The FA is collaborating with the Guild and administration to host our 2nd annual Distance Education Workshop on Friday, March 8. Come get FREE Brightspace modules to use in your own classes! Information and RSVP links are on our DE Workshop flyer.

The answer is students.

The question came to me in multiple forms from multiple directions: from colleagues last spring and this spring asking about the FA retraining program, an Eastern campus friend concerned about their program numbers slipping precipitously, a Grant colleague emailing to ask about retrenchment provisions in the contract and from yet another colleague who approached me three weeks ago during Professional Development Day.

After providing as many answers and reassurances as possible, each person’s question finally came down to some version of this: “Tell me honestly, Cynthia, is there anything I can do to improve my job security?”

To each person, I quickly replied, “Yes, the answer is students.”

Our success is student success

We not only want students to come to SCCC, we want them to choose to stay and succeed—whether success to them means transfer to a four-year institution, entering the workforce upon graduation or upskilling for a promotion at their current job.

Our recruitment and enrollment numbers are actually holding steady at the college, despite a variety of forces working against us at this moment in time. However, it is absolutely critical that we do all we can to help students find their way, feel connected to the college, understand the academic and other supports we have available to them and believe that they can succeed at SCCC.

This is everyone’s job at the college. We all have to do what we can to support every student, every day. I believe that many of our FA members already do this, simply because they know it is the right thing to do. They get that our success is student success in multiple, concentric ways.

Supporting colleagues so they can support students

Calling for yet more individualized attention to students sounds grand, I know, but as an academic unionist I also recognize that this is a labor issue. As the college continues to contract in size, there are fewer faculty shouldering the work of teaching, research, governance, student support, curriculum, advisement, unionizing, etc.

That is why we continue collaborating with colleagues to try to make things a bit easier for everyone. One of my favorite collaborations is our next major event:

2nd Annual Distance Education Workshop
Friday, March 8
9 am to 1 pm
STEM Center, Grant Campus
Light breakfast & lunch provided

The FA, Guild and college administration are working together to offer a variety of presentations and breakouts to share ideas about ways to use Brightspace to advance student success. You are not going to want to miss this year’s event. Here are some highlights:

• FREE Brightspace modules and materials that you can import, modify as desired and use in your own classes
• A presentation about the past, present and future of the Center for Teaching and Learning
• Conversations about AI programs like ChatGPT and how to manage their use in your classes
• Discussions on effective proctoring
• Smarter writing prompts to more fully engage students in your coursework
• Brightspace tips, tricks and helpful hacks that will save you time and increase your sense of faculty presence.

We hope you will join us! RSVP by Wednesday, March 6, on our registration form and please indicate which meals you plan to enjoy with us so we can order an appropriate amount of breakfast and lunch.

Again, I know that students are coming to us with more needs than ever and I know that it requires time and attention to meet them where they are and do all we can to help them succeed. However, this really is critical work and we all need to stay committed to student success. This workshop is colleagues supporting one another while we work hard to support our students. See you on March 8!