News Releases

December 2001

CCRI and Perspectives Corporation offer Who Moved My Cheese training

Are you a Hem or a Haw? A Sniff or a Scurry?

These four characters from Spencer Johnson's bestseller, Who Moved My Cheese, help Community College of Rhode Island corporate trainer Lee Chartier show 100 employees of the North Kingstown-based Perspectives Corporation the best and worst ways to handle change in the workplace.

This December, CCRI and Perspectives have planned four separate on-site training sessions that offer lighthearted "Cheese" exercises with a serious message--How can an organization minimize some side effects of implementing change such as denial and anger, and highlight positive responses such as adjustment and action?

CCRI Leadership Development Director Alfred Colonies explains why this program has lasting effects on its participants. "Change is so difficult to deal with. The training partnership will help Perspectives' employees not only deal with change in the workplace, but also develop competencies to achieve larger goals."

The Center of Leadership Development frequently works with Rhode Island-based businesses to enact individually tailored training systems, on subjects ranging from team-effectiveness to management skills.

Perspectives Public Relations Officer Jane King says, "We wanted to learn how to be more innovative in services without compromising our quality in a changing economy." With that goal in mind, Perspectives applied and won a $20,000 Competitiveness Improvement Grant from the Human Resource Investment Council in Cranston to fund the CCRI collaboration.

Perspectives Corporation offers a variety of community support and residential services to people with disabilities. At present, the corporation has 28 residential facilities and two community-based learning centers in Rhode Island in addition to their home office in North Kingstown. The CCRI training session involves approximately one-sixth of their staff, from directors and assistant directors to counselors and office workers.

Local chapters of Delta Epsilon Chi celebrate Leadership Day

Students, faculty and staff from the Community College of Rhode Island, Johnson & Wales University and Bryant College attended a What Matters Most workshop at the Knight Campus of CCRI recently.

What Matters Most is a popular business-training workshop based on the best-selling book by business guru Stephen Covey and was as part of the leadership conference hosted by the students of Delta Epsilon Chi, a professional association for management, business and marketing students.

Jeff Collins, national director of Delta Epsilon Chi and Angela Chavez, a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology (NY) and student national vice president of the organization, led the workshops. Shirley Morgan of Career Central and Thomas Skouras, a Johnson & Wales faculty member, offered other workshops.

"Personally, I came away with a better understanding of time management," said Robert Cottrell, a CCRI business student and recent graduate of CCRI’s joint program with Fidelity Investments to prepare participants for the Series 7 exam for potential stockbrokers. "I think everyone came away from this workshop with skills they could apply to every day life."

"We had 65 students learn skills that will help them decide what is important in their lives," explained CCRI Business Professor JoAnn Warren. "Through the effective time management skills they learned as well, they’ll hopefully spend more time on what matters most to them both personally and professionally."

WARWICK – The Community College of Rhode Island is ranked seventh in the United States in the latest edition of the Yahoo! Internet Life magazine’s rankings of most wired two-year institutions. CCRI was listed in the popular national magazine (with more than 4 million readers) as one of the "20 most competitive wired institutions offering only 2-year degree programs."

The Yahoo! Ranking confirms what our students already know: CCRI has enhanced its Internet capability significantly in recent years and it is making a difference in their education, said CCRI President Thomas D. Sepe.

Yahoo! Internet Life surveyed more than 1,300 institutions as they ranked the top 200 four-year institutions and the top 20 two-year schools, inquiring into their infrastructure (28% of the grade), student resources (28% of the grade), Web portal (21%), E-learning (12%), tech support (7%), and wireless access (4%).

Some of the specifics: the magazine looked at number of campus computers purchased in each of the last five years, the percentage of classrooms with high-speed network access, whether or not students can go online to access campus resources such as online grade reports, online registration and online course catalogs (yes, yes and yes). The editors also looked at the colleges’ web portals since a school’s Web site is the place where the college community and prospective students will go looking for information. Finally, they also looked at the colleges’ ability to allow educators to use technology for instruction, the tech support and whether or not the college is working on rolling out wireless networks, a good indicator that a school is an early adopter of new technologies.

So just why is CCRI one of the very best in the country? The following statistics, provided by Richard Fontaine, director of Computer Resources at CCRI, tell the story:
q CCRI has 20 freestanding computer kiosks spread across the three main campuses in cafeterias and hallways in addition to the 1,000+ computers in the computer labs making the Internet easily accessible to all (7 days a week, too).
q Every CCRI classroom has Internet access (around 160 classrooms).
q CCRI has its own portal, Campus Pipeline, which allows student/faculty/staff access to information
q Students at CCRI can choose from more than 160 Net-related courses including 20 totally online courses in addition to the 16 or so televised courses offered each semester.
q More than 200 courses incorporate online technology as a supplement to the coursework.
q Several courses now take advantage of video conferencing allowing the same course to be taught on more than one campus at a time.
q Students can take advantage of 48 free introductory technology workshops each semester, taught by the Computer Center staff.
q The college offers extensive training, workshops and professional development opportunities for faculty and staff.
q CCRI offers a Web-enabled automated help desk (telephone, e-mail and walk-in) including 24/7 e-mail submittal of technology questions.

"We know that more and more students are looking at campus support for technology-based learning and student technology support," said Fontaine. "Students still look at class size and job placement statistics, but now they also want to know about the school’s technology resources."

