President/CEO Message

June 14, 2021

Last Friday's commencement was amazing. I want to thank everyone involved in planning this year's virtual ceremony, particularly Heather Parnock, director of community relations, and Andree Pacheco, director of student development and athletics. Also, I want to thank everyone who coordinated and participated in the Zoom watch party to celebrate the Class of 2021. We have already begun planning for Compton College's first in-person commencement ceremony that will be held next spring. We will recognize the 2020, 2021, and 2022 Compton College graduates.

As mentioned in the President/CEO Message - June 3, 2021, the Compton College 4/10 work schedule, 10-hour days, four days per week, will begin Monday, June 21, 2021. In addition, the campus will be closed on Fridays, June 25, 2021, through August 6, 2021. The President/CEO Message - June 14, 2021, includes COVID-19 information and other campus-related updates.

Compton College COVID-19 Update

Los Angeles County's current risk level is Yellow Tier (minimal), according to California's "Blueprint for a Safer Economy." On June 13, 2021, there were 191 newly recorded confirmed cases in Los Angeles County. The county now has a total of 1,246,307 reported cases (including cases reported by Long Beach and Pasadena Health Departments). For more information, go to http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/data/index.htm. Compton College is operating at Level 3 - Moderate Infection Rate according to the Compton CCD Pandemic Outbreak - Emergency Operations Plan.

Summer and Fall 2021 Enrollment Update

As of today, June 10, 2021, Compton College has generated:

368 FTES for the Summer 2021 term. Our fill rate is currently 55%, and our seats filled is 2,784.
249 FTES for the Fall 2021 term. Our fill rate is currently 10%, and our seats filled is 1,578.

Today's enrollment snapshots are available here.

The first summer sessions begin Monday, June 21, 2021. A variety of eight-week and six-week classes are still available for registration, including some six-week classes that begin on Tuesday, July 6, 2021. Click here for a list of open sections for the summer 2021 term. Please encourage interested students to apply and register as soon as possible.

2019-2020 Compton College Annual Fact Book

We recently released the 2019-2020 Compton College Fact Book. The annual Compton College Fact Book is a reference source containing trend data about students, student outcomes, and instructional programs and services. In addition, the data in the Compton College Fact Book provides background information to facilitate policy analysis and decision-making. The new 2019-2020 Fact Book is available online here, in a Tableau dashboard format. Hopefully, you can spend some time reviewing the 2019-2020 data.

Library-Student Success Center Opens by Appointment

The Library-Student Success Center will be open to students beginning Monday, June 21, 2021, by appointment only. Students may make an appointment to use the library, computer lab, and study rooms Monday-Thursday in two-hour blocks between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Books may be checked out with a valid Compton College student ID.* The Student Success Center will be open Monday-Thursday for students to access in-person tutoring between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. For more information on services available and to make an appointment, visit the Library and Student Success Center webpages at www.compton.edu/library/ and www.compton.edu/library/ssc/.

*Students may make an appointment Monday-Wednesday for Compton College student IDs. Click here for more information on in-person enrollment services.

New Zoom Retention Policy

The California Community Colleges TechConnect notice to ConferZoom users regarding Zoom recordings was included in the President/CEO Message - February 18, 2021, and again in the President/CEO Message - March 1, 2021. TechConnect asked everyone to adopt recording management practices that align with a temporary storage approach for Zoom recordings as they developed their TechConnect Zoom recording retention policy. In addition, all California Community College employees were asked to proactively manage their Zoom cloud recordings by:

Deciding which recordings to keep long-term.
Downloading recordings you need to keep.
Deleting recordings you no longer need.

In the coming week, we will issue a policy statement for the retention of Zoom recordings for both instructional and non-instructional purposes.

Multi-factor Authentication for Microsoft Office 365

As initially stated in the President/ CEO Message - May 13, 2020, and again in the President/CEO Message - June 29, 2020, and the President/CEO Message - May 27, 2021, Compton College's Information Technology Services (ITS) Department is enabling multi-factor authentication (also called two-step verification) for all @compton.edu user accounts. The multi-factor authentication process will begin this Thursday, June 17, 2021, for Classified staff, and faculty accounts will be addressed by Tuesday, August 17, 2021. After that has been completed, we will begin the process for students to begin using the multi-factor authentication by Monday, November 1, 2021. Please note, Manager/supervisor accounts have already been converted. Information regarding the multi-factor authentication was sent to Classified staff this afternoon. Please refer to your @compton.edu email for more information provided by the ITS Department.

President/CEO Closing the Loop

This week, I am reviewing the Faculty Teaching and Learning Professional Development Proposals that were submitted by the Guided Pathways Divisions and will make a final decision on funding. I hope to close the loop on this item by the end of the week and share my decisions with the campus community in an upcoming President/CEO Message.

One decision that I have not yet communicated to the campus community relates to the recommendation from the Academic Senate regarding the observance of the Cesar Chavez Holiday on March 31. As I mentioned to the leadership of the Academic Senate, I will forward this recommendation to the Calendar Committee. Since this is a negotiated item, at the earliest, a final decision would be made in fall 2021, and if approved, would be considered for the 2022-2023 Compton College Academic Calendar.

Compton Community College District Board of Trustees Meeting

The Compton CCD Board of Trustees' next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 15, 2021. The closed session begins at 4:00 p.m., with the open session commencing at 5:00 p.m. via Zoom Meeting. Information on how to access the Compton CCD Board of Trustees meeting is available here.

Final Thoughts

Like many of you, I am waiting on additional information on the reopening of California. As the state relaxes COVID-19 restrictions, we will begin having additional conversations about our Safe Return to Campus plan. For example, on Friday, June 11, 2021, the Governor issued Executive Order N-08-21, which addresses the expiration of numerous executive orders issued during the pandemic, including but not limited to, those addressing the Brown Act. This means that the October 19, 2021, Board of Trustees meeting will be held in person to comply with the Brown Act.

As we gather additional information on the reopening of California and the potential impact it will have on Compton College and Compton CCD, we will make sure to communicate that information to the campus community.

In closing, I wanted to share that Compton College, working with St. John's Well Child and Family Center, has joined the White House's COVID-19 College Vaccine Challenge. I have asked Andree Pacheco, director of student development and athletics, to serve as our contact person for this challenge. More information on this challenge is available here.

Please be safe and have a wonderful week.

Keith Curry, Ed.D.
(preferred pronouns: he/him/his)
President/CEO
Compton College