The
PRESIDENT’S CORNER
Review
Q4: JULY - SEPTEMBER, 2017 ● ISSUE #145
®
PAGES 2-3
CW WAY CORNER PAGE 5
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS PAGE 6
BACHELOR OF INFO TECH PAGE 9
UNDERSTANDING MILLENNIALS PAGES 12-13
Photo captured from Students vs. Staff/Faculty Softball Game Read more on page 10
CW’S MISSION
The College of Westchester graduates individuals who have completed transformative and purposeful educational experiences that provide the foundation for successful, relevant professional careers. As an academically student-centered, culturally diverse college, CW is committed to providing the highest quality of education for all career and entrepreneurial-minded students through the delivery of a carefully constructed and focused curriculum, informed by regional employers. The College supports and encourages academic excellence, career advancement, professional integrity, financial responsibility, and good citizenship through a distinctive and highly personal campus environment. This is a confidential document for internal use only.
President’s Corner Mary Beth Del Balzo Middle States Re-Accreditation Visit October 15-18, 2017
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t’s hard to believe that after all these months and months of planning, meeting and working on our Self Study, our Middle States Re-accreditation Visit is now just a few weeks away. This is a very exciting time for the college as it is through the Self Study and ultimately the accreditation visits that we are able to achieve an even higher level of success. We have achieved so many milestones since our last Re-accreditation visit, such as being authorized by NYS Board of Regents to offer the Bachelor of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science Degrees, and being authorized by NYS Department of Education and MSCHE to offer courses and programs in an online format which, through our participation in SARA, extends that authority to serving students in 47 states. Other accolades include the fact that CW is the proud recipient of prestigious Quality Matters “Making a Difference for Students” Online Education Award. Additionally, CW was ranked highest among all Westchester County undergraduate colleges and universities in Curriculum Value by the Brookings Institution, (Source: April 2015 Brookings Institution report, Beyond College Ranking: A Value-Added Approach to Assessing Two- and Four-Year Schools.) http://tinyurl.com/beyondcollege A study released by the Equality of Opportunity Project early this year and reported in the New York Times found that CW was among the nation's top 7% of all colleges and universities in raising our graduates' economic mobility.
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(Source and online calculator: https://www. nytimes.com/interactive/projects/collegemobility/the-college-of-westchester) Also noteworthy, since 2012, CW has had ten students accepted to participate in the highly competitive i3 Scholar Undergraduate Research Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences. Only 25 students from across the country are selected each year! And the list goes on…but the bottom line is none of these achievements would have been possible without your hard work and dedication. CW has been a constant and successful institution since 1915 and that is largely due to the fact that we work as a team to fulfill our mission. We have a rich history of educating students in ways that help them get ahead by giving them opportunities through an education that is specific enough to allow them to dream dreams of professional success and achieve goals that they could not have otherwise accomplished without the reality of focused higher education. I am proud to be a part of an educational institution that does what it sets out to do. We do not try to be all things to all people, but we are committed to being successful leaders in career education. So, thank you! Your efforts are truly appreciated, and I am confident the team will clearly recognize all the great things we do when they visit on us October 15-18, 2017. However, as much as this is an exciting time, surely some of you are feeling nervous too, and that’s normal.4
Joann Mulqueen and Stacy Larson will be presenting at the Quarterly Meeting on October 5, and their presentation will give an overview of what to expect during the visit. But the key takeaway is to share what you know when asked by the Evaluation Team Members, and if you don’t know the answer, it’s okay to say so. Just show the team the great CW employee you are! ■
Student Services @ CW You may be aware of some changes around CW, all designed to help support students in their efforts to succeed. The Academic Center on the fourth floor is now called Student Services. It has a new look, a new central information desk that students can easily approach to seek assistance for anything that they need. From that desk, they can be guided to an Academic Advisor, Student Financial Services Counselor, The Counseling Center, Club information, and directions on just about anything they might be seeking at CW (library, ID cards, The Learning Center, Honors Program info, etc.