Sepe echoed Fontaine’s remarks but reminded everyone that the magazine ranking is a subjective one and that it is just part of what makes up a quality institution.

"We appreciate this very public recognition of the quality of our technology services," said Sepe. "But it is not the only thing that students should look at when deciding whether or not to attend CCRI. The quality of our faculty, in demand programs of study, smaller class sizes, the flexible schedules and affordable tuition along with our advanced technology are what make CCRI such a great place to come."

The magazine assigns each institution a letter grade in each category. CCRI’s only grade below a B was the D- in wireless access and that will likely change in next year’s rankings. CCRI’s Computer Resources staff is presently implementing a wireless mobile unit that can turn any space into a technology classroom. It will consist of 20 laptop computers, a cabinet to house and secure the units and access points so that the laptops can connect to the Internet connection.

The Community College of Rhode Island, New England’s largest community college, has campuses in Warwick, Lincoln and Providence and currently enrolls more than 16,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in non-credit and job training classes.

[Read Yahoo poll - Requires Acrobat Reader Download]

November 2001

CCRI receives PR awards at regional conference

WARWICK – The Community College of Rhode Island was presented two awards at the recent District 1 regional conference of the National Council of Marketing and Public Relations, an association of community college marketing and public relations officers. CCRI received a Silver Medallion of Achievement Award for a radio commercial that featured professional baseball pitcher and CCRI alumnus Rheall Cormier and a Bronze Medallion of Achievement Award for Focus magazine, a full-color publication for staff and faculty at the college.

Jennifer Sano of North Kingstown, a public relations officer at the Community College of Rhode Island for the past two years, is editor of Focus.

Holly J. Susi, a public relations officer at the Community College of Rhode Island for the past two years, produced and wrote the radio commercial for the college’s summer advertising campaign.

Susi was recognized with a Distinguished Service Award by the organization for outstanding achievement as local arrangements chair for this year’s conference, which was hosted in Providence. More than 40 colleges from along the eastern seaboard attended the 3-day long annual conference.

In addition, Nancy Abood of Warwick, assistant to the president at CCRI, received a Distinguished Service Award for her contributions as a District 1 director.

The Community College of Rhode Island, New England’s largest community college, has campuses in Warwick, Providence and Lincoln and currently enrolls more than 16,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in non-credit and job training classes.

LINCOLN – Community College of Rhode Island Professor Robert Armstrong, of Cumberland, was recognized by the Internal Revenue Service recently for outstanding public service to his community through the Volunteer and Education Programs of the Internal Revenue Service.

Each year, Armstrong organizes and runs a free tax help program for area residents. Volunteer accounting/tax students produce computer-generated tax returns for students, the elderly, and others who cannot afford professional assistance.

Armstrong, a business professor at the college for 35 years, supervises the Volunteer Income Tax Assistant program and is assisted by professors Richard Hayes of Warwick, John Renza of Hope and Gary Bower of Cumberland.

WARWICK – The members of VTOYS, an International Business Practice Firm at the Warwick campus of the Community College of Rhode Island, will hold an open house for their virtual business on December 4 from 1 to 3 p.m. in the firm’s computer lab, Room 2106.

The International Business Practice Firm (IBPF) course is the first and only one of its kind offered at any Rhode Island college. Simply put, the IBPF is a simulated business that mirrors the real world. The IBPF is a company set up by students with the assistance of teachers.

This IBPF, VTOYS, operates as a ‘distributor’ of selected toys and games manufactured by Hasbro, Inc. of Pawtucket. Hasbro serves as the real world business partner of VTOYS and assists students with product and general business information. The students participate in a real world work environment and conduct all the operations necessary to run a business from financing to purchasing, marketing to human resources. The CCRI IBPF is linked by technology to other students participating in the IBPF environment in the United States and internationally. Through this networking, students are able to create simulated business transactions with other firms.

The open house will showcase this unique educational environment and will include a sampling of international foods.

The Community College of Rhode Island, New England’s largest community college, has campuses in Warwick, Providence and Lincoln and currently enrolls more than 16,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in non-credit and job training classes.

CCRI receives $587,500 for job training

Garnering more than half a million dollars this fall in training grants, the Community College of Rhode Island Office of Community Services meets the latest recession head-on, with skill-building programs that service Rhode Island's displaced and underemployed workers.

The Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training recently awarded CCRI a $300,000 DLT Trade grant* to serve underemployed and laid-off workers. The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) has also awarded CCRI $287,500 for the school's Adult Skill Training (AST) program** held at CCRI's Lincoln, Warwick and Providence campuses, as well as at Davies Career and Technical High School in the Lincoln area and the Woonsocket Area Career and Technical Facility.

Through the Department of Labor and Training grant, CCRI will offer free GED and English as Second Language courses to unemployed workers referred by the DLT Dislocated Worker's at the local netWORKri one-stop offices. After being assessed, program participants may then take ESL classes at the Pawtucket one-stop, or GED and ESL classes at the Providence/Elmwood Avenue one-stop. The latest DLT grant will help CCRI expand its program outside of the Pawtucket and Providence area, with additional classes planned at Woonsocket, West Warwick and Wakefield locations early next year.

Last year CCRI served 150 referrals through the DLT-funded program. In light of the economic outlook, however, the college this year anticipates reaching 200-225 qualifying individuals. Since September 11, the program has already serviced 25 new referrals from the Department of Labor and Training, and anticipates more lay-offs at Rhode Island businesses.

