President's Updates
August 2025
Dear FRCC Community,
As is often the case when August arrives, the summer seems to have flown by in a heartbeat. I hope you’ve all been able to rest and recharge, and that you’re ready to jump back into the fray for an exciting fall semester at FRCC.
Everyone has been hard at work over the last couple of months preparing to give our students a warm Wolf Welcome this fall. I cannot wait to have the hallways full of students again starting on August 18.
To get ready for the big day, I hope you can all make it to our collegewide in-service on August 12—details on how to register are below. A team of our colleagues has been planning an inspiring day full of learning, stimulating breakout sessions and time to reconnect…
And of course, you won’t want to miss the launch of our bold new strategic plan. See you all at in-service!
Top News
Student Documentary Making Headlines
Five budding reporters from FRCC’s The Front Page student newspaper recently received some well-earned media attention in The Colorado Sun for their documentary on a major new transportation option for the state. These intrepid students released the final installment of their three-part docuseries on the Front Range Passenger Rail project, which plans to connect Fort Collins, Denver and Pueblo via train.
The series follows the students as they take public transportation along the proposed new train route to experience what using the existing options is like. Along the way, they interview riders, as well as key players in the project. Read all about the students’ adventure creating the documentary on the FRCC blog.
Congratulations to our students for their impressive accomplishment—and many thanks to journalism instructor John Young and faculty member Aaron Leff (their advisor on The Front Page) for their support and guidance.
Employee Spotlight
CNA Program
FRCC’s nurse aide (CNA) program has earned a well-deserved shout out for creating an outstanding learning experience for its students. We recently heard from a successful graduate who now works as a CNA at Life Care Center Longmont. Alumnus Brett McCoy praised instructor Alysha Marshall for being a top-notch teacher and true inspiration. He says Alysha’s teaching is highly organized and effective, and she makes herself available for students to talk to while setting very high standards for her classes. Alysha emphasizes the importance of practice, preparation and being detail oriented—while also reminding students to think critically and independently.
Brett also commended Director Suzanne Sevy for building an incredibly rigorous program. He says Suzanne's skills training video series was vital to his success in passing the state skills exam. And her online discussion assignments challenged Brett and his classmates to research and think deeply about how to respond to different patient situations.
Brett says the program was one of the most challenging endeavors he has ever undertaken, but it has led him to a very rewarding career caring for others. In fact, his experience at FRCC was so positive that he is now meeting with his academic advisor to discuss plans to continue his education and apply for our practical nursing (LPN) program. Thank you to everyone in the nurse aide program for challenging our students and giving them the tools, support and motivation they need to succeed!
Spread The Word
In-Service—Register Now!
We can’t wait to see you at our collegewide fall in-service on August 12! If you haven’t already, please take a minute to register today! (Please note, simply accepting the calendar appointment in Outlook does not automatically register you for in-service. If you plan to attend, please click the button below to reserve your spot.)
The full agenda is now available on the in-service webpage—the day will include an inspiring panel discussion with students (back by popular demand after last year’s student panel). This all-college meeting promises to mark the beginning of a new era for FRCC. We’re looking forward to venturing into it together by:
- Launching our 2025–2030 Strategic Plan: Forward, Together
- Sharing stories that reflect our bold new direction
- Celebrating the fantastic work of our teams and students
- Getting ready for a new semester with renewed energy
- Mingling and connecting with colleagues
I hope to see you all there!
Tools & Resources
Employee Performance Evaluations
CCCS has updated the state board policy (BP) for employee performance to reflect a coaching and mentoring approach to performance evaluations across the system. We don’t have all the details yet—those will come in the form of updated system procedures (SPs). Several teams have been working to write the new SPs to provide details for the colleges.
For the coming academic year (2025-2026), the performance evaluation system for faculty and staff will be in transition. Classified employees will continue with the evaluation system set up by the state. Please continue to work with your supervisor to set annual goals just as you have in the past. We’ll share more information as soon as it becomes available.
Innovation Spotlight
Launching Rise Digital Signage
The college is preparing to launch our new Rise Digital Signage software, a powerful tool designed to enhance our communication capabilities across the college. Over the next few weeks, the FRCC marketing team will be testing the software on screens throughout each campus in anticipation of the official launch at the start of the fall semester. Rise will replace our current digital signage system (Visix).
This new platform will help streamline information dissemination collegewide, ensuring that students, faculty and staff receive timely and relevant updates. By centralizing our digital displays, Rise will also support consistent messaging and branding, creating a more cohesive and professional visual identity throughout our campuses. This is just one of the ways we’re working to improve communication and foster a sense of pride and belonging for all of our students and employees.
Additionally, this software will empower us to deliver "just-in-time" communications—critical alerts, deadline notifications and important updates—right where they are most visible and impactful. This means strategic, more effective communication for everyone, especially our students. We’re excited to launch Rise and look forward to the benefits it will bring to our campus experience. Thank you for your continued support as we implement this new technology.
Check out this sample slide from our Rise screens:
College Updates
HSI Recommendations
FRCC’s Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) Task Force is preparing its recommendations to guide the college as we work toward becoming an HSI. Although FRCC is well positioned to apply for our federal designation in 2027, we are emphasizing the importance of focusing beyond that designation to genuinely prepare the institution for our rapidly shifting demographics and student populations.
As we strive to define what "servingness" means at our college, we will challenge our staff and faculty to use data and research to identify barriers to student success—and to propose system improvements to boost the success of our Hispanic and Latine students. The college will draw from the task force’s formal recommendations, which include investments in culturally relevant pedagogy, building an inclusive campus environment, consistently monitoring Latine/Hispanic student academic and developmental outcomes, and more.
Our Executive Director of Equity & Inclusion Krishna Pattisapu, PhD, expects to have the task force’s recommendations finalized by ???. At that time, we will share the report with the college community and launch the next phase of our work toward becoming a federally designated HSI.
There is so much good work happening around our college, even as our community is facing many challenges. We truly appreciate your continued focus on the positive impact we can make for our students and with our colleagues.
I want to assure you that FRCC leadership continues to stay informed about changes coming from the federal government and that the CCCS legal team is providing us expert guidance. We will continue to put the best interests of our students first and foremost and to ensure FRCC uses resources wisely and efficiently as funding sources fluctuate.
I am grateful for the dedication and commitment I see every day in our employees. Thank you for all you do.
With gratitude,
Rebecca Woulfe, PhD
Provost, VP of Academic Affairs
Interim President
