Dear Colleague,
Happy New Year! Welcome back to campus after what was hopefully a restful and re-energizing break for you. This quarter will be a tender time on campus, as we engage in the difficult but necessary work of rebalancing our budget. Amidst budgetary challenges and potential organizational changes, I know many people may be experiencing feelings of uncertainty, anxiety, or frustration. My hope is that we each do our best to focus on supporting one another, treating each other with care, and looking for constructive ways to problem solve, with the best interests of our students at heart. This speaks to the character of us as a college community, something we all hold dear and special about Shoreline.
Here are some important updates and announcements I want to share with you as we begin a new quarter.
Strategic Plan Goal 1: We attract students and community learners and ensure successful attainment of their goals through our programs, services, and teaching and learning environments.
Winter Quarter Student Enrollment Update
As of Monday, January 6, overall enrollment was down 80 FTE (-1.9%), with state-supported FTE down by 81 (-2.7%), international contract enrollment down 6 FTE (-0.7%), and Running Start enrollment up by 28 FTE (+12.2%). We are also welcoming 65 more new students compared to last winter (9.5% increase in headcount). Daily updated enrollment information is available on the report server to any employee.
Accreditation
The Accreditation Coordinating Team met twice in fall quarter, with 12 follow-up meetings between individuals and the College’s Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO), Bayta Maring. In winter quarter, expect a visit from Executive Director Maring at division or department meetings to review some of the information included in the comprehensive self-study, provide additional feedback and information, and learn more about what to expect at the site visit in October 2020.
Guided Pathways Update
The Guided Pathways initiative allows a college to undertake a full review of all processes and systems – improving intake, enrollment, and retention. The College held two general information sessions for Guided Pathways (GP) in the fall quarter. Over 100 employees attended these sessions and there appears to be great interest in the work. At the end of the fall quarter, seven employees applied and were awarded a role in leading GP for the College. Assignments are being finalized this month. Please stay tuned for more information about GP work for the College.
Health, Science & Advanced Manufacturing Classroom Complex (HSAMCC)
The Health, Science & Advanced Manufacturing Classroom Complex is on pace to complete the final architectural design and permitting in late winter quarter. This is the first new academic building in 30 years and will provide state-of-the-industry learning facilities, as well as faculty and staff offices, for chemistry, biology, medical laboratory technology, advanced manufacturing, bio-manufacturing, engineering, computer science, and clean energy technology. Construction is scheduled to begin in summer 2020, at which time the manufacturing and dental hygiene programs will relocate to new short-term locations (please watch for more information about these locations this week). The College continues to work with the City of Shoreline to obtain building permits and final construction pricing to keep the building progressing toward a winter 2022 opening.
Dental Hygiene Program Temporary Location
As of Friday, December 20, 2019, the College identified a new location for our current first-year dental hygiene students to complete their program, starting summer quarter 2020. While we are still finalizing the details with the partner organization, an initial message was sent to dental hygiene faculty, staff, students, the president of the dental hygiene advisory committee, and our dental partners to let them know about this development. The new arrangement will provide a short-term solution for housing the program while the College continues to identify a long-term solution through an evaluation of our budget, our facilities, and opportunities for outside support. More details about this location will be shared later this week.
Strategic Plan Goal 2: We continually strive for disciplined excellence and focused improvement in all that we do.
Inclement Weather & Suspended Operations Reminder
With the forecast calling for potential snow in the near future, please be sure to review the 2019-20 Suspended Operations Memo and check if your contact information in Rave Alert is up to date. Questions about closure information can be directed to your supervisor or to Human Resources any time.
Housing Update & Great Room Reservations
7000 Campus Living had an exciting fall quarter, with 225 students in our inaugural on-campus community. The Resident Assistants (Mashal, Nicholas, Emilie, and Bella) along with Assistant Director, Meghan Winter, helped build community by holding over 25 events and programs in the hall such as community dinners, yoga, a body positivity program, grocery bingo, stress relief and financial management workshops, a trip to a Sounders game, and a visit to Leavenworth. The building has 95.6% occupancy for winter quarter with 49% domestic students and 51% international students. Additionally, the Great Room is now available to reserve for meetings or gatherings. For questions about space reservations, please contact Jenifer Aydelotte.
