Distance Education at Our Local College

By Bill Knief

As published in the Taos News 06-16-11

In her spring budget address, Executive Director Dr. Kate O’Neill cautioned faculty and staff that drastic cuts in state funding and the drying up of major grant monies would force UNM-Taos to not only reduce course offerings, increase class size and limit essential developmental studies and dual credit programs, but that we would soon be facing major layoffs of personnel as well. Last Friday yet another valuable and respected colleague fell victim to the politics of transforming state budget deficits into education shortfalls.

During her talk Dr. O’Neill also reminded attendees that despite these difficult times, in order to continue to provide quality, affordable education to our service area “we must fulfill our commitment to the community to model best practices.” One important way we do this is by employing the latest in cutting edge technology, and an impressive example was recently unveiled in the form of equipment provided in the federal Gateway grant that allows us access to the supercomputer at Los Alamos.

Along with 26 other Gateway sites throughout the state, UNM-Taos now has the ability to tap into 3D rendering, graphics processing, simulation, virtual displays, modeling, interactive conferencing and complex research made possible through the supercomputer. Not surprisingly, this access is available to all stakeholders in UNM-Taos, not just active students and faculty. As part of the contractual agreement, the college must make the equipment available a minimum of ten hours per week for K-12 education and four hours per week to “the community”---business owners, government, researchers, individual citizens.

This is not our first foray into the heady world of electronic communications, of course. Over the years classrooms have gone through a series of upgrades both at Klauer and the Med Center so that distance education---the ability to conduct classes and receive course work in an interactive environment---can take place. Dr. Martinez Hewlett, coordinator of our science program, explained that much of this was done with the help of Representative Ben Ray Lujan, and that “The infrastructure is in. What we want to do now is use it.

“In collaboration with all the other community colleges in the state we have recently applied for a 20 million dollar grant through the Department of Labor. The idea of the consortium is to link all of the community campuses together in order to share resources, faculty and courses. Our piece of the grant, $750,000 over three years, calls for us to train the majority of our faculty to be able to use the distance equipment and be presenting courses with it.”

Martinez explained that under the grant each community college would be tasked with one aspect of the distance education project, and then every college would benefit from the collective effort. 

     

“The use of learning tools over a distance is clearly the future of education, especially in a rural service area where students don’t necessarily have easy access to a campus. Especially in a time of economic downturn it is crucial that people be able to access educational materials that are going to upgrade their chances for work. In the end, this is all about job creation.” 

Hewlett sees a certain irony in the situation: “There’s a lot going on in terms of the central importance of our campus to the region that flies in the face of some elected officials wanting to close it.

“Distance Education gives us the ability to better serve our area of responsibility and assist in job creation. We are getting people the skills they need to work in the new economy. Because the jobs in the new economy are not the jobs we are used to. They are going to require much more technical education, and that’s our goal. It’s dead serious. It’s imperative that we have portals, access, internet capability---all those things we need to deliver the training. And the people who are saying that distance education is just a fad, the latest technological toy, are saying it to one another over their cell phones.

Think about that!”

UNM Taos Library Newsletter

YOUR college library may still be seven miles away from the Klauer campus but the staff at YOUR library continue to find ways to bridge the geographic gap through electronic access, communication both in print and digital and also, physical outreach. Just in the last month each of the staff have pitched in to make things happen. The assistant librarian, Ana Pacheco, published an article in the Taos News on April 14th informing the public about

the collections in YOUR library.

Kathleen Knoth, library director, has been attending statewide meetings to ensure consortial agreements for online resources continue, to gain new networking opportunities, and to obtain the latest information on what is available to not only the UNM-Taos students and faculty but also, everyone in the community.

For example, there is a new, convenient link to a number of research databases that are subsidized by the NM State Library and are accessible to all citizens. If one goes to www.elportalnm.org on the world wide web, it’s your “doorway to a world of information”. There is access to everything from journal and newspaper articles, to full electronic books to the library of Chilton automotive repair manuals.

According to the American Library Association, El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children's Day/Book Day), known as Día, is a celebration of children, families, and reading that culminates every year on April 30. The celebration emphasizes the importance of advocating literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

This year, again with the idea that we can bridge the geographic gap through electronic means, Enrico Trujillo, the UNM Taos library technical assistant, set up a 21st century storytelling session between Ms. Karen Martinez’ Enos Garcia Elementary School class and Mr. Román Sisneros’ T aos Pueblo Day School class. These students were sitting miles away from each other but through Mr. Trujillo’s expertise they were able to tell each other stories via Skype. It was something neither

class had ever done before and we look forward to other Skype opportunities in the future for everything from training on the use of YOUR library resources to more storytelling and literary projects.

Lastly, we would like to congratulate Representative Roberto “Bobby” Gonzales on being awarded Legislator of the Year by the New Mexico Library Association. This is well-deserved as he has been a strong proponent of all types of libraries; school, public and academic.

And, we would like to congratulate all those who accomplished their goals at UNM-Taos this semester whether it be their GED award, EMT certification or an Associate’s degree. As one of our regular library patrons used to say, “it’s all a SUCCESS”.


To Read the Rest of the issue CLICK HERE  (PDF 4.5MB)

In this issue ...

Ready for Success

+ Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
+ Alternative Therapies
+ ARTFORUM
+ The Chronicle of Higher Education
+ New Mexico Historical Review
+ Southwest Review

UNM Taos Library Has a LOT to Offer!

