Present: Sharon Bergeron, KC Boatsman, Ed Buckley, Ken Fiori, Doug Garrison, Kimberly Kalember, Renee LoPilato, Susan Bagby Matthews, Kimberlee Messina, Steve Morris, Ricardo Navarrette.

• Sharon Martinelli, School Relations, was introduced as a new member of the StEP Committee.
• The minutes of September 16th were reviewed. No corrections were made.
• The revised StEP plan was distributed and reviewed in its entirety. Questions were raised regarding:
• ‘Outcomes’ and ‘learning outcomes’, and their direct & indirect bearing on the issues of marketing, schedule development and course efficiencies. Outcome data is often more associated with accountability models and institutional effectiveness.
• Additional edits and changes were made in the areas of marketing, outcomes and fiscal status. Discussion ensued regarding two perspectives of the facilities efficiency – the ratio of faculty to students per class, and the number of classes offered in our facilities. There was concern over the possibility of efficiency diminishing student satisfaction.
• It was reiterated that the StEP Plan was not intended to be an operational document but rather an outline intended to assist the College’s strategic enrollment planning.
• Corrections and edits were made to the Summary and the Core Data Elements (Attachment 1).
• After careful examination and extensive discussion, the Strategic Enrollment Plan was approved for distribution to the Institutional Planning Council and the Academic Senate.

ATTENDING: Ed Buckley, Kris Abrahamson, Victor Cummings, Terri Frongia, Greg Granderson, Karen Kellam, Renee LoPilato, Anne O'Donnell, Joan Scarborough, Liz Bauer

Committee Membership for 2002- 03:

Ed Buckley, Terri Frongia, Kris Abrahamson, Reneé LoPilato, Victor Cummings

Greg Granderson, Karen Kellam, Peg Ellingson, Anne O'Donnell, Joan Scarborough

Student Liz Bauer, 2nd Student Representative -- to be determined

M I N U T E S
ACADEMIC SENATE
Santa Rosa Junior College
October 2, 2002
(pending approval)

PRESENT: G. Granderson, M. Bond, M. Connell, D. Larsen, D. Gooch, B. Croteau, W. Neel, K. Messina, M. Ludder, V. Bertsch, P. Goebel, B. Hinkle, L. Denner, M. Grossman, M. Estrin, D. Munton, B. Withers, P. LoCoco, D. Fischer, T. Vasquez, D. Campagna
ABSENT: M. Pierce, A. Spall, B. Flyswithhawks, A. LaRue

OPEN FORUM:
1. Mike Smith, SRJC Board member invited faculty to participate in the forum on the health care crisis on Saturday, October 19, 9- 3:30pm, Newman Auditorium.
2. Andrew Dolcini, SRJC student asked for faculty support for Kent Hall dorms.
3. Don Fischer said it is time to do something about garbage/spam email.
4. Pj LoCoco announced the Fall Plant Sale on Tuesday, October 15.
5. Marsha Connell announced the upcoming Arts & Lectures events.
6. Omar Medina, SRJC student said he is personally willing to sacrifice on-campus housing so that the new library can be built.
7. Bill Lambert, Classified Employee from Communication Studies said he is endorsing candidate Steve Benjamin for the Board of Trustees in the Analy School District. The Classified Advisory Council is sponsoring a series of brown bag lunches on Tuesdays from 11:30-1:00 under the Oaks by Burbank Auditorium until election time.

MINUTES:
The Minutes of September 18, 2002 was approved with two corrections.

REPORTS:
1. Accreditation Team Visit - K. Guzman encouraged faculty to review the self-study and it will be available on the web. The visit will take place October 22-24. Faculty are welcome to join any of the open meetings and the exit interview on October 24th at 2:00 p.m. in Burbank Auditorium.
2. Senate Appointment - Donna Larsen will replace Joel Werring as the representative for the area of Art, Music, Communication Studies and Theatre Arts.
3. Senate Parliamentarian - Vince Bertsch was appointed Parliamentarian.
4. Budget Advisory Committee - B. Croteau distributed a written report and the 2002-03 State Budget. The report included a bond update; information on Proposition 47-the Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2002 which would provide up to $13 billion in bonds for capital projects throughout the California educational system; the impact on the district's current operating budget of the Health Net Plan; and the 2002-2003 budget.

