Executive Council Minutes
September 19, 2012
Present: Jeremy McMillen, Giles Brown, Brandy Fair, Jeanie Hardin, Gary
Paikowski, Roy Renfro
Absent: Marc Payne
Guests: Donna King, Gary Hensler, Debbie Smarr
Recorder: Shelle Cassell
Agenda Items
Proposed THECB Rule Re: Student Complaints
Dr. McMillen shared the THECB proposed rules for a student complaint procedure to
comply with U.S. Dept of Education’s “program Integrity” regulations, which require
each state to have a student complaint procedure to be eligible for Title IV funds. He
asked members to review the draft and offer comments to be forwarded to THECB for
consideration.
Action/Motion: Members should forward comments and concerns to Dr. McMillen.
Emergency Text Service
Gary Paikowski reported that the new emergency text service would be operational in two
weeks (tentatively Oct. 3), and that the Learning Management System would be
implemented a little later. Members urged him to start training appropriate staff early and
develop a plan to introduce the new service to all employees and students.
Action/Motion: No action necessary.
Improved Communications Teams
Dr. McMillen announced that he would like to improve campus communications by
holding regular meetings with representatives from a broad cross section of the campus.
He proposes to hold monthly meetings, usually on a Friday afternoon the week the Board
of Trustees meet. In general, all departmental personnel who serve as directors, deans,
vice presidents, and the Faculty Association President and the Student Government
Association President (or designees), will be expected to attend, and they are to share the
information learned with departmental colleagues.
He also proposes the formation of the President’s Advisory Council (PAC), an extended
group of leaders to meet bi-weekly with the Executive Council to serve in an advisory
capacity by offering input on timely issues. Regular members will be: President; Vice
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Presidents of Instruction, Business Services, Information Technology, Student Services,
Community and Resource Development; Faculty Association President; Director of
Marketing and Public Information; Director of Institutional Effectiveness; Deans of
Academic Instruction, Workforce Education, South Campus; Director of the Center for
Workplace Learning; and Student Services Directors for Financial Aid, Admissions,
Outreach, Counseling. Other personnel will be invited as needed to share information on
a specific topic. The PAC will offer thoughts and ideas and then the item will move to the
Executive Council for a final decision.
Action/Motion: Dr. McMillen will extend an invitation to serve. The first meeting will
be 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26.
Enrollment Targets
Members entered into a lengthy discussion on improving enrollment through the
recruitment of new students and the retention of current students.
• Many data points and trends were reviewed, with the consensus being that the
trend data is fairly accurate and that departments will work together to improve
the data quality.
• Dr. McMillen set the expectation that enrollment would be flat (instead of
declining) for the Spring 2013 semester (which would include the 2nd Half
Session of Fall and Winter Mini).
• The recruiting focus should be on new students.
• Financial Aid has improved its academic suspension process to conduct SAP
(satisfactory academic progress) evaluations each semester as opposed to
annually. They have instituted a three-step system of working with these at-risk
students:
1) Warning - ‘Your grades have slipped’ but have one semester to gain FA
eligibility
2) Probation – Not eligible for FA, but can file an appeal; worthy appeals are
approved
3) Suspension – Not eligible for FA
• Financial Aid is restarting a financial literacy program soon; recommends that it
be included in the Learning Frameworks curriculum.
• Admissions office expressed interest in training the recruiters to make outgoing
calls to potential students who have already expressed interest in GC, and to revamp the process of follow-up on inquiries.
• Members liked the concept of assisting students at one stop instead of sending
them from office to office.
• Members heard that the phone bank was of assistance during peak registration;
however, it is not needed after the rush.
• Foundation Scholarships (50:50 match with FA-ineligible students) was used by
16 students (18 qualified). It was recommended that those dollars also be
available students who have reached the credit hour maximum for financial
Donna King reported that 40% of appeals are due to the credit hour maximum.
Brandy Fair suggested offering scholarships to those who reach their maximum
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Pell eligibility with 12 credit hours, encouraging them to take 15 s.c.h. Roy
Renfro is willing to take a revised proposal from Student Services to the
Foundation for consideration.
• Dr. McMillen likes the online services we provide, but is very interested in
serving well those students who come to campus.
• He challenged the team to start early registration earlier, and to work toward
having an annual schedule of classes (to facilitate long-term planning and degree
completion.)
Action/Motion: No action necessary.
Announcements
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Records Retention and Disposal – Gary Paikowski reminded members that the
consultants will be on campus for the annual records and retention clean up. He
recommends boxing files that have not been used in two years. The visiting team
will review the files and make a determination on how to handle or dispose.
Blackboard App for Smart Phones – Blackboard now has an app for smart
phones that can be downloaded for a fee. Gary said there were a few sign in
challenges, but the app would be useful to many students.
Emergency Siren Update – Purchase and installation pricing is being collected
from the state vendor list and local companies for the update of the outdoor siren
system. South Campus alert systems are also being explored.
Social Media Training – Jeanie Hardin has arranged for a training session from
1:00-5:00 p.m. on Oct. 18 and 25 in CWL. She encouraged reps from recruiting,
Foundation, and other offices or faculty to attend.
Night Assistance FAQ – Jeanie Hardin shared a draft FAQ with resources and
information that will be useful to professors teaching evening courses. She asked
for feedback and additional contents to be sent to her by early next week for
inclusion in the final copy.
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