NEWS & EVENTS

Presentations

• Mr. Ralph Bertini, Television Production Director, in recognition of his outstanding representation of Ocean County College during the NJCAA Division III National Women’s Soccer Championship as well as for the generosity and professional courtesy extended to a colleague, Mr. Michael Brown, Television Producer/Director for Montgomery College, during the championship games.
• Ms. Roberta Krantz, Part-Time Director of the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts, in appreciation of her exceptional dedication, commitment, and loyalty in service to the arts at Ocean County College from 1974 through 2016 and her selfless devotion to ensuring high quality cultural, artistic, professional, and educational programs at Ocean County College for many years.

Student Affairs

• Admissions
  • The Admissions Office hosted Saturday tours on November 12, 2016.  These special tours are paired with an Admissions presentation and are high school specific.  November’s invitees were students from Pinelands Regional, Lakewood, Jackson Memorial, Jackson Liberty, Barnegat, and Southern Regional high schools.  The College is hosting the following high schools on Saturday, December 10, 2016:  Central Regional, Lacey Township, Donovan Catholic, Brick Memorial, and Brick Township.
  • On November 17, 2016, the Admissions Office hosted its fall adult learner information session.  In addition to the Admissions presentation, special presentations were made by Mr. Jeffrey Lang, College Lecturer II in Addictions Counseling, and Dr.  Katherine Toy, College Lecturer II in Business.  The students left the program with a better understanding of OCC’s academic offerings and support services as well as a greater sense of connection with the College.
  • In an effort to increase community outreach with Ocean County’s adolescent population, the Admissions Office collaborated with OCC colleagues and raised over $700 for holiday gifts for teenagers in foster care for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Ocean County.  After so many positive interactions with these students at the Ocean County Aging Out Fair this past September, the staff became passionate about helping this population of students.
• Advising
  • The Advising Office reached out to students currently on academic probation to ask if they are encountering any problems or have any questions and to schedule advising appointments as needed.  The Office contacted 45 students:
    • An advisor spoke on the phone with 9 students (20%), making a personal connection with them.
    • Advisors left a voicemail and/or email for 33 students (73%).
    • Three students came into the Advising Office to meet with an advisor (7%).

The Advising Office also sent letters to an additional 72 students who did not reenroll this fall semester, encouraging them to seek advising should they decide to return to OCC.

• In anticipation of spring 2017 semester registration, the Advising Office completed almost 300 course audits for returning Veteran students.  This proactive work has given the Veterans Affairs Office the ability to advise returning Veteran students in an efficient and accurate manner.  Advisors noted courses needed in the spring 2017 semester as well as other issues, such as upcoming graduation, possible curriculum changes, and GPA concerns.
• Admissions representatives and business faculty from Rutgers University, Rider University, and Stockton University were on campus to conduct transfer information sessions for business students.  The representatives provided application fee waivers and discussed important transfer topics, including program specific courses, internship/co-ops, and admissions requirements.

Several other institutions also came to campus for recruitments visits, including Centenary College, Seton Hall University, William Paterson University, Georgian Court University, Manhattan College, Wilmington University, and St. John’s University.  Fairleigh Dickinson University also held Scholars Meetings on campus in November with four students who are interested in the partnership.

• The Advising Office continues to support students in Southern Ocean County by hosting Transfer Thursdays at the Southern Education Center.  Students are able to meet with Ms. Laura Wills, Coordinator of Transfer, at the Manahawkin location.  In addition, Ms. Wills and Ms. Eileen Schilling, Executive Director of Academic Assessment, attended the NJ Transfer Coordinators’ Association meeting to support OCC’s partnership with New Jersey four-year colleges and universities.
• The Advising Office assisted the Office of the Registrar by completing over 70 graduation audits for fall 2016 graduates.  This effort, which was spearheaded by Assistant Director of Advising Pamela Donohue and Advisor Mary Gabler and executed by the Advising staff, ensured that students applying late for fall 2016 graduation received their official graduation audit letters in a timely manner.
• Over 200 students were contacted who will need to register for the First-Year Experience Seminar, FYES 155, in the spring 2017 semester.  This outreach was performed as a courtesy to students to remind them that FYES 155 is a graduation requirement in their degree programs.

