BSLCAC Meeting Minutes
Friday, April 20, 2012, 12-2pm, SAC W 214
In Attendance: Ekua Omosupe, Vicki Stanley, Dianne Sigman, Joseph Carter, Jason Malone,
Winnie Baer, Eric Grabiel, Beth Regardz, Margaret Tam, Vicki Fabbri, Rachel Mayo, Rick
Fillman, Anna Zagorska, Susanne Muszala, Sylvia Winder, Tama Bolton, Jennifer Cass,
Margery Regalado, James Williams, Victoria Bañales.
1. Basic Skills Symposium: Victoria Bañales confirmed the upcoming Basic Skills
Symposium, happening Friday, May 4, 10am-3pm, at the Sesnon House. Unfortunately,
Gavilan College cannot participate due to conflicting events. Cabrillo will be presenting on
our basic skills committee, professional development, and Learning Communities. See
below for more information about the event, tentative schedule, and how to register:
Since the California Basic Skills Initiative in 2007, basic skills
committees across California community colleges became established, and
many have been engaged in exciting work. This workshop will provide an
opportunity to showcase and share the results of the basic skills
committee work that has been taking place at Cabrillo, Hartnell,
Gavilan, and Monterey Peninsula colleges. Featuring basic skills
faculty and committee members from all four campuses, participants will
share, in roundtable discussion format, effective practices and
strategies—including successes and challenges—that their local basic
skills committees are employing in an effort to improve persistence and
success rates for basic skills students. Sponsored by the California
Community Colleges' Success Network (3CSN), this four-college event is
open to the public, and a complimentary breakfast and lunch will be
provided for all registered participants. To register for this event,
please go to the following link: http://bit.ly/sobaybsi2012.
Registration ends Monday, April 30.
Tentative Schedule of the Day:
9:30-10am: light breakfast (30 min)
10-10:15am: opening remarks (15 min)
10:15-11am: College 1 (45 min)
11-11:45am: College 2 (45 min)
11:45-12: break (15 min)
12-12:45pm: College 3 (45 min)
12:45-1:30pm: lunch (45 min)
1:30-3pm: Roundtable discussion, closures (1.5 hr)
2. Changes in Financial Aid: Tama Bolton helped BSLCAC members review and understand
recent changes in financial aid that affect students. If students have any questions regarding
these changes, please direct them to the financial aid office. Below are three important
changes:
•
PELL GRANTS: Students are eligible for 12 full time equivalent PELL paid
semesters (loans are not included). Example: if student is enrolled in 6 units in fall
•
•
and 6 units in spring, and he/she received the Pell--that counts as 1 full-time
equivalent semester. This change is retroactive.
HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA/GED: Students who first enrolled at Cabrillo
College on or after July 1, 2012 without a GED/HS diploma are no longer eligible
to receive financial aid (grants and loans). In California, they can still receive the
bog. The Ability to Benefit Test is no longer an option. This change is not
retroactive.
FEDERAL REPEAT POLICY: Students may repeat a course they have passed
one time and receive financial aid for the repeat. Example: A student takes a
course, passes it with an A, B, C, or D grade (a “D” is considered “passing” under
FEDERAL financial aid guidelines); s/he may take it one more time and receive
financial aid. However, if the student takes a class and fails it, s/he may repeat
that class with no limits on aid awarded (however, in California, given the new “3
strikes” policy, students will be blocked from registering in that class after three
failed tries).
BSLCAC members suggested we encourage students to possibly attempt Adult Education
first to try to complete their G.E.D., so that they can be eligible for grants once they come to
Cabrillo. It was agreed that G.E.D. information should be made readily available for students
when they come through counseling or LC Guided Enrollment sessions, so that students are
aware of their financial aid possibilities and limits. Also, Tama reported that, starting July
1st, students will have access to a link that will track their financial aid limit (equivalent to 6
years of financial aid). Concerning changing financial aid options for AB540 students, Tama
will provide us with an update at our next (fall) BSLCAC meeting.
3. Student Success Task Force (SSTF) Update: Margery Regalado provided a historical
context about the SSTF while Winnie Baer and Ekua Omosupe shared information contained
in the “Faculty Position Paper on the Final Recommendations of the Student Success Task
Force” (3/30/12) that was recently sent to all faculty by our Faculty Senate President. Below
is the cut and pasted document:
“While the Cabrillo College faculty commends the Board of Governors and the members
of the Task Force for their commitment to student success, we have serious concerns
about the recommendations, and we fear that many of the provisions would inhibit, rather
than enhance, student success.
We support:
1. Increased focus on counseling services;
2. Greater clarity in matriculation (the processes by which a student can move
through the system);
3. Outreach to K-12 and universities.
We oppose many of the recommendations for the following reasons:
1. The recommendations propose permanently changing the mission of our colleges
in response to a budget crisis that should not be permanent.
2. Increased focus on metrics and the potential for outcome-based funding will
almost certainly lead to an erosion of academic rigor by indirectly promoting
grade inflation and the lowering of standards.
3. The definition of student success is excessively narrow and overlooks many
students whose success may not be captured by numerical data.
4. Undue focus on student success as defined in the SSTF along with the potential
for outcomes-based funding may reduce access for at-risk students and increase
the achievement gap among student populations.
5. The use of paraprofessionals and electronic advisement tools may degrade student
access to professional counseling faculty.
