STUDENT SERVICES DIVISION BI-ANNUAL REPORT July 2012 - December 2012

STUDENT SERVICES DIVISION
BI-ANNUAL REPORT
July 2012 - December 2012
Mr. Sedgwick Harris
Vice President
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Table of Contents
Division of Student Services…………………..……………………………..3
Academic Advising …………………………………………………...…….......4
TRIO ………………………………………………………………………….…….......5
Admissions and Registration …………….……………………….………...7
Enrollment Management.……………….………………………….............9
Financial Aid ..…………………………….………………………….........……16
Success Center ………….…………….....………………………………..…....23
Student Life...……………………………..…………….……………..…….......25
Athletics …..……….………………………………..………………………...…...26
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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.
The Division provides comprehensive services and administrative functions essential to
support the residents of Community College District #501 in the pursuit and
achievement of their personal development, educational and professional goals.
Student Services Motto:
“Student Success is our #1 priority.”
2012-13 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
1. GOAL: Continue to develop a systematic approach toward the student loan
default rate.
Current Progress: On-going
2. GOAL: Complete degree oriented transfer guides for the most popular transfer
institutions that our student transition to. Also have these transfer guides be
course specific for the major of the student’s choice.
Current Progress: On-going
3. GOAL: Continue to improve our communications with the Student Services
division as well as with the other divisions with the college.
Current Progress: On-going
4. GOAL: Continue to develop the on-line Student Services to assure that all
students can access the needed educational resources.
Current Progress: On-going
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Academic Advising
July 2012 – December 2012
 From July to November 2012, advisors have documented 1,688 face-to-face
advising sessions (12% increase from 2011), returned 1,597 phone calls (45%
increase from 2011) and replied to 142 e-mails (49% decrease from 2011). This
is a total of 3,427 instances of student contact in the last 5 months (19% overall
increase from 2011). During the same period last year, advisors documented
1,505 face-to-face advising sessions, returned 1,100 phone calls and replied to
281 emails for a total of 2,886 instances of student contact. As evidenced, faceto-face advising sessions and phone calls have increased and e-mails have
declined during this period.
 Academic advisors have completed 238 degree audits for financial aid in support
of satisfactory academic progress appeals.
 Academic Advising completed a 2-day cross-training with 14 KC staff in July in
an effort to increase advising availability.
 An Academic Advisor resigned during the peak registration period in August and
a replacement was hired in September.
 Steve Cox planned and hosted one of the three statewide regional meetings for
u.select, a transfer articulation database funded by the State of Illinois and
largely staffed through the University of Illinois. As a result, over 20 college and
university registrars and transfer coordinators attended and were able to
experience KC’s campus and benefit from our facilities and technology for this
event.
 Steve Cox was contacted by the u.select Coordinator in October and KC was
asked to participate in a state pilot project for military credit articulation. This
project is coordinated by the Illinois Department of Veteran’s Affairs.
 Academic Advising planned and hosted the annual Transfer Fair in November,
which was attended by at least a dozen visiting colleges and universities.
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TRiO/Student Support Services
July 2012 – December 2012
 The TRiO/Student Support Services staff, with the assistance of the Information
Technology department, implemented an electronic system that identifies TRiO
students in the faculty members’ course. This memo also describes the services
available to the students and requests that instructors keep TRiO staff updated
on their progress in class. At the 4-week and 8-week period in each semester,
additional electronic requests are sent to instructors for Progress Reports on
TRiO students. All Progress Reports from instructors are responded to through
email by TRiO staff. Any concerns or positive comments from instructors are
forwarded to TRiO students during academic planning sessions.
 Currently, TRiO/SSS provides professional tutors to serve its students for up to
ten hours per week in the areas of Math, English, Computer Skills and Nursing.
These professional tutors set up a schedule working with the TRiO Learning
Specialist, their direct supervisor, in order to decide upon times that will be most
convenient to the students’ schedule. An emphasis for the TRiO/SSS program at
Kaskaskia College has been to encourage students to utilize the resources
available to them more often. Data tracked by the TRiO program illustrates that
student participation in tutoring services has increased significantly from the
2011-12 to the 2012-13 academic year.
 Several activities were planned, organized and presented for TRiO students
during the summer and fall semesters of the 2012-13 academic year. Transfer
information and visits were emphasized during this time. During the summer of
2012, there was a transfer visit to Eastern Illinois University. TRiO students were
also afforded the opportunity to make a transfer visit to Greenville College,
participated in a “behind the scenes” tour and then attend the institution’s AGAPE
Fest. Also, during the summer semester, there was a visit to Southern Illinois at
Edwardsville, followed by a cultural trip to the MUNY to see a performance of
“Dream Girls.”
 During the fall semester, there was a trip to Lake Land College for a presentation
by renowned behavior expert, Temple Grandin. A cultural trip to the Fox Theater
is scheduled for December 15, 2012. Additionally, TRiO staff facilitated two group
orientations, three group registrations and a trip to the National College Transfer
Fair in St. Louis. Another service provided to TRiO students were personal and
academic skills workshops presented on the main campus such as “On Campus
Savings”, “Study Skills”, “Career Cruising”, “TRiO Supplemental Grant Aid”,
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“Time Management”, “Budgeting”, “Dress for Success”, “Preparing for Finals”,
“Stress Management” and “Checkbook and Debit Card Skills”. During November,
Learning Specialist Pat Stansfield presented workshops on “Study Skills”,
“Reading Comprehension”, and “Test Anxiety” at the East St. Louis Community
College Center where TRiO serves several students. At that time Director Scott
Holst also conducted Middle of Semester academic planning meetings with those
students.
 TRiO/SSS staff and the Success Center continue to collaborate to serve as many
students in the best way possible. TRiO staff and the Success Center
Coordinator have spent the Fall 2012 semester in a series of meetings to
complete a Policies and Procedures manual for the pilot Peer Mentoring program
to begin during the Spring 2013 semester. Success Center Coordinator Cynthia
Webber and Pat Stansfield have developed a syllabus for a class that Peer
Mentors would complete in order to work with other students. This course
syllabus was presented to the Kaskaskia College Curriculum Council and is
awaiting final approval from the Illinois Community College Board.
