February 2, 2006


College increases evening security patrols

The following letter to the editor was published in yesterday's Cougar News .

The safety of our students and employees is top priority 24/7 at Columbus State. We take security very seriously, and we take pride in operating a campus where students can learn in a safe and secure environment.

In fact, violent crime is a rarity on our campus. For instance, there were about 600 simple and aggravated assaults in the Columbus Police Department's 16 th Precinct (which includes Columbus State) in 2004. Only four of those assaults occurred on our campus. Of the 222 robberies, only one happened on our campus. Our campus is one of the safest places in central Ohio, and one of the safest college campuses anywhere, and I invite students to take a look at the crime statistics reported on the Columbus State web site at http://www.cscc.edu/docs/publicsafety/ucr.htm.

Violent crime is a rarity here, but when it happens, our staff is quick to act to maintain the security of our students and employees. To keep the campus safe:   

  • We stepped up our patrol in targeted areas.  
  • We requested additional cruiser patrol from Columbus Police in targeted areas during targeted times.
  • We requested a special duty Columbus Police special duty foot patrol officer to be on duty during targeted areas at targeted times.
  • We requested that city-operated lights in the area be repaired. Officers routinely survey our campus area and city streets for lights in need of repair.
  • We conducted a crime prevention awareness presentation to a class located near the incident.
  • And as always, an officer will escort any student or employee to their car or class upon request with a phone call to Public Safety at 287.2525

The college also is investing significantly in a project with the city and our neighbors to increase Columbus Police bicycle patrols in our campus neighborhood.

There is no reason to believe that there is a surge in crime on our campus. Nevertheless, we are taking actions to increase security in targeted areas. And, as always, we ask students and employees to take the precautions necessary on any urban campus in a major metropolitan area:

  • Be aware of your surroundings.
  • At night, walk with a group, a friend, or an officer escort.
  • Stay in well-lit, well-traveled areas.
  • If someone tries to rob you, give up your valuables without resistance.
  • Don't put your name, address, license number or other identifiers on your key chain.
  • Always lock your car, and do not leave valuables unattended.
  • Never prop open building doors.

Together, we can keep this campus safe and secure.

Will Kopp
Vice President, Institutional Advancement

 

Revolution Sparks Evolution: General Education Moves Into the 21st Century

Dr. Elizabeth Daugherty, chair of Computer Information Technology; Ty Fogle, assistant professor in Computer Information Technology; Dr. Mokie Steiskal, professor in Hospitality Management; and Barb Thompson, professor in Communication Skills, presented at the Association of American Colleges and Universities annual meeting in Washington, D.C., January 25-28.

The group presented information on the evolution of the college's General Education Learning Outcomes that will become effective Fall Quarter 2006. The group found that the discussion among representatives from colleges and universities across the country provided insight and endorsement of the two-year efforts of the task force that was created from the Assessment and Curriculum committees of Columbus State's Shared Governance.

For more information on the General Education Learning Outcomes of critical thinking, effective communication, community and civic responsibility, quantitative literacy, scientific and technological effectiveness, and information literacy, go to www.cscc.edu/assessment.


From left, Ty Fogle, Elizabeth Daugherty, Mokie Steiskal, two fellow AACU attendees, Barb Thompson, and two other AACU attendees discuss general education outcomes at the Association of American Colleges and Universities' Annual Meeting.

 

 

Celebrating the best places to pucker up in Columbus

Jennifer Poleon, adjunct professor in Marketing and advisor of Cougar News , and Amber Stephens have authored Kissing in Columbus: Romantic Things to See and Do in and Around Ohio's Capital just in time for Valentine's Day.

The new book, published by Emuses Press, is a compendium of romantic places and ideas for dates and days to remember. Chapters include Great Places to Walk and Hold Hands, Romantic Getaways, Cheap Dates, Beyond Dinner and a Movie, and more.

The book retails for $16.95 and is available at Barnes and Noble, Borders, Columbus area gift shops and directly through the publisher. 

Columbus-based publisher Emuses Press was founded in 2000 by former Ohio Magazine staffers Jennifer Poleon, Robin Smith and Kathy Murphy. For more information go to www.emusespress.com.

 

Men's Cougar basketball team undefeated in league

Columbus State's men's basketball team is dominating the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC).

