Bert's Alerts - Aug. 25, 2017
Spotlight
College of Western Idaho (CWI) sent a few lucky first-year students to its inaugural CollegeTREK Friday, Aug. 25. Students, along with CWI staff and advisors, will spend the weekend in beautiful McCall, Idaho, where they will engage in team building, leadership, and networking activities. Click here for more information
News Highlights
Student Advising and Success
College of Western Idaho (CWI) has made some exciting changes over the summer with the new Student Advising and Success unit. This innovative team is designed to provide proactive advising in a streamline approach to assist students as they navigate through their academic career.
The team is an amalgamation of Advising and New Student Services, Career and Technical Education Learning Communities, and Career Services.
This new and improved model has been optimized to connect career exploration and holistic student development to academic planning. With this student-centered approach, CWI’s objective is to provide expert advice from those who specialize in the academic disciplines students are pursuing.
Over the summer, Student Success Advisors engaged students in a “Know Your Advisor” campaign. These advisors have been deployed throughout CWI to be closer to students and to provide better accessibility.
The goal of these modifications is to improve student success and retention with stellar advising delivered in an engaging and dynamic model.
CWI Assessment and Testing Services
College of Western Idaho (CWI) Assessment and Testing Services are currently in a period of heavy placement testing while preparing for the fall semester. Please remember students need to make appointments for their placement exams. Students who come in without an appointment may be subject to a wait of up to one hour. Students may register for their exams by visiting cwi.edu/exam and following the drop-down menus.
Training Day
Both Assessment and Testing locations, at the Ada County Campus Lynx Building and Nampa Campus Micron Center, will be closed for training on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Please make sure students are aware of the closure as it may effect a last available test day. Closures are always noted on the CWI Assessment and Testing Services website at cwi.edu/assessment.
Notes
Would you like us to proctor an exam for you? Not sure where to begin? CWI Assessment and Testing Services offers assistance for online and hybrid classes, as well as make-up exams for your students. Visit cwi.edu/current-students/faculty-resources-assessment to see what we do, access the newest version of the Test Proctor Request Form (TPRF), and to discover how to help your students test anywhere around the globe.
Please encourage students to sign-up for exams early! Beginning Sept. 5, ALL exams must be scheduled a minimum of 12 hours in advance of the desired testing time. Previously, 24 hours advance notice was required. Students may sign-up by visiting cwi.edu/exam. Students will receive a confirmation email within minutes of scheduling to confirm appointment. Walk-ins are not accepted.
Assessment and Testing Services Hours (effective Tuesday, Sept. 5)
Monday: 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday-Thursday: 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Friday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday (Ada County Campus Lynx Building only): 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Saturday closures or any changes in these hours are always posted on the Assessment and Testing Services website at cwi.edu/assessment.
CWI Psi Beta Chapter Wins Award
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Chapter of Psi Beta, a national honor society for students interested in psychology at two-year institutions, was winner of the Chapter of Excellence award for the 2016-2017 academic year. CWI’s chapter was one of only nine chapters across the nation to achieve this award. Achieving this prestigious award is secured by engaging in high impact experiences including a combination of community service, leadership, and undergraduate research.
CWI to Host Public Job Fair on Sept. 22
College of Western Idaho (CWI) will help students and community members connect with job opportunities during a job fair on Friday, Sept. 22. The event is open to the public and will focus on seasonal employment and jobs ideal for students working their way through school. The fair, presented in partnership with the Idaho Department of Labor, will take place:
Friday, Sept. 22
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
CWI’s Nampa Campus Aspen Classroom Building
6002 Birch Lane, Nampa
Over 50 employers have registered for the job fair, including organizations in the following industries:
- Health care
- Caregiving
- Food Service
- Manufacturing
- Law Enforcement
Job seekers at the event will also have the opportunity to learn about resources such as resume writing, networking, educational opportunities and more from CWI and Idaho Department of Labor. Attendees are encouraged to take their resume and be prepared to interview with employers.
2017 Summer Research Community Symposium
The mention of bed bugs causes most people to cringe, but College of Western Idaho (CWI) alumna Leticia Camacho, had a group of fellow scientists laughing as she played a YouTube video of bed bug grooming behavior.
Camacho was among a number of CWI students and alumni who presented their findings during a summer research symposium at Boise State University on Aug. 11.
The symposium was the culmination for CWI summer research participants who completed 12-week internships conducting original research under the mentorship of CWI faculty and community partners.
This was an important opportunity for students to celebrate their completion of a rigorous, yet rewarding summer. Students had the chance to give oral presentations about their research, its importance to the scientific community, and experiences as developing scientific researchers.
Student projects ranged from studying water quality in agriculturally adjacent wetlands at Lake Lowell, to monarch butterfly breeding ecology in the Treasure Valley, and understanding pathways to control breast cancer.
