Chairperson:Bill Mulrooney

Members Present:Kenya Alvarez, Martha Burgess, Theresa Clifford, Sarah Hafiz,

Linda Lew, Julieta Ortiz, Idania Reyes, Ngoc Tran

Recorder:Lucy Nelson

The meeting began at 11:02a.m.

Review November 9, 2012 Minutes and December 2012 Newsletter

  1. No changes were made to the minutes and newsletter.

Updates

  1. Ngoc Tran is the new financial aid Division Council representative and Martha Burgess is the alternate.
  2. William Garcia will be the new Dean of Enrollment Services starting on January 14, 2013. Currently, he is the Associate Dean of Student Services at the College of the Sequoias and has experience overseeing financial aid.

Major Issues for 2013-2014due to Accreditation, Changes in Title 5, Student Success Initiative

B. Mulrooney will make department recommendations to Dr. Nishime and William Garcia.

Outreach and School Relations (J. Ortiz)

  1. Staffing – evaluating the student ambassadors program and hoping for funding in 2013-14. Changing what ambassadors do at the high schools and focusing on retention and communicating changes to financial aid.Feel the absence of outreach counselors - need more manpower but not necessarily outreach counselors.Limiting job classifications are part of staffing issues; specialists should be upgraded to advisors.
  2. Change information session format. ‘What to Expect’ is a presentation about a student’s first semester - not an orientation.
  3. Need to upgrade plasma software at the Information Desk in the Student Services Center lobby to post current/correct information. No update from ITS on the status to change the plasma software. Should we shut off the plasmas? B. Mulrooney will email John Wagstaff, Will Warren, and copy Jo Ann Higdon that the plasmas will be shut off.

Financial Aid (M. Burgess)

  1. Need to restructure how we do business with students. Not sure how the new assistant director will affect change in the office.
  2. Getting ready to work through process involving policies and procedures changes for AB540 undocumented students. Direct AB540 students to the financial aid office – not all AB540 students will be eligible for financial aid.
  3. Communication internally and externally with all student services departments -advocate setting up committee of representatives from student services departments. Committee will review changes in matriculation policies and procedures before they are implemented and determine how changes will affect all departments and ensure cooperation and awareness. This will involve Enrollment Services, Counseling and Admissions & Records meeting quarterly.Outreach Task Force will hold quarterly meetings discuss outreach efforts and changes but important to discuss and report out how changes impact others.Important to communicate from classified staff to administrators.
  4. Staffing is not major issue – need to restructure how financial aid does business.

FYE (T. Clifford)

  1. FYE will need a full-time student advisor if program expands. Also waiting for an additional part-time counselor to be approved. Students are now waiting to use computers – need more space for more computers. Need one more casual staff. Two offices will be available after Supplemental Instruction moves out after the holidays.
  2. There are 350 students currently in the FYE program and another 200 students in Learning Communities. Based on how Student Task Force recommendations are addressed and enrollment priorities, project about 3,500 – 4,000 students in the FYE program in 2-3 years.

Testing (K. Alvarez)

  1. Concerned about being able to keep part-time staff, especially for office coverage during the summer and testing at the high schools.
  2. Waiting for news about standardized placement testing at the community colleges. Would like to get a scanner to get rid of paperwork.The Chancellor’s office may stay with Accuplacer.
  3. Would like to get more information out to the students through Facebook and Twitter. ECC website has general testing information, but not everyone has access to computers.
  4. Would like to see more patrolling by cadets/campus police after 4:30pm, especially when staff is alone in the office with students still testing.
  5. Improve communication with staff.

Student Development (L. Lew)

  1. Office needs more staffing. Two vacant classified positions were never replaced: Student Specialist and Sr. Clerical. Only three full-time classified oversee the Student Activities Center, student government, ICC, 50-60 student clubs and scheduling campus events. Need staff to oversee building i.e. building manager. Not enough staff to patrol and monitor the entire center.Use student workers to patrol the center, but too much responsibility for them.
  2. Equipment needed to replace old tables and chairs in student areas and new microwaves for student use. Physical disrepair of the entire building – no heat and air conditioning for student areas.The Activities Center is the first building on the 2012 bond to be replaced (in about 6-7 years) – would cost more to remodel than tear down.
  3. Student discipline and commencement are very time consuming processes.

Graduation Initiative (I. Reyes)

  1. Not enough staffing. External evaluation determined 3-4 full-time staff needed to run three main components of program -currently have one full-time staff and one regular part-time casual plus various part-time casuals and faculty to help with each component. Grant components include assessment and testing, reading success center(located in Learning Resource Center east basement), and improving how we teach faculty professional development.
  2. Graduation Initiative involved in many activities. Manages 50 people on learning teams. Three faculty oversee summer math academy. Pilots Peer Assistance Study sessions in English – peer tutors are working with English faculty to help students attain English reading and writing proficiency. Involved with accelerated projects in Math and English assisting FYE. Acts as silent partner in funding current programs. Recently contracted to initiate web Q&A where students can receive instant responses to questions asked from computers, phones, IPads, laptops, etc. Financial Aid TV will impact financial aid.
  3. Biggest challenge is to bring in full-time staff with exiting budget.
  4. Program is federally funded and audited every six months. Need privacy to document everything including conversations - looking to be relocated, maybe upstairs in the administration building as soon as architects vacate area after completion of the MBA Building. Graduation Initiative funding two evaluators in A&R.
  5. Into the third year of the grant which ends in 2015. Budget runs on calendar year.

Student Government (S. Hafiz)

  1. Leaks in the ASO office were an issue but have been patched.
  2. Student survey accessed through new class sections asks what classes students need for spring, but time limit for survey is too short. 50 sections available for spring and summer.

The meeting adjourned at 12:00 p.m.

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