Office of Student Services Update - April 2024

Good Afternoon!

Student Services had a busy March, and we have lots of exciting things going on in April, beginning with priority registration for summer and fall starting yesterday on April 1. 

In March, we continued our work on helping build the Student Services components of the AgTEC program, many of us participated in the Vision 2035 Campus Forum, and many of our classified professionals attended the Mega Conference on March 27.  Our own Renee Garcia gave a presentation on Title IX with some of her counterparts. I heard from several people that Renee did a great job, and that there were lots of great session options! Rachel Moring-Garcia and Alicia Diaz-Wrest attended the final California Guided Pathways Conference hosted by the National Center for Inquiry and Improvement along with Dr. Armstrong, Dr. Chahal, Dr. Teresa Mendes, and Michelle Johnson.  They had a great time learning about how other colleges have implemented the Guided Pathways framework and gave a presentation that Rachel drafted about what we have done at our college. 

The Financial Aid teams around the district have been very busy trying to understand all of the new rules and build the system to account for all of the changes. We were very worried that we wouldn’t have fee waivers awarded in time for registration; however, thanks to the diligent work of the District IS Department and Financial Aid, all FAFSAs received were processed and fee waivers awarded on Saturday, March 30 before the April 1 registration date! They will continue to process and award as more applications come in.  Huge kudos to Financial Aid!

Student Activities

  • ASG nominations are open until April 11.  Encourage students to apply by picking up a packet in the Student Center.
  • For a list of Student Activities taking place this month, please see the Student Activities Calendar.

Title IX

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and we have several Title IX events going on.  Feel free to contact Renee Garcia for more info on any of these events.

Healthy Relationships

A drop-in group for students on fostering healthy dating relationships in partnership with the Marjaree Mason Center, Mondays from 11am-Noon in AC2-176 during the month of April.

Fresno County Victim Witness Advocates Presentation

Melinda Taylor & Brenda De La Cruz will be presenting on victims of sexual assault. The presentation will be on April 15, 2024, 10am-1pm, in room AC1-181.

Fresno Police Department Sexual Assault Unit Presentation

Detectives: Andrea Flores, Chris Aranas, and Joel Sanchez will be presenting on the topic of sexual assault. The presentation will take place on April 16, 2024, from 1pm-3pm in room AC2-176.

Rape Counseling Services Presentation

The presentation will include information about Sexual Assault, Statistics, reactions to Sexual Assault that are common, frequently asked questions and RCS services; April 23, 2024, 11am-1pm in room AC1-275.

Wear Denim Day

Wear denim to support sexual assault awareness month all day, April 24, 2024.

Health Services

Facts About Vaping Mini-Course

For the last event as part of our Truth Smoke Free Campus grant, Naomi is hosting a free 30-minute Canvas mini-course "Facts about Vaping" between April 1 and April 21, 2024.  Students who complete the course will be automatically entered into a prize drawing to receive one of eighty-one $25 Amazon gift cards that will be given away! Winners will be notified via student email on Wednesday, April 24. Employees are welcome to complete the course as well to learn more about facts related to vaping; however, the gift card entries will only be available to students.

Wellness Vending Machine Ribbon Cutting

Wellness Vending Machine Ribbon Cutting event will happen on April 30 from 11:30 to Noon in AC2 in the hallway in front of the Food Pantry.  There will be giveaways and light refreshments.

Outreach

  • Outreach staff have attended over 50 high school advising sessions across the district since the end of January. During these sessions, Outreach staff and ambassadors, along with the Counseling Department and other SCCCD college staff, provide students with their first Student Education Plan (SEP) and follow up on their online orientation, My Portal login, student email, and financial aid applications. The staff will continue to visit remaining high schools including Bullard, Clovis Online, Madera High, and CART as well as follow up with students at CCC feeder schools until the matriculation deadline on April 15. If you know a student who missed their school’s advising session, please have them sign up for a make-up session at www.scccd.edu/rtgmakeup by April 15, so they can qualify for priority registration!
  • Speaking of registration… Outreach staff are assisting incoming students who were assigned to Tier 1&2 registration (DSPS, Honors, recruited athletes, etc.) and are preparing for the big week of Tier 4 priority registration during April 23-26 which includes the majority of Reg-to-Go high school seniors, homeschooled, and all other first-time students. In between advising sessions and outreach events, staff conduct pre-registration workshops to help students select their class sections and add them to their schedule in Self-Service.
  • In addition to enrolling incoming students, Outreach staff are busy attending various school and community events throughout the district.  Some of the events they have attended include the Latino Student Success Conference, African American Student Leadership Conference, CUSD CTE Expo, Men of Color Summit, and more.  Looking forward, the team will be representing CCC at Big Hat Days, Clovis Rodeo week, Adelante Mujer Conference, Amazon Career Choice College Fair, as well as a variety of other college and career fairs.
  • We are excited for the busy month ahead as we continue to grow our summer and fall new student enrollment!