Over the summer, interns gained hands-on experience in the process of scientific research and learned an array of new skills and techniques in their respective fields. Each internship placed a student in a lab or research teams where they had the opportunity to work alongside other scientists.
“Many students who complete the programs make connections with other students, faculty and professionals that develop in to new opportunities for academic and professional engagement and growth,” said Dusty Perkins, Associate Professor of Biology at CWI.
Both the LSAMP and MURI programs are funded through state and site specific sub awards under the National Science Foundation. These programs focus on enhancing undergraduate science participation among underrepresented and underserved demographics. One key goal for the programs at CWI is to give students a chance to create bridges between their early academic and co-curricular experiences and future opportunities at four-year universities.
Among the presenters at the symposium, six were CWI alumni who are now undergraduate researchers in labs and research programs at Boise State University.
CWI students and projects:
Tyson Mann: Showy Milkweed (Asclepias Speciosa) Propagation and Transplant Survivorship
Dave Draper: Monarch Butterfly Habitat Suitability in Western Idaho
Kassandra Townsend and Talia Jolley: Breeding Ecology and Habitat Suitability of Ferruginous Hawks (Buteo regalis) in Southern Idaho
Karina Gutierrez: Carbon and Nitrogen Characterization of Agriculturally Adjacent Lakeshore Wetland Soil
Austin Madsen: Investigation of Physical and Chemical Water Quality Parameters in Agriculturally Adjacent Lakeshore Wetlands
Hugo Napoles: A summer’s Insight to the Importance of Biological Water Renewal
CWI alumni now at Boise State University:
Sara Rostron: Inhibiting Inflammatory Cytokines to Prevent Metastasis in Breast Cancer
Sandra Ambriz: Mentoring Underrepresented Groups in Science, Technology’ Engineering and Mathematics: What Have We Learned?
Sylvia Perritte: Mapping Vegetation Using Advanced Field Survey Methods in a Sagebrush Steppe Ecosystem
Laura McSherry: Mapping the Effects of Agriculture from Urban Sprawl in the Treasure Valley
Daniel Marquette: Identifying Peak Alfalfa Flowering to Optimize Pollination Using Remote Sensing Techniques
Leticia Camacho: Using Chemicals in Plants to Disrupt Antennal Grooming in Bedbugs
Continued funding may provide an opportunity for CWI to support additional positions in the fall. For more information please contact Dusty Perkins dustyperkins@cwi.edu or Rebecca Flock rebeccaflock@cwi.edu.
EPSCoR MURI is funded by Idaho EPSCor. LSAMP funding is provided by the University of Washington and the National Science Foundation.
New Food Service on Campus
College of Western Idaho (CWI) is joining forces with the Southern Idaho Food Truck Association (SIFTA) to provide the CWI Community a new option for mid-day food service. Food trucks will be on campus Monday through Thursday, from approximately 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., and will be located at the Nampa Campus Academic Building (NCAB) near the northeast corner and the Ada County Campus near the overflow parking lot, adjacent to Banner Bank. A variety of food truck vendors are scheduled and will rotate between campuses. While the goal is to service the CWI Community, vendors will be open to the public as well. Service will begin Tuesday, Aug. 22. Any feedback or requests relative to food truck service may be directed to SIFTAcontact@gmail.com or 208.999.1177.
Share Your Community College Experience!
Did you attend and/or graduate from a community college? If so, please consider sharing your community college experience by taking a short survey.
Contact Courtney Santillan at 208.562.3153 or courtneysantillan@cwi.edu for more information.
Staff of the Month Nominations
Have you witnessed someone exercising one or more of College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) core values—excellence, innovation, integrity, caring, or respect? If so, consider nominating that person for Staff of the Month! Nominations can be submitted here.
2017 Wishing Well Applications
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Foundation began accepting Wishing Well applications Wednesday, Aug. 16! The Wishing Well was created to encourage the development, enhancement, and improvement of the educational environment and learning opportunities provided at the College. Wishing Well funds are intended for small items, resources, or activities not typically funded through department and program budgets.
Thanks to the generosity of CWI employees and the support of community partners, nine 2016 Wishing Well applicants were awarded a total of over $6,000. Awards were utilized to produce student posters for the 2017 Connections Project, purchase signs for the Native Plant Garden at the Nampa Campus Academic Building, support CWI’s Visiting Artist Series and more!
"We have been able to give our students unique and dynamic experiences," said Visual and Performing Arts Department Chair, Brenda Fisher, "by bringing in professional artists to present lectures, exhibitions, and performances."
Do not miss out on this exciting opportunity! Applications for this year’s Wishing Well funds will be accepted through Friday, Sept. 8. Visit the Wishing Well Grants page on myCWI to learn more and to find the 2017 Wishing Well application. For questions, please contact the CWI Foundation at foundation@cwi.edu or 208.562.3100.
