advisory committee.
More information about the Umoja program can be found here.
Puente at Foothill College
Puente
(Spanish for "bridge") is a national-award winning program that has helped thousands of students reach their dreams of college success. Puente was founded in 1981 by Felix Galaviz and Patricia McGrath at Chabot Community College in Hayward, California. Their goal was to increase the number of Mexican American and Latino students who transfer to four-year colleges and universities. Since then, Puente has expanded to 56 community colleges and 38 high schools throughout California, and tens of thousands of students have been served. The Puente Program at Foothill College, first launched in 2000, continues the legacy of creating community and transferring students to 4-year colleges, through implementation of the Puente mission and model.
More information about the Puente program can be found here.
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FROM THE DESK OF PAUL STARER
Acting Associate Vice President of Instruction
 Greetings from the desk of the Acting AVPI! It's been an exciting transition for me to this new work on campus and two of the things I've been most excited about are helping to chair the Program Review Committee (PRC) and working on the committee to approve travel and conference funds.
So let me ask: How's your program review going this fall? Feeling a little overwhelmed or frustrated? Could you use some assistance with it or do you just have some questions about the data?
Members of the Program Review Committee are happy to help you with these questions. No, we can't write your program review for you, but we can help to answer questions about the form, the data analysis, how to respond to certain sections, and how to distinguish between a program goal and a resource request.
For example, if you are having trouble pulling data for your program, you can contact Justin Schultz
and/or Joanne Du
for a tutorial of the new online program review data tool. Or if you're wondering how your data supports your resource requests, members of the PRC are happy to meet with you and members of your department/program to review the data with you.
I especially want to reach out to programs doing a comprehensive review this year, so please let me know if you would like some assistance and I will make sure you get what you need.
Many of you also need to keep up on your professional development by traveling to conferences around the state and the country. Well there's good news on that front as well. Faculty can request up to $1,600 this year from the travel and conference fund and staff can request up to $1,500. To apply for these funds, please download and complete the application, then send it, with your supervisor's signature of approval, to Kelaiah Harris in the Office of Equity Programs. These district-provided funds are not limitless so submitting early for potential travel in the future is recommended.
Of course the new job entails plenty of other work, so please stop by say hello and let's chat. I'm happy to help in any way I can.
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FOLLOWING UP ON PROGRAM REVIEW
By Justin Schultz
Program Review Schedule
Refer to the 2016-17 column on the program review schedule to determine if you should be completing an annual or comprehensive program review.
The program review timeline is also a helpful guide for staying on top of the various deadlines for submission.
Program Review Data
As with previous years, the program review data for the individual departments are posted online, including d
egree completion and workforce & labor market data.
Program Review Templates
The annual and comprehensive program review templates are posted online and ready to access
(under QUICK FORMS). Note that there is only one annual template, but there three comprehensive templates (instructional, student services, administrative).
Program Review Training Sessions
The Office of Instruction continues to reach out to individual divisions to offer training for the Online Program Review Tool. A final open Q&A session has also been scheduled for
Tuesday, December 06, 2:00PM - 3:00PM in Room 6403.
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CURRICULUM CORNER
By Mary Vanatta
The curriculum office is buzzing with updates for the 2017-2018 catalog! With almost 600 COR updates in my queue, I have been working closely with faculty and our diligent division curriculum reps to put the final touches on their updates. Beyond ensuring Title 5 compliance, my goal is to always shoot for Chancellor's Office approval of the initial submission, without any requests to revise a course. All of your hard work and attention to detail will help me continue to achieve this goal!
The biggest news out of the Chancellor's Office, regarding curriculum, is the recent change to the approval process for Stand Alone courses. You may have already read that Stand Alone approval authority is being moved back to the local college level. Here's what that means for us, here at Foothill: we will continue to use our current Stand Alone form, which is first approved at the division curriculum committee level. Each Stand Alone course will then be reviewed and approved, on an individual basis, at CCC. As always, I appreciate everyone's patience and assistance, as we update our local processes in response to a change by the state.
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FREE ONLINE TUTORING SERVICES
Free online tutoring services are now available to our students who have Canvas accounts. The service is called NetTutor. Tutors are available for live sessions, to answer submitted questions, and to review papers any day of the week. Online tutoring services can be accessed anywhere. Watch a demo
here and an introduction
here. Interested faculty can contact
Judy Baker to find out how to add NetTutor to their Canvas course sites.