Please bear with us as we bring this Student Concierge concept to life. It is a work in progress and we welcome feedback to make it even better! Please direct your feedback to the Office of the President or to Maria Gangi! Along with these fundamental customer services changes, other changes are underway. With a bumpy start to the bookstore launch, we hope to continue to lower the cost of books and offer students more choices in new, used or rental books. Look for an email with other realignments aimed at better serving our students.
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Please join us in welcoming the following new employees to the CW Family: Laura Hernandez & Gerald DeLaney (aka Jay Michaels) By Krissy Frano Administrative Assistant - Executive Office
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aura Hernandez has joined CW as an Adjunct in the Allied Health Department. Laura is a registered nurse and she received her Master’s in Nursing from Hunter College. Laura currently works for a very large nursing home in Manhattan. She is in charge of their home health care division that consists of a Licensed Home Care Services Agency, a Health Home division, and a Care Management division. In total, her division services 1300 patients/clients living in their homes in the boroughs of Manhattan, Bronx, Kings, Queens, and, as well, Westchester. There are 600 employees that she is ultimately responsible for. They provide nursing, social work services, care management services, and paraprofessional services to a chronic and, primarily, elderly population. Their programs are heavily regulated and the primary source of reimbursement is Medicaid. Throughout her career, her specialty has been health care administration for community based home health care programs. Laura grew up in Soundview area of the Bronx and now resides with her husband in Bronxville but a city girl at heart! Her husband is a professional film editor and their daughter is in graphic design. Laura is a yoga practitioner and is currently studying to become a yoga teacher. Laura enjoys yoga because it keeps her centered and connected to all good things in the universe. She is also a sound healer and likes to bake. When we asked Laura about her experience so far at the college she said, “so far, everyone has been very supportive and accessible. I am looking forward to becoming an integral part of the team and to contributing to our students’ knowledge.” Laura would like to add about herself that “she has endless energy, a great sense of humor, and believes that all challenging events in life have purpose and teach us how to be strong and compassionate to others but also to ourselves. She is also passionate about the need to have a sound education, particularly for women. All of us have a job to do and education empowers us!”
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erald DeLaney aka Jay Michaels has joined CW has an Adjunct Instructor in the Business Department. He has been a voice in morning radio for over 20 years, and is currently the host of the WEBE Wake up Morning Show on WEBE 108 in Bridgeport CT. Prior to that, he hosted mornings for 20 years at WFAS FM White Plains, NY in Westchester County. In addition, he is the morning host on over twelve stations around the nation for Cumulus Media Inc. Jay’s career has spanned over thirty years including a six year stop-over in the NYC market working for a country music station and weekend host and producer on The True Oldies Channel, a nationally syndicated music radio show. He has been voicing local and regional radio commercials for 30 years. He also received the Best of Westchester top radio personality award five times along with numerous awards of recognition for community involvement. In addition to CW, Jay has also taught at the Connecticut School of Broadcast, helping students learn the skills to begin their careers in radio broadcasting. Jay currently resides in Northern Westchester with his wife, and they have three daughters. In his free time, Jay enjoys running. He completed five NYC Marathons, and is thinking about running one more! When we asked Jay about his experience so far at the college he said, “I have enjoyed my experience at CW so far; everyone has been very friendly and helpful. I have met some wonderful faculty members through the Online Faculty Training course, and I am looking forward to teaching Principles of Marketing online this upcoming term. I was first introduced to CW through my daughter, Joanna DeLaney.” Please also join me in welcoming new employees Andre Hooks, Jacqueline Shaw, Nicholas Diloreto, Jason Hungreder, Ann Rodier and Faith Thompson.
CW Way Corner By Jessica Muller Manager of Business Operations
EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR AWARDS!
