- RCC gives gifts to children
Riverside City College is participating in the “Operation Santa Claus” gift drive for the holidays. The event helps more than 160 children registered with the Salvation Army or the Word of Life Fellowship to get toys for Christmas.
People can participate by selecting an ornament from the registration tree in the Bradshaw Center outside the Hall of Fame Nov. 25 until 2 p.m. Each ornament will have a child’s name, age and gender. Participants can buy their child a gift. Money will also be accepted. The gift should be returned in a gift bag with a label describing the gift to the Riverside Student Services Office. The deadline to turn in a gift is Dec. 12 by noon.
- Scholarship deadline pushed back
The deadline to apply for scholarships for the coming school year is Jan. 10 by 5 p.m. There is a new application system and people are encouraged to apply at www.rcc.edu/studentfinancialservices or to grab an information pamphlet from financial aid. There are dozens of scholarships for varying subjects.
- RCC nursing program honored
The American Assembly for Men in Nursing honored Riverside City College with the “Best School of Nursing for Men” award. RCC is one of three colleges to receive the award this year, and the award is a testament to the diversity of the nursing program.
The AAMN advocates men in nursing and bringing awareness to health and issues in nursing among men. Awards are based on criteria including course content, male role models, marketing materials and career affairs. AAMN has a goal of recruiting more men to have them be up to 20 percent of those in nursing throughout the United States.
- Board looks into vision plan changes
Through a suspicious, unseen circumstance in the adoption of the 2007 and 2010 self-funded Preferred Provider Organization health plan contracts were never signed. Now a shift to a new third party vendor, combined with “language changes that may have caused unintentional changes to benefits” have caused confusion and gaps around health coverage for faculty.
Faculty are running into issues with their plans and subscriptions that bring to light deep issues in changes with the new third party vendor. The story will be covered in depth in viewpoints online in the coming weeks.
- Alert system takes RCC to safety
On Sept. 17 Mike Simmons spoke to the board of trustees regarding a three-phase plan to implement a safety alert system on campus. Phase one will be the roll-out of an opt-out system which will access more students and faculty in the event of an emergency via text messages and email. Currently private emails and phone numbers are being collected in databases to roll out the system ideally by Dec. 6. Initial tests have reportedly gone well. Phase two will be to install an alarm system with an intercom capability.
The construction company has been chosen and is in contractual and initiation phases. Construction will begin soon and should be completed in early January. Additionally, training and administrative systems are being developed for alert action plans and responders in preparation for the siren devices to be installed. The third phase is the development of a broader more permanent plan for disaster readiness that will endure time and keep students and faculty safe.
The board is taking measures to ensure safety and security on campus.
