Snowflakes
Submitted by John.Bowers@se… on Fri, 12/17/2021 - 15:35

Updated on 3/4/2022

First draft of the spring schedule

Click here (opens in a new tab) to view the first draft of the spring schedule. We do not expect to make any changes until we complete student enrollments for spring. I'll be in touch if there are adjustments.

ESL Library

Are you using ESL Library? Please confirm with John by email. We will be renewing our subscription, but prices have gone up, so we want to make sure the accounts we purchase are being used. Thanks!

Emergency funds finally released

After months of delay, we were informed that emergency funds were finally released to students earlier this week. Some of the students had applied and been approved for funding back in December (or maybe even earlier). We're happy to announce that glitches have been fixed and funds released. We may have another round of funding available in the coming weeks.

Tenure Handbook Discussion on Thursday, March 10 at 11 am

Sayumi and the instructional deans are holding another listening session regarding proposed anti-racist updates to the tenure handbook. She honors and acknowledges the tremendous work that has been done to date (and so do I! thank you!), but she continues to be told that there is a lack of trust in this process and South's leadership. Please come to the meeting so your voice can be heard and trust can be improved if not restored. 

Click here to join the meeting on Thursday, March 10 from 11 am to 12:30 pm.

Updated on 2/17/2022

Spring preference forms due Thursday, February 24

Part time faculty should submit their preferences for spring teaching assignments to Teresa Yamada by close of business on Thursday, February 24.

  • Click here (opens in a new tab) to view available classes on the draft spring schedule
  • Click here (downloads) to download the preference form to your computer

Please be sure your computer/browser permissions are set to allow the schedule to open in a new tab and to allow the preference form to download. My hope is to have the next draft of assignments posted to the blog by Friday, March 4.

Free hazardous waste workshops

The King County Hazardous Waste Management Program (www.hazwastehelp.org) is currently offering free educational workshops for adult ESL/ELL classes. At least a few English faculty have invited this group to present to their classes, and the info was well received. They offer two live, interactive virtual workshops:

Safer Cleaning and Disposal classes provide basic life-skills addressing how students can:

  • Identify hazardous household products
  • Avoid harmful exposure and injury when using common products
  • Buy less toxic alternatives
  • Make their own safer cleaners
  • Safely dispose of unwanted hazardous products

Lead Exposure Prevention classes include:

  • What lead is and its impacts on human health
  • Common exposure points for lead
  • Tips to reduce and prevent lead exposure
  • What to do if you are at risk of lead exposure

For more information, contact Leandra Darde at ldarden@triangleassociates.com.

Updated on 2/11/2022

Spring class modality feedback

For a variety of reasons, I'm not going to be able to survey students and faculty this winter to ask for their preferences for spring modalities. Instead, I simply want to propose keeping the modalities the same in spring as we have for winter, but adding an evening hybrid option at Georgetown. Specifically, this means the schedule will include:

  • New Holly, English levels 1-3 hybrid
  • Main campus, mornings, levels 1-5/6 hybrid, additional L3 remote
  • Main campus, evenings, levels 1-6, remote
  • Georgetown, evenings, levels 1-4, hybrid

If enrollment allows, we will add an additional main campus, mornings level 4 remote class, which has been requested for two quarters now. As a reminder, all of GED/High School 21+/ABE/College Prep will remain remote for the foreseeable future.

If you have feedback or reactions to this plan, please email John at john.bowers@seattlecolleges. Next Friday, I plan to send around the draft schedule and form asking part-time faculty for their spring teaching preferences. 

New student intake is open (not for current/returning students)

Tell your students to refer their friends, family members, or other acquaintances to the BTS office for spring classes. We've opened registration for new student intake, and tech-savvy students can sign up online at the BTS home page (opens in a new tab). This intake is for new students only, and it runs through March 11. Look for info on current/returning student enrollment in the coming weeks.

Tuition waiver text in Talking Points

Amber will send a text to all students asking them to request a tuition waiver for winter quarter. If your students ask you about this, tell them it's not spam and encourage them to reply. We will be waiving tuition for winter 2022 for all students, as we have done throughout the pandemic. Students need to reply to the text as part of the process. We expect to resume collecting the $25 fee in spring 2022, though we may pilot that effort with a small group before we attempt to collect from all students. Fee waivers will remain available for all students who express a need.

Updated on 1/4/2022

Division meeting recordings

Thanks to those who attended today's division meeting. For those not able to attend, recordings of the meeting are below. The recordings are in four parts, because I paused the recording during the times we spent in break-out rooms. These videos will open in new tabs on your browser. 

Important winter dates

In today's meeting, there was an ask to share these important dates for winter quarter.

