You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
A <strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong> News Magazine<br />
Tackling Issues The newly formed <strong>College</strong> Council<br />
streamlines decision-making while moving forward<br />
with key recommendations on communications and<br />
ethics Page 2<br />
A Solution<br />
for a new<br />
Semester<br />
Glen Harvey, Instructional<br />
Support Technician for Area 1<br />
Biology, formulates a chemical<br />
reagent, Benedict’s, which<br />
will be used by students in<br />
the Biology 1 lab. Benedict’s<br />
determines whether a liquid<br />
substance contains a reducing<br />
sugar.<br />
Page 1<br />
<strong>Campus</strong><br />
<strong>Digest</strong><br />
Vol. I Edition 2<br />
Published by the Office of Institutional Advancement<br />
A Good Deal The Bookstore has bundled together a<br />
special 50th Anniversary T-Shirt and sweatshirt for only<br />
$20. Page 3<br />
January 2012<br />
Changing Rules Many students will be affected by<br />
changes in eligibility for federal financial aid. Staff<br />
should be aware of these new rules to assist students.<br />
Page 8<br />
Photo by Robin Shepard
<strong>Campus</strong> <strong>Digest</strong><br />
<strong>College</strong> Council Accomplishes Several Goals<br />
New Group Moves on Important Governance, Ethics, and Communication Issues<br />
By Dr. Benjamin T. Duran<br />
Superintendent/President<br />
as a result of the work we have been<br />
doing to respond to the recommendations<br />
of the accrediting Commission and<br />
to begin to address the Strategic Plan’s initiative<br />
on communication, we formed the<br />
“<strong>College</strong> Council,” which will serve as the<br />
<strong>College</strong>’s top-level shared governance body.<br />
The Council has been meeting regularly<br />
since it was formed last October and has<br />
proceeded to work toward several important<br />
goals, one of which, of course, is the<br />
creation of our Districtwide newsletter, the<br />
<strong>Campus</strong> <strong>Digest</strong>.<br />
It is our intent that the <strong>College</strong> Council<br />
serve as a clearinghouse and forum for<br />
dealing transparently with crucial <strong>College</strong><br />
issues . . ..” Its fundamental purpose is to<br />
provide information, facilitate communication,<br />
and solve problems related to shared<br />
governance.<br />
The work of the Council, its agendas<br />
and action plans, and its membership roster<br />
can be found on our MC4Me portal at<br />
https://mc4me.mccd.edu/MC_Council/<br />
default.aspx, and I strongly encourage you<br />
to visit the site often for current news.<br />
another important function of the <strong>College</strong><br />
Council is to survey existing campus<br />
committees, examine their various roles and<br />
responsibilities, and to make recommendations<br />
for operational improvements. In the<br />
case of the Council, its primary role has<br />
required the cessation of two existing committees,<br />
the President’s advisory Council<br />
and the Board agenda review Committee.<br />
In other words, we’ve streamlined these aspects<br />
of our shared governance operations<br />
and that has allowed us to eliminate redun-<br />
Following up on a great season, Lady<br />
Devils water polo player Kailiponi “Poni”<br />
McGee was selected by the California<br />
Community <strong>College</strong> Sports Information<br />
association and California Community<br />
<strong>College</strong> athletic association as the november<br />
2011 athlete of the Month.<br />
Page 2<br />
dancy in decisionmaking.<br />
We recognize<br />
the need for improvedcommunications<br />
across the<br />
District. In fact, the<br />
accrediting Commission<br />
for Community<br />
and Junior<br />
<strong>College</strong>s (aCCJC)<br />
is requiring<br />
us to address<br />
Dr. Duran<br />
“My overriding concern, and the focus of<br />
my remaining time with the District is<br />
to move us toward proficiency and sustainability<br />
in areas of program review,<br />
student learning outcomes, and integrated<br />
planning as required by ACCJC.”<br />
the need for<br />
“dialogue that<br />
is inclusive,<br />
respectful,<br />
intentional,<br />
informed, and<br />
documented<br />
and about<br />
institutional<br />
quality and<br />
improvement.” To that end, we have begun<br />
to discuss all aspects of our communications,<br />
from top-down, bottom-up dialogue,<br />
to messaging directed to and from our students.<br />
We have also worked toward a Districtwide<br />
Code of Ethics, which was presented<br />
to the Board of Trustees for a First reading<br />
