Last spring MHC established the Ad Hoc Orientation Committee to review, evaluate and recommend changes for how the college conducts its new student orientation. Research from a variety of sources confirms the importance of student orientation in promoting student success in higher education. The committee has defined the overarching objective of new student orientation as “To Set the Stage for Student Success” and proposes that this will best happen by:
- Building relationships between faculty members and students and between students and other students.
- Getting students connected to the college and the resources available to them without overwhelming them with information.
- Maintaining momentum by using orientation to affirm the choice to come to college and build on the energy, optimism and excitement that students have on the first day.
- Use the Right Start student manuals as they are still available. Program Coordinators have been provided with a copy of the Right Start instructor manual for ideas.
- Focus on building relationships.
- Avoid overloading students with information and course outlines.
- Affirm their choice of program and MHC.
- Senior Administration will be greeting students at lunch rather than coming to individual program orientations.
- Distribute the Student Orientation Survey (included in the orientation materials provided by Student Services) to students as has been done in the past. The survey results are important to the committee’s work.
- Experiment with any ideas that you have wanted to try. The committee is interested in your experiences and will seek your input and suggestions with a survey that will be circulated to coordinators and faculty in early fall.
Information Technology Services Update
Changes to Deep Freeze
The college has been using a software product called “Deep Freeze” since 2001 to ‘lock down’ the hard drive that holds the operating system on Windows computers. The product prevented any changes made to the system from remaining after a reboot, thereby greatly reducing the risk of damage to the operating system and limiting the effect that malware (viruses, spyware, etc.) would have on the computer.
With new server technology and hardware in place, we can stop using Deep Freeze on employee computers which will enable changes made to the computer environment to hold. Deep Freeze will still be used in most labs and publicly accessed computers as it is a very good tool to prevent tampering.
“Group Policies” will be employed under Windows to enable users to manage settings on their computers to a more carefully delineated degree, based on their particular needs. In the coming days you may note on the taskbar of Windows machines a little red ‘X’ symbol as part of the polar bear icon for Deep Freeze. This will indicate that Deep Freeze has been disabled and the machine is ‘thawed’, allowing many changes to settings, including themes, colour schemes, and configurations in most applications (programs) to hold after reboot.
Policy Review
The removal of Deep Freeze will not allow users to make ‘deep’ changes to computer systems, such as installing software packages or changing settings on antivirus or security software. As per college policy and for system security reasons, software installations will require a request to ITS. For example, non-college owned software installation can only be done with proof of license and the authorization of your supervisor. We are legally obligated to ensure that only licensed software is being used by the college, and must have an inventory of what software is on college owned systems. For more information, please see MHC’s “Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy” number 5.19, including clause 15 on page 7.
With this need to manage software deployment in mind, we have endeavoured to make our support services responsive to users who need software installation. As always, please contact our Support Centre (ext. 3899 or callcentre@mhc.ab.ca for quick attention to your computer needs.
Windows Updates
As part of a recently completed project that updated much of the college’s computer server infrastructure, we will be implementing Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) which will allow us to roll out Windows updates to all Windows computers on campus in a timely manner. To start with, these updates will occur at 11:00pm Friday nights. To assist in this implementation please log out of your computer but leave it powered on when you finish work every Friday. Once the updates are installed, the computer will automatically reboot to complete the installation.
As we have not had such an update system in place, many computers on campus need many updates to catch up. After running these updates each Friday for some time we will assess our progress and then plan to implement a power management strategy that would either shut off computers or put them in a low power ‘stand-by’ mode when they are not in use to help the college reduce power consumption.
This only applies to staff and faculty computers. Please contact Chuck Payne for further information.
Parking Passes Have Arrived
Beat the rush by getting your parking pass early at The Bookstore. Payroll deduction is available. Please have the following required vehicle information ready:
- Vehicle Make, Model, Year*
- Color, License Plate #, Prov/State
Fees
- Plug-in Year $175.00 + GST
- Plug-in Semester $105.00 + GST
- Open Year $120.00 + GST
- Open Semester $70.00 + GST
- Budget Year $60.00 + GST
- Budget Semester $40.00 + GST
Bookstore Hours
Please note the following hours of operation for The Bookstore during the first part of September:
Sept 1st & 3rd 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Sept 2nd 8:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. (1st day of classes)
Sept 7th – 9th 8:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Sept 10th 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
College Drive Construction
Please be advised that College Drive will be under construction starting this week with an expected completion date in November. During this time period the road over the causeway will be closed to pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle traffic. Additional information is available on the City of Medicine Hat website at http://www.medicinehat.ca/.
