STUDENT SERVICES DIVISION ANNUAL REPORT 2008-09 Mr. Sedgwick Harris

STUDENT SERVICES DIVISION
ANNUAL REPORT
2008-09
Mr. Sedgwick Harris
Vice President
Table of Contents
Division of Student Services……………….……………….…….2-3
Admissions and Registration……………..……………………….4-6
Academic Advising and Retention………..……………………..7-10
Athletics………………….………………………….………….11-12
Core Values………………………………..………………………13
Disability Support Services………..……………………………....14
Dual Credit………………..……………….……………………….15
Financial Aid…………..….………….………………………...16-17
Student Life……….……………………………….………………18
Student Recruitment …………………………….……………...19-20
Volunteering and Events…………….……………………….….21-23
Wellness Programs & Fitness Center ……………….………….24-25
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DIVISION OF STUDENT SERVICES
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
The Division of Student Services is an integral partner in the teaching-learning process. Growth in the
intellectual, physical, psychological, and social lives of all students are encouraged by actively
promoting positive interaction among students, the academic community, and the college environment.
2008-09 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
1. GOAL: Review institutional scholarship policies. Explore the benefits of limiting the number of
credit hours which recipients may utilize in an effort to expand the number of students who
receive scholarships.
OUTCOME: After reviewing the policy we found that there were no limitations of the number
of credit hours that could be taken. We are now enforcing that all students on scholarships be
limited to 18 credit hours.
2. GOAL: Conduct surveys and student focus group meetings to identify needs and student
financial customer service issues.
OUTCOME: Over the past two semesters we have successfully conducted two student
satisfaction surveys. One was developed by the faculty and staff of the college the other is a
nationally used in order provide the college bench marking data for our AQIP report.
3. GOAL: Promote financial aid opportunities to sophomore and juniors in high school and their
parents.
OUTCOME: The financial aid department has provided several different opportunities for
students and their parents to gain additional knowledge on the financial aid process. FASFA
workshops were offered at local area high schools, special parent groups, College Goal Sunday,
College Night, and FASFA Friday. We have also made an effort to reach out to the educational
centers to provide seminars in person and via distance learning.
4. GOAL: Develop assistance in Success Center to help students compose scholarship applications,
letters and provide sample reference letters.
OUTCOME: With the Career Services Specialist we have been able to provide students with
these services plus more. They not only receive help with scholarship searches and applications;,
additionally, they get resume writing, mock interviewing and presentation skill building
experience.
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CONCERNS
Concerns: There are three major concerns reflected throughout the division and they are:
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Staffing needs.
Continue to build process and procedure for the Student Services Division.
Building new athletic programs that are respected by the college community and the
district.
Recommended Action: Continue to work with staff on meeting the needs that will make them
successful. Review the entire staffing request and prioritize them in order to meet the most urgent
request first. We have several process and procedures that we can continue to build on and improve.
Developing committees within the division to concentrate on developing these seems to be the best
solution. The Athletic Department will become more accountable for the student-athlete academic
development as well as their athletic progress.
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Admissions & Registration
Major Accomplishments:
Redesign of Registrar position
A comparison of the task assignments to the job descriptions for the KC Registrar and the
Coordinator of Student Records culminated in the creation of new position descriptions that
more effectively meet the needs of the students, the College, and the department. Thus the
Registrar and the Coordinator of Student Records job descriptions were retired in the 20082009 academic year and replaced with a Registration Technician reporting to a Manager of
Records and Registration, that in turn reports to the Director of Admissions and Registration.
The new job descriptions and reporting structure were also deemed to be a more effective
configuration to support the requirements of the Colleague software implementation in the
current KC environment.
Created and implemented Education Center staff training
In keeping with the KC’s One-College Concept, an Education Center Training Manual
was created that includes information on applying to KC, registering students, keeping
students records current, dropping and withdrawing from classes, sending transcripts, and
graduation applications. An initial training session was held with staff at each education
center and the Crisp Center. Annual refresher sessions were held in June and early July
2009 along with special sessions for new education center staff to ensure that students at
our education centers are well served.
Improved Special Saturday Registrations
Begun in the 2007 -2008 academic year, special Saturday registration events were also
conducted prior to the start of each semester in the 2008 – 2009 academic year. The
events continue to be well received by the public and our emphasis on continuous
improvement in the department has resulted in some changes to better serve our students.
One example, though counterintuitive, was the determination that offering a free bus
service from Centralia to the campus was not necessary. In spite of intensive internal and
external advertising students evidently did not see this offering as being of great value
and did not take advantage of it. On the other hand, the availability of walk-in advising
proved to be extremely popular. Students, both new and returning, were willing to risk
the ―wait time‖ inherent in a walk-in advising situation to meet with an advisor. It is,
however, reasonable to assume that part of the walk-in advising traffic seen during
Saturday registrations is driven by the limited number of advising appointments available
during regularly scheduled business hours, due to a staffing shortage in advising.
