News and Updates

Happy first week of classes!

ATTN: Academic Support is excited to present a collaborative space designed to provide an interactive and cohesive platform to engage, stay connected, and informed about our services. Moving forward we intend to communicate regular updates throughout the semester regarding our services and resources for students via the new Academic Support and Faculty Collaboratorium in Canvas.  You will also find many resources and data to benefit you and your courses as well as the ability to submit your own resources to share with other faculty. 

Additionally, we have provided spaces to keep the conversation going and allow for feedback from you in order to lend your ideas and thoughts to us. 

Please join the open enrollment course in Canvas and turn on notifications to begin receiving news and updates from our team. 

Here is the link to self-enroll: https://waubonsee.instructure.com/enroll/L93P49

LIBRARY UPDATES

Library Hours - August 24 - September 13

• Todd Library at Sugar Grove 
  • Monday - Thursday: 8:00am - 9:30pm, Friday: 8:00am - 4:30pm 
  • Saturday: 8:00am - 4:30pm, Sunday: Closed 
• Downtown Aurora
  • Monday - Thursday: 8:00am - 7:00pm, Friday: 8:00am - 4:30pm 
  • Sat/Sun: Closed  
• Aurora Fox Valley
  • Monday - Thursday: 8:00am - 4:30pm 
  • Fri/Sat/Sun: Closed 

• Beginning Friday, August 28th, if you are concerned about a student’s academic performance, please complete a SERVICE REQUEST FORM that will be located in the feedback/request area of the Faculty and Academic Support Collaboratorium. https://waubonsee.instructure.com/courses/6923].  If you are concerned about non-academic performance, please fill out an early alert or WIF.

• If students are having trouble navigating Canvas, we are currently hosting formal Zoom Canvas training sessions.These will run through September 3 on Mondays and Thursdays with morning and evening sessions. Sessions are ideal for first time Canvas users or new students. 

• Beginning August 24th, students may also direct all tech support inquiries via Service Desk. If you learn of students that are without the technology to participate in your course, please direct them here under Student Technology Assistance (only viewable by students). Students can also reach out to  TAC@waubonsee.edu via the Canvas help icon for general technical assistance. 

  • Students have 3 different options in ServiceDesk to request help: request equipment, technology assistance (ex. Adobe, MS 360, Google, etc), and Canvas Support

• Print For Me Form - In order to maintain a clean and safe environment, the library is not currently offering direct access to our printers. If a student would like to print a document, they can fill out the Print For Me form and library staff will notify the student when their items are ready for pickup.

• If students need access to a space to study or a computer on campus, there are a few options;

  • Sugar Grove will have two Learning Lounge locations; one located in the Academic and Professional Center RM 145A and in Bodie Hall RM 246

  • There is also limited access to tables and study carrels at DWN Aurora RM 218

• If students need to check-out a book or resource, direct them to the library resources.

• SmarterMeasure Waubonsee Community College students can assess their readiness for hybrid and online learning using the SmarterMeasure Assessment. They can gain feedback regarding strengths and weaknesses related to online learning.

TUTORING - If students are having trouble understanding course material or want to get ahead, the college offers free tutoring in a variety of modalities;

Fall Drop in Hours at  Aurora DT/Sugar Grove/Zoom

• August 24 - December 19
  • If you would like to request a tutor come to your class, on campus or via Zoom, email us at tutoring@waubonsee.edu and we will gladly work with you to address your students needs!
  • www.waubonsee.edu/tutoring has all the details for your students to know how to connect with Tutoring so please share that webpage at will! 
  • M-TR 9am - 2pm
  • Appointments are also available on campus or via Zoom outside of business hours in order to provide flexibility to students and staff.

• TRIUMPH - Transforming and Inspiring Undergraduate Men Pursuing Higher Education or TRIUMPH  is a  program which empowers males of color by providing increased academic, personal and professional support through mentoring and other services. If students are interested in joining this program, please have them reach out to Dr. Chassie Sherretz csherretz@waubonsee.edu

• QuickPath - QuickPath Accelerated Degree Program:  If you are not familiar with the program, it is a program that allows students to complete their associates degree in 12 -15 months.  Students take between 23-25 credit hours in the fall and spring semester along with courses in the summer terms.  For more information, please reach out to quickpath@waubonsee.edu

• Todd Library is Open
  • Hours for August 3-14:
  • Virtual/Todd Library - 10am to 4:30pm, M, T, W, Th
  • Virtual - 8am to 4:30pm, Friday
  • Closed Saturday/Sunday

• Need Tech Support? Students with technology needs can email LibraryTechSupport@waubonsee.edu to borrow a laptop and/or wireless hotspot and ask questions.

• Technology Tuesdays will continue into August and the beginning of the semester.

  • For Canvas help, Zoom questions, or any other software or technology students may be using in their online courses. Students have access to details within their Canvas orientation course and can find more info by visiting the link below for registration details and time slots.

    • Technology Tuesdays 

In addition to Tech Tuesdays, we will be hosting formal Zoom Canvas training sessions before the start of the semester. These will be ideal for first time Canvas users or new students.                               

• A step by step student guide to Zoom is available for reference. 

• Library book return bins are now operational at the FOX and Downtown campuses, in addition to Sugar Grove, for students to return items.

Tutoring will be back on August 24th.  Updates on hours will be posted soon on www.waubonsee.edu/tutoring.

• There are options in Canvas for connecting students with library resources, library instruction, and librarian assistance. Detailed instructions for each option are available in this guide.
  • Please contact the library at reference@waubonsee.edu if you need additional assistance. 

• FYI - to keep students in the know - Do you have students who are new to online learning, or taking a class for the first time in Canvas? Academic Support is offering free drop in Q&A Zoom sessions to get all of their Canvas questions answered! Registration is encouraged, but not required.

