TCCTA Blog

Social Security and Retirement Planning Sessions Featured

The Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset can wipe out benefits for individuals who retire from colleges that don't participate in the Social Security system.

A representative from the Social Security Administration will explain these issues at a special Financial Planning Seminar, at 8:00 a.m., Friday, February 22, during the TCCTA Annual Convention.

Tom Clark, a public affairs specialist with the SSA, will also discuss Social Security disability, retirement, spouse's and widows benefits, and Medicare Parts A, B and D. In past conventions, these meetings have been highly popular with members representing all ages and schools.

More information on the WEP and GPO is available here.

Later Friday, at 1:00, the Financial Planning Seminar will feature "Maximizing All of Your Retirement Benefits," with Martin Mesecke, president of Self Worth Financial Planning in Dallas. Whether you are an ORP participant or member of the Texas Teacher Retirement System, you'll want to hear this important presentation.

Programs Await Faculty in All Disciplines

Over 100 discipline-specific Section Programs will be offered during the TCCTA annual convention in Dallas. Ranging from presentations by award-winning authors to panel discussions on important topics, the Section Programs are the heart of the convention.

The programs can be viewed online, and represent the best professional development opportunity available anywhere for community college teachers, counselors, and librarians.

Also, be sure to check out the Great Ideas for Teaching Students (GIFTS) Sessions and the Technology Seminars, which are designed for faculty members in all disciplines.

If you have not yet made plans to attend this year's convention, it's time you did!

Interactive Seminar to Focus on Student Success

In these times of high demand for “accountability” at all levels, community college educators are under pressure to increase—and document—student “success.” How does one define it? What works and what doesn’t?

During the TCCTA annual convention, the association's Professional Development Seminar will present a highly interactive session intended to dig deeper into the subject, featuring a panel of three educators from a variety of perspectives: government, institution, and classroom. The event is sponsored by the TCCTA Professional Development Committee.

Panelist John Fitzpatrick is executive director of the Texas High School Project and Communities Foundation of Texas. A unique public-private initiative, THSP is dedicated to all Texas students graduating high school ready for college and career success, and prepared to be contributing members of the community. THSP schools are committed to challenging students, particularly economically disadvantaged and first-generation college students, with rigorous coursework that is relevant to their lives and taught by committed educators who build relationships with them.

Mr. Fitzpatrick serves as a board member on the Texas Public Education Reform Foundation and the Commission for a College Ready Texas. He taught English and history to eighth-graders in New York. He received a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University and a master’s degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

Richard M. Rhodes became president of El Paso Community College in 2001. Previously he served as the vice president of business services at Salt Lake Community College in Salt Lake City. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting and a Master of Arts in educational management and development from New Mexico State University. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin.

Becki Williams is professor of chemistry at Richland College. She will discuss two programs at Richland that develop study skills and build social networks among the students. These programs especially target at-risk students and have proven to increase retention rates.

Ms. Williams has a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry education from Louisiana State University, and a Master of Science degree in chemistry from Southern Methodist University.

Are Texas Students Better Prepared For College?

It's been several years now since the default curriculum was beefed up at Texas high schools. This means parents must opt out for an easier menu of courses for their kids if they wish. Most go with the new default.

Speaking at the TCCTA Fall Conference for Faculty Leaders, David Gardner, deputy commissioner for academic planning and policy at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, told the group that the percentage of students taking the more-difficult "recommended" curriculum has risen from 67% to 97% since 2000. "Better prepared students are coming to two-year colleges," he said.

These students should be noticeable by now. Are they? Send a comment with personal impressions.

Dr. Gardner also noted that there has been a prodigious increase in the number of AA degrees awarded. Many students don't see the need for getting an AA degree if they intend to transfer to a university. Colleges now make it a point to remind them of the importance of the degree.

The new high school curriculum's success presumes, of course, that the "tougher" list of courses measures up in terms of content and rigor. If more students now take Algebra II, for instance, it is important to insure that the content doesn't devolve into the "old" Algebra I. College instructors have had a great deal to say on this subject.

This discussion will get especially interesting when end-of-course exams in 12 fields are implemented over the next few years to certify that a student is ready for college.

You may send a comment to the Coordinating Board on this subject. The board's next meeting is October 25.

Adobe Workshop Added to Fall Conference

Tom Dent of Adobe Systems will present "Acrobat 8 Professional: Creating PDFs that POP," at 3:30 Friday, October 5, in the Redbud Room of the Hilton Austin Airport Hotel. The seminar is in conjunction with the Fall Conference for Faculty Leaders.

Mr. Dent is a frequent and popular presenter at the TCCTA annual convention.

He provides this description of the presentation, along with the technology and time requirements for participants:

Learn how to use Acrobat to improve your campus processes by creating secure, deliverable documents that will open anywhere, on any device. Plus learn the new techniques for forms automation, teaching students how to generate e-Portfolios with audio and video, and how to reuse PDFs back to the basics of Word, PowerPoint, or even Photoshop.

You will need to bring your own laptop. Demo files will be provided. Windows trial software will be available if you don't have Windows Acrobat 8 Professional installed. Also, please arrive early if you need to install our software so we can have your computer primed in plenty of time.

You will leave with new ideas on how to make this product a part of your daily world of sharing information with others!

TCCTA Invites Comments on Course Redesign

"Course redesign" is a national movement to change fundamentally the way college and university courses are taught. A Texas law passed in 2006 mandates selective redesign projects, to be funded with competitive grants.

Members are urged to begin an online discussion of the issues surrounding redesign. By way of introduction, the article on page eight of the September Messenger (which should arrive in the mail shortly if it hasn't already) is a place to begin. The edition can also be viewed online.

CORRECTION: The Web site of the National Center for Academic Transformation is www.thencat.org, not ncat.org, as stated in the article.

Another excellent source of background information is a special page on the course redesign project offered by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

What do you think? Are there redesign projects going on at your school? Is lecture as a teaching methodology still the most effective and practical means of educating community college students?

Fall Conference Approaching!

Hopefully everyone has received some information about the Fall Conference for Faculty Leaders coming up on October 5-6. Among the attractions will be:

• An update from the Coordinating Board on the "six drop" rule

• News from our lobbyist Beaman Floyd about the Governor's veto, and other developments from the 2007 legislative session

• Information about generational changes among faculty and administrators at Texas two-year colleges

• A presentation from attorney Frank Hill on legal issues in higher education

Also, faculty organization officers are urged to attend an open forum on "Faculty Senate Best Practices: A Moderated Discussion." This session will bring together faculty leaders from around the state to share ideas and experiences, and promote best practices.

This year's event promises high energy, great networking, important information -- and lots of fun. Please plan to attend!