Springtime in academia is often similar, with our focus fluctuating back and forth between concluding the year and planning for the next. While commencement, awards ceremonies and issuing final grades speak to the end of the cycle; budgeting and hiring are prerequisite activities for the upcoming year. There used to be some down time, time for reflection, when one could evaluate “what was” and plan for “what will be.” Nowadays, the pace and timing of our daily responsibilities are unpredictable. It is a challenge to keep up with the plethora of policies, procedures, regulations, ideas, solutions, strategies, practices, and information, all necessary to serve our students. In the words of the Beatles, we could a use a little help from our friends.

This spring, Regions 3 & 4 are giving birth to a concept discussed and debated for the past year - a publication for professionals within student services. In a highly unusual spirit of cooperation, twenty-six colleges pooled their resources to create a much-needed vehicle for staff development that will be informative and insightful. It is designed to connect you to your colleagues within the field and, over time, to give voice to issues and practices within Student Services. This journal is being published exclusively on-line and is easily accessible right at your desk.

Each issue of the iJournal will feature a topic relevant to all of the California Community Colleges and serve to provide timely information and resources. For example, the theme for this issue, Minors on Campus, was selected because of the increasing number of minors enrolled within the system and the inherent legal issues of which student services professionals must be aware.

Historically, students under 18 years of age have enrolled concurrently in the community college system during their junior and senior years of high school. More recently there are two emerging populations; those not under the purview of a specific high school, such as home schooled students or emancipated youth; and those attending a high school located on a college campus, such as the Middle College High School students. The number of units taken by these students, and their reasons for enrollment, vary. All of these students, however, are users of the services on campus and, to that end, give rise to new issues.

Dr. Ed Myers has provided a comprehensive and in-depth report on Minors on Campus. This article sites regulations and provides useful information that you will want to keep on file for future reference. And, of course, that is the purpose of iJournal.

The founding members of the Editorial Board are committed to making this journal meaningful, relevant, and specific to your needs. They want it to be a publication you choose to read and look forward to receiving. To that end, your feedback is welcome. Please tell us what do you like or dislike. Suggest topics do you want us to address. And, if you would like to contribute an article and see your name in print, please contact me – the editor - and I will help you all along the way.

The iJournal is a new beginning. Spring is in the air after all.

iJournal Editor