Homecoming Headquarters
Volunteer Opportunities
Be part of Homecoming 2010 on September 18 by volunteering a few hours of your time to help make this year's event the best ever! A variety of positions are available - contact Laura at ext. 3897 or lcarlson@mhc.ab.ca for more info.
Special Offers for MHC Employees
As an MHC employee, you are entitled to two special offers during our Homecoming 2010 celebration:
- VIP Pass (good for you and a guest) for exclusive concert seating on Sept. 18 in the Kinsmen Beer Gardens
- Hot Dog Voucher (for employee children ages 12 & under). Hotdogs will be available Sept 18 at the Lions Club tent located in the ATB Family Fun Zone.
Try a Dance
The Medicine Hat College Conservatory of Music & Dance invites children of MHC employees to "Try a Dance". Join the Conservatory on August 26, 27 and 28 at the Cultural Centre for a FREE lesson!
- 10:00-10:30 TINYTOTS ages 3-4
- 10:30-11:00 KINDERTOTS ages 4-5
- 11:00-11:45 JR. JAZZ ages 5-7
- 1:00-1:45 JAZZ ages 8-10
- 1:45-2:30 HIP HOP, open
- 2:30-3:15 JAZZ ages 11+
Join an Orchestra
The Medicine Hat College Conservatory of Music & Dance offers:
Medicine Hat Junior String Orchestra
Sponsored by the Medicine Hat Symphonic Society, the Junior String Orchestra is designed to foster a love of all styles of music from country to classical to popular. The students develop musicianship skills of the highest level that will enrich not only their ensemble playing but also their solo playing. We focus on listening, rhythm, musical sensitivity, self discipline, leadership and team work, through concerts, field trips, guest clinicians, retreats and other fun activities. The orchestra regularly performs within the community at schools and through Christmas specials, yearend recitals and various events throughout Medicine Hat.
Rehearsal: Tuesday 7:00-9:00pm Cultural Centre Choir Room for 28 weeks
Medicine Hat Community Orchestra
The Medicine Hat Community Orchestra was founded in 1999 as a musical, educational and social vehicle. Musicians of all levels and ages are welcome to join at any time throughout the year. The orchestra plays all styles of music with a heavy emphasis on having fun while learning the basic orchestral skills; counting, phrasing, and listening. The group performs at various times and venues throughout the year, mainly church services at Christmas and Easter and a final performance for friends and family at the end of the year.
Rehearsal: Thursday 7:30-9:30pm Cultural Centre Choir Room for 28 weeks
For more information please visit www.mhc.ab.ca/conservatory/ or contact the musical director Christine Bootland at 403-529-4816 / cbootland@mhc.ab.ca.
Instructor Needed
Continuing Studies is currently looking for a GED Preparation instructor. For further information please contact Cathy Crockford at 403-529-3875, or ccrockford@mhc.ab.ca.
From the office of EH&S
New Security Number
Please note the new number to call for 24h security on campus is 529-3911.
The previous number -529-3922- will access the security administration office.
Computers for Sale
Towers and monitors are available for sale at a price of $40/each. 80GB Internal Hard Drives can be purchased for $5. View items outside the security office and contact Rodger Sloan to purchase.
New Arrivals! 15 Apple G5 computers (towers only). Specifications: 2 GHz Clock speed, 2 Gb RAM, 160 Gb HD, 128 Mb Video Card. Due to the popularity of these units, they will be available only at noon August 30th at the security office F140, first come first serve. One unit per person.
Environmental Stewardship
Do you have a strong interest in the environment? Would you like to see the College take on more “Green” initiatives? If so, contact Rodger Sloan to learn more about joining the “Environmental Stewardship Committee”
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