FINAL
El Camino College
Office of the President
Minutes of the College Council Meeting of October 10, 2005
Present: Mr. Bagnall, Dr. Arce, Dr. Baker, Ms. Dever, Ms. Caldwell, Dr. Marsee, Mr. Middleton,
Ms. Pickens, Ms. Smith, and Dr. Simon.
1. El Camino College Strategic Plan 2004-2007 – there was a request that this page not be sent
with the minutes to council members – some feel it is a waste of paper. Perhaps it could be
sent as a separate file.
2. Accreditation Self-Study Task Force – met this morning.
3. Student Activities Contribution Initiative – is in violation of the Education Code.
4. Student Senate for California Community Colleges – Student Body Presidents will work
together to map out structure. They will then work on development of a Region model.
5. College Council Evaluation
a. Operates on a consensus-building basis or a majority vote in an advisory capacity – the
student representative feels this question is irrelevant and does not see the point of
operating on a consensus basis because no one is obligated to do anything. He believes
this is an advisory body not a decision making body. It was reported that colleges are
driven across the state to operate in this manner – this is also a requirement for
Accreditation. The ECCFT representative feels this is important because if we have to
give advice we will need to come to a group decision. In the past we have given advice
and recommendations were accepted. The council could not agree upon the forming of
the Planning & Budgeting Committee – which was then passed by a majority vote.
Student & Community Advancement Area Council will be bringing the Health Fee item
here for discussion. Policies being worked on by Dr. Arce and Dr. Dever will also be
brought here for input and discussion. It is important to have other people’s
perspectives and there are a lot of functions that occur in this room. One possible
reason there was such a split in response to this statement is because it is really a matter
of perspective.
b. Supports and abides by areas governed by collective bargaining agreements – it appears
that the majority of the council (8 out of 9) feels we do fulfill this function.
c. Supports and abides by areas involving professional activities legally delegated to the
Academic Senate – all agree that we fulfill this function.
d. Ensures that major recommendations of the College are consistent with the educational
mission of the College – there was quite a range of responses to this statement. The El
Camino College Strategic Plan 2004-2007 is printed on the back of College Council
minutes as a reminder of this. The ECCE representative stated that we do not have
discussion around these items. It is easy to look at operational things and see how they
work versus seeing if those operational things tie into this. The management
representative feels that we do fulfill this function and that everything we do should be
consistent with the educational mission. The Academic Senate representative stated
that she could not think of anything that would not be covered in the strategic plan
statement.
e. At all times focuses on students – all felt that we did not fulfill this function. The ECCE
representative had a problem with the phrase “at all times;” which is difficult to achieve.
It could say “focus on education.” The management representative feels this is a goal
that is unattainable. The ECCFT representative feels that traditionally the council gets
way off track with petty issues. The student representative stated that he sees this group
as a diverse group with each member representing a different constituency. Therefore,
when a member brings an issue here it has an impact on students. All issues have a
potential impact on students, so he now feels that he agrees with this statement.
f. Conclusion – the Academic Senate representative feels this committee has an interesting
split role; on one hand it is an advisory committee and on the other hand this group is a
point of communication. In some ways communication may be more important. It is
believed that there is not good communication from the President and Vice Presidents –
outside of that very vertical tree. This kind of venue is very valuable – one reason is
because the President is always here. Issues that are off limits here are labor and
personnel related. The council has a lot of responsibility to get the word out. It was
noted that the common business around this table is student development. This council
is a clearing house for a lot of things. Sometimes we can offer a direction and a lot of
time we can not. Issues that are more operational could be addressed to Vice
Presidents.
It was clarified that we are a communication body that will be called upon to advise
when necessary and issues related to operational factors that are not general policy in
nature will be addressed by Vice Presidents.
It is requested that these discussions be included in the minutes. Council members
would like to see more information included in minutes.
6. College Council Goals – it is recommended that we work on setting goals next, and perhaps
everyone could have some goals in mind.
7. The Second Annual Rock the Vote Rally – will be October 18th from 1-2:00 p.m. outside the
Student Activity Center. For more information contact Philip Gomez or Harold Tyler.
Agenda for the October 17, 2005 Meeting
1.
Minutes of October 10, 2005
2.
Board Agenda
3.
ECC Web Services Update
4.
College Council Evaluation/Goals
5.
Policies