Administered Summer Scholarship
The Summer Scholarship opportunity was extended to area high school students entering
their sophomore, junior, or senior year in a recognized in-district high school, again for
Summer 2009 classes. Students approved for the 2009 Summer Scholarship Program are
eligible to receive a tuition waiver for one course, up to four credit hours plus up to $100
in course fees for that course. To date scholarships for 728 credit hours have been
awarded totaling more than $62,000.
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Submitted Admissions Program Review
An ICCB Combined Program Review and PQP Report were submitted for Student and
Academic Services. As required, information regarding student demand, cost
effectiveness, and quality improvements were included. The development and
implementation of a new reporting structure to allow greater emphasis on student services
was also highlighted.
Major concerns/Issues at KC
Staffing
Student advising is an area that receives national attention when studying student
satisfaction. Although advising is not an area that is directly under my control, the
shortage of advisors has a direct effect not only on customer service, but on my staff as
well. The Enrollment Specialists are often required to serve as quasi-advisors because
there are simply not enough advising appointment slots available to meet student
demand. Therefore, I recommend that the advising staff be increased to meet not only the
demand for scheduled appointments but also to address walk-ins and advising for special
programs.
Staff Turnover
Like most community colleges in the United States, KC is experiencing a high rate of
staff turnover. Whether the root cause is simply an aging population or some other less
obvious reason, the effect can still be hugely expensive and disruptive to the quality of
service provided by the organization. I recommend that an analysis of staff turnover be
performed that includes the last five years and the next five years. An analysis that
includes known turnover opportunities such as retirement will allow the organization to
focus on succession planning. An accompanying change to our hiring practice that would
allow for cross training whenever possible would also be prudent.
Maintaining and Upgrading Skills
While there seems to have been a high level of organizational and financial support for
the initial implementation of the Datatel software, there does not seem to be an
organizational understanding that the ―implementation‖ is never really over. The
approval of funds for an initial software purchase requires additional funds for on-going
training and software support for as long as that software is in use. Establishment of a
permanent discrete fund dedicated to maintaining and upgrading the skills necessary to
support organizational needs is critical to KC’s ability to serve its students is needed.
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Changes to Benefit KC:
Welcome Center Redesign
The current location of the Welcome Center Desk is not conducive to effective
communication with visitors to our campus that use the main entrance. The importance of
Proxemics, the effect of physical space on communication, has been well documented.
Because the distance between the Welcome Center Desk and the door exceeds what
Edward T. Hall [Hall, E. T. (1969). The hidden dimension, Garden city, NY: Doubleday.]
refers to as ―Social Distance‖, it is difficult for staff at the desk to easily engage visitors.
Moving the switchboard staff closer to the door would allow them to more easily engage
visitors and therefore have a positive effect on the level of service provided to both
internal and external customers.
Switchboard Staffing
The old adage about having ―only one chance to make a first impression‖ may be old, but
it is still true. Organizations should have their most experienced, mature, and professional
staff interfacing with callers and visitors. The first exchange between the staff and the
visitor to campus sets the tone for the experience with the organization. Therefore, I
suggest that a full time, permanent switchboard operator position be reinstated.
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ADVISING & RETENTION SERVICES
Advising
This year the department worked to build upon what had been the previous year, and what was a new
goal or priority. Throughout the calendar year the need for advisors increased as the number of students
on the main campus and education centers changed needs and an increase of advisement. Proposals to
increase the number of advisors have been sent to the VP of SS to plan for the retirement of Willie
Harris and the need to fix the current advisement deficits.
The Advising Coordinator, Steve Cox; Vice-President, Tim Hood; and Dean of Community Education
and Relationships, Tonya Odum, worked to build relationships with the university alliance connections.
Mr. Cox also works with additional public and private four-year institutions across the state.
Representatives from various institutions visited Kaskaskia College throughout the year as well as
attended a transfer fair in September. This fair allowed students, faculty and staff to interact. Mr. Cox
also participated in the development of an inverse degree with Greenville College. Within this office a
change in dissemination of transfer institution information was reformed for easy retrieval. Currently
the information is located outside of the Advising Offices so that anyone can access the files without
interrupting and appointment or meeting.
The Polycom units have been placed into Willie Harris and Steve Cox’s offices for training and working
with students at education center sites. This and a new advising handbook and training were created for
use with main campus and off campus advisors as well as education center coordinators. Additionally,
management of Academic Advising through intake forms and a campus wide documentation system
have been implemented. These techniques will assist advising to provide consistent information for
students as well as provide a safety net for disagreement in advising appointments and advice.
Advising has been working to accommodate incoming freshman for the fall and summer semesters.