Capital Campaign Update
Our Capital Campaign to raise $3 million for our HSAMCC has secured over $700,000 in pledges since September. Meetings are scheduled for January with potential individual and biotech industry donors for major gift requests. A second gathering in The Highlands neighborhood will take place on January 18 to develop and deepen the residents’ knowledge of the College and our new building. Campaign Cabinet members have talked with retirees and alumni who are interested in attending a retiree and alumni event in April to learn about the new building and giving opportunities. Grants from foundations and corporations are being explored and assessed. Contacts with the funding organizations and preliminary preparation of proposals are underway.
2020-21 Budget Planning Process
During fall quarter, all departments completed their unit area assessments. These were reviewed by ET and questions were forwarded to deans and directors as needed. Following an internal review, ET is developing recommendations for the 2020-21 budget. These recommendations will be communicated to employees during the week of January 20 with a first presentation to the Board of Trustees on January 22, 2020.
Continued Work on the College Website
As part of the College’s digital roadmap, significant structural work continues on the website. Following the completion of several projects from fall quarter, three large projects are in progress for the remainder of the academic year. First, the Apply & Aid section of the site will be revamped to help students through the enrollment process. Second, a new landing page for support services for students will be built to improve how students can find and access services. Finally, the home page and main menus will be redesigned and restructured to improve usability, clarify navigation, and allow for more dynamic content. All three of these projects take focused time, effort, and input from students and employees to complete, so please be mindful that the web team will be prioritizing work on these projects the next two quarters. The end results will greatly benefit our prospective and current students!
ctcLink Work & New Hours for Enrollment Services, Financial Aid & Cashiering
We officially kicked off the ctcLink project with a visit by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) in October 2019. We have begun the process of moving to PeopleSoft — a modern, web-based, mobile-friendly enterprise software system — and will go live in early 2022. In the fall, over 100 administrative staff and classified managers engaged in change and transition management workshops to help us prepare for the changes ahead. A change management book club starts soon; email ctclink@shoreline.edu if you’d like to join in.
Departments across campus are now conducting “business process mapping” sessions, which allows us to better understand the work we do today, look to streamline and improve processes, and ensure we account for our needs as we move to ctcLink. To get this work done, the following offices in Building 5000 (FOSS) will have adjusted hours beginning Tuesday, January 21, 2020:
- Enrollment Services & Financial Aid – Closed Wednesdays 8-11 a.m.
- Cashiering – Closed Tuesdays 8-11 a.m.
Conversations with Executive Team
As of fall quarter, the newly named “Conversations with the Executive Team” continued to explore key areas of concern and provided updates to classified staff, exempt employees, and faculty. Written updates will be shared as progress is made during winter quarter. We will meet again in mid-spring quarter to share accomplishments and continue addressing areas improvements to communication and strengthen our relationship. Here are some updates on the areas explored this past spring:
- Classified Staff: Based on staff feedback, Jason Francois, Director of Facilities, has implemented an updated custodial checklist for assigned areas, as well as a quarterly schedule for in-depth cleaning projects across campus. Director Francois has also reinstated a quarterly maintenance schedule of review for areas on campus needing routine updates, such as paint touch ups or similar projects to ensure office and instructional spaces are kept refreshed.
- Exempt Employees: The administrative and exempt employees reviewed a final draft of the professional assessment fall quarter. The piloting of the assessment will continue through spring quarter with feedback for improvements to be made in time for full implementation in fall 2020.
