Academic Delivery Group (10/12/10)

Academic Delivery Group Meeting

October 12, 2010

1:00 p.m.

Cleveland Hall Conference Room

(Revised 10/26/10)

Members Present:     Susan Allen, Tim Bowen, Katy Goforth, Scott Harvey, Lynn Lewis, Gwen Owens           

Members Absent:       Jackie Blakley, Eugene Grant

Others Present:          Suzanne Konieczny, Lee Tennent     

Length of Meeting:  2.25 hours

Topics Discussed:

Scott Harvey discussed the Fall 2011 calendar.  He noted the following:

• Transient student registration has been moved to later in the semester.  This gives our new students time to register before the transient students. 

• The Session C application deadline is on the calendar.

• The exam schedule includes a Friday, which has been dedicated for hybrid classes.  Scott noted that a few students, who take multiple hybrid classes, will have conflicts on that Friday.  Students and faculty should work together to resolve those conflicts.  The group discussed the need to avoid conflicts, if possible.  Scott proposed extending the exam period by one day to avoid conflicts.  He stressed that grades need to be in on time, so that end of term can be completed.  He will take the proposal to extend the exam period to the Calendar Committee.  Scott will report on this item at the next meeting. 

Lee Tennent discussed several IT-related issues.

Password security – Passwords can be relatively easy to crack. Lee suggested that employees use a nonsensical password of fourteen characters or more for better protection.  Hard-to-crack passwords can be difficult to remember.  Lee suggested passwords of length at least fourteen characters.  He also suggested a combination of capital letters, lower case letters, and digits.  Finally, he suggested making up a phrase that is easy to remember, and then selecting, for example, the third letter in each word in the phrase to be part of the password.  Never leave your computer unattended.  Always lock it, if you leave it, to avoid password security issues.

Blackboard integration with Banner issues must be resolved.  Those issues should be addressed by the end of the fall term. 

Lee noted that only ISIS reports 223 and 922 have PIN-related information.  Only full-time and part-time employees have access to these reports. Student workers do not have access.  After research, it was determined that the security breach with a faculty member’s account happened at an open, un-manned session. 

The number of calls to the Service Desk in the evenings is minimal.   To better use our employees, the student workers will be moved to the busiest time of the day, and the Service Desk evening hours will be shortened. 

The Library issues deal with printer and network problems.  The Service Desk cannot help with these issues. 

The IT-maintenance windows are geared around key academic dates and take place on Friday afternoons after 2:00 p.m.  The IT employees will not interrupt a teaching moment, but if someone is using a room to check e-mail or for some other non-teaching activity, IT may ask them to move. Since the IT maintenance schedule is based on the information in Banner, all schedules need to be in Banner.

Lee discussed Lightspeed and noted that we are considering other products that may do a better job as a filter.  We are looking for a product that has better reporting features. 

The minutes of the September 28, 2010 meeting were approved with minor changes.

Gwen Owens revisited the maximum number of credit hours a student can take in the summer.  All the department heads in the Arts & Sciences Division are in favor of limiting the maximum number of credit hours in the summer to 15.  From the Arts & Sciences perspective, a request for an exception would be an opportunity for further advising, and exceptions must be approved by the dean and department head.  Lynn noted that the Health Education Division will not limit the number of summer credit hours to 15.  Jackie and Eugene were not able to attend this meeting, so Dr. Buckhiester will get their input at a later time. 

Katy Goforth reported on Faculty Senate issues. 

Faculty Senate is in favor of the shortened drop/add period, and would like to implement it in Fall 2011.  This issue will be on the agenda for the next ADG meeting.

Faculty Senate proposed a change in the attendance statement.  The Senate would like to change the wording “may drop” to “will drop”.  It was noted that “may” gives faculty flexibility.  The senators will take this back to their divisions for input.

Katy reported on the Faculty Senate’s discussion about the November 2 professional development day.  Katy noted that the negative reaction may be related to other issues.  She and Dr. Buckhiester will meet to discuss these issues.  Dr. Buckhiester will ask Sharon Colcolough to clarify several issues related to the day.  These issues include the dress code, the fact that attendance is not mandatory, the wording in the first e-mail that notes that state law mandates that the college is closed on election day, and the question about how to record annual leave for the day.