ACTION:
1. Arts & Lectures Committee - The motion to add four more faculty members to the Arts & Lectures Committee, bringing total faculty representation to ten, three of which will be chosen from the Petaluma campus was approved.
2. Adjunct Representative Clusters - The motion to reapportion adjunct representation to four specific areas was approved.
3. Certificate Residency - The following motion was approved: Each department will establish a residency requirement for each of their certificate programs that will be published in the schedule of classes. If a department fails to identify and establish the residency requirement for their certificate programs, then the following will be the residency requirement for completion of a certificate at SRJC. (1) A student must be enrolled at SRJC during the semester in which the requirements were completed. (2) For certificates of one to six units, all units must be completed in residence at SRJC. (3) A student must complete at least six units or 20% of the units (whichever is greater) required for the certificate in residence at SRJC.

DISCUSSION:
1. Analy Temps Relocation/Kent Hall - C. Groninga distributed a report on Analy temporary reassignment options. The construction of the new Library requires the relocation of several large, instructional and special student oriented programs from the Analy Temporaries. In order to prepare the site for construction, the existing facilities need to be dismantled and demolished during the Spring 2003 semester. Program occupants need to be relocated prior to demolition work. It is anticipated that the temporary reassignment will last at least three years. Upon completion of the Library and other projects, permanent assignment of programs will begin. A number of options are under consideration. The reassignment decisions are based upon accessibility, health and safety, instructional and student service impacts and the best use of college land and facilities during an extended and complex period of construction.
Meeting adjourned at 5:00 PM

Copies of all materials distributed during the meeting
are available from the Academic Senate Office

M i n u t e s

Tuesday, September 24, 2002

Senate Chambers, 2:30 p.m.

The meeting was called to order by Ron Root (Co- Chair).

Members present: Russ Bowden, Barbara Croteau (Co-Chair), Ted Crowell, Bob Flores, Peg Goebel, Micca Gray, Maryanne Michaels, Joe Morello, Ed Sikes, Deborah Sweitzer, Sandi Tassano.

Members absent: Andrew Dolcini, Cole Perry, Jamey Ransford.

Also present: Robert Agrella, Shirley Davis, Greg Granderson, Kat Lewis, Eileen Cichocki, Lamont Royer, Susan St. Clair.

Prior to the beginning of the discussion agenda items, Ron Root reviewed the duties and scope of this committee.

Ron Root explained that the district’s destiny is tied to the state’s financial destiny. He stated that although we likely will not hear more about state budget issues until after the election, the state’s budget will be much more impacted than in previous years. This year, the legislature settled on numbers, but did not solve the financial problems and the budget is left with a structural deficit that will linger for years to come. Ron reminded the committee of the early 90’s when there were four straight years without COLA and added that budget analysts are projecting that this situation will be worse.

During a discussion of the budget, Ron pointed out that most states have a greater portion of revenue coming from student fees and charges. When Greg Granderson asked about charging students increased fees, Ron replied that this issue will come up for discussion by this committee in the future.

Ron talked about the approximately $2.5 million in "opportunity loss" revenues resulting from items such as unrealized income from growth above cap, the reduced rate of reimbursement for the college’s 4.59% claimed growth, loss from a reduced reimbursement for adjunct health care coverage, and a ruling on the adjunct compensation categorical program. He added that the insurance premium increases and PERS employer contributions alone result in more costs than the college’s COLA revenue.

Ron said that SRJC was able to mitigate the budget impacts with approximately $1.5 million one-time revenue from the Foundation through the Healthy Lives campaign, and a $1.3 million spend-down of the reserves, but there is a structural imbalance to deal with next year. He continued by saying that if the state financial situation is as bad as projected in the next few years, this committee will be called upon to debate some grave budget issues.

