Two CCCC employees received recognition for their leadership and contributions to higher education.
Director of Distance Education Rebecca Pang and Educational Media Design Specialist Justin Witt were presented the 2017 Cerro Coso Community College Excellence in Education Award for their leadership over the last three years in dramatically increasing the effectiveness of the Distance Education Office and improving the college online learning environment.
Witt’s ability to write client-side scripts allowed the college to standardize the theme from online courses, effectively branding CCCC online courses in Canvas and Moodle. His efforts created an important consistent look and feel to classes so students do not have to adjust and readjust with each new online class. His messaging scripts allow the college to directly communicate important technical messages to students and faculty inside of an online course. As a result of his scripting capability, the college has seen improvement in its online attrition and retention rates. Witt’s expertise in this crucial area has been a huge asset in promoting the Distance Education department’s goals for creating a streamlined, consistent, and professional environment for CC Online.
Pang has led CC Online into a strongly supportive, focused, and directed environment. Her accomplishments include: leading major changes, including a Moodle version upgrade, standardized theme implementation, Moodle orientation, and the transition to Canvas. She is directly responsible for streamlining department optional workflow to minimize faculty and student complaints and frustration about poor department services, reducing duplication of services, and eliminating unnecessary processes. In support of faculty in online courses, Pang created short how-to videos on Moodle and Canvas functionalities.
The results of the two’s efforts is impressive, most notably a 4% success rate increase in distance education classes from 2013-2014 to 2014-2015. Pang has achieved these results because her management style is rooted in the kind of collaboration that fosters a spirit of positivity, lessens resistance to ideas, lets the right ideas rise to the top (if well managed), and draws from a wide variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives.
“Rebecca and Justin deserve this recognition for their quality leadership practices and outstanding contributions to student learning,” said Cerro Coso President Jill Board.