Dr. Buckhiester discussed reorganization. Several workshops will be scheduled to discuss which processes can be done more effectively, and he gave examples of areas that are linked and have activities that could be regrouped.  He asked the members of the ADG to consider which processes should be included in these discussions.  The idea is to gather a relatively small group of individuals who would have the information and experience to participate in these discussions. 

Lynn Lewis announced that the Nursing site visit went very well. The Vet Tech site visit will take place in two weeks.

Susan Allen reported that new full-time faculty orientation will take place on Monday, January 3 from 1:00 – 5:00.  New adjunct faculty orientation will take place on Tuesday, January 4 from 5:00 – 8:00.  She noted that she and Deborah are strengthening the advising piece of orientation.  Susan briefly discussed faculty development and reported that Harriette Dudley will have a session on incivility on campus.  Susan also noted that the Learning College Lecture series will continue in the spring.

Suzanne Konieczny reported that the ACBSP site team is currently on campus.

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Recorded by:             Anne Bryan

Next Meeting:            Tuesday, October 26, at 1:00, in the Personnel Conference Room, RH 102.

Academic Delivery Group (9/28/10)

Academic Delivery Group Meeting

September 28, 2010

1:00 p.m.

Personnel Conference Room

(Revised 10/12/10)

Members Present:     Jackie Blakley, Tim Bowen, Katy Goforth, Scott Harvey, Lynn Lewis, Gwen Owens       

Members Absent:      Susan Allen, Eugene Grant

Others Present:          Stan Compton

Length of Meeting:  1 hour

Topics Discussed:

The minutes of the September 14, 2010 meeting were approved, as written.  In reviewing the minutes, Dr. Buckhiester noted that the nomenclature issue for the non-Pendleton campuses is back with the Executive Staff.  The issue of what to call the Sandy Springs building is being addressed.  Services for that building will be provided at the Pendleton Campus. 

Dr. Buckhiester reported on his additional discussion with Lee Tennent.  Lee was surprised that a student could log into a WebCT class as a faculty member, and will investigate this further.  Because it is not detailed by room, it was noted that the IT maintenance schedule on eTC is not very clear.  We will invite Lee to a meeting in October to address the maintenance schedule, security issues, and other concerns. 

Following up on the smoking issue, Dr. Buckhiester reported that the college is now fining students $100, if they are smoking outside the designated areas.  We should see an improvement, but Dr. Buckhiester will discuss this with Gregg again to report more independent concerns about smoking on campus.

Dr. Buckhiester noted that 85 people attended the first lecture of the Learning College Lecture Series.  This is a good start to this initiative. 

Scott reported that Banner can restrict the number of credit hours taken by groups during the summer.  We can restrict by various student categories such as, major, type, department, and attribute.  It was noted that 18 credit hours in the summer is equivalent to 25 credit hours in the fall or spring.  The group did not request a change in the process.

Dr. Buckhiester reported on the shortened drop/add period, and noted that financial aid implications are still a concern.  He noted that, in a discussion with Carolyn Stewart at York Tech, he determined that York Tech has a 16-week semester with no exam week.  In addition, York has a 12-week term within the full semester.  The shortened drop/add period has not been a big issue at York Tech because students who cannot add a class because of the shortened add period, can add a new class at the beginning of the 12-week term.  Carolyn Stewart said they do have a small number of requests for exceptions, and four employees handle those inquiries. 

Scott noted that he will meet with Faculty Senate at the 10/11 meeting to discuss this issue.  We will wait for input from the Faculty Senate before moving forward.  This change will not happen this year.  The earliest pilot would likely be spring semester 2012. 

Scott discussed 100-numbered courses. 100-numbered courses do not meet LIFE scholarship requirements.  Since all courses are listed together, students may sign up for the wrong course, which impacts their financial aid.  We need to better identify which courses are appropriate for the LIFE scholarship.  It was suggested that we place “Non-degree” by the course in the system.  Scott will investigate this and report back to the group.

Scott discussed the fall 2011 academic calendar.  He noted the following changes.

• The Advising/Registration period is still three weeks, but the calendar has two weeks of advising before the one week of registration.

• Transient student registration has been moved out by two weeks to allow new students more time to register.

Scott will send the calendar to the ADG for review.  He will bring it back to the group for approval at the next meeting.  Then he will send it to Executive Staff for final approval.