When Ed Sikes asked how much money is still owed for the construction of the Race Building and what that is costing the general fund in interest, Ron responded that he would check the figures and email the committee with the financial information.

Ron Root asked the committee to come to the next meeting with ideas about how the committee can go through the process of discussing resource realignment, i.e., considering budget cuts, finding revenue enhancements, and other budgeting stragegies.

The meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.

The Strategic Enrollment Planning Committee (StEP) serves as a Presidential Advisory Committee and an Academic Senate Consultation Committee and is charged with coordinating an institutional enrollment planning process designed to assist the college in achieving optimum student access and success.

The StEP Committee met throughout the 2001-2002 academic year to determine the essential parts of the Santa Rosa Junior College Strategic Enrollment Plan, identify appropriate planning and evaluation data elements, and develop a format for the strategic enrollment plan appropriate to SRJC’s planning process and organizational structure.

The overall goal of the strategic enrollment plan is to provide information to:

The strategic enrollment plan operates in context of the Santa Rosa Junior College Institutional Master Plan and its base documents. It is informed and influenced by external and internal factors such as Sonoma County demographics, economic conditions, student preparedness and success data, facility limitations and development plans, and resource availability and implications.

The strategic enrollment plan is based on a review of SRJC data available from the Sonoma County Junior College District (SCJCD) Fact Book, the SRJC Data-Mining Tool, and reports from the Office of Institutional Research (OIR) and Computing Services. The Fact Book provides an institutional overview of the college, is published annually, and is available in hard copy and on the District’s Web site. The Data- Mining tool is available electronically and allows users to select specific data for review by use of pivot tables (www.santarosa.edu/datamine). Significant effort has gone into the design and development of these tools with the intent of providing administrators, faculty, and staff access to data necessary for decision making.

The StEP Committee has identified twenty-nine data elements for annual review to provide an overview of the college enrollment planning process and assess progress toward attaining enrollment and related goals (Attachment 1). Additional elements may be added based on specific annual goals.

The intent of the StEP Committee is to provide an institutional review of enrollment planning and outcomes to inform operational planning in the college components. While the StEP Committee does not engage in operational planning, the strategic enrollment plan does contain annual enrollment planning goals.

The StEP Committee serves as a steering committee for the review process and is organized in four core areas of focus with annual goals in each area:

1. Scheduling
2. Marketing
3. Outcomes
4. Fiscal Status

Scheduling

The scheduling review process includes identification and review of core data elements, review of schedule efficiency including class cancellation rate and facility use, and recommendation of enrollment targets.

The marketing review process includes examination of outreach and recruitment efforts, review of information and promotional campaigns, and evaluation of customer satisfaction issues internally and externally.

The outcomes review process includes examination of student access and success factors, review of mandated outcomes reports, and monitoring of progress toward attainment of local goals.

The fiscal status review process includes examination of efficiency factors such as full-time equivalent faculty/full-time equivalent students (FTES/FTEF) and budgetary goals including progress toward efficiency and general fund balance targets.

Over the last several semesters, the StEP Committee and Academic Affairs have worked with Computing Services and the Office of Institutional Research to provide improved historical enrollment data for use in the development of Program Evaluation and Planning (PEP) documents and the class schedule. The data have been selected by Academic Affairs practitioners to track information such as enrollment by department and location, FTES/FTEF, comparisons of hours of instruction offered over like semesters, number of attempts enrolled by class section, closed class rates, and other pertinent data. Until spring 2002, it has been difficult to organize the data in ways useful for planning at both the institutional and cluster levels. Through a combination of the SCJCD Fact Book and the Data-Mining tool, this data is now readily available in formats appropriate to the scope of planning. The academic deans and support staff have received initial training in the use of these tools, but additional training is necessary for these groups as well as for department chairs and program managers.

