Progress and Decisions – December 2015

The winter break is approaching and your governance leaders and committee members are wrapping up their work for the semester. Read about what is happening.

In this issue:

 

Accreditation Update

DVC was visited by a four person team from the ACCJC on November 4 and 5, to verify information in the college's Follow-Up Report (dated October 2015). Team members met with San Ramon and Pleasant Hill managers, faculty and staff regarding three college recommendations and one college/District recommendation.

Prior to departing, the team chair met with President Garcia and Ted Wieden (ALO). Although we will need to wait for the results of action by the full ACCJC (January 2016), all indications are that DVC has made excellent progress toward resolving all recommendations and meeting the associated accreditation standards.

Thank you to everyone involved in the preparation of the Follow-Up Report and preparing for the team visit. We hope for good news early next spring.

Strategic Plan Implementation Group

The Strategic Plan Implementation Workgroup continues to work to implement Category I innovation proposals submitted last spring. Work has included:

  • support for a conference on linked classes and learning communities,
  • a meeting to start work on a Social Justice/Ethnic Studies major,
  • support for an intervention to improve outcomes in Math assessment testing,
  • continuing work on 'STEMovation' projects,
  • developing a modularized Introduction to Psychology curriculum linked to ECE classes, and other projects.

 

The workgroup is also supporting College Council's decision to begin a Partnership for Student Success project, while work continues on the implementation of the revised governance structure with the goal to enhance effectiveness, reduce redundancy, and increase the integration between college plans and the DVC Strategic Plan. Work also continues on proposed revisions to DVC Procedures before review by constituency groups.

 

Governance Committee and Council Reports

Governance meetings are open to all members of the campus community and all are encouraged to attend. For up-to-date information on governance and the various documents, please visit our new governance website.

Bookmark our governance meeting calendar to always keep up with what is going on in college governance.

College Council (CC)

The revised CC has been meeting regularly with informative and innovative conversations. The new structure is inclusive of all campus constituency groups and receives frequent updates from all governance committees. Most recently the council reviewed and approved the November 2015 Equity Plan, discussed plans for the December 1 Open Forum on Measure E Planning, and reviewed results from an ASDVC survey regarding student barriers to success.

For more information, please visit:
the College Council website
Current co-chairs: John Freytag (faculty) and Lesley Agostino (classified)

Research, Planning and Evaluation Committee (RPEC)

The RPEC continues to meet regularly and has reviewed enrollment data for DVC for the fall 2015 semester. RPEC recently requested and reviewed a draft flow chart outlining the steps involved in the new student enrollment process. At the request of CC, RPEC is proposing a cohort of students for the Partnership for Student Success (fall 2016). In preparation for the administration of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) in spring 2016, RPEC drafted 15 supplemental questions for review and consideration by CC. Finally, a subset of RPEC will be working with ASDVC to enhance the design of ASDVC's student survey.

For more information, please visit:
the Research, Planning and Evaluation Committee website
Current co-chairs: Ted Wieden (management), Catherine Machalinski (faculty)

Program Review Committee (PRC) (Formerly Integration Council)

The newly created PRC (formerly the Integration Council) has prepared this past fall to evaluate program reviews. PRC continues to work with other governance groups to define clear processes, outcomes, and timelines that complement one another. A major goal of the committee will be to provide a snapshot college-wide analysis of programs to the college council, which in turn will inform priorities for the strategic plan.

PRC will provide support for programs going through the review process, and encourages feedback on how they can help.

For more information, please visit:
the Program Review Committee website
Current co-chairs: Laura Cremin (staff), Obed Vazquez (management)

 

Budget Committee (BC)

The BC is working on "Phase III", which involves the review and analysis of current operating budget allocations for all college units. The college has designated the Biology and Kinesiology departments to participate in a pilot of more in depth analysis of unit operating budgets.

In addition, the BC is beginning work on the 2015-16 annual budget plan, which will be based on available funds, prioritized program reviews, college wide plans, and district and state mandates.

For more information, please visit:
the Budget Committee website
Current chairs: John Nahlen (management), second chair, Bret Peppo (faculty)

For the charges and functions of the above committees, please visit the links to each committee above.

All DVC constituencies, including our students, can access our governance committee minutes and agendas through the public website.