It’s that time of year again! We will soon be asking for Employee of the Year nominations, so it’s time to start thinking about which of your colleagues are deserving of this prestigious award! This is a peer-nominated award and a special honor for any CW employee to receive. So, your input is critical to this process! The Employee of the Year Award is presented each year to one staff member and one faculty member who have truly demonstrated The CW Way by their outstanding dedication to CW and through significant contributions to the well-being of CW students, prospective students, graduates, employers and fellow employees. They are CW employees who truly exemplify all of the facets of The CW Way philosophy, as outlined in the four CW Way statements.
This year’s Employee of the Year Awards will be presented at the Employee Appreciation Event being held on campus at CW on Friday, December 1st. We look forward to celebrating with everyone that day!
Support the Halloween Drawing Basket Drawing, sponsored by CW, benefiting: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is underway! Be sure to visit the Admissions Office lobby and the Academic Center to see the two baskets on display. Six tickets for $5.00 or $1.00 each Return the tickets and money to: Career Services, Academic Affairs, Financial Services or Admissions. Please make checks payable to: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Winners will be announced at the Halloween Party in the Student Center on Tuesday, October 31st. No need to be present to win.
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It’s Enrollment Time Again for Employee Benefits…. By Anna Bravo, Human Resources Manager As many of you know, this is the time of year when our employee benefit plans renew and we offer open enrollment to all eligible employees. During the months of November and December, informational meetings will be held to cover all of the benefits available to you, your plan options and any important changes that you need to be aware of. This year we are happy to announce that we are partnering with a new online benefits enrollment platform called PBS, that will provide more user-friendly service to benefits-eligible employees both during the open enrollment process and throughout the year!
Please pay close attention to the announcements that will be coming out soon via email about this new platform, your plan options any plan changes for the coming year, open enrollment meetings and enrollment deadlines!
Please do not hesitate to contact me at ext. 353 with any questions.
Amazon is Amazing: Help Support the College of Westchester Charitable Foundation Do you like to shop online? If so, chances are you’ve done shopping on www.amazon.com once or twice, or a hundred. Amazon really is amazing. Not only can you find virtually anything you are looking for on this site, but if you’re a Prime Member, you can also have your stuff on your doorstep in two days. Can’t beat it! Another amazing thing about Amazon is that through their AmazonSmile program, they will donate .05% of your purchase to the charity of your choice. This is a great way to donate to our very own College of Westchester Charitable Foundation. It’s very easy to do. To register your charity, go to www.smile.amazon.com , and you will be prompted to select the charitable organization from almost one million eligible organizations, and College of Westchester Charitable Foundation is one of those organizations. From then on, for all eligible purchases, AmazonSmile will donate .05% to the charity. AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that lets customers enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com. Thanks in advance for your support of the CWCF Foundation! 6 | Q3 REVIEW 6 | Q4 REVIEW
Truth or Consequences: Students Need Help Understanding the Source and the Truth Behind News Media By Kelly Walsh, Chief Information Officer For centuries, it has been important for people to realize that "news" is often delivered with a specific agenda in mind and to have an eye open for that. Here in the early decades of the 21st century, our web-enabled, mediadrenched, smartphone-tapping lifestyles add more layers of obfuscation ... too much, too fast, with too little effort to understand what we are sharing or "reporting". Top all of that off with an American President who has a rather bizarre relationship with the media and the truth, and you have a real formula for fogginess and "news" fatigue.
We are losing our connection with, and perhaps even our respect for, real information, from genuine, unbiased sources. The image above encapsulated a structured approach to peeling back the layers of confusion, repetition, and agendas to try and get to the underlying realities that drive a particular news item. While getting through some layers is easier than others, I think the very concept is in and of itself insightful and informative. For a more in depth exploration, and examples, of “peeling the layers�, come explore the full article at emergingedtech.com/truth.
