March in March 2012: Fund Our Future

Associated Students of College of Marin (ASCOM) is inviting students to participate in the upcoming March in March rally in Sacramento on Monday, March 5, 2012. A bus will depart from COM at 7 a.m. from Parking Lot 6 at the Kentfield Campus arriving in Sacramento by 9:30 a.m. and returning to COM around 4 p.m. Lunch will be provided.
 
Skyrocketing fees, fewer class offerings, and devastating cuts to crucial student services are creating insurmountable barriers to student success. This is an opportunity for students, alumni, staff, and friends of California community colleges to have their voices heard by state legislators. Find out more about the March in March rally. For more information about joining the COM delegation, please contact Director of Student Affairs/Health Center Dr. Arnulfo Cedillo, at (415) 485-9375.

Personnel Actions from the February 21 Board of Trustees Meeting

Classified Personnel Recommendations
Kathy Joyner has accepted the position of Executive Assistant to the Superintendent/President, effective February 15, 2012.

Resignation/Retirement of Classified Personnel
Sonja Trauss, Mathematics Instructional Specialist has submitted her letter of resignation effective January 24, 2012.
Karen Van Kriedt, Community Education and Services Program Specialist has submitted her letter of resignation for retirement purposes, effective July 31, 2012.

Resignation/Retirement of Academic Personnel
Emily Lazzare, Fine and Visual Arts Instructor has submitter her letter of resignation for retirement purposes effective July 1, 2012.

Technology Planning Committee Progress Report

On Thursday, February 23, the Technology Planning Committee met with the WTC consultant to continue the process of updating Marin’s five-year technology plan. During this meeting, the committee further expanded the groups to be included in the interview process. WTC is working with the committee chair, Michael Irvine, to schedule interviews for the week of March 5, 2012. Additional interviews will be scheduled later in March. This week the committee is confirming progress made on initiatives included in COM’s previous technology plan, as well as reviewing technology plans from other California community colleges. The committee will continue to meet on a weekly basis during the planning process and anticipates completing the new technology plan by the end of April 2012. For more information contact Technology Planning Committee Chair Michael Irvine at (415) 485-9481.

COM’s Single Stop program is here!

The new Single Stop program offers FREE tax preparation, financial counseling, legal advice and benefits screenings. Services are open to COM students, their families, and COM staff.
 
Want to get the largest tax return possible? Meet with our IRS certified tax preparers.

• The majority of students get refunds
• Most students don’t know about eligible tax credits that will increase their tax return
• Receiving financial aid? Come in for a quick screening to see if you are required to file

Need help managing your money? Want to go over your credit report? Meet with our professional financial counselor.

• Improve your credit score
• Build a budget that will help you save
• Learn how to reduce your debt

Have legal questions? Meet with a licensed attorney.

• Concerns with your rental agreement?
• Problems at work?
• Need advice on court cases/tickets?

Need extra help?

• See if you are eligible for benefits such as
  
  • Food Stamps
  • No cost health insurance/ low cost health insurance
  • Affordable child care
  • Housing

Contact Single Stop Coordinator Lisa DiCarlo at (415) 457-8811 ext. 7761 or come by the Student Services Building, room 124 for more information.

Kudos

Betty Goerke, author and instructor of anthropology and archeology at COM for more than 30 years, has received the California Missions Society Association President’s Award for her very detailed work on the San Rafael Mission records which will serve as a valuable research tool for future California historians.

Cop’s Corner

Power Failure/ Blackout
If a blackout or power failure occurs during daylight, the college will remain open. The phone and emergency systems will continue to operate and most rooms on campus will have enough ambient light to continue activities.

If a blackout or power outage occurs at night, classes may be excused after 15 minutes. When the lights go out, please remain calm, use whatever light sources you have, and wait in your room or area. Wait for 15 minutes. If the lights have not come back on, students and staff should make their way to their cars and leave the campus. Please remind people to:

• Walk to their cars in groups and use caution.
• Look out for other people walking to their cars when driving out of the parking lots.
• Treat any intersection without working signal lights as a four-way stop.

For more information on what to do in a power failure, please check the Emergency Guidelines Handbook (PDF) on page 16 for further information. More information on outages from PG&E.

