Notes - Approved

Meeting Notes

NAME OF COUNCIL/TEAM: Educational Master Plan (2019-2020)
OBJECTIVE OF MEETING: Share project team insights based on homework (review of briefing packet, Institutional Equity Plan, Los Rios Future of Work) and college input. Determine key items/ideas to incorporate into EMP response. Get feedback on EMP template format and refine if needed.
DATE OF MEETING: 09/26/2019 TIME: 1:00pm		LOCATION/ROOM #: Community Room 4 CALL-IN NUMBER: Dial: +1 669 900 6833 (US Toll) +1 646 876 9923 (US Toll) CALL-IN CODE: Meeting ID: 320 974 6666
FACILITATOR(S): Frank Kobayashi & Gary Aguilar
ASSISTANT: Aleia Wisbaum
MEMBERS PRESENT: Gary Aguilar, Susan Andre, Jeff Bucher, Michaela Cooper, Roger Davidson, Grant Goold, Marianne Harris, Cheri Jones, Frank Kobayashi, Robin Reilly, Aleia Stalker
INVITED GUEST(S): Jeff Bucher, Daniel Gilbert-Valencia, Roger Davidson, Chad Funk, Jessica Pressley, Susan Andre, Robin Reilly, Marianne Harris, Grant Goold, Kuldeep Kaur, Michaela Cooper
SUPPORTING RESOURCES (ITEMS READ IN PREPARATION FOR AND/OR BROUGHT TO MEETING):
Attached Files: EMP Template Institutional Equity Plan
UPDATES AND BRIEF REPORTS:
Topic	Person(s) Responsible	Notes
Check-in	Frank Kobayashi
ACTION ITEMS:
Question	Person(s) Responsible	Notes and Decision(s)	Next Steps
		30
DISCUSSION ITEMS:
Question	Person(s) Responsible	Notes and Next Steps
Discuss any additional research that surfaced over the summer. Did you identify any supplementary research/topics to be examined?	Frank Kobayashi & Gary Aguilar	What are the projected changes in high school students, demographics, the community as a whole and the employer scan for this area? What kind of environment/change should we be planning for? - Some research from the Center for Excellence regarding local employment was already provided, however that research was from 2016. Cheri Jones has access to more information about demographic projections that she can share. We need to reconnect to the feeder High Schools and with Industry partners. It is the only way to stay in sync with the community and employer needs. - Staying connected with industry is vital to know what we should be teaching. It’s not always the “industry specific” knowledge that is lacking. Rather industry partners need things like critical thinking to be developed. - Stronger business relationships will allow us to stand up for the needs of our students/employers more proactively. - Yearly summit to actively engage with employers. While some departments currently do this very well. We need to be better at the College-wide level. Currently the US is not on a path of population growth. - Is enrollment growth going to be our goal? - If so, how do we do that when the general population is not growing? How do we cater to a larger audience? - We could move toward the Florida model- focusing more on successful completion rather than more people. - The new funding model could well with this approach. - We need to re-frame our idea of growth: How do we better serve our community? What is nearby in terms of vocational education, online/distance education? - How do out-of-state distance education programs compete with us? Or take away from our population? - Although private programs may cost more out of pocket, they take less time, which means you are theoretically in the field earning sooner. In terms of online learning, technology is see as a solution rather than a tool. - This needs to be a conversation of pedagogy first and foremost. - Not negating the need for online education- instead it needs to be a discussion of how we are teaching it. - Are we utilizing technology to its fullest capabilities? - We need to stop treating students as an empty vessel to be filled with knowledge. Instead they need be treated as contributing members and taught to think critically. Beginning to really question the binary approach we are taking with academic learning and occupational skills. - Short term credentials do not lead to viable careers. - Students are not likely to utilize stacked certificates. - The German model is completely contextualized, fully integrated learning. - 3 days per week spent with traditional academic learning. - 2 days per week spent with occupations skills (generally with an employer). - One of the reasons this works so well is that this method has been around so long, it is basically just accepted at this point. - How do we do a better job of bringing together Career Technical Education (CTE) and traditional education? We need to take a strong stand on our continued commitment to growth and training for faculty and classified staff. Providing the tools necessary to grow with new styles of teaching/learning. - Faculty are very good with their content, but the art of teaching has the potential to change dramatically and we need faculty to be prepared to change with it. - We need to put an emphasis on adjunct faculty- as they are often serving the highest number of students with the most need. Community college and American River College has always had the same structure. Everything that we are today is based on that structure. This may be our opportunity to integrate in a different way. - While considering all of that we need to keep in mind the structures that we will still need to fit in. Whether that be at the college, district, or state level. - We can have the greatest ideas in the world, but if our basic systems don’t work at the basic level, there is no way to move forward.
