Provost Council Minutes (5/28/13)

Provost’s Council
May 28, 2013
2:00 p.m.
Ruby Hicks Hall, Room 245

 

Members Present:     Jackie Blakley, Amanda Blanton, Tim Bowen, Scott Harvey, Dan Holland, Lynn Lewis, Robin McFall, Amoena Norcross, Sarah Shumpert, Brian Swords

 

Members Absent:      Doug Allen

Others Present:          Todd Crisp-Simons, Stan Compton, Cara Hamilton, Chris Marino, Mike McComas, Sandra McGee

           

Length of Meeting:   2.25 hours

 

Topics Discussed:

The minutes of the May 14 meeting were approved.

Galen introduced the additional attendees and welcomed them to the meeting.

Mike McComas gave Campus Safety overview.  His first weeks at the college have been spent identifying gaps and needs in our safety plan.  He noted the following:

 

·         Lack of an emergency alert system

·         Possibly arming our security personnel

·         Lack of communication between buildings

·         Antiquated procedures and response plans.

 

Mike is beginning to address these issues with these intiatives.

 

·         Training and exercises with the Anderson Emergency Response office.  College employees will be identified to participate in this training.  Training would be ongoing, most likely once a month for two hours.  He stressed that everyone on every campus is responsible for safety.

·         Mike would like for buildings to require card key access for entry.  We need locks on all doors in case a lock down is necessary. 

 

·         He suggested using a flip chart type format for the Emergency Response Plan and have one in every classroom. 

 

To address building needs, Mike is revising evacuation plans, which will include plans for  inclement weather evacuation, shelter-in-place and lock down plans.  He would like to create a safety team for each building to include a Safety Coordinator for each building and a Team Leader for each floor.  Once these individuals are identified, they will undergo training.  The community campuses will need a building coordinator, but, based on the nature of the community campuses, the training may be somewhat different.  It was noted that faculty have safety procedures in their syllabi and review them at the beginning of each semester, but it was suggested that they be placed on Blackboard as well.

 

Mike noted that campus safety is a never-ending process.  It will never be perfect.  He stressed the need for continuous training and the ability to adjust according to each situation.  He welcomes ideas and suggestions and asked the group to send any thoughts to him.

 

To conclude this agenda item, Galen recommended the following.
 

·         To stress the importance of campus safety, include Safety under the Performance Characteristics of the EPMS and FPMS documents.  Have a conversation with direct reports about safety during the Planning Stage document process

 

·         Identify Safety Coordinators and Team/Floor Leaders by next Tuesday, June 4.  Mike will send a description of the duties for each so that employees are aware of the responsibilities. 

·         Lynn noted the available resources, both equipment and personnel, in the Health Education Division.

 

·         Mike will work to create partnerships and mutual aid agreements with counties and agencies so that the nearest agency can respond to a situation.

 

Chris Marino discussed Academic Program Review and reminded that group that this is a work in progress.  Galen provided an overview and the background for the review.  He noted that Institutional Effectiveness created the process using best practices, and faculty created the elements comprising the content.  Chris noted that the college needs to consider its product (education) and deliver the best product possible.  Academic Program Review provides the feedback necessary to position the college for success in the future. 

 

Chris reviewed the approach with the group.  The credit deans look at the quality of the program review.  Individually and as a group, Provost’s Council members review at the next level and, with the use of a rubric, assess the Academic Program Review Action Plan.   At the next level, the three Provost’s Council teams and program coordinators will report on the Action Plan component.   

Chris asked the group to make notes about the process as well, and welcomed insights to issues that may need to be addressed.  As a work in progress, we will learn from the process, and he stressed that the goal of the process is to improve the program to better the product. 

 

After a brief discussion, Galen will consider alternate dates for the three teams to report, and confirm with the members of the group. 

 

Galen noted that this process allows faculty to drive continuous improvement institution-wide.  Since all areas are working together it sends a strong institutional message. 

 

The group agreed to have Debbie Thrasher, from the Health Education Division, serve as the additional Academic Affairs representative on the Staff Advisory Board. 

 

Robin McFall and Scott Harvey discussed pre-requisites.  They reported that determining which students do not have the necessary pre-requisite and dropping them from class is a very time consuming, manual process.  The manual process creates financial aid issues for students, as well as a backlog of waitlisted student.  After further discussion, Tim Bowen moved that the process for dropping students who do not have the appropriate pre-requisites be automated.  Lynn Lewis seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.  Scott and Robin will move forward as appropriate. 

 

Robin and Scott next discussed pre-requisites for transient students.  Currently, we have an inconsistent process that may not provide proof that the student completed the pre-requisite.  After a brief discussion, it was agreed that a workgroup comprised of Scott, Robin, and Jackie Blakley will develop a college procedure.  They will present it for approval at a later meeting.

 

Galen noted the need for a Distance Education Peer Group member.  The group’s focus and functionality were discussed.  The members of the Provost Council wanted to know if a college representative to this group is mandatory.  Galen will research that question.  If so, Brian Swords has agreed to be the college’s representative. 

 

Under Announcements, Dan Holland mentioned the 20/20 mentoring program.  T-shirts announcing the program were being distributed and employees were encouraged to wear them on Friday, May 31.

 

Sandra McGee thanked the group for her welcome to the college and the help and support she has received as she makes this transition.

 

Brian reported that the matriculation pilot is going well.  Based on discussions about program fit, about 50% of students in the pilot have changed majors.  This can be a difficult discussion to have with students, but the feedback from students has been very positive. 

 

Scott announced that he has gotten approval to purchase College Scheduler, which will be a huge benefit for the college, and a significant improvement in scheduling.

 

Lynn Lewis asked Cara Hamilton to look into the possibility of the college having an affiliation with a travel agency to help with travel needs, at the discretion of the employee. 

 

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

 

Recorded By:             Anne Bryan

 

Next Meeting:            Friday, June 7, at 10:00 a.m., in RH 245