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Volume 2 Issue 2February 1998

Charles Mawson
Analyst, Telecommunications, CCCCO

Jan Paulson
Director, Management and Information Systems, CCCCO

The California Community Colleges Telecommunications Initiative, initially funded by the 1996 Budget Act of the State of California, seeks to establish a comprehensive telecommunications infrastructure linking all of the California Community Colleges. The deployment of "value added" applications across this infrastructure is a critical element to its success and usefulness. The Chancellor's Office is requesting applications for a Student Services Application Pilot titled “Student Friendly Services” to assess the feasibility of California Community Colleges' future involvement in the intersegmental Student Friendly Services (SFS) Project.

The amount of the grant is $60,000 and it will run from June 15, 1998 through December 31, 1998. The application date of the RFA is April 27, 1998, and only one grant will be awarded. The grant award will be for 6 months only, and there will be no continuation funding for any award resulting from the favorable review of a grant proposal developed pursuant to this RFA.

What Is Student Friendly Services?
Student Friendly Services (SFS) is an initiative of the California higher education and the K-12 systems to assist prospective students, their families, their counselors and California’s institutions of higher education with college and University pre-admission and admission processes. Its goals are to:

• Create a single Web site with links to pre-admission and admission information for all institutions of higher education in California
  • Users of this Web site will be able to access Web sites for the University of California System, the California State University System, the California Community College System, and the Association of Independent California Colleges & Universities, to obtain information about the campuses they are considering, to find out how to apply for admission, and, in some cases, to apply to specific institutions.
    
    
• Develop a facility which students could use to create and maintain an electronic portfolio
  • The portfolios or electronic files will contain student demographic records, educational history, and descriptions of extracurricular activities. Students will be able to update them, so that the information contained therein is always current..
    
    
• Develop an interface with the California State Information System (CSIS, K-12) which will enable institutions to exchange academic records electronically
  • Records will be sent via Electronic Data Interchange using the SPEEDE/EXPRESS format. This approach provides a secure means of automating a process which can be extremely time consuming when done manually..
    
    
• Create a means whereby SFS application data will, with student authorization, be automatically entered into electronic undergraduate admission applications and, with the approval of the Federal Department of Education, into electronic financial-aid applications
  • This would mean that students with an SFS electronic portfolio will not have to re-enter portfolio information when using the CSU Mentor or the UC Pathways systems on-line applications, because the information will automatically populate the form.

Once completed, the Student Friendly Services Project will enable users to obtain information or work on applications for admission to most of California's institutions of higher education whenever convenient and will facilitate and expedite the entire process.

What Are the Goals of the Student Friendly Services Grant?
The goal of this grant is to assess the California Community Colleges' future involvement in the intersegmental Student Friendly Services (SFS) Project.

The purposes of the RFA are to:

• Examine issues, benefits, problems and any other factors relevant to CCC involvement in SFS Project with respect to CCC unique mission and goals.
• Assess the pros and cons of CCC participation in statewide SFS project.
• Assess whether any additional functionality specific to the community colleges should be included in this project.
• Provide statewide cost estimate for CCC participation in SFS project.
• Make recommendations on CCC involvement and future role in the SFS Project.

Colleges can download a copy of the RFA from the Chancellor’s Office Web site (http://www.cccco.edu) or contact Patricia Servin for printed copies of the RFA (916-322-3488 or pservin@cc1.cccco.edu).