Meeting
Summary Notes
April 16, 2003
Conference
Call
Members
Present
Mary
Kay Tetreault, Portland State University, Chair
Jim
Arnold, Oregon University System
Liz Goulard, Chemeketa Community College
Michele
Sandlin, Oregon State University
Karen
Sprague, University of Oregon
Glenda
Tepper, Clackamas Community College
Mark Wahlers, Concordia University
Elaine
Yandle-Roth, Community Colleges and Workforce Development
Mary Kay Tetreault called the meeting to
order at 9:07 a.m. and Jim Arnold confirmed those participating in the call.
1.
Announcements and Suggestions for the Agenda
Jim
Arnold addressed three topics: conference-call arrangements; lunch arrangements
for the June meeting; and spam E-mail. (1) Conference-call accommodations have
been researched and revised. The arrangement utilized today is through a
“bridge” at Oregon State University, features a toll-free number, is the most
cost-efficient in terms of overall public-dollar resources, and is being paid
for by the Chancellor’s Office and the Commissioner’s Office. (2) Lunch
arrangements for the June in-person meeting at OIT Metro will proceed as
previously announced: members will be asked to bring exact change to pay for
their own lunch, which Arnold will order on members’ behalf. (3) Finally, the
JBAC Listserv is now “closed” to all postings except from members, and then
only from the E-mail account listed as their address on the list. This was done
to eliminate the increasing number of spam E-mails experienced by members.
Two
additional topics were suggested for the agenda: (1) HB 2817
(Gouldard) and (2) SB
870 (Arnold).
2.
Minutes of the February 19, 2003, Meeting
The minutes of the February 2003 meeting
were discussed. It was requested that title of item number 4 from that meeting
be changed to: “Variability of General Education Requirements.” (Note: the web
version of the minutes was so changed on April 17, 2003). Issue was taken with
the description of the general education discussion from February 19th
meeting in that it did not include history or context for the discussion, nor
did it reflect the biases of the presenter. Discussion of meeting summary notes
(in general) included the suggestions that the minutes appear in more of an
outline form, with a format to include: (1) topic, (2) discussion, (3) action, (4)
conclusion (for each agenda item). The final decision was to conclude each
agenda item with the designation of “ Action: …. ” to be taken, when
appropriate.
Action: Arnold will begin
including the “Action” designation at the conclusion of items in the minutes.
3.
Membership Review
Arnold
verified that OUS members Tetreault, Sandlin, and Shelton have terms that are
expiring in June, and the community college members whose terms are expiring
are Bell and Goulard. Yandle-Roth noted that Vickie Fleming will be leaving the
group as well, and a replacement is being sought from ODE. Yandle-Roth is
responsible for forwarding recommendations to the Commissioner for next year’s
appointments, and Arnold will consult with Vice Chancellor Clark on possible
recommendations for OUS members; subsequent recommendations will be made to the
Chancellor.
Action: Arnold and Yandle-Roth will follow up on suggestions for
possible replacement members.
4.
AS/OT-Bus Update
Yandle-Roth reported that the AS/OT-Bus
degree is up for final consideration and action by the State Board of Education
this coming Friday. During the information session on the proposed degree at
last month’s Board meeting, Board members were enthusiastically supportive --
so approval at this meeting is assumed. After Board approval, colleges will be
able to submit their degree plans for approval by the Board at any time. We
believe that Mt. Hood Community College and Clackamas Community College will be
implementing this degree very soon, perhaps as early as this summer. Once the
Board of Education has approved the degree, Arnold will take this information
to the Board of Higher Education as an information item. Sandlin requested that
Arnold also provide the latest information about this degree to OUS admission
officers at the next ICAR (Interinstitutional Committee on Admission and
Recruitment) meeting on May 27th. Goulard indicated that Chemeketa
Community College will also implement this degree, but may wait until next
year.
Action: Arnold will report on the
AS/OT-Bus degree approval by the Board of Education to (1) the Board of Higher
Education and (2) ICAR.