 TRiO/SSS has recruited, accepted and is serving 151 students for the 2012-13
academic year. That is 108% of the students the program is funded to serve and
exceeds the 90% goal established by the federal government. The program can
serve a maximum of 154 students per year. By serving more than the 140
students the program is funded to serve, the program wants to establish that it is
able to serve more students and thus can request an increase in students funded
to serve when it reapplies for the grant in 2014.
 Per the grant, a Monitoring and Evaluation Team external to the project was
assembled of Kaskaskia College faculty, staff and administration. Scott Holst
conducted a meeting with MET in November 2012 in order to disseminate and
analyze the qualitative and quantitative data. During this meeting comparative
data compiled by the Kaskaskia College Institutional Research department was
examined for both Year 1 and 2 Cohorts. This data compared the rates of
persistence/retention, academic standing, graduation and/or transfer for TRiO
students, TRiO-eligible students not currently in the program and students not
eligible for TRiO.
 TRiO/SSS staff conducted Beginning, Middle and End of Semester Conferences
with students in order to track plan and maintain academic progress toward a
degree or certificate and/or transfer to a four-year institution.
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 In October 2012, TRiO/SSS began collecting, coordinating and properly
formatting data from the program detailing its service to students in preparation
for submission of its Annual Performance Report to the federal government in
mid-February 2013.
Admissions, Registration and Dual Credit
July 2012 – December 2012
 The staff has completed a lengthy five year process of scanning, linking and
auditing all student record files as far back as 2002 as well as Correctional
Center student record files dating back even earlier. During this reporting period,
over 38,000 documents were audited. This has been a team effort that has
required a great deal of time and dedication to complete. Current student
records are stored in the electronic imaging system Image Now. Plans are in
place to begin a similar project with copies of older transcripts.
 The Enrollment Management Team expanded the summer Jump Start program
to be year round allowing high school students to receive half off tuition costs for
up to four credit hours. Registration is processed by Admissions, Registration
and Dual Credit department with Staci Palm as the main contact. Twenty-four
high school students have completed the Jump Start application and have been
registered for 75.5 credit hours at a savings cost of $3,473 as of December 3rd.
 The College collaborated with ICCB and SIU-C on a state-wide initiative to
identify trends of transfer students. SIU-C worked with their top colleges that
students transfer from as a pilot project. In preparation for their visit September
10,2012 Jan, Jenna, Steve Cox and Cheryl Boehne reviewed 150 transcripts of
KC students who transferred to SIU-C. A second review of KC transcripts and
SIU-C transcripts with documentation of certain information being gathered on a
random selection of 150 students was conducted on September 10th by ICCB
and SIU-C staff along with the same KC staff assisting.
 The proposal for moving to an online transcript request system was presented to
the Enrollment Management team suggesting using Scrip-Safe as the vendor.
After discussion from the team, they asked that other vendors be contacted and
a comparison of cost and product be compared and brought back to the
Committee for further discussion. Advantages to moving to an online option
include instant delivery of transcript; once verified by staff, enhanced student
services to alumni, improved delivery tracking by College and student, decreased
cost of transcript paper, envelopes and postage, decreased chance of lost
transcripts and decreased admissions and cashier processing time.
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 1733 KC transcripts were manually processed during the months of July through
November. The annual volume of transcript requests is approximately 6,000 with
the highest demand at the end of each semester.
 One thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine prospective students applied during
this period and received acceptance letters from the College along with
information on New Student Orientation and the Nelnet payment plan once it was
implemented. Eight-six percent or 1641 students from this group submitted their
admissions form through the electronic version. This format has proven to be
invaluable for decreasing processing time and errors. We will continue working
with the IT department in the spring semester to electronically transfer the
information into Datatel.
 A special Saturday registration was held on August 11, 2012 from 9 a.m. to
2 p.m. Departments that participated included Admissions, Registration and
Dual Credit, Recruitment, Advising, Financial Aid, Cashiers, Bookstore, Success
Center, TRIO and the Library. Forty-four students were served on this
registration day. Three staff members have been trained to assist Advising
during peak periods to ensure that students are not turned away when attempting
to register because advising schedules are full for that particular day.
 All staff assisted with coverage at the registration tables set up during the
Bookstore Book Buy Back at the end of the summer semester and the fall
semester. Staff assisted in phone call campaigns to students who had completed
their financial aid package but had not yet registered for the fall semester as well
as those students who were registered but had not made payment arrangements
on their accounts. Due to the retirement of staff member at the Crisp Center,
Micki Adams, Jeanette Firebaugh, Kelsey Tate, Staci Palm and Jenna Lammers
worked one day a week at that location during the months of August and
September assisting the students who attend classes at the Crisp while still
responding to their regular duties.
 Cheryl Boehne accepted the role of serving on the newly created AQIP Action
Project Council and also serving as co-chair of the new AQIP Online Student
Services project. She is also a member of the Student Services Quality Team.
Jan Ripperda is a member of the Online Student Services team and the
Administrative Services Quality Team. Both Cheryl and Jan have been members
of various committees for the Trenton Education Center Expansion project by
serving on the Retirees Team, the Individual Giving Team and the Oversight
Committee.
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 Dual credit registration for the fall semester took place August 21 - 31, 2012.
Unduplicated headcount for the fall semester was 1383 and credit hours enrolled
were 5199. Enrolled credit hours increased 5% from the fall 2011 semester. New
dual credit offerings approved during this time period include:
o Centralia High School: CITW 116 - Expressions, PHED, MATH 136 Statistics, ACCT 101 – Principles of Accounting
o Nashville High School: ACCT 101 – Principles of Accounting
o Mater Dei High School: PHED
o Salem High School: AUTO 119 – Auto Fundamentals & Service , 111 –
Safety and Shop Procedures
o Sandoval: HORT 101, AGRC 113 – Intro to Ag Business & Supply
o South Central High School: BUSN 103, OFTC 110, CITA 110
o Wesclin High School: CITA 110 – Intro to Word Processing, CITA 120 –
Microsoft Excel (Beginner)
 The dual credit portion of the ICCB Recognition Visit was submitted which
included both student and faculty reports. No findings were reported. No formal
complaints were submitted during the months of July through October. Jenna
Lammers attended a NJCAA Eligibility Seminar in Colorado for additional training
on athlete eligibility rules. She also updated all athletes schedules based on new
rules. Eligibility is checked on a weekly basis prior to games. All fall sports
cleared the NJCAA eligibility audit.