Some of the assistance has been provided to Amy Troutt and Cheryl Boehne as they go to each district
high school. Additionally in Advising, effective May 20, Bess Wesling was moved from her office in
the Success Center into HB-104 in the Enrollment Center. Mrs. Wesling will have time available to take
on a more active role in advising the general student population in addition to her current duties advising
transitional GED students and coordinating the GED Scholarship program. Moving Bess into the
advising area helps consolidate advisement services and staff within the Student Services area and will
aid in communication and advising services support.
The Academic Advising Office presented a Transfer Fair on Monday September 22, 2009. This fair
allowed students, faculty and staff to interact with institutions that were providing transfer information.
This same day, Academic Advisors were able to meet with transfer specialists from the PICU. Advisors
from the state institutions had also come during July to update advisors. Advisors were trained on CAS
the first week of July and have not been updated further due to Program changes with the CAS system.
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Career Services
Kaskaskia College is a true believer in providing work experience to help mold the futures of our youth
in the workplace. Kaskaskia College has partnered with several agencies in the area to provide Summer
Youth positions these counties are Clinton, Marion, Fayette, Washington, and Bond. Kaskaskia College
has signed an agreement, to provide these positions to area youths, with C.E.F.S. and the Employment
and Training Department in Bond County.
Mrs. Blythe, the Career Services Coordinator, has been spearheading the project. Each youth is in need
of valuable work experience. They have been referred to Southwestern Illinois Worknet of Washington
County, the One- Stop Center in Mt. Vernon, and The Mid-American Workforce Investment Board to
understand the opportunities provided them as well as some training. Youth workers are to work from
June 1st through the end of August at 30-32 hours per week. All of the agencies contacted are very
grateful that Kaskaskia is offering 19 positions throughout the campus.
Wendy Blythe has also worked with the Kaskaskia College Even Start program participants by
providing tips on the do’s and don’ts of job interviews and performing 15 mock interviews. Throughout
the year the Career Services Coordinator has assisted a number of students, alumni, and community
members with resumes and cover letters. Many past and current students have come into the office to
discuss job search techniques. Job searches on a daily basis using internet and community contacts.
Posting of these openings are located on two job boards and in the Job Book in the Success Center while
information is provided to the Kaskaskia College instructors.
She has also worked with Art Borum to interact with regional businesses for promotion of College’s
training opportunities. Two job fairs were presented: 1 for Allied Health and another for general
employment. Workshops were presented to prepare students for the fairs. A second Spring Job Fair for
Kaskaskia College and the community was held on Tuesday, March 24 from 10:00a.m. to 1:00p.m. in
the college gymnasium. There were 29 employers who attended with regional position openings. The
employer evaluations indicated that the event was well coordinated.
Career Services sponsored several events throughout the year. Workshops on Applying for
Employment/Creating, Revising a Resume/ and Preparing for the Interview, Application Advise. These
were presented at the Resource/Job Fair the City of Centralia, in conjunction with City of Centralia,
Illinois Department of Employment Security, and Crossroads Workforce Centers.
Success Center
This year there was a struggle to maintain the budget for tutoring and expand the testing and career
services budgets at the same time. The need to hire a staff member for Testing and additional
professional and student tutors were need in a large variety of subjects and locations throughout the
College’s district. Dr. Underwood extending the tutoring budget so more students may receive the
tutoring they needed. This extension included allowing us to build more hours into the professional
tutoring through Bill Broda and Cynthia Weber. One way we expanded services to the education
centers was through the Polycom units. Student and professional staff were training to utilize the
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equipment. This supplemented the use by the academic advising offices and the financial aid
department.
Within the Success Center was a drive to cultivate a positive direction for Student Athlete Success
Program including better communication with coaches, more quality monitoring of study tables &
tutoring, attendance and grade checks. Student Athlete Success Program has implemented new forms for
attendance and grade monitoring. These forms are going to the department so the students are directed
to needed tutoring and/or resources; alert coaches of struggling students, and those who are not working
toward success. Study Tables have been different this semester because of the changing needs of the
teams based on the competition schedules.
The Success Center presented several workshops throughout the year. Topics included: Time
Management, Stress Management, Citing Sources in APA and MLA Styles and Paraphrasing. Each
presentation is in the process of being taped for viewing thru the College’s website. This will allow
students to receive assistance on their own time and their own location.
Continue to build the Early Alert Program into a retention tool for all education centers and campuses,
all students’ types of needs. Early Alert Referral Forms have been in place for the semester and there
have been a few dozen that were completed fairly rapidly within the campus. More forms were needed
to be printed per the request of the instructors. Sandra Neabuhr has been working to contact the students
and assist them in correcting behaviors, providing guidance toward assistance
New Student Orientation
Advising and Retention Services has been working to build a more holistic New Student Orientation
(NSO) program. In following with the one college concept, we decided to reframe the program to
reflect the diverse needs and expanding geographical population with whom we work. Beginning the
Fall 2009 semester, students will have three different options to attend NSO.