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INSTRUCTION & RESEARCH
By Lisa Ly
 Lisa Ly is the Acting College Researcher for the Foothill-De Anza Community College District at Foothill College. She comes from De Anza College where she served as the research analyst, supporting student equity initiatives. Prior to that she was a consultant research analyst for the San Jose-Evergreen Community College District. A graduate of UC Irvine, she holds a Master of Arts in Demographic and Social Analysis and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. She is a foodie, enjoys the outdoors and loves to chase after her nieces and nephews.
Lisa started at Foothill College in October 2016. Some key projects she will support include analysis and planning for accreditation, educational master plan, enrollment and program review.
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ACADEMIC SCHEDULING OFFICE
By Denise Perez & Shawna Santiago
With the Fall term in full swing, preparation for the Winter and Spring 2017 schedules are in different stages:
Winter 2017
- The schedule was posted to the web for public view as of October 24th
- Seat count, wait list, and instructor information can still be entered and/or modified by the division offices until Thursday, December 01st.
- CMS's must be submitted to add/cancel/change all other items
Spring 2017
- The scheduling window is open now and will close on Friday, January 27th
- It will be posted to the web for public view on Monday, February 06th
In other news, the academic scheduling office is currently in the beginning phase of implementing a new room/event scheduling program.
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ARTICULATION UPDATES
by Bernie Day
New Courses Approved for UC Transferability
We are pleased to report the addition of the following courses to our list of UC transferable courses:
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ACTG 1BH
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Honors Financial Accounting II |
| ACTG 1CH |
Honors Managerial Accounting |
| BUSI 22H |
Honors Principles of Business |
| C S 3B |
Intermediate Software Design in Python |
| C S 3M |
Intermediate Algorithm and Data Structure Methodologies in Python |
| C S 83A |
Theory of Quantum Computing I |
| C S 83B |
Theory of Quantum Computing II |
| C S 85A |
RUBY & Functional Programming |
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CHEM 1AH
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Honors General Chemistry
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CHEM 1BH
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Honors General Chemistry
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CHEM 12AL
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Laboratory for Organic Chemistry
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CHEM 12BL
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Laboratory for Organic Chemistry |
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CHEM 12CL
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Laboratory for Organic Chemistry |
| CHEM 13AH |
Honors Laboratory for Organic Chemistry |
| CHEM 13BH |
Honors Laboratory for Organic Chemistry |
| CHEM 13CH |
Honors Laboratory for Organic Chemistry |
| CNSL 8H |
Honors Transfer Readiness |
| CNSL (8) 85A |
Transfer Readiness |
| ENGL 34C |
Literature into Film |
| ENGL 43AH |
Honors Survey of British Literature I: Beowulf to the Late 18th Century |
| ENGL 43BH |
Honors Survey of British Literature II: The Romantic Period to the Present |
| ENGL 45AH |
Honors Survey of American Literature I: Beginnings to 1865 |
| ENGL 45BH |
Honors Survey of American Literature II: 1865 to the Present |
| ENGR 38 |
Computing Systems and Assembly Language |
| GID 70 |
Graphic Design Drawing |
| HLTH 22 |
Health and Social Justice |
| HLTH 23 |
Health Drugs and Society |
| HUMN 9 |
Once Upon a Time? The Immortal Lure of Fairy Tailes |
| LIBR 10H |
Research Paper Strategies for Honors |
| MDIA 1H |
Honors Introduction to Film Studies |
| MDIA 4 |
Experimental Film & Video |
| MDIA 7 |
Documentary Film |
| MDIA 8A |
Race and Gender in American Media |
| MDIA 11H |
Honors Introduction to Popular Culture |
| MDIA 13 |
Video Games and Popular Culture |
| MUS 3D |
Theory & Musicianship IV |
| MUS 47A |
Introduction to Musical Theatre Production |
| MUS 47B |
Intermediate Music Theatre Production Workshop |
| MUS 47C |
Advanced Music Theatre Production Workshop |
| MUS 47D |
Advanced Music Theatre Production Workshop II |
| MUS 48B |
Singing Technique for Musical Theatre |
| MUS 48C |
Musical Theatre Repertoire for Singers |
| PHED 15A |
Beginning Pickleball |
| PHED 15B |
Intermediate Pickleball |
| PHED 15C |
Advanced Pickleball |
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PHIL 12
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Philosophy of Science |
| PSYCH 1H |
Honors General Psychology |
| SOSC 1 |
Introduction to Global Studies |
| SOSC 2 |
Global Issues |
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THTR 48D
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Musical Theatre Repertoire for Singers II
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CSU GE and IGETC Approvals
The deadline for submitting courses to CSU/UC for inclusion on the CSU GE and IGETC lists is December 01, 2016. Please contact
Bernie Day if you have any questions or would like to propose new/revised courses for approval.