Enrollment Management
July 2012 – December 2012
 The enrolled credit hours for the Summer 2012 term surpassed last year’s final
number of enrolled credit hours for that term. Even though this overage was
small, these results finally broke the downward slide in enrolled credit hours the
College had experienced over the previous five consecutive semesters. This in
itself was a major accomplishment and worthy of celebration.
 A successful pilot involving additional advising hours has led to improvements in
the advising process for students on the main campus. The Coordinator of
Advising held advising training sessions in July allowed additional staff members
to participate in the advising process. This proved to be a creative way to provide
more advising resource during peak periods of registration.
 In an effort to communicate the involvement of all departments and staff
members in the enrollment management process, each member of the
enrollment management team now reports weekly on the enrollment
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management initiatives supported in his/her area of responsibility. This new
procedure has aided in communicating the fact throughout the campus that we
are all involved in enrollment management.
 Several new calling campaigns were implemented in the past six months. These
efforts include campaigns to contact the following groups of students; Students
that included Kaskaskia College on their FAFSA application but have not yet
applied, students that included Kaskaskia College on their FAFSA application but
have not yet registered for the upcoming semester classes, students that have
registered for the upcoming semester classes but have not yet made payment
arrangements, students that enrolled in either of the previous two semesters but
have not yet enrolled for the upcoming semester classes, students that dropped
all of their previous semester classes before the first day of class, students that
withdrew from either one or all of their courses during the current semester and
have not yet enrolled for the upcoming semester classes. It is important to note
that there are also processes now in place to provide for follow-up calls to
students in each of the situations noted above.
 “Registration stations” set up during at the bookstore book buyback period have
continued during this semester. The Kaskaskia College class scheduling
process and associated procedures have been the subject of several types of
analysis recently. The object of this exercise is to optimize the use of Kaskaskia
College resources while providing courses in the preferred format and at the
times and places that our students want and need. The resulting efficiencies will
be of benefit to our students, faculty, community members and the College.
 Though the VOLT 101, Volunteerism class, is not a new course offering, it has
received a renewed emphasis. The result is a rare “win-win” situation. Our
students, alumni and the community can receive transcript credit for volunteer
activity they perform. This is particularly beneficial for students that need to
document volunteer activity for scholarship and job applications. The College can
also benefit from the reimbursable credit hours generated by the VOLT 101
course offerings. Because the ICCB classified the VOLT 101 offering as being
“repeatable” and “variable” in 1993 when it was originally approved, it is
anticipated that the course will be offered many times in the future thus providing
the potential for a steady stream of reimbursable credit hours for the College.
 There are other new programing offerings that will contribute to the drive to
increase enrollment. The new PHED 140, Self Defense 1 class, approved by the
Kaskaskia College Curriculum Council and subsequently by ICCB should help to
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generate new reimbursable credit hours for the College. As currently designed,
the variable credit option will allow the instructor to provide a one credit hour
option that will be most appropriate for students new to the idea of self-defense
as well as a one half credit hour option that will be appropriate for students that
just need to refresh their self-defense skills and knowledge.
 Though current estimates still indicate a slight shortfall in Fall 2012 reimbursable
credit hours compared to Fall 2011 reimbursable credit hours, work continues to
address this situation. It is anticipated that the Fall 2012 credit hours total may
be within one percent of the total credit hours for Fall 2011. Interestingly, though,
there are currently more students actually registered for reimbursable credit
hours in the Fall 2012 semester than there were in the Fall 2011 semester. As of
the report date, the number of students registered for reimbursable credit hours
in Fall 2012 is .5% higher than in Fall 2011. Work continues to identify new credit
generating activities.
 The Recruitment Office participated in 12 C.E.F.S economic opportunity
orientations through the local unemployment agencies. Approximately 70 new
student contacts were developed through these orientation opportunities. Staff
established an on-going partnership with the unemployment office to offer
monthly recruitment sessions during peak traffic times.
 The Recruitment Office provided training information to recently dislocated
workers through the Bears Distributing Rapid Response session. Staff developed
a new process to identify students with financial aid packaged but not enrolled.
These students are identified and contacted by phone on a weekly basis. Calls
have been made to 276 students for the spring semester registration cycle, with
an average of approximately 50% of this population enrolling upon follow-up.
 The Office of Recruitment collaborated with financial aid to host special financial
aid checkup events throughout the year. One financial aid checkup event each
semester is designated in the evening hours to target students who have
submitted financial aid applications and applied to the college, but not registered.
In total, 1,973 prospective students were invited to these events and contacted
with direct mail and follow-up phone calls.
 Recruitment Staff also began a new initiative to provide registration services to
GED graduates at a reception prior to the GED graduations. Eleven students
utilized this venue to register for courses prior to the two GED graduations
hosted so far. However, contact was made with each graduate by members of
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the recruitment office during the GED graduation and pre-reception events.
Follow-up calls were also made to 160 GED graduates not yet registered prior to
the Fall 2012 semester.
 Another new population specifically targeted was students who had taken the
COMPASS placement test, but had not registered for courses. Calls have been
made to over 100 students within this category encouraging them to consider
completing the necessary steps to enrollment and registering for course work at
Kaskaskia College. The Coordinator of Student Recruitment and the Student
Recruitment Specialist made recruitment visits to each Adult Education
classroom during the fall 2012 semester. The Office of Recruitment hosted a
successful High School Guidance Counselor Day with 16 high schools
represented.
