January 20, 2022

Attendees

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Attending Members: Balducci, Brown, Galoyan, Kobata, LeBleu-Burns, Mandy (co-chair), Mieso (co-chair), Nguyen, Teja (DASG), Tran (DASG), Wheat, Yi-Baker

Guests: Veronica Avila, Marilyn Booye, Jared Camacho, Maria Hernandez, Melinda Hughes, Denica Kelly, Joseph Ng, Andrea Santa Cruz, Angelica Strongone, Lan Trinh

Meeting Items

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Minutes Approval

There were no amendments to the previous meeting notes or to the agenda.

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Full-time Faculty Position Request Presentations

Mieso reviewed for the committee that the state has given De Anza funding to hire 13 new faculty positions with 8 going to Instruction and 5 to Student Services. Once the positions have been determined, they will go to College Council for final approval and then hiring can begin.

  Balducci presented first her request for three positions:

1. Transfer Counselor/Coordinator
2. General Counselor
3. Early Alert Counselor
   
   
   

1. The Transfer Counselor/Coordinator was an SRP position (early retirement) and some of the duties have been taken care of by Balducci to some extent. The General Counselors do cover transfer with the students but the coordination of events, literature, outreach, updating other counselors with the latest transfer information that include in-state and out-of-state requirements, and writing the yearly transfer plan was all taken care of previously by this position. This position would provide the full implementation of the tasks mentioned above as well as disseminate articulation information and post information to social media.
   
   

2. General Counseling currently has 12 full-time permanent Counselors, 3 Advisors, and two Counselors on Article 19 that serve the entire De Anza student population of about 16,000 FTS. General Counselors and Advisors served at total of 22,897 (duplicated) appointments and 29,589 (duplicated) drop-ins from Summer 2019 through Spring 2021. The General Counselor ratio in that time period was 1,400 to 1. The Chancellor’s office recommends a maximum 800:1 ratio. These numbers do not include the workshops that are done throughout the year or the emails and phone calls completed during this time. General Counselors see full-time but also all of the part-time students that attend and cover the breaks when other areas may be closed. The General Counselor would provide counseling to the general population of students but also teach courses and conduct personal counseling when needed to assist the student with their educational goals.
   
   

3. A new Retention Services Program initiative was started in 2019 and due to its success rate of 24% in getting students off probation, an Early Alert system was created and implemented in the fall of 2021. In the fall quarter, they received 193 unduplicated student Early Alerts. The new Early Alert Counselor would help prevent students from being on probation status by counseling them when they first start to show signs they are struggling. They would counsel students on educational and personal barriers that impede them from their college success and pair them with supportive services and programs to further assist them.
   
   

Nguyen asked how many faculty positions were available and the priority/ranking of the three submissions. Balducci responded that they were presented in order of priority as determined by the Counseling Division and Student Service was allocated 5 positions total.

• Full Presentation
• General Counseling Position Request

  LeBleu-Burns presented her position request for two positions:

1. Guardian Scholars Counselor/Coordinator
2. Psychological Services/Mental Health Counselor
   
   
   

1. They are currently serving EOPS eligible Foster Youth but there are those that do not qualify for this program. Due to their experience in foster care, Foster Youth students have many needs and educational barriers. They are most likely to be housing insecure or homeless, experience food insecurity, and often need mental health support. There are often family issues/concerns or little to no family support to pursue higher education. This Counselor would provide individualized academic support and personal counseling services and provide academic, personal and professional development workshops. These students will also need funding assistance with books and school supplies, registration fees, access to laptops, grocery cards and hygiene items.
   
   

2. The 2020-21 Healthy Minds Study was sent out to students to collect data about student mental health at De Anza. The data indicated that 34% were impacted by anxiety and 44% were impacted by depression. Students with compromised mental health are less likely to complete they academic goals and plans and are more likely to drop out. Currently there is long waiting list for psychological services and a limited capacity to serve students in crisis due to the overwhelming need for scheduled counseling appointments. Mental health needs have also escalated in frequency and severity for students. This position would provide individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, mental health outreach, and trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy.
   
