Minutes 10/11/1994

GOVERNING BOARD
OCTOBER 11, 1994
MINUTES

An executive session convened at 6:00 p.m., pursuant to A.R.S. [[section]]38-431.02, notice having been duly given.

A work study session of the Maricopa County Community College District Governing Board were scheduled to be held at 7:00 p.m. at the District Support Services Center, 2411, West 14th Street, Tempe, Arizona.

PRESENT

GOVERNING BOARD
Linda B. Rosenthal, President, Roy C. Amrein, Secretary, Donald R. Campbell, Member, M. Grant Christensen, Member, Nancy Stein, Member

ADMINISTRATION
William Waechter for Paul A. Elsner,Rufus Glasper for Dan Whittemore Ron Bleed, Janice Bradshaw, Raul Cardenas,William Holt for Larry Christiansen, John Cordova Art DeCabooter, Stan Grossman, Alfredo G. de los Santos Jr., Homero Lopez, J. Marie Pepicello, Phil Randolph, Carol Scarafiotti for Linda Thor, Arnette Ward,John Waltrip

ABSENT
STATE BOARD
Jim Ullman

CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by President Rosenthal

EXECUTIVE SESSION
President Rosenthal called for a motion convening an executive session, notice having been previously given.

MOTION NO. 8309
M. Grant Christensen moved that an executive session be convened. Motion carried 5-0.

The meeting recessed at 6:01 p.m.

The Work Study Session/Strategic Conversation convened at 7:00 p.m.

(I) STRATEGIC ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH OUR COMMUNITIES AND THEIR NEEDS - Linda Rosenthal opened the meeting by explaining the ground rules for the strategic conversations. Irwin Noyes introduced the topic and provided leadership with Edd Welch and Tony Muscia. The outcome was to determine how we identify our communities and their needs, how we determine who in the community we serve and which communities we should serve.

Dr. Noyes provided operational definitions to be used in small group discussion. College Communities were defined as the primary population served by each of the colleges, college center, and the Maricopa Skill Center. College's communities were defined as the composite population served by all of the colleges, college centers, and the Maricopa Skill Center functioning as a single entity, the Maricopa County Community College District. Group facilitators were identified as follows: Group One: Bill Holt and Ed O'Brien; Group Two: Andy Bernal; Group Three: Margaret Hogan; Group Four: Carol Scarafiotti; Group Five: Anna Solley and Willie Minor; and Group Six: Ken Roberts and Karen Biglin.

Small groups were formed to discuss two groups of question. The first group of questions to be addressed were: 1) Who are our communities? 2) What do our communities need and how do we identify their needs? The second group of questions were: 1) Are there communities we are not addressing? 2) How can we increase involvement with our communities? 3) What barriers keep us from meeting the needs of our communities?

Small Group Reports:

Group One - Who are our communities?

Define the term "community" not only as a region to be served, but as a climate to be created. Communities were identified as:
- Industry - Corporations
- Taxpayers
- Parents
- Single parents
- Retirees
- Re-careering adults
- Internal employees
- Frail elderly
- Gangs
- At-risk population
- High school graduates
- Universities (4-year institutions) public and private
- Pre-schoolers
- Small business
- Indian communities
- Military
- Public governmental agencies
- Educators
- Disabled
- Homebound
- Non-academic students
- Economic development
- Low income
- Unions
- High School Students
- Ethnic minorities
- Athletes (student)
- Occupational
- International students
- Immigrants
- Neighborhoods
- Public school districts
- Community based organizations
- Penal Institutions

Group Two - Who are our communities?

Seven categories were identified:

-Everyone is a community
- Music and the arts groups (chorus, band, etc.)
- Taxpayers
- Avocational learners
- People who want to learn more but do not know how or where to go

Special needs
- Special need students
- Single parents
- Handicapped
- Physically challenged
- U.S. military veterans
- Homeless
- Foreign students
- Seniors (including Native Americans)
- Re-entry students
- Alumni
- Minorities
- Prisons
- Charities

University transfers
- Recent high school graduates
- Those needing first two years of college
- University students
- Young adults

- State and Federal
- Granting agencies
- Federal/state government (ADA, employment law)

- Professional Business Industry
- Local business
- Professionals
- Technology
- Internal employee community
- People who have lost their jobs
- Those needing retraining

- Basic Literacy
- ABE
- Literacy training
- ESL
- Immigrants

High School
- High school students ready for college
- At-risk high school students in danger of dropping out
- High school districts, teachers, parents and students
- High school students

Group Three - Who are our communities?

Avocational Pursuits
- Retirees
- Elderly
- Winter visitors
- Tourists
- Those in pursuit of leisure learning and leisure activities

Continuing Education

- Special Skills training in support of current employment
- Apprentice programs

Business/Community
- Business and industry, i.e., Ford, GM, Motorola, John Deere)
- Working professionals mixture of ethnic families
- Community "leaders" and association executives
- Members of social service governing boards
- New entrepreneurs
- Health care providers

Re-entry
- Those seeking to re-career
- Veterans
- Working mothers
- Local High school graduates, re-entering dropouts,
re-entering job market, retraining, upgrading education,
special interest
- Ex-military
- Inmates
- Career retraining
- Women returning to work
- Native Americans

- Career Changes
- JTPA
- First time laid off male workers
- Career changers
- Dislocated workers
- High school dropouts
- Disgruntled local workers with limited education (high school only)

- International needs
- ESL
- Who are our communities, people from other countries living in U.S.
- International students
- Refugees

