January 9, 2012

 

 

Minutes of the December 12, 2011, meeting was approved.

 

 

David Lightfoot, John Capps, John Poole, Geoff Hicks, Joey Fronheiser, Don Sutton, Leticia Forster, Cindy McCormick, David McGee, and Dianne Sykes

 

John C. welcomed all newcomers to the President’s Staff meeting. He stated the presidents of the Faculty, Classified Staff, and Part-Time Staff Associations were represented today at this meeting and will be invited (or a representative) to all future meetings with the invitation also extending to Geoff/deans/directors’ meetings. John C. stated he spoke about greater communication and transparency here at CVCC during Convocation, and hoped this will be a way to help reach that goal. John C. stated, however, there would be times that the President’s Staff meeting would be closed such as when personnel or confidential matters need to be discussed.

 

John C. stated the Staff meetings usually followed an agenda but nothing is out-of-bounds, and open discussions are encouraged. He stated he hoped discussions for today’s meeting would include where the College is, where it has been, and where it needs to go.

 

Data as of Wednesday (1/11/2012)

 

 

 

 

 

Joey reported the last week of the academic semester and last week, he met with either faculty or the deans regarding the execution of the Student Outcome Assessment Process to make sure data was compiled. He confirmed there was data from each program. He stated some of the faculty have worked to analyze that data to close the loop in providing feedback. Joey stated he is now in the process of summarizing the data and will be working with faculty and deans to analyze and interpret it (due last of January) to make improvements. Joey reported the completion of that task is on track. Joey stated he was pleasantly surprised as the College is further along with assessments on many of the programs.

He stated he is confident the College will meet the April deadline with the information needed. He stated his only concern (and one he cannot change) is a short number of years some programs have been tracked. However, he stated the College is in good shape for this year. Joey stated 18 months ago, SACS was told that CVCC would complete 50% of the programs for year one and 100% for year two. Joey stated the College has done exactly what it said it would do.

Geoff stated that he believed Joey had this under control, and the deans and faculty have bought into the importance of this. David M. stated he agreed that all faculty understand the gravity of this.

Geoff stated if the result of the assessments can be used to improve the programs and make the College educational experience better for students, everyone will then understand the importance of the process. David M. stated when it becomes an ongoing process, the importance becomes more apparent. He stated in the past this was required about every ten years at the SACS’ reaffirmation. Geoff stated as discovered during the recent Five-Year report, CVCC received a recommendation concerning Institutional Effectiveness which has now made this process ongoing, not just every 10 years. 

John C. compared the College having to run a sprint, as to what it should have been, a distance race. He stated he thinks this is important for the culture of the College because it should be a college engaged in continuous improvement and continuously evaluating to become more effective than in the past. This should become a pervasive and permanent fixture at CVCC. David M. stated he felt once faculty receive feedback on the assessment and see the results, the importance will be understood to a greater extent.

 

 

Don discussed a possible CVCC recipient for the Chancellor’s Awards for Leadership in Philanthropy. He stated in the past, recipients included Jim McCormick (for the Major Gifts Campaign), B&W, AREVA, Centra, N. B. Handy, and R. R. Donnelly. Don stated he would like to nominate Harris Corporation for this year’s CVCC recipient. The Staff approved his recommendation.

 

David discussed the possibility of moving to a more rich text environment (possibly using a wiki which is Hawaiian for fast or quick and a website whose users can add, modify, or delete its content via a web browser) for all of CVCC’s meeting minutes. He stated one location for all minutes would make access easier and more reader friendly because as long as the internet is available, there is access to the wiki. David stated the reader would not have to have Microsoft Word to open the document, and no login would be required. John C. stated in the future, he would like to have the agendas posted prior to the meetings so that any interested party could make preparations to attend the meeting. The Staff decided to table this request until more discussions were held.

 

 

David reported several discussion sessions were held during Convocation. One topic was “Classroom Technologies and Beyond.” David stated the faculty identified four learning pods which included classroom interactivity. He stated a look at what the requirements are and how the College can leverage that with technology was discussed. David stated another session included “The Future of the CVCC Network ID.” He stated faculty could access all CVCC resources with their CVCC ID. He stated this could also apply to students and adjunct faculty. David reported the consensus was to apply this to adjunct faculty first, students second, and then full-time faculty.