Finance and Administration

• FY 2016 Annual Audit

The FY 2016 annual financial audit has been completed and is included on Thursday’s agenda for acceptance by the Board of Trustees.  Bowman & Company, LLC, performed the College’s annual audit and rendered an unmodified opinion; no material problems or errors were found.  The OCC Board of Trustees Audit Committee met with Bowman & Company to review the audit report on November 18, 2016.  The final audit report will be available at the Board meeting.

• Online Student Payment Plans

Testing continues to improve online payment plan functionality for students; a pilot rollout is planned for the Spring 2017 Quick Term.  This upgrade will allow students to apply for a payment plan and make payments online without having to visit the Bursar’s Office.

• Human Resources
  • President’s Awards for Excellence

The nomination process for OCC’s Second Annual President’s Awards for Excellence is underway.  The program acknowledges and expresses appreciation for outstanding accomplishments at the department, division, or College-wide level that clearly indicate above and beyond effort on the part of employees.  All nominations must be submitted no later than December 13, 2016.

• Online Harassment Prevention Training

OCC employees have been requested to complete training in Unlawful Harassment Prevention for Higher Education Staff in support of OCC’s desire to be a community that is free from all forms of exploitation, intimidation, violence, and harassment.  This training is to be completed within thirty days of registration.

• Continuing Education
  • Customized Training/Workforce Development/Technology

The sudden closing of the Star Career Academy, a for-profit training school, has left thousands of students in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York in a lurch, some just shy of completing their courses.  Citing financial troubles, the Cherry Hill-based company notified students in mid-November that it was ceasing operations immediately. The Academy had campuses in Brick, Clifton, and Egg Harbor, New Jersey, as well as in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New York City.  It also operated the Culinary Academy of Long Island in Syosset, New York, and ServFast Computers in Toms River.

Star Career Academy students began contacting OCC immediately after the closing.  Continuing Education staff members have been working with the students to place them in OCC programs.  The Star Academy Program in Networking, which was funded by WIB/PIC, will be moved to OCC in December with 10-12 students.  Other Star Academy students are being assisted to complete their education.

• Senior Community Programs

The Senior Coalition of Community Board Associations has requested that OCC provide a series of courses on the legal rules of serving on and managing association boards.  Courses will begin in January 2017 at facilities in various community centers in the Toms River area.  The Coalition has also invited CPE to speak at its various board meetings to inform seniors of programs available through the College.

The Coalition is made up of representatives of over 15 senior adult communities, and it oversees any issues that affect those communities.

• Camps/Youth/Community Programs

Ms. Kerry Holzschuh, Camp and Youth Coordinator attended the 2016 Learning Resources Network (LERN) Annual Conference from November 16 to 19, 2016, in Baltimore, Maryland, to further her professional growth in marketing and leadership skills.  LERN is the world’s largest association in continuing education and lifelong learning, offering information and consulting expertise to providers of continuing education and customized training.

• Information Technology

The data center diesel generator was recently upgraded with a new electronic transfer switch to facilitate the monthly testing of simulated power outages on campus.  Using this newly installed electronic transfer switch will provide the opportunity for a full test and, at the same time, will preserve the integrity of the mechanical circuit breaker.

Work is continuing on establishing a co-location site at Montclair State University (MSU).  OIT is working with NJEDge to enable a private internet circuit between the OCC Toms River campus and MSU.  The first application in the co-location site will be up-to-date encrypted copies of our critical data files.

OIT is continuing to work on the implementation of Ellucian Go, the mobile version of self-service.  It is hoped a pilot program will be available for testing prior to the holiday break.  OIT is also upgrading ImageNow, OCC’s document management solution, to version 7.5.  This upgrade is necessary to eliminate outdated file servers and position the College to use the latest stable release of ImageNow.

• College Relations

The College Relations team won a Silver Award at the 2016 National Council for Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR) District 1 Medallion Awards Ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island.  Recognition in the Marketing Campaign category was received for the creation and launch of the OCC Viking mascot.  NCMPR recognizes excellence in community, technical, and junior college marketing and public relations activities.

• Security

New Jersey Public Law 2015, Chapter 220, which was enacted on January 19, 2016, expands the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, Chapter 3B of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.  The law requires presidents of public higher education institutions to regularly report on-campus criminal and fire events to the institution’s governing board.