Under Announcements, Katy noted that Faculty Senate will be involved in the November professional development day.  Faculty Senate members will be available to answer questions about what Faculty Senate is and what it does.

Lynn reported that the NLNAC site team is on campus, and they are very thorough.  The Vet Tech site team will be on campus in mid-October, and Lynn is reviewing the Medical Assisting self study.

Stan announced that his students made their first liter of bio-diesel.

Scott reported that he will take the Academic Fresh Start policy to the Faculty Senate.  After meeting with the Senate, he will bring the policy back to the Academic Delivery Group.  He also noted that the deans will have the catalog draft by mid-October. 

Tim noted that the Easley Campus is moving along smoothly.  The road project, which includes removing a curve and creating a turn lane, is progressing well.   He also mentioned that the Anderson Campus staff will help train the Easley Campus staff.   

Gwen announced that she recently attended the Call Me Mister summit.  The summit was a wonderful experience and was very inspiring.  Young men, who have completed the program, are in the class rooms and are changing elementary education. Currently, she has only three students committed to the program, so she asked the group to send any interested students to her.  Gwen also reported on the NACADA advising workshop which was sponsored by Clemson.  The workshop provided good information and was very worthwhile.

Dr. Buckhiester mentioned that he has information on workforce development needs.  This information was presented at a recent CAO meeting.  He has a copy of the Power point presentation, if anyone in the group would like to have it. 

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Recorded by:             Anne Bryan

Next Meeting:            Tuesday, October 12, at 1:00, in the Cleveland Hall Conference Room, CD 142.

Academic Delivery Group (9/14/10)

Academic Delivery Group Meeting

September 14, 2010

1:00 p.m.

Personnel Conference Room

Members Present:     Susan Allen, Jackie Blakley, Tim Bowen, Katy Goforth, Eugene Grant, Lynn Lewis, Gwen Owens

Members Absent:       Scott Harvey

Others Present:                     

Length of Meeting:  2 hours

Topics Discussed:

The minutes of the August 24, 2010 meeting were approved, with one correction.  In reviewing the minutes, Dr. Buckhiester noted that Tim continues to work on the issue of what to call the non-Pendleton campuses, and the college is moving toward using “community campus” for a full service campus, and “learning center” for a non-full service facility.  Dr. Buckhiester reported that Lee Tennent will meet with the group at a later date to discuss IT issues, and that the drop/add reduced period is on the agenda for the next Executive Staff Meeting.  We will have Scott update the group on whether or not it is possible to limit the number of hours taken in the summer for one group, but not for another, at a later meeting. 

Dr. Buckhiester updated the group on IT issues.  IT is trying to follow the posted maintenance schedule.  If a faculty member has to move a class, it needs to be noted in Banner, so that the IT group will know about the change.  IT does not want to interrupt key learning opportunities, but some unscheduled uses of classrooms can be interrupted, and IT may have to do that to stay on the maintenance schedule.  The deans will discuss this at their division meetings. 

Dr. Buckhiester reported that Lee Tennent said that Report 223 is the only report student IT workers can access.  They do not have access to grade-related information.  Dr. Buckhiester will meet with him again to clarify some issues. 

The college will move to a better, more sophisticated product to block websites.  Matt Edwards is researching products that can replace Lightspeed.

Dr. Buckhiester updated the group on small group advising, and noted that we do not have enough cross-trained, full-time faculty to conduct small group advising at multiple campuses.  He met with Robin McFall to discuss the possibility of using long-time adjuncts for small group advising.  Robin is gathering information on the number of hours needed this year.  Robin noted that there are no small group advisors from the Health Education or I & ET divisions.  Dr. Buckhiester asked the group to contact Robin with the names of any full time or long term adjuncts interested in small group advising. 

Dr. Buckhiester discussed financial aid information.  Faculty and staff in Academic Affairs may distribute to students a handout created by Financial Aid, but will not answer financial aid questions.  Employees in Academic Affairs will send students to the Financial Aid Office to answer questions and to provide more in depth information.  Bill Whitlock will revise the Life Scholarship Affidavit form to try to address some issues.  The affidavit is on the public website and on eTC.  Students can access financial aid information and see their status, via their eTC accounts.

