Grossmont Bookstore announces new option for textbook rentals

EL CAJON -- In an effort to keep textbook prices in line with student budgets, Grossmont College Bookstore has introduced a new money-saving option.

Michael Gilchrist, the manager of the bookstore operated by Barnes & Noble, said the new option is called "dynamic pricing for rentals" which allows flexibility in price setting.

“Whereas before there were set prices for rentals -- such as 50 percent of the new book price -- prices can  go even lower to meet competition from online retailers,” Gilchrist said.

"Rental titles may be more than 50 percent off the new book price" under this system and "used rentals will be less expensive than new rentals," he said.

Gilchrist noted that textbooks can sometimes be set at very high prices by publishers. “Dynamic rental pricing is very exciting because it is really the first time the bookstore can determine the price of a textbook,” he said.

Within the boundaries of contracts, Gilchrist said, the bookstore management wants to do whatever it can to make it easier for students to obtain their necessary textbooks.

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Editors: Gilchrist is available for further comment at (619) 644-7664

California Community College System picks Ann Durham as health sector navigator for San Diego, Imperial Counties

                                                                  Ann Durham

EL CAJON -- Rancho San Diego resident Ann Durham, Director of the Health Workforce Initiative based at Grossmont  College, has been named Deputy Sector Navigator (DSN) for Health for the San Diego/Imperial Region.

The appointment, announced this week by the California Community College Chancellor’s Office Division of Workforce & Economic Development, means that Durham will have expanded responsibilities and budget under the "Doing What Matters" program.

In the past, her office has operated under a $205,000 annual grant; this amount has been increased to $300,000 as a result of the expanded program. Previously the Health Workforce Initiative had four centers, including Durham's, up and down the state to coordinate educational programs in the health care field with the needs of hospitals, clinics, medical offices and other health care venues.  In the upcoming fiscal year, the Health Sector will expand its reach by having ten offices in as many separate geographic regions.  The 10 DSNs will work together to promote the advancement of California’s health care workforce through quality education and services.

Health is just one of ten sectors of the economy for which community college programs educate workers and improve standards.  Others include Advanced Manufacturing; Advanced Transportation and Renewables; Life Sciences/ Bio Technology; Agriculture, Water and Environmental Technology; Global Trade and Logistics; Information Communication Technology; Small Business; Energy (Efficiency) and Utilities; and Retail, Hospitality, Tourism.

Each geographic region was tasked with identifying 3 priority sectors and 2 emerging sectors.  Depending on each region's priorities, DSNs were selected through a competitive process, and each sector will be coordinated and lead by a Statewide Sector Navigator, also selected through a competitive process.

Durham said that the Health was identified as a priority or emerging sector in all ten regions, and that she and other veteran coordinators in this field will meet with the Statewide Sector Navigator in July with the six new DSNs from other parts of the state.

Up to now in San Diego and Imperial Counties, Durham’s office has focused on two major initiatives:  the Welcome Back Center, which works with internationally trained health professionals to help them get licensed in the United States so they can work in their field of education and expertise, and with the Health and Science Pipeline Initiative (HASPI) program, working with middle schools and high schools to strengthen science programs to prepare students for successful careers in nursing and allied health, and to familiarize those students, as well as community college students, with the many different occupations in the health care field.  With the additional funding, Durham said, she has allocated funds for mini-grants for each of the nine community colleges in the San Diego/Imperial region: Cuyamaca, Grossmont, Imperial Valley, MiraCosta, Palomar, San Diego City, San Diego Mesa, San Diego Miramar, and Southwestern.

Additionally, Durham said, she plans to help create an organization for San Diego and Imperial County directors of programs that teach students to become medical assistants in doctors' offices.   The organization would be similar to one already in place for the directors of nursing programs.  --DHH

California’s ‘Salary Surfer’ Website Unveiled at Grossmont College

EL CAJON, California – What is the return on investment for an Associate degree or a certificate of completion from one of California’s community colleges?

