NATURAL SCIENCES
DIVISION COUNCIL MEETING
August 23, 2012 (FLEX DAY)
Present:
Faculty/Staff
M. Abbani, P. Baldwin, J. Bellemin, T. Bui, B. Carey, C. Cha, K. Cheung, F. Delos Santos,
S. Di Fiori, R. Donegan, C. Dong, P. Doucette, M. Ebiner, L. Fielding, N. Freeman,
J. Gard, E. Goldmann, A. Grant, J. Holliday, M. Jimenez, S. Kadakia, M. Kantz,
C. Killduff, R. LaFond, S. Leonelli, V. Lloyd, P. Micu, J. Noyes, L. Ohara, J. Padilla,
T. Palos, A. Pham, S. Potter, S. Prieto, M. Santiago, J. Shankweiler, R. Shibao,
M. Steinberg, T. Stewart, M. Stupy, A. Tontcheva, S. Trench, A. Valle, T. White,
Daniel Wright
iGrants and Scholarships
 Katie Gleason from the Foundation Office asked faculty if they would distribute
flyers to their students regarding scholarships and encourage students to apply.
Ms. Gleason said that a letter of recommendation is important and it’s required
to be considered for a scholarship. The letters of recommendations can be
completed online using Portal.
 Faculty members that are interested in evaluating applications can do so online.
 Applications will be accepted starting mid September, 2012 until mid December,
2012, the awards are made in May.
Welcome/Introductions
 The new faculty members were introduced: Mohamad Abbani, full time
chemistry; Todd White, full time temporary life sciences; and Kwun (Michael)
Cheung and Kyle Strohmaier, part time physics.
Library Resources
 The faculty members were asked to leave any extra textbooks in the library on
reserve for students to use.
Campus Committees Representatives
 A list of the committees and names from last semester was passed around,
faculty were asked to initial next to the committee they would like to represent.
 During Les Scharlin’s absence (medical leave), a representative is needed for the
Safety Committee, Julienne Gard volunteered.
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SLO’s (Student Learning Outcomes)
8/23/12
 Campus-Wide Assessment of Core Competencies
During Fall, 2012, the campus will assess core competency IV.
 SLOs to be assessed
All course and program-level SLOs are to be assessed once every 4 years.
 Video
There is a video demonstrating how to write statements and assess SLOs, the
website is: http://www.elcamino.edu/academics/slo.
 Submitting SLO reports
All SLO reports are to be submitted in CurricUNET. A handout was distributed,
“SLO Reports using the SLO Module of CurricUNET” along with a list of courses
that were assessed in Spring, 2012. SLO reports for courses that were assessed
in Spring 2012 are due by the end of week 3 of the Fall, 2012 semester
 Training Plan for the Division
Jim Noyes will send an electronic copy of the CurricUNET SLO module training
manual and a modified version of the “how to submit a report”. Jim said he will
help individual faculty members enter their reports. He will hold workshops in a
computer lab room if necessary as well.
 Jim Noyes explained how to access the SLO reports online, he said it’s the same
format as last year, and faculty might be asked to have students take the
campus-wide survey in their classroom.
 The password for CurricUNET is not the same as your MyECC password, it is
“changeme”, until you change it by going to “PREFERENCES: Personal
Information”
 Amy Grant shared a document “Fall, 2012 Equation Writing SLOs” that can be
used for SLOs, examples of equations, etc.
Curriculum – Courses for Review, Repeatability
 A list of courses due for review was distributed with course names and due
dates.
 Jean will send instructions on “how to submit course reviews on CurricUNET”.
 Repeatable courses were discussed. The only courses affected in our division
are Astronomy 13abc and Geography 20abcd. In order for a course to be
repeatable it must be required for a major. Jean asked the geography
department to let her know if a particular college requires a course to be taken
for a major.
Program Review
 The horticulture program review has been submitted.
 The astronomy, chemistry, earth science, and the physics program reviews will
begin in 2013; one person is needed to compile the information for each
department.
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Late Adds
8/23/12
 Late adds will only be approved if there was an instructor error or college
employee error.
 It was suggested to faculty to run a copy of their add codes and write the names
of the students next to the code that was given to them.
 Please ask students to print any errors or messages preventing them from
registering.
Material Fees
 A form is needed if students are being charged material fees.
Purchases
 Only the lab technicians can submit purchase orders. Faculty members should
not purchase items and ask for reimbursement without prior approval.
 Petty cash purchases should be small amounts.
Independent Study
 The Independent Study procedure was explained to faculty. To be eligible for
Independent Study a student must have completed at least 12 units at El Camino
College with a GPA of 3.0 or higher, be concurrently enrolled in a least one other
course at El Camino College, have demonstrated competence in the discipline in
which an Independent Study is being attempted by completing two courses in
this discipline with a grade of B or higher. There are 2 forms that are required,
form# 20630, Independent study project proposal and form# 20635, approval of
independent study project and notification to add, both forms are to be
completed by the student and approval is needed from the instructor and the
Dean before students can register for an independent study class.
Studio Classrooms
 Teresa Palos discussed studio classrooms. Studio classrooms emphasize
collaborative and cooperative learning where students work on varied projects.
Active engagement is essential with little room for traditional lectures. Studio
classroom training is funded through the Department of Education Mount St.
Mary's – El Camino College HSI–STEM (Hispanic Serving Institution–Science,
Technology, Engineering & Math) grant. Flex credit will be offered for a
presentation (in October) on Studio Classrooms. If interested contact Teresa.
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Payroll Issues
8/23/12
 The Los Angeles County Office of Education will be changing payroll payment
dates. Full time faculty will be receiving 11 equal payments for work performed
August through June for the 2012-2013 fiscal year. Voluntary payroll deductions
will be deducted from 10 paychecks only, which will begin on the 2nd paycheck.
 Part time faculty will be paid in 5 paychecks per semester instead of 4.
Financial Aid
 Financial Aid checks are delayed. This may affect student’s ability to purchase
textbooks.
Paperwork
 Faculty are to:
o print their own class rosters.
o complete no show reports (due September 7th) and active enrollment
reports (due September 10th) online.
o check rosters to verify that students are enrolled after students are given
an add sticker.
o submit office hours to Mariam by Wednesday, August 29th, if the office
hours are listed on the syllabus then that’s sufficient. Post office hours on
office doors.
o send an electronic copy of their syllabi to Priscilla at
pbaldwin@elcamino.edu
o submit laboratory schedules to the laboratory technicians in your area, if
you have a lab class.
Announcements
 On behalf of Jeanne Bellemin, Teresa Palos announced a fundraiser event,
Moonlight Magic, which will be held on Saturday, September 29, 2012, from
5:00-10:00 p.m. at the Madrona Marsh. The tickets are $50.00 each, there will
be food, open bar, music, auctions, etc.
 Steve Leonelli was presented with an applause card.
 Faculty cannot drop students for cheating only for non-attendance, but faculty
can send a recommendation to the Student Development Office requesting to
have the student(s) dropped.
 Please discuss course review, SLO reports from Spring 2012, and program review
in your department meetings. Leads are needed for Astronomy, Chemistry,
Earth Sciences, and Physics.
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