Design Team Minutes
3/6/13
Prepared by Maya Poran
Attendance (in alphabetical order): Karen Booth, Astrid Cerny, Eric Daffron, Neriko Doerr, Marita
Esposito, Miguel Lopez, Emily McFadden, Mark Newell, Lysandra Perez-Strumolo, Ed Petkus, Maya
Poran (co-Chair), Alfred Prettyman, Nicole Prisco, Sarah Stackhouse, Trish Williams
After introducing ourselves and providing fun facts or favorite foods (except for Eric Daffron who would
not share a fun fact or favorite food) the group began by sharing updates on Working Groups.
The first group, Support and Resources Group, had not yet met, and will provide updates at our next
meeting.
The next group to report out was the Integration Group. Sarah Stackhouse spoke for the group. Issues
discussed included the plans to train Peers in issues related to the CEC, and a request from faculty for
examples of CEC activities. The Peers (student facilitators) will learn more about the CEC and how to
share information and support students in First Year Seminar classes. It was noted that Lysandra has
examples of faculty CEC activities that she collected for a faculty guide on the CEC. The group
requested clarification on the audience of these examples so that faculty can prepare them in a way that
makes sense for the viewer/reader. We also discussed the issue of student orientation, and the need for
the language of the CEC to be introduced at that time. It seems that in orientation students are still being
introduced to the CEC as “experiential learning” or “hands on learning.”
The next group to report out was the Evaluation Group: Ed Petkus spoke for the group. It was shared
that there are 33 convening groups at the college, not including minors and concentrations; Too many for
focus groups to be feasible for each group. The goal is to find an appropriate sampling method and
engage in focus groups and have information to share during the fall 2013 semester. The team discussed
what types of data the group is looking for, what the evaluation is for, and so on. We were reminded of
our charge and the goal to be a support and resources group primarily, and that the goals for the focus
groups are to be decided by the Evaluation Group with that focus in mind. This led into a discussion of
how to reach out to adjunct faculty and create supports for them in many realms. We also discussed the
differing needs of Convening Groups, and perhaps the creation of “check lists” for convening groups and
conveners.
The last group to report out was the Progress Report Group: Maya Poran shared that the group has met
once, and are going through the past minutes of 2012/2013, and will prepare a document noting recent
accomplishments and goals.
Term Time Limits/Rotations: Another item raised for discussion was the issue of terms for Team
members. The group came to the agreement that, as per past practice, Maya and Mel would send out an
email at the end of each year providing the opportunity for members to cease their membership if they
chose.