​Every year, the ACCE officers travel to the destination of the upcoming conference for a board meeting.  This gives us a chance to take a look at the conference site, do some planning, and get a sense of how the conference will play out.  We journeyed to Jack London Square in Oakland in August to do just that, and I was intrigued by how close by the local Amtrak station sits.  Weary of security lines at airports and knowing how peaceful the train journey can be, coupled with the short walk from the station to the hotel, made me think about taking the train from southern California to the ACCE conference in February.
 
Round trip tickets from Los Angeles Union Station to Oakland Jack London Square station can cost as little as $104 for a non-refundable ticket, or $125 for a refundable ticket.  Though that’s not necessarily a whole lot cheaper than flying, the journey is spacious and relaxing.  Legroom is ample, wi-fi is available, and there are decent food and beverage options.  In the end, when you add up the costs of flying as well as parking at the airport or rideshare costs to and from, you can save a few dollars with the train. 
 
The best part, however, is the view. The route goes up the California coastline, many parts of the journey right along the coast.  Honestly, if you haven’t done this journey before, it’s worth doing once.
 
All this said, there are some considerations.  You will be on an eleven hour journey from Los Angeles to Oakland, certainly longer than driving or flying.  Rarely, there are delays or setbacks with train travel, so you have to be adventurous and prepare to be flexible.  But if you’re up for doing something different and have one day for travel, it’s worth at least a thought!

Looking forward to seeing you at the conference no matter how you get there!

John Makevich
Dean of Community & Continuing Education
​College of the Canyons

Thank you all for a great, productive week statewide!

I was privileged to see and speak with many of you this week, and I just want to remark that the dedication and work that all of you do as professionals continues to inspire me.  The ability to meet with my Community Education colleagues is invaluable to me as a one person program.  I know our colleagues in continuing education feel the same about having that time to check in and be amongst a group of people who understand.

The momentum we have been able to generate in the past several years on behalf of our students statewide is remarkable, and I look forward to seeing you all in Oakland in February to discuss ways to see that the momentum continues.

Thank you to the Board of ACCE, the Chancellor’s Office and Mt. San Antonio college for all of your work on behalf of professionals in the state who seek real change for their students.  Thank you to our presenters:  Kirstin Corbin, Chantee Guiney, Neil Kelly, Ashley Walker, Michael Quiaoit, Stephanie Paramore, Michael Ngo and of course our Board members who presented as well.

Frances DeNisco
ACCE President

Welcome ACCE Members/Colleagues!

We have planned and are participating in a record number of events and activities on behalf of you, our community and continuing education colleagues this year.
​
Community Education professionals are revising of the Guidelines for Community Services, a document originally written with ACCE's help in 2012.  Our Continuing Education colleagues tirelessly advocate at the policy level for our students, and are participating in a growing number of educational policy-making opportunities at the state level.

Please keep these dates on your calendar, and register today. Topics at the Drive-in workshops will reach you via the listservs and website shortly. 

Our theme this year accurately reflects who we are in support of our students: Agents of Change. ​

Upcoming workshops: 
Bond, ACCE Bond: Community of Practice in Continuing and Community Education

Northern Workshop
Monday, November 6, 2017
CCCCO
1102 Q Street
Sacramento, CA 95911
​Register online.

Southern Workshop
Thursday, November 9, 2017
Mt. San Antonio College
1100 N. Grand Ave.
Walnut, CA 91789
Register online.

And don’t forget our Annual Conference, coming up in Jack London Square, Oakland, at the Waterfront Hotel, February 7 through 9, 2018. Details will be available soon! 

We are an all-volunteer organization working in support of Community and Continuing Education statewide, and we appreciate your support. 
 
On a personal note, thank you for the opportunity to serve as president of this organization in support of our students.  I look forward to a great year of working with you as an agent of change for our students in their lives. 
 
Sincerely,
Frances DeNisco, President, ACCE

The ACCE Northern Workshop was held Friday, October 21, 2016 in Sacramento, CA. Council Leader, Rosie Armstrong, summarized some of the highlights from the day's community education track.

Instructor recruitment - Discussion was held on internal and external recruitment of instructors. By far and wide, recruitment is coming externally and not from internal sources from the most part. ACCE members agree that its respective individual college employees are great resources for Community Education instruction but hiring them either as an employee or contractor can be a challenge due to District policies.
 
Online vendors - There is a slew of vendor options and sometimes working with multiple vendors can provide the most enriching experience because they provide different formats of training. Ed2Go seems to remain highly popular amongst responding members. Many Community Education providers are operated by a small staff and so having the vendor handle registration can be key to success. Schools should always consider profit margin when making this decision.

​For overall program registration, some vendors being utilized include ASAP, ActiveNet, and R School Today. Augusoft Lumens remains highly popular amongst many member schools.

Easy-to-run and successful programs - Turn-key healthcare programs like Pharmacy Technician were highlighted by several members. Other popular programs (although not turn-key) remain Notary Public  and Auto Wholesale. 

Marketing - Third party marketing solutions were discussed. CourseHorse was cited by ACCE members in Southern California. Also mentioned were marketing and email providers, GENOO and Constant Contact. Constant Contact was the most well-known, although it does not appear any are highly utilized over another. Some members discussed using Facebook, but keeping relevant data up-to-date can remain challenging. 
 
For those looking for noncredit information, we've posted several presentations from the day in our archives.