 The Student Recruitment Specialist made recruitment visits to Health Occupation
Classes within four area high schools. These were all new opportunities to
provide recruitment information for our allied health and SICCM programs. The
Office of Recruitment coordinated and implemented mobile registration site visits
at six different public locations within the district in order to promote Spring 2013
registration opportunities at places convenient to members of the Kaskaskia
College district. Towns visited included Patoka, Kinmundy, Carlyle, Centralia,
Albers and Okawville.
 The Coordinator of Student Recruitment began a new initiative to target early
graduates within the high schools. Pre-registration and on-site registration visits
were offered to early graduates prior to the Spring 2013 semester. As a result of
these efforts, fifteen early graduates throughout the district were registered for
full-time Spring 2013 schedules.
 The Student Recruitment Specialist had the opportunity to participate in Open
House events at Woodlawn and Odin high schools. This was a first invitation to
such an event at Odin. Over 1,700 prospective information packets have been
mailed to prospective students, approximately 2,300 phone calls have been
made to prospective students for various campaigns and follow-ups and over 100
campus visits have been coordinated and conducted for prospective students.
 The Retention Specialist made over 900 phone calls in July to encourage past
students to re-enroll in classes for the Fall 2012 semester; called the “Return to
Kaskaskia College” phone call campaign. The calls are made to students who
were registered during the semester prior but not the current semester and have
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not graduated or completed a degree or certificate. In July, the Retention Office
labeled and distributed 2012-13 Student Handbooks and College Catalogs to
each of the main campus classrooms for instructor and student use. Student
Handbooks were also distributed to each of the College’s Education Centers and
various educational programs in preparation for the fall semester.
 A total of 306 students and additional 81 guests attended summer New Student
Orientation (NSO) events. There were twenty-two events on the Main Campus
with 270 participants. The Crisp Technology Center hosted three events with six
participants. Thirty-five individuals attended the three events at the Greenville
Education Center, two NSO events at the Nashville Education Center hosted
thirteen participants and the Salem Education Center had twenty-one individuals
attending the three new student orientations hosted there. There were three NSO
events at the Trenton Education Center and eleven participants and thirty-one
individuals participated in the three NSO events hosted on the Vandalia Campus.
 At the conclusion of each program, participants from each NSO were asked if
they were willing to pose for a photograph and have their information distributed
in a press release as a part of the program. A total of 166 students agree to be
featured in 36 press releases. The Retention Specialist took the photos, collected
the information and then collaborated with Public Relations office to make sure
the information was distributed properly to area media. The photographs were
then on display outside of HB 154, welcoming the students to the college the first
week of classes. After attending NSO, the 304 student participants were
registered for a total of 359.5 credit hours during the Summer 2012 semester and
an additional 3526 credit hours for the Fall 2012 semester for a total of 3885.5
credit hours.
 The first week of Fall 2012 classes the Retention Specialist worked on a call
campaign focused upon “Students That Were Registered for Fall 2012 Courses
Then Dropped-Out”. A total of 285 students were called and thirty-one of the
students re-registered following the calls. The Retention Office work included the
“Financial Aid Packaged, but Not Enrolled” call campaign throughout August.
These calls were made to students who had submitted paperwork requesting
financial aid, but had not yet enrolled in classes.
 In September, the Retention Office advertised for, recruited, interviewed and
selected four new Student Ambassadors. Britt Fullerton of Ashley, LaKeisha
Funches of Chicago, Chad Quidgeon-Hunt of Carlyle and Alyssa Rauch of
Herrick are the new Student Ambassadors and they join the current Student
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Ambassador staff of Jordan Dalaviras of Nashville, Matt Geiger of Shattuc and
Cassie Kuberski of Ashley. The students chosen for these positions lead new
student orientation events, campus tours and assist with retention efforts.
Training for the new Student Ambassadors includes several sessions including
phone campaigns, main campus tours, new student orientation PowerPoint,
icebreaker activities, Kaskaskia College history, FERPA, Kaskaskia College Core
Values and Mission and customer service. The training takes several days for
each individual to become proficient in all areas.
 Through the Persistence and Retention Team and the Retention Specialist, the
Learning Resource Center is gathering a collection of textbooks for students to
use through the Reserve Desk. Students who may not have received their
financial aid completed or who may not have been able to purchase their
textbook, can check out various books through the reserve desk and use them
for a limited time while in the LRC. They may not leave the LRC with the
textbooks. Currently, not all textbooks are available. The committee is working to
increase the number of titles available to students in the future.
 The first week of September, the Retention Office assisted the Success Center
with phoning students who did not attend their classes. Over 190 calls were
made to students who had not attended classes. When they were reached on the
phone, the majority of the students indicated they were ill prepared for the
semester. The Retention Specialist coached them on how to work with their
instructors to catch-up in the courses, become more focused on their course
materials, have better study skills and connected them with college resources for
their future success.
 In September, 280 phone calls were made to individuals who had dropped
his/her classes encouraging them to sign-up for second eight-week classes or
late-start classes. Of these calls, the Retention Specialist was able to confirm 30
of the students re-enrolled for second eight week classes; 14 transferred to a
four-year university; two joined the armed forces; three had to leave due to health
reasons and 11 had to drop out because they needed to work full-time.
 A Virtual New Student Orientation has been developed. A pilot offering began in
November and will be completed at the end of December. A review will be
completed of the user satisfaction surveys will be conducted in January to
identify potential improvements. This offering was created for those students who
are unable to attend a face-to-face program. It will provide an opportunity for
students to learn about campus resources, services and how to be a successful
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student at Kaskaskia College through an offering that is completely online. The
program includes a campus map that allows the participant to see what is in each
of the main campus buildings by holding the computer mouse cursor over a
section of the building.
 Student Ambassadors presented the NSO PowerPoint and tour at the District
Counselor Day for the high school counselors and college administrators so that
the advisors would have an opportunity to have the same experience as their
students. Since this activity was well received, it is hoped that those advisors will
encourage their high school students to attend an NSO event. In October, the
Retention Specialist assisted Kim Rahar with phoning sixty past Fitness Center
students who had previously been enrolled in PHED 101/102 or a similar course
but were not registered for a fall PHED course to encourage them to register for
a PHED course in the fall semester.