First, we have a hybrid course that allows students to attend a half-day format and the complete the
coursework on-line. This format introduces students to their choice of Education Center or the Main
Campus, as well as the world of on-line education. The on-line component is becoming increasingly
more important as more instructors rely on it for communication with students. The second option for
students is to take the course entirely on-line. The course, as all three types, utilizes the same syllabus
and allows the student to view presentations through the internet. This format has a scattered start date
to allow those who register later in the summer. Our third option is a semester long course that meets
once per week for an hour. These classes are designed to support students each week and empower
them to succeed through regular interact. All incoming freshman athletes will be assigned a section of
this course.
These courses all have student mentors who have excelled in academics, civic, campus and/or
community service. These students will be able to reinforce the importance of the course topics
including: classroom success tips, critical thinking, communication, stress and time management, fiscal
and internet responsibility, living within a diverse world and healthy lifestyles. The changes to the New
Student Orientation program should support students as they begin their relationship with Kaskaskia
College and take them through completion of their college and career goals.
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The second option for students is to take the course entirely on-line. The course, as all three types,
utilizes the same syllabus. These courses all have student mentors who have excelled in academics,
civic, campus and/or community service. These students will be able to reinforce the importance of the
course topics including: classroom success tips, critical thinking, communication, stress and time
management, fiscal and internet responsibility, living within a diverse world and healthy lifestyles. The
changes to the New Student Orientation program should support students as they begin their relationship
with Kaskaskia College and take them through completion of their college and career goals.
Perkins Project
The month of May for the Perkins Office was filled with tying up loose ends and making any final
changes to reports. A large amount of time was focused on helping students succeed with the help of
our reimbursement program. If students meet the requirements given to them at the beginning of the
semester, they will qualify for a reimbursement of their books and /or transportation. At the end of the
semester student’s grades are checked to verify that they have met the requirements for the
reimbursement. After that is verified, the appropriate documentation is sent to the business office and
gets the checks to the student within 5-7 business days.
Scott Wernsmann, the Perkins Project Coordinator, conducted a series of ASE testing and Cisco
Certification testing for students within the automotive and computer departments respectfully. The
department also worked on the occupational graduate follow-up surveys. These are surveys that are
given to students 6 months after their date of graduation. They are to complete a short survey and send
the form back, elaborating on what they are doing at that time in their life (post-grad). The information
is compiled for further research. Victoria Harvey, the Perkins Assistant, presented workshops to
participants and performed research throughout the year.
The department hosted a Fall and a Spring Advisory Board Meeting for each of the career and technical
programs. The fall meetings were held in the student center and the Crisp facility. The Spring meeting
was held in the Lifelong Learning Center. Ten programs had their advisory board meetings on that
evening with all most 80 people in attendance. Invitations were also sent for the Crisp Technology
Center Advisory Board Meeting for another date. The following programs will be involved in the Crisp
Advisory Board Meeting: Carpentry, Industrial Electricity, Industrial Technology and Welding.
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Athletics
2 Academic All-American Teams –
Baseball, & Volleyball
KCSA continued success and support of
KC athletics
o Hospitality Room
o Junior High Shoot-out
o Annual Par 3 golf tournament
o Contribution to the Sports &
Wellness Campaign
o Two meals for all student
athletes
o Concessions at athletic events
o Free camps and clinics for
members of the Kids Club
Distribution of the Annual Thanksgiving
Baskets over 100 distributed
Balloon fest volunteers
Murray Center Games volunteers
Summer camps held in soccer,
basketball, volleyball, softball, baseball
Alumni baseball event
Hosted two games of the Centralia
Holiday tournament
Every scholarship student athlete
complete volunteer hours
Women’s Golf
Academic All Americans – Marci
Blumhorst, Kristine Droste, Nicole
Langenfeld, Alison May, and Kaitlin
Young
Region XXIV 5th place – Alison May
Increase team roster with three new
athletes
Volleyball
Academic All American Team
Academic All Americans
o Wendi Jo Harre
o Ekaterina Kalinina
o Lindsay Meadows
o Krystal Hogue
o Maribel Guerrero
All Conference
o Maribel Guerrero
o Krystal Hogue
All Region
o Ekaterina Kalinina
Success Stories
o Krystal Hogue-Missouri Valley
College
Men’s Basketball
GRAC All-Conference 2nd Team
Jordan Lee
Ryan Harris
GRAC All-Region 2nd Team
Jordan Lee
Baseball
Academic All-American Team
Academic All-Americans – Logan
Mahon, Wade Koester, Stephen Hefler,
Bo Kinder, Scott Pedersen
All-Conference – Logan Mahon, Wade
Koester, Anthony Even
All-Region – Logan Mahon, Anthony
Even, Anthony Hecht
All-American – Anthony Even
Final Record 36-11
GRAC Record 19-5
Won 1st GRAC title in 21 years
10 Players moving on to 4-Year
programs(6-Div. 1/ 2-Div. 2/2-NAIA)
Women’s Soccer
Academic All American Team
Phi Theta Kappa Inductees
o Sara Wilken
o Sarah Lambird
o Sarah Borries
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o Morgan Hatt
o Tiffany Hilmes
All Region Selections
o Ansley Murphy
o Sarah Lambird
Success Stories
o Katy Walton received an athletic
scholarship Lyon College
Women’s Basketball
All Conference
o Whitney Williams
(Conference Co-Player of the year)
o Sad’a Ray
All Region
o Sad’a Ray
o Whitney Williams
o Kelly Albers
All-American
o Whitney Williams (2nd Team)
Success Stories
o Sad’d Ray-UNC –Pembroke
o Kelly Albers-Lindenwood
University
o Erica Lewis-Western Illinois
University
o Lindsey Davis-Mid-Continent
University
Cheerleading
o Assisted with the 1st annual KCSA
Cheerleading Competition.
