Amarillo College Ranger

Issue date: 3/11/05 Section: Front Page

Media Credit: Daniela' McCoy/The Ranger More than 30 faculty members, administrators, staff and students showed up in the Badger Den for the President´s Forum Tuesday afternoon. Dr. Steven Jones spoke about student success and online access for students. The East Campus also was a major topic. Jones discussed ways to unite or centralize the East Campus. The crowd laughed at Jones´ remarks from the beginning to the end. Jones conducted a question-and-answer session after his talk. [Click to enlarge]

"Classes must be AC quality the first time, every time," said Dr. Steven Jones, Amarillo College president, at a President's Forum Tuesday afternoon in Badger Den in the College Union Building on the Washington Street Campus.

The topic of the forum was student success, which included online instruction and changes being planned to enhance the quality of learning at AC.

"We are on the verge of student success," Jones said.

"We want to expand the student service online to make it just as well as across the desk."

Instructors, administration, staff and students attended the forum.

"Rumor is that I am resigning, and that is why all of you showed up," Jones said.

"Not today," he said with a smile.

Online classes were a major topic at the forum.

Dr. Paul Matney, associate vice president for instruction, will be in charge of online instruction.

Jones and Matney hope online enrollment will be doubled by January 2007.

"I wish I could say, 'Snap,' and it happens," Jones said.

A project team for online instruction includes Bob Sloger, Robert Austin, Judy Carter and Bill Burrell.

The team will develop the budget for next year, which includes money for distance education and online instruction.

"All, and I mean ALL in capital letters, education program content needs to calibrate and equal out," Jones said.

No matter what field or major a student enters, the student should be able to get the same amount of education as the next one, he said.

By fall 2005, all expanded online services will be partially operational and by January 2006, fully operational.

The next topic was the East Campus.

"East Campus is a huge campus," Jones said. "We will make it smaller - centralized."

"We have buildings out the wazoo on the East Campus, and we need to adjust and change."

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In other administration news:

On Saturday, Gov. Rick Perry visited Amarillo and presented a $695,738 check to AC that will be used to train 625 workers as flight mechanics, flight electricians, electrical assemblers and mechanical assemblers for the Marine One and V-22 Osprey projects, according to the Amarillo Globe-News.

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