Strategic Planning

Here are my notes from the Strategic Planning meeting on Friday:
Teams 1-5 are Board of Regents goals, Team 6 is AQIP

I. Increase Graduation Rates
Create a student preparedness council, hire a coordinator
Add value to degree / education
Pilot – intervention for degree seeking undecided major student

II. Increase Civic Engagement
Create a benchmark through surveys
Culture change – have more events
Involve programs – LENS, staff events

III. Increase enrollment of JoCo High School Graduates
More advertising
Have our Board meet with high school boards
Scholarships
Seamless transition

IV. Increase percent of Minority Students
Help with financial plans
Gather data
Early alert for students at risk
Facilities – student common area

V. Increase percent of Minority Faculty/Staff
Hire a recruiter
Training for hiring committees
Use faculty / student ambassadors
Alumni program

VI. Develop and Implement a Gen Ed Outcomes assessment
Change culture – catalyst to improve instead of compliance
Connect outcomes to curriculum
Make sure we report results back
Support faculty in pilots, use CTL
Hire a director of assessment

There were also reports from the operational units:
I. Instruction
Quality Matters / REACHE – improve distance courses
Entrepreneurship outreach
Expand health occupations
Weekend / evening programs
Sustainability across curriculum

II. Student Services
Update facilities
Use technology – alert students about degree completion
Staff will need to become more specialized – will need more staff
Recruitment of non-traditional students is focus
Develop strategies for retention

III. Continuing Ed / Community Services
Entrepreneurship center
Career exploration workshop in grade schools
Carlsen center – art education
Increase corporate contract sales (CBT)
Homeland Security – develop programs, activities

IV. Information Services
New LMS (replace Blackboard)
Campus notification system for students
Enrollment management system
Academic planner (students about to graduate)
Continuing Ed shopping cart

V. Administrative Services
Software – target marketing
Self insurance for workers comp
Campus master plan – review all buildings, review off site
Library
Dental Hygiene addition

VI. Presidents Office
More marketing / publication
Expand private funding for Nerman
HR – review process and procedures
Calaway - $250000 for Internal Innovations Grant – for faculty and staff. Improve learning, quality initiatives. Would be used for continual quality improvement.

Blackboard Replacement & 2nd Life

As forwarded to me from Csilla Dunecsky, co-chair of ATAC

LMS/Blackboard Update:
Based on the results of the faculty vote, and the recommendation from DLCC and ATAC, Executive Council has approved replacing Blackboard as the Learning Management System (LMS) at JCCC. There will be a lengthy transition period – Blackboard will be available through the Spring semester of 2010.

We have formed an LMS (Learning Management System) replacement steering committee:
Jonathan Bacon (Director, Ed Tech Center)
Janet Brandau (Testing Services)
Julane Crabtree (Math)
Mark Daganaar (Director, Library)
Csilla Duneczky (Science)
Tony Lacy (Continuing Ed)
Ed Lovitt (Technical Training Coordinator)
Barb Mahring (Business+Tech)
Mike Martin (Math)
Jim McWard (English)
Phil Mein (Systems Manager)
Jeff Merrit (Academic Achievement)
Mary O'Sullivan (Help Desk Manager)
Larry Reynolds (Speech)
Michael Robertson (Humanities)
Judi Vaughn (Library)
Sandra Warner (Director, Administrative Computing)
+ a student yet to be named
The committee is in the process of collecting information in order to begin the bid process (writing the Request for Proposals, RFP). There will be a conference call with Gartner (analysts and consultants who research IT) to discuss where the industry is now, what other schools are doing, hosted vs. oncampus issues, and Banner integration issues. The timeline (http://web.jccc.edu/edtech/lmsreview) is to send out the RFP this semester, receive bids and gather information from peer institutions. We would like to have faculty, students and staff test out the different systems starting as soon as possible and continuing during the first part of the spring semester, then collect comments and make a recommendation during the spring semester so the new system can be purchased July 1.

At the noon forum Friday Oct 11, comments were:
-need longer time for sandbox testing (update – I requested course shells on Angel and Desire2Learn in August, although they say that they only last 30 days both of mine still exist and are functioning, without my having to request more time).
-need to have students test new systems
-need to test ePacks from various publishers
-eCollege was mentioned by several people as a system to look at
-need to address student preparedness to take an online class (update – this will be considered by DLCC)

Testing of new systems:
Vendors will be asked to provide sandbox space (to last several months) for faculty to test. As we get bids from vendors, it is important that faculty test out the systems to see if they meet your needs. We will provide a system to collect comments and share those back with the faculty as we get closer to recommending a system for purchase. At this point, faculty can obtain sandbox space on Angel (http://www.angellearning.com click on Request a Sandbox) and Desire2Learn (email Jonathan Bacon). As most faculty will not have the time to do in-depth testing (which we felt was critical), 2 faculty have been designated as "thorough testers" - Julane Crabtree (Math) and Jim McWard (English), both of whom have been given some release time during the spring semester. Both have course shells which suffered serious problems under Blackboard, and have extensive experience teaching online and working with other faculty to create online courses.