The California Community Colleges Board of Governors today announced the unanimous selection of Long Beach Community College District Superintendent-President Eloy Ortiz Oakley, a nationally known innovator in public education, as the next chancellor to lead the largest and most diverse system of public higher education in the nation.
 
“Today the Board of Governors continues the tradition of selecting great chancellors to lead the California Community Colleges,’’ said Board President Geoffrey L. Baum. “Eloy Ortiz Oakley is an innovative and tested leader who understands how to operate successfully in a large, complex system of public higher education. In Oakley we see a change agent – someone whose relentless focus on student success will help more students obtain certificates and degrees or transfer to four-year institutions on time. As a member of the UC Board of Regents and with his close ties with California State University, he is well positioned to foster greater collaboration that will benefit all students.”
 
Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. said, “Eloy Oakley knows California’s community colleges inside and out and has served at every level in the system – from teaching in the classroom to running a campus as superintendent. California’s 113 community colleges – and the 2.1 million students they serve – are in good hands.”
​
Oakley was named superintendent-president of the Long Beach Community College District (LBCCD) in 2007. During his tenure, Oakley helped form the nationally recognized Long Beach College Promise, which engages high school administrators and teachers to work with college faculty and staff to create structured pathways for students to follow as they progress from one educational institution to the next. Long Beach College Promise students are guaranteed a tuition-free year at Long Beach City College and preferred admission status to California State University, Long Beach after completing transfer requirements. The Long Beach College Promise has inspired similar programs across the country. America’s College Promise, an initiative introduced by President Barack Obama in 2015, was modeled in part on the Long Beach College Promise.
 
“The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges has made a spectacular choice,’’ said Ted Mitchell, under secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. “Eloy Oakley is a proven leader of national stature.  He has been a valued partner in the President’s effort to provide free community college to qualified students.  I look forward to working with him in his new role.”
 
"As a California native and a product of a California community college, I am honored and humbled to be given the opportunity to lead the largest and most diverse system of higher education in the nation,” Oakley said. “I wish to thank the Board of Governors, Governor Brown and the people of California for expressing their faith in me. I recognize that I would not have this opportunity but for the amazing faculty and staff that make up our community college system. As chancellor I look forward to working with our 113 colleges, public education advocates, civil rights organizations, education policy experts and business and civic leaders to better serve our students and to create value for our great state."
 
While at LBCCD, Oakley also helped establish Promise Pathways, a program that uses high school performance grades and transcripts to ensure students are placed in appropriate class levels. Promise Pathways also uses improved advising and enrollment practices to help students select the right classes to maximize their success.

To jumpstart the region’s economy, Oakley partnered with Goldman Sachs to launch the 10,000 Small Businesses Program to help small businesses grow and create jobs.  This successful endeavor has taught more than 600 local business owners how to expand operations, increase profits and create more jobs in the region. 

“No one is as uniquely qualified and prepared to deal with contemporary issues facing our community colleges today as Eloy Oakley,” said Walter G. Bumphus, president and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). “As a member of the AACC board of directors, I have seen first-hand his passion for the mission of the community colleges as well as a great understanding of the politics and policies that govern our institutions.  I look forward to working with Eloy in this new role.”  
 
Oakley, who will become the first Latino to lead the California Community Colleges, is himself a community college success story.  After serving four years in the U.S. Army, he enrolled at Golden West College.  He then transferred to the University of California, Irvine where he received his degrees of Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Analysis and Design and Master of Business Administration.  

Oakley joined LBCCD in 2002, serving as the assistant superintendent/executive vice president of administrative services. Previously, he served as the vice president of college services at Oxnard College; the assistant vice president of the Property & Casualty Division of Keenan & Associates and the manager of risk services at the Coast Community College District. Oakley also served as an adjunct faculty member for the Environmental Technology Certificate Program at Golden West College.  
 
In 2014, Gov. Brown appointed Oakley to the University of California Board of Regents.
 
“I’ve enjoyed working with Eloy on UC’s Board of Regents where he has distinguished himself by always asking the right questions and his unwavering commitment to expanding access to higher education in California,” said University of California President Janet Napolitano. “As chancellor of the California Community Colleges, I know he’ll continue to do so. I look forward to working with him, especially on further improving the pathway to UC for California transfer students.”
 
“Eloy is an outstanding leader and partner in California public higher education,” said Timothy P. White, chancellor of California State University. He has dedicated himself to building pathways for students from K-12 to a college degree, university degree and beyond. Eloy challenges and empowers all of us to think deeply about higher education’s role in our society and act accordingly. He understands the needs of California’s communities and is dedicated to our shared success.” 
 
Oakley serves on the boards and committees of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, the California Forward Leadership Council, the College Futures Foundation, the American Association of Community Colleges, the YMCA of Greater Long Beach and the Long Beach Rotary Club.  He also sits on the advisory board for the California State University, Long Beach Ed.D. Program in Educational Leadership.
 
Oakley will begin his duties on Dec. 19, 2016 and replaces Chancellor Brice W. Harris, who retired in April after leading the community college system for nearly four years. Erik E. Skinner will continue to serve as interim chancellor until Oakley takes office.
 
The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation composed of 72 districts and 113 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year. Community colleges supply workforce training, basic skills education in English and math, and prepare students for transfer to four-year institutions. The Chancellor’s Office provides leadership, advocacy and support under the direction of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. For more information about the community colleges, please visit http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/,https://www.facebook.com/CACommColleges, or https://twitter.com/CalCommColleges.

For questions regarding this announcement, please contact Paul Feist at [email protected], or download the full release at CCCCO.EDU.