The aSAP application materials for the 2016-17 budget process are now available and the deadline for submission of an aSAP is February 2, 2016.  The Strategic Planning and Budget Committee will have multiple live training sessions to help you develop your aSAP in the first two weeks of January. If you would like to start thinking about some of your requests in the meantime, you may take time to look at the online materials describing the aSAP application requirements.

The application has not substantially changed from last year’s process, and the few changes that have been made are meant to decrease the burden on the submitters particularly when developing the budget for your proposal.  Remember the “a” in aSAP stands for abbreviated, and therefore a major goal for the process is to provide a streamlined opportunity for Shoreline employees propose ideas and projects that can help realize the goals in the Strategic Plan and Core Themes of the college.

Please visit the Funding Requests Main page, http://intranetnew.shoreline.edu/strategic-planning-committee/funding-requests.aspx, to first decide if an aSAP request is appropriate for your proposal.  If it is, online instructions for each section of the aSAP application can be found at http://intranetnew.shoreline.edu/strategic-planning-committee/asap-instructions.aspx . Stay tuned to DAAG for announcements of the January training dates, but if you have questions in the meantime, feel free to email Guy Hamilton, Chair of the SPBC (ghamilton@shoreline.edu).

Please also remember that the College is closed the week of December 21. There is no expectation that you will work on your aSAP next week. In future years, we will work to ensure that the application is released at a time not so close to the winter break. We encourage you to enjoy the time next week to refresh and relax; you will still have over five weeks to work on your aSAP after the campus reopens.

Shoreline Community College President Cheryl Roberts (at right) signs a memorandum of understanding with a group of mayors in Okinawa, Japan, that could bring more Okinawan students to Shoreline. Photo gallery 

In an effort to further strengthen Shoreline Community College’s long-standing relationship with Japan, President Cheryl Roberts recently visited Okinawa Prefecture in southern Japan to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with several local prefecture mayors.  The mayors have banded together in an initiative to encourage local Okinawan students to study abroad and participate in an increasingly interdependent world.

The agreement signed by Dr. Roberts paves the way for students from Okinawa to participate in education exchange programs at Shoreline Community College.  The actual signing ceremony was attended by well over a hundred local residents, including prefectural mayors, education superintendents, and members of the local community that were interested in sending their students to Shoreline.  In addition to signing the agreement, Dr. Roberts also spoke to those in attendance about the profound relationship between the U.S. and Japan, and especially the role that Okinawan students will play in the internationalization of Japan.

The session concluded with a panel discussion, where Dr. Roberts and Executive Director of International Education Diana Sampson answered questions from local officials and parents about community colleges, and education in the United States.

Shoreline Community College is currently home to over 1,000 international students from some 45 countries.  Although the number of Japanese students studying in the United States has decreased in the past several years, many members of the local Okinawan community expressed optimism that Shoreline’s reputation for quality education will continue to attract top Japanese students.  The visit from the Shoreline delegation also included visits to local schools, and will conclude with a visit to Meiji University in Tokyo.