A Publication of Florida Community College at Jacksonville ALERT keeps you on the right track Beginning this fall, FCCJ students will have more opportunities for success than ever before. Thanks to a new project called ALERT, counselors and professors will have access to key student information related to study skills, career plans and preferences, educational goals and academic preparation. High—risk students will also be iden— tified early in the term and encouraged to take advantage of such resources as study skills workshops, learning lab in- struction and career planning sessions. The project stands for A Learning Enhancement and Retention Tracking system. It was conceived by Charles Dassance, vice president of Student Affairs and provost of Kent Campus, and Gary Harr, student affairs analyst. Key leadership in project development has also been provided by several employees, among them Jerry Patterson, Carolyn Girardeau, Brenda Simmons, Margaret Griffin, Jack Tinsley, Pat Minyard, Jack Myers and Karen Basile, the project coordinator. “Without the diligent and dedicated work of these people and the many faculty who have been supportive, ALERT would not be a reality today,” said Harr. “Eventually, ALEKI‘ will serve all students — in the fall we’re beginning with college credit students,” explains Harr. “The significance of the project is in its potential to increase student retention. With many students, we don’t even know they’re in trouble until it’s too late. With ALERT, we’re trying to identify high—risk students from day one to get them in the right class, learning labs or counseling.” Working with a group of other staff and faculty, Hart and Dassance origin— ally designed the project as part of the Title III grant proposal. Although not accepted for federal funding, President Charles Spence immediately recognized the project’s potential and has been very active in providing College funding and other support, said Harr. “In the fall, the paperwork re- quirements will be minimal,” he em— phasized. “Ninety percent of the paper— work in the pilot has been related to our efforts to get faculty and student feedback, to help us refine the system,” said Hart. The two main aspects of the project are gathering retention—related informa— tion from students and intervening to encourage their use of College resources to meet their needs. One of the key retention elements is a student progress report, which Harr describes as something like “a mid-term grade.” The report will be completed by faculty during the fourth week of the term and will provide students with a formal evaluation of their academic pro— gress, as well as a variety of other facul— ty comments and referrals for assistance. Harr said he was pleasantly surprised at the faculty response during the pilot. He had expected the involvement of about 10 faculty and ended up with five times that many. Faculty not involved in the pilot will be briefed during the spring/summer term. Harr said ALERT orientation workshops will also be a part of the campus convocations for the fall term. Anyone who would like to learn more about ALERT may view the ALERT orientation video in the Learn— ing Resources Center on each campus or may call Karen Basile at 387v8127. Friendship, tailor—made When Juan Carlos Fallas started classes at FCCJ, he had to learn more than just a few new subjects. His first task was to learn a new language. Juan Carlos is one of 16 students from Cen— tral America and the Caribbean who are working toward an associate in science degree from FCCJ. The students are participating in CASS, the Cooperative Association of States for Scholarships. The program serves disadvantaged young people from 14 Central American and Caribbean countries by offering participants an alternative perspective of their futures and fostering lasting links of friendship between the Americas. About 80 percent of the students are from rural areas and nearly 50 percent are women. Most of the scholars par— ticipating in the program are 17 to 25 years old, with above-average academic Sharon Cooper, assistant dean of Consumer and Human Services, presents a $64,000 check to President Charles Spence. The check is the first installment of a major grant from Georgetown University, the funding agency of a unique program that gives disadvantaged youth the opportunity to gain new knowledge in a special field of study and experience a different way of life. records, and from families who could not send them to the United States to study without a scholarship. FCCJ is one of 48 educational institu- tions that works in conjunction with Georgetown University, the funding agency, to provide technical/ vocational training to the students. The students at FCCJ began classes last August and will study fashion marketing management and the textile industry in a tw0vyear program. Troy James, CASS program coor— dinator at FCCJ, emphasizes what a challenge it is to earn a degree while learning a new language. The students began their first term with interpreters and received intensive instruction in English as a Second Language. “Now all of them can carry on a conversation in English,” said James. One factor that helps the students learn English and foster links of friend— ship is living in a North American home. Host families are paid a stipend to offset the cost of housing a student. The length of commitment of housing the student varies. “A few employees at FCCJ are already hosting a student and finding it a very enjoyable experience,” James said. Doris Van Camp, an accounting clerk in the Business office at Kent Campus, describes the experience as “a lot of fun. It’s educational -— you learn a lot about the student’s culture.” She has been hosting two students from Guatemala for five months and says, “I plan on hosting students forever.” If anyone is interested in hosting a student, call Troy James at 387-8255. INSIDE Volunteers atFCCJ.......Z Learning Literacy. . . . . . .2 Waste not, want not......4 , OCR Text: A Publication of Florida Community College