This message from President Cheryl Roberts was sent by email to all employees.

Dear Colleagues,

As many in our country greet the holidays with the deep suffering from the loss and injuries of their loved ones, we are mindful of their grief and wishing them solace in the support of their families and friends! This season is also a time filled with celebrating our traditions. It’s a time filled with remembering what is important in our lives. At Shoreline, we are a community that has come together because of our noble vision to be the best in the world at student success and community engagement. This is the reason I get up each day. Another powerful reason continues to be working alongside each of you. Your energy and constant focus on directing your work to insure student success inspires me to do my best!

This year, 2015, has been one of transition. Part of that transition has been my arrival. I continue to be amazed by your openness to look at our processes and systems so we can not only be good, but great for our students. I know you will agree our students and community deserve no less! This year we had significant breakthroughs and accomplishments that would not have been possible without your superb efforts.

As we prepare for a great 2016, it’s because we put our hearts and minds into what we do that we create a dynamic learning environment where students feel cared about and cared for. As Syracuse University Professor Emeritus Vincent Tinto so aptly says, “Employee involvement in the lives of students matters!” I hope you remember you are an integral part of everything we do, not just in getting things done, but also in creating ideas and setting the agenda for the future. We need each other and our best thinking to create a preferred future that insures each student can complete, graduate, and transfer no matter who they are or what their entering educational level. This is a noble vision; it’s one we can attain together.

Thank you for your commitment to excellence in all you do!

Wishing you a wonderful holiday filled with the magic of the season…

With warmest regards,

Cheryl

The Board will hold a Special Meeting on Tuesday, December 8, 2015 from 3:00 PM in the Central Conference Room (#1020M) in the Administration Building (#1000).  The purpose of this Special Meeting is for the Board of Trustees to:

• Meet with staff from the Washington State Auditor’s Office for an exit conference.

Agenda, notices and meeting packets

The Fall 2015 Shoreline Community College Nursing Program Graduation will start at 4 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015, in the PUB Main Dining Room. All are invited to join friends, families, faculty and staff in celebrating the success and achievements of these fine students. A cake, cookie, and coffee reception will follow the ceremony.

For more information, contact Lori Stephens, x4766

Kim Streitz, program coordinator at Shoreline Community College, helps organize employees to make phone calls to prospective students on Dec. 5, 2015. Photo gallery

On a rainy Saturday, a dozen Shoreline Community College employees gathered for a round of phone calls to more than 800 prospective students.

The Dec. 5, 2015 event was part of a months-long collaborative effort across three departments – Enrollment and Financial Aid Services, Advising Services and Public Information Office – aimed at reaching out and assisting college applicants through the process of becoming registered students.

And it’s working.

“I’ve had three calls transferred to me that I registered as students,” Alicia Zweifach, an academic advisor, said about two hours into the 8 a.m.-2 p.m. calling window. Zweifach said that on one call with an applicant and her mother, the mom liked the personal touch, comparing it to another local college where they’d been told to, “just go online.”

Staffing for the calling event included seven student hourly employees using desks and phones in the enrollment services area of the FOSS Building. Each caller had a list of people who had applied to Shoreline, but not yet registered. When a call went to voicemail, which was the norm, the callers would read a script thanking them for applying and offering additional resources.

If someone answered, the Shoreline callers asked if any help was needed and offered to answer questions.

“We have our callers with the college website on a screen in front of them so they can walk the (prospective student) through questions they may have,” said program coordinator Kim Streitz, who helped direct the event. If a question needed additional expertise, the call would be transferred to one of the full-time staff members on-hand, including Margie Pederson in financial aid, program coordinator Mary Cheung, Zweifach, or Streitz.

Streitz added that she thinks even the calls that went to voicemail can have an impact by letting the prospective student know the college is interested in them. “We get very few people who say, ‘Quit bothering me,” Streitz said. “Most people are very appreciative.”

The phone-calling session was part of a larger effort this fall focused on winter-quarter enrollment that included a targeted campaign using an email-marketing tool to track responses and follow-ups. While the phone list had about 820 names, some of the email lists used this fall have had close to 5,000 names and addresses.

The work is part of Shoreline’s Student Success Coordinating Committee and modeled on Wake Tech Community College, in Raleigh, NC, and Clarus Corp., a consulting firm that is working with Shoreline. A group from Shoreline including President Cheryl Roberts, Vice President Bob Francis, Director of Enrollment and Financial Aid Services Chris Melton and Special Assistant Jim Hills, visited Wake Tech in September.