Phone Banking, Webcam Loans, Working from Home + Naming New Buildings

Good morning colleagues,

It’s been another week for the books, but you’ve made it through! I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy, and making this adjustment as smoothly as possible.  I know you have heard Governor Newsom issued a statewide order to ‘stay home’ effective last night.  We have several district meetings scheduled next week so I will be sure to share with you any updates, decisions, or changes impacting CCC.

PHONE BANKING

As soon as possible, we are going to start placing calls to every currently enrolled student. We’ll be making sure they know what’s going on, are able to get into Canvas and know how to access remote student services. When possible, we’ll also be trying to address some of the obstacles they have encountered during this transition. And, we’ll be collecting data about those challenges, to help us make more informed decisions going forward.

Managers, if your department or service area has capacity and people who would like to participate, please add them to the sign-up sheet. We are aiming to have at least 50 people making calls by Monday.

WEBCAM LOAN PROGRAM

We are working on a webcam loan program that would work similar to the Chromebook program. Student-friendly webcams will arrive next week, and we expect to have the loan program up and running soon after. We hope that this will make it easier for students to attend Zoom meetings and classes.

WORKING FROM HOME

This is a great time for departments and service areas to think about how they are communicating, and to consider more effective means. Almost everyone on campus is now using Zoom to conduct meetings. Teams is an easy-to-use group chat option in 365, alongside the Outlook and Calendar functions you use every day. It can move a lot of traffic out of your inbox. Some departments are also using Basecamp for project management, which is especially critical at this time. Maybe something else will better suit your needs. Consider all of your options, and don’t forget them when this crisis has passed.

NAMING OF NEW BUILDINGS

Campus construction continues through the stay-at-home order. Soon, we will have new buildings in need of names! The three buildings are:

1. The new Science building, which will be home to the astronomy, engineering, physics, chemistry and biology departments. It will house labs, the Center for Science Excellence, the planetarium and observation deck, maker spaces, and offices.
2. The former women’s locker room building, which will be modernized for new offices, athletic team trainer facilities, a new classroom, and accommodations for visiting teams.
3. The former men’s locker room building, which will also be renovated to house the men’s and women’s lockers and showers for college teams.

Please submit your building name suggestions to Mariles at mmagalong@contracosta.edu by April 10, 2020. The following should be taken in consideration when proposing names:

•         Functions to be housed in the building
•         Consistency with the names of other buildings on campus
•         Board Policy 1026 and Administrative Procedure 1026, setting forth the criteria to name a building after a person or group

After April 10, College Council will develop a short list of proposed names. Then the list will be sent to everyone for a vote.

Thank you again for showing such motivation and drive these last couple weeks. And, thanks especially for always putting our students first.  Be safe, take care of yourselves and your families, reach out with questions, and know that we are here to help.

-dab