AQIP Student Pathways Project Team
Kick-Off Meeting
Thursday, Feb. 11, 2013
2:00-3:15 p.m.
ML 3012
Meeting Notes
1. Introductions
Co-Chairs Lisa Murawa and Tom Saelens welcomed the team and introductions were made. Team
members include: Gail Bowman, Regina Broomfield, Johanna Brown, Tammy Cummings, Lisa
Gonzalez-Gronauer, Philip Greenfield, Teri Hill, josh Illian, Al Perry, Bob Rentschler, Erin Shirey, and
Jason Slade. Kathy Irwin serves as the liaison to the Planning department while Steve Robinson is
serving as Interim Dean of Health Sciences, and Sherry Rosenberger will assist the group as needed.
2. Team Sponsors’ Welcome
The team’s Project Sponsors are Dr. Amy Fugate and Scott Jenkins. Scott Jenkins welcomed the team
members and said that he and Dr. Fugate would attend as many meetings as they can, probably on
an alternating basis. He recommended that the team ensure their final proposal has measurable
outcomes. The concern is to retain students and to move them toward completion, graduation. We
need to understand why students come and go. How do we get them, keep them longer, fix what
is not working, make things better, provide resources, and improve systems? We can get the data
needed to understand our students, how demographics impact the process, and comparison info for
peer institutions.
3. Establishing Group Norms
• If you cannot attend a meeting, please inform the co-chairs. Do not send a substitute in your
place. You were selected specifically for this team because of the knowledge and experience
you have. If absences become chronic or if something changes and you can no longer
participate, the co-chairs will inform the group sponsors and they will select a replacement.
• There is no need to take your own notes unless you wish to do so. It is more important for
you to participate in the discussions. Meeting notes will be taken and provided to the group.
4. Scheduling recurring meetings
The Student Pathways Project Team will meet on the third Thursday from 2-3 p.m. in room ML 3012.
We will meet in March and April, possibly in May, and then start up again in September. A calendar
invitation will be set up by Sherry Rosenberger.
5. Project Charge Review
The Action Project directory description was distributed. Review it and later we can revise it as
needed.
The AQIP Quality Framework was distributed. Step 1, identifying the area for improvement, has
already been completed. Last year we participated in discussion days, and the Executive Council
took those ideas and selected three projects to work on. Our team’s role is work on steps 2-4,
defining the current situation, analyzing the current situation, and developing an improvement
theory. After the group presents their proposal to EC, steps 5-7 will be completed by others in the
college.
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Lots of comments bubbled up from the group. Where are our students going? Transfer or drop out
due to socioeconomic factors. What is the % of students that graduate? What is the process from
beginning to end? Large scope. How do we capture anecdotally the stumbling points for students,
how can we collect these stories in addition to analyzing numeric data? We need to communicate
between academics and student services so we do not inadvertently impact students. What gets
counted in graduation rates? IPEDS (federal), state, and HLC all use different measures. Need to
record this taxonomy. Some students may not be counted because they transferred here. Retention
is about getting the students to the next semester. How do we stay in contact with the students who
need to take a semester off so we continue the relationship until they come back? Some students
worry about the safety of the environment. Student athletics requirements are more strict.
6. Discussion and Brainstorming
One of our first tasks is to write the Action Project Charter, outlined on the back of page 2 in the
Action Project Guide. Today we are going to brainstorm the problem statement and opportunities.
Group members were given sticky notes to write their ideas on, one idea per sticky note, and
then placed their sticky notes on the posters at the front of the room labeled problems and
opportunities. Tom and Lisa read the ideas out loud and began categorizing them. Problems sorted
into things we can control and things we cannot control. Opportunities were sorted into several
categories including academics, enrollment services, and communications. Everyone appreciated
hearing all the ideas. These ideas will be typed up by Sherry Rosenberger in a separate document.
7. Wrap Up
Team member tasks before the next meeting:
• Read the handouts distributed today.
• Observe students you interact with and bring your insights to the next meeting.
• Look at the website to see what data is out there.
Co-chair and liaison tasks before the next meeting:
• Ask if we see the 37 survey responses and 6 table reports from the discussion days. There
may be ideas in these that we want to include in our investigation.
• Get graduation data from IR – IPEDS, HCL, and state.
• Type up meeting notes and brainstorming notes.
One idea for the next meeting is to create a flow chart of the student process from beginning to end
and note the potential drop off points.
Next Meeting: Thursday, March 21, 2-3 p.m. in ML 3012
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