AGC Minutes
October 12, 2010
Welcome
Robert welcomed the group. The minutes from September 14th were approved as written.
Innovation – Liz McCormick
Liz M. started out by explaining innovation – The creation of something new that adds value. She then
said that because of innovation projects about 15 million dollars of grant money has been approved for
this region.
Felix Periero, who has been working with the innovation curriculum then discussed the BA 276 Business
Innovation Process course in which students learn about entrepreneurial thinking and innovation. This
course has taken him out into the community working with both private companies and other
institutions such as Grand Valley State University. He also worked with Liz on the Keller Future Center
Process Pilot.
Liz then described the Keller Future Center where students, community citizens, faculty, and business
professionals work together in a space where dialogue can occur and people can work together to
design solutions for the future. One of the products of this work will be - knowing more about which
learning opportunities are needed for the community and the private sector. Liz was pleased to tell the
group the first organized learning platform that has come out of the Future Center was Urban Farming.
Sara Yob, one of the faculty members who was involved with the Futures Center Urban Farming Pilot
project, shared her experience with the process. She and her sustainability students had the opportunity
to be involved with this learning platform. She said the experience was unique due to the fact that
within this process there is not an end. The process is more of a platform which gives an opportunity for
ideas to develop.
Liz then explained how the GRCC Innovation Challenge came to be. Armin Omedian has generously
funded the project. The project involves bringing together the college’s Sustainability, Energy and
Rewards & Recognition plans to create new ideas that will support and develop courses, resources and
partnerships for both curriculum and professional development. Click here for innovation PowerPoint.
She encouraged members to join an Innovation Challenge team since all teams need to include
students, faculty and staff members.
Tina Hoxie thought it was a good idea for AGC to endorse this work – which is bringing a new way of
learning to our students. Liz M. told the group that the College has been working on Innovation for
about four years. About $400,000 GRCC dollars have been invested, but the majority of the dollars have
come from several large grants.
Mike Light made the motion to endorse the Innovation work, the motion was seconded by Nick
Antonokis. The group voted and the motion carried.
Technology – Kevin O’Halla
Kevin O. again reassured the group that the main focus for IT is to carry out the three C’s –
collaboration, communication and commitment. If the department is working hard to meet the three
C’s – their job is being done more effectively.
He then went on to explain the Peoplesoft 9.0 upgrade enhancements. These upgrades should be
completed by May 2011.
Phase 1 -includes upgrades to the website which will benefit the external customers (students
or high school counselors). The go live date is set for January 1st 2011.
Phase 2 - includes upgrades for website management which is for the internal customer
(employees).
Happy Campus – classrooms with multi-media systems will total 260, this summer 56 classrooms were
added and 48 classrooms were upgraded.
He then went over the IT organization: Administrative Applications, Academic Applications, Customer
Service, Infrastructure and Media Technologies.
Life Cycle Replacement, which is also known as “The List”. This list will include each workstation and
employee with the dates when the PC or laptop will be replaced. Faculty are the employee group that
are highest on the list - because of the service they provide to the students. Click here for Technology
Update.
David Dye asked how to get a website in order. Is Peggy Gorno the person to contact? Kevin O. said
that people will be trained to input their own content with the new upgrade. If people have changes
that can not wait, IT can be contacted and they will make changes. David D. said he was thinking more
along the lines of just getting a website up and running. Kevin O. said come January 1st each department
should have their own website page – IT will help with making this happen. Mike V. explained that each
department head and program director was asked by Lynne from the Marketing Department to fill out a
form by October 15th naming who would be the person to “keep” the department’s webpage. Mike V.
said he would send out the form to all AGC members. This information will help IT to organize the
upgrade and the needs of each department.
Kevin O. said that a small taskforce is researching events that are happening on campus looking for
information to include on GRCC’s home page so that the user is able to find information right away.
Mike V. asked what was happening with requests that faculty have submitted for a PC or laptop . Kevin
O. said he was working on identifying the needs of users and he was aware of several departments who
are in need of more PCs for the use of their adjuncts.
David D. asked about departments requesting computers with more “horsepower” – these requests are
being made so that software can be used within their classroom. David D. said it seems as though
upgrades have been done, but the upgrade was not enough to run the software. Kevin O. said that he
would like to continue this conversation with David D. He is aware of these upgrades that have been
done before he was hired and agrees that upgrades should not be done unless they can meet the needs
of the software that is being used in that classroom.
Amy Koning asked what type of process is in place to get the ball rolling for replacement of equipment
so that new software can be run sufficiently. Kevin O. said the new process is not yet in place. For now,
people can make contact with IT so that so they know of the need.
Becky Brinks asked about getting wires run so that technology can be used in the Preschool. Kevin O.
said that there is work being done on running fiber to the preschool , but he hopes in the future a new
building to house the preschool with the proper equipment will be available.