The public can learn the answer to that question for 179 different programs offered at any of California’s  112 community colleges by visiting a new website,  http://salarysurfer.cccco.edu/SalarySurfer.aspx  and scrolling to the program in question.  State Community Colleges Chancellor Brice W. Harris unveiled the new program at a news conference held at Grossmont College on Wednesday, June 19.

The site looks at median incomes for students two years before they entered the programs, and two years and five years after they complete the programs, Harris told a news conference in the state-of-the-art Health and Sciences Complex at Grossmont College.

“This groundbreaking tool validates that California community colleges produce a tremendous return on investment for our state,” he said.  “Nearly 45 percent of students who graduated with an associate degree and did not transfer to a four-year college earned more than $54,000 annually five years after getting their degree,” he said.  For comparison purposes, he added, “that is the median wage of someone with a bachelor’s degree living in California.”

Harris said about 25 percent of those graduates with associate degrees earned median wages of more than $77,000 five years after graduating.  Some of the highest earning areas five years after graduation, Harris said, are “electrical and power systems transmission, $96,200; physician assistant $95,700 and radiation therapy technician, $91,300.”

Holding the news conference at Grossmont College afforded Harris the opportunity to tour the college’s modern complex for the health professions.  He and an entourage visited high tech areas that included simulation laboratories with mannequins programmed to respond as patients; a casting room for orthopedic technology; a cardiovascular cauterization laboratory, including EKG and ultrasound labs; a high-tech respiratory lab; and a mock apartment showing how homes may be modified for disabled patients.

Michele Tarbet, chief executive officer of Sharp Grossmont Hospital, said community college programs such as those at Grossmont College provide the hospital with many key staff members who are trained in medical specialties. She noted that heavy concentrations of the hospital’s nurses and cardiovascular technicians are Grossmont College graduates.

Eric Lund, general manager of San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce, said the new Salary Surfer website makes it clear that community colleges not only educates students  who plan to go to four-year colleges, but also play a vital economic role in providing state residents with training for necessary and important jobs.

Putting it in personal terms, he said a daughter, Ashley, studied in the medical field at Grossmont College, joined the staff of Sharp Grossmont Hospital, and now is working in the medical field in Connecticut.

Patrick Perry, vice chancellor of technology, research and information systems for California Community Colleges told the audience it took six months to develop the salary-tracking tool, using data obtained from the California Employment Development Department.  It joins other tools set up in Florida, Virginia, and Texas.

Some occupations and comparative salaries listed on the website include:

Cardiovascular technician, degree:  $71, 841 (five years after graduation); $62,211 (two years after graduation) and $12,298 (two years before graduation).   For those obtaining a certificate in the same field, with fewer requirements than a degree, the figures were $66,747 (five years later); $56,925 (two years afterwards) and $14,566 (two years prior). 

Dental assistant degree-holders showed a salary of $33,178 (five years after graduation; $25,824 (two years after graduation) and $12,310 (two years before.)  

Physician’s Assistant Degrees garnered $95,727 (five years after graduation); $70,068 (two years after graduation) and $15,163 (two years before graduation).

Harris said that by studying the charts, students and their parents can make informed choices but noted that a career choice shouldn’t be based solely on salary potential.

“Follow your passions and interests,” he said.

Cindy Miles, chancellor of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, welcomed the
participants and about 50 attendees to the news conference.  Manuel Baca, president of the board of the California Community Colleges, said after touring Grossmont College’s health and sciences complex that one of his goals is to make sure that students throughout California eventually have access to similar state-of-the-art facilities.

--DHH--

One senior class racks up $287,000 in student awards for college

                                          Laila Hamzai (Photo: Stephen Harvey)


EL CAJON, California -- Does it pay to study in high school? 

The 36 graduating students of Grossmont Middle School College think so.  To help pay for their upcoming first year attending college, they have aggregated a total of $287,000 in  scholarships, grants and work study awards.

That's an average of $7,972.22 per student with which to start the Fall 2013 college semester.

In winning these awards, the students compiled a class average grade point average of 3.73 -- with  4.0 being a perfect A and 3.5 qualifying for honors.

