By Staff
The Southwestern Michigan College Board of Trustees Tuesday evening reviewed SMC's Early College programs offerings for currently enrolled high school students.
The board also recognized three faculty members for service to the college, listened to a year-in-review presentation by Director Steve Arseneau of the Museum at SMC, opened bids, accepted gifts and conducted other business on the Dowagiac campus.
The Board of Trustees reviewed recent additions to SMC's Early College program, which allows local students to start earning college credit while still in high school.
SMC has historically offered two programs as part of Early College: Career Academies and SMC-Dual Enrollment.
In addition to these programs that will continue, two new Early College opportunities are now available to area high school students.
First, numerous online courses are now being offered that provide a wealth of coursework not typically available at high schools.
Like the other Early College options, these courses allow students to obtain both high school and college credit.
Moreover, these online courses meet the state's new online experience requirement mandated by recent high school reform legislation.
Recently, representatives from the state Department of Education recognized SMC for its exemplary Early College models and the work its done with area high schools.
In addition to new online opportunities, SMC recently created a new Early College model called "Direct Credit."
This model establishes a process whereby students who demonstrate college-level mastery of course content for selected subjects taught at the high school may obtain college credit for this achievement.
"We have designed these programs with quality assurance in mind," explained President Dr. David Mathews. "In order for students to get credit for these courses, they must demonstrate through testing that they have mastered the college course objectives. The assessment instrument for this is typically the final examination for the college-level course. This isn't just about students getting college credit, it's about high school students learning at a college level, and being recognized for that achievement."
Beyond offering programs that allow students to earn college credit, SMC has also designed new programs that offer academic support for high schools. These programs include Assessment Testing, the Bridge Program and Academic Support.
These programs exist to make sure that sophomores as well as juniors and seniors who are interested in taking college credit courses at some point during high school are prepared to do so.
Students can use these support programs as placement tests to prepare for college.
"The Early College program is just one of many ways SMC is helping local high school students get a head start on college," Mathews said.
"Without SMC, students would not have this opportunity close to home."
Four major exhibits,
family nights and school tours
highlight museum year
At the Sept. 12 meeting, the annual report for the Museum at SMC was presented to the Board of Trustees by Director Steve Arseneau.
Activities of the museum during the past year include four major exhibits, family nights and school tours.
Since the museum's inception, its core mission has been to collect and preserve artifacts related to college history and local history.
Over the years, secondary missions such as hands-on-science were added.
Beginning in January, the museum was required to downsize its staff as a part of budget reductions, but has taken many steps to make sure that its core mission remains on track.
The current exhibit, "Keepers of the Fire: The Potawatomi Nation," is a good example of how the community and the museum can work together to offer historical information for all to learn about.
"The Museum at SMC is an irreplaceable community asset," said Dr. Fred L. Mathews, chairman of the Board of Trustees. "With funding reductions over the past year, the museum staff has done an exemplary job of focusing its resources exclusively on preserving and displaying the local history of our service area."
Service awards
The Board of Trustees awarded three service pins during the meeting.
Tim Smith was recognized for five years of service,
David Baker was recognized for 25 years of service and
Dr. Will Tomory was awarded a pin for 30 years of service.
President's report
In his president's report, Dr. David M. Mathews updated trustees regarding current and upcoming campus events:
Terry Harris, vice president and chief financial officer, was elected as the Michigan Community College Business Officers Association (MCCBOA) president for 2006-07.
Harris is the fourth member of SMC's executive team to hold this position.
The tradition started with David Briegel, who was MCCBOA president in 1972, followed by Richard DeVos in 1985 and John Pitcher in 1992.
The Board of Trustees passed a resolution of congratulations to Harris on his election.
Dr. Fred L. Mathews said, "The fact that all four of SMC's chief financial officers over the past 34 years have been elected by their peers to lead this state association speaks well of the competency of the business functions of Southwestern Michigan College."
Art gallery features Krueger
In other events, the SMC Art Gallery is hosting its new featured artist, Ginny Krueger.
Krueger is an encaustic painter. She paints on wood panel using the encaustic medium, a mixture of beeswax, damar and pigment.
The hot, liquid wax mixture is painted then fused to the wood with a propane torch.
Many layers are put down and fused atop the first.
Sometimes Krueger will collage, sculpt and scribe into the work.
A reception will be held on Friday, Sept. 29, at 12:30 p.m. in the SMC Art Gallery.
Her work went on display Sept. 8 and will be up through Sept. 29.
Following the Krueger display will be Kathee Kiesselbach's printmaking artwork.
Kiesselbach's works will be on display starting Oct. 9, with a receptionon Tuesday, Oct. 10, at 12:30 p.m.
The gallery is located in room 108 of the Dale A. Lyons Building.
Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Tuesday and Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Admission to the gallery is free.