WebCollege Faculty Advisory Committee
MEETI NG MI N UT ES – 12/ 1 6/ 2 011
Meeting called to order at: 11:00 am
In attendance: Crystal Swank (chair), Thomas Kearns, Julie Armbrecht, Cindy Mortensen, Paul Davis, Bill Gallegos
WebCollege Staff: Travis Souza, Cathy House, Fred Lokken, Tim Ill
Quorum present
1. October 14, 2011 minutes - reviewed and approved
2. WebCollege Update
LMS – very close to a decision – we will be forming a state consortium with CSN, GBC and NSC. SCS will negotiate the
state consortium contract. We cannot announce officially yet because the business office at CSN which posted the
original RFP is in the process of contacting those venders that were not selected. We should be able to officially
announce the decision next week. Migration will begin in the spring 2013 with an anticipated completion by July 1, 2013.
We will hold simultaneous licenses during that time. We will not do away with Moodle – but should have that discussion
at some point in the future. Not many faculty use Moodle – but Travis has been able to figure out ways to address
authentication requirements (Federal). And TMCC has shifted Moodle to a virtual server solution. Cost of the new
solution will be somewhat higher than the current contract with Angel, but the new solution will be hosted in the cloud
(no longer hosted by TMCC ITO) which will represent a cost savings. Tech Fee is used to pay for Angel – Fred is working
on an alternative source to fund the new solution during the period of simultaneous licensing. We need to afford faculty
time for training and migration and need to ensure access to course records in Angel for any student appeals.
As a reminder, the faculty committee at TMCC reviewed all eight venders that submitted for the RFP, and ranked the top
four: Instructure/Canvas, Desire2Learn, MoodleRooms, and Sakei. Blackboard, Epselin, CampusCruizer and Pearson
Learning were eliminated from consideration.
Fred indicated he was very impressed with the faculty committee – it dealt with webinar presentations at the end of the
spring term and met after graduation. But it was thorough and responsible in its review and recommendations – did a
great job of representing those faculty not in the room/on the committee.
Smarter-Measure readi-assessment - The committee discussed with Cathy House and Travis provided a demonstration of
the solution. Cathy endorsed this as the best option based on her review. The committee had operational questions and
discussed the time it takes to complete (normally an hour) – but the committee agreed this was worth the student’s time
to assess their skills and inform students of certain online learning expectations. A report is generated at the completion
of the assessment – the student receives one as well as the online program. We have a limited license with the fast-track
program grant – so will be testing it this spring. Thomas discussed its ADA compliance – works with a screen reader but
he needs to know more/wants contact information to be able to talk to the company. Cathy will work with Thomas to
identify and questions/concerns and track down answers.
Page 1 of 2; Committee Name Agenda or Minutes
Rev.: 5/15/2012
TMCC is an EEO/AA (equal opportunity/affirmative action) institution and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, age, race, color, religion, physical or mental disability, creed, national origin, veteran status, sexual
orientation, genetic information, gender identity, or gender expression in the programs or activities which it operates.
The committee was asked to log on to the SmarterMeasures website and go through the entire tool, noting which
things would work well and which things we might not want to use, as well as any gaps. This will be discussed at the
February, 2012 meeting.
3. Evaluating Student Readiness Assessment Tools: The question to the committee (several tested the assessment/also
worked with a questionnaire) is what are the next steps. It is possible to remove some of the questions, and the
committee will consider that option/which questions. Cindy suggested a question about file management be added to
the questionnaire. Fred pointed out that there is a bigger issue here – TMCC needs to think about the computer skills
necessary for all of our students/not just online students. But we need to progress so will be developing those
expectations/standards/skill levels needed to be successful. We need to be balanced in this and manage our
expectations. We need to focus on minimum skills. We will ultimately be held accountable based on what we
implement so need to keep this focused.
4. Old Business
 Committee website – is up and will support committee transparency
 Quality Matters update – Cathy reported that she and Brandy completed the 1st round of training. Cathy is now
participating and peer review and then will be able to complete the Master training. Cathy also co-presented at the
annual Quality Matters conference in Baltimore in November. She has learned a great deal about how it works. The
actual QM review process can be expensive, so Cathy and Brandy are looking to modify the rubric and develop an inhouse review process (setting a TMCC standard). It will make the review less complex and will rely on faculty as the
content experts to determine appropriate assessment mapping for objectives and outcomes. Cathy will be testing
much of this with the fast-track program starting this spring. She will continue to provide updates. She wants to
make sure we don’t want to create a situation that would be threatening to faculty. That will be counter-productive.
Crystal announced she has been awarded a sabbatical for spring 2013 that will introduce QM into her
classes/curriculum. She will be working with Cathy and Brandy. Cathy agreed to send the committee the QM rubric
and criteria for review.
5. Spring Meeting dates - the committee decided not to move the meeting dates for the Spring 2012 semester. They
remain: February 10th, March 9th, April 13th, and May 11th (may discuss later since it conflicts with end of term like this
meeting does.
6. New Business - No new business.
Respectfully Submitted,
Fred Lokken
Page 2 of 2; Committee Name Agenda or Minutes
Rev.: 5/15/2012
TMCC is an EEO/AA (equal opportunity/affirmative action) institution and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, age, race, color, religion, physical or mental disability, creed, national origin, veteran status, sexual
orientation, genetic information, gender identity, or gender expression in the programs or activities which it operates.