 A call campaign to 199 students who began the second eight week classes on
October 15, 2012 occurred at the beginning of the month. The suggestion to make
these calls came from an instructor after many students were dropped around 10 th
day for nonattendance. The idea was to remind students so they started the eightweek class on the right foot instead of having to work to catch-up with the rest of
the students in the original 16-week class. There was a great deal of positive
feedback from students. They were thankful for the call and reminders. Many
students, who had questions, were transferred to other departments. The Retention
Specialist found this to be a very valuable use of time and believe we may have
saved some students from being dropped from not participating. One hundred and
forty-three students who were registered for Fall 2012 classes and dropped all their
classes were called by the Retention Office throughout October; encouraging the
students to register for Spring 2013 classes to continue progressing toward degree
completion.
 Throughout the month of November, the Retention Office called 298 students who had
participated in New Student Orientation during the summer 2012 events, reminding
them to register for spring 2013 classes. New student orientation (NSO) event dates for
students who will begin classes in the Spring 2013 semester began in November. There
were six events held in November with a total attendance of twenty-one. The Retention
Specialist contacted the 32 Fine Arts Scholarship students who had not registered as of
November 27, 2012. As of December 5, 2012, ten of the students registered for a total
of 152 credit hours.
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 The Career Services Specialist completed job searches on a daily basis to assist
students, alumni, and community members in identifying employment
opportunities. 555 jobs were have been placed on the Kaskaskia College
website since July 1, 2012 and the “Local Employment” web page has received
over 108,000 visitors since November of 2009. Wendy Blythe completed
interviews to identify 13 AmeriCorps students to fill positions at 12 local
elementary schools. The AmeriCorps students provide mentoring and tutoring to
students and updates two job boards on campus weekly with “local employment”
opportunities for students, alumni, and community members and presented
information to the cosmetology, welding and automotive classes as well as the
Guidance 109 classes concerning “Career Cruising”.
 Completed training for over 50 area AmeriCorps students. The training included
a discussion of “Life after AmeriCorps. Each student is required to complete
tutoring and mentoring with children and provide verification of performance
assessments three times throughout the year. Wendy completed mock interviews
with automotive and welding students as requested by instructors and assisted
over 70 students, community members and alumni with resumes/cover letters.
Wendy collaborated with the Financial Aid office regarding the presentation of
student worker information on the Kaskaskia College website. The Career
Services Specialist communicated with instructors/students/employees about
internships and job opportunities for our students/community members and
alumni and she spearheaded a donation drive for AmeriCorps to support “Stand
Down for Homeless Veterans” with over 10 boxes of items donated.
Financial Aid & Veteran’s Affairs
July 2012- December 2012
 The first step in applying for federal and state aid is to complete the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Last year, Kaskaskia College
processed 4,726, Institutional Student Information Reports (ISIRs) from students
who named Kaskaskia College as the school of their choice on the FAFSA. This
process continues throughout the year. As of November 20, 2012, Kaskaskia
College has processed 4,944 ISIRs for the 2012-13 financial aid year and
ensures that Kaskaskia College will continue to form partnerships with students
desiring an education that prepares them for the future.
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FAFSA Applications Processed
2012
4944
2011
4728
2010
4585
ISIRs
2009
4450
2008
3584
2007
3186
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
 The number of students eligible for the Pell grant at Kaskaskia College remains
consistent with past fiscal years. Based on information furnished by the U.S.
Department of Education Common Origination and Disbursement, Kaskaskia
College paid out $7,238,953 to 2,201unduplicated students during the 2011-12
academic year. The chart below confirms how many of Kaskaskia College’s
students received Pell awards in past. For the current academic year, 1,808
students have been awarded the Pell grant.
Pell Recipients at Kaskaskia College
2004-2012
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
2,164
1,399
1,425
1,461
1,498
2,217
2,201
1,625
0
Academic 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012
Year
Unduplicated Pell Recipients
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 The Illinois Student Assistance Commission administers the Monetary Award
Program (MAP). Students apply for this grant when they complete the federal
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The State awards money
until the funds are exhausted. The maximum award level is dependent on
legislative action and available funding in any given year. In 2011, students who
completed the FAFSA application after March 26 were not eligible for MAP
funding. For the 2012-13 year, the funds were exhausted as of March14. While
the MAP money may only be used towards tuition, this funding allowed students
to keep a larger percentage of their Pell grants. The decrease in the number of
students funded by the state does impact Kaskaskia College’s students’ available
funds to help pay for transportation and childcare.
 The following chart shows that the number of students receiving aid from the
Illinois Student Assistance Commission Monetary Award Program. During the
Fall 2011 semester, 581 students received the MAP grant. For Fall 2012, only
443 students have been designated to receive the MAP grant. This number will
continue to change as students complete the award process.
ISAC -- MAP History
20122013
20112012
20102011
20092010
20082009
443
589
802
903
1,064
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
Number of Students Receiving MAP at Kaskaskia College
 Kaskaskia College knows that improving college completion begins by ensuring
that we count the success of every student. To support that goal, members of
the Financial Aid Office are working at implementing an initiative to ensure
students know the importance of taking classes that help move them forward on
“the road to success”.
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 The Financial Aid Office hosted ten events on the main campus and Education
Centers through December. Activities were offered during daytime and evening
hours. The Financial Aid Check-Up events provide students the opportunity to
take control of their finances and student debt - in ways that benefit students and
the College. By addressing students' financial challenges early on, research
shows schools can decrease the number of defaults, increase degree completion
rates, and improve relationships with students and alums.
 The goal of the Financial Aid Check-up events is to help students make more
informed decisions. By providing the information at the front end, we hope to
reduce barriers that prevent students from registering or completing their
degree/certificate in a timely manner.