"Unfortunately, after Christmas we expect to see a large influx of unemployed workers who need our help," says Mary Parrillo, Director of Vocational Training for Adults at CCRI.

Over the next twelve months, the CCRI Adult Skills Training Program also plans to work with 250 Rhode Island adults who are currently unemployed or underemployed. The DLT-funded program often serves as a feeder program to the more in-depth AST training program, which offers specific training for such jobs as auto painter, nail technician and teacher's assistant.

Training varies in length from 18 contact hours for food management to 400 hours for office skills.

Unlike the DLT-program population, the AST student body must be recruited, not referred. Many of the qualifying applicants already receive assistance through programs such as TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) and FIP (Family Independence Plan). While all who register for classes through the AST program at CCRI must pay a $75 enrollment fee, they are exempt from tuition, which in the case of the office skills training amounts to $2,000.

Currently, the CCRI Adult Skills Training Program offers training in the categories of food manager certification, introduction to dental assistant, office skills, and certified nursing assistant at its Lincoln campus; teacher's assistant at Davies Career and Technical School; and all of the previous listed programs as well as certified nursing assistant, lead abatement specialist and asbestos removal worker at the Providence campus. CCRI is also actively recruiting for these training classes as well as for new classes slated to open in Spring 2002 at the Woonsocket Career and Technical Center and the Oliver Steadman Government Center in Wakefield.

All students recruited for the AST program must complete both the TABE (the Test of Adult Basic Education) and the APTICOM aptitude test. Those who score below a 10.9 grade level on their TABE may receive academic remediation free of charge. In addition to the specific job skill training, CCRI students receive what Parrillo calls "an intensive job search component," where they hone their interviewing and job search skills and learn to develop winning résumés.

During training, the classroom is viewed as a workplace, where absenteeism and dress code can contribute to a student's failure or success. In the 18-week office skills program, students must attend four and a half hours of training daily, and must sign a contract committing to no more than three excused absences. As part of the curriculum, students travel to a clothing exchange so that they can acquire the business attire required to attend class.

"By promoting professionalism, we prepare students for an office environment," Parrillo says, adding that the last office skills training class, nine members strong, had a 100% job placement rate, with an average wage of $12.75 per hour.

The success of Adult Skills Training is a personal as well as a professional one for CCRI's Office of Community Services, whose staff assistant of the past twelve years, Donna Bissanti, is a graduate of the training program. Bissanti was a single mom and welfare recipient at the time she enrolled in the office skills class, which she highly recommends.

"We received training in filing skills, office techniques, customer service…. I even improved my typing skills and got computer training." Within weeks of finishing the program, a newly trained Bissanti was hired to work at CCRI.

*CCRI has operated statewide education programs for DLT in combination with other workforce programs since 1985. Since 1999, however, CCRI alone has operated a DLT Trade grant for the Providence and Pawtucket areas.

** RIDE has awarded CCRI federal Perkins funds for adult vocational training since 1979. However, the program changed focused and renamed itself the Adult Skills Training Program in 2000.

WARWICK – Robert L. Bassett of North Attleboro has been recognized as a member of the Talent Roster of Outstanding Transfer Students from Community Colleges. Bassett graduated from the Community College of Rhode Island last May with highest honors and now attends the University of Rhode Island.

"Robert was outstanding in his commitment not only to his own education but to other students as well," said Linda Corrente, chair of the Human Services program at CCRI and one of nominating officials from CCRI.

Isabel Trombetti, coordinator of counseling and advising at CCRI’s Flanagan Campus, also nominated Bassett.

"In addition to possessing great analytical skills, Robert set high standards for himself and would settle for nothing but his very best," said Trombetti. "No matter how busy or preoccupied he was with his own affairs, Robert always took the time to respond to others in need and his response characteristically displayed his compassion and insight tempered by practical problem solving."

The College Board’s Talent Roster program provides national recognition to exceptionally talented community college transfer students. Students are nominated by their community college based on the student’s GPA, which must be above 3.0, and the student must intend to transfer to a four-year school.

The Community College of Rhode Island, New England’s largest community college, has campuses in Warwick, Providence and Lincoln and currently enrolls more than 16,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in non-credit and job training classes.

The CCRI Foundation, a charitable organization supporting the Community College of Rhode Island, recently awarded professional development awards to two faculty members at the college. Art professor Tom Morrissey of Lincoln, RI received $500 to support a photographic documentary of life in Cuba, which he plans to exhibit later this year. Allied Health professor Denise Lazo of Jamestown also received $500 in support of the textbook she is writing, entitled "Introduction to Sectional Anatomy." The textbook is slated for publication by Delmar Press in July 2004.

The Community College of Rhode Island, New England’s largest community college has campuses in Warwick, Providence and Lincoln, as well as satellites in East Providence, Middletown, Newport, Westerly and Woonsocket. It currently enrolls more than 15,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in non-credit and job training classes.

Despite the events of September 11^th, New York City is still a magical place at Christmas time. On Saturday, Dec. 8, the Community College of Rhode Island offers an all-day field trip to the Big Apple. Visitors can window shop or fill their stockings at Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue, strap on skates at Rockefeller Center, or enjoy the splendor of St. Patrick's Cathedral. Bus picks up passengers at 7 a.m. at Lincoln campus and 7:30 a.m. at Warwick campus, then leaves NYC at 7:30 p.m. The program is not a guided tour and costs $35 per person. To register for Lincoln pick-up, call 333-7070. For Warwick, register at 825-2000.