o First place finish in All-Girl Stunt Group
competition.
o First place finish in Partner Stunt
competition.
o 2nd KC cheerleader to receive a Division
I Cheerleading scholarship came from
this year’s squad – Derrick Gluck.
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Core Values 101
Major Accomplishments
Recruitment of new student members through campus and high school recruitment efforts.
Eleven members formed the Core Values 101 Team.
Eight hours of Ethical Decision Making Training Completed by all members during the fall
semester.
Represented KC at 2008 ICCA Leadership and Core Values Institute. Core Values 101 Student
Rep. served on student panel facilitated by Rushworth Kidder.
Revised current presentation format to include more audience participation and feedback.
Provided presentations to several audiences on campus and within the KC district. Audiences
included: Kaskaskia College Leadership Institute Audience, KC employees via staff
development opportunities, Nashville High School Jobs for Illinois Graduate Students, Salem
High School PCCS Juniors.
Sponsors met with the team one hour a week to develop and rehearse for presentations. Eight
members received 1 credit hour per semester for HUMA 199. Three new members were
recruited late in the spring semester.
Successful transition of new Co-Sponsor.
New Initiatives for FY 2010
Recruitment and training of new student participants. Six of the eleven members will continue to
be a part of the team for 09-10.
We also plan to further expand audiences experiencing the Core Values 101 presentations to
include previous venues and new opportunities within the KC campus and district. Shift focus to
include 8th grade audiences. This program has previously focused on HS audiences, but
expanding to include Jr. High audiences can be highly effective to introduce new concepts in
ethical decision making at an earlier and more influential age. This will also introduce them in a
new aspect to KC and increase contact with current KC students to positively affect
recruitment/outreach efforts.
Develop a new curriculum that can be used to satisfy requirements under Health and Personal
Development and replace HUMA 199.
Possible Training of Co-Sponsor through the Institute for Global Ethics to be a certified trainer.
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DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES
Major Accomplishments:
Sixty-three students were registered with the Disability Support Services Office. This was
an increase of 20 students from the previous year.
Thirty-seven new students have been advised and enrolled in classes for the fall 09 semester.
IEP meetings for exiting senior high school students who had an interest in attending KC
were attended by the DSS Coordinator. Schools who participated included Centralia,
Carlyle, Nashville, Vandalia, Mulberry Grove and Bond County.
A new website was developed for the Disability Support Services.
The number of students with a disability enrolling in colleges has increased not only at KC but also
nationwide and the trend will continue. The College is bound by law to provide support services to
these students in order for them to succeed at the post secondary level. As this number increases, we
need to be looking at what services we are providing, what services we should be providing that we are
not, what are the needs of these students and how do we best serve them. One example would be a
retention plan for tracking these students throughout each semester until they have reached their goal.
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Dual Credit
Registration of dual credit courses for the Fall 08 semester took place between August 21
and August 29 at 14 high schools.
o 1302 high school students (unduplicated headcount) completed 4821 credit hours.
o Tuition and fee savings totaled $351,933.
Registration of dual credit courses for the Spring 09 semester took place between January 8
and January 27 at 17 high schools.
o 2111 high school students (unduplicated headcount) completed 14,290 credit hours.
o Tuition and fee savings totaled $1,043,170.
Total students completing a dual credit course in 2008-2009 was 3413 (unduplicated
headcount) earning a total of 19,111 credit hours at a savings of $1,395,103 in tuition and
fee costs.
New dual credit courses were approved at three high schools in the areas of culinary arts,
health occupations and history.
Asset testing was provided at various high schools who offer dual credit in math and/or
English for students to meet the placement requirements of these courses.