As You Like It

By William Shakespeare
Directed by Jim Dunn

March 1 (pay what you will preview), 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, and 17 at 8 p.m.
March 4, 10, 11, 17, and 18 at 2 p.m.
Studio Theatre (PA 32)

The Drama Department’s first performance since moving back into the Studio Theatre is one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies. As You Like It is as bubbly as a glass of champagne, filled with gender-bending disguises, misplaced love, silly sequences, a nod to Robin Hood and his Merry Men, a wrestling match, and some slightly evil villains who really aren’t so bad after all. Indeed, “All the world IS a stage…” and all the players on it bring this visit to the Forest of Arden to life in a charming production that will please the entire family. Call the box office at (415) 485-9385 for reservations.

COM Symphony Orchestra

Conductor Paul Smith

March 24 at 7:30 p.m.
Fusselman Hall, Room 120
Kentfield Campus
 
March 25 at 7:30 p.m.
Unity in Marin, Hamilton Center
600 Palm Drive
Novato, CA 94949

FREE admission and parking.
 
For the first two concerts this spring the orchestra performs the Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky, symphonic suite from Porgy and Bess: Catfish Row by George Gershwin, and The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns with the London-based piano duo Valeria Szervánsky and Ronald Cavaye.

Shift

March 30 and 31 at 8 p.m.
April 6 and 7 at 8 p.m.
Performing Arts Theatre
Kentfield Campus
 
The Dance Department presents their spring dance concert Shift. Come and join the COM dancers as they shift into spring. Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors. This performance is supported in part by the College of Marin Foundation, Dancers’ Guild, and the Saragay Stetson Memorial Dance Fund. Contact the box office at (415) 485-9385 for more information.

Data Dashboard Training Workshops Scheduled

The Data Dashboard is a dynamic menu-driven system developed by the Office of Planning, Research, and Institutional Effectiveness (PRIE) that enables you to access liveCollege of Marin data to research and study various student success factors including student achievement, enrollment, student demographics, cohort tracking for sequential classes, student persistence, course success, and degrees/certificates awarded. It’s available to all College of Marin faculty, staff, and administrators via the COM Intranet.

You’ll find the link to the Dashboard on the folder list on the left side of the Intranet First Page. Due to security issues, in most cases, the Dashboard can only be accessed on campus when you’re signed in to the Marin Domain (college network) on an office computer. If you have an Argos account, you can also open the Data Dashboard under the QuickLaunch tab when you’re logged into Argos. Although you’re free to explore the Dashboard on your own (just click around, you can’t break it!), you may wish to attend one of the training workshops scheduled in February or March. The first half hour of each workshop will be demonstration. The second half hour, you’ll be able to play on your own with PRIE staff available to answer your questions.

Data Dashboard Training Workshop Schedule

No registration is necessary. Just bring your curious mind and your questions! Open to all faculty and staff. Flex credit available. All workshops will be held in BC 101 on the Kentfield Campus.
Wednesday, March 7, 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Thursday, March 22, 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
 
For more information feel free to contact PRIE Director Dr. Chialin Hsieh, Kathleen Kirkpatrick, Melody Creel , or Barbara David.

Moodle Training

Spring Moodle Training sessions are listed below. Each session will comprise 30 minutes of instruction and 20 minutes of implementation. All trainings meet in the COM Library Computer Lab at the back of the Learning Resources Center.

If you are a faculty member, you have a Moodle shell associated with each of your spring 2012 courses, so you may wish to practice attaching documents and images during the training. You can also update your Moodle Profile and set up messaging. Please bring your MyCOM logon information and a flash drive with some of your materials; for example, you may wish to bring a headshot, a syllabus, and an assignment. RSVP to Alisa Klinger if you plan to attend.

Friday, March 2, 2012
Moodle Grade Book: 1 p.m. 2 p.m.

Friday, March 16, 2012
Moodle Open Q & A Session: 12:30 p.m.to 1:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 29, 2012
Moodle Basics: 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

COM Athletics

Baseball vs. Solano College
Thursday, March 1, 2 p.m. in Kentfield
Baseball vs. Mendocino College
Saturday, March 3, 1 p.m. in Mendocino
Baseball vs. Yuba College
Tuesday, March 6, 2 p.m. in Marysville
 
Softball vs. Solano College—doubleheader
Thursday, March 8, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. in Kentfield
 
Swimming and Diving—Laney Invitational
Saturday, March 3, all day in Oakland
 
Track and Field—Beaver Relays at American River College
Saturday, March 3, all day in Sacramento

Have a great week!

David Wain Coon, Ed.D.
Superintendent/President

President's Weekly Briefing Web Page
Technical Contact: Nicole Cruz, Assistant to Director of Communications and Community Relations, (415) 485-9648 x7648
Content Responsible: Cathy Summa-Wolfe, Director of Communications and Community Relations, (415) 485-9528