during its January 17 meeting. The Code<br />
of Ethics is meant to express our collective<br />
values, behaviors, and is a commitment we<br />
all need to make in order to work together<br />
harmoniously and the with respect and<br />
collegial spirit each of us deserves. It will<br />
serve to remind us that we are all responsible<br />
for creating the environment necessary<br />
for dialogue that is transparent, inclusive<br />
and respectful.<br />
McGee led the state in scoring with 91<br />
goals, 46 assists and 52 steals. In november<br />
she helped lead the women’s water polo<br />
team to the Coast Conference Tournament<br />
Championship with wins over De anza,<br />
Ohlone, and Cabrillo.<br />
McGee scored 10 goals including 8<br />
We also understand that our Strategic<br />
Plan needs to be completed, and we intend<br />
to accomplish that before the end of this<br />
semester. We will be gathering together our<br />
planning group once again to develop our<br />
objectives, action plans, and timelines, and<br />
to identify those responsible for guiding<br />
the institution toward its goals.<br />
My overriding concern, and the focus<br />
of my remaining time with the District<br />
is to move us toward proficiency and sustainability<br />
in<br />
areas of pro-<br />
gram review,<br />
student learning<br />
outcomes,<br />
and integrated<br />
planning<br />
as required<br />
by aCCJC.<br />
Improving<br />
our campus<br />
climate with<br />
better communications, better governance<br />
structures, and better decision-making processes<br />
will help us move off of warning and<br />
secure our full accreditation.<br />
<strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong> is now a half-century<br />
old. as we celebrate our past during the<br />
coming year, we need to look into the future.<br />
Our future is our own responsibility.<br />
It is the result of the collective efforts of all<br />
of us. The <strong>College</strong> Council is a key component<br />
in defining that future, in creating the<br />
conditions for our success, and preparing<br />
the groundwork for plans and goals that<br />
will guide us in the next 50 years.<br />
I wish you all a wonderful and productive<br />
new year, and I look forward to hearing<br />
your thoughts and concerns as we continue<br />
to build our future.<br />
Lady Devil Water Polo Player Recognized as Statewide Athlete of the Month<br />
January 2012<br />
in the championship game, 3 assists and<br />
2 steals. at the State Final Four she had<br />
4 goals, 1 assist, and 3 steals in wins over<br />
Diablo Valley and Sierra <strong>College</strong>. She was<br />
named MVP of the Cost Conference, the<br />
northern California MVP and was selected<br />
as an all-american.
January 2012<br />
Professor Uses Games<br />
to Help Students Learn<br />
Students may not consider their college education to be all fun<br />
and games, but for foreign languages instructor Dr. Caroline Kreide,<br />
college courses should incorporate games to enhance learning.<br />
“Pleasure is the best facilitator for learning to take place,” wrote<br />
the German and Spanish professor in the november edition of<br />
Connections, a journal of the Foreign Language association of<br />
northern California.<br />
“Empirically, we know that enjoyment helps us assimilate new<br />
material with practically no effort, and psychologists have corroborated<br />
this fact by considering play an essential feature in any child’s<br />
cognitive development,” Dr. Kreide wrote.<br />
Games have long been part of a child’s education, but when<br />
they enter college as adults, games all but disappear from an instructor’s<br />
bag of teaching techniques. Dr. Kreide’s experience is that<br />
games are powerful motivators.<br />
“Games have not been used in the college classroom because<br />
of two assumptions,” she said, “the first one being that they fail to<br />
transmit sufficient depth in an academic content, and the second<br />
one being that most college students are expected to be motivated<br />
and self-disciplined.”<br />
The reality, she said, is that college students struggle with their<br />
own boredom and lack of motivation, which prevents them from<br />
becoming effective learners.<br />
Dr. Kreide has had her share of unmotivated students over the<br />
years. To learn about their struggles in the classroom, she began to<br />
use questionnaires at the end of each semester to ascertain which<br />
activities worked and which ones didn’t. Games were always at<br />
the top of the list for the activity that worked the best for learning.<br />
