On Friday, November 22, nearly 300 invited guests gathered at 9:30 a.m. to celebrate the District's new Anaheim Campus. Brief remarks were offered by guest speakers, who included Tom Daly, then Mayor of Anaheim, Jan Billings, Superintendent of the Anaheim Union High School District, and Stan Oftelie, President of the Orange County Business Council. NOCCCD's President of the Board of Trustees, Manuel Ontiveros and Vice President Leonard L. Lahtinen, both of whom are Anaheim residents, also spoke. The ribbon was cut and the dedication plaque unveiled with musical accompaniment by Fullerton College's Steel Drum Band. Elected officials in attendance included United States Congressman Ed Royce, California State Senator Jack Scott, who served previously as President of Pasadena City College and as President of Cypress College, and Mayors Don Bankhead of Fullerton, Paul Walker of La Habra and Chris Lowe of Placentia.

Immediately following the ceremony, refreshments prepared by Cypress College's Hotel, Restaurant and Culinary Arts Program were served in the first floor cafeteria, while a group from the School of Continuing Education's sign language program performed to holiday music. Attendees were free to tour the facility, from floor to floor.

The event, in planning since Spring 2002, was the result of many hours of work by district employees. Thanks to all who made the event a success - from planning, to set-up, to clean up. The Anaheim Campus Dedication Committee was chaired by the District Director of Public Affairs Donna Hatchett and co-chaired by Jennifer Perez, Public Information Officer for the School of Continuing Education. Many thanks go out to the students of Cypress College's Airline and Travel Careers Program and Fullerton College's Administration of Justice for assisting with reception and parking.

Next up is the Employee Open House on Friday, January 31, 2003, to which all District employees are invited.

Anaheim is Up and Running, with Few Exceptions

While NOCCCD staff members were enjoying time off for the holidays, Anaheim Campus contractors were busy putting the finishing touches on the property in anticipation of January classes. "I was here at 5 p.m. on December 24, and the contractors were still working," explains Dr. Rod Fleeman, Vice Chancellor of Finance and Facilities. "They were working on exterior lighting and lighting in the parking lots, making sure the elevators were operating properly, and other finishing details."

"This facility is 100 percent open with the exception of two areas," explains Dr. Fleeman. He says that contractors are finishing up Anaheim's warehouse space and installing shelving, so that warehouse staff can move from La Habra to Anaheim. The kitchen and playground of the Child Development Center are also receiving finishing touches for its opening in March.

As with any new facility, many "punch list" items exist, none of which prohibit use of the facility, but include paint touch ups, small repairs and replacements. Completion of up to 1,000 repairs, campus wide, is ongoing.

Classes Begin at Anaheim Campus

Credit classes begin in Anaheim at the end of January. The School of Continuing Education's Winter Term got under way January 6. With Cypress College offering an array of Hotel, Restaurant and Culinary Arts classes in their new, state-of-the-art teaching facility, Fullerton College offers a wide variety of general education classes in the many classrooms and laboratories.

Fourteen in all, Fullerton College's classes include English, geography, math, political science, reading, anthropology, history, speech and counseling/career planning. Registration information is available on the colleges' websites at www.fullcoll.edu and www.cypress.cc.ca.us. Registration procedures are the same as for Fullerton or Cypress College classes on the main campuses and include filing an admissions application and registering by phone via TeleStar, online via WebStar or in person.

SCE Delivers over 100 Classes at New Campus

The School of Continuing Education (SCE) is offering more than 100 Winter Term classes at the new Anaheim Campus. Having started on January 6, classes are now in full swing and students are giving good reports. The general feedback from district staff is that students are pleased with the new facility, classrooms, labs and services.

Offering a broad array of classes for students of all ages, the SCE offers English as a second language, high school equivalency test preparation, literacy, and many other basic skills courses. In addition, computer classes abound, covering topics such as word processing, graphics, web design and more. Specialized training in such areas as child development, culinary arts, drafting, electronics, hazardous materials, and pharmacology are also delivered at the Anaheim Campus. Classes are of various lengths and starting dates. Visit the SCE website at www.sce.cc.ca.us and click on the class schedule link for a complete listing with details.

New students may register for SCE classes by visiting one of the class sites to submit an application, obtain a student identification number and register. Registration takes place on the second floor of the Anaheim Campus, Monday through Thursday between 8:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., on Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., and on Saturday between 8 a.m. and noon. Registration via the website takes place only during the initial two-week enrollment period, making it necessary now to register in person.

