STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES
DIVISION COUNCIL MEETING
DATE: FEBRUARY 5, 2016
Chairperson:
William Garcia
Members Present:
Alexis Estwick, Lorena Garcia, Rebecca Greer, Julieta Ortiz,
Linda Tajalli, Breanna von Stein
Recorder:
Lucy Nelson
The meeting began at 9:00 a.m.
Linda Tajalli was introduced as a new ASO student representative on the Student Support
Services Division Council, serving as backup to ASO representative Muhammad Ans. Linda is
also serving on the Natural Sciences Division Council and is co-chair of a publicity committee.
Review November 13, 2015 Meeting Minutes
1. Correction on page 1, #3 – delete CARE, which is not included in mandated group for
priority registration.
Updates
1. Is there a plan for a hydration water station in the new Student Services Center? W. Garcia
said the plans are currently with the Department of State Architects (DSA) for review and the
final plans are due back by the end of the month. W. Garcia will let the committee know
whether or not the hydration water station is in the plans for the new building. During the
early stages of planning, it was discussed and recommended to have the hydration water
station in the new building. The completion time of the Student Services Center was moved
to Spring 2018 or Summer 2018.
2. A new, four-level parking structure should be completed before the Student Services Center
is done. A new Student Activities Center is projected to be completed by around 2020.
3. The Administration Building is scheduled to be vacated by Summer 2017 in order to prepare
for demolition of the building. The move will affect the Financial Aid staff currently in the
Administration Building. The Financial Aid staff and service windows will relocate
temporarily to the basement of the Communications building for approximately one year
until the new Student Services Center is completed. Most of the departments in the
Administration Building will temporarily move to the Communications building which will
undergo minor remodeling before the moves are made. The VP of Administrative Services
will temporarily move to the Bookstore Building and the President will move to the Learning
Resources (Library) archive room.
4. Students have complained they have a hard time getting into the STEM courses they need,
particularly in Chemistry. Students have tried to get into Chemistry courses since last
semester. There is a demand for science and math courses but courses are not being added to
meet the demand. Some of the reasons for this may be due to difficulty in recruiting
qualified faculty and also the limited availability of lab space for courses that require a lab
component. W. Garcia will share this concern with the VP of Academic Affairs and Dean of
Natural Sciences. Ed plans are hand-written, not computerized, and therefore is difficult to
forecast course needs from student Ed plans.
5. Brian Hayden, Outreach & School Relations Administrative Assistant, is now in charge of
posting flyers on the plasma screens in the Student Services Center lobby. Brian created an
electronic form on the Outreach & School Relations webpage for staff to use to request the
posting of flyers on the plasmas. Please contact Brian if your department would like to
advertise your program, events or deadlines. Brian usually requires a 2-week lead time.
Flyers can be time-sensitive. Brian also created “Brian’s Tech Tips” for the department –
can those be shared with the division staff?
6. Counselors Maribel Hernandez and Tawnya Cola, J. Ortiz, and Carla Velasquez have teamed
together to plan the New Student Welcome Day (NSWD), tentatively scheduled on
Wednesday, August 24, 2016. The day will follow the old NSWD format with major
sessions and research fair. Staff from various departments will be asked to help. J. Ortiz will
send W. Garcia a program that shows the old NSWD format.
7. L. Garcia passed out a flyer that departments can use or post – “Top 10 Reasons Why
Students Might Not Need to Take the Placement Test.” As discussed at the last meeting,
there are reasons why students may not need to take the English and/or Math Placement tests.
The flyer will help when directing students to the Assessment/Testing Office. Students with
Accuplacer scores from other community colleges must bring the test scores with them to the
Assessment/Testing Office. The Assessment/Testing Office can look up previous Math and
English test scores if the returning student took the placement tests at ECC. To meet priority
registration requirements, new students must take the English and Math placement tests.
Students with a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree should meet with a counselor to determine if
they need to take the placement test(s). W. Garcia asked for a copy of the flyer to be emailed
to him for review and edits. This form may be helpful to share off campus at high schools,
adult schools, college fairs, etc.
The meeting adjourned at 9:26 a.m.
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