Academic Delivery Group Minutes (7/26/12)

Academic Delivery Group Meeting

July 26, 2012

2:00 p.m.

Personnel Conference Room

(Revised August 14, 2012)

Members Present:     Doug Allen, Jackie Blakley, Tim Bowen, Scott Britten, Scott Harvey, Lynn Lewis, Amoena Norcross, Sarah Shumpert, Brian Swords

Members Absent:     

Others Present:         

           

Length of Meeting:   1.5 hours

Topics Discussed:

The minutes of June 26, 2012 meeting were approved. 

Scott Harvey discussed several procedures and began with the Standards of Academic Progress procedure.  He gave the definitions of “institutional” and “cumulative” GPA.  The institutional GPA excludes repeated courses.  A cumulative GPA includes repeated courses.  In the SAP procedure, the college is moving to an institutional GPA.  Under discussion the following was noted.

·         It could take quite a while for a student, moving from one program to another, to reach a 2.0.

·         Consider aligning the financial aid process and the academic progress process.  Most of our students cannot attend without financial aid. The two may run hand-in-hand.

·         Look at the impact of raising the first tier GPA to 1.75.  Research using a tier or using a flat 2.0 GPA for standards of progress. 

·         Have Chris Marino cross-reference FASAP warning with the institutional GPA.  Are these students coming back?

This topic requires further discussion/review and will be on the agenda for the next meeting.

Scott led the discussion on the Graduation Application procedure.  He explained that the $10 increase is in the processing fee, which is a consideration for the man hours and work being done to have graduation.  He agreed that the certified mail fee is costly, but it is extremely beneficial because the student knows that he/she is not graduating.  Scott explained that if a student applies for an additional credential at the same time as the first application, the fee for that credential is only $10.  The group was concerned that a student who applied for and paid for graduation, but was not able to graduate, had to pay the fee again.  After discussion, the group agreed that in this case, the student would still have to reapply, but would not have to pay the graduation application fee again.  Scott will make the necessary changes to the procedure and forward to Galen.

The Academic Distinction recognition was discussed and the group focused on developmental courses.  After discussion, the group agreed to exclude developmental courses from the academic distinction calculation.  Also, after discussion, the group agreed that the distinction will not be listed on the student’s transcript.  There is no formal policy or procedure addressing academic distinction.  Anne and Galen will develop these and bring to the group for review at the next meeting. 

Sarah discussed the Online Teaching Credential process and distributed a handout for review. Funding is in place for 100 faculty to participate. Sarah noted that the college must determine how it wants the first cohort to move through the required program.  She also noted that

·         Ideally, all faculty will complete the course within a 10 month period.

·         The program is about 30 hours, and should take four to six months to complete. 

·         Do we want to split the cohort into two large groups, or several smaller groups?  By department/division or campus-wide?

·         Registration will funnel through Sarah’s office.  Staff at Wisconsin will contact our faculty.

Sarah will meet with the deans for further input on these issues.

Sarah discussed Course Studio in eTC.  This function is native to our system.  It is course-based, is not very robust, but it has an e-mail distribution list, which some faculty like to use. Sarah noted that now Blackboard and Banner have an e-mail function.  With that as background, she reported that IT would like to remove Course Studio at the beginning of fall.  The group agreed to this suggestion.  Sarah will ask the IT staff to immediately communicate to faculty about the removal of Course Studio and provide instructions for the Banner product. 

Amoena led the discussion on the Professional Development Day and asked the members of the group if they had any information about the day.  Galen reported that he had met with Sharon, and suggested that some of the workshops focus on initiatives in the strategic plan.  Topics could include

·         Retention strategies

·         Internal communication

·         Online faculty credentialing

·         Student success

·         College culture.

It was suggested that more of the sessions be in a discussion group format rather than lecture style.  Galen will take these ideas forward. 

Under Announcements, Scott H. reminded the group that grades are due by noon on July 31.  Graduation is on Friday, August 3.  He noted that as registration continues, he will wait until all courses are in, before his staff begins to work with them.

Amoena noted that Session C has three extra instructional days.  Scott is aware of this and it has been addressed in the summer 2013 calendar. 

Scott Britten noted that he is happy to be here and thanked the members of the group for their kindness as he transitions into his new position. 

Lynn reported that the Health Education Division had an internal workshop that was facilitated by Sarah.  The workshop addressed how to make the health education curricula more effective and efficient.  She noted that it was a very good exercise, with some great ideas and dynamic perspectives.  She thanked Sarah for her good work as the facilitator.

Galen reminded the group that work on the attendance policy continues.  In developing this policy, the college needs to be aware of two issues; taking attendance to be in compliance and considering the attendance policy based on student learning. 