AB 1985 Signed by Governor Brown Affects AP Credit
In September, Governor Brown signed AB 1985, which requires the California Community Colleges to develop a common AP policy regarding the application of AP credit toward fulfillment of General Education requirement by July 2017. This could have a significant impact on how Foothill applies AP credit when awarding the AA/AS degree. The ASCCC and CCCCO are in the process of developing a plan for responding to the legislation. If a statewide plan is not agreed upon by June, the legislation requires that we adopt the CSU GE AP Policy as the CCCCO policy. That policy is available for review
here.
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HONORS INSTITUTE NEWS
By Bernie Day
Interest in the Honors Program Continues to Increase
Between "Try an Honors Course" students and regular honors students, Foothill currently has nearly 500 students engaged in the honors program. All faculty, staff or administrators are encouraged to nominate students who demonstrate a passion for learning and the potential for success to the program. Send us the names of five potential students and we will treat you to a cup of coffee from KJs!
Honors Faculty Roundtable Held at Mills College
On Saturday, October 29, Scott Lankford and Bernie Day attended the sixth annual Honors faculty Roundtable which brought together dozens of community college honors faculty from across California to explore honors pedagogy. Former Foothill honors student Maria Kossenko
(pictured, now attending UC Berkeley), served on the honors student panel. She touted the unique honors seminars as an important factor in preparing herself for the academic rigor of UC Berkeley.
Exciting New Honors Courses Available!
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ACTG 1BH
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Honors Financial Accounting II |
| ACTG 1CH |
Honors Managerial Accounting |
| BUSI 22H |
Honors Principles of Business |
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CHEM 1AH
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Honors General Chemistry
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CHEM 1BH
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Honors General Chemistry
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| CHEM 13AH |
Honors Laboratory for Organic Chemistry |
| CHEM 13BH |
Honors Laboratory for Organic Chemistry |
| CHEM 13CH |
Honors Laboratory for Organic Chemistry |
| CNSL 8H |
Honors Transfer Readiness |
| ENGL 43AH |
Honors Survey of British Literature I: Beowulf to the Late 18th Century |
| ENGL 43BH |
Honors Survey of British Literature II: The Romantic Period to the Present |
| ENGL 45AH |
Honors Survey of American Literature I: Beginnings to 1865 |
| ENGL 45BH |
Honors Survey of American Literature II: 1865 to the Present |
| LIBR 10H |
Research Paper Strategies for Honors |
| MDIA 1H |
Honors Introduction to Film Studies |
| MDIA 11H |
Honors Introduction to Popular Culture |
| PSYCH 1H |
Honors General Psychology |
Honors Course Wish List
Students report interest in enrolling in honors versions of the following courses. Please contact
Bernie Day if you are interested in developing one or more of these honors courses:
BIOL (any), MATH 1B, MATH 1C, MATH 10, ECON 1A, ECON 1B, ENGR 10, PHIL
Honors Courses Are A Factor In University Admission
Fall 2016 UCLA Admissions
Regular Foothill Applicants - 20% Admission Rate
Foothill Honors Scholars - 66% Admission Rate
NOTE:
- The GPA was similar for both groups.
- The "regular" student group included students who took one or more honors courses, but did not complete the entire Honors Scholar program.
Here is a sampling of some of the other institutions where Foothill honors students were admitted for Fall 2016:
Carnegie Mellon, Cornell University, Harvard, San Jose State University, Stanford (2), UC Berkeley, UC Davis, University of Pennsylvania, UC Irvine, UCSB, UCSC
Honors Students and Faculty Attend Bioneers Conference
On October 21-23, twenty (20) Foothill students journeyed north to the Marin Civic Center to attend the annual Bioneers Conference - perhaps the largest and most important ecology-and-sustainability conference in the U.S. Thanks to generous funding obtained from ASFC, the Foothill Bioneers and their faculty advisor, Scott Lankford, attended a wide serie
s of lectures, panel presentations, and hands-on demonstrations by leading global scientists, activists, and policy makers (combined with live poetry, dance, music, and visual art performances). From biomimicry to sustainable energy to indigenous land stewardship
activism and eco-justice issues, the conference hosts 500 youth participants aged 13-21 (along with several thousand adults).