By no means did the students spend all their times at home or in the library studying.  According to their counselor, Sharon Neumann, in their two years at Grossmont Middle College High School,  they completed over 10,000 hours of internship hours at  jobs in a wide variety of fields.

That was an average of over 255 hours per student in such areas as medical research, business, government and the arts.

Of the 36 students, three compiled perfect 4.0 averages as counted by colleges -- Laila Syeda Hamzai, the valedictorian; Yousif Namir Awakeem, and Justin Tyler Sax.

Hamzai, whose parents were refugees from Iran, said during commencement exercises on Monday, June 10, that in the high school, located on the  Grossmont College campus, students learned that they had "diverse philosophies about life, religion and politics but we learned to tolerate one another" and in many cases become close friends.  The diversity "helped us clarify our thinking and view the world with more mature perspective."

During their two years as high school students eligible to take college-level classes on the Grossmont campus, the 36 students earned a total of 1,075 transferable college credits-- a fraction less than 30 units per student.  That, noted the school's retired founder, Cathy Zemlick, is the equivalent of a full year of college.  She pointed out that for the parents of these students that means one year less of tuition, residence hall fees, books, and incidental fees for their college careers.  

Sarah Lynee Gehman compiled the most number of transferable college units: 43.   That is nearly the equivalent of three semesters worth of college work.

Most students in the graduating class have already been accepted as incoming students at a variety of public and private colleges and universities across the nation.  Others have chosen to serve in the U.S. military or to do missionary work for their faith.

High school students who wish to attend  the Middle College High School -- so called because it is a program somewhere between a high school and a college -- need to go through a  Grossmont Union High School applications and interview process that starts in the February of the year that they are  10th graders. The school offers courses for 11th and 12th graders.

More information about this program is available on the school's website, http://middlecollege.guhsd.net/

-DHH-

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Iraqi refugee wins $500 scholarship for her ‘First Female’ essay

                                         Lana Abdulrazzaq


EL CAJON—A high school junior from Iraq, who has compiled a 4.0 grade point average and predicts she will be the first member of her family to graduate from high school, has won this year’s “First Female” essay contest sponsored by the English Department of Grossmont College and the El Cajon-La Mesa chapter of the American Association of University Women.

Lana Abdulrazzaq, a student at El Cajon Valley High School, was awarded a $500 prize at a recent AAUW luncheon at the Courtyard by Marriott at Liberty Station.   Nervously, she read her essay to a room full of appreciative university graduates, and had the opportunity to meet Kathi Diamant, the featured speaker of the afternoon, who presented Abdulrazzaq with an autographed copy of her biographical Kafka’s Last Love.

Sydney Brown, an English professor who chairs the “First Female” essay contest, said Abdulrazzaq spoke at the luncheon meeting earlier this year about how her Chaldean family members are refugees from Iraq, how she learned English in the United States, how she tries to be a role model for her younger sister, and how she aspires to go to UCLA to become a medical doctor.  She thanked the guests for helping her to realize her dream to become a doctor.

This is the third year of the contest, with one previous winner having told of being the first member of her family to arrive in the United States from China, and another winner having written about being the first in her family to learn English.

Brown said that she and English Department chair, Dr. Oralee Holder, devised the contest to inspire young women to think of themselves with self-confidence as “firsts.”  Under the arrangement with the AAUW, the English Department contributes $250 toward the award and AAUW provides the other $250.

“Part of the English Department’s goal is to do community outreach,” Brown said.  “There is a natural partnership with the AAUW.” -- DHH

4,146 students enroll in Grossmont College summer courses

EL CAJON—Graduation ceremonies were conducted only last week, but the Grossmont College campus is buzzing again with 4,146 students who are attending the summer session that began on Monday, June 10.

More than 160 courses in 42 widely varying subjects lured the students back to campus.  Many of these are core courses needed by students to complete the requirements for graduation in their specialties, while others are electives, offering students opportunities to taste new subjects and try new endeavors.

For example, one cross-listed, course which can earn a student three units credit either in geology or geography will take up to 20 students on a 9-day trip to the Eastern Sierra under the tutelage of Professors Judd Curran and Tim Cliffe.

