Shoreline Community College continues to make progress on projects aligned with the four 2014-15 Areas of Focus.
“During winter quarter, we made significant strides in all four areas,” President Cheryl Roberts said earlier this week. “As we move forward this spring quarter, I’m confident we have the pieces in place to continue to make progress.”
This academic year’s work is framed by four areas of focus:
Increase Enrollment, Retention and Completion
Leverage Community Engagement
Develop Human Resources and Physical/Technical Infrastructure
Strategic Planning
The four areas were affirmed this past fall by the Board of Trustees.
Roberts, along with other members of the Executive Leadership Team provided updates on the following ongoing projects:
- Increase Enrollment, Retention and Completion –
Shoreline Scholars (includes Leveraging Community Engagement)
Fifty scholarships of up to full-tuition for two years to mark “50 years of Great,” what’s not to like about that? So far, judging from the reaction from the press, the Shoreline Community College Foundation, private donors and virtually every college partner, nothing.
Launched on March 27, Shoreline Scholars is clearly an exciting and innovative program. With details at www.shoreline.edu/shoreline-scholars, the program targets students with financial need who have also proven themselves in the classroom. Among the qualifying requirements are:
Show financial need
Have a minimum 3.5 high school GPA
Live in the college district, which includes all of the cities of Shoreline and Lake Forest Park.
“I was very pleased that the foundation board of directors decided to fund an additional five Shoreline Scholar slots,” President Roberts said. “And then, Harley O’Neil, a foundation board member and owner of Spin Alley in Richmond Beach pledged to personally fund and additional scholarship.
“That gives us the potential for 56 Shoreline Scholars in our first year. We hope the community will come alongside us and provide additional scholarship in the future.”
The first information session for applicants starts at 7 o’clock tonight, Thursday, April 2, in the PUB. A second session is scheduled for the same time and place on April 8.
– Jim Hills, Special Assistant to the President for Communications and Marketing
Student Success Coordinating Committee
At the committee’s meeting in February, President Roberts spoke to the work of the college which is to create learning spaces where students can succeed and that great things are done by a series of small things brought together.
The college needs to understand the student’s experience through their eyes. We need to ask:
What motivates students to come to our college?
How do we empower students to have relationships with others in the college?
How do we create that environment?
How do we help students build academic muscle?
Coordination in how we address these questions is important and we need to make sure we focus on high yield initiatives the help students persist, progress, and complete. President Roberts wants to do a few high impact things every year and build them to scale. She concluded by saying that every student deserves to be retained, persist each term, make progress toward their educational goal, and complete.
The members reviewed a draft copy of the committee’s charter, which states that the purpose of this group is to “facilitate a college-wide integrated approach to student success aimed at optimizing the student learning experience from recruitment to completion/goal attainment.”
With the help of Ann Garnsey-Harter, Executive Director of the Virtual Campus and Resource Development, the committee will use a classroom in Canvas to house all documents, readings and presentations.
- Bob Francis, Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs
– Develop Human Resources and Physical/Technical Infrastructure –
Governance structure
Making decisions that are effective and provide engagement through our governance structure will define the college’s ability to fulfill our bold, audacious vision, mission and core themes. Doing this in a way that is understandable, efficient and clear has been the work of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT). The work has included creating charters that outline the purpose and scope of work for ELT, College Council, Budget and Strategic Planning Council and the Faculty Senate Council, although no changes were made to Faculty Senate Council.
This work is essential if we are to align our human, financial and facility resources to serve our students and community. The work has been extremely detailed as we want to reflect the principles of participation and communication channels so the college community is aware of issues under discussion and recommendations being considered. During spring term, we will work with each of these councils to complete the work in time for full implementation fall term.
- Cheryl Roberts, President
Inclusive excellence – Developing our workforce
Our ongoing project with Bob Hughes, Ph.D., a faculty member and Associate Dean at Seattle University, the Shoreline is moving forward with reviewing and improving our employment recruitment and hiring practices.
This work will include best practices for the college to develop our workforce and ensure multicultural competence in serving our increasingly diverse student populations. Hughes has met with some faculty, classified staff, and administrators to initially assess challenges and opportunities in this arena that are unique to Shoreline.
Next steps are for Dr. Hughes to provide guidance on improving the college’s recruitment processes. By this fall, Dr. Hughes will help provide an updated screening committee training process, and facilitate further implementation of these new processes. The ongoing work at Shoreline is available on Dr. Hughes’ blog http://diversityworkprogress.blogspot.com/
- Stephen P. Smith, Vice President for Human Resources and Legal Affairs
Community standard
In fall and early winter terms, we had incidents of intolerance and hate that sparked the formation of the Community Standard Committee. The committee has been working tirelessly to develop protocols and guidelines to address such incidents if they occur in the future; policy language for a respectful community standard policy for College Council to review; language that captures our values and clearly states what we mean by a respectful, inclusive community of learners; and a campaign to get the word out about what we value. During spring term, we will bring a draft of the community standard language to the college for review. This is very exciting work that will define for all who come to Shoreline who we are and what we stand for!
- Cheryl Roberts, President
Casual learning spaces
The casual Learning spaces and design work is moving forward with the campus having an opportunity during spring quarter to see Seong Shin, principal for interior design with McGranahan Architects, present an overview of the design work. There will also be opportunities for campus input to various projects. Director of Facilities Bob Roehl and President Roberts have compiled a long list of projects and priorities are being established for multiple phases of work. The goal is to have a portion of the Phase 1 work completed in time for the opening of Fall Quarter, 2015.
