President’s Leadership Team Report January 6 and 13, 2021

Guests: Natalie Halsell and Akia Marshall - Caring Campus

RCC’s Caring Campus leadership, Natalie Halsell, Professional Development Coordinator and Akia Marshall, Outreach Specialist, provided an update on the group’s progress since their initial coaching sessions in 2018. Additionally, strategies and initiatives for the upcoming year were shared. Projects such as the creation of a student referral process and form, a process for reporting gaps to Strategic Planning Councils, and a department referral guide were highlighted. The group looks forward to continuing to provide support to student success in new and innovative ways.

Guest: Jess McDermott - FLEX

Flex events are scheduled for February 5. This year, we (along with Norco and Moreno Valley) are honored to host nationally recognized leader on equity and education Dr. Victor Rios who will be presenting on the value of emotional connections to students. Many other sessions will also be offered. A Save the Date announcement has been distributed by Dr. Pati Avila. The agenda will be sent out closer to the February 5th date.

PLT reviewed the following information items:

Vice President, Academic Affairs update

The president has interviewed candidates for this critical role and will be offering the interim position to one of the candidates soon. Target start date for the interim VPAA is the first of February. Recruitment for the permanent position will commence upon the conclusion of the interim search.

Guided Pathways

The College continues to scale up Guided Pathways with a goal of full implementation by Fall 2021. This GP framework is being constructed to align with Vision for Success targets. This info-graphic
was developed as an easy reference document to recognize the progress the College is making with GP and how these strategies help us remain vigilant in being an equity-minded institution.

Math - AB705

With the assistance from the Math department, an AB705 info-graphic was developed as a mechanism to quickly see how the implementation of support courses and strategies are supporting student success and helping the college meet Vision for Success targets.

Facilities Update: Business-CIS Construction Project (Physical Sciences-Life Sciences Renovation)

The renovation of the Physical Sciences-Life Sciences building will provide modern facilities for the Business/CIS Construction departments.

• Construction plans currently place the construction for this project squarely within Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Status. LEED is a set of standards of construction and operation of green buildings administered by the United States Green Building Council.
• DSA approved the Evaluation Criteria Report, which outlines the process for doing the seismic upgrade for the project.
• Reviewed screens for HVAC equipment on the roof; will be reviewing these plans with construction committee at the next meeting.
• Reviewed some of the building finishes; decisions on finalizing building finishes were deferred to the next meeting with the construction committee which includes campus stakeholders.
• Discussed financials for the project and overall timeline:
• Upcoming meetings:
  • 3/2 – AV Meeting with Construction committee
  • 4/6 – Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment (FF&E) and Interior Design Presentation with Construction Committee

Student Success Teams

On Friday, January 8 faculty, classified professionals and administrators:

• discussed engagement center goals roles, and responsibilities of the Student Success Team
• explored student performance data associated with each pathway
• identified baseline activities that can be implemented across the College both inside and outside of the classroom

Evaluation of this half-day retreat demonstrated high satisfaction and significant progress toward implementation.

Equity Training

“Let’s Get Real: How to have authentic & transformative conversations about racism” presented by Lee Mun Wah of Stirfry Seminars is scheduled on January 29. This professional development opportunity, specific for RCC, has almost reached capacity of 100 participants. Classified Professionals from admissions and records, financial aid, counseling, facilities, technology support services, and food services have registered. Most of these individuals have never had the opportunity to attend equity training in the past and are excited to participate this year.

Calling Tigers Initiative Update

Last week the Calling Tigers program recommenced for 2021 with a focus on students interested in enrolling in the Winter term. This week volunteers began calling students for the Spring with a goal of reaching more than 3,500 students per week until all students have been called. Once this is completed, classified professionals will begin calling under-enrolled students.

First Week of Winter Term - “Ask Me/Welcome Booths”

As the Winter session began, students, faculty, and staff should remind students that all services are online. In an effort to support new and returning students enrolled in limited face-to-face classes/labs, a few Ask Me/Welcome booths were open on campus last week.

• Employees staffing the booth answered general questions, provided directions to students who may be unaware of the campus layout, and promoted online services.
• A list of online resources links is on the website www.rcc.edu/resources

PLT considered the following policy items:

Budget

On Friday January 8th, the Governor released his state budget proposal for the 2021-22 budget year. Below is PLT’s analysis. Also helpful is the Joint Analysis distributed by the State Chancellor’s Office. The League for California Community Colleges has provided another helpful analysis.

