Great Article & Video from ABE/GED Dept

The article below describes the services our Adult Basic Education (ABE) department provides for the community. Next time you see one of the staff from ABE, please thank them for the constant hard work they do to help others succeed on their educational journey!


http://fwix.com/wichita/share/9f3505fae8/ged_not_easy_but_goal_for_many

American Welding Society Held Meeting at NCAT Facility

The American Welding Society (AWS) Kansas Section and Wichita Section met at the National Center for Aviation Training to discuss Welding on offshore platforms. The event included a tour of the college's new campus, headed by Sheree Utash, vice president Academic Affairs and Learner Services.

Shown during the joint Kansas-Wichita Sections' tour of Wichita Area Technical College are (clockwise, from upper-left) AWS President John Bruskotter, Terry Smith, Herman Broodryk, District 16 Director David Landon, Chet Kemp, Sheree Utash, and Sarah Leftwich.

River Fest Parade! See You There!

Lots of fellow WATC faculty and staff plan to sport our new logo on shirts and walk with the custom float in the parade! Hope to see you downtown tonight!

Floral Design Students make Arrangements for 2010 Commencement!

Students from the interior design program's floral design course made arrangements for the 2010 commencement with a very small budget. Have a look at the stunning results!

http://animoto.com/play/OnGqRraHqBKH0Y4SAfPzwg?autostart=true

WATC Adjunct Instructor Featured in KWCH "Does It Work?" Article

Adjunct instructor Fawn Beckman was recently featured in a "Does it Work?" article from KWCH about the microbial effectiveness of a product called Cyber Clean. Check out the article below:

http://www.kwch.com/global/story.asp?s=12384218

Going Green Seminar

On Thursday April 22, Customized Training Solutions will host a free seminar on what employees can do with the latest green technology at 12:00pm at NCAT, room G113

https://intranet.watc.edu/academicaffairs/workforce/Secondary%20Transition%20and%20Special%20Projects%20%20Sandy/Special%20Projects/Seminar%20-%20Cash%20for%20Growing%20Green/Flyer%20-%20Seminar%20Cash%20for%20Growing%20Green.docx

Hope to see you there!

Virtual Paint Booth Demo Video

WATC recently acquired a virtual paint booth. This station allows for training on how to adequetely apply paint without the cost of using the paint! See the video in Andy McFayden's blog for a demo:



http://www.andymcblogger.blogspot.com/

Phlebotomy VIDEO - Coagulation Demo

Check out this video of WATC's Phlebotomy students performing coagulation tests in the lab. This test measures the time it takes for blood to slow and stop. Great job to the students!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2Q_4cIgrC8

Great Job LPN team! 100% NCLEX Pass Rate!

The numbers are in and they are FABULOUS! Out of 33 fall graduates, we had 32 students who were eligible to take the NCLEX and all 32 passed!

We had 100% pass on their FIRST TRY!

This reflects the hard work, dedication, and persistance WATC has shown in providing the highest quality education in the area. A big thanks to the LPN faculty and all supporting staff for driving the students to success!

WATC Mentioned in WIRED Newsletter

Check out this brief article on WATC's collaborative involvement with Bombardier Learjet's Lear 85 program, with the help of WIRED funding.

https://intranet.watc.edu/academicaffairs/Instructional%20Forms/WIRED%20Newsletter,%20April%202010.pdf

SkillsUSA Coming Soon! Grove & Comotara

Make sure to stop by and check out all the action at the Comotara and Grove campuses for the upcoming SkillsUSA event!

Wednesday April 14 - Comotara

Thursday April 15 - Grove

With 53 of our students participating, this promises to be a great event!

Hope to see you there.

Composite Instructors Demo while Learjet Consultant Visits

Germaine Belanger, a consultant for Bombardier Learjet, visited the campuses during the week of March 22 while the Composite instructors demonstrated equipment, curricuulum, and lab techniques. Check out the comments from Germaine and how to perform layup and bagging on composite material!

