Dr. Larson’s May 2019 Report to the OCC Board of Trustees

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail

Finance and Administration

Continuing and Professional Education

On Wednesday, June 12, 2019, Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) will hold a graduation ceremony to celebrate its first cohort of 20 high school diploma completers through its new Ocean County Achievement Center (OCAC). Many of these students were at-risk, out-of-school youth prior to their involvement with the Achievement Center. This center has given the participants a sense of mastery as diploma completers, credential holders, and OCC students.
The 2019 Advanced Placement Summer Institute opened registration this month, with the program scheduled for July 22 to 25, 2019. Last year, 74 teachers from across the U.S. and abroad attended the Institute. CPE is offering nine subjects this year, which is three more subjects than last year.
The first cohort of the revised New Pathways to Teaching program with New Jersey City University finished this month. Approximately 180 students are expected to attend the New Pathways Capstone Conference at Mercer County Community College in June; 70 completed the program in May, and 110 will do so in the fall. The conference will offer seminars and workshops focused on professional development for teachers. The liaisons from all of the participating community colleges will also attend the conference, proving them with the opportunity to network and form partnerships for the fall program.

College Relations

A New Employee Welcome and Orientation Video was produced collaboratively by Executive Director of College Relations Jan Kirsten, Television Production Director Ralph Bertini, Assistant Director of Employee Pensions and Benefits Lisa Gruber, and Senior Human Resources Technician Christina Matuszewski. This project was undertaken in accordance with OCC’s Strategic Plan, specifically, Strategy #5, Create a Highly Effective, Challenging, Supportive, and Sustainable Work Environment, as part of a new hire program being developed by Human Resources. The proposed orientation program will be a campus-wide, comprehensive, months-long program that will welcome and embrace new employees.
As the College continues to improve and expand its digital outreach to its various stakeholders, the need and requirements for ADA compliance has become increasingly more important. Because the preferred method used to reach the stakeholders is the digital delivery of information, College Relations and the TV Studio required a viable means of closed captioning. The Telvue broadcast system was recently purchased to provide closed captioning availability for all videos.
The New Employee Welcome Video, using the new closed captioning software, will be shown at Thursday’s meeting. It includes a greeting from the President as well as an overview of the College and its many programs and initiatives.

Grants

Utilizing a $10,000 Community College Innovation Challenge Special Project Grant awarded by the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, OCC will partner with Univision to create a positive media campaign that encourages prospective first-generation college students to explore OCC in person and online.

Security

In accordance with New Jersey Public Law 2015, Chapter 220, and College Policy #2332, Reporting of On-Campus Criminal and Fire Events, attached is the monthly statistics report of crimes, fires, and other emergencies on campus for the reporting period April 17, 2019, through May 22, 2019.

Academic Affairs

School of Nursing and Health Sciences

OCC’s RN licensure passing rate for the first quarter of 2019 was 100%. Fifty-three of the fall 2018 graduates completed the examination. The national passing scores for this same time period were: Associate Degree Programs – 87.30%; All Programs – 89.94%.
The total number of nursing graduates for the 2018–2019 academic year is 127.

The School of Nursing hosted the Pinning Ceremony for the classes of December 2018 and May 2019 on Tuesday evening, May 21, 2019, with 112 graduates attending the ceremony. Over $15,000 in scholarships and awards were presented to current students and graduates during the ceremony. Recipients included:

Student Nurse Organization (SNO) Scholarships: Cynthia Torres and Christina Fichner
Dr. Jesse Schulman Scholarships: Jelaina Craddock and Teresa Clarelli
Dorothea Brayden Johnson Memorial Scholarship for Nursing: Jaime Hammett
Jacqueline S. Baer Memorial Nursing Scholarship: Josephine Scagnelli
Janis Neary-Zimmerman Memorial Nursing Scholarship: Kelly Matthews
Kotzas-Demos Scholarships: Sandra Reffie and Christina Fichner
Carluccio, Leone, Dimon, Doyle and Sacks, L.L.C., and Stephan and Judith Leone Scholarship: Tina Primiano
Gus Demme Award: Sarah Rettenberg
The New Jersey League for Nursing Award: Victoria Hanrahan
RWJ/Barnabas Health – Community Medical Center Awards: Jessica Dimler, Nicolas Fumosa, and Jenna Moore
RWJ/Barnabas Health -Behavioral Health Center: Omar J. Purpuro
Academic and Clinical Excellence Awards: Deanna Ekbom and Danielle Czaplinski
The following graduates were presented with scholarships at the Awards Ceremony held on May 22, 2019:
Paul Family Scholarship: Faiga Altman
Joyce Previte Memorial Scholarship: Carla Maqboul
D’Onofrio Foundation Scholarship: Samanatha Keeley

Dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences Teresa Walsh, MSN, RN-BC, completed a PhD in Nursing Educational Leadership at Kean University on April 25, 2019. Her dissertation was titled, Nursing Faculty Perceptions of Succession Planning: Opportunities and Barriers. The purpose of the study was to determine if succession planning opportunities are offered to nursing faculty to enhance their leadership skills, preparing them for future roles as academic leaders.

Members of the School of Nursing participated in Research Day at Kean University on the Union campus on April 23, 2019. Assistant Dean of Nursing and Health Sciences Elizabeth Stevenson, PhD, MSN, RN, displayed a poster presentation on her doctoral dissertation, Registered Nurses’ Knowledge and Perception of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation. Dean Teresa Walsh also displayed a poster presentation on her doctoral dissertation.

Dr. Elizabeth Stevenson represented the School of Nursing at the RWJ/Barnabas Health-Community Medical Center Education Advancement and Certification Fair on May 9, 2019. During this event, Dr. Stevenson provided the hospital’s staff interested in pursuing a degree in nursing with information regarding the OCC program.

The School of Nursing faculty participated in an annual workshop from May 20 to 24, 2019. During the workshop, faculty completed a systematic review of all nursing courses, revised assessment and outcome data collection tools, and reviewed licensure test plans and outcomes to revise curriculum content. Faculty and lecturers also reviewed the School of Nursing’s Systematic Plan of Evaluation, which addresses all standards and criteria required for accreditation.

School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

Dr. Mary-Ellen Rada, College Lecturer II in Anatomy, coordinated and directed the Holistic Health and Wellness Day that was supported by the Perkins grant on April 23, 2019. Ms. Susan O’Connor, Director of Curriculum Management, assisted Dr. Rada with planning the event. Student engagement and participation were very high; the students were pleased with the workshop options and the variety of activities.
Ms. Pamela Bogdan, College Lecturer II in Engineering, represented OCC and STEM at the Lakewood Blueclaws STEM Day. OCC Engineering students designed a simple game to spark enthusiasm for Engineering.
Ms. Pamela Bogdan also facilitated the following:
OCC Engineering students participated in the May Career Day. The featured Engineering speaker was OCC alumnus Ryan Hollywood, Manufacturing Engineering Manager at JakTool, who provided many examples of advanced manufacturing for prototyping.
A multi-week Engineering campaign was undertaken to help students find paid summer internships, which resulted in two students being placed, one in Electrical Engineering and one in Civil Engineering.
The Engineering Department has begun sponsoring on-campus jobs that will provide students with real world experience opportunities and help to address the financial/time challenges that some students face.
The OCC Engineering Club is now official. The goal of this club is to provide students with career/networking opportunities as well as real-world experience through community service and on-campus engineering projects.
Dr. Angel Camilo, College Lecturer II in Chemistry, attended the monthly meeting of the Technology Committee of the Monmouth and Ocean County Development Council. The main topic was the upcoming seminar on The Cost of Business Fraud, which will be held on September 26, 2019, at the Ocean County Vocational Technical School in Brick.
During the meeting, Dr. Camilo spoke about OCC’s Engineering program and distributed the new flyer on the Engineering Associate in Science Degree Program and the Student Professional Experience flyer, both of which were developed by Ms. Pamela Bogdan.
Dr. John McElroy, College Lecturer II in Biology, coordinated the Science Department Adjunct Faculty End-of-Semester Meeting that was held on Friday, May 3, 2019, in the Hiering Science Building from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. The adjunct get-together allowed full-time teaching faculty and lecturers, staff, the Dean and Assistant Dean, and the adjunct faculty to meet to discuss course, classroom, and student concerns.
Mr. Vijay Ramdeen, College Lecturer II in Chemistry, chaperoned the top five winners of OCC’s 2019 Jersey Shore Junior Science Symposium to the 2019 Junior Science and Humanities Symposium national competition held this year in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from April 24 to 28, 2019. The top two students participated in a presentation competition within their research category, and the remaining three students participated in a tabletop poster competition. Tiffany Fang placed second in her poster category, and Sharmi Shah placed first in her category; each received scholarship awards for their achievements.
The TechPrep Annual Cardboard Canoe competition will be held at the Toms River YMCA on June 7, 2019.