She discovered that whenever a game was played in class, students<br />
who were tuning out and nodding off would be transformed<br />
into focused and involved participants. Game playing allows students<br />
to leave the class with a positive feeling about the subject.<br />
Dr. Kreide uses several board games in the classroom such as<br />
“Memory,” “Jeopardy,” and “Battleship.” She has been able to tweak<br />
these games to get the most out of them as teaching tools. Her rule<br />
for her foreign language students is that English is not allowed.<br />
“For a teacher, the sweetest moments of classroom games are<br />
those when students passionately feud over how to answer a question<br />
correctly,” she said. “In those instances the class explodes in<br />
spontaneous discussion about the subject matter.”<br />
Games create decentralization in the classroom and deconstruct<br />
the traditional hierarchy by spreading attention and power<br />
throughout the classroom. Students become more active agents in<br />
their own learning, she said. In foreign language classes, Dr. Kreide<br />
said, “games help to get language under a student’s skin.”<br />
Dr. Kreide’s article includes several examples of successful<br />
games that she has used in the classroom. If games are used well,<br />
she said, “the competitive spirit will sooner or later rouse even the<br />
less motivated student, resulting in pleasurable learning.”<br />
(This atrticle was first published in the <strong>Merced</strong> Sun-Star)<br />
Page 3<br />
<strong>Campus</strong> <strong>Digest</strong><br />
An Offer You Can’t Refuse<br />
Photo by Robin Shepard<br />
Student Alejandra Bustos wears a 50th Anniversary T-shirt.<br />
The Bookstore is selling anniversary T-shirts with a<br />
sweatshirt, both for only $20! Get yours today!<br />
Accreditation Work Progresses<br />
By Dr. Anne Newins<br />
VP of Student Services<br />
Work continued on the Follow up report over the holiday hiatus.<br />
Writing team members have created preliminary drafts and<br />
plan to have final drafts ready for editing by February 2. The most<br />
complex sections to write have been recommendations 1 and 3,<br />
which address program review and integrated planning.<br />
In related activities, <strong>College</strong> Council meetings have been<br />
scheduled for the coming semester. Significant topics will include<br />
the Strategic Plan, revisions of our planning handbooks, and ongoing<br />
discussion about the role of the Educational Master Planning<br />
Committee. Committees have been designated and members now<br />
are being chosen for participation.<br />
Training opportunities are being provided during Flex Days<br />
and within departments. a group will attend accreditation Training<br />
in anaheim sponsored by WaSC and the academic Senate.
<strong>Campus</strong> <strong>Digest</strong><br />
A New Web Page<br />
and More Library Hours<br />
By Dr. Susan Walsh<br />
Interim Co-Associate Vice President<br />
Technology & Institutional Research<br />
<strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong> has a new public<br />
web page.<br />
after years of adding information<br />
and graphics to the old <strong>Merced</strong><br />
<strong>College</strong> Web Page, it had grown too<br />
cumbersome to navigate efficiently. In<br />
2011, a Web Page Design Task Force<br />
was called together to design a new,<br />
easier to use web page. Working with<br />
<strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong> Web Master Mike<br />
Smith, the group developed a new<br />
look, which was fine-tuned in last fall.<br />
The new web page became <strong>Merced</strong><br />
<strong>College</strong>’s home page this month.<br />
Thank you to Mike Smith and members<br />
of the Web Page Design Task<br />
Force. your hard work has paid off.<br />
The <strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong> Library is very<br />
pleased to announce extended hours<br />
for the spring 2012 semester.<br />
Thanks to one-time funding from<br />
the Student Success Task Force, the<br />
library will be open two more hours<br />
on Fridays from noon until 2 p.m.,<br />
and 14 Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.<br />
Saturday dates are: Jan. 28, Feb. 4, 11<br />
& 18, March 3, 10, 17 & 24, april 14,<br />
21 & 28, and May 5, 12 & 19.<br />
Thank you to aSMC for advocating<br />
for extended hours. Thank you to<br />
the Student Success Task Force for<br />
putting more library open hours in to<br />
your action Plan.<br />
In an effort to promote and support<br />
two important goals in the <strong>College</strong>’s<br />
Strategic Plan (“assuring student access<br />
