Provost's Council Minutes (12/17/12)

Provost’s Council
December 17, 2012
8:30 a.m.
Ruby Hicks Hall, Room 245
 
Members Present:     Jackie Blakley, Amanda Blanton, Scott Britten, Dan Holland, Lynn Lewis, Sarah Shumpert

Members Absent:      Doug Allen, Tim Bowen, Scott Harvey, Amoena Norcross, Brian Swords

Others Present:          Rachel Campbell, Stan Compton, Sarah Dowd, Kevin Woods

      
Length of Meeting:   2 hours

Topics Discussed:

The Minutes of the November 27, 2012 meeting were approved, as presented.

Gayle Arries and Kevin Steele reported on the Communications Project Charter, and reviewed the charter with the group.  Gayle provided each member of the group with a copy of the charter and touched on the following points. 

·         The report contains 24 recommendations.  Some are already underway.  Others are more far-reaching and will require more work by the college.

·         Pride Points cut from 10 to five to make more doable.

·         Mini-view book has been created.

·         Website review and revision based on student focus group input.

·         High school engagement and outreach to try to reduce the stigma associated with attending Tri-County.

·         Inquiry to Applicant – look at many different options

·         Landing pages (@apply) – create a more attractive page

·         Admissions landing page – students liked the eight steps to enrollment.  May revise some, but students found the steps very helpful.

·         Will revise the Financial Aid page to make it easier for the student to understand.

 

Detailed information can be found in the Communications Project Charter notebook.

Gayle noted that the Project Charter team did great work, and the student input was invaluable.  Funding for these initiatives will be considered in the strategic plan and the budget, and the college will look for cross-functional software packages as we address these initiatives. 

Sarah Dowd discussed financial regulations and distributed Withdrawals and the Return of Title IV Funds and a proposed Attendance Policy.  The group discussed all the points under the Withdrawal and Return of Title IV Funds, and Sarah noted that, based on the federal regulations., Tri-County is very much out of compliance.  The group struggled with how a strict interpretation of the regulations could be detrimental to student success. 

It was suggested that we create an ISIS report to show students who have partially withdrawn from the college and remain in one class.  The student may not be aware that they need to meet with Student Records staff in order to withdraw from the last class.  The student may need to be contacted about his/her partial withdrawal.

The group discussed the proposed Attendance Policy.  Galen noted that Scott Harvey and Courtney Tillett are working on an attendance report for ISIS.  This report will pull from Banner.  Based on attendance, the program will send an e-mail to the faculty member and the student notifying them of excessive absences. It was suggested that we tie the early alert systems into this attendance report, as well.  It was also noted that the college will need to determine how to include online courses in this policy.

In reviewing the proposed Attendance Policy, the following were noted. 

• Taking attendance, having an attendance policy, and being in compliance with government regulations are all different. 
• Could the Registrar simply administratively drop a student who has withdrawn from all classes?
• Dan recommended investigating the need to have a Leave of Absence policy. 

We can address needed changes in our policy and create a new Leave of Absence policy, if needed, in January, but the policies will not be ready for the start of spring semester.  The very earliest they would be available is after the February Commission meeting.  We can, however, modify our procedures for Spring 2013.  We must have a plan to be compliant on January 14, 2013, the first class day of the spring semester.  Department heads, coordinators of instructional activities, and program coordinators will be responsible for making sure faculty are taking attendance. 
 

It was noted that input concerning attendance was sought from Faculty Senate in the first Faculty Senate fall meeting.  The Provost’s Council will move forward with addressing the attendance policy and issues as follows:

 

·         Galen will contact Courtney Tillett to inquire about the status of the ISIS report and request that all available IT resources be applied to that project.  It must be ready when we return in January.

·         Dan will investigate the need for a Leave of Absence Policy.

·         Based on Sarah Dowd’s document, Galen will draft an attendance policy.

·         Sarah Shumpert will develop an attendance policy for online and hybrid students. 

 

Since time is of the essence, all of these draft documents will be on the agenda for the January 8 Provost’s Council meeting.

 

With agenda items remaining, the meeting was adjourned.

 

Recorded by:             Anne Bryan

 

Next Meeting:            Tuesday, January 8, at 2:00 p.m., in RH 245