School of Arts and Humanities

The School of Arts and Humanities finished the academic year 2019-20 with a plethora of activities for students and the community:

Dance

College Lecturer II Catherine Mancuso’s Dance Repertory class has been busy reaching out to the community and creating dance awareness and appreciation throughout Ocean County:

On April 29, 2019, the students performed at the Toms River Branch of the Ocean County Library. The session was attended by mostly senior community members, who participated in a very engaging talk-back session after the performance.
On May 6, 2019, the company went to Toms River High School North to perform and assist Ms. Mancuso in leading a contemporary dance workshop. The Toms River North students are part of the Performing Arts Academy and were very excited to learn about OCC’s dance program.
On May 13, 2019, 100 fifth graders from Toms River’s East Dover Elementary School came to OCC to see a performance by the Dance Repertory class and participate in a movement workshop on campus. The East Dover Students have been participating in a dance residency since March with the OCC dance students, and this event was the culmination of the project. The fifth graders had been learning about Laban Movement Analysis and using it as a way to talk about and describe dance movements. The students were able to put into practice all that they have been learning about dance for the past couple of months.
Finally, on May 15, 2019, the OCC Dance Repertory Company presented its Spring Studio Showcase 2019. This free full-length dance performance featured original works by Ms. Mancuso with solos choreographed by the students. The performance featured student dancers, Jaimee Bainbridge, Lynel Forlenza, Arianna Scarano, and Miquela Spero. Donations were collected to benefit True Vine Group Homes.

History and Art History

Adjunct Assistant Professor of History Richard Trimble accompanied a group of students to Gettysburg on May 5, 2019. It was the sixth year of the trip, which is offered twice each year; the students are always interested in touring the battlefield.
College Lecturer IIs in History Robert Marchie and Stephen Downey led 50 students and community members to Washington, D.C., in March for a three-day tour. They visited the Capitol, Library of Congress, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, and all of the monuments.
As part of the Global Connections Fellowship, Art History Professor Marilyn Kralik presented a paper called A Global Sea: An Architectural History of the Caribbean, a Global Connections Fellowship at the Global Architectural History Teaching Collaborative. The Global Architectural History Teaching Collaborative is a worldwide group of architectural scholars with a mission to produce teaching materials of non-Western subjects for teachers of architectural survey courses.

