President’s Work Group
March 28, 2014 – 1:30 to 3 p.m.
19-224
Attending: Sandy Garber, Scott Farnsworth, Patrick Burns, Ed Bushman, Terri Eckel, Dennis Garvey, Jeremy Obudzinski, Joanne Oellers, Gino Romeo, Nancy Schafer, Kelly Trainor, Katie Windsor, Mark Woolsey, Karen Leja
Sandy and Scott reminded work group members this is the second to last meeting. Next steps in process are to use Survey Monkey for survey of staff and faculty; put together general survey response themes for next meeting; need to come up with a plan for Dr. Wills by May.
Survey questions
Group reviewed and revised survey questions to send out:
- What do you already do that helps students be more successful?
- What could be done to improve student success?
- What do you see as obstacles for student success?
- In the broad scope of the college mission, what is your role in student success? Please give examples.
- What would you suggest to engage the college community in conversations about student success?
Also include:
Optional boxes: Faculty, Staff
Location (Prescott, Verde, PV, CV, CTEC, Sedona)
Additional Comments
Sandy will write an introduction for the survey and send to the work group on Monday. Patrick will put together the Survey Monkey.
Sample Path Chart
Patrick reviewed the concept of the sample path chart (attached). The survey is part of the Needs Analysis. Additional items to be added to chart:
-Master Plan
-Reword – Invite Students to Involve Students
-Parking Lot (keep track of ideas that may not be implemented right away)
General discussion on the time period of the chart – will items be done every year; do things go on in perpetuity; do we need to define time periods; will conversations, brown bags, etc. just grow people know more about student success. Important as events – i.e. brown bags, book discussions, etc. evolve – collect information. Need to follow activities to see what’s working.
Make sure there are some large group events as well as small group events.
Under Best Practices – add Speaker, Book Club (O’Banion’s work could be good topic for a book club)
Trisha Travis and Robb Ferguson have done quite a bit of work on Supplemental Instruction which could be a good faculty Brown Bag topic.
Events/capturing information
Important as events – i.e. brown bags, book discussions, etc. evolve – collect information. Need to follow activities to see what’s working.
A blog or electronic bulletin board could be hub of the process. Post notices of activities, minutes of activities. Important to archive blog to keep history of discussions.
Gino asked if data has been collected from students on what they believe helped them succeed. Sandy said Thatcher made a video for the New Student Orientation where students share things that would have been helpful to know for success at YC. Jeremy, our student representative on this committee, was part of the video.
Summer Institute/Winter Institute
Good time to have sessions on Student Success; what work group has accomplished; gather more ideas. Could have a large paper bulletin board at session that people write ideas.
(Also have a paper bulletin board in Rider Diner for student ideas to be collected.)
Logo
Dennis suggested a logo developed – visual of an “atom” with spinning energy inside. Sandy offered that Student Services has a new poster that she’ll bring to the next meeting that might be used as potential artwork.
Vincent Tinto research
Sandy reviewed Vincent Tinto’s latest work: Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action, 2012, University of Chicago.
Research studies converge on 4 conditions that are associated with enhanced retention and student success:
- Expectations
- Support to achieve high expectations
- Assessment and feedback
- Involvement – perhaps most important condition for student success
Next Steps:
-Sandy write introduction for survey
-Survey questions and introduction to Patrick
-Use chart as template for plan
-Work Group outline ideas for the plan and email to Karen Leja by April 11.
-Karen will compile ideas/themes of plan for April 18 meeting
-Survey distributed to faculty/staff
-Survey responses compiled for April 18 meeting