The OCC Board of Trustees, at its November 3, 2016, meeting, adopted Policy #2332, Reporting of On-Campus Criminal and Fire Events, which requires that the President report to the Board of Trustees, at each of its regular meetings, all crimes, fires, and other emergencies which occurred on campus during the previous reporting period.

These monthly reports will be included in the President’s Report to the Board of Trustees.  Attached you will find the report for the period November 3 through December 2, 2016.

Academic Affairs

• School of Arts and Humanities

The School of Arts and Humanities has offered a multitude of interesting events for students and the community during November and early December:

• The Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education presented Monsieur Ibrahim and The Lemon Tree as part of the Fall Film Series.  Also, Kristallnacht Remembered (Night of Broken Glass) was presented by Mr. Lawrence Glaser, Executive Director of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education.  Ms. Charlotte Langeveld, Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, will present “The Crisis in Sudan and Afghanistan:  A Personal Perspective.”
• The History Club presented Thunder over Egypt and From Slave to Criminal with One Amendment.  History Club advisors, Mr. Robert Marchie and Mr. Stephen Downey, both Lecturer IIs in History, coordinated the placement of drop boxes throughout campus during November, successfully collecting 544 pounds of non-perishable food and delivering it to the People’s Pantry, Hooper Avenue, Toms River.
• The Music Club, advised by Ms. Karin Gargone, Humanities Instructor, sponsored an Open Mic “Day of the Dead” Fest.  Also, a professional presentation occurred by Ms. Sandy Josephson, jazz curator, and journalist, on the music of Gerald Joseph “Gerry” Mulligan, jazz saxophonist.  The Art of Composing was presented by Ms. Amanda Harberg, composer and pianist; the Visual Art of Advent was presented by Dr. Marilyn Kralik, College Lecturer II of Art History; and the Music of Advent was presented by Adjunct Professor of Latin, Rev. Peter Stravinskas.
• Presentations during International Education Week, coordinated by Ms. Erica Carboy, College Lecturer II of English, included:
• Ms. Jayanti Tamm, Assistant Professor of English:  “Arundhati Roy:  From Literary Superstar to Social Activist”
• Dr. Sandra Brown, Professor of English:  “Winning:  the Remarkable Story of Inocente Azu”
• Dr. Joaquin Rolon, Associate Professor of English:  “I Can Fly:  Super Heroes and Dreams in Judith Ortiz Cofer’s “Volar”
• Dr. Jennifer Dellner, Professor of English:  “Celia’s Song,” a 2014 Canadian novel by Lee Maracle
• The Ocean County College Repertory Theatre Company is presenting a modern romantic comedy about marriage and a dog, “Sylvia,” written by A.R. Gurney and directed by Mr. Will Salmons, Adjunct Professor of Communications.
• Finally, under the coordination and leadership of Mr. Peter Waldman, Interim College Lecturer II of English, the Accelerated Learning Program in English has a 100% retention rate and student success in all sections.

In the Study Abroad program, the registration deadline is December 10, 2016, for OCC’s “World of the Maya” travel seminar to Mexico from March 18 to 26, 2017.

• School of Business and Social Sciences
  • The Future Addiction Counselors of America Club, under the leadership of Mr. Jeff Lang, will conduct NARCAN training on December 1, 2016.  NARCAN is used to temporarily reverse the potentially life-threatening effects of opioid overdose.  Mr. Lang also presented a lecture for OCC faculty entitled, “A Global Perspective of Addiction,” on November 30, 2016.
  • Mr. Jason Ghibesi, Lecturer II of Political Science and History, continues to provide commentary for the Asbury Park Press with regard to the outcome of the Presidential election and the subsequent transition.  Quotes from Mr. Ghibesi have been included in several recent articles:  “The Election is Stressing People Out, Here’s Why,” published on November 6, 2016, and “After Trump’s Win, Fear, Hurt and Worry for Minorities, LGBT People,” published on November 9, 2016.
  • Mr. Ed Kissling, Professor of Business Studies, participated in the New Jersey Paralegal Convention held October 21, 2016, at the Woodbridge Renaissance in Iselin, New Jersey.
  • Students of Ms. Jennifer Barnes, Lecturer II of Political Science, were privileged to experience lectures by top military personnel.  On November 1, 2016, Major John Cayangyang, a Judge Advocate General with the United States Army, spoke with political science students about service, patriotism, and military life.  On November 4, 2016, Colonel Martin Klein, the Deputy Commander of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, met with the political science and criminal justice students to discuss nationalism, patriotism, terrorism, and national defense.  In addition, on November 18, 2016, criminal justice students in Professor Barnes’ Constitutional Law class received a tour of the Ocean County Justice Complex and observed several criminal sentencings.  The students also had an opportunity to meet privately with Judge Wendel Daniels in his chambers, where the judge explained in great detail the criminal process to the students.  Judge Daniels extended an invitation to have more classes meet with him.
  • On December 5, 2016, the Kean/OCC Entrepreneurial Club will co-sponsor an event in which six local entrepreneurs will discuss how they started their individual businesses and the realities of running a successful business.  This event will be hosted by three Kean faculty and three OCC faculty:  Ms. Kathy Dillon, Associate Professor of Business; Mr. Chris Bottomley, College Lecturer II in Business; and Ms. Patty Kunzman, Adjunct in Business Administration (OCC faculty).

