President/CEO Message
August 30, 2021
We are entering week two of the fall semester, and now is the ideal time to remind students of the free resources available, including the St. John's Student Health Center. Currently, enrolled students may apply for free laptops, Wi-Fi hotspots, headphones, and financial and housing assistance using the online resource form www.compton.edu/studentservices/student-equity-program/student-resources. Please encourage your students to apply for these resources as soon as possible.
The Compton College Call Center is NOW HIRING current students for the morning, evening, and weekend shifts. Help students with the Steps to Enrollment and MyCompton, plus answer student questions. Students can email gbejar@compton.edu for more information. If you know of any students looking for employment, please share this job opportunity with them.
The President/CEO Message - August 30, 2021, includes COVID-19 information and other campus-related updates.
Compton College COVID-19 Update
Los Angeles County's Daily COVID-19 Data webpage reports 2,231 newly recorded confirmed cases in Los Angeles County as of 6:00 p.m. on August 29, 2021. The county now has a total of 1,403,053 reported cases (including cases reported by Long Beach and Pasadena health departments). For more information, go to publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/data/. Compton College is operating at Level 4 - Severe Infection Rate according to the Compton CCD Pandemic Outbreak - Emergency Operations Plan.
Fall 2021 Enrollment Update
As of today, August 30, 2021, Compton College has generated 1,175 FTES for the Fall 2021 term. Our fill rate is currently 55%, and our seats filled is 7,913. Click here to view today's enrollment snapshot. Once again, please encourage interested students to enroll today as some sections are already full.
One More Class - You've Got This!
This week, we kick off the new 'One More Class - You've Got This!" campaign for currently enrolled Compton College students. Our goal is to encourage current students to enroll in one more class during this semester. Please note, as of Friday, August 27, 2021, below is unit counts for our currently enrolled students:
- 0-3: 877 students
- 4-6: 897 students
- 7-10: 1,051 students
- 11-12: 335 students
- 13+: 507 students
We will be focusing on all our students, but this week we will be encouraging the students who are at 7-10 units to enroll in one more class this semester. We need your help. Would you please encourage your students to keep the momentum going with their educational goals by enrolling in one more class this semester? A list of open Fall 2021 classes is available online here.
Accreditation/Institutional Self Evaluation Report Survey
Lauren Sosenko, director of institutional effectiveness, sent an email to all employees on Friday, August 20, 2021, regarding the Accreditation/Institutional Self Evaluation Report Survey to be completed by Friday, September 3, 2021. We must have faculty, Classified staff, students, and managers/supervisors participate in the Evidence/Writing Teams. Please mark your calendar for the Evidence/Writing Teams Kick-Off and Evidence Extravaganza scheduled for Tuesday, October 26, 2021, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Free Food Drive-In Give Away and COVID-19 Vaccinations - September 1, 2021
The Los Angeles County Supervisor, Holly Mitchell, Second District in partnership with Compton College, the City of Compton, and the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation, Los Angeles County Food Bank, and St. John's Well Child and Family Center are partnering to provide FREE food and COVID-19 vaccinations to current students and members of the community on Wednesday, September 1, 2021, from 9:00 a.m. to noon in Lot F on the Compton College campus. Students and community members should enter from Greenleaf Boulevard entrance. We will have 1,200 boxes of food to distribute, which is available while supplies last; first-come-first-served. Drive-thru distribution only, no walk-ins.
Multi-factor Authentication for Microsoft Office 365
As initially stated in the President/ CEO Message - May 13, 2020, and again in the President/CEO Message - June 29, 2020, and the President/CEO Message - May 27, 2021, Compton College's Information Technology Services (ITS) Department is enabling multi-factor authentication (also called two-step verification) for all @compton.edu user accounts. Now that the process for faculty, Classified staff, and managers/supervisors has been completed, we will implement the process for students to begin using the multi-factor authentication on Thursday, November 11, 2021 (Veterans Day). Information regarding the multi-factor authentication will be sent to students in the coming weeks, and ITS will be available over the holiday weekend to assist students. Please refer to your @compton.edu email for more information provided by the ITS Department.
