COLLEGE COUNCIL
RECORD OF MEETING
February 1, 2008, Manzanita Community
Education Room
Committee Members Present:
Committee
Members Not Present: Dave Chesnut, Sean Day (ASCC Senator),
Guest(s):
Alexandra Campbell, Coni Chavez (recorder),
1.
Approval of
the minutes for the January 11, 2008 meeting of the College Council
It was moved, seconded (
2. Review and Approve Integrated Plan for
Resource Allocation
Through open discussion a draft of the Integrated Plan for Resource Allocation was developed at the December 2007 meeting of the College Council. The flow chart represents the decision making process by which resources will be allocated at the College. This plan is integrated into the larger Columbia College Strategic Planning Process Cycle as described in number 3, below. The draft of the Integrated Plan for Resource Allocation was revisited by the College Council at the February 2008 meeting. It was approved by consensus to include the chart in the final draft of the Educational Master Plan document, after identifying and entering the areas under the Student Learning Support Division and Institutional Operations Division.
3. Review and Approve Strategic Planning Process
As the next step in the development of integrating the planning
processes at
4. Educational Master Plan
Three (3) sample sections of the Educational Master Plan document were distributed to College Council members prior to the February meeting for discussion purposes only. The College Council stepped through the three (3) sample sections provided and noted additional revisions which would bring the information being presented into further focus for the reader. Specifically, Council members asked that: 1) the graph depicting FTES history within areas be adjusted to be consistent with other graphs throughout the document in showing interpolated data for years 2000 through 2003; 2) an explanation be given in a narrative format when program change is contrary to college change; and, 3) an explanation be given in a narrative format when anomalous data is presented anywhere within the document. Further discussion was held and the Council agreed having the data being collected and presented within the Educational Master Plan document will greatly assist the college in making informed decisions as it relates to planning.
5. Other Item(s)
College Forum – It was reported that a college forum will be held on Thursday, February 7th at 3:45pm in the Manzanita Community Education Room where updates on accreditation, budget and safety will be given.
6. Organizational Structure Opinion Survey
Update
Based on discussions in College Council meetings during the fall 2007 semester, a brief open-ended opinion survey regarding the College’s organizational structure was developed. Senate leadership informally queried their constituencies in December followed by a more formal data collection instrument distributed by the Office of Institutional Research in January, the Columbia College Organizational Structure Opinion Survey Spring 2008. The results of this survey were collected and summarized in the document below. Discussion was held as to the impacts of the opinion survey on the College’s organizational structure and timeline for change, if any. It was agreed that the opinion survey results would be shared via electronic copy to College Council members and separately be available at the February 7 college-wide forum. An opportunity for additional feedback will be given and interested parties may give their feedback to the President or their senate leadership. This topic will be added to the March meeting of the College Council for further discussion wherein Council members may make recommendations, if any, to the President regarding the College’s organizational structure. The President is committed to utilizing this feedback, along with other data, in developing a college re-organization plan that will be moved forward to the YCCD Board of Trustees, if warranted.
Opinion
Survey Spring 2008 Results
Based
on discussions in College Council meetings, a brief open-ended survey regarding
the organizational structure of
Eighty-one
(81) responses were received. Not all questions were answered on each survey
received. Also, some respondents gave more than one response to each item.
A qualitative analysis was performed on these
responses and the main categories of responses pertaining to each question on
the survey are shown in the tables below. This survey is anecdotal and did not
employ random or comprehensive sampling; it is a convenience sample only.
1.
What do you think is working well in terms of the
current overall organizational structure of the College?
|
Satisfied
with Current Leadership Staff (leadership team versus organizational
structure) |
56 |
|
Satisfied
with Some Aspects of Current Org Structure |
10 |
|
No
Response on this item |
15 |
When
Fifty-six
(56) respondents indicated that they are satisfied with the quality of the
current leadership and indicated that these staff are dedicated and committed
leaders.
Ten
(10) respondents indicated that they are satisfied with some aspects of the
current organizational structure. Suggestions for changes are noted later in
this opinion survey.
Fifteen
(15) individuals did not respond to this item.
2.
Is the College and areas within the College organized
for efficient operations? If not, what would you change?
|
Establish
a VP of Student Services or a Dean of Student Services who will be
responsible for all student service related areas of the College |
73 |
|
Divide
Arts and Sciences into 2 areas (one for Arts, one for Sciences) |
15 |
|
No
changes in current org structure needed |
10 |
|
Create
department chairs in A&S with release time |
5 |
|
Need
more administrative support in A&S and in Student Learning |
6 |
|
Move
all Instructional/Learning areas under the Instructional VP (e.g., off site
instruction, community education, curriculum, enrollment management) |
3 |
When
surveyed in question number 2, and asked, “Is the College and areas within the
College organized for efficient operation? If not, what would you change?” the
responses were:
Seventy
three (73) of the respondents expressed the desire to have all of student
services grouped in one area. Some of the respondents (53) indicated that
student services would be better served by establishing a Vice President of
Student Services. Whereas, other participants in the survey cited that this
could be accomplished by placing the student services areas under a Dean of
Student Services (20). Nevertheless, the results were quite notable in that 73
out of 81 respondents indicated that they would like to see all of student services
reporting to one administrator (e.g., Admission and Records, Financial Aid,
Matriculation, Health Services, etc.)