  • Faculty Professional Development Day (no classes): February 9
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (no classes): January 17
  • President's Day (no classes): February 21
  • Assessment Day (in place of a final exam): March 16

Winter 2022 student packets

We will again support English L1 through L3 faculty who want to send packets to their students. Faculty should make their own copies and coordinate with John, Amber, Teresa, and Gina for help with the mailing labels. Please include all of us, so we can ensure you have the support your need. Please also keep in mind that the office is lightly staffed for a variety of reasons. Amber is mostly available Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10 to 2 pm. Finally, be sure to take into account the fact that packets delivered to the mail room often go out the following business day. 

CARES funds for students

Thanks to Zahra for adding this to today's agenda. Several of our students have qualified to receive funds from the college's CARES 2 student support fund. The funds are being dispersed through a partnership the college has with BankMobile, meaning students will first receive a BankMobile card in the mail and then must set up a BankMobile account. Unfortunately, the communication on this is not well designed for our students, and a number of them have expressed concerns about protecting their privacy and personal information. 

Please help you students access these funds if they have received them. Click here (opens in a new tab) to see a copy of the email that students should have received. I will see if we can get a list of transitional students who were awarded funds, so we can target our support to just those students. 

Reporting sick days and personal days

In today's meeting, I also said that I'd post information about how faculty report sick and personal days. That's not ready for today, but it will be coming soon. 

Late adds, drops, and other student moves

The office team is swamped finalizing rosters and registrations. If you have a request to add, drop, or move a student, please be patient. Include the students' name and Empl ID when making the request. And keep in mind that new and returning students will have to attest to their vaccination status before we can enroll them, so expect delays in many cases. 

Updated on 12/17/2021

Updated winter schedule

Click here (opens in a new tab) for the latest version of the winter schedule. One change you may notice is that we're not running an open-entry Gateway class this quarter. We will be holding late EIs (intake sessions), so you may still get new students on your roster during the first couple weeks of the quarter. We will be closing enrollment for new students on January 5. 

Division meeting

The division meeting is on Tuesday, January 4 from 9 am to 11 am. Click here to join the meeting. The tentative agenda includes:

  • Housekeeping (remote attendance tracking, CASAS reminders, etc.)
  • Faculty idea share
  • WELL updates
  • Review of the winter faculty MOU

New standard class Zoom times

Based on the Faculty Winter 2022 Modalities Survey, we are introducing new standard class times for Zoom sessions in our day and evening English classes. As a reminder, students have been asking for standard class times so they can arrange work schedules, child care, or other needs around their school schedule.

  • The standard times for Zoom for daytime hybrid classes are Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 to 10:30. Hybrid classes will also meet in person on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 am to 11:50.
  • The standard times for Zoom for evening remote classes are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 6 to 7:30.

I am asking all faculty to meet during these standard times for at least the first two weeks. After that time, your rosters should be final so you can meet with your students to discuss and agree upon any changes. I am requesting that all daytime/hybrid classes continue to meet in Zoom at least twice a week and that all evening/remote classes continue to meet at least three times a week, even if those times change. 

I am also asking all faculty to provide the BTS front desk team with your Zoom (or other) online meeting link, so the front desk can provide that to students who call. Please also keep the front desk up to date on any changes to your class schedule--again so we have good information for students who call.

Provide your course's Zoom info here

As always, please provide the front desk with your Zoom (or other) links and your preferred student contact information. When students are newly added to your class or when they call the front desk asking for help, we want to provide them with the right info.

Click here to access the document (opens in a new window). You will see a online PowerPoint document with information from several classes. Please create a new slide for your class and add your info. 

Student Covid-19 attestation update

Thanks to everyone who helped students complete their Covid-19 vaccine attestations this fall. We were able to confirm attestations for 80% of our students!

As a reminder, students must provide their Covid-19 vaccine attestation (which includes an option for students who need a medial or religious exemptions) before they can enroll for classes in winter quarter. The front desk team is still following up with students and they can provide assistance--including paper attestation forms--for students who need help. 

Syllabus requirements

Hopefully most of you know this by now, but you are required to include language in your syllabus describing how you will track attendance for remote learning. There are two options:

Teacher Verification: Assignments have a pre-determined number of hours stated in the syllabus that will be awarded to the extent that the teacher verifies that the student completed the work. For example, completing 50% of the assignments may result in 50% of possible hours awarded.

Learner Mastery: Assignments have a pre-determined number of hours stated in the syllabus that will be awarded based on the students' mastery of the content. For example, 70% or higher mastery may result in full hours awarded.

Further guidance from the SBCTC can be found here (opens in a new tab). The SBCTC also provided this updated Q&A document (opens in a new tab). The approach you choose applies to all instruction that is not in-person, including Zoom or other online synchronous time. 

Winter quarter MOU with the AFT

Click here (opens in a new tab) to view the MOU between the AFT and the district for winter 2022. We'll spend some time on this in the division meeting.