John P. reported over the holidays the hallways in Amherst Hall were painted by B&G, and he hopes the counseling office will be painted during spring break. He also stated the interview process for an HR assistant was completed, and the search for the HR Director should be completed within the next week or two. John P. also reported vending machines have been added near the Fitness Center with healthy drinks and snacks. John stated at the next Staff meeting, the architect will present the drawings for the College’s revised Student Center which will include the color selections. He reminded everyone who is on the list for required NIMS (National Incident Management System) training to please have it completed by January 13. John stated the College must be NIMS compliant when applying for grants in Homeland Security, and it is also a requirement by the governor. John P. reported on the Amherst and Campbell Halls’ bathroom renovations and stated the firm Wiley and Wilson had been selected to complete a study and a quote (VCCS Maintenance Reserve Fund is paying for the renovations) has been obtained. John P. stated the College has completed everything and is now waiting to hear from the VCCS. John reported all of the restrooms may not be renovated because in the future, major renovations for the entire building are planned. He stated this may require major reconfigurations which could result in tearing down new bathrooms. John P. stated at this time the worse ones will be addressed. John P. stated he will keep everyone updated on the progress. David M. asked what the timeline was on the completion of the Student Center. John P. stated the Local Board will have to approve the funds as it must be local funds, (and maybe some state funds) but feels the process will move rather quickly.

Don reported CVCC’s rebranding effort is moving forward with the DPR being processed. John C. stated he would like to know where the College stands in relation to last year’s Annual Fund. Don stated he did not have the exact figures with him; however, he did know there was an increase.

 

Geoff reported the search for a position in Institutional Effectiveness and the Director of the Amherst Center is in process but not finalized at this time. He also reported he attended a number of the Convocation sessions and was pleased (all but one exception) was well attended. David M. stated he heard positive remarks from the faculty on the Convocation changes. John C. stated he was disappointed that everyone did not participate in the sessions but hopefully someday that will change.

 

John C. reported Dr. Ruth Hendrick has been chosen as CVCC’s Vice President of Workforce Development and Continuing Education, and her official start date will be January 30. He stated activities have been planned for her to meet the College community and the community at large. He stated her credentials represent a great potential for Workforce.  

 

John C. stated he would like to take stock on the College as to where it has been and where it is going since now there are perspectives from all contingencies present at this meeting. He stated he wanted to hear the truth to be in touch with reality. Leticia began by saying she has seen some positive changes in regard to filling positions that have been vacant for a long time. She stated this is a win-win situation for everyone. David L. suggested with the effort to dismiss the differences between classifications, should the directory reflect the employees’ actual jobs, not just the department they work in. John C. agreed with the suggestion stating he wanted to dismiss any difference or barrier between full-time and part-time. Geoff suggested maybe having a hyperlink beside names in the directory which would open up to a job description. (The Staff approved for the directory to be updated with working titles that are descriptive of their job. John C. requested David L. to show a sample to the Staff before changing all.) John P. reported he is having all his reports review their job descriptions in order to make them current and suggested this be college-wide. He stated even though the College would like to blur the lines between part-time and full-time, the Commonwealth of Virginia still requires those distinctions. Leticia stated some employees have never seen their EWP, and some part-time positions do not even have one. John C. stated that is one reason that all positions must now be advertised before hiring.

 

David L. discussed the possibility of having photographs also located on the directory of employees. (Issues were discussed involving privacy and safety.) John C. stated this should be discussed at a later meeting. He also discussed the new logo for the College and its cascading effect regarding development of a new website.

 

David M. stated one area the College lacked in was Continuing Education.  He stated this is proven to be a great marketing tool for community colleges. He reported he recently saw a brochure for Blue Ridge Community College which contained about 150 classes. Don stated about 15 years ago, CVCC did have a very active Continuing Education Department. John C. stated that Lord Fairfax Community College also has a very large Continuing Education offering and hopes CVCC will improve in its offerings in the future.

 

Cindy stated that many part-timers would like to be hired as full-time employees.

 

John P. stated that CVCC needed to be more active in bringing in outside money to the College. He stated the College has not received any major contributions for some time now. John C. agreed saying in the past year he met with all but two of the Foundation Board members, and in general, they want to be more involved in raising money for the College. Don stated the Access to Opportunity Campaign is winding down, and it is time to see what the next vision will be. John C. stated he felt the next vision should first revolve around students and scholarships and possibly for an extensive professional development program. Geoff stated with the last QEP, $40,000 from local funds were set aside for professional development involving Distance Education but that only lasted for four years. John C. and John P. both stated their preference was to use state funds for professional development. John C. stated this can happen if the College operates efficiently and effectively. He stated from fall 2011 to spring 2012, the College lost too many students. John C. stated this hurt students first but also cost CVCC money. He stated the College’s fate lies with the need to improve retention, expand dual enrollment, and better recruitment.

 

Cindy asked if part-time positions will ever receive a job evaluation. John C. stated as of now, there are no evaluations but possibly in future plans. John P. stated that in Virginia, there is no evaluation process for part-time positions. He noted that CVCC could not operate without its part-time employees as some departments operate mainly on part-time. Leticia stated to make evaluations possible, each position needed a job description and duties. John C. discussed evaluations for adjunct faculty were also necessary as a SACS’ requirement. Geoff stated adjuncts were evaluated, and there was a plan followed for this procedure. He stated he will examine this further to make sure everything is in place.

 

 

The meeting adjourned at 2:30 p.m.

 

The next President’s Staff meeting will be held on January 23, 2012.