After 21 years, Child Development Center closes
Union T h e
EL CAMINO COLLEGE
Trayvis Peters
Staff Writer @ECCUnionTrayP
For 21 years the Child Development Center (CDC) has been a second home to children from the EC family. With the Center closing after this spring semester its staff, parents, and children are left discomposed. “I am very devastated. That’s the only word I can use to describe this situation,” Jennifer Montgomery, child development professor, said. On October 21, 2013 the EC board of trustees voted to
eccunion.com May 1, 2014 Torrance, California
accept the President’s recommendation to authorize the closure of the CDC. This closure will take place effective June 30. The CDC helped students attend school and gave children a safe environment, Montgomery said. It allowed students to continue with their education, knowing their children were taken care of in a safe environment. After the CDC closes, the building will be leased to a Head Start Program. “I’m trying my best to help parents find a new place for their children,” Montgomery said. “As of right now I do not know were the students are going.”
Nursing EC’s accreditation woes
New summer sessions serve students Celine West
Staff Writer @ECCUnionCeline
lesser because of that.” Since EC is not a four-year institution or regarded as a prestigious school, the team is even more motivated to perfect their game.
The new EC summer session, now divided into three terms, has been designed to attract incoming students and allow current students to earn more credits quickly, administrators said. “We expect to have a robust summer,” Francisco Arce, vice president of Academic Affairs, said. “Within the summer session there are three terms: the [first] six-week session, the second six-week session, and the eight-week session.” He believes that the reallocation of time away from the now-discontinued winter session allows students more flexibility in the summer. “Summer is a longer period. Winter session was only five weeks long and there was a lot more pressure on students,” Arce said. “You have several more schedule options in the summertime: It can be the eight weeks if you need a little bit more time, or the first six weeks because you want to get it over with and then work, or if you want to work in the beginning of the summer then go to school, the last six weeks might be best. You just have a lot more choices packed into one session.” Administrators also see this change as a means for ambitious students to earn more credits quickly. “Say you are a two year student or a three year student. With these summer sessions, we have three terms within the summer session so a student could conceptually pick up 10 units pretty easily if they are motivated,” Arce said. In addition, EC designed its summer session with the intention of allowing its spring semester students to transition smoothly into summer coursework. “You can see that it is a very short turn around from the end of the semester to the start of the summer term, so we thought that it would benefit the group of students who are already enrolled here,” Arce said. The sessions have the added benefit of encouraging high school students to plan out their educational paths. “High school students who complete the matriculation process, which is orientation, assessment and educational planning, by March 31, are given priority registration,” Arce said. “These students will be in a good position to enroll in this second, six-week session. What we are trying to do is give recent graduates a little bit of an upper edge if they go through the matriculation.” Other administrators agreed that the new summer sessions cater to the needs of incoming students. “Our placement of the second session is such that almost any high school senior who wants to get off to a good start and get a leg up can do so,” Thomas Lew, dean of Humanities, said. A plethora of new courses have been added this summer in an attempt to meet varying student needs. “We added almost 100 sections to the summer schedule,” Arce said. “There are a variety of types of courses that we offer, and it will be a pretty comprehensive schedule.”
[See FORENSICS, Page 2]
[See SUMMER, Page 2]
Photo Illustration by Charles Ryder/ Union Effective March 10, EC’s nursing program voluntarily withdrew its bid for accreditation from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), but will continue to provide instruction while licensed by the California State Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) and the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC).