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned. 

Recorded by:             Anne Bryan

Next Meeting:            Tuesday, August 14, at 2:00 p.m., in the Personnel Conference Room,

                                    RH 102

Academic Delivery Group Minutes (6/26/12)

Academic Delivery Group Meeting

June 26, 2012

2:00 p.m.

Personnel Conference Room

Members Present:     Doug Allen, Jackie Blakley, Tim Bowen, Lynn Lewis, Amoena Norcross, Gwen Owens, Sarah Shumpert

Members Absent:      Scott Harvey, Brian Swords

Others Present:          Galen DeHay

           

Length of Meeting:   2 hours

Topics Discussed:

Dr. Buckhiester welcomed Amoena Norcross to the group.  Amoena is the new Faculty Senate President.

The minutes of May 22, 2012 meeting were approved.  In following up on those minutes, Dr. Buckhiester noted that very few Tri-County employees plan to attend the “Plugged-in” conference sponsored by the System Office.  He noted that it should be a good conference, and information has been posted on eTC.

The Session C topic was briefly discussed.  It was noted that Session C can be a second opportunity for our students.  It can also be used to allow combination classes.  Cancelling a Session C class can impact our students.  It was noted that we may want to have something in place so that, if a Session C class is cancelled, our students are not blindsided at the last minute.

The following policies and procedures were discussed.

3-2-1011 – Student Classification – Approved

This policy will be presented at the next Executive Staff meeting.

3-2-1013.1 – Graduation Application – Not approved by ADG – Back to Scott /ADG

·         Increase in fee – Currently pay $40, increase $10.00 for all.  The group was in agreement with the increase.

·         Second to last paragraph- does it have to be a certified letter?  Very costly.

·         Last paragraph – if you pay the fee, but are ineligible to graduate, you have to pay the fee again.  Seems unfair, and students may not apply again.

·         Same topic – what about students with multiple credentials.  Separate graduation application fee for each credential?

3-2-1050.5 – Standards of Academic Progress – Not approved by ADG – Back to Scott/ADG

A student could do poorly for several semesters, and then have one good term that puts them back in good standing.  The college is trying to move away from that scenario.

·         Remove VPAA reference and use Provost throughout.

·         Page 1, under Requirements, “cumulative GPA” should be “institutional GPA”

·         Page 2, first paragraph, “Cumulative GPA Hours” should be “Institutional GPA Hours”

·         Page 2, 1.5 is a fairly low GPA for the first tier.  Should we increase that a little?  It was noted that a student may have done poorly in one division, but do well in another.  Will this hold it against them?

·         Page 2, under Academic Standing, remove the word “term” throughout.

·         Page 4, students in Category C are notified “by letter” (rather than in writing).

·         Page 4, #2 – second sentence, “If the student should enroll….”  Isn’t this true of every student?

3-2-1053.1 – Attendance for Credit Students – Tabled - Needs more faculty input.  Perhaps through an open meeting or project charter.

·         Paragraph 4, leave the first sentence for financial aid regulations. 

·         Paragraph 4, the second sentence is more about attendance verification.  Should it be in

3-2-1050-2?

·         Paragraph 4, third sentence – nothing about drop/add for face to face classes. 

·         Two issues that we are confusing –

o   Mandatorily taking attendance for compliance issues

o   How is attendance related to learning?  Student with a B misses 4 classes and we drop them.  Do we help learning if we drop them? How does this impact learning?

·         Why would we not take attendance?

·         Too much variation in dropping a student.  Either we drop or we do not drop.

·         Let each division /department develop its own attendance policy and follow it. Hold faculty accountable to the policy he/she created.

Under Announcements:

Jackie noted that the Paralegal and Culinary Arts certificates have been postponed until Fall 2013.   She also noted that Deb Nodine has resigned and Harriette Dudley will assume the ECD Program Coordinator position.  Currently, we are trying to fill the ECD instructor position.

Tim reported that everything is stable at the Anderson Campus and Oconee is showing good growth.  He noted that the YMCA is closing its child development center at the Westside Community Center, which is a loss for the community.

Gwen reported that she is getting ready for a smooth transition, and noted that she has enjoyed working with the Academic Delivery Group.

Sarah asked the group for guidance on the learning communities.  With the concern about enrollment, she noted that we seem to be jumping to cancel learning community classes.  Are we allowing enough time for them to grow?  It was noted that department heads are being very conservative and very careful with empty seats and small classes.  It was suggested that we remove these classes from the enrollment calculations, treat them as pilots, and allow them to run with small numbers.  Galen will work with Sarah to craft an informational message about the learning communities. 

Dr. Buckhiester noted that with the re-crafted University Studies Certificate, the number of students receiving the certificate is much higher.  He also reported that dual enrollment students can stay under that initial college catalog. 

