Every three years the college administers a climate survey to capture perceptions of the college environment and inform us on what we are doing well and what could be improved. We will be conducting such a survey, the PACE Climate Survey for Community Colleges, this fall. The survey will open on Tuesday, Nov. 1, and be available through Wednesday, Nov. 23.

We are committed to a constant process of internal review and analysis to guide our quality improvement efforts. One significant way we can work to enhance our campus climate is to listen to and take action on your views regarding its various factors. The PACE reports position us to better understand our campus environment as it relates to institutional structure, supervisory relationships, teamwork and focus on students. It also provides a way for us to assess the effectiveness of our initiatives and measure growth or change over time.

I understand that honest communication can sometimes feel difficult to provide. That is why we work to ensure your anonymity. The Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research at North Carolina State University will administer the survey and provide the college aggregated results. So please be candid in answering these questions. Honest and constructive communication is critical in our process of identifying priority areas on which to focus.

You will receive an email invite from Belk Center to participate in the PACE survey next week. When the survey is completed and the data compiled, results will be reviewed by various groups and shared with the campus community.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete the survey. Your input is very much appreciated.

Charlotte Warren, Ph.D.
President, Lincoln Land Community College

News media covering the press conference announcing the $5 million training grant included WICS, WAND, WTAX, State Journal-Register and the City of Springfield Public Access Channel. Dr. Charlotte Warren, president, was interviewed live on WMAY radio later that afternoon.

Nancy Sweet, dean, Workforce Institute, was interviewed by WICS and the City of Springfield Public Access on the Workforce Careers Expo also held yesterday.

What do accreditation, teamwork and Quiznos have in common?
You!

Accreditation is incredibly important, and so is your input! Please make time to read and comment on all or part of the assurance filing between now and Sept. 26 (see files emailed Sept. 6). The individual who submits the best edit/suggestion for the week will be rewarded with a free Quiznos lunch!

What is the assurance filing? It documents how we are meeting identified criteria (and their subcomponents) to reaffirm our accreditation. The criteria:

1. Mission
2. Integrity: Ethical and Responsible Conduct
3. Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources and Support
4. Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement
5. Institutional Effectiveness, Resources and Planning

We will be hosting a peer review team on campus Dec. 5 and 6. They will be here to confirm the information in our assurance filing — so it is important that it be complete and accurate. It takes all of us working together to have a successful HLC visit!

Accredited higher education institutions must have their accreditation reaffirmed every 10 years. For us, reaffirmation is to take place this academic year.

We will host a peer review team on Dec. 5 and 6, and that team will be on campus to confirm what we have claimed in our assurance filing.

For the past three years, various faculty and staff have dedicated time to preparing LLCC’s assurance filing. We must submit it to the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) on Monday, Nov. 7. Before that happens, I want to provide the campus community time to review our assurance filing.

Between now and Sept. 26, I encourage you to read and comment on all or part of the assurance filing. The three files emailed yesterday guide you through the campuswide review process.

Additional preparation activities are planned for October and November. If invited to take part in these events, please make every effort to participate. It takes all of us working together to have a successful HLC visit.

Dr. Charlotte Warren, president

As we all know our state, including our region, moved to Phase Four of the pandemic on Friday, June 26. Guidance for operations from the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Community College Board was completed and approved by the Illinois Department of Public Health and released just three days earlier. Now, of course, comes the question — what does this mean for our college?

I wish I could say it means we are back to normal operations. But we cannot be. Guidance for us still requires six-foot social distancing, limits spaces to gatherings of 50 or less, requires health screenings for all who come on to campus, and the wearing of masks. Unfortunately, we are extremely limited in classrooms that can accommodate the six-foot distance. Staff have meticulously reviewed the possibilities along with the greatest need for use of that limited space. We have courses that must have face-to-face components. We have courses that might better serve students in a face-to-face environment. These considerations, along with many others, led to the decision to offer four different teaching modalities for the fall. There will be our regular face-to-face and online courses. There will be remote courses using Zoom-like delivery, more like the traditional offerings. And finally, there will be flex courses that are some combination of the other three. No matter the modality we start with, all must be ready to move to distance offerings on very short notice. Phase Four could be rescinded at any point pending another spike in the COVID-19 virus. Deans are working with faculty to make decisions on specific modalities and teaching assignments. Students will be hearing from student services staff and/or faculty with more specifics about their course modalities in the very near future.

Our divisions will have some staff returning. Some will be back for the foreseeable future. Some will be rotating — all based on their area of responsibility and maintaining distancing. There will be extremely limited visitor access, and those should be done by appointment.

Supervisors, HR and Administrative Services will all be reaching out with more details on what operations will look like. Please watch for their emails and stay updated through LincIn. Our facilities staff continues to maintain our campus and support us in maintaining a safe environment.

Each decision that is made about operations is being carefully evaluated with focus on safety, published guidelines and student needs. We are all in this for long haul. Pending a vaccine or even more improved treatment regimens, it could be next year before we return to normalcy as we used to know it. In the meantime, LLCC faculty and staff will continue to retain positions and be paid so that we take care of students and each other. I hope each of you and your families are doing well. Remember to reach out to each other to give support and encouragement that we all need to get us through these trying times.

Charlotte Warren, Ph.D.
President
Lincoln Land Community College