Rocky Rivera
E
Staff Writer @ECCUnionRocky
C’s nursing program has voluntarily withdrawn from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) after years of failing to meet standards set by the accreditation service, according to a pair of letters from Francisco Arce, vice president of Academic Affairs to Thomas Fallo, president of EC. “Students graduating from nonACEN accredited colleges may not easi-
ly obtain employment in federal government installations,” according to a letter dated March 11. “Some private colleges may not accept transfer students from colleges that do not have ACEN accreditation; some specific grants and scholarships are only available to students attending ACEN accredited colleges.” After reviewing the results of the last ACEN site visit from 2013, the Nursing Program faculty recommended withdrawing from the accreditation body. “It is in the best interest of the program to withdraw from the ACEN accreditation process at this time,” according to the same letter. “This will
allow for program restructuring and development, as well as the opportunity to fully address and resolve the recommendations needed to meet the ACEN standards.” In 2011, another ACEN site visit team evaluated the EC Nursing Program and recommended it be placed on warning status. After being given two years to resolve the initial deficiencies, the program submitted a self-evaluation report in the fall of 2013, followed by a site team visit that November. “The team findings indicated that the Nursing Program does not meet the accreditation standards in three areas, and
recommended revocation of ACEN accreditation,” according to the March 11 letter. The first of these unmet requirement was regarding “Mission and Administrative Capacity” issues. “The ACEN site visit team observed limited documentation to support communities’ of interest (hospital affiliates, advisory committees) contributions to decision-making processes for program development,” according a second letter dated April 17. [See NURSING, Page 2]
Forensics delivers on last chance to come first Celine West
Staff Writer @ECCUnionCeline
NEWS LINE
After incredibly successful results from their last tournament of the season, Phi Rho Pi Nationals in Denver, the EC debate team reflected on their eventful year as they prepared for the inevitable changes in their future. “We won the Nation Championship in debate,” Francesca Bishop, director of forensics, said. The team award was also accompanied by impressive individual results for its members. “Abigail Watkins was third speaker in the nation,” Bishop said, “ and she took two golds, a silver, and a bronze,” she said, “Andrew Escalante won the Fellowship Award and was also top speaker in the Lincoln Douglas debate.” Such results have been the norm, rather than the happy exception this semester. “This is one of the best seasons ever,” Bishop said, “and last year was also spectacular.” The team’s successes have set a tone through the country for the school’s rep-
Photo Courtesy of Francesca Bishop EC’s debate team posing with their awards after a first-place finish at Phi Rho Pi Nationals in Denver earlier last month.
utation. “El Camino, as a collective, is typically well-known throughout our nation because of what we do through debate,” Frank Masi, 19, global studies major, said. The debate team’s competitiveness
has even placed them above other elite schools. “We typically do better than teams from UCLA, Chapman, and Pepperdine,” Masi said, “It makes people realize that even though we are a community college, that we should not be seen as
Honors Transfer Program Conference
Careers in science
Nursing info session
EC fashion show
Today the Honors Transfer Program Conference will showcase its members’ accomplishments and the hard work they devoted throughout the semester from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Distance Education Center. For more information, contact the program at 310-6603815.
Interested in pursuing a career in science? Attend a presentation today and learn about different careers in the field. The presentation will be held in the Natural Science Building Room 205 (NATS205) from 1 to 2 p.m. For more information contact the department 310-660-3593 ext. 5244.
Aspiring to become a nurse? Take another step toward your goal. The counseling department will be hosting a nursing information session in the Distance Education Room on May 7 from 5 to 7 p.m. For more information, contact the counseling department 310-6603593, ext. 6137
Come out and support the Tailor Made Fashion club as they present “Ikon.” The event is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on May 9 at Marsee Auditorium. Tickets are $7 in advance and $10 at the door. For more information, contact Dr. Vera Bruce Ashley at 310-6603593, ext. 3346.
/ElCaminoUnion
@ECCUnion
/ECCUnion
news
2 El Camino College Union POLICE BEAT
May 1, 2014
Honor society goes to state convention
Citation for suspended license April 17, 11:22 a.m.—An officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for illegal tinted windows on Redondo Beach Boulevard, just west of the college. The driver was a female student, who was driving on a suspended license. The driver was given a citation for driving on the suspended license, and the officer allowed her to park her vehicle.
Medical aid call for student seizure April 17, 4 p.m.—Officers responded to the natural sciences quad area regarding a medical aid call. A female student was experiencing a seizure, and paramedics were notified. The student refused to be transported by paramedics, but her brother arrived shortly after to transport her to their primary medical provider.
Unrequited love no excuse for harassment April 22, 1:15 p.m.—An officer responded to the station regarding a possible harassment report. A female student stated she’s been harassed on campus by a male student she met in one of her classes. The male student keeps asking her for a ride home and has some romantic interest in the female student. The male student will be referred to the Director of Student Development regarding his actions.
