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