Transfer

  • On April 11, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. we will be hosting our first CSU Fresno Transfer Recognition Ceremony “Crush to Bulldog” to recognize our students who will transfer to Fresno State in the Fall of 2024. President Dr. Armstrong and CSU, Fresno President, Dr. Jiménez-Sandoval will be in attendance to congratulate our students.

Black Student Success/African American Success Initiative

April 22-26 we will be hosting Black Student Success Week!

Walk it Out…Chalk it Out

Dates: April 22 – 24, 2024
Time: All Day
Location: Bookstore/Café Lawn Area

Description: To launch Black Student Success Week (BSSW), Students, Faculty, and Staff will have the opportunity to drop by our BSSW Chalk Zone and leave positive affirmations and quotes for our students.

Fresno State Black Excellence in Science and Technology (BEST) STEM Presentation and Student Panel

Date: Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Time: 3-5 PM
Location: AC2 – 181

Description: Fresno State BEST program will lead a STEM presentation and student panel at Clovis Community College. This event aims to engage, empower, and advocate for Black and African American students to thrive in STEM education.

Black Student Success Mixer & Resource Fair

Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Time: 11 AM – 1PM
Location: Bookstore/Café Lawn Area

Description: Clovis Community College will host and celebrate African American and Black-identified students' success. The event aims to provide our students with a welcoming environment and recognize their success and achievement. Students will also have the opportunity to connect with on campus student support programs and resources.

Bowling at Fresno State – Battle of the Campuses

Date: Friday, April 26, 2024
Time: 3-7 PM *Bowling 4-6 PM
Location: Fresno State

Description: Join Clovis Community College as we battle our sister campus, for a fun afternoon of bowling. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to bowl and mingle with your fellow SCCCD peers at Fresno State.

Recognizing Black Student Success

Date: Friday, April 26, 2024
Time: All Day

Description: To wrap up Black Student Success Week (BSSW), we will honor and recognize all our BSSW award recipients. BSSW award recipients will receive a certificate of achievement, gift card, bookstore voucher, and more. There will also be a slide show highlighting BSSW recipients in AC1/AC2.

TRiO

  • On March 15, Kimra Garcia and Tuyet Quach took our TRiO students on a visit to UC Santa Cruz and stopped at the Mystery Spot.  The students had a blast!

DSP&S

  • On March 21, we hosted a Transition to College Night for seniors and parents who may need DSP&S assistance as they transition into college.  The night was a great success with 40 students signing in and students have already made follow-up SEP-A appointments. Big thanks to our DSP&S, specifically Jackie Smith, Financial Aid, and Outreach teams for making this happen.
  • In March, our DSP&S Director, Dr. Jacquelyn Rubalcaba-Muniz, accepted a new position at Reedley College where she will be serving as the MESA Director. We were very sad to lose Jackie but wish her all the best in this new role that is much closer to home and will better meet the needs of her family.
  • After discussion with the DSP&S team, we opted not to have an interim person come in and expedited the posting of our permanent position.  It closes on April 24. Please tell your friends who might be interested. 😊 In the meantime, I will serve as director of record again and each member of the team will assist where needed. We have a fabulous DSP&S team, and I know our students will be in good hands.

Basic Needs & Retention Services

  • The March CCC Farmers Market served 214 students and their families.
  • The Crush Pantry served 450 students and their families during March.
  • The Equity Book Vouchers program has served 291 students through textbook support for a total of $59k in assistance for Spring 2024.
  • The Basic Needs & Retention Services team received and supported ten students referred for Housing Insecurity.
  • The Stay Strong Rainbow Mixer on March 6, a collaboration between the LGBTQ+ Taskforce, GSA, and RASFA, was a huge success! The mixer's purpose was to increase a sense of belonging for our students who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies and to support student success and persistence. A big shoutout for support from Student Activities (decorating), Counseling (promoting), and Isaac Reyna for hosting the event!
  • The Male Success Initiative and the African American Success Initiative had a busy month! The two joined forces to ensure that our CCC students had the opportunity to attend the African American Male Education Network and Development (A²MEND) Summit on March 7 and 8 and the Men of Color Summit on March 22. 
  • The Basic Needs and Retention team will host CalFresh Outreach Week from April 29 to May 3. CFO week will give students the opportunity to experience a full week of activities and info sessions geared to address student hunger, bring awareness to nutrition assistance programs, promote healthier eating habits, and connect students with additional student-friendly resources.

Again, thank you to the amazing Student Services Division for the continuous work each of you do to support our students!

Kira Tippins
Interim Vice President of Student Services