• The proposed budget exemplifies the Governor’s hope and optimism that California can rebound towards a positive economic recovery, while also outlining the risks and uncertainty in the months ahead.
• State revenues are anticipated to be higher than the 2020 Budget Act projections, which the Governor will mostly focus on one-time needs to limit ongoing liabilities. Two-thirds of the revenue deferrals that districts are dealing with in the 2020-21 budget year are intended to be paid down. The budget also proposes investments to enable California Community Colleges to “close equity gaps, promote completion, fuel innovation, and support students’ upward economic mobility.”
• A Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) of 1.5% has been proposed, as well as 0.5% enrollment growth for all community colleges.
• According to the Governor’s proposed 2021-22 budget, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an 8% decrease in Fall 2020 California community college enrollment compared to the prior Fall term, and noted this decrease is disproportionately attributable to underrepresented students. To combat this, the budget includes the following proposals to address student needs.
  • Provide $100 million to support emergency student financial assistance grants for full-time, low-income community college students and other students who can demonstrate an emergency financial need.
  • Provide $20 million to support efforts to increase student retention rates and enrollment, primarily to engage students who withdrew due to the COVID-19 pandemic or may be hesitant to remain or enroll.
• Other system wide proposals in the Governor’s 2021-22 budget include:
  • Provide $100 million to address food and housing insecurity among community college students.
  • Provide $30 million (ongoing) to support student technological access to higher education by enabling students to have electronic devices and high-speed internet connectivity, as well as
    increase student mental health resources.
  • Provide $20 million for a system wide effort to provide culturally competent online professional development for CCC faculty, including leveraging technology to improve learning outcomes.
  • Provide $10.6 million (ongoing) to support the continuity of education and quality distance learning, including access to online tutoring, online counseling, and online student support services such as mental health services.
  • Provide an additional $150 million for emergency financial assistance for full-time, low-income community college students and other students who were previously working full-time or the equivalent of full-time (in addition to the $100 million identified in the “Early Action” proposals above).
  • $15 million (ongoing) to augment the California Apprenticeship Initiative, which supports the creation of apprenticeship opportunities in priority and emerging industry sectors.
  • $20 million to expand work-based learning models and programs at community colleges, including working with faculty and employers to incorporate work-based learning into curriculum.
  • No funding identified for faculty hiring

The proposed budget does not include the additional $2.9 billion in anticipated Federal COVID-19 relief funds for higher education. These funds will be in addition to what is proposed in the Governor’s FY 21-22 budget released on Friday. Federal Stimulus - COVID-19 relief bill is the most recent pandemic related legislation which was approved in December 2020. The Bill includes $22.7 billion to Higher Education across the nation and the allocations are based on both FTES and headcount. Preliminary funding for RCC is $24.09M and includes funding for all students/student categories. This legislation is geared to defray fiscal impacts of the pandemic, technology impacts, and support ongoing student activities and programs. The bill provides direct financial aid to students for the cost of attendance, housing, healthcare, mental health, childcare, etc. The funding would be one-time and likely not be repeated in the future.

This is just the first step of the budget process. Now the Legislature will begin reviewing the Governor’s proposal in-depth at hearings over the course of the next few months. As for our college and district, we will continue to build the tentative 2021-22 budget with the proposed state budget information that we know today. As we receive more info from the Governor (May Revise) and the State Chancellor’s Office, the district will adjust the tentative budget accordingly until we have a final adopted budget from the State and then, our District adopted budget for 2021-22.

As a College and a District we still have major fiscal challenges to overcome (losses in revenue - food, childcare, parking, etc.), enrollment impacts, as well as maintaining and enhancing support services and resources for students in a virtual environment. PLT’s fiduciary responsibility demands prudence in budgeting, even as we commit resources to critical educational needs in Guided Pathways, equity, and other essential areas.

Strategic Plan Assessment

The Chancellor requested each college to provide an assessment of their strategic plans, including an overview of how the Vision for Success targets are being met. Additionally, this assessment will include a review of what has worked well and what has not worked in the COVID environment, and how the targets will be modified to consider this environment. While this assessment is outside of our protocols, a brief synopsis will be provided. This brief synopsis will also be included in the college-wide assessment that begins in the spring with the help from the Leadership Councils.

Grants

Update:

• Guided Pathways Student Support Grant - Funded
• NSF iUse Grant for OER and Economics - Not Funded
• Veterans Excellence Grant - Not Funded
• SSTEM - focus on Chemistry Scholarships - Pending
• DOD - Planetarium - Pending

Upcoming Grants:

• USDA - Focus on Agriculture and STEM - due January 26
• NSF/HSI for Institutional Change - due February 10
• California Arts Council - focus on Justice Involved Youth and Arts - due February 11
• TRIO Talent Search - due February 26

The Grants Office is continuing to work on integrating protocols set by the District with College functionality with grants.

Use of CARES and Strong Workforce funds

CARES Act funds remain at the forefront of serving the college and students during the pandemic. The remaining balance of CARES Act I funds will be disseminated to students in the Spring. Cares Act II and III funds have a balance of over $2M to be spent by May 2021. Multiple proposals are under consideration, along with an overview of possible lost revenues that can be captured. The College will expend CARES Act I/II/III funds within the established deadlines of May 2021.

PLT took action on the following items:

PRT Visit

The Partnership Resource Team (PRT) through the Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Initiative (IEPI) is scheduled for January 21. Over the past week, each focus group came together and reviewed the questions submitted with the application and streamlined the focus so that each group was prepared for the visit. All documents have been placed on a designated Microsoft Teams Site and all members of focus groups have been added to the Teams Site.

LGTBQ+ Summit

The LGTBQ+ Summit on April 28 & 29, is an opportunity to collaborate with members of the California Community College campuses at all levels. Participants will learn from each other’s innovative and successful ideas that will transform campuses to better serve and affirm LGBTQ+ students.

More than 20 faculty members and 15 classified professionals have signed up to participate. PLT authorized additional slots for classified professionals and will also encourage management participation. Anyone interested in joining the Summit, should contact the office of the president.

Accreditation

ACCJC has been notified that the Interim Vice President of Planning and Development will serve as the College Accreditation Liaison Officer. This designation reflects the original intent of College strategic planning.

Virtual Recital Series at Coil

PLT reviewed and approved the request presented by Professor Kevin Mayse to run a virtual concert series in the Coil School for the Arts Concert Hall. Four events will be recorded from March through June.

PLT Color Guard proposal Winter 2021

PLT reviewed and approved the proposal presented by Associate Professor Janes Rocillio for the color guard program. This activity will meet face-to-face two days a week outdoors during the Winter term, adhering strictly to College, local and state safety guidelines.