After reviewing the Educational Master Plan template, what feedback do you have? Review EMP template for format only.	Frank Kobayashi & Gary Aguilar	Frank, Gary, and Cheri spent the summer reviewing multiple education master plans, which were really more like a compass rather than an EMP. Based on the examples reviewed, a starting point was created for our project. The starting point is more about the structure, it does not really include the content. Cheri Jones outlined the proposed structure for the EMP. - 1) Purpose and Intent 2) Executive Summary 3) Planning Process 4) Vision, Mission, Commitment 5) Our Commitment to Social Justice 6) Where the Journey Began- give context of our institution 7) Guiding Imperatives- introduction to the imperatives 8) Summary Observation- deeper dive into each imperative. 9) ARC Response- A suggestion of the directions we could go in response to imperatives 10) Capacity to Respond- Resource consideration 11) Moving Forward- How do imperatives feed into other planning processes 12) Appendix A- Mapping of Strategic Goals 13) Appendix B- Ideas to Explore 14) Appendix C- Further Reading Question: Are we assuming that there may be more added to appendix B (Ideas to Explore) as we continue? Would this be a place for suggestions of future groups/plans to be developed? Question: What are the thoughts behind not establishing the context of our vision, strategic plan, or vision for success first and then providing the Executive Summary? Would that help the reader to understand the full scope of the project we are undertaking? Would it be beneficial to provide all of the background information, so that there is hopefully a more thorough understanding of all aspects taken into consideration? - The idea was to give an overview immediately for those who will not necessarily read through the whole document. But that can certainly be changed if the group would prefer the other way around. Comment: There will be a lot of context with each imperative. We will need to find a balance between sharing enough up front for context but not too much. Question: Where are the Appendix B concepts pulled from: - Integrated Planning guides: the focused plans and program review that Integrated Planning identified.
What are the key items/ideas which need to be incorporated into the Educational Master Plan response?	Frank Kobayashi & Gary Aguilar	Guided Pathways: this is the future of our education system. We need to make it easier to get in and out. - This will help accelerate students through college faster. - Making courses shorter, like the 8-week model that has been discussed and is currently being implemented at Natomas. - Starting classes more frequently (like the 8 week model). This will help with retention significantly. - Everyone is in agreement that guided pathways aren’t going away. - Do we have any control over the requirements for a 60 unit transfer degree? - According to the state average, community college students complete 90 units. - AB705 should help with these numbers. Embracing the philosophy of being flexible and nimble. - Embracing the idea of the “meta major”. - We don’t know for certain what is coming down the road- how do we teach students to be flexible, nimble, and to roll with the changes. - People who make big career changes, don’t necessarily do it through education. Should distance education be its own imperative or spread throughout all imperatives? - Would a hybrid class be a good option for responding to the convenience of distance education and the camaraderie of attending class? - We have options for creating a more personalized experience with technology. - We need to do a better job of exploring how technology can supplement, rather than replace. - In terms of integrating technology- how do we address the digital divide? Equity needs to be integrated throughout each imperative at the core.
ITEMS FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION:
Topic		Contact Person
Review summary version of draft imperatives		Frank Kobayashi & Gary Aguilar