The Community College of Rhode Island, New England’s largest community college has campuses in Warwick, Providence and Lincoln, as well as satellites in East Providence, Middletown, Newport, Westerly and Woonsocket. It currently enrolls more than 15,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in non-credit and job training classes.

CCRI’s Weekend College info session scheduled

PROVIDENCE – The Community College of Rhode Island's Providence campus has scheduledan information session for Saturday, December 1 from 10:30 a.m. until noon for students interested in learning more about the Weekend College program.

Prospective or continuing students are invited to attend the informal meeting.  On hand will be CCRI admissions and financial aid counselors, program advisers and instructors.  Information will be available on the different programs of study and a tour of the building will also be offered. 

Attendees are also invited to an optional workshop, “Where do I Begin?" which discusses issues around returning to college.

CCRI's Weekend College offers a full range of classes on Friday afternoons and evenings, Saturdays and Sundays.  Students can pursue degree programs in liberal arts, business, general studies, human services or law enforcement. Students can take just one class or attend full-time and all CCRI services such as counseling and advising, financial aid, library, computer lab, and cafeteria are available throughout the weekend.

The CCRI Providence Campus is located at One Hilton Street.  For more information call 455-6113 weekdays or call Will Jackson at 455-6063 on weekends.

Carlotti Colloquium reveals creative process

Trinity Repertory's artistic director Oskar Eustis, Rhode Island School of Design's provost Joe Deal, Women Care's managing partner Dr. Pablo Rodriguez and Associate Justice O. Rogeriee Thompson form the diverse panel of experts discussing the creative process in "The Indomitable Spirit," during the annual Carlotti Colloquium, held Thursday, Nov. 29 at the Community College of Rhode Island. Rodriguez and Thompson discuss the creative process as it relates Medicine and Business at 10am at the Lincoln campus, while Eustis and Deal reveal apply the same principles to the disciplines of arts and education at 2pm on the Warwick Campus.

The Carlotti Colloquium, a professional development program for CCRI faculty and staff, is named in recognition of Albert E. Carlotti, the first chair of the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education. Carlotti, chairman of the Board of Regents from 1973-81 and chairman of the Board of Governors for Higher Education from 1981-89, helped CCRI construct its Lincoln campus and oversaw its transition from the Rhode Island Junior College to the Community College of Rhode Island.

"The Indomitable Spirit" — the creative force that inspires the world's artists and poets, scientists and entrepreneurs alike — serves as the ordering point for CCRI's arts and humanities programming this year. A special events series of the same name is planned for Spring 2002.

For more information, call the CCRI Foundation at (401) 333-7150.

The Community College of Rhode Island, New England’s largest community college, has campuses in Warwick, Providence and Lincoln and currently enrolls more than 15,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in non-credit and job training classes.

CCRI honors outstanding alumni; Five inducted into Society of Knights

 The Community College of Rhode Island honored five CCRI/RIJC graduates for outstanding contributions to their community. The alumni were inducted into the “Society of Knights” at a dinner dance held on Friday, October 19 at the Squantum Club, East Providence.

Inducted into the Society of Knights this year were:

Deborah J. Aiken, class of 1975 and 1982. Aiken has worked at CCRI since 1997 and is a classic CCRI success story. Aiken started at the college as a senior clerk stenographer and moved through the ranks to her current position of Associate Dean of Enrollment Services. Besides her CCRI degrees, Aiken holds a B.S. and M.Ed. from Rhode Island College and lives in West Warwick with her husband Ted.

Marilyn E. Asselin of Coventry, class of 1974. Asselin began her nursing career after her graduation from CCRI when she went to work at Kent Hospital where she’s been ever since. After working as a staff nurse, she served as an assistant nurse manager and then moved into nursing education in 1982. She was recently named director of the department of education at Kent Hospital. A former nurse of the year, besides her CCRI degree, Asselin earned a B.S. in nursing from Salve Regina University, a master’s degree in nursing education and a Ph.D. from the University of Rhode Island.

Cranston Mayor John O’Leary, class of 1975. O’Leary’s adult life has been dedicated to public service. In 1981 he was elected state senator and in 1998 was elected as Cranston’s 17th mayor. Before becoming mayor, O’Leary held administrative positions at the University of Rhode Island’s College of Continuing Education for 12 years and has volunteered countless hours for a variety of charitable causes. Besides his CCRI degree, O’Leary holds a B.A. from Providence College and a M.Ed. from Cambridge College. He lives with his wife Ann and two children in Cranston.

State Sen. Joseph M. Polisena, classes of 1982 and 1985. Polisena was a Johnston firefighter form 1975 to 1996 when he retired as battalion chief and EMS coordinator. He has been the lead emergency medical training instructor for the CCRI EMT program since 1986 and in January 2000 became the director of the CCRI fire science program as well as coordinator for the CCRI Community Training Center. Besides serving as the deputy majority leader in the state senate and as a member of numerous senate committees, Polisena is health coordinator for Cranston Senior Services. In addition to his CCRI degrees, Polisena holds a B.S. degree from Roger Williams College and a M.Ed. from Cambridge College. He lives with his wife Lucille and son in Johnston.

