Dear Faculty,

As I will not have an opportunity to formally welcome you back to campus for the beginning of the fall semester, I wanted to take this opportunity to do so. Your reputation precedes you as a faculty that provides quality and excellence in everything you do, and although I am only serving as your Interim President through the end of the Fall Semester, I hope to have many opportunities to interact with you and provide assistance and guidance where needed.

Although the state of the budget is going to be a drain on our resources, personal energy, and abilities to serve students in the many ways we have in the past, we don’t want to lose sight of all the positives going on throughout campus and in your classrooms, attempting to maintain enthusiasm, progress, and innovation in spite of the negativity the budget crisis creates. In my very short time here, I have found an internal energy, commitment, and loyalty to OCC that many institutions do not share. OCC is very fortunate to have such a legacy. One of my goals is to ensure that we never lose sight of who we are in the midst of the many challenges and changes facing us.

The primary reason we exist is to provide a teaching and learning environment where students succeed and achieve their goals. To that extent I wanted to prepare you for what you might encounter as you return to your classrooms.

· As expected, our classes are filling quickly and due to State budget cuts, our fall schedule does not reflect the number of classes needed to actually serve the student demand.

· OCC Admissions and Records are attempting to process new student applications but are having difficulty keeping up with the influx. You may hear complaints that student applications were not processed in a timely manner and therefore students could not register. Please serve as an A&R ambassador for letting students know that staff has worked tirelessly in attempting to stay on top of the endless application submittals, processing as many as possible, recognizing student need.

· CSU and UC recently sent letters to some of their previously accepted freshmen, informing them that they no longer have a space at their institution for this fall. This is causing havoc across the area because students are desperate to get into college. As you can imagine, this has resulted in increased applications at OCC, late admissions, and late registrations.

· The State has mandated lower enrollment limits for 2009-2010. Preliminary data shows that our current enrollment reduction is 9.3% lower than last year. Our enrollment cap is lower than in previous years (establishing a new, lower base budget), and we will not be permitted to grow even if the demand is there. Funding for growth has been eliminated.

· Student frustration, stress and anxiety levels will be higher because:

§ Fewer courses have been offered than in previous years

§ Most classes are already full leaving limited registration options

§ Increasing numbers of students desire to attend OCC

§ Budget cuts in hourly support staff and unfilled vacancies have impacted how fast we can respond to student needs in Admissions, Orientation, Assessment, and Financial Aid

o EOP&S, CARE, CalWorks, and other categorical areas were cut 16% by the State, resulting in decreased support, aid, and assistance.

· As a result, you may find more students than normal attempting to add your class. I suspect you will feel unusual pressure, hear desperate pleas, even see a few tearful students. My suggestion is to do the best you can while maintaining the academic integrity of your course, but recognize that it is unlikely you will be able to accommodate the demand. We anticipate that we will end up turning away hundreds, if not thousands of students this fall.

H1N1 – Swine Flu: Via email, you will be provided with a short powerpoint presentation about the flu as well as other written materials to share with your students during the first week of the semester. It is important that your students have in writing what your absentee policy is and if there are ways to make up missed work if they are absent due to the flu. We are also asking that you think about who/how your class will be covered if you come down with the flu (the average length of the illness is 7-10 days) and to have these discussions with your Dean and colleagues.

Many other things will be happening this fall and this year that may impact you. Although I will go in more detail at the September 18, 2009 Focus Day, listed below is a snapshot of what to expect:

ACCREDITATION MANDATES: Although we have been removed for Warning status, we have monumental tasks ahead of us to ensure that our accreditation status remains free from warning, probation, or show-cause status. I am working diligently with campus leadership groups to move as quickly as possible on these tasks so that by the time I leave in December, most will be finalized or in the last, draft stage so that your new president will be able to move forward in preparation of the Accreditation Team.

1. We have over 3000 course SLO assessments and analysis (per our own SLO calendar) to complete this fall. We must use the assessments and outcomes to show how they were used in strategic planning and Program Review. We also have to demonstrate that our process is sustainable.

2. We must complete a comprehensive institutional Strategic Master Plan (that includes the planning components from the Wings, Program Review, Facilities, Enrollment Management, Technology, Staff Development, etc. and the impact on Budget) – demonstrating that our planning process drives the budget and that our process is sustainable (not just a one-time effort).

3. We must incorporate a program improvement, or probation, or vitality component into Program Review so that there is a process of evaluation that includes a plan to assist those areas that are having difficulty. If we do not have this component added to Program Review, our process will be viewed as incomplete. We have to demonstrate how Program Review is directly linked to SLO assessment and strategic planning. We also have to demonstrate that our process is sustainable (not one time).

4. Related to all of these mandates is a side issue of shared governance, consultative and collaborative decision-making, and AB1725 compliance. I am recommending that we pilot a College Council, comprised of campus constituents for the purpose of coordinating and addressing Strategic Planning, Issue Management, and Collegiality and Communication. In December, we will determine whether the council will be discontinued or will remain as a governance model for the new president.

Amongst all of this, we will continue to work on budget planning for 2010-11.

I have had the pleasure of meeting many faculty thus far but if I haven’t already done so, I look forward to meeting you in person once fall semester commences.

Wishing you a successful fall 2009!