- Faculty: Faculty members expressed an interest in building greater clarity and transparency around College committee and governance work. Following a review of the College’s committee pages on the Intranet, a small team met this summer to review current committees, place a call for membership through committee chairs, and begin clean-up of the committee Intranet page. This work will include establishing a clear College governance guide, ensuring defunct committee work is archived, finalizing charters for all active committees, and supporting committees to update and maintain a consistent online presence. For more information on committees, please contact Pilar Corder.
Employee Recognition Committee
The recognition committee has created a new mechanism for employees to recognize and appreciate their colleagues starting winter quarter. “Waves of Gratitude” is a tool for peer-to-peer recognition to share above-and-beyond acts of service across the campus. Submissions will be shared with the campus on Day at A Glance (DAAG) each month. A submission form will be available in the next week, so please look for the official announcement in your daily DAAG email message.
Strategic Planning
Our Strategic Planning Steering Committees made great strides in 2018-19 and provided the Executive Team (ET) with recommendations for consideration. ET reviewed the recommendations from the Ecological Integrity, the Disciplined Excellence, and the Communication, Marketing & Community Engagement Steering Committees and found them to be thoughtful and well developed. While the College won’t be able to complete all the recommendations in one year, ET is looking at how to use the remaining years of our Strategic Plan (2016-21) to make these recommendations come to life.
The Disciplined Excellence Steering Committee (DESC) met with several members of ctcLink leadership team (Joe Chiappa, Ann Garnsey-Harter, Cheryl Roberts, and Gavin Smith), as most of their recommendations will fall within the scope of ctcLink and continuous improvement of College processes. The intent is to sunset DESC and fold their recommendations into ctcLink work, with DESC activating as an advisory group within ctcLink when appropriate.
Governance and Committees Updates
During the fall quarter, several staff worked on assessing the activities of the college through our council and committee structure. This work was reviewed by Faculty Senate in late fall quarter. During winter quarter, both the College Council and Faculty Senate will begin working on the College’s governance policy, which will include a refresh of the College governance and committees web page on the intranet.
Strategic Plan Goal 3: We ensure that a climate of intentional inclusion permeates our decisions and practices, which demonstrate principles of ecological integrity, social equity, and economic viability.
Ecological Integrity Steering Committee (EISC) Work
The EISC committee made several recommendations that were accepted by ET for the fall 2019 quarter. EISC met several times over the course of fall term. For the remaining quarters of 2020, the committee will focus on developing a learning tour utilizing our Tree Campus designation, working closely with the new Sustainability Curriculum Coordinator Marek Wyzgowski to develop sustainability modules, and to develop activities for the annual Earth Week celebration.
Opportunity Gap Update
The purpose of the Opportunity Gap Committee is to use research and best practices to identify broader group-level patterns of our students’ learning experiences in and outside of the classroom. The Committee will review data on our students of color, first generation, and low-income students as they navigate Shoreline and provide recommendations for how to improve their experience. This research will inform our retention efforts as we focus as a College on reducing barriers so our students can to complete their educational goals. The Committee is excited to hold their third meeting on January 17.
Inclusive Excellence Steering Committee Update
The Inclusive Excellence Steering Committee (IESC) is focused on providing recommendations on the work associated with diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) at the College. In addition, the group will be continuing the work to provide recommendations for an Inclusive Excellence framework and scorecard that can be implemented at Shoreline. The group will spend time to continue to learn about best practices for implementing Inclusive Excellence frameworks, via online research, site visits, connecting with colleagues, and/or attending relevant conferences. The group will hold their second meeting in January.
Additional Emergency Funding and Scholarships for Students
There’s great news to share regarding increased funding opportunities for students:
- Emergency Grants – The Foundation will receive $100,000 over two years from the SBCTC to assist students with emergency situations to ensure they can stay in school (this is in addition to the $125,000 currently funded by United Way of King County)
- Scholarships for New Students – Thanks to a generous local citizen, new students to Shoreline can apply to receive a scholarship award from the new $550,000 Eva C. Gordon Memorial Scholarship
- Washington College Grant Widens Financial Aid Criteria – New statewide funding opportunity coming fall 2020 will allow many median and low-income families to attend college for free or at a reduced price
You can read more about what these opportunities will mean for our students in this article on our news blog.