Dr. Buckhiester noted that he, Gwen, Amoena Norcross, and Lane Hudson will meet to further discuss the English Fluency Procedure.  Several issues are pending.  

• There is no limit to the number of times the committee can be convened for the same instructor.

• A full-time faculty member, not on probation, would have to be treated differently. 

Due to Scott’s absence, the discussion on the maximum number of credit hours taken in the summer will be discussed at a later meeting.

Under discussion, Lynn noted that the NLNAC site visit will take place in two weeks.  She also noted that Easley Campus will need advisors for the November 9 event. 

Eugene hopes to fill the academic resource specialist position soon.  He announced that we have completed the purchase of the building in Sandy Springs.   The renovations must be approved at the state level before we can begin, so we are working on this issue.  The building will be opened on Thursday, 9/16/10 between 9:30 – 12:00 for anyone who would like to see it.

Eugene and Tim are working with the Anderson County Museum on a Rosenwald School project.  The carpentry class will reconstruct one of the schools.  Eugene also noted that the building project near Wilson Hall is a small house.  This house will be moved to the Easley Campus and will be used to help teach insulation techniques to students.

Susan announced that the group that attended the Learning College summit will make a presentation to Executive Staff on how people own the learning college initiative.  Learning College 102 may be offered. Susan also noted that we are still waiting to hear about the Title III proposal.  Awards will be announced by the end of September. 

Jackie noted that the ACBSP site visit will take place in October.  She announced that Ed Heberling, the soccer coach, has been hired as the academic resource specialist for the division.  Jackie mentioned enrollment verification and noted that we need a refined process.  Dr. Buckhiester will invite Scott to the next deans’ meeting to discuss this.  Jackie reported that, near Oconee Hall, smokers are spilling out of the smoking area, are very close to the building, and are taking up parking spaces.  Dr. Buckhiester will discuss this with Gregg Stapleton. 

Tim further discussed the collaboration with the Anderson County Museum.  We are tying the Anderson Campus to the history of the area.  This collaboration has been beneficial for both institutions.  Multiple projects are underway. 

Tim reported that Brian Swords will move to the Easley Campus during the week of Sept. 13.  The Quick Jobs building will open very soon, and the academic building is moving along nicely.  Marketing is underway, and three major events are being planned for the campus.  He reminded the group about the November 9 event which is a combined open house and enrollment event.    Tim updated the group by noting that he continues to work on the Oconee Campus issues and will keep them informed. 

Gwen reported that her division, with all its new faculty, has settled in for the semester.  She hopes to hire a new sociology faculty member soon.  She asked the group to consider whether we need a policy for pregnant students taking labs.  She announced that faculty are invited to an advising workshop with Clemson, on September 23.

Katy asked about the November professional development day.  Attendance at the professional development day is not mandatory, but it is highly encouraged for all employees.

Dr. Buckhiester noted the following.

• He asked the group to encourage attendance at the Learning College Lecture Series. 
• As information, he distributed a tuition and fees chart for the different levels of college institutions. 
• He noted that senior citizens may audit a class by signing up and registering for the class.  They cannot simply show up and sit in a class. 
• September 16 is Constitution Day.  The SGA took on this project this year.  On the 16^th, information about the Constitution, provided by Chad Gregory, will be running on the screens in the Café and at the Anderson Campus.  The SGA will decorate and serve cake in honor of the day. 
• The Athletic Director’s salary is paid by activity fees.  This slot is not in competition with faculty funding sources. 

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Recorded by:             Anne Bryan

Next Meeting:            Tuesday, September 28, at 1:00, in the Personnel Conference Room, RH 102

Academic Delivery Group Minutes (8/24/10)

Academic Delivery Group Meeting

August 24, 2010

1:00 p.m.

Pickens Hall Conference Room

(Revised 9/10/10)      

Members Present:     Susan Allen, Jackie Blakley, Tim Bowen, Eugene Grant, Scott Harvey, Lynn Lewis, Gwen Owens

Members Absent:       Katy Goforth

Others Present:                     

Length of Meeting:  2 hours

Topics Discussed:

The minutes of the June 22, 2010 meeting were approved.  In reviewing the minutes, Dr. Buckhiester noted that the Maximum Student Load policy is still under review.  He also noted that Tim continues to work on the issue of what to call the non-Pendleton campuses, as a group.