• School of Nursing and Health Sciences
  • The School of Nursing will utilize AristaCare in Whiting and Manchester, New Jersey, to provide students with clinical experiences beginning in the spring 2017 semester.  These two new sites will be incorporated within the Nursing I course to assure students receive appropriate experiences in caring for the geriatric population.
  • On November 30, 2016, the School of Nursing hosted an Advisory Committee meeting that provided members from clinical affiliates and OCC faculty with the opportunity to discuss pertinent information and obtain input from the affiliates regarding nursing and health care.  The School provides the committee with outcome data regarding program completion rates and licensure passing scores as well as processes that are implemented to assure student success.  The Advisory Committee meets twice a year during the fall and spring semesters.
  • The Student Nurses Association will be holding a Holiday Bake Sale on December 13, 2016, in the Bartlett Building from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Proceeds will be utilized to provide student nurses with scholarships, which are presented at the Annual Pinning Ceremony in May.
  • Ms. Denise VanSant-Smith, MSN, RN, Lecturer II of Nursing, participated in the 17^th Annual “Diabetes First” Seminar, Uncontrolled Diabetes… Why?  The seminar was sponsored by the MOLLY Diabetes Education/Management Center for Adults and Children at Hackensack University Medical Center in Maywood, New Jersey, on November 2, 2016.  Ms. VanSant-Smith is pursuing a doctoral degree from Duquesne University.  The focus of her doctoral dissertation is the psychological and physiological effects of teaching mindfulness-based stress reduction to adolescents with diabetes.

• School of STEM
  • Assistant Professor of Science Eric Antonelli and Dr. Angel Camilo, Lecturer II of Science, are working with OCC students Nate Burgdorfer and Steve Jones to configure Arduino sensors to measure plant transpiration for a future research paper to be presented at the New Jersey Academy of Science.  Professor Antonelli has been in contact with representatives from Microsoft regarding possible funding opportunities to expand this research.  A meeting with OCC grants representatives will be scheduled soon to review Professor Antonelli’s information from Microsoft.
  • Professor Antonelli and Dr. Camilo presented at the NJEDge annual meeting in Princeton, New Jersey.  The topic presented was “How to Use Your Cellphones and Tablets to Augment Your Labs.”
  • The STEM School is collaborating for a second year with Toms River High School South. The STEM Academy began with a kick-off assembly for South juniors conducted by OCC Science Club students Maureen Nelson, Shannon Chapter, Brandon Badilla, and Lizmarie Santa.  OCC presenters conducted six science demonstrations, one in physics and five in chemistry.  The response from students and faculty was extremely positive.  Mr. Vijay Ramdeen, Lecturer II in Chemistry, will conduct weekly classroom activities at the high school that will conclude with an on-campus STEM day at OCC during the week of January 9, 2017.
  • Dean Paul Silberquit attended the League of Innovation for Community Colleges’ annual STEMtech conference, which was held from November 6 to 9, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  • Several faculty members attended the annual NJEA Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in early November:  Mr. Donald George, Instructor of Computer Studies; Dr. Yuan Zhong Xu, Professor of Mathematics; Ms. Bridget Feneis, Assistant Professor of Mathematics; Ms. Lynn Vazquez, Associate Professor of Mathematics; and Ms. Jill Zacharczyk, Assistant Professor of Mathematics.
  • Twenty-six OCC students took the Round One Test of the American Mathematics Association of Two-Year Colleges’ Student Mathematics League on November 2, 2016.  Proctoring the test were Mr. Theodore Gordon, Instructor of Mathematics; Ms.  Kaaren Finberg, Assistant Professor of Mathematics; Ms. Shirley Grone, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, and Dr. Yuan Zhong Xu.
  • The School is pleased to announce that David Ochs, an OCC graduate, was accepted into Columbia University’s Actuarial Master’s Program.  David thanked Mr. Ted Gordon for providing him with a solid foundation in calculus.
  • Members of the Mathematics Department donated six turkey dinners to St. Aloysius Church’s annual Thanksgiving food drive.

