Provost's Council 3-11-14

Provost’s Council
March 11, 2014
2:00 pm.
Ruby Hicks Hall, Room 248
(Revised March 25, 2014)

 

Members Present:     Dan Averette, Jackie Blakley, Tim Bowen, Jenni Creamer, Todd

Crisp-Simon, Scott Harvey, Dan Holland, Sarah Shumpert, Brian Swords, Hap Wheeler

 Members Absent:      Lynn Lewis

 Others Present:          Keri Catalfomo, Jenn Hulehan, Kelli Harrison, John Woodson

Length of Meeting:   2 hours

 Topics Discussed:

 The December 5, 2013 meeting minutes were approved.

 Keri Catalfomo, Jenn Hulehan, and Kelli Harrison led the discussion on the MyLabsPlus proposal.  MyLabsPlus, is a “front door” to other Pearson platforms used by the college.  It benefits students by providing them with one login, and saves students money by the bookstore’s ability to buy in bulk and decrease the costs. It would not be mandatory for faculty to use MyLabsPlus.  Discussion took place on ADA concerns, the need for awareness of possible compliance issues with the Office of Civil Rights, the need to address ADA concerns for the long term, and the credibility/improvement of Pearson products.  Hap Wheeler moved to approve the proposal with an amendment to address ADA concerns.  Todd Crisp-Simon seconded the motion and it passed.  Keri will provide deliverables, possibly using the Feasibility Study templates.  The deans will canvas their staff to determine who is interested in or currently uses MyLabsPlus.

 John Woodson and Galen DeHay discussed the Curriculum Committee Charter.  Galen noted that a representative from Corporate & Community Education has been added to the committee, and that the Committee’s purpose has changed significantly to include outcomes assessment.  He stressed that SACS and other agencies require outcomes assessment for accreditation.  In addition to that, the group requested the following additions:

·         Add a representative from the Registrar’s Office.

·         Under the committee members’ responsibilities for courses, add an additional bullet entitled “Duplication.”

 It was also noted that a monthly report can provide information about the status of Curriculum Committee documents.  Once a Curriculum Committee document is approved, the directors of C2C, Bridge to Clemson, and Career Services need to be added to the notification e-mail list.  In addition, Gayle Arries would like to attend Curriculum Committee meetings.

 The discussion on the 2015 spring and summer academic calendars was postponed until the next meeting.

 Galen discussed the FY’15 – ’17 Strategic Plan.  He noted the following:

·         Added one initiative – Social/Personal Responsibility.  This is very important since it is a grass roots initiative, taken from employee input.

·         For each initiative, the team lead has been identified and will provide

o   Project documentation

o   Budget requests

A budget hearing for strategic initiatives will occur.

Under the FY’14 Strategic Initiatives, the project leads have been trained on AchievIt, and will chart the project’s progress with this tool. Chris Marino will run a weekly progress report. Transparency is key and all documentation will be posted on eTC under Planning.

 Personnel is working on a formal employee recognition program, but Galen asked the group to consider what we can do informally, within departments and units, to recognize actions above and beyond normal job duties and requirements.  The following were noted during the discussion:

·         Be careful that this type of recognition does not backfire.

·         As a college, we do not do enough of this.  Tell employees when they are doing a good job.  Do not wait until a development day or on their EPMS.

Under Announcements:
Dan Averette:

            Projects and initiatives are moving along.  Equipment for the CNC program will be delivered next Thursday. 

Hap Wheeler: 

The Arts & Sciences Division is considering requiring COL 103 or COL 105 as part of the curriculum.  He is collecting data and looking at pitfalls, as they consider this change.  He is also making some progress with Clemson to allow us access to data about our students’ success after they transfer.

Sarah Shumpert:

            Noted that major enhancements are being made to BlackBoard which include mobile, content management, and community engagement pieces.

Tim Bowen:

            Projects and initiatives are moving along.

Scott Harvey:

            The catalog is one week behind schedule.  If the print version is not ready on March 24 for advising, the online version will be available.  He noted that Course Scheduler has been updated so that Learning Communities can auto-populate courses. 

Jackie Blakley:

            Noted that she has heard many positive comments about the Rosenwald School dedication and wanted to pass that along to Tim and the group.

Dan Holland:

            Is working with Jenni Creamer and Croslena Johnson on a new tool, Campus Connector, which is a social engagement instrument with an outreach component.  Sarah Shumpert would like to meet with Dan to determine if BlackBoard, with its enhancements, has a similar tool.

Jenni Creamer:

            New student enrollment begins at the end of the March.  Renae Frazier and her staff are working hard over these next few weeks to ensure area high school students are ready for their designated enrollment days in April. Jenni and Rob Massey are working on an extended orientation program that will allow the College to intentionally communicate with students following their success coach meeting. As we have to scale back our presence in the high schools due staffing issues, we very much want to maintain our relationships with the high schools and want to continue to work with them.  Jenni asked the members of the group who deal with the high schools to be aware of this issue and to diligently continue to stress how much we value our partnerships and relationships with the high schools.

Key Talking Points:

1.      Beginning this month, the college will post weekly updates for current strategic initiatives.

2.      Curriculum Committee functions have changed and the charter will be posted soon.

3.      MyLabsPlus could streamline the experience for students.

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Recorded By:             Anne Bryan

Next Meeting:            Tuesday, March 25 at 2:00, in RH 245.