Second Life
The KCREACHE (Kansas City Regional Consortium for Higher Education) Second Life Forum will focus on defining terms and demonstrating the use of Second Life for educational purposes. Come and see the virtual world “Second life” and explore its educational uses. The Second Life Forum is scheduled on Monday, October 29, 2007 from 1-2:30 PM in the General Education Building (GEB) room 233. “Real world” snacks and soft drinks will be provided. The presentation will end with an open question and answer period. Presenters will be available both in person and in-world (in Second Life). No cost, just your time. Invite your colleagues and bring them with you. Please email Beth Ramirez (bramirez@jccc.edu) or call her at (913) 469-8500 ext. 3670 to register for the session.

Responding to Vriginia Tech through Service

The shootings at Virginai Tech has the education community reassessing their institution's readiness to deal with a variety of scenarios. It is thought, too, that a more compassionate, caring community that better engages to address social issues, including mental health treatment, may play a role in a better future for us all. At Virginia Tech they have launched a response that is both along these lines and in remembrance of those who have fallen:

..::VT ENGAGE::.. ......Remember - Serve - Learn...... Imagine the power of 600,000+ hours of community service performed by the Virginia Tech community and supporters of Virginia Tech to honor those lost April 16 and the commitment to service they demonstrated within their communities worldwide. We invite everyone to become "engaged" in the university motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve).

The purpose of VT-ENGAGE is to join university and community through service. Members of the university community, Virginia Tech alumni, and family and friends of Virginia Tech are asked to commit and complete at least 10 hours of community service by the end of the spring 2008 semester.

Personally, I believe in this. Would it be appropriate for JCCC to step up in an effort similar to this? For those of us who don't have a lot of money, we can give our service for a better tomorrow. I'm looking for feedback on how best to or even if to proceed.

FA Executive Council Meets Monday (22 Oct) 4-5 pm

The FA's Executive Council (officers and cluster representatives as listed along the right column in this blog) are scheduled to meet today from 4-5 pm in CC 232. The agenda is the following:

JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY ASSOCIATION
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING
AGENDA
22 October 2007

Approval of Agenda
Minutes
Treasurer’s Report

President’s Report
• New Day (Cluster Representatives & Officers)
• Other Potential Meeting Dates on our Calendar (Nov 12, Dec 10)
• Board Retreat (Governance, Tuition, Budget, Campus Safety vs Police)
• Reorganization – discussion item
• Contract
o Salary & Benefits (Core Group of 3 or 4 Negotiators TBD)
Salary Study (V Clark, D Krug, M Martin)
Health Benefits (T Hughes, B Pinker, K Carver)
Goals for Future Contracts (TBD …)
o Faculty Development & Travel (C Kadel, …)
o Book/Computerstore Credit in Lieu of Desktop ( J Anderson, M Martin, C Dunecsky, M Robertson)
o Summer Pro-Rata Pay
• Collegial Steering
o High Anxiety with Reorganization Looming
o Policy Revisions (D Williams, …)
o Consistency Considerations
o Graduation Ceremonies Discussion
o Negotiations
o Campus Police Considerations (…)
o Faculty Engagement with League
• Learning Summit here in June
• Sustainability ongoing
• Board Meeting
o I reported faculty generally pleased with Dr. Calaway and those involved with office moves seemed happy, too. I commended the A-TAC/DLCC engagement with the LMS decision, noted the anxiety with reorganization, and thanked board for contract date extension.
o KACCT (Deferred Maintenance, Technical Authority, Distribution Formula)
• By-Laws Revisions (K Day, R Eveslage, M Martin, S Wilson)
• Online/Distance Coordination, Direction, & Quality (Csilla Dunecsky, Michael Robertson)

Old Business:
• Health Clinic (Roberta Eveslage)
• Diversity Initiatives and some sort of center or institute (Kami Day)

New Business:
• Reorganization
o What do You want to see in Reorganization?
o What about Chairs?
o What about Reassigned Time?
o How Does it Impact the Bargaining Unit?
• Program Facilitators & Their Remuneration/ReassignedTime
o Extends, potentially, to other areas/positions
• Campus Safety versus Police
o Partner in VT-ENGAGE?
• What is the Faculty Leadership Team?
o FA Officers
o Ed Affairs Chair
o A-TAC Co-Chair
o Peer Review Chair
o Advisory Comm to VP of Instruction Chair
o What else? Who are we missing? How do we want to be organized?
o Depends on how many slots to fill…

Adjournment

Board Retreat

A big weekend was had at JCCC. The morning of the 20th started with 5 of 6 boardmembers convened to discuss evaluation of Dr. Calaway, governance as it relates to a potential 7th board member (and then how the board would be constituted?), tuition analysis, budget projections, and the readiness of campus security and local police for various scenarios on the JCCC campus. The idea, specifically, of transforming our campus safety program to a campus police unit was brokered but no position was taken by the board. The meeting was meant to familiarize all with the various issues and trends. It was a good meeting and day. The Gala for the Nerman was later that night ...