  We are offering two drop-in sessions this week:

  • Wednesday, 6/24/20, 11AM – Zoom link

  • Wednesday, 6/24/20, 5PM – Zoom link

• Faculty choosing modality
  • Finalize descriptions of the modalities
  • Ask faculty to choose among these options
• FYI - Academic Support will be sending a message to faculty on Monday about services available beginning June 8th.

No updates this week 😃

• Faculty Listening Sessions
• Adding Users to Canvas
• Faculty Development Days for Fall

• Canvas Help for Students: Students received an email earlier today notifying them about the switch from Blackboard to Canvas. We also created a WCC Canvas Student Orientation course that all students are being added to.  In the orientation course, students will learn about being successful in online courses, Canvas and Zoom. If students run into any issues, please have them reach out to TAC at 630-466-4357, chat with our Library team by visiting www.waubonsee.edu/library or emailing librarytechsupport@waubonsee.edu.
  
• Tutoring:  Between May 18 - June 8, tutoring will only be available via the 24/7 SmarThinking Tutoring Service.  Students can find more information at: www.waubonsee.edu/tutoring 
• Library:  Between May 18 - June 8, the virtual library will be open Monday - Thursdays: 7:30am - 9:30pm, Fridays: 7:30am-4:30pm, and Saturdays & Sundays: Closed. Students can email or chat with the library team for assistance with research, information and technology concerns. More information can be found at: www.waubonsee.edu/library

FYI - Sue sending a communication about faculty getting into their offices this week. Dr. Nyhammer will be sending a message to faculty about plans for Fall 2020 (this will include communication about G2R).

• Laptops, hotspots and other technology devices can now be picked up on Tuesdays at Aurora Downtown, 8am - 4:30pm.  
• Incompletes: Incomplete contracts due tomorrow (5/15) - because of the discontinuation of Blackboard - guidelines to prepare for incompletes and grade appeals will be forthcoming from FDAE.

• All Summer Credit Classes Online
• Illinois Wifi Drive Up Map Tool: www.ildceo.net/wifi
• Commencement:  To celebrate our graduates, a team from Student Development and Marketing and Communications is planning a  virtual ceremony for June.  More details to come.
• May 4, 2020 Three Things to Know: Please share with students.
• Copying Courses from Blackboard to Canvas: Blackboard shells are automatically being migrated to Canvas. If you have made changes since the content lock in February and would like to manually copy a course from Blackboard to Canvas, please see the instructions on the Canvas page.
• Drop-in Tutoring with Zoom is available this week (week of May 4) and next week (week of May 11): Please share with your students.
• Flex Mode Presentation: Please follow the link to learn more about the new Flex delivery model available to faculty.  The presentation will answer the primary questions you may have related to facilitating your courses via Flex.  
• Professional Development Opportunity:
  • Taking STEM Online Workshop by Almy Education.
• Student Onboarding changes for Fall 2020 & Spring 2021:
  • Fall 2020
    • Changing name of the NSIF to New Student Application and revising some of the questions.
    • Revising the Change of Major procedures.
    • Ensuring that adult education and noncredit students transitioning to credit go through the same process as other credit students.
    • In addition, the college is accepting HS GPA as a new placement measure starting with Fall 2020 registration.
  • Spring 2021
    • Making the necessary procedural and Banner adjustments to align with the Degree/Certificate seeking and Non-degree philosophy.
    • Implementing the new Readmit process.

• Summer 2020 Classes: Classes starting May 18th will be online. The decision about moving the remaining summer classes online will be made on May 18th.
• Pass/Fall Interim Grading Policy: The college will not be moving forward with instituting P/F grading policy for Spring 2020. Just a reminder, your grading options are letter grades - A-F, W grade for withdrawals, and I’s for incompletes. Thank you for your input on this decision.
• Student Evaluations: These are suspended for Spring semester unless you are a part of the AEFIS online evaluation pilot.
• Spring Important Dates Update (withdraw dates extension): The withdrawal date for the Spring 2020 has been extended to May 15, 2020 (the last day of the semester). The current grade change policy will also be modified for Spring 2020. See the Current Process here.
• Nursing Application deadline for the October Cohort  has been extended to July 15.
• Cares Act Group: A team has been formed to determine how to spend the $3 million on CARES Act funding the college received. Melissa Morgan and Chassie Sherretz are serving as the representatives from the Ed Affairs. We look forward to learning more from them.
• Student Development Update for Fall 2020:
  • Changes to developmental English cut scores will still happen for Fall 2020.
  • The intake process changes related to routing students based on the status of degree seeking/non-degree seeking is not happening until Spring 2021.  For Fall 2020, students will continue to be routed through intake according to their status as a PT/FT student.  
  • High School GPA as a Placement Measure: The plan to accept HS GPA as a placement measure is still happening for Fall.   
  • Change of Major Process:  Starting May 18th, students seeking to change their major will need to submit an online request form.
  • New Student Information Form: The name is being changed back to application.  In addition, students will be able to share their preferred/chosen name, the citizenship question is being removed, and language is being added to explain why we ask for a social security number.
• Marketing and Communications - M&C is looking for student stories to share with our community. Please reflect on the students you are working with and consider writing one of these two types of stories:
  • Stories of students who have successfully transitioned to online learning. Maybe you have or know of a student who had concerns about this at the beginning, or did not have the technical resources they needed, or something else and did not think they could succeed this semester. But they have!
  • Stories of students who have overcome direct or remarkable impact because of the coronavirus. Maybe a student who actually had the virus, or a parent or other close relative who had it. Or maybe their job has been impacted by the virus (health care is only one area that has been impacted, of course), yet they have persevered.