The students will leave June 15 in two passenger vans and one trailing baggage van to visit and camp at such venues as Lone Pine, the Owens Valley, the Long Valley Caldera, and the Mono Basin.

In Lone Pine, where numerous western movies were made, they'll see the "unique contrast between the rounded brownish-colored plutonic rocks of the Alabama Hills with the grey, jagged granitic rocks of the Sierra Nevada in the background," Judd tells us.  They'll also get a good view of Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak in the contiguous 48 U.S. States, before heading to the remote White Mountains, home of the oldest-known living trees on earth, the Bristlecone Pines, of which some are in excess of 4,500 years old.

Then it's on to Bishop and beyond to see the Long Valley Caldera, site of a massive, cataclysmic eruption 760,000 years ago that blew ash as far east as Nebraska.  Subsequent eruptions formed Mammoth Mountain and the Inyo/Mono crater chain extending northward into the Mono Basin.

Students will visit the Devil's Postpile National Monument to study volcanic rock that cooled to form hexagon-shaped columns.

Near the end of the trip students will descend into the Mono Basin to focus on the politics and environmental issues involving Mono Lake and the export of water out of the basin for the City of Los Angeles.  The trip will end with a comprehensive final exam in Bishop County Park before heading back to Grossmont College.

Other Grossmont College courses being offered, thanks to the passage last year of Proposition 30 which increased taxes to pay for education, range from Administration of Justice to Biological Sciences to Cross-Cultural Studies, and go on through the alphabet to include such courses as Dance, Economics, Family Studies, German, Heath Education, Inter-Disciplinary Studies, and more.

Because of the shrinking of the state budget over the last four years, some courses that could not be offered in the past are being offered this summer to make sure students can complete requirements in their majors.

“We are so gratified that the voters of California exercised wisdom and generosity in adopting the temporary tax increase ballot measure,” commented Grossmont College President Sunita Cooke.   “It’s clear from the number of students who have elected to spend their summer with us that there is a tremendous pent-up demand for these courses."   -- DHH

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Editors:  Judd Curran may be reached for additional comment on his cell phone., 619 454-2000.
Photos: 1.  Students register for their classes June 10 at Grossmont College  (Photo: Stephen Harvey)
                2.  Students study rock formations in the Alabama Hills of the Eastern Sierra (Photo: Judd Curran)

    

Grossmont College math professor to lead 50,000 community college faculty members

                                               Beth Smith

EL CAJON, California --After raising her children, E. Beth Smith decided to return to college, thinking a degree might lead to a career as a junior high school teacher.   But that's not the way things turned out.  She became a professor at Grossmont College, and today, as the incoming president of the statewide Academic Senate of the 112 community colleges in California, she will represent 50,000 college faculty members, who teach approximately 2.5 million students.

Numbers like that might daunt anyone, but luckily for Smith she is a mathematician.  She is on paid leave from Grossmont College as she helps her colleagues initiate or respond to legislation and policy dealing with the community colleges.  Supportive of her efforts, Grossmont College pays her full salary, even though her constant duties in Sacramento preclude teaching in the classroom. Out of a separate budget, the statewide Academic Senate reimburses Grossmont College the cost of part-time instructors to teach Smith's mathematics courses.

“Beth has been actively engaged in working with Academic Senate issues at the state level since 2007,” commented Grossmont College President Sunita V. Cooke. “She is an excellent communicator and has been conveying information to and from our college throughout those years.  She has served in several leadership roles with the state wide Academic Senate now culminating in the Presidency. We couldn’t be more proud of her and we know she will serve the faculty of the state and also the community college system very well.”

Sue Gonda, who currently serves as president of the Academic Senate at Grossmont College, noted that Smith was one of her predecessors in that position, and always was regarded as a "student-oriented faculty member."  During debates over various educational issues, Smith typically would raise the question "just how will this proposal affect our students?" Gonda recalled.  As a math instructor, Smith "found ways to give students credit for tutoring in high schools and grade schools, and was one of the earliest leaders on this campus for getting students to learn more about their courses by doing service work in the community."

