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This week Student suspended for Oppenheimer incident Two aggressors and three victims were involved in a Sept. 26 verbal altercation at Oppenheimer Academic Center, Dr. Robert Vela, vice president of academic and student success, confirmed Oct. 25. Ultimately, one aggressor faced probation and the other was suspended, Vela said. “It just seemed bigger than it was because it was a mob of people,” he said. The Ranger reported Sept. 26 that four to 15 students were involved in the incident on the first floor of the building that required the attention of about 10 Alamo College police officers, including Chief Don Adams. Vela said the student who was suspended was already on probation for threatening a student a few days before the altercation. “It wasn’t just a one-time thing,” he said. Vela would not specify details on the altercation, and The Ranger has not yet received a copy of the police report.
Faith Duarte
Spring registration begins Nov. 12 Time-ticketing registration for spring begins Nov. 12-13 for students who have completed 46 or more hours, Nov. 14 for students with more than 31 hours, Nov. 15 for students with more than 16 hours and Nov. 16 for students with more than one credit hour. Open registration begins Nov. 19. Registration ends Jan. 11 for 16-week and Flex 1, Jan. 25 for Start 2 and March 13 for Flex 2. Classes begin Jan. 22 for 16-week and Flex 1, Feb. 4 for Start 2 and March 25 for Flex 2. For more information, visit http://www.alamo.edu/calendars/ or call admissions at 210486-0200.
Alma Linda Manzanares
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Vol. 87 Nov. 5, 5, 2012 2012 Vol. 87 Issue Issue 77 •• Nov.
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District launches mobile app MyAlamo features a directory, catalog and emergency information. By ALMA LINDA MANZANARES
created the learning management system the district has adopted, to Students can download MyAlamo, create the app at a cost of $66,000. a free mobile app that includes a “We think this will payoff 100 directory, emergency contact infortimes over,” he said. mation and news feeds, off the App Cleary said in spring 2011, inforStore for iOS operating system and mation technology services surveyed Google Play for Android operating 1,638 students representing the five system. colleges. Dr. Thomas Cleary, vice chancelHe said 78 percent of students who lor for planning, performance and responded owned a mobile device information systems, capable of mobile reported to district apps. “I’d imagine trustees at Tuesday’s that number is closer regular monthly meetto 90 percent today,” ing that Phase 1 of Cleary said. MyAlamo is complete; He said MyAlamo however, the app is is part of the BYOD, not available on the bring your own Blackberry AppWorld device, which leverbecause Blackberry is ages the technology the “minority of the that students already market.” have. MyAlamo “If you have a brings applications Blackberry, I encourand processes to stuMyAlamo, the district’s app age you to trade that for mobile phones Riley dents on their devicin for an Android or an es, he said. Stephens iPhone,” Cleary said. Cleary said 48 perPhase 1 of MyAlamo features a cent of students surveyed wanted a directory of faculty, staff and students; course catalog available on the app; a detailed course directory with times 45 percent wanted college and office and locations; college catalogs; feeds operating hours; 48 percent wanted with district news ; video feeds; emerannouncements; 39 percent wanted gency contact information; links to a directory; and 42 percent wanted the college’s websites; and links to the news and events. “So we’ve done it,” district’s Facebook and Twitter. he said. “It gets us out of the hardware Cleary said the district partnered business and into the software and with Blackboard, the company that delivery business.” amanzanares6@student.alamo.edu
Dr. Thomas Cleary, vice chancellor for planning, performance, and information systems, presents MyAlamo, the district’s new mobile phone app, to the board of trustees during a regular board meeting Tuesday. David Torres Cleary said Phase 2 of MyAlamo, which he hopes to implement by the end of the spring semester, includes access to secure information and services including a student’s class schedule, registration, financial aid information, academic progress information, course instruction, grades and transcript information. He said the generation coming into college is a mobile generation that grew up with interacting, communicating and doing business through the Internet and mobile devices. “These devices go with them so they’ll never not know information that they need to know,” Cleary said. He said a cost has not been determined for Phase 2 because he is not sure if the district will need to engage another vendor.
