The Skyline College Strategic Planning and Allocation of Resources Committee (SPARC) met on Thursday, April 28, 2016.
Dean of Planning, Research and Institutional Effectiveness Aaron McVean informed the Committee of the Chancellor’s Innovation Fund Proposals allocations for FY2016-17. Skyline College will receive $600,000 out of the $2.0M to be funded Districtwide based on current assumptions. This amount will be allocated to the following programs – to support the new Respiratory Therapy Baccalaureate Degree program ($250,000), to institutionalize the Workforce Development program ($200,000) and the Career Advancement Academies ($150,000). Proposals also considered in this round include the Stem Center Fabrication Lab and Summer Scholars Institute. The allocations are contingent upon the District budget meeting specific targets. Dean McVean noted that the innovation funds become part of ongoing funding. The District will be awarding these funds in the Spring semester of each year. As such, the College will be refining a structured proposal process and anticipate bringing more information to the Committee in the Fall semester on timelines and process.
The Committee discussed the new Skyline College Promise Scholarship. The website and application link has gone live. At this time, $225,000 has been allocated to fund the Scholarship program. It is anticipated that 200-300 First year students will be recipients of the scholarship in the Fall 2016. The scholarship is a bridge scholarship and will cover the difference between what a student receives from Financial Aid and the cost of attending full time for the academic year. Students who meet the criteria will be directed to the link for the scholarship when they apply to the college via CCCApply. Other outreach efforts are underway also to let students know of the scholarship.
Dean McVean also led the discussion to solicit feedback from the Joint Division Meeting held April 15, 2016 regarding the Skyline College Promise. Committee members had positive feedback on the breakout sessions which allowed faculty to engage with colleagues across disciplines. There will be more forums as the College moves to implement the Skyline College Promise.
The Committee received an update from the District Committee on Budget and Finance (DCBF) meeting held on April 18, 2016. Karen Powell, Executive Director of Facilities Planning & Operations, discussed the upcoming major construction projects underway at each of the campuses. At Skyline College, Building 12, the new Environmental Science Building qualification process will commence mid-June, and the selection is projected to be made in late August/September. Parking Lot L will be expanded as construction of Building 12 will result in loss of parking spaces. Design is currently underway to upgrade Pacific Heights. The qualification and selection process for Building 1 will commence in the first quarter of 2017.
Karen Wong, Coordinator of Institutional Effectiveness, led the discussion on the revised Institutional Student Learning Outcomes (ISLO) sub-descriptors and rubrics – Citizenship, Critical Thinking, Effective Communication, Information Literacy, and Lifelong Wellness. In Fall 2015/ Spring 2016, the Institutional Effectiveness Committee drew from feedback from faculty assessors and the AAC&U Value Rubrics to revise them, approving the following: (a) broadened global awareness beyond scientific literacy for the Citizenship ISLO, replaced “leadership” with an emphasis on whether students contribute to fostering a positive group environment, and added sub-descriptors on increasing students’ awareness about how their perspectives are shaped by cultural values, and about ethics, (b) added sub-descriptors to the Effective Communication ISLO that capture the transactional aspect of communication, whether individually or within small groups, (c) added a sub-descriptor pertaining to the legal and ethical use of information to the Information Literacy ISLO, and (d) added the piloted sub-descriptor pertaining to resilience to the Lifelong Wellness ISLO, and moved the lifelong learning sub-descriptor from the Citizenship ISLO to the LW ISLO. The rubrics were revised accordingly.
The Committee made a motion to accept the revised changes and unanimously recommended that the CGC approve them.
Next meeting will be held on May 12, 2016 at 2:10 – 4:00 pm Bldg 6, Room 6-203.
Article by Judy Hutchinson