   
   
   

• Student Development Position Request

Nguyen asked how many Psychological counselors did we currently have. LeBleu-Burns responded that we have 1 full-time Director, 5 part-time Counselors and 5 part-time interns. The recommended ratio is 1 therapist per 1000 students that we currently do not have enough to provide.

Avila commented that the Foster Youth counselor would help address one of the student groups most in need but the Psychological counselor would assist students with anxiety and depression that is currently very high nation-wide and is affecting their emotional development. Since these needs are so unique, has any assistance been provided to Student Services during this time?

• Mieso responded that they are utilizing HEERF funds to hire temporary personnel and other technology needs that relates to the impact of COVID. Permanent positions cannot be hired with these funds.
  
  

Balducci asked how many Foster Youth students De Anza had and LeBleu-Burns responded that we had approximately 300 students. This counselor would be working with a population that would require a lot of support and providing resources.

  Galoyan presented one position request with her ISP team (Kelly, Santa Cruz, Strongone):

1. International Student Programs (ISP) Counselor
   
   
   

1. While admission was down due to the pandemic, it is growing again. They currently have about 1000 students with an increase (about 50%) in inquiries and applications for spring and fall. They also have a new population that they are serving overseas that don’t require the F-1 visa identified as “Global Students.” ISP students also have their own unique needs and require a different approach since they are from different countries. Following immigration regulations, geo-political factors, time zones, English learners, and culture adjustments are just some of the needs of this population. With only two full-time counselors, they don’t have enough appointments or drop-ins available for their ISP students. The ISP Counselor affects program retention, admission, and even recruitment. Funding sources for this program come only from the college for staffing since they don’t have access to categorical funds that are often provided to different areas by the state.
   
   
   

Nguyen asked about enrollment and the retention issues the ISP program has been facing. Galoyan responded that while enrollment has decreased, it has not decreased as much as other colleges in California or even nationwide. The main reason for the decrease is related to factors outside of our control such as the political climate, or they are unable to get their/renew their visa, etc. They are still trying to serve these students, Global Students, even if they are unable to come to this country, and this population is growing.

• Santa Cruz added that if a student needs an extension, an educational plan needs to be done by a counselor. Many times, a counselor is not available so they do an emergency extension that will cover one quarter only and is not very sustainable. Having another counselor would help with this issue.
  
  

• Full Presentation
• Enrollment Services & ISP Position Request

Mieso thanked everyone for their presentations and how they show that the need is greater than what was shared today. Every voting member now has the task of reviewing the individual position requests and filling out the rubric for each position presented. Today’s presentations will also be available online as well.

• Once the rubrics have been completed, please send them in by end of day Tuesday, Feb. 1st so they can be compiled by ranking order for our next scheduled meeting on Feb. 3rd.
• SSPBT will vote on the positions on Feb. 3rd using the rubrics as a guide.
• The 5 positions selected will then go to College Council for final approval.
  
  
  

Member and Program Updates

• Nguyen reported on behalf of FA. In their first meeting of the year, they are currently working on negotiations, COLA, etc.
  
  

• Kobata said that Classified Senate revisited the remote work policies and are working on Professional Development day events.
  
  

• DASG reported that they were discussing passing a resolution to mandate online classes for the remainder of January but they decided they would check with the student population first.
  
  

• They feel they have been kept in the dark regarding COVID on campus, making this process for this mandate difficult because they don’t have all of the information available.
  
  

• Brown reported that Guided Pathways had their first CORE Team meeting of 2022 and De Anza College Guided Pathways was recognized with an Exemplary Program Award from the California Community Colleges Board of Governors. They were given a $4k grant for their Guided Pathways efforts.
  
  

• LeBleu-Burns introduced Jared Camacho who just joined the EOPS program as an Administrative Assistant. Welcome Jared!
  • EOPS will be opening up their applications for spring quarter Jan. 31st through Feb. 28th.
    
    

• Avila reported that SSLO work continues and is working with her teams regarding the CAS Standards Program Reviews.
  
  
  

Good of the Order

Members did not have any statements or observations to note at this time.