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned. 

Recorded by:             Anne Bryan

Next Meeting:            Thursday, July 26, at 2:00 p.m., in the Personnel Conference Room,

                                    RH 102

Academic Delivery Group Minutes (5/22/12)

Academic Delivery Group Meeting

May 22, 2012

2:00 p.m.

Personnel Conference Room

Members Present:     Doug Allen, Jackie Blakley, Scott Harvey, Lynn Lewis, Donna Shannon, Sarah Shumpert, Brian Swords

Members Absent:       Tim Bowen, Gwen Owens

Others Present:          Robin McFall

Length of Meeting:  .50 hours

Topics Discussed:

Dr. Buckhiester welcomed Robin McFall to the meeting. Robin attended in Gwen’s absence.   

The minutes of the April 23 meeting were approved with a minor change.

The Academic Calendar topic was removed from the agenda, so the group discussed the Library hours.  The group reviewed Marla’s updated information.  Lynn noted that the Health Education Division did not have any issues with the earlier closing time.   Robin reported that she had polled the English department faculty, and since evening students had until 8:00 to use the Library, the faculty did not have any concerns about the closing time.  Dr. Buckhiester stated that he and Marla will meet with Dr. Booth to present the proposal.  Dr. Buckhiester asked the group to let him know of any concerns.

Under Announcements, Scott discussed requests for registrations after the deadline.  Scott asked the group to try to have the justification be at the level of a life event, rather than just because the student did not pay or did not show up.  He noted that if the dean signs off on the justification, Student Records puts the student in the class.  It was noted that Blackboard links to Banner can cause confusion.  If the student is in Banner, but not in Blackboard, when the extract is run the student is put back into Banner.  Then the student can re-enter the class, and complete the work. 

Scott also discussed course substitutions.  Marilyn Angoli is completing the substitution sheets and will send them to the deans for review.  He wants to be certain the information is correct.  Scott stressed that course substitutions need to be universal, and need to be accepted all the time.

Lynn congratulated Donna Shannon on receiving the Presidential Medallion. 

Doug noted Pendleton High School is phasing out its Automotive Technology program and phasing in a Mechatronics Program, and has contacted us about picking up some of their students.  He also mentioned the Itron layoff.  Prior to the registration deadline, the EIT faculty and staff will contact these employees to see if they are interested in returning to school. 

Brian reported that the Easley Campus summer enrollment has increased 50%.  He also noted that he is working with the Pickens YMCA on the campus’ signature event, a bike ride. 

Sarah reported that she is pleased with the number of registrants for the Mark Taylor workshops.  Dr. Buckhiester stressed how good Dr. Taylor is and mentioned that he would hate for anyone to miss the opportunity to hear him.

Sarah also thanked the group for the work with the testing and training of DegreeWorks.  She also noted Lou Ann Martin’s good work and thanked her for her efforts. 

Donna announced that Amoena Norcross is the new Faculty Senate President.  For the most part next year’s Senate will be a new group.  The results will be announced next week.

Dr. Buckhiester noted that the Online Faculty Credentialing process has been revised to allow a faculty member two business days to respond appropriately, as requested by Faculty Senate.  If it is fully funded next year, it will go forward with that one change. 

Dr. Buckhiester mentioned two workshops that should be good and which faculty may be interested in attending. 

• The Midlands Tech Assessment Institute in July

• The System Office’s “Plugged In” conference in September

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Recorded by:             Anne Bryan

Next Meeting:            Tuesday, June 26, at 2:00 p.m., in the Personnel Conference Room,

                                    RH 102

Staff Advisory Board Minutes (7/12/12)

Staff Advisory Board Meeting

Minutes of the Meeting

July 12, 2012

8:30 a.m.

Ruby Hicks Conference Room, RH-102

Members Present:                  Kelli Harrison, Tina Burton, Evette Moss, Alydia Sims, Bob White

Members Absent:                   Tonia McClain, Emily Danuser, Rachel Joye

Length of Meeting: 25 minutes

1.      ISSUE DISCUSSED:       Call to Order

Kelli opened meeting and notified members that new officers should be elected. Kelli made a motion for Tonia McClain to be President and Alydia Sims made a second on that motion. Kelli volunteered to be Vice President. Evette Moss made a second on that motion. Kelli nominated Alydia Sims to be Secretary. Evette Moss made a second on that motion.

2.      ISSUE DISCUSSED:       Approve Minutes from June 20, 2012

Kelli made a motion to approve. Alydia Sims made a second on that motion.

3.      ISSUE DISCUSSED:       Will discuss the rotation of members at the August meeting

The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 a.m.