and success” and “partnering with the<br />
community”), Criminal Justice Professor<br />
Bob Gregory collaborated with the<br />
<strong>Merced</strong> County Sheriff ’s Office Operations<br />
Commander B. J. Jones to obtain a<br />
donation from the Sheriff ’s Department<br />
of two police patrol cars for the <strong>College</strong>’s<br />
Page 4<br />
MC Hires Two New Academic Deans<br />
<strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong><br />
has welcomed two<br />
new academic deans,<br />
John albano and Dr.<br />
Kevin Kistler.<br />
albano, who<br />
is already familiar<br />
to the campus and<br />
community, assumes<br />
the role of Dean of<br />
Humanities and So- Albano<br />
cial Sciences., while<br />
Dr. Kevin Kistler<br />
comes onboard as<br />
the Dean of English<br />
and Child Development.<br />
albano, who has<br />
been teaching music<br />
at <strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong><br />
for 10 years, has developed<br />
new courses<br />
in jazz history and Kistler<br />
music appreciation.<br />
He created the <strong>College</strong>’s Guitar Orchestra<br />
and has directed its Jazz Ensemble. He has<br />
developed and promoted several well-received<br />
events, including the World Guitar<br />
night, Glorious Gospel Jubilee, harTsfest,<br />
World Cultures Week, autumn affaire,<br />
Faces of <strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong> photography<br />
project, Wahneta Hall Trust Fund performances<br />
in applegate Park, uOP Brubeck<br />
institute Jazz Quintet master classes and<br />
performances, and much more.<br />
as a musician, albano has performed<br />
throughout the uS and Caribbean with<br />
Grammy-award atlantic recording artist<br />
Steve Tyrell, including numerous TV<br />
appearances such as The Donny & Marie<br />
show. His music is heard world-wide<br />
through VH-1 video as well as Capital<br />
Public radio in Sacramento. He has performed<br />
with the Stockton and <strong>Merced</strong><br />
symphonies, The Sons of the San Joaquin,<br />
and has recorded and produced original<br />
CDs including “Collage,” “The road<br />
West,” and “Conversations,” featuring<br />
Finnish clarinet master rauno Tikkanen.<br />
Dr. Kevin Kistler, formerly a dean at<br />
the <strong>College</strong> of the Canyons and assistant<br />
to the vice president of Instruction, began<br />
his <strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong> career in January. Dr.<br />
Kistler’s career in education started as an<br />
instructor of junior high school math and<br />
language arts. He developed a passion for<br />
teaching basic skills when he was worked<br />
on literacy and reading skills with incarcerated<br />
and at-risk students. Dr. Kistler<br />
further developed his classroom and online<br />
skills by teaching college success skills<br />
and composition classes at the university<br />
of Phoenix, where he had taught part-time<br />
since 1996.<br />
His experience teaching in the English<br />
Department at the <strong>College</strong> of the Canyons<br />
added to his litany of valuable professional<br />
experiences. He was a curriculum consultant<br />
with the u.S. Department of Education<br />
from 1990-1996 while working on a<br />
grant for literacy and curriculum standards.<br />
Dr. Kistler started his college education<br />
as a first-generation, academically underprepared<br />
and economically disadvantaged<br />
student. Through loans, full-time work,<br />
and study, he completed master’s degrees in<br />
Divinity, Business administration, and his<br />
Ph.D. in Education, as well as a law degree.<br />
Sheriff’s Department Donates Police Cars to Criminal Justice Program<br />
Criminal Justice program at a cost of only<br />
one dollar per car.<br />
“These cars will surely help with enhancing<br />
the Criminal Justice Program by<br />
allowing our students to have access to the<br />
cars for the purpose of engaging in precision<br />
driving and scenario training,” Gregory<br />
said. “We’re very grateful for the donation<br />
and excited about the opportunities it<br />
presents for the <strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong> Criminal<br />
January 2012<br />
Justice students and staff.<br />
Gregory noted that the support and<br />
continued partnership with the Sheriff ’s<br />
Office is especially appreciated during<br />
these lean budget times.<br />
“The police cars will certainly level the<br />
playing field by providing sustainability<br />
in the <strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong> Criminal Justice<br />
Program as it relates to equipment and resources,”<br />
Gregory said.