Easter Egg Baskets Donated to Youthville

WATC campuses at SSEC, Grove, NCAT, & Comotara worked together to collect Easter goodies & toys for a community service project for the children at Youthville. Students, staff and faculty assembled 80 baskets that were delivered on March 26, 2010. Sheree Utash was proud of the generosity and caring spirit shown by our WATC family; “This act of kindness will put big smiles on many children's faces in a week or so”. Many children will now receive Easter baskets who would not have received anything. Thank you to all who participated by donations and time to make this a successful project.

Individuals who helped assemble the baskets……….
Marsha Lowe – student
Patricia Wery – student
Jose Martinez – student

Courtney Vaivada – student
Casey Eubanks

Shanna Roberson
Patty Aubert
Jessica Ross
Laura Barker
Rachel Bates


Individuals who delivered the baskets to Youthville…………..
Patty Aubert
Leslie Berryhill
Shanna Roberson
Sue Helten
Tina Slovak

READ Posters at Southside

Clayton Crenshaw and Roger Briggs, pictures above, took pictures with their favorite literature at the Southside library. Keep your eyes out for more posters througout the college!

Signage Up at NCAT! *Pics*

Onlookers from the road can see what we're all about!

College In-Service Video from Feb 26

Check out some snippets from the all College in-service on Friday, February 26. Items on the agenda were: Faculty council, Ray's talk, Sheree on branding, crisis management, IT/operations, and coaching. The video contains pieces from Ray Frederick on the mission of the College and Nathan on some Outlook pointers.

Spring 2010 ANGEL Training Schedule

We are pleased to announce the Spring 2010 ANGEL training schedule. The schedule will be posted on our website at the following link: http://www.watc.edu/faculty-org_development.php.

All training will be located at WATC’s Southside Education Center campus.

Please RSVP to ceubank@watc.edu and CC lwatkins@watc.edu with name(s) of the training session(s) and the date(s)/time(s) of the ANGEL training session(s) you wish to attend.

Please make sure to sign up ahead of time for ALL of the sessions you would like to attend. Training sessions with low or no enrollment will be cancelled 1 week prior to the start of the session.

Surgical Technology & How to REALLY Wash Your Hands

With H1N1 and other sicknesses out there, it's no wonder many of us are feeling conscientious these days about keeping our hands clean and avoiding areas where unwanted bacteria can be spread.

Surgical Technology's instructor, Robin Wallace, demonstrates a great method for effective hand washing. In fact, clean hands are so important, surgical technologists are required to perform this procedure before entering the surgical environment.

This Just In: Default Rate Goes Down

The financial aid office is also pleased to announce that our draft 2008 co-hort default rate is down to 11.1 percent which is down from 12.5 percent in 2007! The official 2008 rate will be available in September and we hope that it’s even lower.

This rate gives us an indication of how many of our students that received federal student loans are now in default (from a “co-hort” group of students from 2008).

Merit Badge College!

Saturday February 20, 2010

at

Southside & Grove Locations

If you haven't witnessed the Merit Badge college WATC hosts at the Grove and Southside campuses, you should consider checking it out! We estimate at least 200 scouts at Grove and around 230 at Southside! There is a great deal of excitement and support during this event, and it's totally worth experiencing.

Two sessions will take place at both campuses: 8:00 - 11:30 and 12:30 - 3:30.

We still need volunteers from WATC to help the Boy Scout of America (BSA) volunteers with the various Merit Badges. If you would like to help out, please let Linda Sessions know at lsessions@watc.edu! You can volunteer for half day as well (7:30 – 11:00 or 12:30 – 4:00). Lunch will be provided for those volunteers that work all day.

Hope to see you there!

Suggestions Wanted!

The WATC Bookstore is looking for suggestions on how to improve their selection to meet the needs of their customers.

Send your suggestion(s) to Beth Bush at bbush@watc.edu.

In case you were wondering...there is a PRIZE!

The bookstore staff will reward the individual that sends the best product suggestion that will be implemented in the bookstore. The winner will receive a clothing item of his/her choice for free!!

The deadline to turn in suggestions is Friday, February 26th. The winner will be announced before spring break.

Get your thinking cap on and get those suggestions over to the bookstore today!!