Paramedics called for potential head injury April 23, 10 a.m.—Officers responded to the Administration Building regarding a medical aid call. An elderly, male non-student had fallen down the stairs on the north side of the building and struck his head. Paramedics were called, and he was transported to an area hospital for treatment.
Photo Courtesy of Paul Rorie EC’s Alpha Phi chapter sent seven students to the Alpha Gamma Sigma, a California Community College Scholastic Honors Society, State Convention April 4-6.
Chris Lee
Staff Writer @ECCUnionChris
Motivated to hit the books and flex their academic muscles, members of EC’s Alpha Phi chapter represented EC at the Alpha Gamma Sigma (AGS) State Convention on April 4 to 6. “[The convention] was very exciting. There was an atmosphere of congeniality but also competition between the chapters,” Paul Rorie, business instructor and Alpha Gamma Sigma advisor, said. The convention hosted numer-
NURSING, Continued from
Page 1
EC disagreed with this ruling and issued a program response to explain their position. “The Nursing Program supplied documentation demonstrating how two communities of interest provided input contributing to decisions for improving program learning outcomes and graduate satisfaction,” according to the April 17 letter. “A response was submitted to ACEN to correct errors of fact found in the
Debit card theft in Schauerman Library
FORENSICS, Continued from
April 23, 12:20 p.m.—Officers responded to the station regarding a theft report. A female student stated that her debit card had been stolen out of her purse, which had been inside the library.
“I think it is also because we are coming from a community college, that we need to prove that we’re not the dropouts from high school, that makes us so competitive, and typically we are incredibly competitive and we do very well at tournaments,” Masi said. Since the team is only allowed to take approximately a dozen people to nationals, qualifying for one of these positions is triumph in itself. “It is so competitive,” Brittany Hubble, 21, communications major, said. “There are only so may slots. Just making it to nationals is probably the most stressful part.” While the debate team is at the height of their performance, there are concerns their trajectory could plateau. “I think we have had the two best years, but I don’t think it’s going to last,” Bishop said. Her worries center around maintaining the team’s performance despite changes in coaching personnel. “Diana Crossman retired a year ago and it hasn’t been the same,” Bishop said. “We were lucky to get a part time coach to take over, and he is fabulous,
Bicyclist stops for no one April 23, 2:30 p.m.—An officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a male subject who was riding his bicycle against traffic on Manhattan Beach Boulevard, adjacent to Alondra Park. The subject tried to evade the officer by refusing to stop and continued to ride his bicycle southbound through Alondra Park. The subject, a male non-student, finally stopped his bike and was arrested for evading a police officer and was transported to the Torrance Police Department, where he was booked.
Treadmill accidents April 28, 12:50 p.m.—An elderly female student walked into the Police station lobby and requested to have paramedics examine her. The student had been using a treadmill in her PE class when she lost her balance and fell to the ground, sustaining abrasions to her head, knees and arms. Paramedics were notified and when they arrived, they transported to the student to an area hospital for treatment.
Medical aid call for chest pains April 28, 1:38 p.m.—Officers responded to the pool regarding a medical aid call. A female student participating in her swim class was experiencing chest pains. Paramedics were immediately notified and arrived on scene. The student was transported to an area hospital for treatment.
Page 1
SUMMER, Continued from
Page 1
The design of the summer sessions was also meant to help students complete the courses that they need to graduate on time. “Most students who plan to transfer wind up one or two classes short and the summer gives them the opportunity to take that class and focus on just that one course,” Lew said, “My daughter would not have been able to transfer after two years if classes were not available.” Thus far, students believe that the advertised changes will indeed help them meet their goals.