The College Now program which began with Sandoval High School in 2007-2008 extended
to Odin High School for the 2008-2009 school year. This program offered senior students
the opportunity to take Career & Technical Education courses not offered at their home
school.
o Seven students from Sandoval High School and two students from Odin High School
enrolled for the fall semester. Eight of the nine returned for the spring semester.
o CTE Programs chosen by the students included Auto Collision, Auto Technology,
Criminal Justice and Welding.
o The eight students earned a total of 106.5 credit hours. They also received high
school CTE credit.
o Tuition and fees were paid by the Federal Perkins Grant for a total savings was
$10,441.
The College submitted an Intent to Apply application in December 2008 to the National
Alliance for Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships; however, it was determined in July 2009 to
waive the intent application until further progress was made on meeting the standards of
NACEP. Also, the State of Illinois has passed the Dual Credit Quality Act which we will need
to address and adhere to foremost.
o Progress was made toward meeting the standards of NACEP with on-site visits being
made by KC faculty with dual credit high school faculty.
 Syllabi were reviewed to ensure learning outcomes are being met.
Assessment tools were discussed along with first day handouts.
o Forms for new dual credit courses and instructors were implemented for the
approval process.
o A draft student guidebook has been developed and will be shared with the high
school counselors at the beginning of the 2009 school year for the input. The
guidebook will be distributed to all dual credit students each year.
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Financial Aid
Major Accomplishments
The members of the Financial Aid Office recognize that their daily work contributes to the College’s
mission of life-long student learning to provide quality comprehensive education. As financial aid
professionals, we are committed to helping our students find the resources to accomplish their
educational goals. During the past year, two new sources of federal aid have been added to Kaskaskia
College’s approved programs, the federal Teach Grant and the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program.
Our students will see the benefits from this work when they are fully implemented for the Fall 2009
semester.
A key goal during the past year was to increase awareness of financial aid opportunities within our
district by conducting outreach activities. Our initial goal was to increase these activities by 20%; when
the final count was in, we conducted over thirty financial aid workshops off-site. We accomplished this
by facilitating FAFSA Workshops at local high schools, our own Education Centers, and even the
correctional center. In addition to the off-campus activities, we conducted FAFSA Friday workshops on
campus, offered financial aid information sessions during College Night, expanded office hours to
include the 3rd Saturday of each month, and conducted two FAFSA training sessions for high school
counselors and other concerned professionals.
I believe Kaskaskia College has been rewarded for their increased outreach activities by seeing an
increase in the number of students who apply for and received financial aid. For the 2008-2009 school
year, KC has seen 108 more students successfully awarded Pell than the year before. This is an increase
of approximately 8% during a time when our enrollment has remained level with the prior year.
Kaskaskia College has awarded $4,541,756 in federal Pell grants for the 2008-2009 school year
compared to $3,790,972 for the prior year. The 2009-10 school year will provide opportunities to serve
even more students. To date, preliminary findings indicate that 2,976 students have applied for federal
aid at Kaskaskia College.
Foundation Scholarships
The Office of Financial Aid supports the KC Foundation’s scholarship process. In addition to
collaborating on updating the KC Foundation Scholarship listing, the financial aid office staff also
revamped the information available on the College web site to ensure timely, easily available
information for scholarship seekers. We continue to see an increase in the number of students seeking to
benefit from the generosity of the donors to the Foundation scholarships program.
Veteran Services
The Office of Financial Aid is also charged with overseeing and implementing services for the men and
women who have served our country as members of the military. Staff members provided resources to
help 109 qualified recipients receive the tuition benefits their prior service entitles them to receive; this
includes 80 Illinois Veterans, 17 MIA/POW recipients, and 12 National Guard members. The Office of
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Financial Aid also serves as the certifying official who coordinates eligibility for 147 veterans who are
eligible for monthly living allowance stipends.
In an effort to ensure the Veterans receive accurate and timely information, we have expanded the
information on KC’s website to include a section devoted to Veterans and the information they need to
take advantage of their benefits. On the subject of Student Employment, Kaskaskia College recognizes
the need for constant improvement. By updating the student employee orientation process on the web
and working with other College departments to improve the work-study process, the Financial Aid
Office demonstrates their supports of this organizational goal. In addition to updating the work-study
authorization form, a process was designed to improve departmental fiscal accountability by designating
financial aid to confirm departmental resources are available before issuing a work authorization.
Options for Changes
The Office of Financial Aid will need to draw on the Communication Management tools available in the
Datatel module to provide efficient and accurate responses to students’ inquiries for financial aid. To do
this, we will need to invest in additional training and continue our efforts for constant improvement.
Major Concerns
The Financial Aid Office is challenged by the rapidly expanding changes in Veterans benefits and how
we will support these changes. Kaskaskia College will need to invest in professional training and
development to ensure the staff has the right information to provide these services.