Prior to the meeting,
Yandle-Roth furnished the group with a PowerPoint presentation (http://www.ous.edu/aca/FrstYrRpt.ppt),
and a PDF version (http://www.ous.edu/news/FullReport.pdf)
of a report recently completed by OUS, CCWD, and ODE. This study relates scores
on students’ 10th grade benchmark tests (CIM) to freshman-year
academic performance (in terms of GPA) at OUS institutions and community college
campuses. In all cases, for all disciplinary areas examined, the better the
student performance on benchmark tests, the better the performance in
postsecondary efforts. This is the first time a study such as this had been
performed (anywhere), and provides a validation for the process. For at least
this one year cohort of students, the benchmark tests are as predictive of
college success as is the SAT.
Sandlin observed that this will be helpful in terms
of enrollment management efforts at OUS campuses.
Sprague inquired about the evidence of improvement of
performance in high schools. Yandle-Roth responded that student performance
information is readily available on the ODE
web site, and shows consistent improvement over time. However, these data
compare current student performance with students in the same school for
previous years only (no “control group” data are available). No specific
evidence has been presented as far as the “effectiveness of the CIM.” We have
not been attempting to “test the test” but, rather, to evaluate the
effectiveness of instruction. This information is helpful in determining
strengths/weaknesses in student performance; this information is diagnostic so
that focus may be provided for instructional efforts.
Action: None
required.
6. Discussion: “Fixing” The AA/OT
Arnold
indicated that the possible discussion points listed on the agenda
(“recommending a mandate” and “transferable general education core”) regarding
this item are ones listed in the “Fixing the AA/OT” report,
a document requested by the JBAC at the December 2002 meeting and
delivered by Arnold at the February
2002 meeting. Some resistance was expressed to both the title of the report
(which may imply that the AA/OT is “broken”) and the mentions of both a Joint
Boards “mandate” and a “transferable general education core.” Some confusion
was apparent about whether or not the “possible solutions” listed in the report
were actually recommendations. Arnold assured the group that they were not
presented as recommendations, or even suggestions; the topics so listed were merely
ones that had, at some point or another, emerged in previous discussions about
the AA/OT.
Goulard
mentioned that the “possible solutions” listed in the report, while
controversial, may have some merit. For example, community colleges, in these
economic times, may have the need to develop a “new product line” in terms of a
transferable general education core curriculum. Community colleges are very
pressed for resources, and there is still is the desire to satisfactorily meet
students’ needs within the current resource constraints. So, while the “Fixing
the AA/OT” report may be a somewhat provocative document, it provides a good
focus for discussion purposes, which is exactly what was asked for by the
group. The Council of Instructional Administrators had a spirited discussion,
at their last meeting, regarding the proposal for a transferable general
education core, for example. The community colleges may be willing to take a
look at how to do some things differently.
Tepper
observed that what we are trying to do is serve students, and, at least in
terms of the discussion at Clackamas Community College, the “Fixing the AA/OT”
document has been a big help in facilitating the dialogue. Clackamas is now
engaging in serious talks about the possibility of eliminating their sequence
requirements for the AA/OT.
Action: Arnold
is producing another policy document describing what other states are doing
with regard to the transferable general education core issue. He will have a
draft of this available by the time the Student Transfer Committee meets on May
21st.
7. Additional Topics
Goulard
indicated that HB 2817 is under
consideration by the House Education Committee. It has had one hearing. This bill
would create an “Oregon Post-Secondary Education Council Task Force” for the
purpose of increasing coordination among the post-secondary sectors, including
the private colleges and universities and proprietary schools. It appears to
make the assumption that we’re not working together already. The Oregon
Community College Association is attempting to get this billed stopped, or at
least amended. The bill appears to still have life, however. The creation of
such a council would likely impact the work of JBAC.
Arnold spoke
about SB 870. This
bill directs Eastern Oregon University, Treasure Valley Community College, and
Blue Mountain Community College to start developing a plan for conversion to
the semester system by January 1, 2004, and then implement that plan by the
2005-06 academic year. The bill has passed out of Senate Education and may be
passed by the Senate today. It will resurface in House Education, where OUS
will be working with the community colleges to, at the very least, strike the
implementation phase.
Action: None required by JBAC members, though
monitoring of these bills is advised.
8. Meeting Schedule and Adjourn
The next meeting will be a conference call
in May. The meeting was adjourned at 10:11 a.m.
The remaining meetings for
the year are as follows:
May 14, 2003 9:00 - 11:00 Conference
Call
June 11, 2003 10:00 - 2:00 at OIT Metro
Prepared by Jim
Arnold
OUS Academic Affairs
April 17, 2003
http://www.ous.edu/aca/4-16-03.htm