at Jacksonville ALERT keeps you on the right track Beginning this fall, FCCJ students will have more opportunities for success than ever before. Thanks to a new project called ALERT, counselors and professors will have access to key student information related to study skills, career plans and preferences, educational goals and academic preparation. High—risk students will also be iden— tified early in the term and encouraged to take advantage of such resources as study skills workshops, learning lab in- struction and career planning sessions. The project stands for A Learning Enhancement and Retention Tracking system. It was conceived by Charles Dassance, vice president of Student Affairs and provost of Kent Campus, and Gary Harr, student affairs analyst. Key leadership in project development has also been provided by several employees, among them Jerry Patterson, Carolyn Girardeau, Brenda Simmons, Margaret Griffin, Jack Tinsley, Pat Minyard, Jack Myers and Karen Basile, the project coordinator. “Without the diligent and dedicated work of these people and the many faculty who have been supportive, ALERT would not be a reality today,” said Harr. “Eventually, ALEKI‘ will serve all students — in the fall we’re beginning with college credit students,” explains Harr. “The significance of the project is in its potential to increase student retention. With many students, we don’t even know they’re in trouble until it’s too late. With ALERT, we’re trying to identify high—risk students from day one to get them in the right class, learning labs or counseling.” Working with a group of other staff and faculty, Hart and Dassance origin— ally designed the project as part of the Title III grant proposal. Although not accepted for federal funding, President Charles Spence immediately recognized the project’s potential and has been very active in providing College funding and other support, said Harr. “In the fall, the paperwork re- quirements will be minimal,” he em— phasized. “Ninety percent of the paper— work in the pilot has been related to our efforts to get faculty and student feedback, to help us refine the system,” said Hart. The two main aspects of the project are gathering retention—related informa— tion from students and intervening to encourage their use of College resources to meet their needs. One of the key retention elements is a student progress report, which Harr describes as something like “a mid-term grade.” The report will be completed by faculty during the fourth week of the term and will provide students with a formal evaluation of their academic pro— gress, as well as a variety of other facul— ty comments and referrals for assistance. Harr said he was pleasantly surprised at the faculty response during the pilot. He had expected the involvement of about 10 faculty and ended up with five times that many. Faculty not involved in the pilot will be briefed during the spring/summer term. Harr said ALERT orientation workshops will also be a part of the campus convocations for the fall term. Anyone who would like to learn more about ALERT may view the ALERT orientation video in the Learn— ing Resources Center on each campus or may call Karen Basile at 387v8127. Friendship, tailor—made When Juan Carlos Fallas started classes at FCCJ, he had to learn more than just a few new subjects. His first task was to learn a new language. Juan Carlos is one of 16 students from Cen— tral America and the Caribbean who are working toward an associate in science degree from FCCJ. The students are participating in CASS, the Cooperative Association of States for Scholarships. The program serves disadvantaged young people from 14 Central American and Caribbean countries by offering participants an alternative perspective of their futures and fostering lasting links of friendship between the Americas. About 80 percent of the students are from rural areas and nearly 50 percent are women. Most of the scholars par— ticipating in the program are 17 to 25 years old, with above-average academic Sharon Cooper, assistant dean of Consumer and Human Services, presents a $64,000 check to President Charles Spence. The check is the first installment of a major grant from Georgetown University, the funding agency of a unique program that gives disadvantaged youth the opportunity to gain new knowledge in a special field of study and experience a different way of life. records, and from families who could not send them to the United States to study without a scholarship. FCCJ is one of 48 educational institu- tions that works in conjunction with Georgetown University, the funding agency, to provide technical/ vocational training to the students. The students at FCCJ began classes last August and will study fashion marketing management and the textile industry in a tw0vyear program. Troy James, CASS program coor— dinator at FCCJ, emphasizes what a challenge it is to earn a degree while learning a new language. The students began their first term with interpreters and received intensive instruction in English as a Second Language. “Now all of them can carry on a conversation in English,” said James. One factor that helps the students learn English and foster links of friend— ship is living in a North American home. Host families are paid a stipend to offset the cost of housing a student. The length of commitment of housing the student varies. “A few employees at FCCJ are already hosting a student and finding it a very enjoyable experience,” James said. Doris Van Camp, an accounting clerk in the Business office at Kent Campus, describes the experience as “a lot of fun. It’s educational -— you learn a lot about the student’s culture.” She has been hosting two students from Guatemala for five months and says, “I plan on hosting students forever.” If anyone is interested in hosting a student, call Troy James at 387-8255. INSIDE Volunteers atFCCJ.......Z Learning Literacy. . . . . . .2 Waste not, want not......4 , Z ArchiveInABox,JAX,Outlook Newsletter,Outlook Newsletter 04-05,April 1990,P01 (2).tif, P01 (2).tif