Bert's Alerts—Oct. 6, 2017
Spotlight
More than 250 of the Treasure Valley’s top business leaders came together for the College of Western Idaho (CWI) Foundation's fourth annual Opening Doors Benefit Event Wednesday, Oct. 4. The evening, hosted at JUMP in downtown Boise, raises funds to open doors to education by directly supporting scholarships and the CWI Foundation.
CWI in the News
Message from the President
As the weather changes and we settle into fall and a new semester, I want to take time and reflect on a few impressive accomplishments that helped set us up for success this 17-18 Academic Year. First, the Comprehensive Strategic Plan FY18-FY22, kicked off July 1 and has created the roadmap outlining the vision and inspiration for the College. A number of you were involved and provided valuable input in producing this plan. I am grateful for your efforts and very pleased with the resulting direction for the years ahead. Our goals are ambitious, yet they include practical plans to assist us in meeting our projections.
Speaking of ambitious, can you say “ACCREDITATION”? Yes, accreditation, a seven-year process – at best, and YES we accomplished this monumental task! The meetings, the reports, the efforts, the long hours dedicated to initiatives, curriculum, processes, assessments, outcomes, analysis; I could go on. I’m singing to the choir because you all lived it, you all worked for it, and you all deserve a huge congratulations for this! I am so proud of our entire CWI team. Please trust that I know accreditation was not easy and was not accomplished because of some, but achieved because of ALL! So to all of you, please accept my gratitude and understand that your dedication, passion, and hard work did not go unnoticed and is greatly appreciated. Accreditation artwork placed throughout the college will be updated within the next few weeks. Now with accreditation, we are empowered to provide enhanced opportunities for our students. Accreditation allows us to offer new degree programs, change curriculum, customize articulation agreements, apply for additional grants, and become an .EDU! This list is just the tip of the iceberg, many more exciting possibilities are ahead for CWI! In witnessing what our team of faculty is capable of, I am confident as we enter into the future of higher education we have the team in place to evolve with the changes and tackle challenges with the same abilities, dedication, tenacity, and passion that drove us through to accreditation.
Believe it or not, our Year One Self-Evaluation Report has already been submitted to the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). In this report, you will find an overview, institutional changes, our response to the NWCCU recommendations, mission, core themes, expectations, and our conclusion. The Strategic Plan and the new Organizational Chart exhibits are also included.
The new Organizational Chart, inclusive of the Instruction Model, is another major initiative on the list of impressive accomplishments. I commend all of you for coming together and thinking outside the box to create an integrated model for credit instruction.
It feels like a bit of a whirlwind when I take time to look back and realize just how much has been accomplished in a short period of time. I would like to encourage you to take time to also reflect, celebrate your efforts, value your team’s efforts and everyone around you that helps CWI exceed expectations each and every day.
In conclusion, I would like to wish all of you an amazing semester. Thank you for the work you do to advance student success, and most of all, congratulate you on a number of monumental accomplishments this past year!
All the Best,
Dr. Bert Glandon | President, College of Western Idaho
News Highlights
Rake Up Nampa Team Seeking Volunteers
It's fall and that means an opportunity for employees to help others in our community! The Culture and Employee Engagement Committee is looking for volunteers for Rake-Up Nampa on Saturday, Nov. 4. Sign up to be part of the fun by sending an email to ceec@cwi.edu by Oct. 24.
CWI’s New Online Catalog is Now Available!
College of Western Idaho (CWI) is excited to announce the launch of our new online catalog which brings numerous benefits for the entire CWI community, including:
- Better efficiency and usability – access program requirements, plans of study (formerly known as advising worksheets), and course descriptions with just a few clicks!
- Ability to print a PDF – still want a hard copy of the catalog? No problem! Single pages or the entire catalog can easily be printed.
- Improved accessibility – view on a computer, tablet, or mobile device. Access important college information anytime, anywhere!
- Less environmental impact and cost savings for the college – no more wasted paper catalogs at the end of each academic year.
- Earlier publication dates for future catalogs – since we will no longer have to wait for several weeks to get the catalog back from the printer, we will be able to deliver the catalog to you online sooner, so you can get started planning your next year at CWI.
- Easier degree planning – view course descriptions in pop-ups directly from the degree requirements listings. You can even click links to prerequisite or co-requisite courses from within the pop-up!
View the online catalog at http://catalog.cwi.edu.
September 2017 Staff of the Month – Kathy Ohnsman
Kathy Ohnsman has been named the September 2017 Staff of the Month. Kathy joined the College of Western Idaho (CWI) in June of 2013 and is currently the Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Operations, Craig Brown, and the Executive Director of the Foundation, Mitch Minnette. Prior to this role, Kathy was the Executive Assistant to President Glandon and the Board of Trustees for three years.
Kathy has been an Executive Assistant most of her career, supporting high level managers in the banking business as well as Hewlett Packard, before joining CWI.
Kathy tries to greet everyone and every situation with a smile on her face. In the midst of crazy busy days, her goal has always been to make everyone feel welcome. She feels passionate about being a team player and has served as a leader on most of her executive assistant teams.
Kathy has been richly blessed recently with the births of her two precious granddaughters, Hazyl and Kylee. She also enjoys helping her husband with his photography business and taking long walks with her dogs as often as she can. Kathy is most happy in the fall, not only because of Idaho’s beautiful weather, but she can watch her favorite (forever faithful) football team; go 9ers!!
Donation Drive to Support CATCH
College of Western Idaho (CWI) will host a two-week long donation drive, Oct. 9-20, to help support Charitable Assistance to Community’s Homeless (CATCH). CATCH works toward by housing and serving families experiencing homelessness, inspiring stable housing, financial independence, and resilience. Donations may include standard household items; a thorough list of donation needs can be found on the CATCH website.
Donation bins will be set up at the following CWI locations:
- Ada County Campus Pintail Center
- Canyon County Center
- Nampa Campus Administration Building
- Micron Center for Professional Technical Education
Please contact CWI Staff Senate at staffsenate@cwi.edu with any questions.
STEM Out! Event Oct. 14
Mark your calendars — this year’s STEM Out! will be Saturday, Oct. 14!
We need College of Western Idaho students (CWI) to volunteer to make this event a success, so please share this information! Many sixth to ninth graders attend the event to explore CTE careers at CWI. These young scholars need positive role models and CWI students can share how exciting and fun it is to attend college.
We need student volunteers to be group leaders for groups of 10-15 attendees for the day. Remember, volunteering looks great on a resume, scholarship applications, and more.
Go to this website and sign up online! For more information, please contact Annette Grove, Coordinator for the Center for New Directions.
FY18 Annual Work Plan
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Information Technology (IT) Governance Committees have been working hard to finalize the FY18 Annual Work Plan (AWP) for all IT projects. The AWP was approved in August and work will continue on exciting projects such as the .edu migration for CWI’s website, One Stop check-in, and the online catalog. To find the AWP, go to myCWI < Employee Resources tab < Information Technology Department < FY18 Annual Work Plan icon or by clicking here! This will provide