Robyn R. Simoneau, class of 1985. Simoneau, who has worked as an elementary school teacher in Coventry for 12 years and is one of just six teachers in the state to have received the honor of becoming National Board Certified, a process that involves a yearlong series of performance-based assessments. Simoneau is a member of Pi Lambda Theta, a national honor society for educators, and is a mentor for new teachers in Coventry. Besides her teaching, Simoneau has initiated after-school clubs to enhance the lives of her students and the community. As a student at CCRI, Simoneau was an active athlete and the first woman to earn the Siperstein Scholar-Athlete award. She has earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree Rhode Island College. She lives in Coventry with her husband James and daughter Rachel. Their second child is due in November.

The Autumn Knight committee members were: Joseph V. DiMaria, vice president for student affairs, who inducted the members; Richard V. DiGennaro, president of the CCRI Alumni Association who served as the master of ceremonies; and Deborah J. Aiken, Michael A. Archetto, Robert Carosi, William P. DeCaporale, Walter M. Edwards, Glenda M. Jackson, Ann L. Lagarto, Paula S. Lahoud, Barbara E. Paolino, Sondra V. Pitts and Cathy L. Picard Tessier. 

October 2001 

SPATE Consortium program manager joins CCRI

WARWICK – Diane Steere Nobles has been named program manager of the Secondary/Post-secondary Articulation in Technology Education (SPATE) consortium at the Community College of Rhode Island and will lead the college’s effort to move the state’s technical education system into a new era.

Nobles comes to CCRI from the Texas State Technical College System where she directed several statewide educational reform efforts. Most recently, she headed the Statewide Articulation for Telecommunications and Computer Networking Project, which identified commonly articulated secondary and postsecondary courses and developed career pathways in each field. Prior to that, Nobles managed a five-year statewide effort to research and design a voluntary skill standards system for the State of Texas, working with state and national employees to develop industry skill standards in occupations important to the state’s economic competitiveness.

But make no mistake, Nobles is a New Englander: she grew up in Connecticut and has spent summers in Narragansett all her life.

“I’m happy to be back in Rhode Island and I’m especially happy to be at CCRI,” said Nobles. “My work has always concentrated on the two-year college. I find community colleges to be the most innovative and responsive to business and industry, to the community and especially to students.” 

As part of a three-year Perkins-funded federal grant, Nobles will work with six pilot secondary schools to develop a career pathway from the high schools to CCRI. The first year’s efforts will concentrate on information technology careers; the second on pre-engineering and robotics and the third year on health careers.

The six schools are: Middletown High School, Warwick Career and Technical Center, William M. Davis Career and Technical High School, East Providence Career and Technical Center, North Kingstown High School and Cranston Career and Technical Center.

“What we want to do is create a seamless career pathway for students who have an interest in information technology, engineering/robotics and health careers,” said Nobles. “By providing a solid core curriculum at the high school level, students can begin to specialize in high school and make a smooth transition to CCRI. From there they will be well prepared to continue on to a four-year school or enter the workforce.”

As Nobles explained, business and industry leaders in Rhode Island and nationwide are experiencing a shortage of skilled workers in these fields. In partnership with business and industry, SPATE will build the curriculum needed so that students’ skills will meet industry needs. The skills standards already exist, said Nobles, who will work with business and industry to customize the standards for Rhode Island.

“There is an effort nationwide to develop skills standards that are industry-driven, industry-validated and industry-recognized,” said Nobles.

Nobles first piece of business, she said, will be to visit the six pilot schools.  She also hopes to incorporate work-based training into the educational curriculum so that students may learn first-hand if the career field that they are studying is right for them. 

Nobles lives in Narragansett. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Rhode Island and she also holds a master’s degree from Northeastern State in Oklahoma and a Ph.D. from Texas A & M University.  

CCRI’s Weekend College info session scheduled

PROVIDENCE – The Community College of Rhode Island's Providence campus has scheduled an information session for Saturday, October 20 from 10:30 a.m. until noon for students interested in learning more about the Weekend College program. Prospective or continuing students are invited to attend the informal meeting.  On hand will be CCRI admissions and financial aid counselors, program advisers and instructors.  Information will be available on the different programs of study and a tour of the building will also be offered. 

Attendees are also invited to an optional workshop,” Where do I Begin?" which discusses issues around returning to college.

CCRI's Weekend College began in last fall, offering a full range of classes on Friday afternoons and evenings, Saturdays and Sundays.  Enrollment has doubled to nearly 1,200 students since the first semester.  Students can pursue degree programs in liberal arts, business, general studies, human services or law enforcement.

Students can take just one class or attend full-time and all CCRI services such as counseling and advising, financial aid, library, computer lab, and cafeteria are available throughout the weekend.

The CCRI Providence Campus is located at One Hilton Street.  For more information call 455-6113.

September 2001

CCRI professors receive national recognition

The National Institute for Staff and Faculty Development (NISOD) has recognized two Community College of Rhode Island professors for the creativity, passion and innovation that they bring to the classroom.

Associate Professor of Foreign Languages Carol A. Panaccione of Cranston and Professor of Nursing Kathleen M. Shay of North Kingstown were presented the NISOD Excellence Award medals by Vice President for Academic Affairs Robert Sylvestre at CCRI’s opening day convocation.  CCRI President Thomas D. Sepe nominated the two faculty members.