President/CEO Closing the Loop
Last week in conversations with Dr. Minodora Moldoveanu, President of the Compton College Academic Senate, I agreed to provide a presentation to the Academic Senate on the Compton College Full-Time Equivalent Student (FTES) Hold Harmless Provision. I have asked Chris Ferguson, Program Budget Manager with the California Department of Finance, to join the conversation on Thursday, October 7, 2021, at 12:30 p.m. In preparation for that meeting, if any faculty have questions regarding Compton College's FTES Hold Harmless Provision, please forward them to me at kcurry@compton.edu. Please note, I included information on the Compton College FTES Hold Harmless Provision in the President/CEO Message - August 26, 2021.
Today, during the Consultative Council Meeting, I shared the membership for the Compton College Campus Committees. I asked the council members to review and confirm the individuals who will serve on the Campus Committees from their constituent groups for the 2021-2022 year by Friday, September 17, 2021. For more information on the Campus Committees, please visit www.compton.edu/adminandoperations/campus-committees/. I cannot stress how important it is for the faculty, Classified staff, and students to serve on committees and provide creative input on various matters impacting our institution.
Over the past couple of weeks, in various meetings with the Associated Student Government, we discussed the Tartar mascot. We are in the early stages of researching how to change our mascot in response to our student government leaders who voiced a desire to celebrate campus pride without characterizing cultural groups. Please note, no formal decision has been made regarding the Tartar mascot. However, I agreed that during the 2021-2022 year, we would review the "Tartar" as the mascot for Compton College and establish a process for gathering creative input to make a formal recommendation to the Compton CCD Board Trustees. As we begin this process, we need to have a campuswide survey to faculty, Classified staff, and students, host community meetings, and survey alumni. If you have any creative input regarding the process for reviewing the Tartar mascot, please forward them to me at kcurry@compton.edu.
President/CEO Fall 2021 Reading
Each semester, I share books I am reading via a President/CEO Message. This fall 2021 semester, I am reading the following books:
- The State Must Provide by Adam Harris
- Human Work by Jamie Merisotis
- Pregnant Girl: A story of Teen Motherhood, College, and Creating a Better Future for Young Families by Nicole Lynn Lewis
- Racilia Microaggressions: Using Critical Race Theory to Respond to Every Day Racism by Daniel G. Solorzano & Lindsay Perez Huber
Thank you to everyone who provided recommendations, and hopefully, I finish these books this semester. Please send me your suggestions for my spring 2022 reading list to kcurry@compton.edu.
Compton Community College District Board of Trustees Meeting
The Compton CCD Board of Trustees' next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 7, 2021. The closed session begins at 4:00 p.m., with the open session commencing at 5:00 p.m. via Zoom Meeting. Information on how to access the Compton CCD Board of Trustees meeting is available here.
Final Thoughts
I wanted to revisit the conversation that was included in the President/CEO Message - June 17, 2021, regarding the "New Normal for Compton College" as we return to campus. We need to review what we have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and decide what we should keep as a new way of doing things. The time is right now to begin having conversations within programs, departments, and campus committees regarding the "New Normal for Compton College." These conversations will help guide our implementation of Compton College 2024 and the plans for Compton College 2035 - Affordability, Educational Justice, Innovation, and Transformation. If you have any thoughts, suggestions, or recommendations regarding the "New Normal," please forward them to me at kcurry@compton.edu.
Lunch will be provided tomorrow, August 31, 2021, for employees who are scheduled to work on campus. Apple Spice Box Lunches will be available for pick-up between noon and 1:00 p.m. in front of the Student Lounge. We wanted on-campus employees to know that we appreciate them and thank them for all they are doing in support of student success and the general operations of the College.
In closing, please be safe and have a wonderful week.
Sincerely,
Keith Curry, Ed.D.
(preferred pronouns: he/him/his)
President/CEO
Compton College