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Vacation Homes
By John Strange, Associate Chairperson and Associate Professor, Accounting
By Kelly Walsh, Chief Information Officer
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hat do you think of when you see the term "vacation home" ? You probably think of a second home that serves as a nice get-away to the Jersey Shore, Montauk, Cape Cod, the Outer Banks, or Myrtle Beach. The IRS views "vacation homes" differently than we do. To them, a vacation home is one that is used part of the year for personal use and is rented out for the remainder of the year. If you rent the house for 15 days or more and use it for personal purposes for 14 days or less, it is considered a rental property and you can claim a rental loss, if appropriate. If you rent the house for 15 days or more and use it for personal purposes for more than 14 days, you can only deduct rental expenses to the extent of rental income - in other words your deductible losses can't exceed your rental income. There is a third category that is most interesting, considering that everyone wants to earn income that is tax-free - if you rent your house for 14 days or less during the year, the entire amount of the rental income is tax-free - yes, it is not taxable.
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Bachelor of Information Technology By Dr. Grace Bonanno, Chairperson and Professor, Computer Networking
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he Computer Network Administration department has proposed a four-year Information Technology degree. The BS in IT will offer Network Administration, Programming, Database Concepts, and Cyber Security classes. The structure of our current Associates degree in Network Administration, for the most part, will remain the same. Students will still take the PC and OS Technology classes, teaching the CompTIA A+ content, the four Cisco Networking Academy courses, teaching the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) content, and the Microsoft Windows Client and Server Administration classes, teaching the Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 content, as well as basic database administration. These classes lay the foundation for 300 and 400 level advanced programming and cyber security classes as well as offer advanced database administration classes. Changes to the current curriculum include the addition of 100 and 200 level required classes such as introductory programming and network security.
In addition, CW’s BS in IT program closely maps to a program developed and sponsored by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The NSA and DHS jointly sponsor the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) program. Upon NYS approval of CW’s BS in IT degree, application to become a CAECD institution will be made. This program promotes Schools that are research and education approved must in cyber defense and follow stringent its goal is to produce professionals with cyber CAE criteria and offer a core set defense expertise to help reduce of cyber defense courses or vulnerability in our knowledge units national information (KUs). Examples infrastructure. of KUs are: programming, databases and data analysis, network technologies and protocols, operating systems concepts, network security/cyber threats and defense. If approved as a CAE-CD institution, CW will receive formal recognition from the U.S. Government and graduates of the BS in IT program will partake in opportunities for prestige and publicity for their role in securing our Nation’s information systems. Q4 REVIEW | 9
Students8Win Against Staff/Faculty!
Score: 16-9
Student Activities sponsored CW’s annual Barbecue and Softball Game in Delfino Park this past July. Students and Staff & Faculty gathered to enjoy a BBQ, summer treats sold by Sisters United, and the traditional softball game between students and Staff & faculty. Students won yet again with a final score of 16-9!! 10 | Q4 REVIEW
Q4 Highlights Allied Health Career Café
Enactus Social Media Workshop
Evening College BBQ
Evening Students of Semester
Allied Health students had the opportunity to network with employers to discuss careers, including internships and full-time positions, as well as mentoring opportunities. It was a lovely event for the evening students as they enjoyed some burgers and hotdogs before going to class.
The Women’s Enterprise Development Center partnered with CW’s chapter of the nonprofit organization Enactus to host a workshop about the basics of social media. BBA student Miosotis Hernandez (right) and AAS student, Christine Owen (left) were recognized.
Tour the World Fashion Show
CW’s Caribbean Student Association hosted a “Tour the World” Fashion show that highlighted cultural outfits from New York all the way to Barbados. The event featured a Student Art showcase sponsored by the Digital Media & Sketch Clubs that displayed how artistically diverse the CW community is.
Backpack Drive
CW’s Club Sister United ran a successful backpack drive to support non-profit organization, “My Sisters’ Place.” This annual back to school drive collects filled backpacks for the families served by MSP that need help preparing for the upcoming school year.
Day College Ice Cream Social
Student Activities sponsored the annual Ice Cream Social where Day Students, faculty and staff enjoyed ice cream from the Good Humor ice cream truck.
Club Bowling Tournament
CW club members took the afternoon off to participate at the Club Bowling Tournament. Organized by the Brothers United Club, students spent an amazing day at Bowlmor Lanes.