Interpreter Training Program Activities

The Sign Language Society Club has been very busy this semester. Advised by Humanities Instructor Saundra Piscitelli and Assistant Professor of American Sign Language Kathleen Basilotto, the Interpreter Training Program (ITP) Sign Language Society donated $500 to Camp Sol for the Deaf, which will enable one deaf child to attend camp free of charge in July.
ITP presented its annual American Sign Language Rock and Roll Show on Saturday, May 11, 2019. The program also hosted two free workshops for ITP students, Interpreter Dynamics in Healthcare Settings and Working Proposal for Expansions using Depiction.
Finally, Ms. Basilotto and Ms. Piscitelli, along with ITP alumna, Michelle Malara, team-interpreted for Hayden Kristal’s presentation, Lessons on Ability from my Deafblind Dog, which was sponsored by the Ocean Pride Club.

Theatre and Speech

College Lecturer II of Communications and Theatre Paul Chalakani and the OCC Repertory Theatre Company presented Love/Sick, the companion play to John Cariani’s Almost Maine, from April 25 to 28 and May 3 to 5, 2019. The performances received rave reviews from audience members.
The 6th Annual Speech Competition was held in the Grunin Center from April 29 through May 1, 2019. This event showcased talented speakers and was hosted in tandem by OCC and the Philadelphia Press.
Associate Professor of Communications and Theatre Elizabeth Brierley and the Children’s Musical Theatre Workshop class presented two entertaining performances of Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf? on May 7 and 9, 2019. Audiences were treated to a musical performance that invited them to determine the guilt or innocence of the Big, Bad Wolf as he had his day in court. Donations for the Howling Wolf Farm and Wolf Preserve in Jackson, New Jersey, were collected at the event.
College Lecturer II of English Jason Molloy and the Comedy Club presented an evening of comedic relief with the Improv Club Show on May 10, 2019.

Music

On April 28, 2019, the OCC Jazz Band, led by Adjunct Associate Professor David Marowitz, performed at the 1876 Sanctuary Center for the Arts in Ewing, New Jersey. On May 20, 2019, the band presented a night of musical entertainment with the OCC Jazz Band Recording Live in Concert at the Grunin Center.
The OCC Concert Band held its Spring event, An American Salute, to celebrate our retired and active military members. It was conducted by Adjunct Assistant Professor Anthony Tafrow. I had the pleasure of reading a tribute during one of the musical pieces performed by the band during this most impressive and entertaining concert.
OCC students performed a passionate program of diverse musical genres from classical to pop and original music collaborations at a recital on the History and Music of Russia. This interdisciplinary event was made possible by a collaboration between College Lecturer II Brian Gilmore and Mr. Richard Trimble.
On May 10, 2019, Instructor of Music Karin Gargone and Mr. Brian Gilmore organized a Chamber Music Event called An Afternoon of Piano Trios featuring the works of Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Rachmaninoff on the Bosendorfer Imperial grand piano. The event featured OCC students Lydia Pauluk and Shannon DeRochers.

Community Event

Professor of English and Literature David Bordelon and the Community Book Club held their final book discussion for Spring 2019. The group discussed Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky on May 13, 2019.

School of Business and Social Sciences

Psi Beta National Honor Society

Dr. Margaret Maghan, College Lecturer II in Psychology, oversaw the planning of Psi Beta National Honor Society’s new chapter inauguration celebration held in the Gateway Building on Friday, April 26, 2019. As the Psi Beta Advisor, Dr. Maghan led the induction of over 100 students into the honor society. Dr. Michael Colbert, Vice President for the Eastern Region of Psi Beta and Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Camden County College, was the event’s guest speaker. More than 200 people attended the event. OCC and its Psi Beta chapter will be featured in the upcoming national Psi Beta Newsletter.

21st Annual New Jersey Emergency Preparedness Association Conference

Mr. Harry DiCorcia, Adjunct Associate Professor of Homeland Security, and Mr. Benny Castillo, College Lecturer II in Criminal Justice, attended the 21st Annual New Jersey Emergency Preparedness Association Conference at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. OCC student Sara Koch, who on Friday received an Associate in Science degree in Homeland Security, was awarded the New Jersey Emergency Preparedness Association’s $1,000 Captain Jonathan C. Young Memorial Scholarship. Mr. DiCorcia attended the awards ceremony, which was held on May 2, 2019. This is the second year in a row that one of Mr. DiCorcia’s students received this scholarship.