DATE
CAMPUS
TIME
LOCATION
Wednesday, November 28
Crisp Center
11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Crisp Center
17
Monday, December 10
Crisp Center
12 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Crisp Center
10
Thursday, December 06
Greenville
5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Greenville Center
6
Wednesday, October 24
Main
11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Bus Station
21
Wednesday, October 24
Main
11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
HPC Building
21
Wednesday, November 07
Main
11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
HPC Building
15
Monday, December 03
Main
11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
HPC Building
2
Monday, December 03
Main
11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Science Building
24
Monday, December 03
Main
11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Bus Station
11
Tuesday, December 04
Main
4 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Bus Station
0
Tuesday, November 06
Nashville
5 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Nashville Center
3
Tuesday, November 27
Salem
12 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Salem Center
8
Wednesday, November 14
Trenton
9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Trenton Center
13
Tuesday, November 13
Vandalia
11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Vandalia Center
7
TOTAL STUDENTS SERVED
STUDENTS SERVED
158
 Kaskaskia College received notice that our institution has been named by G.I.
Jobs magazine as a Military Friendly School® for 2013. While the schools are
not ranked, Kaskaskia College ranks in the top 15% of all colleges, universities
and trade schools nationwide. A plaque was awarded to commemorate this
event and a press release issued in September.
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 Jessica Rolla, Kaskaskia College‘s Veterans Services Coordinator, recently
learned about the homecoming of Sgt. Steven Lanter, one of our own students.
Sgt. Lanter was deployed to R.C. East Afghanistan since September 20, 2011.
Sgt. Lanter is a current member of the Sparta-based 661st Engineer Company
Illinois National Guard. Sgt. Lanter along with his unit returned home to a
heroes’ welcome Wednesday, September 26th, 2012 after serving a 10-month
mission. Jessica prepared a campus-wide email recognizing him for his service
and sacrifices to our country. While Kaskaskia College is not always aware of
the departures and homecoming of our student veterans, Jessica was proud to
share that information with the Kaskaskia College family and stressed that we
welcome stories like this to show our appreciation.
 The Kaskaskia College Financial Aid Office takes pride in honoring veterans for
their service. Jessica Rolla coordinates sending an annual “Veterans Day Thank
You” to each veteran associated with the College. This year veterans were sent
a microfiber cloth and a thank you note as our way to show appreciation for their
contribution to our country.
 Earlier this year a new education benefit for unemployed veterans was
announced called the Veteran Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP). The goal
of the program is to train 99,000 Veterans for high-demand jobs over the next
two years. Kaskaskia College furnished program information to our veteran
population by utilizing the veteran announcement board located in the hall by the
Success Center and via email to the veteran contact listserv maintained by
Jessica Rolla which includes past and present veterans.
 The VRAP program allows qualifying Veterans between the ages of 35 and 60 to
receive up to twelve months of education assistance. Maximum payments are
equal to the full-time rate for the Montgomery GI Bill – Active Duty, currently
$1,473 monthly.
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 To qualify for the VRAP program, Veterans must:
o Be 35 to 60 years old, unemployed on the day of application, and have
been issued discharges under conditions other than dishonorable;
o Be enrolled in education or training after July 1, 2012, in a VA-approved
program of education offered by a community college or technical school
leading to an associate degree, non-college degree or a certificate for a
high-demand occupation as defined by the Department of Labor;
o Not be eligible for any other VA education benefit, such as the Post-9/11
GI Bill, the Montgomery GI Bill, or Vocational Rehabilitation and
Employment;
o Not have participated in a federal or state job training program within the
last 180 days; and
o Not receive VA compensation at the 100 percent rate due to individual unemployability.
 During the Fall 2012 semester, Kaskaskia College served three students utilizing
the Veteran Retraining Assistance Program. The chart below provides a
comparison between the number of students served during the fall semester of
2010 and 2011. Based on information obtained through weekly Enrollment
Management meetings, enrollment for 2012 is up in headcount when compared
to 2011, by 1.8 percent; the number of veterans served has decreased by ten
percent.
Veterans Served Comparison for Fall 2010 - Fall2012
208 231
210
Total Veterans Served
25 35
28
Veteran/Dependent/Spouse receiving transfer benefits…
89
13
14
14
14
Dependents of veteran receiving MIA/POW
Dependents of veteran receiving Chapter 35
25
2231
Dependents of Veterans using federal benefits
63
52
53
Illinois Veterans recipients of IVG
12
2
Chapter 31
14
8
8
11 24
16
Chapter 1606
Chapter 1607
Fall 2012
Fall 2011
4756
54
Chapter 30
0
50
100
150
200
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250
 The College’s Director of Financial Aid also serves as the Coordinator of the
Kaskaskia College Foundation Scholarships. This duty encompasses
overseeing the application and awarding process. During the past two years we
have instituted new practices to facilitate increasing access to prospective
students and improving business practices. The manual application process was
more adaptable to situations dictating exceptions when scholarship requirements
or applicants’ eligibility challenges arose.
 There are many different expectations from the Foundation donors and
scholarship judges regarding how the awarding process should work. Many
judges feel the best applicant should be awarded, even if that means the student
receives more than one award. During the past five years, the Director has
worked at encouraging the Scholarship Committee to limit awards and expand
the number of unduplicated students receiving Kaskaskia College Foundation
scholarships.
Historical Kaskaskia College FoundationScholarship Recipients
75
2003 - 2004
79
62
2004 - 2005
79
2005 - 2006
Academic Year
80
89
75
2006 - 2007
87
103
2007 - 2008
125
116
2008 - 2009
146
103
2009 - 2010
173
119
2010 - 2011
196
158
2011-2012
140
2012-2013
0
100
Unduplicated Students
220
202
200
300
Available Awards
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Success Center
July 2012 – December 2012
 The Success Center continues to facilitate the successes of Kaskaskia College
students. An average of 1859 students visited the Success Center. Changes
have been made to decrease crowding within the Athletic Study Tables area.
Student tutors, Sam Bundy and Cynthia Webber, oversee the study area asking
if students need help with their studies. Marcus Wilson now devotes 30 hours per
week to the Testing Coordinator position within the Success Center. In addition
to those duties, Marcus also monitors student computer usage through
LanSchool and behavior. The decrease in crowding has led to the decrease in
noise and rowdy behavior.