Fifteen
(15) respondents reported that they would like to see a division of the Arts
and Sciences area. The suggested method was to establish two deans for the
area—one dean for arts and one for sciences.
Ten
(10) respondents reported that no changes are needed in the organizational
structure of the College.
Five
(5) respondents stated that department chairs should be created in the Arts and
Sciences Division with release time for the faculty chair positions. The
release time suggested was between 15 and 20 percent.
Six
(6) respondents indicated a need for more administrative support in the Arts
and Sciences and the Student Learning areas, although specific suggestions were
not noted.
Finally,
it was suggested by three (3) respondents that they would like to see all
instructional and learning areas under the Instructional VP—examples referenced
were: off-site instruction, community education, curriculum, and enrollment
management.
3.
Is the College and areas within the College organized
to best serve the needs of the students? If not, what would you change?
|
Would
like to see high quality, affordable food in the cafeteria |
56 |
|
Would
like to see the College hire more Counselors (1-2) |
26 |
|
No
changes in current org structure needed |
4 |
|
Reorganization
of A&S as mentioned above |
3 |
|
Reorganization
of Student Services as mentioned above |
3 |
|
Calaveras
and Oakdale need more student services onsite and better marketing |
3 |
|
Better
online services and more use by faculty of website for schedules etc. |
2 |
When
surveyed, “Is the College and areas within the College organized to best serve
the needs of the students? If not, what would you change?” the responses were
as follows:
Fifty-six
(56) respondents noted that they would like to see high quality and affordable
food for our students in the cafeteria. Along these lines, respondents
indicated that students do not have time to eat in the Cellar with tight class
schedules, etc.
Twenty-six
(26) respondents suggested that they would like to see more counselors
hired—the number ranged from 1-2 additional counselors.
No
changes in the current organizational structure were noted as needed with respect
to serving students by four (4) respondents.
Six
(6) respondents total indicated that the reorganization structure changes that
they noted in question number 2, would result in serving students better as
well.
The
Calaveras and Oakdale sites were noted to need both more student services
on-site and better marketing to promote the sites by three (3) respondents.
Finally,
the need for better on-line services and an expanded use of the website by
faculty for their schedules, as well as other instructional related items were
noted by two (2) respondents.
4.
What are the most important changes that should be
made to the organizational structure of
|
Create
a three VP org structure: hire a VP of Student Services with all student
services under this division (e.g., Health Services, Financial Aid,
Assessment, Admissions and Records, Matriculation), to go along with VP of
Instruction and VP or COO for Institutional Operations |
39 |
|
Divide
Arts and Sciences into two sections, with two Deans |
24 |
|
Obtain
more clerical support for A&S Dean |
12 |
|
Hire
additional Counselors |
2 |
|
Create
department/area chairs under A&S |
2 |
|
Hire
an administrative assistant for the Special Programs Director |
2 |
|
Schedule
student services when students need them |
2 |
When
asked, “What are the most important changes that should be made to the
organizational structure of
Thirty
nine (39) respondents stated that they would like to see an organizational
structure that was comprised of three Vice Presidents—1) Vice President of Instruction,
2) Vice President of Student Services, and a Vice President of Administrative
Services and Operations. It was noted that the Vice President of Student
Services would have all areas of student services report directly to that
position. It was also suggested that if the college so chose, the Chief
Operations Officer position could remain the same in title versus creating a
third Vice President position. It was stated that under this position,
facilities and other district operations (e.g., transportation) could report
directly to the COO, by five (5) respondents.
Twenty
four (24) respondents indicated that they would like to see a divide between
the Arts and Sciences Division with two deans serving what is now a one dean
division.
Twelve
(12) respondents indicated that they would like to obtain additional clerical
support for the Arts and Sciences Dean to support the current workload.
Two
(2) respondents indicated the need to hire additional counselors. However, no
reference was made as to how many or if they should be full or part-time.
Two
(2) respondents indicated that they would like to see department/area chairs
created within the Arts and Sciences division.
Two
(2) respondents also indicated that they would like to have additional support
in the way of an administrative assistant for the Special Programs Director.
Two
(2) respondents indicated that they would like to see student services
scheduled when students needed them. What was particularly noted was additional
summer counseling, expanded library services in the summer, and extended hours
of operations for student services areas.
5.
Please record any additional comments below:
As
noted in the question above, the respondents were asked to note any additional
comments. These are listed below:
- Articulation needs to
be included in the organizational chart with curriculum under
Instructional Services
- Need more coordination
between Public Relations director, A&S Dean and Voc Ed to create more
publicity in Oakdale newspaper
- Better marketing for
- Hire more faculty
- Need better food for
the Food Cart
- Offer better services
for students year round
- Don’t change anything
- Let us remain a
smoking campus
- What is enrollment
management and why/how do we do it?