Global Studies

Mr. Jason Ghibesi, College Lecturer II in Political Science and History, facilitated a lecture given by Dr. Norah Gharala titled Free People of Color in Colonial Mexico on Thursday, April 8, 2019. Dr. Gharala, Assistant Professor of World History at Georgian Court University, contributes to the academic fields of gender history, global history, and Africana and Latin American studies. The Global Education Committee sponsored the lecture.

United Nations Tour

Mr. Jason Ghibesi led a group of students and community members to the United Nations on April 30, 2019. He was accompanied by Ms. Lynn Kenneally, Professor of Social Sciences, and Dr. Chad Sexton, College Lecturer II in Sociology. Trip attendees participated in guided tours of the United Nations’ Main Divisions, including the General Assembly. The group also met Mr. Naguib Soomauroo, Minister-Counsellor for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs representing the country of Mauritius, an Indian Ocean island nation. Following the UN visit, the group attended the Broadway production of Come from Away.

Alpha Beta Gamma

This year’s Alpha Beta Gamma Initiation Ceremony was held on Friday, May 3, 2019, in the Gateway Building. Approximately 60 students were initiated as new members under the leadership of Mr. Henry Schwartz, Associate Professor of Business Studies; Dr. Katherine Toy, College Lecturer II in Economics; and Mr. Chris Bottomley, College Lecturer II in Business Studies.
Established in 1970, Alpha Beta Gamma is an international business honor society which recognizes and encourages scholarship among two-year college students majoring in business curricula. More than 100 people attended this year’s event.

New Jersey State Bar Association Annual Meeting and Convention

Ms. Jennifer Barnes, College Lecturer II in Political Science, and several students attended the annual New Jersey State Bar Association Annual Meeting and Convention held at the Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, from May 15 to 17, 2019. The Educational Agenda included approximately 25 different tracks, including Criminal Litigation, Business and Tax Law, Civil Litigation, Ethics and Professionalism, Family Law, Lawyers in Transition, Municipal Court Practice, and Trust and Estate Law.

Future Counselors Club of OCC

On April 10, 2019, the OCC Future Counselors Club hosted a lecture from Father Edward Reading, Head of the New Jersey Licensing Board and Adjunct Assistant Professor in Alcohol and Drug Counseling, on the special topic of TeleHealth Counseling and its projected future growth in New Jersey.

Ocean County Sheriff’s Department

On April 22, 2019, Ms. Jennifer Barnes invited a representative from the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department to visit her Criminal Justice courses to conduct a K-9 Unit demonstration. The K-9 Unit has 11 service canines, which includes 3 Bloodhounds, 2 for narcotic detection, 3 for explosive detection, 1 for arson detection, 1 for patrol, and 1 for cadaver detection.

Student Affairs

Advising

Transfer Events

The Advising Office hosted Instant Decision Days this spring. In total, 65 students met with representatives from institutions throughout New Jersey to gain admission and to learn more about important transfer information, such as scholarships, transferability of coursework, and housing. OCC partner institutions included Stockton University, Kean-Ocean, Fairleigh Dickinson University, and NJIT. In addition, William Paterson University, Montclair State University, Monmouth University, Seton Hall University, Drew University, and Rowan University were on campus. These events were coordinated by Transfer Coordinator Laura Wills.

Advising Pilot

The advising pilot completed its third semester and first full academic year. It was designed as the first stage in the implementation of a proactive advising model. In fall 2018, 455 students received intrusive and proactive advising as part of the pilot. Comparative data from the pilot group vs. a control group (new students) demonstrated a 7.1% higher retention rate for students in the pilot from fall 2018 to spring 2019. A survey was also distributed to both groups. The survey yielded a 9% higher response rate by the pilot group as compared to the control group and showed that 90% of students in the pilot strongly agreed or agreed that they were satisfied with their advising experience.