Please Send Happenings to Mia Lee for Social Media

Faculty and Staff,

Mia Lee would LOVE to hear from you about what's going on in your programs and areas.

Big project coming soon with your class? Competing in SkillsUSA? Did you just get some great new equipment? Send Mia an email at mlee@watc.edu and she'll post all of our current events on our Facebook, Twitter, and other resources. Mia counts on us all to keep our events known throughout the community.

Thanks for all you do!

Federal Workstudy is Coming!

We are excited to announce that Federal Work Study (FWS) is coming to WATC in the fall of 2010! The financial aid office, HR Office, and others are gearing up for this big project and so far everything has gone smoothly. We had Banner training on the FWS process flow and set up the week of 2/8.

The Department of Education approved the requested amount of FWS funds to be awarded at our school (yippee!) and many departments have made requests for positions. We look forward to offering this to our students and think it will be very successful.

Along with the FWS program funds, we have been awarded $60,000 in the Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), which will go towards helping a large population of our students!

Dental Assistant Students to Give Gift Bags to Food 4 Kids

In August 2009, Wichita Area Technical College’s Dental Assisting Class of 2010 began with a selection of twenty women, all from different backgrounds with different college experiences.

In studying the history of dental assisting we discovered that in the very beginning, dental assistants have been called the “Ladies in Attendance”; this is the name we have chosen for our student organization. Currently we have eighteen active members. Our objective is to raise awareness about the lack of dental health care for low income children in Wichita and the surrounding cities.

In February 2010, The Ladies in Attendance plan to create 1,500 “dental gift bags” for the underserved children in Wichita’s Food4Kids Backpack Program. Through this activity, the Ladies in Attendance will be providing educational materials on dental healthcare and caries prevention. The Ladies in Attendance hope to help combat childhood caries and provide the foundation for healthy teeth and gums that can better the lives of children for years to come.

Great work ladies!

Blue Skies Bistro Opening at WATC's Southside Education Center

WATC's Southside Education Center is pleased to announce the grand opening of Blue Skies Bistro on Monday, February 15th.

Blue Skies Bistro offers a variety of breakfast items, sandwiches, pizzas, and soups.

The hours of operation will be:
Monday through Friday 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Saturday 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

They are looking to hire WATC students to join the Blue Skies Bistro team. Applications can be picked up and dropped off at the bistro during normal hours of operation.

The next time you are at Southside, stop by the Blue Skies Bistro and grab a bite!!

Public Readings at the Southside Library, Feb 15 & 16

Library is always happening!

The Library@Southside will be presenting public readings of Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama, Feb 15 & 16, from 11am -12:30pm in the Commons Area in front of the Library. The presentation is part of Read Across Kansas sponsored by the State Library of Kansas and the Kansas Center for the Book. Everyone is invited to come and read or listen.

Participants can sign up on http://doodle.com/2pktwfvr2ucaaspt and can check out more information at http://www.kcfb.info/dreams/index.html.
Rita will have the books available closer to the date for perusing.

(thanks!)
Rita Sevart, MLS
Library Manager
http://www.watc.edu/students-library.php

NCAT Construction Progress

The aviation, manufacturing, and lecture hall buildings at NCAT are moving right along!

New Faculty Council Members

Welcome and congratulations to the following new faculty council members:

General Education: Cynthia Wesson

Business: Todd Kelley

Health: Carol Price

Manufacturing: Mark Meek

Automotive: Joe Smith and Tony Deese

Design: Jeremy King and Bridget Mack

They will join the current members:

General Education: Linda Grossman

Business: Linda Sessions

Aviation Maintenance Technology: Bob Beard

Health: Beth Buchholz

Manufacturing: Chet Kemp

Adult Education: Sherry Johnston

Linda Sessions will serve as Chair this year and Beth Buchholz will serve as Vice Chair. Faculty Council serves as an advocate for faculty issues with the goal of promoting a quality work environment that assures excellence in teaching and supports the mission of the College.

If there is an issue or program you would like to have discussed, please let one of the members representing your department know. Faculty Council meets once a month, rotating between Southside, Comotara, and NCAT.