The NISOD Excellence Awards awards have been presented annually in conjunction with the annual International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence. NISOD emphasizes the importance of teaching excellence in open access institutions through conferences, workshops and publications that reinforce the importance of teaching. The Excellence Award was designed to honor community colleges’ best teachers.

Student Artists Respond to Terrorism

More than 40 art students at the Community College of Rhode Island show their patriotism as well as their grief in a current exhibition of student artwork on view through October 5th at the Flanagan Campus Gallery in Lincoln. From digital imaging to collage, the works range from literal depictions of rescue workers to abstract forms. Other works use mixed media, painting, drawing and two-dimensional design techniques.

"The images display a lot of frustration and sense of non-belief that something like the World Trade Center attack could happen. Almost all of my students feel a great sense of disruption in their lives that I think is represented in their artwork," says professor Tom Morrissey, one of four CCRI faculty members whose students participated in this service learning project.

CCRI Foundation holds annual meeting

The election of the 2001-2002 officers highlighted the annual meeting of the Community College of Rhode Island Foundation on September 13 at the Kirkbrae Country Club.

The Board officers elected were: Dr. Augustine Capotosto, Quality Management Systems, president; Denise M. Jenkins, School One, vice president; Leonard D. Lorenzo, Davol, treasurer; and Beverly Wiley, National Council for Community & Justice, secretary. Betty J. Capaldo, Junior Achievement of RI, is immediate past president.

Eight new trustees also joined the Foundation for three-year terms. They are: Anne B. Bates, East Bay Chamber of Commerce; Emilie Benoit, Roger Williams University School of Law; Christine Callahan, Newport Art Museum; Trudy Coxe, Preservation Society of Newport County; Ann Hood, author; Walter A. Pannone, Westerly Hospital; Albert K. Sherman, Jr., Newport Daily News; and Ruth S. Taylor, International Yacht Restoration School.

The CCRI Foundation was established in 1979 as a charitable organization to encourage, seek and provide support for the Community College of Rhode Island from private sources. CCRI Foundation funds are used to build a self-perpetuating endowment for the College to provide scholarships, professional development resources and enrichment of the academic environment.

The Community College of Rhode Island will offer placement testing for persons interested in CCRI's Nursing Assistant Training program. This state-approved program offers 120 hours of training in the classroom, lab and health care facilities, and qualifies students to work as certified nursing assistants, or CNAs.

All students interested in enrolling must first pass a reading comprehension test with a score of 85% or better. Placement testing will take place Saturdays, Sept. 22, Oct. 6 and Oct. 20 at 10am in room 2302 of CCRI's Flanagan Campus, 1762 Louisquisset Pike, Lincoln. The $15 application fee covers three opportunities to take the test. Additional support is offered to bilingual adults interested in taking the test.

Each year, CCRI trains approximately 150 new nursing assistants, who are sorely needed in the health care industry. The cost for CNA training is $360. To schedule an appointment, please call the CCRI Lincoln office at 333-7089.

CCRI urges G.E.D. students to wrap up testing

The Community College of Rhode Island offers G.E.D. testing this fall for those wishing to complete their certificate of high school equivalency before the new regulations take effect January 1, 2002. Because the testing system for the G.E.D. exams will change in 2002, all students working toward their equivalency certificate must finish their series of five tests by December 31 of this year, or begin the process anew next year.

To meet the Dec. 31 deadline, students must sign up for testing no later than Nov. 15. For students ages 18 and older who are no longer enrolled in high school, CCRI offers testing at its Lincoln campus everyday at 1pm and Monday and Thursday evenings at 6pm. It also offers testing at its Providence campus Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings at 9am and Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6pm. The cost G.E.D. testing is $15 and includes all five exams.

To register for exams in Lincoln, please call 333-7072. For Providence exams, call 455-6019. 

CCRI DENTAL HYGIENE CLINIC OFFERS LOW COST DENTAL CLEANING

LINCOLN – Where can you get a thorough and professionally supervised dental cleaning for just $10? Or how about a full set of dental x-rays for $10 -- which usually cost upwards of $100 at a private practice?

The Community College of Rhode Island’s Dental Hygiene Clinic which is now scheduling cleaning appointments for the public. Complete dental hygiene services are available at the Flanagan Campus in Room 1120, 1762 Louisquisset Pike.

Each cleaning includes blood pressure monitoring, oral cancer screening, periodontal examination, cleaning, polishing, fluoride treatment, and personalized oral health education.

Since supervised hygiene care is part of the student hygienist required curriculum, appointments will last two hours so that a broad range of services can be given to each patient. Patients should also be aware that more than one appointment might be necessary.  The initial $10 fee covers additional appointments.

Other services that are available for a minimal fee include sealants and x-rays.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call CCRI’s Dental Hygiene Clinic at 333-7250.

August 2001

RHODE ISLAND NATIONAL GUARD INFORMATION DAY AT CCRI

PROVIDENCE--The Rhode Island National Guard will hold an Information Day to showcase  educational benefits for enlistees from 8am-4pm on Saturday, September 15, at the Community College of Rhode Island's Liston Campus, One Hilton St., Providence. This event is open to current recruits as well as interested civilians.

CCRI representatives from the admissions office, the academic business office and the Center for Business and Industrial Training (CBIT) join National Guard representatives for a day of  information and networking sessions. Presentations from 8:30-10am and 1-2:30pm will address the following topics: the Rhode Island National Guard's state benefits, the educational partnership between CCRI and the Rhode Island National Guard, the Community College of the Air Force, and college credit at CCRI for prior experience.