• Library

The Chess Book Collection room in the Library is proving to be a very popular space and will be featured in the next edition of Ocean Views.  Students play chess every day in the first-floor Library Tower room, using the Library’s oversized chess set.  The grand opening for the collection is scheduled to take place in March 2017 to correspond with the next Grand Masters’ chess event.

Library professional staff are working together to develop outreach opportunities to potential OCC students.  Ms. Donna Rosinski-Kauz, Director of Library Services, recently spoke with Dr. Henry Jackson, Executive Director of Academic Success, and Ms. Heather Barbieri, Executive Director of the Ocean County College Foundation, to gain insight into outreach methods, high school visits, and the OCC Foundation’s pilot study this year to showcase OCC’s wealth of opportunities.  Efforts will concentrate on outreach to local chess clubs and on developing webinars and videos for local student interaction.

Library staff have inventoried and updated the Reserve Collection, one of the most important Library collections.  Through cooperative efforts with each of the Schools on campus, the Library has acquired a copy of almost every textbook that is in use, which allows in-Library access for students who are not able to purchase their textbooks. Some students have remarked that they would be unable to stay in college without this service.

The Archives Collection is going to be moved from an office behind the Circulation Desk to the front portion of the Technical Services suite (Room 200) to provide more space for the collection and easier supervised access to the materials.  In order to clear the space for the Archives Collection, the Government Documents team is working on weeding certain parts of the Government Documents collection.  Once these materials have been properly deaccessioned, the Archives Collection will be installed.  Staff members look forward to the move as it should increase awareness and use of the Archives Collection.

The Library’s Weeding Project is getting underway, and the data collected from the Library Inventory Project will be used to make deselection decisions for the collection.  The Library has a new software application that allows for quick and efficient inventorying of the collection and helps build suggested deselection lists.  These lists will be used as guides for curating the Library’s collection to ensure up-to-date and accurate materials are available to students.

e-Learning and Learning Enterprises

• Domestic e-Learning Program
  • Marketing

e-Learning will be launching a new marketing campaign this year.  This campaign capitalizes on the 7.5 week rolling semesters and advertises a degree program in as few as four semesters.

• Recruitment

Currently, the marketing and recruitment efforts being performed primarily by Kiosk (marketing) and Inside Track (recruitment and retention) are moving beyond their infancy stage.  Implementation of these efforts began in July 2016 with a handoff of these services from Pearson to OCC’s current vendors.  As of November 28, 2016, the current recruitment pipeline looks as follows:

The 150 students listed here were registered for a total of 625 credits, with an average of 4.16 credits per student.  This correlates to the high percentage of part-time and non-degree students who are choosing OCC Online.

OCC Online is marketing nationwide but focusing on hot spots in Florida, California, Texas, and certainly the Northeast. The following maps indicate where OCC students are residing for the fall 2016 terms (note that the 56 students from Egypt are not shown):

• Domestic Partnerships

Domestically, OCC has been recognized nationwide recently via several avenues.  Gallup has approached the College and indicated its desire to profile OCC as a “thriving institution” in one of its current research projects.

Additionally, the e-Learning Department is forging 3+1 model partnerships with Thomas Edison State University, Colorado State University Global Campus, and Northeastern University.  OCC Online’s national presence is a major contributing factor in enabling these partnerships.

• International Partnerships

On the international side, OCC has many projects underway:

• Ain Shams University (pilot cohort currently in operation, fall 2016)
• IMI Training and Management Institute (out of pilot phase, partnership operating for two years now)
• Arab Academy for Science and Maritime Transport (pilot cohort slated for spring 2017)
• Ahram Canadian University (pilot cohort slated for fall 2017)
• Arab Academy for Banking and Finance (currently negotiating program)