Monday, March 30, 2020
Greetings Peralta Community! Welcome to issue #13 of Peralta Gems. This issue contains important information about the District response to COVID-19 so please read closely. Thank you to everyone for your flexibility and positive attitude in these very stressful times. --Mark Johnson
Students - Join Us for Town Hall Webinar about PCCD and COVID-19
Attention Students!
Please join us for a virtual Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, April 1, 2020 from 11am to noon. The online meeting will include Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud (Chancellor), Dr. Siri Brown (Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and Student Success), Dr. Mia Kelly (Director, Health Services) and others to provide you with information and resources available to you as Peralta Community College District moves to remote modalities of instruction for the rest of this semester.
- Watch the Town Hall Meeting Live on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/peraltatv/featured
- Watch the Peralta TV live simulcast on Comcast channels 27/28 or AT&T channel 99
- Listen live on KGPC Radio at http://www.kgpc969.org/
For those who have questions, email your questions to Mark Johnson by March 31 or join the Town Hall Meeting to ask questions here: https://cccconfer.zoom.us/j/159377605
COVID-19 Updates
For the latest information about the Peralta Colleges and COVID-19, bookmark https://web.peralta.edu/health-services/coronavirus/. Here is the status as of Friday, March 27, 2020:
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Updates during the week of March 22-27 included:
- An email from the Chancellor's Office to all employees on March 23, 2020 asking that employees who can work from home to do so, while also identifying essential functions that may require staff to conduct their work on the campuses. A PDF of the email is available here.
- An email from the Chancellor's Office to all students and employees on March 27, 2020 announced that the campuses would remain closed through June 30, 2020. Click here for the full message.
Student Services Update from Vice Chancellor Dr. Siri Brown
While many services have been ongoing, the following is an update. This information is especially important for students.
Counseling Services
Each of our sister colleges will be prepared to offer students online academic counseling through either tele-counseling, Zoom or Cranium Cafe. Faculty will offer synchronous counseling hours and students will be able to schedule counseling through SARS Anywhere, by phone or by requesting an appointment through the general counseling email.
Mental Health Services
Faculty are preparing the needed forms/waivers, validating FERPA and HIPAA compliance on various platforms and working together with District Health Services faculty lead Dr. Mia Kelly to ensure students can access Mental Health Services via telephone and online for students in need starting April 6th. In addition, we are looking at outside vendors to aid us if the demand is greater than what we can support. More information and details will follow so that anyone can refer students to these services.
Health Services (Nursing Care) Our Health Services partner, Roots Community Health Center will offer Title V mandated care to students at its 7272 MacArthur Blvd location in Oakland. Students will be able to receive comprehensive care including, STI testing, assessments, labs, pregnancy testing, B/P checks and more at this site if all college health service locations and campuses are closed for in person service.
Admissions and Records (A&R) A&R staff are preparing protocols to receive forms from students via email so that processing is not delayed. All A&R forms are being converted to fillable PDF format. The District is expanding use of Docusign so that students, staff and administration can sign electronically. While Docusign is being implemented, staff will accept email requests as signatures and we are in the process of finalizing electronic document submission through photos of documents, Microsoft Lens or Drop Box with password protection. Student privacy is at the upmost of importance and each department webpage will indicate how they are accepting documents. Transcripts can already be ordered online and a new pop up message informs students that in person pick-up is currently suspended due to the public health crisis.
Financial Aid Similar to A&R, forms from students will be accepted via email. This includes students taking pictures of docs and emailing them to a college’s general FA email address. In the meantime, we are fast-tracking a product called Campus Logic which is grant funded and was approved by the PCCD Board of Trustees before the COVID-19 crisis. This software allows students to submit forms electronically and eases the work of FA staff in access student files electronically. Additionally, we are waiting for additional guidelines from the Department of Education on the impact of the crisis on student FA. Federal Work Study student workers will be paid during the COVID-19 crisis. FA continues to meet district wide to discuss quidelines.
Student Accessibility Services (SAS aka DSPS) Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, the District was preparing to purchase AIM (Accessible Information Management). We are now fast-tracking this purchase as well. Additionally, we are looking at multiple ways to support SAS students with online instruction. SAS accommodations must continue to be provided within the online environment. Intentional work is needed to ensure access to instruction for students with disabilities. We will be holding a meeting with SAS staff to collectively discuss ways to support all students in the online environment.
