Thursday, May 29, 2014

Provost's Council Minutes 5-13-14

Provost’s Council Meeting
May 13, 2014
2:00 pm.
Ruby Hicks Hall, Room 245
Members Present:     Dan Averette, Jackie Blakley, Tim Bowen, Jenni Creamer, Scott Harvey, Dan Holland, Lynn Lewis, Rob Massey, Marla Roberson, Sarah Shumpert, Brian Swords, Hap Wheeler
Members Absent:      Galen DeHay, Brian Swords
Others Present:          Gayle Arries, Margaret Burdette, Lynn Smith, Kevin Steele
Length of Meeting:   2 hours
Topics Discussed:
Jackie Blakley presided over the meeting in Galen’s absence.

The minutes of the April 22, 2014 meeting were approved. 

Meg Allan presented the work on the Market Forecast project. The Market Forecast committee was charged with creating a market forecast tool to create a system for academic program development.  By using data, planning and direction (Executive Staff), strategy (the divisions) and tactics (departments) we can accomplish this goal.  She noted that this is nothing new, just an elevated process in which all the pieces are interconnected.  The cyclical data will drive the process from year to year. 

Margaret Burdette attended the meeting for Chris Marino to discuss Academic Program Review.  She distributed a copy of the e-mail that was sent out earlier, gave an overview of the process, and noted the work currently in progress.  To ensure that all teams are on the same page, Margaret and/or Chris would like to meet with them fairly early in the process, but left the timing of that meeting up to the team leaders.  Margaret noted that at the report outs, program coordinators are supposed to tell the story and share any future plans.  After review of the teams, Rob Massey will be added to Team 3.

Lynn Smith and Dan Holland presented a workshop series proposal aimed at improving student engagement and providing additional help to achieve their goals.  After researching workshop series at other colleges, Lynn created a proposed series for Tri-County.  The series uses five tracks with five workshops each.  The tracks are Academic Skills, Career and Employability Skills, Personal Growth and Development, Navigating Leadership, and Dollars and Sense.   A student who attends five workshops in a track will receive a certificate with other possible levels of incentives.  Some of the issues to be considered include:

·         Use additional formats to allow as many students as possible access to the information/material

·         Library can provide resource guides

·         Possibly customize for certain programs/areas

·         A presentation is different from teaching – provide presentation training

·         Working on a tracking system, may be able to use some aspects of Starfish

·         Possibly compensate presenters

·         Possibly use as faculty/staff development opportunity

·         Need to assess it – short (5 questions) pre/post survey

·         COL 103 and 105 may touch on some of these tracks.  Possibly use these resources too.

·         Eventually have in place at all campuses.
Gayle Arries and Kevin Steele discussed the Marketing Plan for Fall 2014. Gayle distributed a handout and touched on the various strategies which include:

 

·         Public Website – at least 6 months out.  Developing a micro-site at tctcedge.com as we wait for state approval on the website

·         Social Media – creating sites for a specific target population.  Content will come from the units.

·         Content/Communications – stressed the need for consistent message.  Gayle showed a presentation that she will make available for anyone who meets with external clients.  She encouraged everyone to get a Dropbox account which would allow employees to use/show the   various videos available in Dropbox.  One goal is to make contact with students every few weeks. 

·         Advertising – review of the calendar of marketing/advertising events. 

The college will see a shift to bigger, better, very video-driven communication. We are in the process of hiring a media specialist to be more unified in our digital footprint.

Scott Harvey gave an update on the Attendance Procedure.  The attendance procedure workgroup met to address issues and concerns with the procedure. Scott distributed a handout with information about definitions, logistics, communication, and attendance tracker modifications.  He noted the following:

·         In face-to-face and hybrid classes, there is an option for the student to be preapproved to submit work by a deadline.  The student is in attendance under this scenario.  This requires documentation in the attendance tracker. Deans can see the documentation and track the reasons for the pre-approval.

·         Faculty must key attendance within 48 hours of the meeting pattern.  The week is considered Monday – Sunday. 

·         The number of consecutive days of attendance was increased from seven to nine before  the e-mail is sent out.  Dan Holland requested that 20/20 mentors be added to the e-mail distribution list.

·         The attendance tracker dropdown menu has been modified to include alternative assignment and military. 

Lynn Lewis motioned to approve the attendance procedure with the recommended changes.  Dan Holland seconded the motion and it passed.  It will be implemented Fall 2014.

There was discussion on students who are withdrawn and actions the college can take to determine why and how the withdrawal took place.  This may be something to consider in our retention efforts. 

Rob Massey discussed Continuing Student Advising for Summer.  After discussion, it was decided that we would do what we did last summer.  Each division will create a schedule to have advisors available for students.  Due to class schedules, advisors will not be available at all times, and it was stressed that the student may have to make an appointment and return at a later time. The deans will have this schedule in place by Monday, May 19.  Rob will send an e-mail to appropriate employees with this information. 

Under Announcements, Dan H. noted that he would like to further explore the withdrawal issue.  It was noted that with all of the data we have, the college can create a profile using data points, but historically the reason for the withdrawal has been “Personal Reasons.”  

Kevin noted that we need a model of who our students are.  This will be an agenda item for the next meeting.

Lynn reported that the Veterinary Technology pinning ceremony was “2 hours of good.”  It was very well done, student-driven, and Peggy Champion challenged the program to become internationally recognized. 

Dan Averette noted that they continue to work on Williamston dual credit.  A student attending the career center as a sophomore can graduate from high school with three semesters of college credit.

Hap Wheeler continues to work with Clemson on articulation.  They are slowly working out some of the issues.

Scott thanked the faculty for the good job in submitting grades by the deadline.  He reminded the group that we have re-set academic status, so this semester there is only Warning.  Probation and Suspension will happen as we move through the cycle.  He also thanked everyone for their help with graduation.

Jenni mentioned that enrollment and registration seem to be going well.  Fall to Spring persistence and retention is increasing.  She cautioned the group that summer may fall a little.  It may be an indicator that we need to rethink summer recruitment and to be better aware of our cycles.  In addition, we may need to have a discussion to determine what size college we want/need to be by defining capacity and considering an integration/synthesis of all of our components. 

Sarah Shumpert mentioned that the Title III grant will provide the funding for a speaker this summer.  He will be on campus on June 6, from 9:00 – 12:00.  Sarah encouraged everyone to attend.  Sarah also noted that Title III is funding a team to attend a learning community conference.  The team will attend and present at the AACU High Impact Practices Institute this summer. 

Tim encouraged everyone to attend the Patriots Run, at the Anderson Campus, on Saturday, May 17. 

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Recorded By:             Anne Bryan

 Next Meeting:            Tuesday, May 27, at 2:00, in RH 245