Zane State College
Quarter to Semester Administrative Steering Committee
Monday, March 26, 2012, 9:00 a.m., Boardroom
Minutes
I.
The meeting was called to order by Barb Shelby. Attendees: Al Brown, Chad Brown, Rhoda Calloway,
Jeffrey Devlin (via conference call), George Hicks, Susan Holdren, Linda Metz, Cindi Swope, Dotty
Welch.
II.
Minutes from the February 27, 2012, meeting were reviewed. Clarification on item IV-C-iv was made.
Mysti Hittle will make the revisions to the minutes.
III. Old Business
a. Final Exam Schedule – The final exam schedule for Bridge Summer 2012 and Semesters needs
to be created. The Academic Deans will meet to complete these tasks on Wednesday, April 11
from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in H325G. Should a few faculty be invited to provide input? Faculty will
need to include the final exam schedule in syllabi.
b. A business process initiative is in the planning stages. For Summer Term 2012, adjunct faculty
will be paid four times, and pay periods will begin earlier. Currently, adjunct faculty pay is
calculated based on the number of quarters taught. How will it be done in semesters? Chad
suggested that calculations should be based on academic years (ex: 1 year, 2 years, 3 years,
etc.) Decision – HR will handle informing adjunct faculty of the change. Barb Shelby will have a
conversation with HR regarding this decision.
c. Faculty pay during transition – Judy Lind, Al Brown, and Linda Sinift have been working out
details. Lori Wahl, as Faculty Senate Chair, suggested a one question survey of all full-time
faculty. If that option is chosen, the decision will be based on majority vote. After discussion, it
was determined that the Business Office will put out a memo explaining how pay will be
recalculated. Al Brown reiterated that individual tax liabilities remain the same no matter how
many pay periods there are. He also noted that W-4s can be adjusted if employees wish, but
changes will need to be made by the end of this week so that tax withholdings changes can
begin with the April 5 pay period. It was also decided that HR will send an e-mail to all faculty.
IV.
Restrictions in Courses
a. Linda Metz explained that Cris Redfern has not yet put course “restrictions” into the Jenzabar
system. These are section requirements (ex: English courses only offered to Pathways of
Engineering students, linked courses, or how many seats in a section are reserved for program
students ). This task needs to be completed by April 9. It was determined that Department
Chairs will need to supply information on which courses have section restrictions.
b. Cindi Swope noted that there is no information on the Fall 2012 semester schedule regarding
dates that second term Developmental Education courses begin. The example of COMM 09001
08 was displayed. How will students be informed that classes actually begin on October 17, not
October 15 as currently shown on the schedule? Discussion centered on placing start dates on
the Z-Online schedule, however, it would be on the “drill down” screens, and there is concern
that students would not search deep enough. Suggestions for communicating the late start
date to students included: Faculty could announce this during first term final exams; targeted
e-mail messages; a multi-faceted blitz to get information spread. Susan Holdren will speak with
Cris Redfern and Becky Ament. (Chad Brown excused himself from the meeting at 9:33 a.m.)
V.
Dropping of Subsequent Courses
a. Cris Redfern has concerns that Jenzabar is allowing students who are not successful in a
prerequisite course to remain in the next course if they have already registered for the
following term. The typical number of students affected each quarter is 300. Jeffrey Devlin
mentioned the possibility of working on revising the system script in Jenzabar. Currently,
Student Success Center advisors check Math and English prerequisites, but advisors do not have
time check all other college-level courses. Steve Kish pays attention to students not passing his
classes and meets with program faculty. In this case, program faculty send an e-mail to Cindi
Swope requesting that they be removed from the subsequent course. The current process
allows Deans, faculty, and department chairs to override prerequisites. Should the
authorization be more narrow? It was decided that the discussion resume during an upcoming
academic dean’s meeting.
VI.
Funds
a. Advisors – Dotty Welch is working on budget revisions for advisor funding.
b. Events – funds are being requested for upcoming Q2S events.
VII.
Approval for Future Calendars
a. What schedule needs to be followed for calendar approval? The 2013-2014 schedule will be
going before the Board during the April meeting. It is believed that the Board is mostly
concerned with beginning and ending dates, not what is between. Fall break 2013 needs
reviewed because there are too many Mondays off. If revisions are made, they need to be
taken to the upcoming Board meeting. The Academic Deans will discuss this further at their
meeting next Monday.
VIII.
Sending Information with Fee Statements
a. For Fall Semester, could the Business Office add a note with a visual aid showing the difference
between in fee payments related to quarters vs. semesters? Another suggestion was having a
large poster/sign outside the Business Office. Cindi Swope has conversed with Tammy Huffman
and believes she may be planning something for sharing this information with students. Linda
Metz will follow up with Tammy.
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IX.
Number of Credits Students Take
a. How do we make sure students are not discouraged from taking more than three courses?
Dotty Welch reported that advisors are working with students and passing on the message.
Sophomores seem to be taking fewer courses, therefore, they are not full-time. Encouraging
students to expand their schedules needs to be a whole-college effort. It is believed that
students may only be hesitant the first semester. Cindi Swope suggested printing crosswalks as
a reference for students and posting in each building.
X.
Website/Z-Online/BlackBoard
a. Who is making sure all language and curricula is being converted? Jeffrey Devlin noted that
Marketing handles all web pages, so they will post the course of study forms. Jeffrey is not
concerned about Z-Online; it has been changing gradually. Todd Slater is responsible for
BlackBoard; new courses will be uploaded, so this should not be a concern.
b. Cindi Swope noted that she needs catalog updates ASAP. Susan Holdren advised that they are
complete.
XI.
Future Meetings – There is a need to meet again in two weeks to see how registration is going.
The next meeting will be April 9 at 10:00 a.m. in the Board Room.
XII.
Other – Trial registrations are going well with only small fee issues; no major problems.
Intersession courses will be attached to the following semesters, not either/both quarters as is the
current practice.
Minutes respectfully presented by Mysti Hittle
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