- Timelines for
scheduling, unit planning are too tight
- Add 3 area faculty
chairs to Arts & Sciences
- Nothing relating to
instruction should be under Dean of Learning Support Services
- Move all Student
Services out from under COO
- Explain COO versus VP
positions
- There are problems
with job classifications
- Need system to
increase compensation based on merit
- Job reclassification
study does not address problems effectively
- Would like to see
researcher work with faculty
- This is the only
college I have worked at that has too few administrators!
- Processes needing
signatures need to be streamlined, three or four is too many
- Food prices too high,
I do not eat here, many students probably don’t either, need to bring down
cost and increase volume of sales
- Assess whether public
transit is meeting needs of students and if not, explore options with
transit companies
- Education is a
business…put out a good product, market product, continually improve the
product; this will lead to success
- If administrative
turnover would stop, we should see improved success
- Give instructors more
knowledge about state curriculum requirements, etc.
- Change our perception
of the College; we are no longer a two-semester institution, we operate
year-round and need to provide high quality services/courses to students
year-round
- Provide more staff
development opportunities for Leadership Team
- Obtain students
opinions about services/changes they would like to see
- Create a number system
at the Admissions window so students do not have to stand
- Increase communication
between Bookstore and Student Learning Support Division, draw a line on
org chart between Bookstore and SLS Division
- Improve communication
between instructors and counselors for students in trouble
- House EOPS/Care, DSPS,
Financial Aid away from other College services to improve confidentiality
- Increase staffing in
the Career/Transfer Center
- Move curriculum and
matriculation from the current Dean
- Need competent
personnel in many areas, particularly Instructional Services and Learning
Support Services
- Counselors should be on
duty for 2 full weeks before fall term begins and on all work days prior
to spring semester, work several weeks during summer, schedule to fit
student needs, always have on counselor on duty for drop in appointments
- Faculty should post
class schedules and office hours on web page before term begins and update
promptly for changes
- Need clearer
communication of expectations and standards for students in art courses,
seems to be a double standard between community member students and
students pursuing a transfer degree or career in this area
7. Accreditation Progress Report and Mid-Term
Report
It was reported that while the Accrediting Commission for
Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) did meet as anticipated in January, they
are behind in follow-up with action letters to colleges. Thus, once official communication is
received, Dr. Smith will update the campus—this communication is now expected
sometime in February or March. On
another note, it was reported that Dennis Gervin and Kathy Schultz attended an
accreditation workshop recently. At that
workshop they were able to get a sense of the direction and specifics the
Commission is now looking toward. They
shared that a few themes emerged at the workshop: 1) the “two-year rule” is
being more closely observed (the two-year rule in summary gives colleges two
years to correct deficiencies noted by visiting teams); 2) there are three top
reasons colleges are being put on warning, planning, governance and program
review; and 3) the integration and importance of student learning outcomes
(SLO’s). It was agreed that considering
these three themes,
8. Budget Update
It was reported that a significant budget cut is expected to be made mid-year. It is expected that cut will be covered at a higher level and not passed on to the colleges. In anticipation of expected budget cuts in the 2008-2009 fiscal year, the YCCD Chancellor and District Council held a discussion at their January 23rd meeting to begin identifying key parameters to guide decision making as it relates to a reduced budget. The following is an excerpt of the Chancellor’s email that was distributed to College Council members. Council members advised that beginning the same type of discussion within their constituencies would be appropriate and further assist the decision making process. Finally, a budget report/update will be given at the March meeting of the College Council.
Colleagues,
At our last regularly
scheduled District Council meeting we began discussions related to next year’s
budget. Recognizing that there will be
difficult budgeting decisions we began working on identifying key parameters to
guide our decision making as we advise on the budget. Below is a list of the items
we initially identified. This list is
taken from my notes and will be included in our regular minutes. However, I am providing an early copy so that
you may share it with your constituents. Please consider that this list needs a
great deal of refinement and will require additional discussion.
CONSIDERATIONS:
- Personnel (faculty administration, and staff)
consider replacement positions.
- Maintain enrollments
- Utility costs
- Support student activities
- Student success activities – library, tutoring,
counseling, EOP&S, etc.
- Basic skills
- Nursing
COST CUTTING:
- Consolidate facility use by concentrating
building use
- Reduce paper use through electronic means
- Hiring freeze
- Concentrate hires in high student demand areas
- Cut travel
- Increase class productivity
INCOME GENERATION:
- Grant development
- Support class attendance by staff
- Increase outreach classes
- Continue online growth
9. Senate Reports/Updates
a. Classified Senate – The Classified Senate leadership reported classified staff members’ continued involvement in their hiring priorities taskforce.
b. Academic Senate – The Academic Senate reported continued faculty involvement in the hiring prioritization process and vacancy screening committees as well as the Academic Wellness Educators (AWE) and Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) committees.
c. Student Senate – Student leaders reported that the group is preparing a proposal regarding public transit. Further, they reported involvement by student senate leaders in planning for a February Mardi Gras dance, mentor fair and newsletter. Also highlighted was student involvement in Region V leadership activities, ASCC web page development and budget development and fundraising.