Weekly Update, May 30

Black Friday's first trial run for early fall term registration showed good results. By midnight Friday, 2,035 students had registered for fall, exceeding the number of students registering in the whole first week of priority registration. So many students tried to register at 7 a.m. that it crashed the system. The event was open to all continuing students, regardless of credits earned or financial holds. Data should show if this early registration helps with student retention going into fall term and if so, for which students.

The latest Initiative Leader’s Team meeting included information on the new setup for new student registration. Last year, new students had four days in the summer for fall registration, grouped by meta-major, but many students seemed to end up in the wrong session. This year, there will be two days, with one session in the morning and one in the afternoon, and students can attend whichever they choose. Students will be presented with some general information, followed by group advising with faculty, and then one-on-one registration with a student ambassador. Students sign up via EventBrite, which will let them know what they need to have done before their session. In addition, new students will be required to register for Destination Graduation for the first time starting this fall. DG will become a 10-week class, and the curriculum is being revised and will include making advising mandatory. Also discussed was a draft of the new placement testing information website. A statewide committee, through CCWD, has recommended that all students should prepare for their placement exams.

Dave Becker has accepted the position of dean for the Business, Applied Technology and Industry division, replacing outgoing dean Dan Lara. Dave has been in the position as interim dean for the past six months. A faculty member in the Computer Systems department for the past 13 years, Dave has served as the Faculty Association president, Workload Task Force co-chair, and as the advisor for LBCC’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. Prior to LBCC, Dave was an officer in the United States Marine Corps, where he worked with international governments and military organizations and humanitarian deployments. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel after twenty plus years of service. Dave earned a bachelor's degree in business and a master's degree in computer science from Oregon State University,

Ryan Gipson has been hired as the new baseball coach, starting June 2. The college is invited to meet Ryan at the "Baseball is Back" event Tuesday, June 3, from Noon-1 p.m. in the courtyard. There will be a brief presentation on the reinstatement and future of LBCC Baseball, games and free hot dogs. Ryan served two years as assistant baseball coach at Dixie State University in Utah. He also served as evaluator and instructor at Baseball Northwest, an undergraduate assistant coach at OSU, and as the Head Coach of the Eastern Hills Hornets of the Western Australian Provincial League in Perth. He graduated from OSU, and played for OSU on the College World Series Championship team in 2006, and was a professional player for the Eastern Hills Hornets in Perth, the Yuma Scorpions of the Golden Baseball League in Arizona, and the Rockford River Hawks of Frontier Baseball League in Illinois.