Los Angeles Mission College
Department of Life Sciences
Agenda
Tuesday, December 16, 12:30 – 2:00 PM
Mike’s Office CMS 224
Present: Mike Reynolds. Steve Brown, Angela Echeverri, Par Mohammadian
New Business
1. Comprehensive Program Review – Spring 2015 (Mike)
Sections to be completed by January 15th, 2015: Par: #1 and #4, Mike: #2 and #3, Angela: #5, Steve:
#6 and #7.
2. Accelerated Pre-health courses (Par)
Par and Mike will meet VP Allen and Dean Madelline to discuss the pathway at 3:00 pm.
3. Biology New Faculty Position (Steve)
Mike to finalize the job description and receive approval from the Dean by the end of this week.
Position to be posted as soon as possible with an eight-week posting period. The interviews should
be planned for March. Mike Reynolds (Chair), Chris Williams (AFT rep), Angela Echeverri (Senate
Rep), Steve Brown (Senate Rep), and Par Mohammadian (non-voting member).
4. Anthropology – Status of proposed change to Social Sciences (Steve/Mike)
Topic was tabled.
5. SLO/PLOs assessment – Fall 2014 (Par)
Par reported that all SLOs and PLOs are required to be assessed by December 19 th. Pat Flood
requested that all departments have to assess all their courses where there has been “0”
assessment.
To have meaningful discussion on the assessments Par requested that once a semester the
department meets to review and discuss the outcomes of the assessments. Adjunct faculty are also
encouraged to participate in these meetings.
6. Reading Apprenticeship (Par)
The RA grant was approved and the information was communicated via email.
7. BioTech – CTE EF 60 % update (Cathy Brinkman); LAUSD/Sylmar BioTech High School BioTech
courses (Angela)
Angela will follow up with the BioTech High school and report in January 2015.
8. BIO3 exclusion throughout the semester (Par)
It was decided that students are to be excluded if two weeks of labs/lectures are missed. Mike will
inform the faculty now and in the beginning of the semester.
9. BIO3 Saturday success and retention rates (Par)
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Par presented the data on success and retention rates for Saturday vs weekdays for BIO3 courses.
The rates were much lower for the Saturday courses. She will monitor her success and retention
rates for the current and next semester.
10. Biology TMC
It was discussed and decided to keep the current AS in biology degree and prepare a new Associate
Degree for Transfer in Biology. Steve to prepare the curriculum by January 15th.
Old Business
Unresolved issues (Par)
Par emails Denise Marin (facilities) every Wednesday to receive an update on unresolved issues.
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Clocks behind the screens in the CMS Classrooms: I followed up with the electrician regarding
the work order for moving the clocks behind the screens in the CMS classrooms. He said it was
finished last week. Please let me know if there are any rooms we missed. Completed
Floors in the Bio 3 and Anatomy Lab Not Repaired: We have the proposals now. They will be
inputted into SAP this week, but release strategy requires two different people to release. The
paperwork will need to be signed by 3 people at the campus level and they need to be signed by
the head of Facilities at the District Office due to the funding source. After that, the company
doing the job will have to sign off on the paperwork. This could take a few weeks, but I can keep
you posted each step of the way on where it’s at approval-wise.
Update of Nadine’s Request for Cabinets: Victor says the cabinets have been ordered, but
haven’t been received yet.
Emergency Showers: Per Victor they are operational and the floor drains can be open when
needed. For more clarification, please call Victor at x3388.
Build or Repair a skeleton stand in CMS 102. This one will go to Edwin.
Installation of a coat hanger in CMS -002. This one will go to Edwin.
Repair of laboratory stool with a broken sign: Per Victor, we cannot repair furniture for liability
reasons. If the college repairs the furniture and someone uses the stool and gets injured, the
college is liable, rather than the manufacturer of the stool.
Chemical Storage Cabinets in CMS-002, 003, and 103 needs to be attached together and bolted
against the wall to prevent falling over in an earthquake: This one will go to Edwin.
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