The increase in the number of students applying for financial aid provides challenges due to the sheer
volume of the work. Based on the number of students who have applied to date, we are seeing an
increase in the number of students applying for federal aid. Last year we saw 3,583 students apply for
the year as of July 17. Managing the number of applicants provides daily challenges.
Starting in August of 2009, students who select KC’s school code when applying for federal aid will be
shown the College’s graduation rates.
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Student Life
Provided continuous student activity programming on the main campus and at education center
sites, including:
 Semester Welcome Back Breakfasts
 Fall & Spring Picnics
 Meet the Club membership drive activities
 Co-sponsored Season of Entertainment Events
 Constitution Day Activities
 Pumpkin Decorating Activities
 DUI Awareness/DUI Simulator
 Pack the House events at Basketball games
 DQ Shootout raffles
 Easter Egg Hunt
 Ice Cream Social
 Basketball open gym intramurals
 Arbor Day celebration & tree sales
 Student Activities Awards Ceremony & reception
 Soccer intramurals
 Other various activities sponsored by individual clubs
 Parades (6), working and walking with floats throughout district
Hosted student activity focus groups on main campus and at education center sites
Sponsored successful Valentines for Veterans campaign
Partnered with marketing and operations departments to provide a KC float in district parades.
Established new Student Activity Board Structure with each club sponsored by a representative.
Continue to develop Student Activity Board.
Continually implementing new diversity-centered events into campus activities.
Began development for Club and Organizations sponsors training sessions.
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Student Recruitment
Major Accomplishments:
Assisted in the Dual Credit Registration Process at all District HS locations
Distributed Foundation Scholarship booklet, activity scholarship information & applications,
SIRS scholarship application information, Board of Trustees Scholarship information, Summer
scholarship program info. And application, and FAFSA workshop information to all in-district
High School Guidance Counselors and Seniors considering KC
Participated in Regional Student Services Committee Meetings
Participated in active recruitment through on campus opportunities such as the 8th grade career
fair, district WYSE competition, Vandalia HS Senior visit, and many individual college visits.
Served 432 district High School students through the on-site registration process. These students
were registered in 581.5 credit hours for the Summer 2009 semester, 4238.5 credit hours for the
Fall 2009 semester, totaling 4820 credit hours generated through these visits. This demonstrates
a 51.6% increase in the numbers of students seen from last years’ registration visits, with an
increase of 13.8% in total credit hours registered during these visits.
Selected and trained Student in Recruitment Scholarship recipients for 2009-2010 academic year
Developed electronic newsletter for distribution to High School Guidance Counselors Fall 2009
Approximately 500 requests for college information fulfilled
Worked in cooperation with the regional TAA Coordinator to assist in the transition of
approximately 300 laid off individuals into college programs.
Options for Changes:
Recruitment initiatives for FY 2010 include:
Continuation of current recruitment efforts with increased phone follow-up to information
requests. – Streamlining the information request process to include follow-up calls after the
receipt of information is anticipated to increase the number of potential students captured
through general information requests.
Formation of Recruitment advisory board to assist with expanded recruitment efforts – The
purpose of the Recruitment Advisory Board would be to expand recruitment initiatives to
provide a broader base for recruitment in the areas of Business & Industry, Community, and
Adult Education, and to continuously improve High School Recruitment practices.
Major Concerns:
Maintaining funding level for current Institutional scholarship programs and student life
programming
Maintaining current level of customer service/ outreach while staying within budget limitations
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o Solution – Department training to ensure working within stricter budget limitation to
reduce unnecessary spending on this level.
Making marketing/recruitment materials such as catalogs and class finders meet the demand
while staying within budget constraints.
o Solution – More streamlined tracking of distribution of these items, including consistent
delivery and distribution into and outgoing from the main campus and education centers.
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Volunteer Program
Volunteer Overview
The Volunteer Program at Kaskaskia College primary focus is getting things done through
volunteerism. We try to serve the following major areas of our sites, communities, and other
educational events.
Areas served:
Health Services
Environmental Service
Social Service
Kaskaskia College events
We strive to match each volunteers with their skills, talents and interests, and continue to pursue
improvement for these areas.