Avanti Markets Has Arrived on Campus
The College is pleased to announce that Avanti Markets is now on campus as our new food service provider! The grand opening event takes place Wednesday, January 8 (9 a.m. – 2 p.m.), with a raffle, free samples, and a $2.00 credit for all students and employees. As shared in November, Avanti provides convenient, healthy fresh entrees, snacks, and beverages in a self-service format, known as a micro-market, located in the cafeteria space in the PUB Building 9000. Meals are available anytime the PUB is open in the unstaffed retail space in the Main Dining Room, and coffee drinks are available in the PUB lobby. Food is restocked daily and patrons pay at kiosks using cash, credit/debit card, mobile app, Apple pay, or with a fingerprint.
To supplement the market’s grab-and-go-choices, SeattleFoodTruck.com will rotate food trucks on campus each week, starting in mid-January. More details about the schedule (and a food truck survey) will be shared soon. To keep these food trucks on campus, there will need to be enough business generated for them to be profitable, so please encourage colleagues and students to use this great option for hot food offerings.
Vice President for Business & Administrative Services Position Reorganization
As I shared with you in December, no hire was made for the Vice President for Business & Administrative Services (VPBAS) from the Fall 2019 applicant pool. After reviewing the position description and speaking with the screening committee and the directors in the Office of Business & Administrative Services, the job duties have been refocused. Previously, the VPBAS position included the major responsibilities of Auxiliary Services, Budget/Finance, Facilities/Capital Projects, Human Resources, Safety & Security, and Technology Support Services.
Beginning January 2020, Human Resources will report directly to me and Executive Director of Human Resources Veronica Zura will become a member of the Executive Team for the College. Safety & Security will report to Executive Director Zura. In addition, Technology Support Services (TSS) will be moved under the Office of Student Learning as of July 1 to capitalize on the opportunity to align TSS with strategic enrollment initiatives and continuous support and interaction with eLearning. Through June 30, the current organizational structure will remain in place with TSS reporting to Executive Director Ann Garnsey-Harter through the Office of the President. The College will re-open the VPBAS position in January with updates posted to campus throughout the next few months. Any questions you have may be directed to Human Resources.
January Minimum Wage Increase
Beginning in January 2020, the Washington state minimum wage will increase to $13.50/hour. The Office of Human Resources will be updating all impacted job rates and noticing impacted employees of their new rate. Feel free to contact Human Resources with any questions.
MLK Day of Service: Community Clean-Up & Food Drive
Join Shoreline students, employees, and neighbors on Monday, January 20 as we come together to raise in-kind donations for our Benefits Hub, which provides food resources to students in need. We will also engage in a community clean-up on and around the Shoreline Community College campus and the streets that border the College. Community members are encouraged to join us at 9 a.m. for our service kickoff and can choose the best project that meets their interest. We will be splitting up into teams, with some groups heading to neighborhood stores for a food drive and others hitting the streets to engage in a beautification project. Spread the word and sign up on the United Way website.
Upcoming Winter Events: Mark Your Calendars!
- New Employee Orientation – Monday, January 13 (8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., PUB Room 9201)
- MLK Volunteer Day of Service – Monday, January 20 (9 a.m. – noon)
- Not-So-New Employee Orientation – Friday, January 31 (8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., PUB Room 9208)
- Campus Budget Updates – Thursday, January 23; Thursday, February 20; and Thursday, March 12 (1:30 – 3:00 p.m., PUB Main Dining Room)
Many times, I have seen on this campus that when we pull together in support of our students, we achieve great things. I look forward to working closely with you this quarter in continued support of that transformative work.
With best regards,
Cheryl Roberts, Ed.D.
President
Day at a Glance 
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