Academic Leadership Team
December 8, 2020
1:30 pm
Via Zoom
Members Present: Tiffany Blackwell, Jackie Blakley, Tim Bowen, Rick Cothran, Mark Dougherty, Mandy Elmore, Adam Ghiloni, Melinda Gillespie, Glenn Hellenga, Gabe Hollingsworth, Jenn Hulehan, Linda Jameison, Tom Lawrence, Jeremy McCracken, Mary Orem, Karen Potter, Sarah Shumpert, Luke VanWingerden, Tasheka Wright
Members Absent: Gayle Arries, Ahmad Chaudhry, Jenni Creamer, Scott Harvey, Chris Marino, Bryan Manuel
Other Attendees: Berdina Hill, Stella Grove, Lynn Smith, Glenda Waters
Length of Meeting: 1 hour
Linda Jameison welcomed the group. She noted that Ahmad Chaudhry was absent.
Approval of October 27, 2020 Minutes
Mandy Elmore motioned to approve the minutes as submitted. Glenn Hellenga seconded the motion. There was no discussion. The motion passed.
Career & Employability Resources – Next Steps – Glenn Hellenga & Linda Jameison
Glenn acknowledged the Career & Employability Resources team members in attendance, and noted his appreciation for the entire team. With his retirement in early January, he touched base on next steps for the CER office.
· Career Kiosk Kick-off – lead by Stella Grove; kiosks provide access to all online resources
· Career Fairs – lead by Berdina Hill; virtual fairs powered by Simplicity; first division-specific division career fair (Business & Public Services Division); hopes to expand these
· Tech Talks – lead by Lynn Smith; ongoing service for students
· Mock Interviews – lead by Glenda Waters; ongoing service for students
· Work-based Learning Program – Lead by Amanda Donald; ongoing service for students
Glenn stressed CER’s willingness to conduct workshops on almost any topic and in almost any format. He encouraged everyone to listen to students and to each other. In closing, Glenn noted how much he enjoyed working with everyone, and thanked the members of the group.
At this point, Linda Jameison presented a recognition book to Glenn to celebrate his retirement and to thank him for his long tenure at the college.
Spring Coordination Team Updates – Sarah Shumpert, Jenn Hulehan, Adam Ghiloni, Mark Dougherty, Mandy Elmore
Sarah Shumpert gave background on the Coordination Teams and reminded the group that the fall teams focused on six priorities to address the pandemic. The spring teams reviewed the work of the fall teams in planning for spring. The spring teams will focus on the following.
· health and safety
· teaching and learning
· enrollment services
· student support and engagement
Sarah noted that much of the spring work is simply a continuation of fall work, with focus on areas where someone is not already doing that work as part of their job. She also noted that the Faculty Resources course in Blackboard contains deliverables and products, not all the planning work. Each sub-team leader reported to the group.
Health & Safety – Mandy Elmore
· The bulk of the work has already taken place; they are addressing new and emerging issues; some refreshing/additional cleaning is going on; reminded the group to not be complacent
Teaching & Learning – Jenn Hulehan
Ø Summer and fall contingency planning is underway; the goal is to move to face to face, if possible
· Met with department heads with considerations and a timeline;
o February 2, 2021 – deadline to identify courses to move to face to face
o February 14, 2021 – RO/SDC will update systems
o April 19, 2021 – Go/No Go decision deadline
· Communication Strategy is being created
o Webpage out in January
o More specific information to advisors later
Ø Support for People of Support
· Public webpage with tips, terms, scenarios, and solutions
· Infographics
· Will hold a town hall event; via Zoom; panel and experts to address issues
· Communication strategy for the town hall is being developed
Ø Universal Design for Learning Resources
· Faculty Resources course in Blackboard
· Student resources – the public webpage
Ø Networking and Self-advocacy
· Resources for faculty in the Blackboard course
· Creating resources for students
Ø Resource Library
· Discussion board in Faculty Resources Blackboard course
Ø Student Access Survey
· Is in the virtual orientation
· Getting data early; better results
Team 2 is re-deploying tools from fall and trying to tie the resource to information from the student focus groups. It was noted that faculty need to enroll in the Resources course. They will find resources to address many issues, including a guidebook and resources to address expectations.
Student Services in the Virtual World – Mark Dougherty
· Fall work is continuing
· New strategic move is an online behavioral guide
o From the student and faculty perspectives
o Appropriate behavior in an online environment
o Policies and expectations have not changed, but it looks different in an online world
o Will be available in January
Enrollment Services – Adam Ghiloni
· His team is tweaking and making improvements on this cycle
· Need to get students through the enrollment funnel, so we can support
· Doing a great job with incoming students
· Additional data points and metrics for current students
· Want to work with them prior to the break, so we can support them
In wrapping up the discussion, Sarah noted that, at a strategic level, if you do something differently, and it works, keep doing it. If you see something that needs to be addressed, let her know. She also noted that faculty can sign up for the Boot Camp in Spark. The sessions will be recorded for later use, but the intent is for faculty to attend in January.
In addition, Linda noted the focus on what we are doing to impact our students now. There will be much that we can take forward and expand access to the college at a later date.
Other – All
Mary Orem:
They are continuing to gear up for spring and are working with the orientation staff to create an online checklist for students. The are creating more infographic content, most recently on how to manage learning.
Glenn Hellenga:
Appreciates all the great work going on and noted that everyone should attend the multiple measures workshops.
Adam Ghiloni:
Reminded everyone that grades are due on December 9 at 9:00 am and noted they are working toward smooth end of term processing.
Karen Potter:
This is her first meeting with the group, and she appreciates being included.
Tim Bowen:
Beverly McAdams, the new Anderson Campus Director, is “on the ground.” She will be contacting people to meet and to learn more about their areas. Tim has moved to the Easley Campus. He has one more frontline position to fill at the Easley Campus.
Sarah Shumpert:
Reminded everyone to enroll in the Faculty Resources course in Blackboard. The many resources include the offerings in the faculty development brochure, the Barbi Honeycutt sessions, and some Academic Impressions workshops.
Mark Dougherty:
Reported that COVID reporting will continue. Still encouraging faculty to report if they hear about a case. Classes have ended, but students with COVID concerns should not come to campus for services, either. The reports are dropping off, but will ramp up in January.
Mandy Elmore:
She is still working on the student focus groups’ report. Jenni Creamer and Mary Orem are proofing and revising it. The report is a proposed response to student concerns. She will send the report to everyone.
Tasheka Wright:
There will be two more Multiple Measures workshops, 12/9 and 12/11. More training will take place in January. Advising begins on February 22, so all faculty need to be trained prior to then.
Tiffany Blackwell:
Virtual advising and registration will take place on Friday, 12/11. With so many moving pieces, final information will be sent out at 5:00 on Thursday.
Luke VanWingerden:
Announced that Jamie Gilmer has joined the IT team as the Director of IT Service Delivery. Jamie comes to us from Prisma. Luke also announced that Mark Vickery has been promoted to junior systems engineer. Caleb Stone will pick up the audio/visual component of Mark’s job.
Linda thanked everyone. With no remaining agenda items, the meeting was adjourned.
Recorded By: Anne Bryan
Next Meeting: Tuesday, January 26, 2021