Recently Foothill's Student Government has funded several other student groups for national conference participation, including last year's National Conference on Race and Ethnicity and a Model U.N. Conference in Los Angeles.
UCLA TAP and UC Irvine Honors Partnerships
Students who complete our Honors Scholar requirements (completion of 23 honors units with an overall cumulative 3.3 GPA) may participate in our UCLA Transfer Alliance Program (TAP). The TAP program significantly increases student's chances to be admitted to UCLA (from 14-20% to 60-90%) and allows students the chance to select an alternative major on their UC application. Additionally, students who complete the Honors Scholar requirements with a cumulative 3.7 GPA, are guaranteed admission to UC Irvine (for all majors except nursing) and will receive a regional scholarship, admittance to their Honors College, and guaranteed housing for 1 year). Through the Honors Transfer Council of California (HTCC) Foothill honors students also receives enhanced transfer considerations and/or other benefits with over 20 colleges including Mills College, Chapman University, Whitman College, University of San Francisco and Loyola Marymount University, to name a few.
Admission to Selective Colleges
There is no magic formula to being admitted to the Ivies or Elite colleges, but the Honors Institute offered some ideas on how students can increase their chances of admission. Students received the latest statistics on admission rates to the selective, highly-selective, and elite colleges including Brown, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, and more as well as learning how highly-selective colleges review students applications.
Honors Connection
The Honors Connection drew in a large crowd of interested students during Club Day last month. While many of last year's leaders are currently studying in Barcelona, Jonathon Alaverez, Acting President is holding down the fort here. The club meets bi-weekly. Members kicked off the year by gathering for a campus tour which familiarized students with services such as the Library, TLC, Transfer Center and Counseling department. The club is open to all students (honors and non-honors) who are passionate about learning.
Honors Hour
Honors students meet biweekly on Wednesdays (alternating with Honors Connection) in the Foothill Cafeteria to socialize over lunch. Sparked by the interest of one of our current honors students, Danya Adib, Honors Hour provides a platform for students to engage with one another about college and career plans. Students also serve as ambassadors by reaching out to other students who may be interested in joining Honors.
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Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) Updates
By Jennifer Sinclair
The SLO committee has welcomed 2 new coordinators.
Stan Baldwin joins us from Biological and Health Sciences. He teaches in the EMS Program. The EMS Program (and others like it) is an example of a true program, where students are provided with a comprehensive program of study rather than the more typical "cafeteria" style of education. His contributions accent for us the fact that Program Learning Outcomes are really made to go hand in hand with that kind of program-the kind of program that Ken O'Donnell inspired us with back in 2010 when he presented the Chancellor's Office's vision of the future in our Student Dining Center. I recall how inspired I felt at his description of the rich programing that colleges were adopting, such as first year experiences for all students that culminated in campus-wide presentations of student research on social justice issues. I know that my math colleague, Patrick Morriss, has worked to curate socially-relevant data and to develop non-routine prompts which give students the opportunity to respond in rich ways that demonstrate high-level skills. That's the kind of change that allows for authentic assessment of high-level outcomes. That's the kind of context in which SLOs are meaningful and assessment is not an add-on, but rather an integral part of the class. The SLO committee would love to hear about other examples of teaching that address the 21st Century Learning Outcomes that inspired the development of our Institutional Learning Outcomes!
Enjoli Flynn joins us from Language Arts. She teaches English. Her questions about SLO assessment plans and timelines remind us that we should continue to get the message out about faculty freedom in this arena. Some departments have been creative in developing an assessment plan that allows them to focus on a single theme or group of classes each year. So while we all have a hard deadline of program review, the timeline on which you get there can be uniquely designed by each department. As our Accreditation Visit approaches, make sure someone in your department can articulate your plan to visitors. And make sure everyone in your department can point visitors to that person!
This year, the SLO committee wants to advocate for more time for faculty to meet to discuss teaching and learning. It can be amazingly difficult to find times when 5 faculty are free to meet...and nearly impossible to find time when a whole department can meet. Some schools have 8-12 Professional Development Days per year! While we don't know whether that would work here at Foothill, we do know that people are frustrated by the lack of opportunity to communicate and collaborate. If you have any solution ideas, start sharing about them! And if you'd like to forward them to the SLO Committee, we'll add them to the list of ideas that we're collecting.
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