Energy Auditing Now Offered - Get In on the Action!

Conserving energy and making homes and businesses more efficient has never been more important. Energy Auditing is a growing career field in which an auditor evaluates the efficiency of a home or building to assess and implement improvements to increase overall heating and cooling efficiency. WATC now offers a one-week course for students to get all the training and become a certified energy auditor. The state of Kansas is experiencing a growing demand for these auditors, the income potential is high, and it can be done part time.

Check out the video to see a demonstration of how leaks are revealed in a home by creating negative pressure using a blower door. See a career planner for more info!

Special thanks to Neiss Construction and Don Klassen Construction for use of their homes for field audits!

I Need My Teachers to Learn 2.0

WATC’s Adult Literacy teachers have embarked on a learning journey discovering how to integrate Web 2.0 tools into their curriculum. These teachers meet weekly to learn how to use various free web based tools in their teaching. Web 2.0 offers the opportunity for the learner to have a choice as to when and for how long they want to participate in learning activities. Teachers and students can access Web 2.0 anywhere and at anytime, making teaching and learning more attractive and accommodating. Web 2.0 provides a host of new strategies for teachers to utilize in and outside of the classroom that allow them to connect with their students. Most teachers are aware that it is important to motivate students. What better way to engage and motivate your students than to use the technologies that are part of their day to day life? If you are interested in learning more about this training, please contact Diane Wright (dwright@watc.edu) or Margaret Harris (mharris@watc.edu).

Click the link below to view a video of a song written by Kevin Honeycutt talking about how teachers need to learn technology to reach students today!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxJUQtoe0TU

Spring 2010 Student Orientation!

On Thursday January 14, WATC had its new student orientation at Southside, coordinated by Laura Fowler. We had an excellent turnout!

-130 in the morning session

-45 in the evening session

Sheree Utash, senior vice president of academics, gave an opening presentation to the students, and Myra Pfannenstiel spoke on financial literacy. There were also technology breakout sessions for the students.

Welcome to WATC!

Kudos to all of our student service team for a job well done!

Behind the Scenes: Before the Start of Spring Semester with Instructors

On Friday January 8, full time and adjunct instructors united for the spring in-service at the Southside Center. About 50 full time and 70 adjunct instructors came together to prepare for the upcoming semester. The groups went over syllabi, grades, procedures, the Angel system, and teaching methodologies as they prepped for spring semester.





This outstanding group of people can be attributed to WATC's continued success as the 2nd-fastest growing two-year college in the nation. The beginning of each semester is always the busiest for us, but take a second to thank some faculty for their hard work and continued dedication to great education next time you see them in the coming week.



A big thanks to the Academic Affairs team for their outstanding work in getting everyone prepared for the semester!

2009: A Year in Review

Check out this collection of memories for 2009 at the College!

http://animoto.com/play/nI1rG2wDg3EctCBv1JpmyA

Here's to a New Decade of Success!

Fellow educators, co-workers, students, and peers,

Happy 2010! Not only are we celebrating the new year; we are on the precipice of a significant decade of paradigm shifts in just about everything we do in our lives, from: how we buy food; the TV we watch; the cars we drive; our closing of the "global gap"; and the kind of education we receive.

Whether you work for Wichita Area Tecnical College, are a student with the College, or even both, you are probably becoming more and more aware that what defines high-quality education is changing; especially in the heart of the Midwest! Our College is responding to this by participating as manager and steward of the brand new National Center for Aviation Training, slated to begin classes next fall. High-quality technical training in today's sophisticated systems is not the same training from the 1930s; companies put high value in people who have the relevant training to do the more complex tasks today's workforce demands.

Relaying this message to our students on a day-to-day basis is a fundamental foundation for the College's continued success in providing this great education. The career planners, registrar, student account reps from the bursar's office, and financial aid specialists do a FANTASTIC job working with our students, and we all really appreciate you!

Check out the video below to have a look at some of the folks at Southside who interact with students on a daily basis. Thanks to everyone for all you do for the students!