STANDARDS AND MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Minutes
THE PERALTA COLLEGES GOVERNING BOARD
WEDNESDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2009
Present: Trustee Withrow, Trustee Gulassa, Minh Lam, Jeff Heyman, Joseph Bielanski,
Karen Ulrich, Alexis Alexander.
1.
Review preliminary status and conceptual approach for the IT Master Plan.
(VC Minh Lam).
IT finance issues will be on a future audit and finance committee agenda.
2.
Discuss issues related to the high cost of text books, including the status of a
pilot project action plan. Discuss status of the consortium for OER as a
source for textbooks and progress achieved to date at The Peralta Colleges.
(Dr Wise Allen & Dr Van Puten).
Alexis presented an article on the OER consortium, which is just beginning and doesn’t
assist our students at this point. Faculty need to get information to students about free
resources that are currently available. Textbook rental information is also included.
Used book sites are also listed. E-bay and Craig’s list is also a resource. Iphone has a
campusbooksforless.com and big words online to help search for textbook prices.
There’s a one hour seminar tomorrow that was communicated to faculty. Open source
textbooks were also presented at a Flex Day. Microsoft reader is free, and the kindle is
also an option. There are many kinds of readers and resources, so a standard should be
developed. “The New Yorker” had a recent article on readers, and there are many iphone
applications available. There are some problems with the kindle that there are no pages
listed, and graphics vary in how they upload. Coursesmart also has textbooks. A recent
article in “The Chronicle” was also sited. It was suggested to offer some small stipend,
perhaps from the Foundation, to help with OER research. If some instructors could get
interested in one department, they could get together a pilot project, such as for math or
English, where the curriculum does not change. Follett can’t guarantee that they can get
the same volume edition, and the Board student services committee is also examining this
issue. Guttenberg provides free classics online. There was a suggestion to have this
handout available for students as they get their textbooks. This information could be
provided on a website to suggest resources, with a poster or flyer inviting people to view
it. There was a suggestion to add our course book requirements in the course catalog. It
was explained that the logistics to do this would be difficult to list this in a printed
document. It should be in the class syllabus, and the textbook information could be
available online, with the approximate book cost. It is important for the students to know
what they are buying, and the course costs. This might entice faculty to offer less
expensive textbooks, to maintain enrollment. Faculty members have web pages and can
attach their syllabus there, as well. Textbook information is not usually disclosed until
one is already enrolled in the class. Some students don’t even buy books at all, but buy
book legged copies. The one page of resources listed would be helpful to get into
students’ hands. Faculty should be reminded of the difficult economic status of the
students, without jeopardizing education. Faculty can’t make copies due to possible
copyright violations. Students need their own initiative to research textbook prices prior
to enrolling in a class. It’s difficult to get the faculty motivated in this area. Teaching by
using published articles or newspaper could be encouraged. E-book migration might be
recorded in the program or unit reviews to show how the disciplines are moving in this
Board Standards and Management Committee Minutes September 16, 2009
direction. On Friday mornings, the bookstore gets a list of books being used to know
what books are needed, and Minh will see if he can capture and use this information.
3.
Discuss the status of the performance contracts and annual performance
evaluations throughout the entire structure of The Peralta Colleges
management team. (Chancellor Harris and General Counsel Nguyen)
Karen gave an update on the performance contracts. The make-up of a performance
contract was reviewed. It involves subordinates communicating with a manager to see
what accomplishments are needed in the coming term, with a priority on the entire
organization, listing specific productivity, goals, and objectives. The Board wants to see
a pyramid structure of what the position is trying to achieve during the review. Goal
setting is framed in terms of the strategic plan. Clear objectives for positions need to be
outlined, which could assist employees with promotion. Seniority rather than
performance has been the basis for promotions. Desk audits and position movement
should be driven by what’s been accomplished by the position. The performance contract
needs stages and clearly identifiable goals. Karen will create a draft for a performance
contract, and then will get feedback from the committee. Job descriptions also need to be
updated, as they’ve been used for 20 years. The job description should be built from
what is needed in the organization, and they need to get updated. We don’t perform to
full capacity until we do this. Karen will start that process, with union input.
Departments need to contribute their goals and expectations for the process, based on
facts and not relationships. Dr. Drummond’s suggestion for step and column increases
for management could occur after we have job descriptions. This could lead to some
restructuring. We put more responsibility onto our classified staff than other comparable
districts. There is not much incentive to have people move up the ladder if they are paid
the same amount. Former Chancellor Temple had been delegated to restructure ten years
ago. It may be discovered that some positions can be completely eliminated, as they are
obsolete. We want employees who are motivated and committed. This process may
encourage some employees to retire. A model draft examining a fictitious employee as
an illustration of how the plan works could be used. Trustee Withrow is available to
assist with this plan.
The process for management and classified evaluations were reviewed. Karen did not
meet with the accreditation team, but Tom did. Faculty evaluations occur at the college
level and not at the District. HR needs to ensure that the college executes this, by
submitting their plan with a calendar and deadlines. A staff person at BCC helped to
ensure that evaluations are complete, helping with reminders and calls when the
documents were not submitted. If there are no performance contracts, the managers need
to follow-up. There need to be consequences if employees don’t perform with an
evaluation added to the performance contract, such as informing the Chancellor of nonperformance. Performance contracts are needed to create an improvement plan. It was
discussed if there should be an anniversary review date or one date for all. It was
suggested that employees should also submit their own evaluations to review their own
performance.
Respectfully submitted,
Roxanne Epstein
repstein@peralta.edu
466-7203
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