Leadership Council
August 22, 2017
9:00 – 10:30 a.m. PCOB 209
NOTES
Attendees: David Hough, Russ Brock, Gilbert Brown, Denise Cunningham, Kim Dubree, Karen Engler, James Satterfield, James Sottile, Ron Snodgrass, Sharon Lopinot, Teresa Steele, Rose Lee
Guests: Clif Smart, Frank Einhellig
Dean Hough welcomed Clif Smart, President of the university and Frank Einhellig, Provost, who attended the meeting to discuss the Hill Hall renovation and a few other topics. Clif knows we are losing 1,000 sq. ft. in the renovation, but this was to make the building fully assessable. Everyone lost some space. COE advocated hard to get appropriate space for the College and the two academic departments housed in Hill. President Smart encouraged us to all get onboard and enjoy the new building. Hopefully the plusses will outweigh any perceived minuses. Frank said there was considerable debate about size. Some people will have larger offices, some not. Losing most of the windows for offices is due to the layout.
Denise asked if there are plans in the future for all COE to be in the same building.
The response was it is a positive thing to do but hard to imagine the state giving us more funds for the building for restructuring. It would be better for all of COE to be together but it does not appear feasible in the near future.
James Satterfield asked about the possibility of COE/Hill Hall being a “named” building. The gift would need to be a minimum of five million. Dean Hough shared information regarding a proposal he et al. drafted in 2005 seeking $55 million for a foundation to endow the College of Education.
Rose inquired about priority rooms for classrooms and meetings as well as other space needs. In sum, it was made clear that Planning, Design, and Construction is not in charge of occupancy. Ergo, when the renovation is complete and Hill Hall is ready to be occupied, space needs will be prioritized and addressed at that time
Frank turned the discussion to programs moving toward 120 hours required to graduate without losing anything. Try to think about the whole study body and being more competitive. We understand there are programs that want to do this. Think about the extra cost to students. He asked departments to open the door for this discussion. Possibly go from 135 hours to 130. The dean said they would have to look at DESE requirements. He did not know how many programs could go to 120 hours, but we could possibly get closer to it. He believes DESE would work with us. Clif asked the dean to talk to DESE to see what could be done. James Satterfield said some of his faculty were receptive to the idea and are having discussions about decreasing some hours for programs. Frank asked department heads to phrase it right to the faculty, from LC down. Help communicate what is anticipated. DESE states that competency is not a specific three or four hour course.
Clif said testing at some point would have an impact on our profile and financing from the state. James Sottile said the current MoCA pass rate is 83%, but could be 100%. He needs to work with the EPPC. James would like to see students required to pass the MoCA prior to student teaching. The EPPC voted that students must take the MoCA prior to student teaching but do not need to pass. Clif said that this needs to be addressed in the upcoming year. He would like to see a pass rate of 90%.
Frank discussed how as tuition goes up more students might move to two-year colleges. General education has a 42 block statewide. The idea is for courses to be transferable to four-year colleges. Dean Hough noted that some two-year colleges are working very well with us on transfer agreements but others are still struggling to ensure all necessary competencies as required by DESE are met.
Frank said not as many students are taking intersession classes in the summer. They have put a committee together to give feedback on how to use the 12-week block of time in the summer. We currently have intersession, which is dying slowly, but have 4-week blocks of summer school. Could we use 12 weeks? It would be harder for undergraduate programs, but we need to look at how to best help our students and expand the summer programs over time. James Satterfield asked about short summer/long summer scheduling, meaning using 4 weeks and 12 weeks for courses. Frank said they are not looking at confining anything and are interested in flexibility. Clif mentioned the PELL grant now covers summer so this would be good for students.
The dean asked James Satterfield and Gilbert to talk about the Bear Up summer program. A program was held for seven underrepresented students this summer. They were juniors from Pattonville and Riverview Gardens. Students stayed in dorms, ate in the cafeterias, had sessions on ACT training, registration, education programs and other topics. Students paid zero. They would like to see the program grow each year and follow up to see if students then attend MSU, especially in the education field. The cost was $7,000. Clif will talk to David about possibly sharing some of the costs. He hopes to announce in the next few weeks something that would affect tuition/fees for students that are PELL eligible. This would allow us to be a leader in assisting PELL-eligible students.
Gilbert attended a rally students held to show solidarity in the aftermath of Charlottesville. It was very positive and encouraging. Clif said the atmosphere was good. They encouraged students to be engaged. Students know that administration supports them.
Karen Engler told Frank and Clif she is in Hill Hall as the Director of Secondary Education. The dean allows her office space, which is helpful in working with faculty. She will share an office with her administrative assistant in the same room. This will cause some problems, but she is glad to be able to work with the college. Dean Hough said that since his office is being reduced by 40% or more to create a meeting room that is approximately 250 sq. feet, he would be willing to designate that space as the Office of the Director of Secondary Education if whoever is in charge of “occupancy” would allow for same.
The meeting ended with Frank saying that they cannot change the building but can work on occupancy issues once the renovation is complete and we begin moving back into Hill Hall.
Meeting adjourned at 10:10 a.m.
Submitted by Sharon Lopinot, Exec. Asst. II