The college has also taken steps to improve the planning behind class schedule development. The PEP process has been revised to encourage regular discussions about schedule priorities among chairs, directors, deans, and the Vice President of Academic Affairs. The recent change in the schedule template was a response to student need and demand that also prompted an examination of scheduling practices in virtually every program. The development of the Santa Rosa Junior College Institutional Master Plan and examination of prior enrollment data helped bring renewed energy and focus to the task of refining the array of course offerings to attract students during the period of 2001-2002. For example, recent Academic Affairs component goals have included the examination of off-campus and weekend courses, the expansion of on-line courses, and the development of targeted programs related to our economic development mission. The growing attention devoted to the use of data and systematic planning activities to improve the class scheduling process have resulted in a class schedule that is generally more responsive to student demand. However, instructional efficiency and efficiency of facility use have declined since the mid-1990’s, and greater attention is necessary in these areas while respecting pedagogical issues specific to certain disciplines.

The college’s Institutional Master Plan identifies twelve planning initiatives in the SRJC Educational Plan. Three initiatives related to general education, economic development/workforce education, and developmental education/ESL recognize the economic, social, and ethnic diversity of our students and the increasing numbers of them who are not prepared to master the challenging coursework required for both transfer readiness and job readiness. Clearly, the Schedule of Classes needs to reflect our commitment to serving these students each term.

1. The college will adopt core data elements (Attachment 1) by which to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of the class schedule in terms of the use of resources and the major initiatives of the Institutional Master Plan.
2. The college will refine the schedule development process to improve the class schedule as measured by the core data elements (Attachment 1).
3. Computing Services will work with Academic Affairs to train all department chairs, instructional managers, and support staff in the use of the Data-Mining tool.

Over the last year, the StEP Committee has conducted lengthy discussions regarding its current promotional and marketing efforts. In the course of the discussion, the areas of consideration were defined to include three primary activities: outreach and recruitment; information and promotion; and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

The establishment of the Office of School Relations has significantly improved the coordination of outreach and recruitment activities, facilitated more efficient use of staff time and materials in outreach and recruitment, and produced specific informational brochures and newsletters for distribution. However, the majority of these activities have been focused on general recruitment functions. Though some instructional programs conduct additional outreach and recruitment activities, they are not always coordinated with the Office of School Relations. As a result, there are instances where outreach and recruitment activities are conducted without broad knowledge of the college causing potential inefficient use of staff time and/or resources.

The StEP Committee’s efforts to strengthen SRJC’s strategic enrollment planning has also prompted interest in and review of public relations functions. The recent leadership change in the Public Relations Office creates an opportunity to review the services that Public Relations has provided for many years and to identify new aims and services currently being implemented based on an institutional communications model that intends to broaden the scope of Public Relations’ services.

In spring 2002, Public Relations provided a general inventory to the StEP Committee of the products and services it has delivered for many years. While this review indicates that specific activities coordinated by the office have efficiently achieved some aspects of public relations, in addition to implementing annual advertising campaigns associated with fall, spring, and summer semesters/sessions, other marketing efforts have been inconsistent, and several key areas have not been fully addressed or initiated.

The importance of marketing planning and oversight has prompted Public Relations to closely review SRJC’s key documents to summarize marketing priorities, needs, and activities outlined in the Accreditation Self Study Report, Component Goals, KnowledgeWorks, the Economic Development Initiative Plan, and the Institutional Master Plan. Clearly, to achieve such broad marketing aims, a strategic approach to enrollment marketing will require prioritization of identified needs and the strategic coordination of efforts to ensure that: (1) promotional efforts college wide are not duplicated, (2) marketing products and activities are cost effective, (3) appropriate audiences are targeted, and (4) all marketing efforts work to bring consistency to SRJC’s overall identity. The result of the college "speaking in one voice" will continue to bring cohesion to SRJC’s image and thereby raise public awareness of the college’s very diverse educational options.

The preliminary results of Public Relations’ department audit already note that over 300 program-specific products are produced from Public Relations’ efforts. These materials are in addition to institutional products, publications, and advertising campaigns including the Catalog, Schedule of Classes, Accreditation Self Study Report, South County Mailer, Community Education Bulletin, generic brochures, portfolios, photography, and enrollment advertising campaigns. At this point, there is no mechanism that equitably determines assistance to instructional programs. While many instructional programs access Public Relations for promotional materials, many others do not.

