STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES
DIVISION COUNCIL MEETING
DATE: NOVEMBER 13, 2015
Chairperson:
William Garcia
Members Present:
Muhammad Ans, Alexis Estwick, Lorena Garcia, Sharilyn Thomas,
Ngoc Tran, Carla Velasquez
Recorder:
Lucy Nelson
The meeting began at 9:00 a.m.
Review October 23, 2015 Meeting Minutes
No changes were made to the October 23, 2015 meeting minutes.
Updates and Issues
1. M. Ans reported that students have complained about people still smoking on campus with
no consequences or action taken by Campus Police. The El Camino College campus was
designated as a ‘smoke-free campus.’ The board policy was written to state that enforcement
of this policy will be primarily educational (no punitive fine or punishment/reprimand).
[After the meeting, W. Garcia followed-up with Chief Trevis and forwarded the Chief’s reply
to the Division Councilmembers. According to Chief Trevis, campus police “can only warn.
There are no enforcement actions on this since a board policy is not a violation of law.
However, it is against the state government code to smoke within 30 feet of any door or
window. We can cite and have in the past cited for that.”] A recommendation was made to
promote awareness of the no-smoking policy with additional signage and adding the
information to the online new student orientation. W. Garcia shared this information with
Counseling Dean Dipte Patel who agreed that this was a great suggestion and they will keep
this in mind when making updates to the online orientation.
2. A discussion took place about how students are being referred incorrectly to the
Assessment/Testing office to test. Before referring a student to test, students should be asked
questions to see if they really need to be tested. It was suggested that the Testing Office
distribute or post on their webpage a list of questions/conditions to help determine if and/or
when students need to test. The information on the list could also be used to create flyers.
Challenges/exceptions include students who take the AP exam and differences between
assessment vs. placement (i.e. AP classes and high school grades determine placement not
assessment).
3. Priority registration for Spring 2016 by mandated groups (eligible Veterans, Foster Youth,
EOPS, and CalWORKs) begin on November 17, 2015.
4. The architects of the new Student Services Center were asked to look into adding hydration
water stations into the building plans. The expected completion date of the new Student
Services Center is Spring 2018. The new 4-story parking structure off Manhattan Beach
Blvd. is slated to be completed by Summer 2017. A new Student Activities Center is
projected to be completed by 2020. The RISE Center, currently on the second floor of the
Student Services Center, will be relocated to the Student Activities Center once the existing
Student Services Center is torn down. Sharonda Barksdale of Foster Care is located in the
RISE Center and works with Foster Youth currently attending El Camino College who need
services.
5. There will be no Student Support Services Division Council meeting in December 2015.
6. L. Nelson completed the pilot Campus Community Emergency Response Team (C-CERT)
Training and encouraged all staff to participate. The training spans over six sessions. This is
a commitment that will benefit both the campus community and the participants personally
should an actual disaster occur.
The meeting adjourned at 10:50 a.m.
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