Here is a new Moving Forward email signature to replace the one promoting fall registration. There will be another one coming soon to promote the upcoming 8-week and 12-week fall classes.
Quiznos open this week with modified hours
As a reminder, Quiznos in the lower level of Menard Hall is open this week with modified hours of 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. You are encouraged to use the Quiznos mobile app for ordering as much as possible. Please note, per Illinois guidelines, no personal cups are allowed to be used to fill at the beverage machine. This includes drinks and ice.
End-of-month deposits due Thursday
The deadline to submit your deposits to LLCC Finance is Aug. 27 before noon. Please hand the deposit to Nichole Coffey or Karie Longhta as monies should not be left unattended.
As a reminder, if you have taken in funds, it is necessary to submit them and corresponding deposit slips to the finance department on a weekly basis.
If you have questions, please contact LLCC Student Accounts at 217-786-2480. Thank you!
Leslie Stalter in the community
Leslie Stalter, professor of art, has sculpted a butter cow, “Quarantina,” for the Illinois Times Miniature Butter Cow Contest, and voting is now open! You can view all the entries and place your vote on the IT website through Aug. 31 at 2:01 p.m.
“My students will tell you I’m a little bit obsessed with the fair’s butter cow,” says Leslie. “Quarantina is ready for anything this epidemic throws her way.”
View the making of a miniature butter cow:
Fall 2020 weekday classes begin today!
The fall semester is underway, with weekday classes beginning today! Students who have face-to-face classes or scheduled appointments, or who need to pick up books from the bookstore will be on campus. Information tents are set up outside A. Lincoln Commons to greet students, provide directions and help answer questions, and kiosks are set up inside A. Lincoln Commons and other campus buildings for student health checks.
Convocation T-shirts still available for employees
“Virtual Is the New Reality” T-shirts, designed by Greg Walbert, graphic design manager, are still available as a memento of Virtual Convocation 2020, which debuted Friday. (Video link available below.) If you have not received your employee T-shirt, please email amy.flynn@llcc.edu. 
Show us your masks!
One of the safety requirements in the Return to Campus Guidelines is to wear a face covering. LLCC employee ingenuity and creativity shine as we work together to maintain a safe working and learning environment! In keeping with the spirit of last week’s Convocation, Tamie Penning, information technology specialist, made masks for her and Samuel Penning, system administrator II, to wear and coordinate with their “Virtual Is the New Reality” T-shirts. Emily Smith, recruitment specialist, also customized a face mask to show her LLCC pride.
Show us your masks! A photo and description can be submitted through the online LincIn form (also in top menu bar above) or by emailing kyla.kruse@llcc.edu or lynn.whalen@llcc.edu.
Online math courses at LLCC
Why take math courses online at LLCC? It just adds up! Matt Vespa, professor of mathematics, discusses the many advantages of online learning.
A message to faculty from Academic Innovation and eLearning
Welcome back for a new school year at LLCC. It’s definitely not a normal semester start for any of us, but I have every bit of confidence in your dedication to our students and your readiness for your online, remote and flex courses. I say this because we have been working closely with so many of you over the summer. But, before we get started with classes this semester, I have some information from the Academic Innovation and eLearning department that I would like to share with you.
Working Remotely:
The Academic Innovation & eLearning team will be working remotely this semester. While you won’t find us on campus, we will continue to be available to you for support with Blackboard and course development questions, as well as instructional technology, and instructional design needs. All AIeL team members will be available through email, Skype and MS Teams. You will also be able to reach us at our office phone numbers.
- Amy Chernowsky – amy.chernowsky@llcc.edu, 217-786-4669
- Andy Mitkos – andy.mitkos@llcc.edu, 217-786-2763
- Barry Lamb – barry.lamb@llcc.edu, 217-786-2334
- Becky Parton – becky.parton@llcc.edu, 217-786-2351
- Dawn Townsend – dawn.townsend@llcc.edu, 217-786- 2318
- Gary Bach – gary.bach@llcc.edu, 217-786-2345
Hours of Operation:
AIeL department hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. We will have extended hours of 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the first two weeks of the semester Monday-Thursday, Aug. 24-27 and Aug. 31-Sept. 3. After Sept. 3, we will resume normal work hours of Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Professional Development Activities:
We will continue to offer regularly scheduled workshops covering a wide range of topics. These workshops and webinars will be offered through Blackboard, Canvas, and/or Zoom. We will continue to provide innovative and informative professional development activities this semester, while allowing you to remain safe at home. The AIeL workshop schedule will be made available to you by Friday, Aug. 28.