CCRI's Center for Business and Industrial Training offers courses for enlisted personnel at several National Guard sites throughout the state through a government contract that allows the enlisted personnel to pursue their Associate's Degrees free-of-charge. Students who wish to enroll in credit classes on the CCRI campus or any other Rhode Island state institution of higher education may qualify for government tuition assistance. On average, approximately 100 Rhode Island National Guard members attend CCRI each semester.

Many National Guard members can also receive college credit for work experience. Interested personnel must have a portfolio of applicable work assessed by a CCRI faculty member to determine if it is equivalent to a credit course.

"CCRI is very student friendly in terms of counseling, advising and scheduling of part-time students like the National Guard members. I have a wonderful line of communication with CCRI," says Major Thomas Grady of the Rhode Island National Guard education office.

The Community College of Rhode Island, New England’s largest community college, has campuses in Warwick, Providence and Lincoln, and currently enrolls more than 15,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in non-credit and job training classes.

Lost on the information superhighway?
CCRI Internet research class will help you find your way

The ability to find out just about anything a human could want to know has made the Internet one of the greatest innovations ever.  But – and it’s a big but – how do you find your way through that vast maze of information? And more importantly, how do you know if it’s good information or bad?

The Community College of Rhode Island is offering a new course, Introduction to Library Research on the Internet, which will give students hands-on experience in searching a wide variety of resources and evaluating the information found on the Internet. 

“There’s nothing wrong with turning to the Internet to get information; it’s a great tool,” said Marla Wallace, coordinator of reference and collection development at the CCRI Flanagan Campus Library. “Though people do need to learn how to use the Internet effectively and how to evaluate what they find.”

Wallace cites the many times that people look up diseases and illnesses on the Internet – and find lots of information.

 “How credible is that information?” asked Wallace. “Did it come from a medical journal or a manufacturer of herbal remedies trying to sell their products?”

This five-week, one-credit course will introduce students to the commercial databases available at the CCRI libraries as well as how to evaluate information found on the Internet. Students will share examples of misinformation and relevant, factual information and will be taught the questions to consider when looking at Internet information.

And for those Internet researchers who have been frustrated when their searches come up with 365,875,460 results from their online query, the course will also offer some useful search strategies to help you focus your Internet information request.

Introduction to Library Research on the Internet is being offered at the Lincoln campus on Tuesdays from 6 to 10 p.m. beginning September 11; Wednesdays from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Providence campus beginning September 5; Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Warwick campus beginning October 20; and on the Internet beginning the week of October 15. Faculty members on the library staff, all whom hold a master’s degree in library science, teach the course.

CCRI FACULTY TAKE TECHNOLOGY TO THE CLASSROOM

Faculty members at the Community College of Rhode Island are providing a high tech learning environment for their students by integrating technology with their traditional teaching methods.

The number of full-time and adjunct faculty members who supplement their courses with Web-based technologies rose from a handful in the spring of 2000 to over 300 in the spring of 2001, representing more than 50% of CCRI teaching staff.

At the close of the spring semester, more than 1,400 students were enrolled in WebCT-supplemented courses, including 15 fully online courses. WebCT (Web Course Tools) is course management software that enables faculty to post online syllabi and assignments, to offer electronic quizzes and self-tests, and to create links to other Web-based resources. Students using WebCT can trade e-mails with their instructor, join a virtual chat room with fellow students, and submit their homework electronically.

“The whole point of using technology to enhance learning opportunities. If teachers are able to use a PowerPoint slide presentation to enhance key points for students who are poor readers, it expands their learning. Also, practice quizzes on WebCT offer students a chance to interact with the material," said Linda Beith, faculty tech support coordinator at CCRI.

This summer alone, 43 faculty members attended a three-day Faculty Development Program on technology, where they learned the specifics of WebCT and CCRI’s web portal, Campus, Pipeline. In addition, 27 of the faculty members learned to create and upload their own web pages.

“The faculty members here are the busiest I’ve ever seen, but they still put effort and time into supplementing their courses with technology. They see how it increases the learning opportunities for students,” Beith said.

Beith attributes the increase in the number of faculty finding success with technology to several factors, including the availability of CCRI's technology help desk from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, the opportunity for all faculty members to have access to a computer, the availability of technology such as portable projectors and laptop computers, and an increase in the number of fixed computer/projection units in classrooms.

This fall, CCRI will have four new electronic classrooms, one already in use at the Providence campus and three new classrooms at the Warwick campus, that come equipped with an instructor's station, a video projector and approximately 20 student computer stations. Another 22 classrooms, located among all three campuses, come equipped with video projectors and electronic instructors' stations.   In addition, CCRI faculty and students have access to over 1000 computers in various labs and classrooms across the three main campuses.

To bring students' computer skills up to speed, the Department of Computer Resources offers 30- and 60-minute non-credit training classes in WebCT, Pipeline, Microsoft Word and campus technology resources. “The workshops take the pressure off faculty who want to use technology in their classrooms but who are not comfortable teaching software skills,” Beith said.

“Instructional technology gives us the ability to address a variety of learning styles and helps get the information out to more students,” she said.