January 2012<br />
Student Success<br />
Continues to Grow<br />
Study Central Recognized<br />
as a Model Program<br />
By Tomasia Drummond<br />
Director of Student Success<br />
Our Office has been busy getting ready<br />
for the spring 2012 semester. On January 12,<br />
our program held a comprehensive training<br />
workshop that was developed through<br />
faculty and staff collaboration. The training<br />
was a huge success with nearly 80 students,<br />
tutors, and SI leaders in attendance. Faculty<br />
members from various disciplines presented<br />
topics such as tutoring strategies to assist<br />
students in English, Math, and Science. In<br />
addition, campus police presented campus<br />
safety tips and procedures.<br />
Increasing technology topics and improving<br />
accessibility to workshops has been<br />
another goal for the Student Success Program.<br />
In addition to creating a new website<br />
and placing all forms and promotional<br />
material online, we have taken steps toward<br />
making digital recordings of workshops<br />
available online. The online videos will give<br />
students the ability to access workshops<br />
and academic resources from anywhere,<br />
anytime. a Student Success Program webpage<br />
has also been developed on Facebook<br />
to connect students with all programs and<br />
services available at <strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong>.<br />
We encourage everyone to “like us” on<br />
Facebook and communicate any questions<br />
or concerns. We are also taking steps to recognize<br />
the key individuals who have been<br />
critical to student success. Students, faculty,<br />
and staff now have the opportunity to<br />
nominate a tutor, peer guide, or SI leader,<br />
for outstanding tutoring services.<br />
all of last year’s hard work has definitely<br />
paid off! Study Central has been identified<br />
as a model program by Pima <strong>College</strong><br />
in arizona and the Chancellor’s Office rP<br />
Group. Thank you to everyone who has<br />
helped make our program such a success.<br />
In addition, printing services are now<br />
available in Study Central. Students must<br />
purchase Study Central (green) print cards<br />
in Student Fees or the Bookstore for $1 per<br />
50 copies.<br />
Page 5<br />
<strong>Campus</strong> <strong>Digest</strong><br />
Reprographics Installs New Printer<br />
Photo by Robin Shepard<br />
Reprographics Supervisor Richard Manifest (left) and Lead Technician Jose<br />
Flores examine the latest addition to Print Services, the HP Z6200, a photo<br />
quality, wide-format printer capable of producing posters and banners up to 60<br />
inches wide and over 100 feet in length on a wide variety of media.<br />
Los Banos <strong>Campus</strong> Offers Non-Credit Classes<br />
By Hannah Glenn<br />
LB <strong>Campus</strong> ASMC Senator<br />
a new semester has begun at the Los<br />
Banos <strong>Campus</strong>, and with it an influx of traditional<br />
and non-traditional students.<br />
although many of these students will<br />
attend the campus to finish a degree program,<br />
others may choose to attend noncredit<br />
continuing education classes.<br />
non-credit classes charge no enrollment<br />
fees, execept for material fees, and they are<br />
open enrollment.<br />
Classes available at the Los Banos<br />
<strong>Campus</strong> include English as a Second Language<br />
(ESL), Computer Lab and Beginning<br />
Quilting.<br />
For more information, call nancy<br />
Brown at 209.381.6540. a list of availableclasses<br />
can also be found online at: http://<br />
www.mccd.edu/programs/cont_ed/schedule.html.