In spring 2019, 515 students were advised in the pilot. In June 2019, Institutional Research will assist in acquiring data to compare the spring pilot group vs. a control group, as well as fall to fall retention for the fall 2018 cohort vs. the control group.

In fall 2019, Advising will be working to integrate the proactive advising model into current practices. Five full-time advisors will be assigned 300 student caseloads, thereby increasing the students receiving proactive advising by over 1,000 students.

NJ STARS

The NJ STARS Club raised $591.65 during the Spring semester through bake sales, a clothing drive, and a Grunin Center concession stand. The club, advised by NJ STARS Coordinator Jennifer Kipp, donated funds raised to Ocean’s Harbor House, a local shelter for homeless youth.

Pre-Nursing Information Sessions

Two Pre-Nursing Information Sessions were coordinated during March, with assistance from Records and Registration, the School of Nursing, and Kean-Ocean. Attendees received a comprehensive overview of nursing admissions, the nursing program, and the Kean BSN. Over 95 people attended these information sessions, which were led by Associate Director of Advising Pamela Donohue.

Student Life

Seascape, the OCC Literary Magazine Club, had its launch party on Tuesday, May 7, 2019. Founded in 1965, the annual publication, Seascape, is the OCC literary magazine produced by student editors. It includes student, alumni, and faculty work in the areas of poetry, fiction, drama, photography, and artwork. Associate Professor of English and Literature Jayanti Tamm serves as the faculty advisor to Seascape, and this year’s editor-in-chief is Ashley Larsen, both of whom will attend Thursday’s meeting to highlight and distribute copies of Seascape.

Southern Education Center

As the Spring semester concluded at the Southern Education Center, a few events focused on student life and opportunity.

From May 8 through 10, 2019, students were treated to a luncheon and snacks, sponsored by Student Life, to celebrate commencement and the end of the semester.
Mr. Steve Moser, Adjunct Assistant Professor, who teaches COMM-154, Fundamentals of Public Speaking, had three SEC students place in the OCC Speech Competition held on the main campus, including the second place overall winner.
Efforts are underway to start a beautification process on the grounds of the Southern Education Center. Focusing on spring cleanup and planting at the Judy Icklan Garden, members of Manahawkin’s Cub Scout Pack 61 assisted in preparing the grounds and planting flowers to re-create the garden area.

Athletics

The OCC Athletics Department had a successful year both on the field and in the classroom. Academically, 65 Ocean County College student-athletes were named to the All-Garden State Athletic Conference team with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher. Additionally, eight athletic teams competed in the NJCAA Region XIX championship tournaments for their respective seasons, with OCC’s Men’s Tennis and Cross Country teams each finishing 4th in the nation. The department will add a new program in Spring 2020, with the launch of Ocean’s Women’s Lacrosse team.

Ms. Ilene Cohen, Executive Director of Athletics, will attend Thursday’s meeting with two members of the Men’s Tennis team, Robbie Fuggi and Sean Boyle.

Admissions

The Admissions Department has completed the Spring Open House series. This year school- and athletic-specific Open House events were created leading up to the College-Wide Open House on Saturday, April 27, 2019. The events were well received with over 500 total attendees.
Throughout April and May, Admissions continued to attend and present at multiple college and career events around the county.

Upcoming events include:

Wawa Education and Career Advancement Day – June 18th
Lakewood Blueclaws – June/July
Planning for an OCC e-Learning Open House this Summer

Admissions partnered with Advising to host 16 high school-specific registration days during April and May; 11 have been completed and nearly 450 new first-time freshman students have been registered to date.