As Grossmont's Academic Senate president from 2003 to 2007, Smith said she advocated giving faculty members more opportunity to advise the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District on what they thought should be budget priorities.  Elected board members clearly have the right to make the decisions how to spend the public's money, she said, but before doing so they should have the benefit of hearing the faculty's input on the subject.

Additionally, Smith said in an interview, a high point of her Grossmont College Academic Senate tenure was helping to initiate the debate over whether the college-- which then only gave "full letter grades" to students-- should adopt a system whereby faculty members more accurately could reflect the students' progress by giving them a letter grade with a plus or a minus.   The decision to give such grades as a B+ or an A- was made by the Grossmont Academic Senate shortly after Smith completed her term.

As president of Grossmont's Academic Senate, Smith started on her road to prominence in statewide academic affairs.  She was subsequently elected as an area representative to the statewide faculty body, later as treasurer, and afterwards as vice president--her most recent position.  Smith was fortunate in having as a mentor Hoke Simpson, a Grossmont College philosophy professor who served as president of the statewide Academic Senate from 2001 to 2003.   

Smith is a product of Our Lady of Peace School in San Diego's Roman Catholic Diocese.  After attending the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and withdrawing to raise her family, between 1989 and 1993,  she completed major preparation at Grossmont College, a bachelor's degree at San Diego State University, and a master's degree at UCSD.  

She said her training in Grossmont's Academic Senate--which has a large and lively core of participating faculty members -- helped to prepare her for the responsibilities that will become hers on July 1st.

When she becomes the organization's 30th president, "will there be a ceremony to pass the gavel?" she was asked.  "Just that , at exactly midnight, all the e-mails will be automatically forwarded," she quipped in response.

San Diego County has had a tradition of supplying leaders to the statewide Academic Senate ever since 1969 when Sheridan Hegland became the organization's first president.  Hegland, who had been a philosophy professor at Palomar College, previously had served as a  member of the California Assembly.  In newspaper obituaries, he was lauded for being a major force for the establishment of  UCSD. 

Palomar College also sent to the presidency Sociology Professor Barbara Hinkley in 1981 and English Professor Mark Edelstein in 1985.   Political Science Professor Leon Baradat of Miracosta College assumed the office in 1978.   Smith noted, in the interview, that two other San Diego County residents will be on the 14-member leadership team.  Aviation Professor Wheeler North of Miramar Community College will serve as the organization's treasurer and Cynthia Rico, a counselor at San Diego Mesa College, will serve as an area representative.

When she takes over the statewide presidency, Smith said she will pursue three goals.  The first, she said, will be to help prepare her leadership team to be able to move up in the organization.  She said she will seek to provide the officers and area representatives with "greater exposure to the issues, some different experiences and to help them grow in the areas that they want to grow."

The second goal, she said, will be to bring crucial issues before the Academic Senates of the 112 colleges in the California Community College system, so that faculty can initiate, respond to, modify, or choose to implement changes in the state educational code.  Right now, Smith added, there is tremendous interest on the part of some legislators in Massive  Open On-line Courses (MOOCs). In a nutshell, the debate is between those who believe MOOCs is a good way to save money by consolidating some courses around the state, and others who believe that denying Community College students the opportunity to interact in person with an instructor will lead to student disillusionment and failure.   A conciliator by nature, Smith said she believes it may be beneficial incorporate some online content within locally taught courses, so long as instructors are available to explain and interpret that content.

Smith said her third priority will be to study ways of improving success rates for students.  Previously the statewide Academic Senate had concentrated on the beginning of the college process --how are students assessed as they come out of high school?  What courses are they put in and according to what criteria? 

Improving student success will be her greatest challenge, especially when some legislators-- acting on anecdotal evidence --may have a tendency to throw intuitive bills into the legislative hoppers without having fully analyzed the possible impacts of their ideas, Smith said.

However, there is a bright side, she said.  "The fact that everyone wants student success is the best part of that challenge because if you have everyone wanting the same outcome, then you have a place to dialogue."

-DHH-