Types and Numbers of Donation Received
152 food baskets delivered by the College Athletic Association
1400 cans of food for the Salvation Army Food Drive donation
500 toys for BCMW
32 cell phone donations for PAVE/SAFE
125 eye glass donations for the Lioness
1 11.7Ham ($45.51) donation to Martin Luther King Celebration by the Americorps members
601 items donated $1608.00 (Valued cost) health items, tooth paste, combs, brushes, hand cream, toilet
paper, etc. (PAVE)
Items for the Soldier Care Package
52 families adopted families from the College
5 barrels of coats
26 pairs of men’s pants
50 books, coloring books, and crayons
12 bags of clothing, shirts, purses, blouses, and shoes
$3,483.00 for the American Heart Walk donations
$671.00 for the KC Athletics Thanksgiving Food Drive donations
50 stuffed animals
GROUPS
All Staff
Ambassadors
All Students
AmeriCorps
Totals
NUMBERS
288
172
957
89
1766
HOURS
480
633
2152
882
4147
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Hourly value—$20.05
Total value of volunteer time—$83,976.75
National 2008 average
Accomplishments
Provided volunteer service to all our College communities
Murray Center Games, bowling, dances
Halloween Parade—float
Central City Lioness—eyeglass project to Africa
Cell phones to PAVE through Washington, Marion, and Clinton County
Cell phones to SAFE through Fayette County
Balloon Fest
Personal health items to PAVE
150 KC Thanksgiving Athletic food baskets to some students, families, and all of our
College counties
Food donated to the Salvation Army
Christmas baskets/Adopt a Family
Coats—Bond and Fayette Counties
Clothes to Shalom Southtown Food and Clothes Pantry from the staff and students
Toys to BCMW from all counties
Host/Hostess for the Martin Luther King Civic Celebration held at the 2nd Baptist Church
Tuesdays Child—After school program at Schiller Grade School and the Redeemer
Lutheran Church
Ring bells for the Salvation Army
3 Blood Drives on campus
Marion County 8th Grade Reality Store held at the Junior High
Served at all of the music concerts and Fine Arts Events, baseball fundraiser and Career Fair
Recognitions
Every volunteer receive an appreciation certificate. I also send thank you notes, emails and calls.
The Ambassadors are recognized with either a dinner or reception every five years. They will be
celebrating 25 years of service in August 2009. At the end of each successful school year they
receive thank you letter, then a welcome back letter.
AmeriCorps members received a certificate for their on-going volunteer service to the College
community in October 2008.
Ev Stover received a Team Excellence Award as a KC Campus Coordinator of AmeriCops for
fifteen years on February 15, 2008
The AmeriCorps members, Coach Kurt Friese, and the baseball team was recognized by Dr. Dee
Boswell for many years for helping with the Boy Scouts Food Drive with partnership of
Salvation Army at the Annual Salvation Award Dinner.
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The College volunteer received recognition certification for helping with 2 Centralia Clean and
Green Projects for October 2008 and April 2009
Murray Center Appreciation Award night honored Zach Loll, and all the College athletes for
their participation of the Murray Center games and Ev Stover was honored with a plaque for
many years of service to the center.
Ev Stover was given a large plaque on September 23, 2008 in recognition of her leadership,
commitment, dedication and service to the Southern Illinois Volunteerism Conference since
1997.
Ev Stover was also honored by Kaskaskia College for over 40 years of service when given the
Honorary Associate degree.
Assessment
Determine where services needs truly exist
Avoid duplicating existing services
Keep track of changing needs
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Wellness Programs & Fitness Center
Physical Education
o New syllabi for course are being developed and brought to Curriculum Council and then
sent to ICCB for approval.
o Courses included are:
 Racquetball,
 Tennis participation
 Tennis theory
 Intro to Pilates
 Cross-country theory
 Cross-country participation.
o
Each semester the physical education offerings grow which allows more offering for the
students.
o Walking and Jogging Hybrid courses will be changed to on campus courses; this will
enable the instructor to keep track of the students work to ensure that course work is
being completed correctly in the lab aspect of the course.
o Plans for the coming year will include new courses to be offered in the new fitness center
as well as continue to build local partnerships with local community affiliates such as the
Centralia Recreations Complex and other venues for PHED offerings.
Wellness Program
o Held a staff in-service including design of the new fitness center and what it will offer
and online wellness tools from BlueCross Blue Shield
o Awarded Fold level Fit Friendly Company status by the American Heart Association
o Continued to assist individuals with wellness questions, concerns or information one
might need to meet fitness goals.
o Upcoming: New employee orientation presentation about wellness and BlueCross &
BlueShield on-line tool. Continue to provide student, faculty, and staff with the
information needed for wellness. Provide opportunities to encage in fitness & well
activities.
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Fitness Center
o Toured other fitness center facilities to ensure the equipment recommended was reliable,
easy to use and durable. I also received input on different brands of equipment from a
number of different facility managers which was very beneficial.
o Developed and recommended equipment to be purchased for the new fitness center
o Developed policy and procedures for the new fitness center
o Worked with the C.E.F.S. Youth Work Experience Program to provide a work
environment for youth to gain experience for the Summer of 2009.
o Change: Access to the fitness center and tracking for the number of workouts for each
student
o With the new fitness center a number of different options have been brought to the table
to tract workouts and to ensure that individuals using the facility are enrolled in a PHED
course or have a membership. Each individual will have to swipe there KC ID at the
Welcome desk and it will be filled until there departure. Also wrist bands were
mentioned so student workers could identify who has checked in at the front desk. This
is a better way of tracking workouts for the PHED courses and the number of individuals
using the facility.
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