Meeting Notes - February 2, 2017

Present: Rich Hansen, Cheryl Owiesny, Heidi King, Lorrie Ranck, Susan Cheu, Cecilia Hui, Faris Waiteasa, Dennis Shannakian, Sharon Luciw, Jose Hernandez, Gaier Dietrich, Alex Harrell, Marisa Spatafore (co-chair), Rob Mieso (guest presenter), Brandon Bailey (guest), Leah Mieso (notes).

Approve Notes

Mary Pape had noted, via email, an omission in the draft notes for November. The fact that Harrell participated in the Technology Plan presentations was added to the notes.

Accreditation Update/Introduction

Spatafore introduced new Office of Communications writer/editor Brandon Bailey. She said he has begun editing the Institutional Self-Evaluation Report (ISER) for accreditation, and is on track with the schedule established by the Accreditation Steering Committee and accreditation liaison officer Mallory Newell. The document is expected to be available for college review by the end of March.

Web Redesign

Harrell, who is a leader in the management of the website redesign, delivered an update on the project. Following extensive engagement with students, faculty and staff in the form of surveys, feedback sessions and consultation with the Website Redesign Advisory Group, the project is now in the quality assurance phase. He also demonstrated improved header options.

 New site organization

• Six main sections
• About us
• Academics
• Apply and register
• Fees and financial aid
• Student services and resources
• Campus life

 New site design

• Aimed primarily at prospective students
• Mobile-first approach
• Application, in an accordion format, aligns with the priority enrollment steps

Owiesny said that Athletics should be linked from the home page. Spatafore, while acknowledging Owiesny’s concern, noted that there have long been complaints about the excessive links on the current home page and that for usability and modernity, there should be main categories and a robust search function. Hui noted that the Library had raised a similar concern about no longer being linked from the home page in the redesign.

Dietrich requested that the burgundy and gold college colors, extensively utilized in the redesign, be checked for accessibility. Harrell said he would do so. [Subsequent testing by Harrell determined the design is compliant.] Dietrich also requested an accessibility link in the footer, which will be added.

Discussion ensued about the college main telephone number and the wisdom of publishing it when there are not dedicated staff to answer. Hernandez explained that, with the implementation of the new phone system, extension 5300 now rings on the desks of 10 Admissions and Records staff members, which will facilitate responsiveness.

Project Presentations

Rob Mieso presented two pilot projects, Naviance and Pathways, that had been discussed in the Student Services Planning and Budgeting Team (SSPBT) and are in the process of being implemented by ETS and the college. Spatafore reminded PBT representatives that the re-visioning of the Technology Committee included the presentation of PBT-vetted technology projects to the Tech Committee for advice, and information sharing out to constituency groups.

Mieso reported that Naviance is a comprehensive college and career readiness solution that helps districts and schools align students’ goals with college exploration. It assists colleges in outreach and recruitment efforts and will reach 134,000 students across the region.

 Project scope

• Six-month pilot period, March-August
• Cost of $3,000, paid through the Outreach budget
• Will make the college more visible to prospective students
• Hub page allows five URLs, 31 photos and/or videos to be supplied by the Office of Communications
• “Active match” sends targeted messaging to all Naviance-using students within 50 miles of campus

 Process and current status

• Presentation to SSPBT and Tech Committee; contract for the pilot phase reviewed and approved by Risk Management. Collaboration between Hobsons, ETS, A&R, Outreach, and Communications
• Hub page and messaging goes live Feb. 28; outcomes to be reviewed after the pilot period

Mieso described the Pathways tool as helping counselors and staff track and support students through the state Student Success and Support Program (SSSP) steps through graduation. It is aimed at improving student retention and equity, providing for personal communication with students and giving counselors real-time data on student progress.

 Pilot scope

• Period: winter 2017
• No initial cost; if adopted, could be funded through SSSP
• Piloted by SSSP and Equity counselors,

• All student cohorts and Learning Communities included
• Daily data upload

 Process and Current Status

• Approved by Risk Management
• Ongoing coordination with ETS

Technology Plan One-Year Implementation Plan

The group discussed which members are most appropriate to lead the various aspects of the one-year implementation plan of the Technology Plan. The table below includes the highlighted title and name or office of the member responsible.

Goal 1: Support ubiquitous, agile technology across the campus community

Goal 2: Teaching, learning and student engagement

Objective	Implementation Activities
Collaborate with Academic Senate, other	Initiate discussions and initial
partners on the development of open	planning opportunities – Lorrie
educational resources	Ranck, Associate Vice President of
	Instruction (as member of OER
	Task Group)

Assist as affordable and feasible in the organized provision of tablets and similar devices in classrooms and programs	Initiate conversations with Instructional and Student Services PBTs – Ranck
Guide the continual growth of course management system functionality to foster meaningful student-instructor and student- to-student communication.	Perform faculty/student needs assessment – Heidi King, Instructional Designer, Online Education  Evaluate possible solutions – King; consider addition of Mary Pape given Academic Senate role
Collaborate with its member accessibility expert and Disability Support Programs and Services (DSPS) to continually evaluate accessibility and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance across the website, learning management system and student information systems	Ensure routine attentiveness within key workgroups – All Tech Committee members of other workgroups, with Dietrich expertise  Add standing agenda item at TC meetings for discussion of accessibility needs, opportunities and compliance – Spatafore and Pape as co-chairs; Completed Ã
Improve access to student and academic services via technology	Regular input from TC members to ETAC and Banner on key topics – All; ongoing

Goal 3: Deeper research into student success and subsequent responses

Objective	Implementation Activities
Collect and analyze data to guide the enrichment of the student experience through technology.	Assess help request tickets, website analytics; continue to conduct regular technology survey(s); utilize results for improvement – King, Harrell; Office of Communications
Research and work to implement as appropriate emerging device-independent technologies that improve student access to services and explore the integration of such technologies through the website, VOIP phone system, faculty and staff email and the course management system.	Work collaboratively with ETAC and Banner committees to improve student access and services by maintaining membership on each committee and providing input – All; ongoing