Student Services Cluster

STUDENT SERVICES CLUSTER COMMITTEE

February 18, 2009

2:00 p.m.

SSA 205

Members Present:

Absent: co-Chair: A. Patterson; Classified: T. Mariner, S. Millman; Students: D. Carrasco, A. Collins, C. Cuellar, C. Nava, N. Plascencia

Meeting called to order at 2:05 p.m.

I. Approval of Agenda

The agenda was accepted as presented.

II. Approval of Minutes

Minutes from the December 10 meeting were accepted as presented.

III. Vice President’s Report

In Abbie’s absence, Dr. Tull provided the following brief information:

Budget – There continues to be no “State budget.” It is anticipated the State will pass their budget soon, but the impact it will have on the community college budgets is unknown.

IV. New Building Issues / Campus Accessibility

The concern about disabled student accessibility in the new buildings was discussed. This includes issues such as the automatic door buttons which are not close enough to the doors to allow students easy access to the building. It was mentioned that both doors need to open for those with electrical chairs to access the building. The committee was asked to watch for accessibility problems and forward them to either Dr. Tull or S. Steele.

V. Overview of January Planning Retreat

The retreat provided a great team building opportunity along with planning for the future. There was a focus on cluster priorities and program review. Sample handouts from the retreat were disseminated.

VI. Program Review Process

Program reviews will occur during the spring 2009 semester. The process should be easier since this is the second time we are undergoing the process. There will be opportunities to further refine the program review model this year. The Student Services Managers have agreed to meet for a mini-retreat on an upcoming Friday afternoon to discuss program review. All Student Services areas will undergo the full program review process with completion anticipated by June 30, 2009. The accreditation team gave accolades to the LAHC Student Services program review model. Other campuses, such as West and Southwest colleges, have expressed an interest in using the same model.

Special Programs and Services has invited a Chancellor’s Office funded consultant group to address SLO development at an upcoming training session on May 8. Cluster members were invited. Further details will follow.

VII. Accreditation Update

Jim Stanbery and Ellen Joiner are working on the mid-term accreditation report to be presented to CPC 2/23. A number of the responses relate to district office practices which are out of the control of the college. The Planning Agenda Self-Study targets all of the issues that the college needs to address, mentions the current degree of attainment the college has made on the issues, and indicates who is ultimately responsible for goal attainment. A. Patterson and D. Tull have been integrating relevant Student Services data into the Self Study Document with full collaborative involvement of the Student Services Managers. Student Services has made good progress in some areas and little progress in others (such as establishing a funding base to hire a researcher and grant developer. We have not developed as many grant proposals as we would like. However we have developed and generated funds for the CAHSEE Program, TRIO Program (Project A.S.A.P.) and the Child Development Program...

As part of the planning process, the priorities identified at the Student Services planning retreat were further prioritized by the Student Service’s managers. Those priorities were then presented to CPC and merged and prioritized with the priorities from the other clusters. Concern was expressed on how staffing priorities and program priorities can be prioritized on one list. The Transfer Center Director/Counselor position was discussed. It’s one of the top five on the college priorities list but low on the FHPC list. Possibly FHPC could look at the CPC list before making their decisions. The top three on the FHPC list are 1) architecture; 2) developmental communications; 3) health/PE. It was noted that a number of divisions did not participate in the recent FHPC process citing futility in the current budget climate. The FHPC hiring process has FTES generation as one of its main criteria. This makes it difficult for non-FTES generating positions found in Student Services to place high in the ranking system. It was noted that over time the State funding originally given to the College to hire a Transfer Center Director was folded into the college budget. Even though the filling of this position is a compliance issue it has remained unfilled.

Our current enrollment is up. Accepting on-line applications is currently not operational due to severe staffing shortages in the Admissions Office. Next fall, the college expects more students from the 4-year schools, high schools and the newly unemployed. The challenge is how to grow the college and continue to offer instruction and services which support student success.

VIII. Items from the Floor

• Discussion ensued on hosting a tea or picnic type function to further enhance communication and collegiality on campus. It was suggested Student Services could invite divisions/departments to a monthly event to share information on student services, problem solve, answer questions, make connections, etc. It would be informal.

Next meeting: March 11, SSA 205

Meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m.