The StEP Committee considers the assessment of customer satisfaction a necessary aspect of marketing planning. In this context, the term customer includes all constituencies impacted by the college including students, faculty, staff, and area residents. Currently, the evaluation of customer satisfaction is not conducted consistently throughout the college. Assessment of internal customer satisfaction has been attempted through surveys, the most recent of which being the Student Services Survey of spring 2001. More narrowly targeted surveys are administered occasionally in specific programs, but results are not reported in an institutional manner. However, there is currently no on going evaluation of internal customer satisfaction designed to assess the effectiveness of college publications, procedures, and environment. Assessment of external customer satisfaction is also sporadic with the greatest activity in occupational programs that assess satisfaction with curriculum and/or program graduates through advisory committees and/or employers. The Community Needs Assessment conducted in 1994 included some external customer satisfaction elements, but regular evaluation of external customer satisfaction is not in place.

In addition, recent Sonoma County demographic data, increasing enrollment in ESL courses, and institutional research identifying Spanish as the most common native language other than English indicate the importance of considering the needs of limited English proficient residents and students in our college communications products.

1. The college will continue to review the primary college communications products (Schedule of Classes, Catalog, and Web-based information) to improve their overall effectiveness and to assess the accessibility of those products by Spanish-speaking students.
2. The college will determine the feasibility of regularly assessing internal and external customer satisfaction.
3. The college will review all outreach and recruitment activities with the intent of improving coordination of instructional program- based efforts with the current Student Services operation.
4. The college will conduct a review of the SRJC information and promotional activities and develop a plan to enhance and coordinate the college’s institutional and instructional program-based marketing activities.

In the last few years, an increased focus on accountability and outcomes for California community colleges has been reflected in accreditation standards, Partnership for Excellence goals, and various reporting requirements. The establishment of the Office of Institutional Research has facilitated the college’s ability to respond to this function though responsibility for various reports and activities is shared with the Office of Admissions, Records and Enrollment Development and Computing Services. The Office of Institutional Research has developed the SCJCD Fact Book; the Office of Admissions, Records, and Enrollment Development prepares regular enrollment reports; and Computing Services has developed and maintains the SRJC Data-Mining tool allowing specific searches of data. Collectively, these efforts offer a wealth of data although accessing and interpreting the data can be challenging. There is no broad understanding within the college community of what outcomes reporting is available and where to access it. As a result, outcomes data are not regularly integrated with departmental Program Evaluation and Planning and program review efforts. The Institutional Master Plan calls for greater coordination between outcomes reporting and the college’s planning process.

During review of the college’s outcomes research and reporting activities, the StEP Committee observed that effective outcomes reporting requires examination of inputs as well as outcomes. The committee believes that it is not possible to evaluate outcomes without understanding the characteristics of our incoming students. Therefore, examination of outcomes data for strategic planning also requires student input data such as ethnicity, college-going rates, assessment results, BOGG recipient rates, and educational goals. The inputs and outcomes data appear to be available from college sources. However, coordination, collection and reporting of these data could be improved with the result of improving access for departmental program planning.

Finally, the new WASC accreditation standards emphasize assessment of program-based and overall learning outcomes. The learning outcomes emphasis is different than the accountability-based outcomes commonly expressed in institutional effectiveness reports. SRJC has limited examples of learning outcomes assessment and will have to develop a comprehensive program to address these new accreditation standards.

1. The college will review the roles of the Offices of Institutional Research, Admissions, Records and Enrollment Development, and Computing Services to clarify the source of and responsibility for collection and reporting of outcomes data to better inform the college community and to improve access to these data.
2. The college will review available inputs and outcomes data to identify regular reports for distribution and coordination with departmental program planning processes.
3. The college will develop a comprehensive program regarding the new learning outcomes accreditation standards to inform the college community, develop means of assessing learning outcomes, and incorporate the results in strategic planning efforts.