- Mary Kelemen, Executive Director of Auxiliary and Logistical Support Services
- Strategic Planning –
Strategic plan
The Strategic Planning Task Force kicked off its work at a meeting Tuesday, March 31, where Tom Mesaros of The Alford Group; Stuart Trippel, Executive Director of Business and Student Support Services; and Bayta Maring, Director of Institutional Assessment and Data Management, will provide the task force with an overview of its upcoming work. Comprised of 14 members – selected on the basis of their knowledge, skills, and abilities from all campus constituencies – the task force will meet throughout spring quarter and into the summer, with the aim to bring back results for campus review in opening week.
The detailed work of developing strategic goals will occur in four workgroups that will serve as focal points to guide discussion. The workgroups will combine members of the task force with additional members selected on the basis of their expertise and are expected to center around the following themes:
Academics, scheduling, and facilities
Marketing and communications
People, place, and purpose
Sustainability and the triple bottom line
Throughout the month of April, all members of the campus community will have the opportunity to participate in open forums to conduct a SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats) analysis. The five, 90-minute forums will be conducted at different times of the day to maximize the opportunity for everyone to participate. Dates and times will be announced soon. During these sessions, Mesaros will facilitate both large and small group work to brainstorm and hone ideas. Running parallel to the SWOT analysis will be an environmental scan that gathers data from multiple sources to be used by the workgroups and task force.
For more information, see a detailed outline of the current status of the strategic planning process, adapted from a presentation to the board of trustees March 18, and a graphic of the project timeline.
- Stuart Trippel, Executive Director of Business and Student Support Services
Earth Week
A group of faculty and staff have been working on bringing key environmental, equity and economic components to a clear strategy for the college. This work on what is often called the triple bottom line of sustainability is going to be included in the upcoming campus celebration of Earth Week. Beginning April 20, there will be a series of activities, meetings, discussions, films and lectures to help showcase the alignment of these three triple bottom line components of equity, environment, and economic stewardship with Shoreline Community College. A full list of activities will be available and the week will focus on the outcome of getting people engaged and taking/sharing what you learn during Earth Week with others around the community, around the world.
Dawn Vinberg, Executive Director Budget and Capital
- Additional college updates -
Budget process
The state Legislature is still in session and discussing the budget, the outcomes of which will affect Shoreline’s state appropriation for fiscal year 2015-16 and into fiscal year 2016-17. The college is working on forecasts that include potential outcomes. The Budget Office is meeting with each department to review current budgets and plan ahead for next year.
The Strategic Planning and Budget Committee is working through the abbreviated Strategic Action Plan (aSAP) proposals for next budget year and looking to make a recommendation soon to President Roberts and the Executive Leadership Team.
The next step in the budget process will be the training and use of the Budget Planning System, where departments will enter budget changes needed for the coming budget year. The training is anticipated in mid to late April and the system will be open following the training. A budget will be scheduled for the college community, likely early June.
- Dawn Vinberg, Executive Director Budget and Capital
Legislative update
This year, Shoreline has been focused on one outcome in the Legislature, an outcome than can be summed up in one phrase: 21st Century buildings for 21st Century students.
The community and technical college system evaluates and ranks capital projects proposed by each college. Shoreline is on the list for a Health Sciences and Manufacturing complex. The first new building on our campus in more than 15 years. The new space would create state-of-the-industry facilities for our Nursing, Dental Hygiene and CNC Machining. In addition, the new building will address critical needs in STEM classroom space that impacts many more students.
The College presidents work collaboratively to create the capital-needs list and they support each other in requesting funding for the entire list, which totals $367 million. A delay in funding this legislative session would push the construction out two year. A lack of legislative support this biennium would make it difficult for the college and our foundation to raise its matching fund pledge. The amount of match toward the anticipated $40 million cost of the facility is $3 million.
“We’ve been heartened by the uniform support we’ve received from our legislators in the 32nd and 46th legislative districts,” President Roberts said. “In addition, other legislators, such as Sen. Bob Hasegawa, a Shoreline alum, have given us their support.”
While capital budget proposals in both the House and Senate so far don’t include Shoreline’s project, Roberts said there is still time. “We won’t give up until the gavel falls,” she said.
– Jim Hills, Special Assistant to the President for Communications and Marketing
New members on Board of Trustees
The Shoreline Community College Board of Trustees is back up to the full complement of five following the February appointments of Clara Pellham and Dr. Douglass Jackson. Both Pellham and Jackson attended their first meetings on March 18.
A Lake Forest Park resident, Pellham received the appointment from Gov. Jay Inslee effective Feb. 9, 2015 through Sept. 30, 2015. She and attended her first Board of Trustees meeting the on March 18. All trustees are gubernatorial appointments for five-year terms which must be confirmed by the state Senate. Trustees may serve up to two consecutive terms. In this case, Pellham was appointed to Pos. 3 to complete the term vacated by the resignation of former trustee Shoubee Liaw.
“I’m interested in serving on the board to help establish policies related to increasing the programs and services provided by the Community College to the youth in our community,” Pellham wrote in her application letter.
Dr. Jackson is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Washington’s School of Dentistry where he is also a member of the admissions committee.
A Shoreline resident, Dr. Jackson received the appointment from Gov. Jay Inslee on Feb. 9, 2015 through Sept. 30, 2017. He attended his first Board of Trustees meeting the on March 18. All trustees are gubernatorial appointments for five-year terms which must be confirmed by the state Senate. Trustees may serve up to two consecutive terms. In this case, Jackson was appointed to Pos. 4 to complete the term vacated by the resignation of former trustee Tayloe Washburn.
“I believe that every person should be able to realize their limitless potential, and that equitable access to quality education is an important element to making that a reality,” Dr. Jackson wrote in his application.
– Jim Hills, Special Assistant to the President for Communications and Marketing
Filed under: Announcements 
