Go-live date for the new ctcLink delayed to till May
By Saki Kambe
Although it was planned that ctcLink launches March 9 for the third deployment group, due to State Board’s inability in providing adequate support for all colleges deploying simultaneously, it is decided that the go-live date is altered for Peninsula College, Pierce College District and Cascadia College.
There were delays in critical components delivery, along with compression of training and testing schedules that have occurred because of these delays, said PC President Luke Robins through mass email.
PC and other colleges’ go-live is postponed to May 11, while Olympic and Lower Columbia College will go live as scheduled on March 9.
“This 8 week delay will allow for significantly more end user training as well as additional testing of the new environment,” Robins said .
The ctcLink, the newer web-based system will replace the 35-year-old administration system at all 34 two-year colleges and the state board. Peninsula College is a part of the third deployment group for upgrading, and colleges such as Clark College have already finished ctcLink implementation last fall.
With the ctcLink, students will only need one portal that takes care of financial aid, class registration, degree audit, adviser information, and most information students need.
New student identification numbers for the portal will be issued from the college when ctcLink is launched. Students will have to set up an account when the system is launched. The college is still working on how to get these numbers to students.
“I wholeheartedly believe this project is going to benefit staff and students,” said ctcLink Project Manager Pauline Marvin.
“I believe in it,” she followed. In addition to that, if students decide to transfer to a school that is within the Washington State Community and Technical Colleges, all the records will transfer as well, and vice versa.
“It’ll streamline a lot of our processes, it’s great for our students because everything you need is in one area,” Marvin said. She said that it will benefit the faculty and staff as well.
“So far they love it because it’s very easy. We’ve heard a lot of good things from them,” she said.
The ctcLink Project Team said that everyone should look well out for further communications that will be sent out via email.
PC staff, Faculty and Student workers: When having troubles getting the training done, consider reaching out to the following ctcLink project team.
Ctclink Project Manager:
Pauline Marvin at pmarvin@pencol.edu
Executive Sponsor and Financial Management Pillar Lead:
Carie Edmiston at cedmiston@pencol.edu
Human Capital Management Pillar Lead: Krista Francis at kfrancis@pencol.edu
Training Lead: Trisha Haggerty at thaggerty@pencol.edu
Communications Lead: Grace Kendall at gkendall@pencol.edu
The 2020 Census: Once every 10 years civic duty
By Emily Matthiessen
The federal government has conducted a census every ten years since 1790: an official count of the population along with the gathering of other statistics necessary to disperse public funds in the fairest way possible.
According to the Census Bureau the results from the 2020 census will, “determine the number of seats each state has in the House of Representatives.They are also used to draw congressional and state legislative districts, show where communities need new schools, new clinics, new roads, and more services for families, older adults, and children.
The results will also inform how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding are allocated to more than 100 programs, including Medicaid, Head Start, block grants for community mental health services, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP.”
The Census is mandatory. By April 1, all households will have received information from the Bureau. Residents can participate in the Census by phone, email, or mail.
Households that do not respond via those methods will be visited by locally hired Census workers. The Census is mandated by the Constitution of the United States of America, and all residents must be included. It is not enough to count all citizens, because the government needs to know how many people are actually using resources and existing in any given location.
The Bureau has a timeline and methods for reaching people who do not live in homes with traditional addresses: group living situations like dormitories, homeless people, those in transit, and other special cases. All of this is a monumental task, often made more difficult by people who attempt to refuse to answer.
The information the Census Bureau collects is used for statistics, and any personally identifying info is not shared with any other governmental entities or with outside groups or individuals.
“Under Title 13, the Census Bureau cannot release any identifiable information about you, your home, or your business, even to law enforcement agencies. The law ensures that your private data is protected and that your answers cannot be used against you by any government agency or court. The answers you provide are used only to produce statistics. You are kept anonymous: The Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly release your responses in any way that could identify you or anyone else in your home. The U.S. Census Bureau is bound by law to protect your answers and keep them strictly confidential. In fact, every employee takes an oath to protect your personal information for life,” according to 2020censusbureau.gov.
“From the beginning of the data collection process, the Census Bureau follows industry best practices and federal requirements to protect your data. The security of Census Bureau systems is a top priority, and our IT infrastructure is designed to defend against and contain cyberthreats. We continually refine our approach to identifying, preventing, detecting, and responding to these threats.”
The Bureau warns that scammers can attempt to fool people into giving them information by posing as Census workers. “During the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau will never ask you for: your Social Security number, money or donations, anything on behalf of a political party, your bank or credit card account numbers.
If someone claiming to be from the Census Bureau contacts you via email or phone and asks you for one of these things, it’s a scam, and you should not cooperate.”
Jamestown S’Klallam paddlers pass Protection Island in Sequim Bay as they participate in a US Census advertising campaign. Photo by Emily Matthiessen