The SRJC Board of Trustees, administration, and faculty/classified leadership have long recognized the need for and acted with fiscal responsibility. The links between the Schedule of Classes, faculty workload, and enrollment have been more closely examined in the last few years in an effort to enhance enrollment planning and improve instructional efficiency. Significant effort has been made to provide academic deans and department chairs data necessary to make informed decisions. In general, there is greater understanding of the links between the Schedule of Classes, enrollment, and the fiscal status of the college. However, greater effort is required to train academic deans and department chairs in the use of enrollment planning tools to enhance the efficiency of the instructional program and facilitate the attainment of enrollment goals.

Recent passage of the general obligation bond has resulted in a comprehensive review of facility needs on both campuses and at off- campus sites. This examination has confirmed the need to improve the efficiency of facility use to assist the college in providing students maximum access to courses and to ensure eligibility for state funding of future facility projects. Efforts to improve efficiency are driven by the current and anticipated instructional program and must include specific goals regarding facility use efficiency while respecting pedagogical issues specific to certain disciplines.

In general, the StEP Committee believes that the establishment and communication of specific enrollment and efficiency goals are necessary to assist the college community in understanding their importance to the college’s fiscal status.

1. The college will provide training for administrators, faculty, and staff in the use of enrollment planning tools for application in the development and monitoring of the class schedule, faculty workloads, and facility use plans.
2. The college will establish and communicate annual enrollment and efficiency goals (FTEF/FTES, facility use rates, etc.), evaluate their attainment, and report their impact on the fiscal status of the college.

1. The college will adopt core data elements (Attachment 1) by which to measure efficiency and effectiveness of the class schedule in terms of the use of resources and the major initiatives of the Institutional Master Plan.
2. The college will refine the schedule development process to improve the class schedule as measured by the core data elements (Attachment 1).
3. Computing Services will work with Academic Affairs to train all department chairs, instructional managers, and support staff in the use of the Data-Mining tool.
4. The college will continue to review the primary college communications products (Schedule of Classes, Catalog, and Web-based information) to improve their overall effectiveness and to assess the accessibility of those products by Spanish-speaking students.
5. The college will determine the feasibility of regularly assessing internal and external customer satisfaction.
6. The college will review all outreach and recruitment activities with the intent of improving coordination of program-based efforts with the current Student Services operation.
7. The college will conduct a review of the SRJC information and promotional activities and develop a plan to enhance and coordinate the college’s institutional and instructional program-based marketing activities.
8. The college will review the roles of the Offices of Institutional Research, Admissions, Records, and Enrollment Development, and Computing Services to clarify the source of and responsibility for collection and reporting of outcomes data to better inform the college community and to improve access to these data.
9. The college will review available inputs and outcomes data to identify regular reports for distribution and coordination with departmental program planning processes.
10. The college will develop a comprehensive program regarding the new learning outcomes accreditation standards to inform the college community, develop means of assessing learning outcomes, and incorporate the results in strategic planning efforts.
11. The college will provide training for administrators, faculty, and staff in the use of enrollment planning tools for application in the development and monitoring of the class schedule, faculty workloads, and facility use plans.
12. The college will establish and communicate annual enrollment and efficiency goals (FTES/FTEF, facility use rates, etc.), evaluate their attainment, and report their impact on the fiscal status of the college.

Attachment 1

Fall 1997 – Fall 2001 Source: SCJCD Fact Book E-6

Note: Report to be developed Source: Computing Services reports

11. Sonoma County Population by Ethnicity

1. – 2000 Source: SCJCD Fact Book C-4

11. Sonoma County Unemployment Rate

1991 – 2001 Source: SCJCD Fact Book C-10

12. Funded FTES (Credit, Non-Credit, Total)

1990-91 – 2000-01 Source: SCJCD Fact Book F-2

13. Sonoma County High School Graduation and College Going Rates

1996 – 2000 Source: SCJCD Fact Book C-14

14. Unduplicated Credit Headcount, Total and Average Units Enrolled