The Cougars took the lone possession of the OCCAC Conference lead after defeating Cincinnati State Community College's Surge 91-81 on January 18. The following week, they team defeated Lakeland Community College 81-62, and on January 28 they ran their conference record to 7-0, with an 82-81 win over Edison State Community College. The team's overall record is 14-8.

The Cougar women's team is 6-14.

This Saturday (February 4) the Cougar men and women take on Owens Community College in a doubleheader in the Delaware Hall gym, with the women's game beginning at 1 p.m. and the men tipping off at 3:00.


This year's winning Cougars, with Men's Basketball head coach Keith Tate

 

Employee enrichment at your fingertips

The Instructional Technologies Institute has partnered with MindLeaders, an employee and individual performance-improvement company, to offer over 250 Web-based training courses to all Columbus State staff and faculty.

The tutorials include courses on balancing work and family, business skills, project management, leadership development, and resources to improve desktop applications such as Microsoft office and Web development.

"I see this partnership as a perfect compliment to an employee's personal and professional goals. The many different soft skill and technology skills can easily be incorporated into an employee's human capacity development plan," says Don White, IT project and training coordinator in Information Technology and co-coordinator of the partnership. "The video tutorials that are available would even be great tools to supplement departmental staff meetings."

The courses include:

  • skill assessments before and after the course;
  • interactive lessons;
  • "Find-A-Word" search functionality based on searching a glossary, the course, the Web or a dictionary;
  • "Show Me" multimedia animations that walk learners through the steps necessary to perform a function;
  • and a Global Bookmarking feature that remembers where you were when you left a course.

CEU's are also available.

"The great thing is the courses are available 24/7, so you can complete the courses at work or at home. And they are free," says Paul Owens, coordinator of training and development in Instructional Services and co-coordinator of the partnership.

So, how do you access all these courses? Using Internet Explorer (the system will not work using Firefox):

  • Go to http://iti.cscc.edu/mindleaders.html.
  • Enter your Novell user ID and password, and click the login button. Disable any pop-up blocker software before logging in.
  • Click on View All Learning Resources.
  • Click and expand the Technical and Business Series folder. Select the course you wish to take by expanding the series title and then click on the course title.
  • If Macromedia Flash Player is not installed on your PC, you will be prompted to install it when you start a course using Flash technology.
  • To properly exit the course, click the exit button on the MindLeaders screen in the lower right hand corner. This will activate the bookmarking feature so the next time you log into the course, you will return to the same page.
  • Click log out in the upper right corner to exit the MindLeaders site.

The complete course catalog is available at http://iti.cscc.edu/MMindCourseLIST.html. A helpful end user information guide is available at http://iti.cscc.edu/SIG_CSCC.rtf.

For assistance in accessing the tutorials, call the Help Desk at ext. 5050 or e-mail helpdesk@cscc.edu.

 

 

Matrix Monitor provides insight

The new edition of The Matrix Monitor is out and includes helpful information on how to remember names, use humor in the workplace, update your New Year's resolutions, age successfully and more. For more information, click on the icon or go to www.matrixpsych.com and enter the password CSCC.

 

 

 

Improve your heart health

February is Healthy Heart Month, and the Columbus State Wellness Activities Initiative will be offering the following wellness activities and events to help you improve your heart health:

Brown-bag fitness seminars

  • Prudent Heart Living

Discover ways to live healthy for your heart

Thursday, February 9
12-1 p.m.
Nestor Hall, Seminar Room B
Presented by: Sarah Graf

  • Steps to a Healthy Heart

Learn simple steps to improve heart health

Thursday, February 23
12-1 p.m.
Nestor Hall, Seminar Room B
Presented by: Don Laubenthal

If you'd like to walk your way to better health, free pedometer rentals are available by contacting Don Laubenthal, coordinator in Sports and Fitness Management, at ext. 3627.

Active Living Every Day and Healthy Eating Every Day classes are also available. For more information, contact Dr. David Litt, coordinator in Sports and Fitness Management, ext. 3681.

For more information on health and wellness activities such as yoga, pilates, intramurals, aerobics, and open gym, access the Columbus State Wellness Web site at http://cscc.edu/wellness/index.htm.