Street Fair
Prof. Paula Cancro’s Project Management Class chose the best day to host Street Fair. It was a day to enjoy live music, fun games, and an obstacle course race. Also, Sisters United Club had some summer treats for sale.
Food Truck
Professor D’Allacco’s Event Planning & Promotions class hosted a delicious end-ofsemester event for the CW community by having a food truck parked in the South Lot.
Medical Billing Field Trip
Dr. Pough’s Medical Billing class took an off-site field trip visit to Medical Billing and Consulting Services, LLC located in Ardsley, NY.
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Understanding Millennials
Q&A with Tyler Anderson By Roman Sierra, Public Relations & Social Media Coordinator
How would you define a Millennial? Tyler Anderson
Social media marketing entrepreneur, speaker, and host of the Social Media Social Hour Podcast. Tyler is the founder and CEO of Casual Friday’s and Executive Producer of Social Media Dan San Diego. He has over 14 years of digital marketing, social media marketing, and public relations experience and has worked with hundreds of brands on social media and content marketing initiatives.
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To me, millennials are young adults who grew up with technology. When they grew up, computers were already in the house. They probably learned the alphabet by typing the letters, instead of handwriting them. They have been using technology from day one.
Can you list some characteristics of a Millennial? One of the biggest characteristics is that they don’t trust advertising. They trust what their friends say and what real people say. 60% of Millennials trust what we call, “user generated content” (UGC). In other words, this means recommendations from other people related to products and services. That’s how they make their buying decisions; it’s based on what their friends are saying, and what their networks are saying. Millennials are not loyal to any brand. Millennials are actually extremely un-loyal with brands. If that product or service is falling behind with something new or better, they just adapt to a new one.
Why are Millennials so difficult to approach and convince in terms of advertising?
Millennials were raised in the “first me” generation, which is a participation trophy generation. They always like to be getting the recognition. From the technology standpoint too; they have conversations through technology, which makes it difficult to have interaction with a real person; unless that person is also a Millennial sharing his/her experience with them.
When we talk about Millennials, do we also talk about very specific social media platforms?
No, you can find Millennials in almost any social media platform. Obviously Snapchat is probably the obvious one. But you can also find Millennials on WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The very young Millennials can be found on apps like “musical.ly”. 4
What companies do you think are doing a great job marketing to Millennials? The first one that comes out is definitely Taco-Bell. They do a great job. They know their core audience. They not only do a great job targeting Millennials, but they specifically do a great job targeting male Millennials because that is their audience. They’re always embracing the newest technology; they perfectly know their influencers. Nike, Converse, Monster, and RedBull are also doing a great job. Aeropostale, JCrew, and Abercrombie & Fitch all do a great job as well because Millennials are their demographic. A few years ago Millennials were talking about Snapchat, and it was the best thing of the year. Now, Snap Inc. is a publicly traded company. What’s next? Do you think Millennials will keep changing the way we communicate and make business?
How can a company earn a Millennial’s trust and loyalty? I don’t know if it’s necessarily just Millennials because these are just basic principles and foundations for Millennials and Gen X-ers to some degree. First is pay attention to what they’re saying about you online. They will all go and tweet about you, or tag you in an Instagram post. I think you can earn their trust by partnering with people that they find influential. Obviously, be straightforward and transparent. Be honest and authentic with them and they will appreciate that. Probably the last one is, Millennials like experiences. How can you turn your product into an experience? Make everything an experience and you’ll get Millennial’s attention and engagement immediately.
Not the Millennials but probably Gen Z. Here’s the thing: It’s evolution. The way that we are talking about Millennials is literally no different from Gen X-ers when they were 20 or 24 years old, the difference was the technology that kept evolving. Things will be just changing and evolving. In 5 or 10 years, we will be discussing how to target Gen Z because in 10 years we’ll know how to target Millennials, just as we now know how to target Gen X-ers. Q4 REVIEW | 13