Collegial Steering Report

The Collegial Steering Committee met with a full agenda. First, the mebership of the committee is Lynn Mitchelson, Don Weiss, Terry Calaway (and usually his executive team of Dana, Jerry, Marilyn, and Dennis), and myself, Terri Teal, Vin Clark, and Jeff Anderson. We thanked the board for extending our contract voting notification date, clarified plans for graduation, updated on the health clinic and diversity initiatives. New business included reorganization, faculty engagement with the League, campus security, policy revision initiatives (particularly for grievance and progressive counseling), and then the big item -- NEGOTIATIONS.

On negotiations, we discussed how to approach it for either this coming spring or next academic year. Key items that we identified included, of course, salary and benefits. To that end, a group of faculty are working with administration on an RFP for the salary study. Another group works on the benefits committee (that will roll out health info in early January). A third group is assembling to target our goals for salary and benefits in the next contract (or succession of contracts). Another issue we identified was faculty development and support for travel and engagement with professional organizations and other initiatives. A group is being formed around that. Another potential issue was the idea of a faculty member having bookstore credits for a a personal laptop (or other device) in lieu of having a new campus computer. If there is interest in this then it will be explored. We have a group working on formulas for reassigned time, to have revisions in mind for the new contract. Depending on how reorganization plays out, evaluation may need to be explored as a negotiated item. Discussions along these lines occurred some three years ago with designs on eventual implementation. In order to be ready, the topic is being revisited. Also, the idea of opportunites for 12-month engagement in College activities is defintiely desirable by the College but limited (to the majority of faculty) both by pay discrepancies by term and the academic tradition of summer renewal. We have been invited to forward proposals for summer pro-rata pay to address at least one of those summer engagemnt issues. We're not limited to these issues and are discussing others. It will be an item for the next Executive Council meeting.

Reorganization

The structureof the College, including the academic branch, is being analyzed at this time. The faculty association leadership has expressed a desire for discipline leadership at the discipline and from within the bargaining unit. We've argued that this will require an anaalysis of different models that might accomplish this, the nature of the positions within each modela, and how they would impact load for those engaged. We've also argued that we need a fresh look at current load calculations for those already in similar positions -- program facilitators.

Decisions regarding reorganization should be made by administration soon. We have had some opportunities for input and have more meetings being scheduled. It will be a topic at the FA's executive council meeting.

Sustainability

The College is involved with a conference at Lane Community College on sustainability. Lane CC has implemented a sustainability office, position, and set of practices that other institutions are considering adopting. The team from JCCC, with support from Dr. Grove's office, includes Jay Antle, Rick Monk, Marilyn Rhinehart, and Deb Williams.

TGIF -- Barley's this afternoon (Friday, 12 Oct)

A group of faculty (and staff and whomever) are planning a TGIF gathering in late afternoon/early evening at Barley's. See the map for directions. All are welcome and invited.

Collegial Steering

This blog will be used to communicate what's going on with the Collegial Steering Committee. It has been asked by senior administration and board members that Collegial Steering be used not only for its original purpose, negotiating items in non-contract years and providing a forum for the issues of the day, but also as a means to bring others to the table as the College moves more towards shared governance. To that end, other groups will be asked to be represented at future meetings.

The agenda for the meeting on 20 Sept 2007 was the following:
** Contract Extension **
Proposed Wording: We, the Johnson County Community College Faculty Association acting on behalf of the Bargaining Unit, request that the Johnson County Community College Board of Trustees agree with us to amend Article XX, paragraph 3, to extend the listed date of notification from 1 October 2007 to 1 February 2008.
** Graduation **
** Health Clinic/Center **
** Multi-cultural Center **
** Negotiations Going Forward **
** The Role of Collegial Steering **

I thought we addressed all of these agenda items appropriately except for how the College will approach contract negotiations going forward. We are forming the agenda for the next meeting, 3:30-4:30 pm on 18 October, and also a working agenda for the year.

Graduation Moved to OPCC & on Sundays for Next Two Years

If you haven't heard, the JCCC graduation has been moved to the Overland Park Convention Center. While JCCC graduations have typically been on a Friday in the past, they will be on the Sunday (just aft that Friday) for the next two years (as the Fridays were already reserved); they will be on the typical Fridays in year 3 and going forward.

What does that mean to faculty? We've moved a contract day scheduled for the fall term to that Sunday. We did this through the Collegial Steering process. It is expected that about half of the faculty will participate in graduation ceremonies at OPCC (consistent with past practice).