Dr. Jerry Racioppi, Vice President of Student Affairs, and Dr. A.J. Trump, Director of Admissions, represented OCC at the UCEDA ESL Graduation Ceremony in the Gateway Building on May 10, 2019. As members of the platform party, both gave congratulatory speeches to the graduates and encouraged them to continue their goals as students at OCC.

Counseling and Student Development Services

A Prevention Education Coordinator, Ms. Katie Hueth, was recently employed for Counseling and Student Development Services, whose primary responsibility is to develop and implement a comprehensive program of activities and services to meet the developmental and psychosocial needs of students, including topics which are mandated by federal and state regulations, such as suicide, sexual/domestic violence, and alcohol/substance abuse prevention.
Several seminars and activities were co-sponsored for the OCC and Kean/Ocean campus and the public on substance abuse, suicide, sexual violence, and alcohol abuse. Faculty, staff and students participated in suicide bystander intervention training, including seminars for all Student Success classes on non-cognitive student success factors.
The Displaced Homemakers Program hosted the annual celebration of clients’ success and accomplishments; the Program provided services to 142 clients this funding year. In addition, a new CARE reporting system was implemented.

Student Services (The HUB)

Ms. Sheenah Hartigan, Director of Enrollment Services, and Ms. Kathleen Mohr, Assistant Director, presented at New Jersey Association for College Admission Counseling conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Tuesday, May 21, 2019, on Teaching Your Team to Speak Gen Z. The presentation was extremely well attended and well received.
Ms. Hartigan also presented at the Smart Campus conference on April 25, 2019, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Using a Chatbot in Higher Education: How to Speak More Effectively to Generation Z. Again, this presentation received positive accolades and furthered Ocean’s position as an innovator and technology leader among its peers.

Center for Student Success

Testing Center

In support of the Education Program partnership with Stockton University, the Testing Center administered 37 Praxis Core exams to OCC students and worked with ETS to arrange access to the scores for the Dean of Business and Social Sciences.
In the Spring 2019 semester, the School of STEM participated in the RegisterBlast Professor pilot to enable electronic submission of accommodation and make-up tests for administration and proctoring at the Testing Center. Seventy STEM instructors are currently enrolled, and they have submitted 301 different tests as of May 13, 2019, to be administered and proctored for 718 students.

Disability Services

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for the hazards that may impact their areas and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, working with individuals with disabilities, and disaster medical operations. In a collaborative effort between OCC Disability Services, Campus Safety, and the Ocean County Office of Emergency Management, the College hosted its first training class, resulting in 18 participants from the OCC community and the public graduating. Additional training sessions in Fall and Winter 2019 are being planned.

Tutoring

All areas of tutoring were combined for the first time in the newly renovated Tutoring Center on the second floor of the Instructional Building. Preliminary indicators show a significant increase in traffic, which may be attributed to consolidating services into one location. Math tutoring sign-ins, for example, increased by 27% since last year.

e-Learning and Learning Enterprises

The Fall 2019 Course Development Schedule is in its final stages; it includes 5 new course builds, 14 redevelopments, 9 content updates, 5 textbook updates, and 3 language courses moving to non-credit self-paced versions, one of which, Spanish I, will be offered by CPE in Fall 2019.

The Spring 2020 Development Schedule began in May and will conclude November 1, 2019. There will be 13 new online courses.

The Examity Pilot recently concluded. A meeting will be scheduled with the two instructors to determine if this product should continue to be used in OCC’s online courses.
On May 23, 2019, 41 Ain Shams/Kean/Ocean students graduated from Ocean County College with Associate in Science degrees in Business Administration. They will begin their first online courses of the senior year at Kean University on June 28, 2019.

Three new employees have been welcomed to e-Learning and Learning Enterprises:

Ms. Jennifer Fitzgerald, Executive Assistant to the Associate Vice President of e-Learning and Learning Enterprises
Ms. Alina Laboy, Academic Administrator for Foreign Learning Program
Ms. Laura Wingler, Instructional Design Specialist

NEWS & EVENTS