 Only a few of the Success Center Student tutors returned this fall; therefore, a
new set of student tutors were hired. FastForward math classes have benefited
from the use of Success Center tutors. Three of the math tutors are assisting
Sam Bundy in the FastForward math lab. The remaining tutors are capable of
tutoring in 8 different subject areas. In addition, Sam Bundy returned to the
Success Center two hours a week to assist students. His time has been well
spent as he has assisted 2-3 additional students weekly. Bill Broda registered for
the MATH 130 course as he felt he needed the experience to effectively assist
those math students. To support other Kaskaskia College centers, the tutors
including Broda and the TRiO tutors used the PolyCom system. Cynthia Webber
continues to research online tutoring options for Kaskaskia College.
 In July, Sedgwick Harris and Cynthia Webber met with Shirley Hall and Anita
Brandon to discuss the COMPASS testing situation at the East Saint Louis
Community College Campus (ESLCCC). Testing dates were August, November
and December to accommodate those students wishing to take the CNA course
through Kaskaskia College at ESLCCC. Cynthia Webber worked closely with
Travis Turley and other members of the IT staff to support ESLCCC in this effort.
A need was identified during this process as the library computer lab had not
received the current COMPASS updates and Shirley Hall had never been trained
to proctor the Kaskaskia College COMPASS placement exams and the
computers were configured and Shirley has since received training.
 1222 COMPASS placement tests were given during the Fall 2012 semester. This
number, which includes the main campus as well as the Extension Centers,
indicated a 32% increase from last fall. Of those exams, 467 tests were given in
the Success Center, 87 at Trenton, 112 at ESLCCC, 144 at Nashville, 170 at
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Vandalia, 128 at Greenville and 114 at Salem. Also 43 COMPASS Diagnostic
tests were given with 18 for Writing and 25 for Reading.
 After a concern was voiced regarding the “inability” to use scientific calculators
for COMPASS placement exams, an investigation revealed that this issue was a
misunderstanding from the staff at the high schools. With the assistance of the
Success Center, a document was prepared to ensure the high school staff had
the correct information to prepare students for COMPASS placement exams.
 Nearly 225 retention alerts were submitted by faculty and staff. This number
more than doubles the number of Early Alerts submission a year ago. With the
new electronic retention alert, 197 alerts were received. An additional 24 were
submitted using the previous paper form. During the first two weeks of classes,
65 electronic retention alerts and six handwritten alerts were received. By the
end of September, an additional 89 electronic alerts were submitted as well as an
additional 12 handwritten reports. Therefore, within the first month and a half of
classes, 172 retention alerts had been submitted. Overall, faculty is pleased with
the electronic version. Although most of the reports within the first two weeks
were regarding non-attenders or students with financial issues, the majority of the
reports were submitted regarding students with academic concerns.
Unfortunately, a number of students were reported with problems outside the
expertise of the Success Center. These students either self-reported to faculty
members or were reported by others with issues which a counselor could better
handle.
 Several meeting were held with Ellucian regarding the enhanced Retention Alert.
Key retention staff and faculty members were invited to both the building
sessions and the training and testing sessions. Training to prepare staff and
faculty to teach others to use the new system is scheduled for December. A
continued growth of the usage of the electronic early alert system is anticipated.
The earlier a student can be assisted, the better the chance of completion.
 This academic year, the management of the Structured Assistance Learning
(SLA) lab was institutionalized through the Success Center. This lab allows
faculty to give further assistance to students outside of the scheduled class time.
Although each math faculty member initially committed one office hour a week to
assist students in the lab, their participation has been constrained by other
responsibilities. However, other faculty members assisted students in a number
of ways. Dr. Goswami devoted two hours a week to assist students in chemistry
and biology. Shawn Yoon Murphy met her Spanish class students at the prison
via an ITV connection. In addition, the SLA lab is an alternate meeting place for
the FastForward math class when other events displace the class in LLC.
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 Cynthia Webber in cooperation with Kathy Overstreet (Title III) are working with
the Career and Tech classes to determine recommended COMPASS placement
scores based on a Readability and Write-ability study. Recommendations for
COMPASS placement scores for students entering the Welding Program were
presented to Dean George Evans and Kevin Ray. Included with in the
Readability / Write-ability study of text books and written assessments are the
five courses scheduled for re-design: Philosophy, Biology, Psychology,
Sociology and Chemistry.
 Cynthia Webber gave plagiarism workshops with a presentation of the services
available within the Success Center to 6 different GUID 109 classes during the
semester. The Success Center staff was asked to administer over 100 student
faculty evaluation packets. Unfortunately, the Success Center was unable to
accommodate the administration of the entire batch of evaluations due to the
40% increase of evaluations combined with a decrease in available staff
members.
Student Life
July 2012 – December 2012
 The Student Life Coordinator, Jordanne Even, returned to KC in September
2012. Thanks to the teamwork of Lisa Bowman and Sedgwick Harris the Fall
Picnic, Meet the Clubs event, Welcome Back Breakfast, and Constitution Day
activities went very well this fall. Other student activities included, the second
annual Haunted Trail event, pumpkin carving contest, Christmas tree decorating
contest, food drive contest, and finals week activities. The clubs have organized
successful fundraising projects as well as community services including the
annual KC Angel tree, food drive, blood drives, and coat and toy drive. They
have also been busy fundraising for their own field trips and activities.
 We have attempted to expand the intramural program by offering single day
events such as a weekly open gym and weekend sports tournaments. Both of
these efforts were unsuccessful with little or no participation. We will try again
next semester and offer our basketball and volleyball in the same capacity as last
Spring.
 We have made efforts to increase diversity events on campus through
collaboration with KC clubs and organizations. In November Native American
Awareness Speaker Nichole Boyd spoke on campus. Nichole is a current
member of the Board of Directors that serves the American Indian Center of
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Chicago. She is cultural advisor at SIU and she runs the Native American
student organization at SIU.
 The Student Life Coordinator has been assisting in overseeing and delivering
New Student Orientation on campus and at extension centers.
 Three new clubs have been approved by the board this semester. The FCA
(Fellowship of Christian Athletes), Trio Support Club, and KC ECHO
(environment, conservation, and habitat opportunity). These clubs will begin
meeting in January.