Blackboard Support Center: I would like to remind you about the Blackboard Support Center. This is an on-demand training site for faculty and students with video tutorials for commonly used functions in Blackboard. There is a direct link to the Blackboard Support Center in each course in the course navigation menu. Or you can access the center directly at www.llcc.edu/bbsupport. You and your students are always welcome to contact our office for Blackboard support or questions, but the on-demand center is a great resource, especially when our office is closed.
Canvas: As Dr. Lindquist mentioned Friday morning, we will begin the process of transitioning from Blackboard to the Canvas learning management system over this academic year. We will be providing information on access to training in our Fall semester workshop schedule. We will also hold open forums questions and discussions about the move to Canvas. But rest assured, Blackboard will also be an LMS option through May of 2021.
Proctorio: Over the summer, we established an online test proctoring system, Proctorio. Information for faculty and students on the use of Proctorio can be found at www.llcc.edu/proctorio. We will have live webinars and online training for Proctorio included in our workshop
Part 2 of the New Online Faculty Program:
For individuals who participated in Part One of the New Online Faculty program during April and May, we will begin the final portion of that program on Sept. 8. We will contact those individuals directly next week.
One Final and Important Reminder: Once you are ready to have to have your students access your Blackboard course shell you will need to make it available. By default LLCC Blackboard course shells are set to unavailable. Visit the How do I make my Blackboard course available to my students page for video and written instructions on how to set your course as available.
Additional Resources:
Transitioning to Remote Instruction
Technology to Enhance Your Online Class
Strategies for Online Learning Success This site has been developed to provide online, remote, and flex students with eLearning success tips. You are welcome to share this link with your students.
The AIeL team is ready and available to support you this semester, we may not be on campus but we’re only a phone call, email or Teams chat away.
Student support resources and employee responsibilities
As we prepare to launch our fall semester using a range of new technologies to facilitate our interactions with students in a virtual environment, we are reaching out with a reminder about student support resources and employee reporting responsibilities. Virtual technologies introduce a new dimension to our interactions with students; while our programs were previously conducted primarily within LLCC’s controlled physical environment, we are now virtually reaching students in environments of their choosing. Whether students are taking a recorded exam while on break at work, virtually meeting with their student success coach from their dining room table or participating in a synchronous remote course, we are increasingly exposed to glimpses of students’ lives outside of school. At the same time, there may be understandable confusion about our reporting responsibilities while operating in these virtual environments. With this in mind, we are providing a few points of clarification and reminders.
Overall, it is important to note the obligations of all LLCC employees to report forms of violence, abuse, or student behaviors of concern are still applicable in LLCC’s virtual environments, including live or recorded virtual classrooms, test proctoring, and meetings. Prompt reporting allows LLCC to provide student support and comply with state and federal laws. As a reminder, details about specific reporting requirements and reporting official contacts follow:
- Any knowledge of sexual harassment, domestic/dating violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking must be reported to LLCC’s Compliance & Prevention Coordinator and Title IX Coordinator, Shelby Bedford. Shelby can be reached at shelby.bedford@llcc.edu or 217-786-4682. An online reporting form is also available at LLCC’s Equal Opportunity website. More information regarding support resources, survivor rights & options, and applicable legal mandates can be found at LLCC’s Sexual Violence Resources website. In addition, Responsible Employee trainings are available for your department by contacting Shelby, or periodically throughout the year as advertised in the LincIn.
- Student conduct issues or behaviors of concern that are not emergencies should be reported using LLCC’s online reporting form or by contacting Leslie Johnson, AVP, Student Success. Leslie can be reached at leslie.johnson@llcc.edu or 217-786-2848. More information regarding Student Rights & Responsibilities, including behavioral expectations, can be found at Student Rights & Responsibilities. Incidents or behaviors that constitute an emergency, such as imminent threats of violence to self or others, should always be immediately reported to LLCC Chief of Police Chris Russell by calling the LLCC Police Department emergency number at 217-786-2222.
- All LLCC employees are considered Mandated Reporters under the Illinois Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Mandated Reporters are required to call the DCFS Hotline when they have reasonable cause to believe that a child (under 18 years old) known to them in their professional capacity may be an abused or neglected child. All Mandated Reporters must call 1-800-24-ABUSE (800-252-2873) to report such information, or if the situation is not an emergency, an online reporting system can be used. More information is available in the DCFS Manual for Mandated Reporters. In addition, a training for Mandated Reporters is available at no cost and can be accessed at any time from the DCFS website.
Thank you for working with us to help ensure student safety.