Transfer and Articulation District Academic Affairs, Vice Presidents of Instruction, Articulation Officers, faculty and Counselors will be meeting to discuss information sent from the State Chancellors Office and 4-year institutions to support students who are preparing to transfer by providing accurate information and planning.
Special Programs The District is working collaboratively with Student Services Leadership to identify ways to support EOPs/CARE, Next Up, CalWORKs, Veterans, and Athletes continued retention, through intentional outreach and counseling. In addition, the District intends to provide as many resources for students of these programs who are from disproportionately impacted populations. This may include the use of Chromebooks and more.
Learning Communities The District, along with the colleges, are working to ensure that Learning Communities such as First Year Experience (FYE), Umoja/Sankofa and Puente students are aligned with the necessary wrap around services to maintain enrollment and assist with student persistence.
Graduation College’s Director of Student Life and SS administration are exploring virtual graduations as a potential option. More information will be sent in the coming weeks.
We will continue to send updates in the coming days. Until then, stay safe and healthy. |
Introducing Dr. Carla Walter, Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration
As Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration, Dr. Carla Stalling Walter brings expertise to Peralta Community College District that includes 20 years of successful experience in higher education. Her former California Community College institutions include Chabot-Las Positas Community College District and State Center Community College District, where she served as Vice President of Administrative Services. Before that, Dr. Walter served as a tenured associate professor in business at Missouri Southern State University, coming to the field after being Chief Operating Officer in the public finance industry. As a leader in public finance, she partnered with public agency executives in California to issue and administer over $30 billion in bonds. Both her BA in economics and her PhD in Dance History and Theory were earned from the University of California, Riverside. She earned her MBA from the California State University, San Bernardino. Dr. Walter is proud to be a graduate from Riverside Community College, where she earned an Associate in Science. Dr. Walter is a native of Los Angeles, now living in Hayward. Dr. Walter started on March 16, right after the pandemic shelter-in-place directive took effect, which means that she has yet to occupy her office at the District. Welcome to Peralta Community College District Dr. Walter! We're so glad you are part of our team. |
Board of Trustees Meeting March 24, 2020
The PCCD Board of Trustees met remotely on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, utilizing Zoom video conference technology to hold the meeting during the shelter-in-place directive. The agenda of the meeting is available in BoardDocs here while the full video of the meeting is available on YouTube here (3 hours 34 min).
The Chancellor's Report is available here (42 minutes). Chancellor Stanback Stroud began by welcoming Dr. Carla Walter as Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration. The Chancellor also shared the good news about being off Fire Watch at Laney College and Merritt College. She then presented an update on COVID-19 work at the district, including a summary of the many actions the PCCD Emergency Management Team has taken to protect students and employees during the shelter-in-place directive as well as the collaboration between faculty, staff, and administrators to prepare for classes to resume via remote modalities beginning Monday April 6. Each of the college presidents also presented updates.
In other updates, Dr. Leigh Sata, Vice Chancellor of General Services, and Keith Kajiya, VP at AECOM, gave a presentation on the bond program. Bond updates will be a regular item on the second meeting of each month. The Board of Trustees also passed a resolution granting the Chancellor emergency authority to bypass certain purchasing requirements so the District can respond expeditiously to needs created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Board of Trustees also voted to approve a cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 3.26% for members of SEIU local 1021, confidential staff and administrators. Since the Trustees had previously approved the 3.26% COLA increase for PFT and IUOE Local 39, all employees are now aligned to receive the COLA increase backdated to begin on July 1, 2019.
Peralta Purr-sonnel
Toby the cat works on PCTV with Cecy Vasquez
The shelter-in-place directive to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus means people throughout the Bay Area, California, and across the nation are spending more time working from home. While the shift to working, teaching and learning remotely has been challenging, one benefit of staying home is that many of us are able to spend more time with our furry family members.
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Cats and dogs are showing up on Zoom meetings or cuddling up to warm laptops. It is a pleasant reminder that there remains a lot of love in the world. Do you have a furry co-worker you'd like to see featured in Peralta Gems? Send a photo to Mark Johnson at the address below! Pictured left is Laura Leon-Maurice from the Academic Affairs department and her cute colleagues. |