For example, if a student doesn't have the math foundation to prepare dosage calculations in nursing, he may take a practice quiz on fractions in WebCT that allows him to advance to the next level if he succeeds. If he needs more practice, the student is redirected to a tutorial on fractions.

“In this way, technology allows a teacher to challenge students who are already there and not leave behind students who need extra help,” Beith said. “Technology gives us additional tools to do what we know works.”

One faculty member who has used these tools to the students' advantage is Patricia Brady Wilhelm, assistant professor of biology. Wilhelm used WebCT supplements in her Human Anatomy course to help her students study lab dissections. She put photographs of dissections online to help students prepare for lab work as well as to review the material before a test.

"Reading dissection materials does not prepare students properly to work in the lab," Wilhelm said. Also, having the lab photos online fulfills the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Wilhelm said, for students who have respiration problems and cannot be subjected to the fumes.

Wilhelm also uses the WebCT quizzes and allows students to take them twice. Students take the quiz once, find out immediately which questions they got wrong, realize their weaknesses and take a similar quiz a second time. "It is more of a learning tool rather than an assessment tool," she said.

The Community College of Rhode Island, New England’s largest community college, has campuses in Warwick, Providence and Lincoln and currently enrolls more than 15,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in non-credit and job training classes.

MEDIA ONLY: To view a sample CCRI WebCT course, please call Laura Hart at 825-1175 to arrange for your temporary username and password.

Life Transitions COURSE CLUSTER GIVES NEW STUDENTS A COMMUNITY

This fall, a pilot program entitled Life Transitions and Personal Growth will make the transition of returning to college easier for some Community College of Rhode Island students at the Providence campus. 

Beginning Sept. 5, the 12-credit Life Transitions program comprises five courses, including introductory offerings in psychology, English and speech, that are linked together in a learning community, an innovative educational model that groups courses together for a cross-disciplinary learning experience. 

Philip Sisson, Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs and coordinator of the Life Transitions program, sums up the idea of a learning community by saying, "Students take five classes that seem like one." Not only are the five linked courses scheduled in a block from 9am-2pm three days a week, but course content is also linked so that projects can be shared. Students must enroll in all five classes simultaneously, so that they travel through their semester's classes with the same cohort, or group of learners. 

Sisson expects that the 25 students in the Life Transitions learning community will bond both personally and academically over the semester. "For an adult population returning to school, a learning community provides support and helps build academic confidence," Sisson says, adding that educational research shows learning communities can increase academic achievement and student satisfaction. One reason for this success is that a learning community offers students an immediate community of peers and study partners. The block schedule for Life Transitions makes the most of this team-building approach, even allowing a shared lunch break so that students can socialize together. 

First introduced in the 1920s, college-based learning communities have enjoyed a resurgence in the past decade. While CCRI has offered pairs of linked courses in the past, the Life Transitions program is the first cluster learning community offered at the college.

The subject matter for CCRI's first learning community¾transitions¾fits in neatly with the experience of a college student. "Going to college is a life transition and a growth experience," Sisson explains. "This learning community is way of harnessing that personal experience and bringing it to the classroom."

Through two psychology courses, The Psychology of Personal Adjustment and Career Information Seminar, students will learn the theory behind navigating both personal and professional life changes. Assignments for composition and oral communication classes will also be geared to students' personal experiences with change.

Lastly, the Seminar on Student Success will give the learning community students important study, communications, career-planning and decision-making skills to help them negotiate life's transitions, large and small. At the end of the semester, each student's essays from the composition course, transcripts from the speech course and journal summaries from the psychology courses combine with career testing and a resume to create a personalized Life Transitions portfolio.

This team spirit extends to the faculty involved in the learning community, in this case Professors Maureen Abbate, Linda Hassoun, Edward McEntee and Laurie Sherman. Sisson explains that to create Life Transitions, faculty had to collaborate from the start, aligning their syllabi so that content overlapped between courses.

"Finding connections between disciplines was very exciting," Sisson says. This faculty collaboration will continue through the fall semester, when professors will meet weekly to review the program's progress. Just as students in a learning community can form study partnerships, so faculty members can form mentoring relationships, with older faculty guiding younger professors through the process. This camaraderie is bound to have a positive effect on the students, Sisson reasons. "Students can say, 'Here are four faculty who care about my progress and are working together to help me succeed.'"

The Community College of Rhode Island, New England’s largest community college, has campuses in Warwick, Providence and Lincoln and currently enrolls more than 15,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in non-credit and job training classes.

CCRI ADMINISTRATOR TO HEAD NATIONAL ORGANIZATION

Heather C. Smith, associate dean of Enrollment Services at the Community College of Rhode Island, will head the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. For the first time in a decade, a community college administrator – and community college graduate – will lead the organization that represents more than 9,200 professionals and approximately 2,300 accredited institutions of higher education.

Smith was recently elected president-elect of AACRAO. She has been an active member of AACRAO for the past 20 years, most recently serving as vice president of professional development and publications and was a member of the organization’s incorporation and bylaws task force. At CCRI, Smith has served in a variety of capacities in enrollment services and admissions since joining the college in 1990.

Smith was a 1971 graduate of Chipola Junior College (Mariana, FL). “Chipola was a wonderful place for me to begin my higher education experience and continues with me today at CCRI.”

She also holds a B.S. from Worcester State College, an M.B.A. from Anna Maria College and a doctorate in education from Johnson & Wales University.

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