UNM Branches Face Cuts Despite Growth

UNM Branches Face Cuts Despite Growth

By Kate O’Neill, Executive Director, UNM-Taos and

David J. Schmidly, President, University of New Mexico

Published in the Albuquerque Journal Saturday, June 18, 2011

It goes without saying that in these troubled economic times we must all work together to overcome a serious shortfall within our state budget. Certainly the University of New Mexico and its branch campuses have been doing their fair share and more in recent years to shoulder their part of the burden. We take very seriously our responsibility to carefully manage and be fully accountable for all operating funds. Approximately 15% of the New Mexico budget is allocated for higher education throughout the state, and we provide full value for every one of those dollars.

Yet at every turn our branch campuses continue to experience more and more cuts, to the point where it is becoming increasingly difficult to honor our mission to offer quality education to all New Mexicans at an affordable price. The truth of the matter is that while branch campuses have seen their budgets cut by over 20 percent in the past few years, enrollments over the same period have risen by that much or more.

We would remind readers of the many valuable services and opportunities our branch campuses provide, particularly in small, isolated, rural communities, and ask citizens to ensure that higher education remains a top priority within our administrative and legislative bodies. Without a strong, diverse, educated workforce and citizenry, New Mexico simply cannot remain a vibrant and effective contributor to our nation’s well-being.

Branch Campuses provide access to rural, minority, often first generation students who may have cultural responsibilities and commitments within extended families that rule out alternative options for higher education.

Branch Campuses are far more affordable for those who do not require the services of a first rate research university, or can’t afford the high fees and deplorable graduation rates of for-profit schools.

Branch Campuses are major employers in small communities throughout New Mexico. In a state where one out of four people work for the government in some capacity, regional access to education is a sound investment.

Branch Campuses attract substantial revenues from federal and foundation grants, capital improvements projects, financial aid, scholarships and private philanthropy that would otherwise be unavailable to small communities.

Branch Campuses are the workforce engines  that drive development in rural communities by building a well-trained work force that can be competitive in today’s tough job market.

Branch Campuses can slow down or even reverse the brain drain of talented individuals forced to leave their homes and go outside the state to find training and work.

At every juncture---on the individual, family, small business, corporate, state and national levels---our branch campuses clearly represent an excellent investment in a secure future for us all. And to those who say that we simply can’t afford to provide quality education to our citizens, the truth is, we can’t afford not to. For alongside the short-term savings generated by deep and painful cuts, we must also tally the enormous human cost of creating a generation of undereducated, underemployed and essentially abandoned citizenry.

We in New Mexico can do better than that. Let your representatives in Santa Fe know that education is our legacy for the generations to come---not a quick fix for today’s economic challenges.

      

    

UNM-Taos: Onward And Upward

Jim Gilroy, UNM-Taos Dean of Instruction.

The UNM-Taos Report

By Bill Knief

For publication 05-26011

  

“The community college is a vital link between worlds,” observed UNM-Taos Executive Director Dr. Kate O’Neill after the 2011 commencement ceremonies, “and our graduation exercises are truly a community celebration. We are proud to play a part in helping people discover themselves and what life holds for them.”

May 13 Bataan Hall was filled to overflowing with the friends and families of 110 graduates plus another hundred students getting their GED diplomas. There was standing room only an hour before the ceremony started.

“Commencement brings the people of this community together,” reflected Jim Gilroy, Dean of Instruction, “from all cultural, social and economic backgrounds. In my eight years as Dean this was the largest number of graduates we’ve ever had. That speaks to the level of seriousness of all our students to commit themselves to either the workplace or ongoing degrees. It was significant that when our GED students came up on stage, almost to a person they stated either to myself or to Dr. O’Neill that they would see us in the fall. This is a gateway event for them.

“Afterward, I got an email from the Vice President for Academic Affairs congratulating UNM-Taos for having more graduates than our counterpart down at Valencia, which has a thousand students more than we do. They noticed that at main campus and wanted to extend their congratulations.”

Gilroy feels that much of the students’ success is a result of strong academic advising coupled with an exceptional faculty and staff.

“I had an opportunity to meet with the Department of Higher Education recently and what they are looking for is honestly what we are already taking very seriously here: academic success measured in degrees and certificates. Not just statewide but nationally, Higher Ed. is looking for that completion so that students can move on and engage the broader community in economic development initiatives that make our communities robust and vibrant. I am reminded of comments by our state legislators and our mayor that UNM-Taos serves as a powerful economic engine in northern New Mexico.”

But equally important are those students who simply want to sharpen their skills, or perhaps brush up on an area that they feel they are lacking in.

“I think what a lot of our students strive for and what many Taosenos love is the opportunity to be creative, to have autonomy, and to remain individuals. And if they are able to develop a good set of business skills, they can make a living in a way that is meaningful to them and to their families within their cultural background.”

Also during graduation Louis Moya, our Development Director, was signing up  members for our newly formed Alumni Association. Moya feels that this long-overdue organization will give people throughout the Taos area a chance to participate directly in the growth, direction and continuing success of UNM-Taos. You can reach Louis at moya.unm.edu or give him a call at (575) 737-3737 to talk with him about the various ways each individual can support the vital role of higher education in our community.

In other news, last Friday, May 20, the UNM-Taos ADN-RN Nursing Program hosted  50  nursing deans, directors and educators representing 18 different nursing programs from across the state in Padre Martinez Hall on the Klauer campus.

The New Mexico Nursing Education Consortium got together to review standards, core concepts and curriculum, as well as to support the mission and goals of the NMNEC. According to Kathy Falkenhagen, Director of the UNM-Taos Nursing Program, the group was greatly impressed with the campus, the modern facilities and the panoramic landscape surrounding our college. They discussed creating a common core curriculum in nursing education and developing an efficient and easily accessible Baccalaureate program for students.

Just one more example of the significant, statewide role UNM-Taos plays in supporting higher education.