GCC Online Enrollment Grows Again Trustees Hear

BATAVIA, NY (01/23/2015)(readMedia)-- More and more students are interested in taking an online, Genesee Community College class between the fall and spring semesters, GCC's Board of Trustees learned at the monthly January 12, 2015 meeting. Enrollment for Winterim, which ran 12 online courses from December 15, 2014 to January 9, 2015 doubled according to the report given by Dr. Virginia Taylor, vice president of Enrollment and Student Services.

Last year, Winterim had 121 enrolled students, while this year 222 students attended, including 70 students with undeclared majors or who are "non-matriculating." This could mean students who are enrolled at another college or university and home for the holidays, or any student looking to earn three credits during the month-long break between the traditional fall and spring semesters. Each Winterim course covers the same material as the full semester course but in an accelerated format.

"We are delighted that an increasing number of students are discovering the value of our online courses and degrees, and we are happy to be delivering more course options and opportunities for them," Dr. Taylor said. She added that GCC's late start courses, which begin on February __ with the 12-week session, are another exciting area of potential enrollment growth. "The Enrollment Action team meets every week and with the new data provided by GSI (Genesee Strategic Intelligence) it is possible we could still add six or seven sections of courses to our late start,12-week session."

In other matters, the Board of Trustees:

• Approved of the sabbatical leave requested by Michelle Abdella, associate professor of mathematics, to study the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) used to instruct mathematics in elementary schools in elementary schools, specifically John Kennedy Intermediate School in Batavia. She may also study surrounding schools in Buffalo and Rochester to investigate diverse socioeconomic student populations. Adbella, a Batavia resident, will study each grade level from kindergarten through sixth grade to discover if students are more prepared for middle and high school mathematics with the CCSS, and also how elementary school teachers are CCSS trained. Her research and findings will be reported to the Trustees in about a year, and will enable Abdella's development of a potential new GCC course, Math for Elementary Teachers.

• Approved the appointment of two new full-time employees. James A. Donsbach is the new full-time director of Grants Services within GCC's Office of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness. Donsbach has 30 years of experience within higher education grants management in the New York Education Department, Office of Higher Education. A resident of Pittsford, Donsbach earned his MS in Education Management from SUNY Albany and his BS from Siena College. In addition, the Board of Trustees approved the appointment of Greg Sharpe who will lead the College's new Food Processing Technology (FPT) program. With 25 years of experience within western New York's food manufacturing industry, Sharpe was the adjunct instructor for GCC's first FPT 101 course and helped the College develop the overall program. A Batavia resident, Sharpe earned his BS from SUNY Fredonia, and he can also claim that a career in food processing runs in his family. His father was a professor of Food Technology at SUNY Morrisville for several years.

• Approved the appointment renewal of the following GCC employees: Charmayne Bloom of Medina, Medina Campus Center technical assistant; Rebecca Dziekan of Pavilion, Health and Physical Education director; Marirose Ethington of E. Bethany, Biology professor; Tracy Ford of Albion, English associate professor; Elizabeth Geuss of Batavia, Tutorial/Assisted Learning Lab technical assistant/coordinator; Anne Heale of Alexander, Arcade Campus Center technical assistant; Santina Marsceill of Elba, The BEST Center technical assistant; Kenneth Mead of Snyder, Math and Computer Information Systems professor; Ebony Ross of Buffalo, Admissions technical assistant; Eric Sandler of Rochester, Athletic Trainer technical specialist; Dan Snyder of Avon, ACE program technical specialist; Garth Swanson of Batavia, History professor; Candice Vacin of Batavia, Psychology assistant professor; and Michael vonSchiller of Batavia, Health and Physical Education assistant professor.

• Approved the initial continuing appointment of the following GCC employees: Carolyn Caccamise of Alexander, Veterinary Technology director; Karlyn Finucane of Lancaster, ACE program technical assistant; Dr. Karen Huffman-Kelly of Buffalo, Biology assistant professor; Thomas Kinsey of Batavia, Admissions technical specialist; Maureen Leupold of Churchville, Science director and professor; Tracey Merritt of Pavilion, Institutional Research and Assessment technical specialist; Nicole Marasco of Batavia, staff accountant; and Robert "Skip" Sherman of Holley, Athletics technical assistant for Student Achievement.

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