February 27, 2006

Chancellor’s Council

Minutes

Page 1 of 3

CHANCELLOR’S COUNCIL

MINUTES

February 27, 2006

  1. Reports
  1. SAC Academic Senate: Mr. McMillan indicated the senate has concerns regarding service to customers by the ITS department. He said that faculty are unhappy, and he’s received many complaints. The complaints are going through the appropriate process, and Dr. Zacovic indicated he had a meeting with a faculty member this date to discuss one of the areas of complaint. Mr. McMillan stated that there are more issues than the one Dr. Zacovic will address today, but the underlying complaint is that when faculty call for assistance, ITS staff are less than enthusiastic about assisting and, in fact, will not provide assistance unless the request is for something ITS “likes” to do. Dr. Zacovic asked for specifics which Mr. McMillan indicated he would provide.

Dr. Hernandez indicated that one problem may be the implementation of Datatel and a feeling that the district needs to keep its legacy system (which is outdated and unsupported). Ms. Enriquez asked if Datatel was a software package. Dr. Zacovic indicated it was and that it will run via a new engine (Oracle) which will be supported on new HP hardware. Datatel was compared to the existing IFAS, WINSKED systems, Oracle to the current G-Link, and HP to the existing BULL hardware.

Ms. Enriquez asked if the new system would be integrated with the district’s other systems. Dr. Zacovic indicated it would: it will link HR to Fiscal to Payroll to Student Services to Academic services. It will be a fully integrated package. There will be a period of time when both the current system and Datatel run side-by-side as part of the transition process. Dr. Zacovic stated it will be a three-year process for full implementation.

  1. SCC Academic Senate: Ms. Enriquez reported that the SCC senate is working on identifying “signature programs” at the college. Currently, criteria as to what makes a signature program is being developed. The senate is also brainstorming distance education.

Dr. Hernandez indicated he visited both college campuses recently to check on current construction projects. One outstanding issue is the alley connected to College Avenue and the two homeowners that own the piece of alley adjacent to their properties.

  1. Classified:Ms. Reiter had no report.
  1. Student: No students were present to provide a report.
  1. BAPRC: Dr. Zacovic reported that the BAPRC Workgroup is meeting later this week; however, there are no major issues.
  1. HRC:Mr. Didion reported the committee has not met; however, the Joint Benefits Committee will meet next week to discuss medical/dental insurance renewal rates. He indicated the broker is not predicting major increases.
  1. Review of Board Docket

Dr. Hernandez indicated the board will be recognizing two athletic champion teams from SAC and one from SCC at tonight’s meeting.

Dr. Hernandez indicated there do not appear to be any major items on the board agenda; however, questions have been received regarding the piggybacking on another agency’s bid process.

  1. Enrollment

Dr. Zacovic distributed the most recent enrollment figures which were significantly down from the last report in front of the committee. Dr. Hernandez indicated that the district is still 71.32 above its goal, which is very good considering other OrangeCounty colleges are below targets and some may not meet cap. This figure is 2% above last year’s enrollment. Dr. Hernandez stated that there has been an increase in head count, but a decrease in WSCH (weekly student contact hours) which means there are more students, but they are taking fewer classes. Although it helps the district’s enrollment numbers, it’s more difficult on facilities and services. Dr. Hernandez asked Lauri Weidner to speak work with her staff about marketing to current students regarding adding classes to their schedules. Dr. Martinez indicated that internal marketing could include that same suggestion to students from faculty members during class.

4.English and Math Degree Requirements

Dr. Hernandez distributed a copy of “Should the California Community Colleges Raise the Associate-Level Graduation Requirement in English?” written by Jane de Leon, Professor of English, American River College. Dr. Hernandez heard that 75% of the California Academic Senates do not support the proposal. Dr. Hernandez is not as concerned about the requirements set forth in the proposal as he is about local control in such matters. Mr. McMillan stated, if turned over to local control, he felt it would be difficult for our district to place higher requirements on students than our surrounding districts due to the other colleges’ close proximity and students being able to take classes nearby.