Dr. Buckhiester reported that the carpool lot was full by mid-morning on the first day of class.  210 cars were at the Garrison arena parking at 10:30 on that day.  If a student or an employee misses the last shuttle to the arena, he/she should call Campus Safety for a ride.  An announcement will be posted with this information. 

Susan noted that she has very little information about the Oconee campus to present to new faculty at orientation.  Tim will follow up and will provide her with some contact numbers and other pertinent information about the campus.

Susan addressed the use of student workers at the IT help desk.  Student workers have access to confidential information, and she is aware of a few situations that have come up because of that accessibility.  The members of the ADG want to consider this issue before sending a recommendation forward.  This will be an agenda item at a later meeting.  Lee Tennent or Matt Edwards will be invited to that meeting. 

Dr. Buckhiester reported on the scheduling priority at the Easley campus, and noted some of the dedicated classrooms.  In order to avoid over-scheduling rooms, it was suggested that we change the notation in Banner to make sure employees know which classrooms are dedicated, for example “CPT only” or “LPN only.”  It was also suggested that we make the font a different color, and that we need to continue to train employees about the use of dedicated classrooms. 

Dr. Buckhiester distributed a proposed recommendation concerning the drop/add period.  The recommendation modifies the drop/add period so that students are allowed to drop classes for five days and are allowed to add classes for three days.  He asked for clarification about # 2 under the Rationale concerning the WebCT upload.  After discussion, #2 was changed to “Students will have access by the fourth instructional day of the semester.”  Under the Note, the statement was revised by removing the words “after classes begin.” Jackie made a motion to adopt the recommendation.  Scott seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously.   While the group did not fully discuss shorter academic sessions, it was agreed that the add period for those sessions would be modified as well.

Dr. Buckhiester discussed the course substitution deadline.  After discussion, the group agreed that the deadline should be at the end of the second week of classes in the graduation term.  Scott will prepare a memo for the deans to give to faculty concerning this deadline.

Susan discussed the maximum number of hours taken during the summer term.  She noted that she has dealt with several students who are taking a large number of hours during the summer term, and are not being successful.  It was noted that some Health Ed. students are required to take a big load in the summers as a part of the program requirements.  Scott will review Banner 8 to determine if he can limit the number of hours taken for one group, but not another.  This topic will be discussed again at a later meeting.

Gwen gave an update on the English fluency procedure and reported that the rubric is approved.  She noted that the issue of what would cause the committee to be convened still needs to be addressed.

Dr. Buckhiester discussed financial aid advice and information.  He noted that questions about financial aid should be directed to the Financial Aid Office.  Employees in Academic Affairs are encouraged to not give financial aid advice.

Under Announcements, Susan asked for input on compensation for one-on-one new faculty orientation sessions.  The group agreed that faculty should be paid only for the full, group session orientation.  Susan noted that Lisa Poore is helping with faculty development by taking on some of Betty Dean’s responsibilities.  Susan announced that due to a requirement associated with a grant, the Library will be open from 9:00 – 1:00 on Saturdays beginning in September.  She also noted that Gateway has 71 students enrolled in the program, and they seem to be a very strong group. 

Tim reported that he is pleased with the Anderson Campus renovations.  Fall enrollment at the Anderson Campus is 1300, which is a 25% increase from last fall.  Discussion continues on multi-campus initiatives and he is communicating with Executive Staff on those initiatives.  The Easley Campus is moving along well.  Staffing is in place and the building is ahead of schedule.

Eugene reported that we will close on the building in Sandy Springs very soon.  He reported that we found mold in the Wilson building, and we are in the process of cleaning it up.

Scott reported that he has created a new job, Advisor Assignments, and it should be running soon.  It will provide a clean look at advisor load.  Division secretaries will keep the information updated. 

Lynn announced that the Vet Tech 2 + 2 agreement with Clemson has been completed, and we are working on a MLT agreement with Clemson, as well.  She noted that Vet Tech has a large classroom, with an exterior door, that can be used by other divisions.  She noted that she is optimistic that AnMed will receive a MAPS grant. This grant that will allow us to purchase a mobile unit to take simulators to AnMed, Cannon and other off-campus sites.

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Recorded by:             Anne Bryan

Next Meeting:            Tuesday, September 14, at 1:00, in the Personnel Conference Room, RH 102