Basic Skills Advisory Group (BSAG) Meeting
Thursday, October 14, 2010, 1:00-2:00 p.m., H216
Minutes
Those in attendance:
Sabra Sabio, Art Martinez, Trudy Meyer, Chelvi Subramaniam, Julie Land.
Those not in attendance:
Barbara Jaffe, Theresa Clifford, Cynthia Mosqueda, Suzanne Gates, Arturo Hernandez, and Jose
Villalobos.
Facilitator: Sara Blake, Humanities Basic Skills Coordinator
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Approval of the Minutes from the 4/8/10/10 meeting. Minutes were approved with no changes.
Updates on 2010-11 State Funding and Action/Expenditure Planning. Sara reported that funding
still had not been approved by the State Legislature but that expectations were that colleges should
expect the same level of funding as last year. The due date for the plans had not yet been set by the
state because of the lack of an approved State budget. Chelvi requested a copy of the plans.
Update on Dr. Arce’s Board Presentation on Basic Skills. Dr. Arce has asked Art Martinez and
Sara Blake to design a PowerPoint presentation for the Board on Basic Skills to include an overview
of the BSI at El Camino and highlight some of the successful programs. This PowerPoint will be
shared with the BSAG at a future meeting.
Review of 5-Year Goals. The committee reviewed the five-year goals and discussed methods for
measuring attainment of these goals. It was suggested that this measurement be a priority this year as
the state will be wanting this information. An important aspect of data analysis is defining “success”
for basic skills courses, in which some of the students may not have the goal or ability to successfully
complete a higher-level or even transfer-level course, which is currently a standard for success
measurement. Julie Land noted that some SRC students who enroll in basic skills classes may not
have transfer-level status as a goal. The committee discussed the possibility of defining a cohort for
measuring success through higher course completion that excludes, for purposes of data analysis,
those students testing in below a certain level of proficiency. Sara will discuss this possibility with
Irene Graff.
Coordination of Student Success Centers. Suggestions were made that tutor training, Directed
Learning Activities, and Just in Time Workshops be features of this coordination effort. The
possibility of SI assuming responsibility for tutoring was discussed.
Web Resources. Sara reviewed features of the online resources for Basic Skills: the Basic Skills
Website and the Institutional Research Basic Skills Webpage. Julie Land asked that BSAG members
be contacted via email when new items are posted online.
Proactive Counseling for Basic Skills. Sabra suggested that monthly reminders be provided to basic
skills instructors about classroom counselor visits. She offered to coordinate with Van Nguyen in
Counseling.
Alternatives to Monthly BSAG Meetings. Sara and Art suggested that monthly BSAG meetings be
replaced by another alternative, such as a team group site. Other group members preferred the current
system at this time. They identified 2 major functions of the group meetings as maintaining visibility
for basic skills and fostering an exchange of ideas.
Report for Strengthening Student Success Conference. Trudy reported that the team attending the
conference found it very impressive.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:10 p.m.
****The next BSAG meeting will be held on Thursday, December 9, 1-2:00 p.m. in H306.