“I’d love to have students see their grades at the end of the spring term and be able to start registering online through their mobile apps, and pay and look at transcripts and courses for the summer term,” he said. “I want all the students to be online rather than in line.” Possibilities for a Phase 3 of MyAlamo are limitless, Cleary said. For example, Cleary said if there is a laundry facility at the Tobin Lofts, a public-private partnership at this college that has a residential development for students, faculty and staff, an app could be made to tell students when a machine is not being used. He said parking could also be monitored using an app to tell students where an available parking spot is located. “It’s endless with this,” Cleary said.
Officials delay letter of employment By FAITH DUARTE
ciation and the college’s Faculty Senate became involved after hearing about Duong’s situation from Piper Professor nominee Hoan Duong received math Professor Gerald Busald Oct. 3 in a closed an employment letter Oct. 29 to allow him to contin- meeting of Faculty Senate. ue teaching in the U.S., the president of this college’s Faculty Senate created a resolution dated Oct. chapter of the American Association of University 22 in support of Duong, who is one of four nomiProfessors announced during the citizens-to-be- nees for Piper Professor from this college. The heard portion of Tuesday’s board meeting. nominee chosen by peers to represent this college “His ability to remain teaching at SAC for the will compete statewide for one of 10 $5,000 awards next few years will ensure that our math depart- for teaching excellence. ment can continue its tradition of engaging and According to the resolution, the district has preparing students for graduation and no policy regarding the employment of successful transfer to four-year colleges,” noncitizens. Librarian Celita DeArmond said during Busald, vice president of the Faculty the presentation. Legal Action Association, said Thursday The delay in getting the letter signed the organization was prepared to provide by a district official had attracted the legal support for Duong if the situation attention of Faculty Senate, the AAUP was not resolved before the board meetchapter and the San Antonio College ing. “We were prepared to have our attorFaculty Legal Action Association, which ney at the meeting, so we were prepared Hoan Duong had planned to speak to the board on if it came down to a battle,” he said. Duong’s behalf. DeArmond said an email describing Duong’s The letter is required for the Canadian citizen situation was sent Oct. 28 to the Alamo Colleges to maintain a Trade NAFTA visa, a special status for board of trustees and Zeigler. professionals that allows Canadian and Mexican “Let’s just say movement happened all of a sudcitizens to live in the United States. Without this den,” she said after the presentation. verification, his employment for the spring would “I think there was some kind of confusion as have been in jeopardy. to what kind of visa he needed to be on,” she said Duong, who has taught in the math department after the presentation. “It just seemed there wasn’t since 1998, requested a letter in September and said enough effort to understand the situation before he learned in early October that although it was the big ‘no’ happened.” submitted to the district by college President Robert Linda Boyer-Owens, associate vice chancellor of Zeigler, a district representative had not signed it. human resources, declined to comment Thursday Duong said it seemed as if the district was stalling. on reasons for the delay but said she signed the letThe college AAUP chapter, faculty legal asso- ter of employment Duong received Oct. 29. fduarte3@student.alamo.edu
“We’re pleased that it worked out the way it did, and we’re pleased that everybody is pleased,” she told The Ranger Thursday. About 10 faculty members, including Busald, and one student stood with DeArmond during the presentation to show support for the professor. “He (Duong) has a high level of involvement within our academic community, is an excellent professor, and is well-respected by his students and colleagues,” DeArmond said during the meeting. Math Chair Said Fariabi said Duong is an asset to the department that has seen its full-time faculty decline in recent years from a high of 62 to 31 this semester. “I’m so happy that we could have him in the department because he’s been helping the department and the students in any way he can,” Fariabi said Wednesday. Duong teaches math and computer science courses, which “makes him unique in that sense,” Fariabi said. This semester, Duong teaches MATH 0303, Intermediate Algebra; MATH 1314, College Algebra; MATH 2413, Calculus 1; MATH 2314, Calculus 2; MATH 2318, Linear Algebra; and COSC 1315, Fundamentals of Programming. Fariabi said the district would have given Duong until the end of the semester to submit a letter of employment and would have allowed him to teach for the remainder of the semester. “We had a plan to assign his (spring 2013) classes to somebody else, but I’m glad it didn’t go that far,” Fariabi said. Duong did not attend the board meeting because he was teaching his 6 p.m. Calculus 2 class. “They said from now on there would be no problems, and I hope this is (just) a misunderstanding,” Duong said Wednesday.