<strong>Campus</strong> <strong>Digest</strong><br />
Los Banos <strong>Campus</strong> Scores a Hit with Movie Night<br />
By Willam Baker<br />
Professor of English<br />
By Cherie Davis<br />
Director of Grants and Research<br />
Los Baños <strong>Campus</strong> Movie night Presents:<br />
Tom McCarthy’s The Visitor<br />
(2008) tells the story of Walter<br />
Vale (richard Jenkins), an<br />
The Visitor<br />
economics professor still grieving<br />
after the death of his wife.<br />
Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m.<br />
Passive by nature, Walter finds<br />
room a103<br />
himself cut off emotionally<br />
from those around him, and of-<br />
Free Screening - refreshments Provided<br />
ten he seems content to let life<br />
pass him by.<br />
When he returns to his new york City apartment after an extended<br />
absence, he finds a young immigrant couple, Zainab (Danai<br />
Jekesai Gurira) and Tarek (Haaz Sleiman), living there; they are<br />
unaware that they are illegally subletting the rooms from a crooked<br />
broker. after his initial confusion wears off, Walter finds himself<br />
moved by the couple’s plight, and he invites them to stay for a few<br />
days until they find another apartment.<br />
Tarek and Walter soon become friends, and Tarek, a musician,<br />
teaches Walter to play the djembe drum in the outdoor drum circles<br />
of Central Park. Learning to play the djembe brings Walter<br />
out of his shell, and he begins to see the beauty and vibrancy of the<br />
city and people around him.<br />
Page 6<br />
January 2012<br />
Grant to Increase Student<br />
Transfers in STEM Areas<br />
<strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong> faculty will join faculty from San Joaquin<br />
Delta <strong>College</strong> and CSu Stanislaus (CSuS) on a special project<br />
designed to improve community college student transfers to CSuS<br />
and other universities.<br />
Funded by a five-year, $5.5 million federal grant awarded to<br />
CSuS, the project will engage administrators, and science, technology,<br />
engineering and math (STEM) faculty and deans to align<br />
curricula and provide student support to ensure smooth university<br />
transfers, ultimately leading to successful degree completion.<br />
<strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong>, a federally eligible minority-serving institution,<br />
will receive approximately $863,219 through this “Hispanic<br />
Serving Institutions STEM articulation & Transfer Program.”<br />
Dr. Douglas Kain, dean of Science, Engineering & Math, is<br />
the institutional lead at <strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong> for this “Central Valley<br />
HSI Cooperative STEM articulation and Transfer” project.<br />
He will be joined on the project by Dr. Valerie albano, Dr. Paul<br />
Fregene,Kathleen Kanemoto, and Mai Meidinger.<br />
Grants & Institutional research staff will provide data for<br />
higher-level analytics for the project, develop and conduct assessment<br />
surveys, and provide other grants and research support for<br />
performance management, project evaluation and dissemination.<br />
One day, though, tragedy<br />
strikes, and Walter must make a<br />
choice: to take an active role in the<br />
lives of Zainab, Tarek, and Tarek’s<br />
mother (Hiam abbass), or to retreat<br />
back into a safe but solitary<br />
existence.<br />
Writer-director Tom McCarthy<br />
spent several years studying<br />
the american immigration system<br />
before writing The Visitor, and his<br />
film offers both a firm critique of<br />
that system and a vibrant celebration<br />
of america’s ability to play host to genuine cross-cultural understanding.<br />
Filmed on location, The Visitor develops an inviting<br />
portrait of new york’s lesser-known neighborhoods and their immigrant<br />
populations, but it also demands a stark examination of<br />
the bureaucratic systems that intersect with those communities. at<br />
the center of it all stands richard Jenkins’s involving portrait of a<br />
decent man who is gradually developing a social conscience. His<br />
performance won Jenkins a 2009 academy award nomination for<br />
Best actor.<br />
after the movie, Professor Meg Withers will lecture about<br />
some of the issues raised by the film within the context of her English<br />
a class, which deals with borderland and immigration topics.