Athletics
July 2012 – December 2012
 Kaskaskia College Athletic Department had few changes at the start of the Fall
term. We welcomed new Men’s Tennis Coach Valjean Lueking to the
department as well as welcoming in Shane Larson into an additional role as the
Athletic Director along with his duties as the Women’s Basketball Coach. Men’s
Basketball recently hired Herb Williams as the Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach.
As we approach the halfway point of the school year athletics at Kaskaskia are
doing quite well in the Great Rivers Athletic Conference.
 The Blue Angels Women’s soccer team recently completed their 2012 season.
The angels finished the year 14-4. The team finished second in the Region 24
Tournament and regular season as well as 23rd in the nation. Sophomore
forward Miranda Burroughs was recently named to the NJCAA Division I
Women’s Soccer All-American Team. This accolade is the latest of many in
Miranda’s career at Kaskaskia College. She has been named 1st team
All-Region as a freshman and sophomore and this fall was named Region 24
Player of the Year. As a freshman, she scored 26 goals and had 10 assists. As
a sophomore, she scored 21 goals and had 12 assists. Miranda also finished
this season nationally ranked in three categories. She was ranked 22nd in goals,
28th in assists and 19th in points. She amassed 46 goals and 22 assists for a
total of 114 points in her two seasons.
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 Volleyball finished the season at 34-8 one of the best seasons in the programs
history. The Blue Angels captured the Great Rivers Conference Title and the
Region 24 Title. Kaskaskia College fell in the District tournament semifinals.
Coach Rahar is currently recruiting players for the 2013-14 season, with five girls
that will be returning next season, five girls are committed and with four more
recruites the team will total fourteen girls. Tryouts will be held January 12, 2013
for perspective athletes that have interest in Kaskaskia College and select the
four remaining players from that group.
 Kaskaskia College Women's Tennis has finished the fall season with a 2-0
GRAC record and will begin the spring season with two wins for the 2012-13
year. One tournament was rained out and there was one scrimmage loss. We
are looking forward to starting our spring season on January 10th by hitting the
fitness center with vigor and determination. Kaskaskia College Men’s Tennis
enjoyed a fall training season, with several new additions to the team and are
looking forward to the start of competition in the spring semester. The courts at
Kaskaskia have now been winterized; windscreens and nets have been placed in
storage. The team is now in their no practice period until January 10. We are
also preparing for another fundraiser for the spring term and continuing volunteer
services.
 The Kaskaskia College Women's Cross Country Team finished their season at
the NJCAA Nationals hosted by Rend Lake College on November 10 th. The Blue
Angels place 30th in the National Meet as a team; the best finish by a Kaskaskia
cross country team since the program started. The National Meet was one of the
largest in recent history with over 60 different community colleges represented
for all over the country. The top finishers for the Blue Angels were Jenna
Wilemon followed by Mallory Wendling and Laura Pick.
 The Kaskaskia College Men’s Golf Team completed the fall schedule with the
annual Cooksey Cup. The Cooksey Cup is a Ryder Cup format exhibition against
Vincennes University. The matches were tied before the final segment, individual
match play, in which Vincennes prevailed. Recruiting is underway with several
local players expressing interest in Kaskaskia College. The top players in the
district have yet to commit to a particular school, so I remain hopeful we have an
opportunity to sign these players. I have also received multiple inquiries from top
players outside of our district but located in southern Illinois. This is evidence to
the growing positive reputation of the College and golf program. The team will
begin competition in the spring. Until then, we will hold bi-weekly conditioning
sessions. We will also begin practice regiments in the KCSA practice facility early
second semester.
27 | P a g e
 The Kaskaskia College Women’s Golf Team finished our fall season with a fifth
place finish at the Lindenwood University Fall Tournament, competing against
four-year schools. We now begin our winter conditioning phase and look forward
to the spring season. The Kaskaskia College Men’s Baseball Team conducted
off-season workouts until Christmas break. We have helped out with the KCSA
Book Fair the Veterans Breakfast and Dad’s and Doughnuts at the Elementary
School in Centralia. Cody Netzel from Kankakee, IL has signed with Lincoln
Memorial University, a Division Two program in Tennessee.
 The Kaskaskia College Blue Devils Men’s Basketball Team has a four game
winning streak that went from November 11th through November 26th where they
gained some valuable experience on their way to opening the GRAC conference
on November 28th against the Falcons from Southeastern Illinois College.
Kaskaskia College struggled to defend a hot shooting SIC squad that knocked
down 12 three-point field goal attempts and dropped the opener 81-66. The Blue
Devils then travelled to 4th ranked Vincennes University and stayed close at
23-17 with fifth minutes to play in the first half. Vincennes experience with nine
sophomores and a tough defense held the Blue Devils to 51 points and the
Trailblazers came away with a 78-51 victory. Kaskaskia College travelled last
night to Olney Central College and played a hard fought game against the
Knights. The Blue Devils trailed by one at the intermission and scored a basket
with 2 seconds left to tie the game at 70-70 and force the OT. Olney jumped out
in the overtime and on the free throw line and went on to the 80-74 victory.
Kaskaskia College concluded first semester games when they hosted
McKendree University. The Blue Devils hosted their annual Christmas Basketball
Camp on Saturday, December 8th for elementary and middle school kids from
9 am to 1 pm.
 The Kaskaskia College Women’s Basketball team has just completed the first
half of the season and currently sits with a 7-4 record, 2-0 in conference play.
The Blue Angels young squad has developed over the first few months of the
season. In non-conference game, the Blue Angels have faced several nationally
ranked opponents and on Dec. 8th they came away with a win over 22 ranked
Danville Area Community College. The Blue Angels were also competitive with
State Fair Community College from Sedalia, Missouri and Jefferson College;
both teams have been to the NJCAA National tournament the past two years.
The Blue Angels currently sit tied for first place with SWIC in Great Rivers
Conference play. We have been involved in community service projects this year
to include assisting with the Murray Games, volunteering during Alumni
Weekend, Centralia fall festival activities, we met with several grade school
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students at the Mom’s and Muffins breakfast at the Wilson Elementary school as
well we are participating in the Kaskaskia College Athletic Department Pen Pal
program with local elementary schools.
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