For HR, It's a Smooth Transition with Uninterrupted Service

Did practice make perfect? The North Orange County Community College District's (NOCCCD) Human Resources Department managed to move from the former District Education Center in Fullerton to the 9th floor of the new Anaheim Campus on September 13 without interrupting service. After weathering an interim move to a vacant bank building just two years earlier, department staff became adept at planning, organizing and implementing a major move. "We learned how to move," explains Personnel Specialist Beth Mooney. "We know how best to organize and label boxes, enabling us to find things easily."

"While the staff had gone through moves before, there is something different about moving into a facility that is still under construction," says Steve Duncan, director of human resources. "The keys to our moving success were planning, communication and teamwork - but most of all, lots of patience, flexibility, and good humor on the part of all the staff."

Despite glitches in the new building's operations, there were very few mishaps within the Human Resource Department. "The initial fire alarms - which proved to be multiple false alarms due to construction activity - created some special 'bonding' experiences in the stairwells and parking lot," laughs Duncan. Beth Mooney, who is known for her good sense of humor, displaying her foot-high rubber rat adorned in costumes for every holiday, says with a smile: "It was challenging, but we did what we could in between the fire alarms going off!"

"The only area of HR affected by the move was the employee processing," states Adriana Flores, administrative support manager, referring to the fingerprinting function. "After several weeks, the online link to the Department of Justice was established and employee processing resumed."

According to Flores, strategies to streamline the move were implemented. Staff entered all job applications before the move, gained assurance that HR's computers would be operational as of their move-in date, and posted directions to the Anaheim Campus at the former site. "It was encouraging that 99 percent of our applicants were impressed with the building and were happy to find our new location," she adds.

There is a new front desk presence at the Anaheim Campus, with just one reception counter serving the entire floor. "Now applicants go to the 9th floor and there is only one station at the front counter," Flores says, comparing it to the previous office where two attendants staffed a Human Resource counter. "With staff cooperation, we have reassigned tasks and schedules and established procedures to appropriately cover the front desk."

Duncan and Flores each conclude that the department's transition to Anaheim was fairly seamless. "I believe it is a tribute to the HR staff that, as far as my own observation and the feedback I have received from our customers, the move was relatively transparent," states Duncan.

First Anaheim Campus Class Gets an A+

Twenty-four students are participating in the 16-week A+ Certification Course - the first NOCCCD Anaheim Campus class, which began on November 18, 2002. Many students from ESL, the Computer/Internet Center, High School Diploma Program, and others are taking advantage of this free class. Taught by Instructor David D'Aiuto, the course prepares students for the highly recognized A+ Certification exam, which may qualify them for careers as computer support specialists or computer service technicians.

The course is offered free through a grant by the Orange County Business Council (OCBC) in collaboration with the James Irvine Foundation. The grant assists lower socioeconomic individuals by providing opportunities to gain skills, certification and employment. The grant funding also provides 20 annual scholarships to cover the costs of textbooks and exam fees, as well as additional training in vocational English as a second language to better prepare students to enter the A+ Certification Class.

"This course allows students to learn the foundation of computer repair and maintenance," says D'Aiuto about this training, which can cost $3,000 - $8,000 within private industry. "The A+ Certification exam standardizes the basic knowledge of computers, as well as tests them on situations that may happen in the workplace. This class is just the starting point - students can then go on to learn a variety of networking programs and certifications in Microsoft systems, Cisco and Unix, for example." D'Aiuto emphasizes the course's extensive internship opportunities: "This will be a great resume-building opportunity for these students!" The internship component provides students the opportunity to gain "real world" knowledge and experience at local businesses and organizations.

Coordination of the A+ Certification Program involves many SCE entities coming together in three, short months to provide this opportunity to students. Committee members include Anna Garza, Jim Kennedy, Fred Rocha, Martha Gutierrez, Tom Parisi, Gary McGuire, Christine Terry and David D'Aiuto.

Already, 10 students have been assessed and have signed-up for the second-class session, which takes place in the evenings, starting March 3, 2003. Fifty additional students have called the Matriculation Program with interest in going through the orientation and assessment process, to be held in February. Interested community members need to call counseling at (714) 808-4682 to sign-up for an orientation and assessment appointment.