6. Penalties assessed for students making changes in their educational plans are
counterproductive to the educational process and the goals of a liberal arts
education. The goal of students becoming productive members of society cannot
be at the expense of the exploration to find purpose.
While we appreciate the need for fiscal responsibility, we also believe that the specific
plan should be committed to achieving educational excellence. Such sweeping reforms
must be the result of highly inclusive and collaborative efforts of students, faculty, staff,
administrators, local Governing Boards, and all immediate stakeholders.
It makes no sense to enact policies designed to increase student success that will require
fiscal support while community college funding is being slashed by the state. We are
convinced that most citizens of California want their colleges to remain funded and
viable. The most effective way to improve public education in California is to restore
public investment in education. We urge the legislature, local governing boards, and all
concerned for California’s community colleges to keep the focus of any educational
reform on the need for increased investment in public education.”
For more information and to access relevant documents about the SSTF, please visit the
Faculty Senate website at http://cabrillo.edu/associations/facultysenate/sstf.html. BSLCAC
members agreed that we should promote greater awareness to the larger community about
these serious issues that are affecting students’ access to education. Two ideas that were
suggested are to deliver a forum on Community TV and create banners that could hang under
the Soquel Drive bridge. Former/current student voices and testimonials—both those who
benefited from past educational opportunities as well as those who are currently being
affected by the many stringent measures and requirements—need to be made more public
and visible. Ekua, Winnie, and Beth Regardz (Faculty Senators) will take these ideas to the
Faculty Senate. Student BSLCAC rep and Student Senator James Williams will also share
these ideas with the Student Senate to see if the Faculty and Student Senate can collaborate
on this project.
4. 3CSN Workshop Update: Susanne Muszala reported back on a recent basic skills
workshop she attended, describing how energizing the experience was. One of the
highlights was listening to a presentation by Foothill College faculty who discussed how
their college came up with simple stategies/tips to increase student success. Faculty were
asked to make a list of things that “bugged” them the most in relation to students’ habits
(i.e., attendance or tardies issues, not reading assignments or proofreading their work,
etc.); then, faculty were asked to come up with strategies on how to help students
positively turn these habits around (i.e., visit the writing center, use spell check, etc.).
Faculty then created “tips” that were sent out via email to all faculty on a weekly basis.
The idea was to encourage all instructors to deliver simple strategies/tips to encourage
students to seek student services, get help, improve habits, and overall increase their
academic success. BSLCAC members suggested we offer a flex workshop to brainstorm
our own ideas and see if we can replicate this free/cost-effective practice at Cabrillo.
Victoria will submit a fall flex proposal.
5. Learning Communities:
a. LC Chart: Victoria shared copies of a user-friendly LC Chart, developed by
Rachel Mayo, that lists Cabrillo’s various LC programs, requirements, goals,
benefits, length, start date, and contact information. The LCC also has a postersized copy of the handout in our office for students to see/read. The handout
includes information about: ACE, AMAP, Puente, REAL, SMP, STARS,
Transfer Pathways, ACCESS, Honors, MESA, STEM, and Supernova. Links to
these programs are now available on our website, and the LC Chart can be
accessed at:
http://www.cabrillo.edu/services/aces/Learning_Community_charts_for_LCC_rev
_2_rm.pdf
b. LCC: Victoria reported the Center continues to have student intern staffing
problems. While we gained two new FWS interns, we also lost two former
interns. Due to staff shortages, Vicki Fabbri will cover T/TH mornings while
Victoria Bañales and Eric Grabiel will cover M/W morning LCC shifts. It is very
important to have stable staffing in order to be a functioning Center, and we will
continue to do our best to recruit additional FWS students for fall term in addition
to looking at more long-term solutions to deal with our critical staffing needs.
c. Cross-Training: The LCC offered a three-hour Learning Community Guided
Enrollment cross-training session on April 6 that was well attended by LC reps,
LCC staff and student interns. In addition, Vicki Fabbri offered a valuable
Communications Training session to help us continue to improve our
communication skills in our ongoing LC outreach/inreach efforts. It is important
that we offer LC information to students yet also be receptive of their choices and
needs. Our next training will include “role playing” scenarios.
d. Inreach/Outreach: efforts to recruit students into our LCs continue through
inreach Guided Enrollment session and through outreach high school
Orientations. Originally, LCC staff planned on piggy-backing on high school
assessments/orientations taking place at Cabrillo, but this plan did not work out so
well. Many of these group visits got cancelled last minute, or students were
exhausted or rushed out at the end of the day. Therefore, Eric Grabiel is instead
scheduling large group presentations at various high schools; other LC reps are
also participating in these outreach events.
e. LC Summer/Fall Offerings (for basic skills students): 1 Puente cohort, 6 ACE
cohorts (1 Science and 5 Social Justice), 3 STARS cohorts (2 STEM and 1
Education), and 2 SMP cohorts. REAL will not be offered in the fall but will be
relaunched in the spring 2014 (Winnie Baer and Maggie Paul will teach a cohort).
This is exciting news since many 255 students do not qualify for ACE due to the
205 reading level requirement. The Center is also working with ESL to get
information on ESL 204 so that we may appropriately channel 255-level students
who may benefit from taking ESL 204 (vs. ENGL 255).
Meeting adjourned at 2pm; our next meeting will take place during fall flex.