Steve Abid asked about implementation dates for the Peoplesoft upgrade. He asked if the dates to “go
live” have been reviewed against big dates one campus – for example enrollment dates. Kevin O. said he
would remind the team to follow up on all college calendars to make sure the dates that are chosen will
not cause problems to other important work.
Kevin O. asked that the group to watch for a questionnaire he would be sending with 10 questions that
he would like the group to fill out regarding how IT is doing.
Student Conduct Update on Situations/Needs for Faculty – Sara Dorer
After a year, Sara D. was back to give an update on student conduct . She shared with the group the
website that has been created for student conduct which is www.grcc.edu/studentconduct. The site
includes a video of expectations that seemed to be popular with faculty members at the beginning of
the semester.
She went on to say that about 17 student conduct cases have been reported each semester, fail to pay
(parking fines) continue to decrease, classroom conduct issues have spiked, not because students are
acting out more, but because faculty are becoming familiar with her role at the college.
Nan Schichtel asked if, for example, students are watching porn on a computer and a library employee
reports this to campus police, is that report shared with Sara? Sara D. said yes.
David D. asked what happens if the student is using their own laptop. Sara D. said because they are
using GRCC wireless they cannot view inappropriate websites.
Frank Conner said that at some point each faculty member has caught a student cheating – should each
incident be reported? Sara D. believes each incident should be reported, even if the student has only
cheated once, since this will help with tracking repeat offenders. Frank C. asked if the group agreed
with this… Sara D. said that it doesn’t hurt to report the incident. She will not follow up unless she is
asked to or there is evidence that this is a reoccurring problem with the student. She did go on to say
that she understands the faculty can use the experience as a learning opportunity for the student.
AQIP Update – Donna Kragt
Donna K. reported to the group that three projects from AQIP have been retired: the original Curriculum
and Assessment and CARP project – led by Patti Trepkowski, First Year Experience – led by John Cowles,
and AFP – led by Cindy Martin & Linda Spoelman.
Five new projects were started: College Success Program – led by Cindy Martin; Improving the Adjunct
Experience – led by Laurie Chesley; Expanding the Distance Learning Program – led by Eric Kunnen;
Integrating GRCCs Performance Management Systems with Employee Development Systems – led by
Cathy Wilson and Steve Wagner; and Pathways to Employment – led by Tina Hoxie.
Donna K. said that the institution is no longer being limited to three projects under AQIP , allowing us to
put forward the five new projects. All five projects were submitted to AQIP and the feedback report
gave approval to move forward will all five. The Higher Learning Commission (NCA) is the least intrusive
of the regional accrediting bodies and is currently is being asked to “put more teeth” into the
accreditation. As a result, GRCC has decided to review our compliance with the criteria to see if any
areas are weak and should be strengthened. Click here for the detailed AQIP update.
Donna reminded the group that any questions can always be e-mailed to her.
AtD Data Teams – Mike Vargo
Mike V. gave a brief introduction about Achieving the Dream .This is a privately funded effort to help
more community college students succeed. The methodology is as follows: review student outcome
data to identify underachieving cohorts, identify factors impeding student success, design interventions
impeding success, implement interventions and evaluate their effectiveness.
Mike V. then went over what the charge of the Data Team (stage 1) is – to review student outcomes to
determine those areas where the greatest achievement gaps exist.
The group then talked about the criteria that is outlined by AtD and that all students – even those that
have dropped out of the course - are included in stage 1. The team then identified 7 AtD Project Teams
to study: African American student achievement gaps, Hispanic- American student achievement gaps,
Achievement gaps for first time students who delayed entry to college, Low overall course success rates
for Math 104/107, Low overall course success rates for English 100/101/102, Low Overall graduation
rates, Low success rates in all Development Ed Courses .Mike V. said that each group has a champion
that will lead the work. Coaches will be on campus from AtD to work with members of the GRCC AtD
team – the support is part of the program.
Ric Underhile reminded the group that the College had to apply to become part of this partnership,
which was not an easy process. He went on to say that sometimes these issues that AtD address are
“hard to swallow”, but said these are not only problems here at GRCC but are problems at most
community colleges. Donna K. said that the cost of this program was underwritten by the Kresge
Foundation.
100 Anniversary Celebration – Gilda Gely
Gilda G. asked the faculty to start brainstorming what types of events each would like to see at the 100
year celebration – which will be held throughout the 2014 academic year. She asked each department
to think about if there is something within their discipline that can connect directly to 100. Gilda G.
asked each table to take about five minutes to write a few ideas down on index cards and then each
would share with the big group. She also asked that each member discuss with their department and
send any ideas to her directly.
Members’ Next Step – Robert Long
Robert reminded each member to review the year long AGC agenda plan, share today’s topics with
departments - such as getting ideas in regards to the 100 year celebration and to watch for Kevin O’s
questionnaire on email and make sure it is completed.
Meeting Adjourned 4:46 PM