Happy July! It’s hard to believe that we are already
in the 2nd of the 3 traditional months of summer. Time flies
when you are having fun!
SUMMER SEMESTER ENROLLMENT
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A 50 percent scale-back in available summer sections has
severely impacted enrollment. As a result, several thousand students looking to
get a 2010 Summer Semester class here at Grossmont were unsuccessful due to
state budget reductions and a state imposed cap on enrollment. Students who
were hoping to earn extra credits this summer to meet
transfer requirements or to graduate sooner had to put those plans on hold. Sadly,
as of the first day of summer classes, there were roughly 4,900 active students
on wait lists, or, in other words, more than half as many students enrolled in
a summer class requested to be placed on a wait list. As of Census Day, Summer
Semester headcount enrollment was 5,546, compared to 9,172 last Summer. In a
comparison between Summer 2010 and Summer 2009, headcount was down 39.5
percent, with a 44.8 percent decrease in units.
Our campus’ experiences this summer are indicative of a
tremendous amount of unmet need, and a sign of the difficult times anticipated
this fall, especially in light of local high school graduation numbers at an
all-time high and a lagging economy causing a growing number of the unemployed
who are going back to school for retraining or a new career. The 2009-10
graduating high school class was the largest ever as a baby boom from 1990-91
crests through our secondary schools. California’s 2.3 million unemployed
residents now include more than 1.3 million whose unemployment was lost due to
the current recession, and estimates are that it will take five years to
rebuild the job base to pre-recession levels.
SUMMER INSTITUTE PROGRAM
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Thirty students, 20 of them whom are foster youth, are
participating in the current six-week Summer Institute Program, which began
June 28. Students are taking six units, both English and PDC classes. The
program includes trips to local college campuses, free books and materials,
free lunch and priority registration for Fall 2010. In a pilot program this
fall and spring, the 30 students will see each other again in cohorts of four
in either English or PDC classes. The program is guided by EOPS
counselors Michael Perez and Pearl Lopez, both former EOPS students themselves.
BUDGET UPDATE
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It’s unfortunate, but late budgets are a fact of life in
California. The state has again entered the new 2011-2012 fiscal year with no
budget, which means California community colleges will not receive checks from
the state and will need to use reserves or loans or other means to pay the
bills. Either way, it’s a hardship and everybody in
education loses because the cost of borrowing means there will be less money to
spend on student instruction and services. Meanwhile, legislators have begun
their annually scheduled month-long summer recess. No agreement is imminent
between state legislators and Gov. Schwarzenegger on how to close a $19 billion
budget deficit. A protracted budget delay could threaten to downgrade the
state’s credit rating, which would add millions to borrowing costs. Community
colleges and vendors who do business with the state have their payments in
jeopardy because of the budget delay. State Chancellor Jack Scott estimates
140,000 students have been denied an education at a California community
college due to course reductions.
EXITING THE PARKING STRUCTURE
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In an effort to create a pedestrian safety zone near the
modular village area, traffic exiting the parking structure will now be
routed towards the east by the Public Safety Building. This change was made
because traffic exiting the parking structure sometimes ignored stop signs and
crosswalk striping.
OFFICE PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
(OPT)
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OPT recently received
a $5,000 donation from US Bank’s Community Affairs Dept. The money represents
expenses covering two OPT students.
The recent 5K for OPT
fundraiser, held on June 12 at the Grossmont College track, raised a record
$1,752, and the donations are still coming in. Event sponsors included Al’s Sport
Shop and OPT Alumni Association.
RECENT HONOR
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Former Grossmont College pitcher Brian Longpre, who
concluded his amateur career with two seasons at Cal State Northridge,
has signed a free agent contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. Longpre, a
6-foot-2, 190-pound right-hander, toiled for the Griffins as a redshirt
sophomore during the 2008 season after bouncing back from San Diego State as a
freshman. He struck out 37 batters in 31 1/3 innings while compiling a 4.31
ERA. Longpre concluded his CSUN career by appearing in 25 games in the 2010
season, finishing the year with a 2-1 record and a 4.54 ERA. The La Crescenta
native struck out 27 batters, walked just 12, and finished with three
pick-offs, good for the third-highest total in the Big West Conference. In
addition to excelling on the baseball diamond, Longpre graduated in May with a
degree in finance.
CATALOG AND CLASS SCHEDULE COVERS
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Photographs have been selected for the covers of the
2010-2011 Catalog and Fall 2010 Class Schedule. The theme for the year
captures scenes around our campus featuring old buildings, new buildings and
our very own students. The catalog cover photo will show students
gathering on the steps of the Administration/Student Services Building 100,
which will be torn down and will be replaced by a new expanded structure. This
familiar location was recognized as the front entrance to the college for the
past half-century and will be immortalized on the catalog cover this
year. On the cover of the Fall Class Schedule will be the new
52,000-square-foot, two-story Health & Sciences Complex. The two-story
building houses classrooms with the latest technology, state-of-the-art labs
and lab preparation areas, as well as several indoor and outdoor gathering
spaces for studying. It also has faculty and staff offices for Career Technical
Education, Forensic Technology, Physics and Health Professions programs.
UPCOMING EVENTS
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Fall Registration begins July 12.
The San Diego Blood
Bank will host a blood drive in the Main Quad from 10 a.m. to 3:30 pm. on
Wednesday, July 7. To make an appointment online, go to www.sandiegobloodbank.org. Click
on “Appointments” and “Make an Appointment at a Mobile Blood Drive.” Enter the
sponsor code: GROS.
The next Governing Board meeting will be
held on Tuesday, July 20, at Cuyamaca College. The CLASS presentation on
Student Services will begin @ 4:00 p.m. The Closed Session begins at 5:30 p.m.,
the Open Session at 6:30 p.m.
The Adult Reentry Program will host “Your
Tomorrow Starts Here,” a free informational meeting for adults interested in
returning to school to reenter the workforce, learn a new career, earn a
college diploma or upgrade their skills for a job promotion, from 9:30 a.m. to
12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 3, in Room 220.
Health &
Sciences Complex grand opening ceremony
will begin at 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 17.
The Grossmont
College Foundation has announced its next Auction and Dinner Gala will be
held on Saturday, Oct. 16 at the Barona Resort & Casino. The theme is “Gold
Rush, 49 Years of Excellence.”