January 2012<br />
Dr. Cary Coburn<br />
is Top Instructor<br />
Voted Professor of the<br />
Year for LB <strong>Campus</strong><br />
The alpha Gamma Sigma Honor Society<br />
selected Biology professor Dr. Cary<br />
Coburn as the 2011 Los Baños <strong>Campus</strong><br />
Professor of the year. The award recognizes<br />
excellence in teaching and a commitment<br />
to students.<br />
Professor Coburn is an alumnus of<br />
<strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong> where he earned his associate<br />
of science degree in Life Science. He<br />
then complete his bachelor’s and master’s<br />
degrees in Biology at CSu Chico before<br />
earning his doctorate in Environmental<br />
Toxicology at uC riverside.<br />
Dr. Coburn primarily teaches courses in<br />
general biology, human biology and environmental<br />
science. He also stays busy serving<br />
as a faculty adviser to both the Pre-Med<br />
Club and the Military Veterans of <strong>Merced</strong><br />
<strong>College</strong> club.<br />
When not in the classroom, he spends<br />
time with family and a variety of outdoor<br />
activities such as backpacking, camping,<br />
fishing, disc golf and target shooting.<br />
He also likes relaxing by shooting pool in<br />
downtown <strong>Merced</strong>.<br />
a veteran Marine, Dr. Coburn says<br />
he also serves as scientific advisor to the<br />
american Legion Post #83 where he<br />
“monitors quality control of the beverages<br />
served in the lounge.”<br />
When asked why he thought he was selected,<br />
he remarked, “I don’t know why, but<br />
the recognition is deeply appreciated. I like<br />
my students and respect them and knowing<br />
they appreciate my efforts in the classroom<br />
is very satisfying.”<br />
Say Buenos Dias to Becky Barabe! The<br />
new director of Business, Industry, and<br />
Community Services says she is thrilled to<br />
be part of the <strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong> team.<br />
Her undergraduate degree in comparative<br />
literature and master’s degree in administrative<br />
leadership has served as foundations<br />
for a great career in grant writing,<br />
Page 7<br />
<strong>Campus</strong> <strong>Digest</strong><br />
Krusty the Snowman Visits <strong>Campus</strong><br />
Photo by Robin Shepard<br />
You just know someone’s going to get a lump of coal in their stocking whenever<br />
Krusty the Snowman’s around. Krusty (Vince Piro) substituted for his brother<br />
Frosty during the campus holiday party on December 15. We miss you, Frosty!<br />
New Business, Industry & Community Services Director Enjoys Work and Play<br />
community programming, and leadership<br />
development.<br />
Barabe specializes in adult education,<br />
business resource assistance, and vocational<br />
training, as well as community partnerships.<br />
She is an accomplished trainer, facilitator,<br />
grant writer, and community developer<br />
working to improve the lives of valley resi-<br />
dents. On a personal note, she loves spending<br />
time with her son, family, and friends,<br />
and enjoys walks, reading, traveling.<br />
after spending a semester abroad in<br />
Mexico, she developed a love for and all<br />
things Mexican (dancing the salsa, cumbia,<br />
and merengue, as well as enjoying the food<br />
and getting to know the people).
<strong>Campus</strong> <strong>Digest</strong><br />
New Regulations Affect Student Aid Eligibility<br />
Students Should be Aware of Rules on Course Repeats, Other Changes<br />
new regulations state that students can<br />
receive funds only one additional time for<br />
classes taken previously and where a passing<br />
grade was received. (For financial aid<br />
purposes “D” is a passing grade.)<br />
In cases where courses are repeatable,<br />
financial aid will be disbursed only for two<br />
passing grades no matter how many times<br />
the course may be repeated. The regulations<br />
also apply to equated courses and courses<br />
taken while a student was not yet receiving<br />
financial aid. all courses on transcripts will<br />
apply to the repeat limitations.<br />
recent legislation was passed which reduces<br />
student eligibility for federal aid from<br />
the equivalent of 18 full-time semesters to<br />
the equivalent of 12 full-time semesters.<br />
This is a lifetime limitation, not a limitation<br />
per school, and will affect all financial<br />
aid applicants beginning in 2012-2013, not<br />
just those who received a Pell Grant for the<br />
first time on or after July 1, 2008.<br />
ability-to-benefit (aTB) options for<br />
establishing general student eligibility for<br />
federal student aid will be eliminated for<br />
students who first enroll in a program of<br />
study on or after July 1, 2012.<br />
all students seeking federal financial<br />
aid must have a high school diploma, GED,<br />
or have been home schooled to meet academic<br />
qualifications for general eligibility.<br />
There are new verification rules for<br />
2012-2013 applications (application period<br />
beginning Jan. 1, 2012). all applicants<br />