ous seminars, lectures and competitions for 35 California community college AGS chapters. In the competitions, EC AGS won awards for “Best Layout” for Publications Chair Gustavo Perez’s design of the EC newsletter and “Most Humorous Cheer” in the state, Omar El Adli, activities chair, said. The EC chapter’s cheer was a spoof on Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the USA.” “It was suprising. Some of these schools had totally elaborate cheers but for some crazy reason we won Most Humorous
Cheer,” El Adli said. The group won these awards in spite of being handicapped by budget cuts from EC, he added. “The competition was incredible steep. Other schools had 20 to 30 people to compete. We were limited by finance, but we did the best we could,” El Adli said. EC was able to send seven students to the convention, Rorie said. Notably, one of the seven, Faizan Mehmood, AGS club president, was awarded the Ed Walsh Service Scholarship. “This scholarship has been
awarded annually since 1970 to the AGS student who has given outstanding service to their college, chapter, and to their local community,” Mehmood said. Other workshops showed students tricks to succeed, Dhanu Prathap, vice president, said. “The better study habits workshop was really good for me since I’m transferring this semester,” Prathap said, “We did an in-workshop experiment and we found that we weren’t able to remember as much when you listen to music with words.” The convention also allowed
the EC chapter to learn more about how to better serve the community. “We had a chance to meet other chapter and exchange information and ideas to make our chapter at El Camino better,” Prathap said. The ideas that the EC chapter plans to implement will help with serving the community. “AGS does community service with actual interaction with people so we help the community directly,” El Adli said. “We try to cause a real change within the community.”
Site Visit Report.” The second standard noncompliant with ACEN was related to “Faculty and Staff.” “Some faculty files did not include necessary document to verify academic credentials as required by various governing agencies,” according to the second letter. “The team also noted that the ratio of full-time to parttime faculty was not in compliance with the standards.” The third requirement not in compliance with ACEN standards dealt with “Educational
Outcomes,” which requires graduates to achieve standardized skills that adhere to an institutional mission. According to the April letter, “The team stated that the SEP (Systematic Evaluation Plan) lacked aggregate and trend data to successfully inform program decision-making for student learning outcomes and graduate/ employer satisfaction. They also found a lack of data to confirm that graduates achieved competencies necessary for registered nursing preparation.”
Despite these alleged deficiencies, EC issued a press release on April 4 outlining its ability to continue providing nursing instruction. “El Camino College is fully accredited by ACCJC [the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges] and with that authority is approved to offer a nursing program,” according to the press release. “The nursing program has been and continues to be approved by the BRN [and] ACEN accreditation is not required by the ACCJC
standards for accreditation.” Rory Natividad, division dean of Health Sciences and Athletics, also made assurances that EC will seek ACEN accreditation in the future. EC is still accredited by the mandatory BRN. “We remain in solid standing with that,” Natividad said about BRN. “We don’t plan on changing any of that and we plan to still continue to educate students for jobs, transfers, and for graduations. We are here to serve students as best we can.”
but we’re not going to be able to keep him unless he gets hired full time. “We might be able to keep him for a year, but after that, he’ll get a full time job somewhere, and we are not going to be able to keep this up. The program will have a big decline,” Bishop added. “If you are a good coach you don’t stay part time for long. It’s really hard to find someone good.” In addition to faculty potentially leaving, the team will also be losing some top competitors who will soon be transfering out. “We’re losing a lot of people this year, “Bishop said. “We’re losing eight out of 12 that went to nationals. We’re only getting three people back, so we need to recruit.” The team will be losing many of these members to good fouryear schools. “Two of our graduating members are going on a debate scholarship to Lewis and Clark, four of them got into UCLA, and one is going to debate at Cal State Long Beach,” Bishop said. When key players leave, the team is left with the task of recruiting new players to replace them. “It’s like any sports team where they have rebuilding years,” Bishop said. “I think that it’s a great opportunity to take more classes and it works to our advantage,” Elizabeth Menegazzo, 26, business management major, said. “I think a lot of people can really take advantage of this.” Students who hope to graduate sooner also feel they can make good use of the new summer session schedule. “It will allow me to take more classes rather than cramming my prerequisites,” Brandon Neher, 30, radiologic technology, said, “I think the new summer sessions will help me get out of here sooner.”
Your Donation Today Means Jobs Tomorrow. When you donate gently used clothes and household items to Goodwill, you help create jobs and job training services for those with barriers to employment. Plus, your donations are tax deductible.
Donate.
Recycle.
Jobs. For more information visit
www.ThinkGood.org
©2014 Goodwill. Serving the People of Southern Los Angeles County.
Agency:
Creative Productions