selected for verification must provide requested<br />
documentation. This may include,<br />
but is not limited to, verification of income<br />
or benefits received.<br />
Students/parents are encouraged to use<br />
IrS data retrieval to automatically move<br />
income figures directly to their financial aid<br />
application. With no changes, no further<br />
verification of most income situations will<br />
be required.<br />
Paper tax returns can no longer be used<br />
to verify income.<br />
Therefore, students are encouraged to<br />
review, follow and update as necessary educational<br />
plans to ensure that eligibility is<br />
maintained through to the completion of<br />
educational goals.<br />
Page 8<br />
January 2012<br />
Q: What is Title IV Aid?<br />
a: Title IV of the Higher Education act of 1965, amended in 2010, establishes<br />
general rules that apply to the student financial assistance programs. For purposes of<br />
Title IV Funds and <strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong> these programs include Pell Grants and Federal<br />
Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG). <strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong> does not<br />
participate in any loan programs at this time.<br />
Q: How will the new Financial Aid repeat regulation affect one’s enrollment status?<br />
a: a student’s institutional enrollment status will continue to be determined by<br />
including all enrolled units. This new regulation will only affect the calculation of<br />
units for eligibility for Title IV aid.<br />
For example if a student needs to be enrolled full-time (12 units or more) in order<br />
to: 1) remain on their parents insurance – all enrolled units counted; 2) participate in<br />
varsity athletics – all enrolled units counted; 3) receive military educational benefits<br />
– all enrolled units counted; 4) qualify for a work study job – the type of work study<br />
will determine how full-time status is determined (federal work study requires that 12<br />
units must be Title IV eligible based on the repeat criteria stated); 5) receive full Title<br />
IV aid - 12 units must be Title IV eligible based on the repeat criteria stated.<br />
Q: How will the new repeat regulation affect financial aid awards?<br />
a: all registered units will be used to award and disburse State grants and waivers,<br />
and scholarships. The most common are listed below. If awarded: 1) BOGW (Fee<br />
waiver) – all enrolled units are waived; 2) CaL-Grant – all enrolled units are counted<br />
in awarding and disbursing; 3) EOPS/CarE – all enrolled units are counted in<br />
awarding and disbursing; 4) other state grants & scholarships – all enrolled units are<br />
counted in awarding and disbursing; 5) Pell Grant - Only qualifying Title IV enrollments<br />
are counted in awarding and disbursing; 6) SEOG - Only qualifying Title IV<br />
enrollments are counted in awarding and disbursing; 7) federal work study - Only<br />
qualifying Title IV enroll¬ments are counted in awarding and disbursing.<br />
Q: How does one know which courses are counted toward financial aid eligibility?<br />
a: Programming changes are in progress that will allow students to view on their<br />
registration statement within Webadvisor. until that programming is completed,<br />
students will need to review their academic history at <strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong> to determine if<br />
current enrollments will be considered repeats that are ineligible for financial aid.<br />
Q: I wasn’t a serious student when I first attended. I received financial aid at another<br />
school for 2 years and <strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong> for 2 years. When I finish at <strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong> will I be<br />
still able to receive financial aid at a 4 year college?<br />
a: The limitation of 12 full-time semesters applies to all college coursework.<br />
For example: 1) attended another college 2 years = 4 full-time semesters; 2) attended<br />
<strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong> 2 years = 4 full-time semesters (total eligibility used for aa =<br />
8 full-time semesters;) 3) remaining eligibility for Ba/BS = 4 full-time semesters.<br />
This limitation is a federal requirement. The government will be monitoring student<br />
status; therefore this limitation cannot be appealed.<br />
Q: If a student doesn’t receive financial aid for certain courses, does that mean that those<br />
courses won’t count toward his/her Satisfactory Academic Progress?<br />
a: no. all courses must be used in the computation of a student’s GPa and completion<br />
rate for SaP regardless of his/her eligibility for a disbursement based on those<br />
classes. In addition, if students have attended other institutions official transcripts<br />
must be submitted to the college evaluator (in admissions and records) to determine<br />
units that will be accepted toward a degree or certificate at <strong>Merced</strong> <strong>College</strong>. These<br />
units will be used in the calculation of maximum units attempted.