- Educators
- Teachers
- Volunteer coordinators

Traditional Degree-seekers
- Students new to Valley
- Transfer students
- University students needing "foundation" credits
- High school graduates
- Students from all the educational institutions in the Valley
- Students, businesses, families

Special Needs
- Pregnant and parenting underprepared teens
- Academically underprepared
- Chronic underachievers looking for a life
- Homeless
- DES/DUR/AFDC/Welfare/Unemployed
- Homebound

Public Schools
- Elementary/High school/Junior high

Parents
- Single parents
- Parents
- Foreign student's parents who just come to visit for a period of time

Group Four - What do our communities need and how do we identify their needs?
Surveys including current students

Dialogue
- Talk with employers about their needs
- Interview business owners
- Industry surveys
- Seek out opinion leaders and interview
- Dialogue with high school administrators etc. to help identify needs
- Involve parents and students on campus committees
- Contact businesses and churches

Use Data
- Tabulate what skills are requested in the classified ads
- Use existing up-to-date data from other sources
- Data bases from other agencies
- Gather needs information by levels, e.g. primary, secondary, third level etc.

Focus/Advisory
- Citizen's forums
- Focus groups discussion
- Community advisory groups on the department and college level
- Exit interviews
- Get information by customer segment group

Outreach Activities
- Use needs information to design services, courses, programs
- College - community rep for outreach
- Interaction with sample group of that community
- Contact social groups for input
- Community-based organizations
- Serving on community boards
- Keep active contacts with different groups such as senior centers

Educational Outcomes
- Trained employees
- Technology training
- Educated residents and work force
- More classes 65% growth in county
- People need to keep up with technological change
- People with skills and enthusiasm
- Technology improvement
- Jobs commensurate with training and pay
- Economy mandates people have greater/more education to get jobs
- Prepared student population
- Educated citizens
- Teach them to adapt to a changing environment
- Teach them how to make a living
- Larger % of population goes to colleges

Access
- Access to educational opportunities
- Available classes
- Universities change admissions requirements
- More information about the District

Campus Safety-Convenience
- Safe campuses
- Security and safety
- Better parking

Quality
- High quality occupational education
- High quality education
- High quality transfer education
- Quality skilled teachers
- Identify and seek out the opinion leaders etc. and interview
- Training Diversity Issues
- Sensitivity to all age levels
- Intergenerational changes
- Re-entry training
- Interpersonal training

Systems
- Student friendly systems (e.g. Registration)
- Intercollege coordination

Cost
- Affordable higher education
- Efficient use of tax dollars
- Economic Development Partnerships
- More partnerships with business and education

Group Five - What do our communities need and how do we identify their needs?

Strategies to identify needs
- Town Hall
- Neighborhood meetings
- Canvassing
- Questionnaires
- Surveying-phone
- Meetings like this
- Develop focus groups to ask seniors and others
- More learning field trips for primary and high school students
- Reservations/Native American Community
- Go to congregations (churches and synagogues)
- Go to senior centers
- Listen to teachers
- Speakers at schools
- Internet

Family and Parenting
- Family replacement
- Help for grandparents who are serving as parents
- Preparation for single parents
- Help adults become better parents in a confused world
- More intergenerational opportunities
- To have more programs that get the children and parents together
- Recognize school is for kids first

Other Issues
- Control of pollution
- Abolition of street gangs

Job Training
- Economic development skills and understanding to provoke growth and full participation
- Prepare small business owners to be competitive in a global market place
- Facilitate more literacy training programs
- Remedial education
- Prepare youth for meaningful jobs
- Career services, resumes, interview skills
- Training volunteers to serve communities
- Cross training
- Citizenship training and experience

Facilities and Equipment
- Technological equity
- We need computers in our primary schools
- Auditorium South Mountain Community College
- More facilities for the visually impaired

Appreciation of Diversity-Inclusion and Equity
- Employees role models who represent the community diversity - bilingualsim
- Language training bilingual English/Spanish, Asian/English
- To have bilingual Toastmasters International
- Appreciation of other cultures and lifestyles
- Eliminate labels like "at-risk," "talented," "gifted"
- Stability for "unconnected" people
- Vocational help for chronically mentally ill
- More physical activity programs for the visually impaired
- Low cost food for financially challenged students, i.e. Federal Aid is available, let's use it
- To get students who drop out of community colleges back to finish a program or change direction
- Conduct more learning experiences for our senior adults
- Intellectual stimulation for seniors
- We need to have more public awareness of physically challenged people
- Provide an equal education opportunity for all "kids" regardless of socioeconomics

Group Six - What do our communities need and how do we identify their needs?

Community Needs Identifie
- Job and Career Preparation
- Job awareness
- Job training/retraining
- Occupation, skill training
- Provide classroom instruction for apprenticeship
- Increase in technical/trade/vocational education and training
- As the population ages, need for trained people to work with the elderly is growing rapidly
- Specialized training to people with degrees

Affordability
- Need more job training
- Poor kids not top 10% of class, governmental, career changes
- Need affordable education

Common Basic Core curriculum at all colleges
- Need quality, relevant education
- More courses that transfer to 4-year colleges
- State of the art technology

Student Services
- Increase of women in the workplace-many single parents
- Child care concurrent to class times
- A sense that we belong and can make a difference
- Sense of security
- Students with multiple challenges lack of support to attend college, people in recovery programs) are in our colleges. We need to support their effort
- Realigning curriculum to diminish fear of school
- Flexible class length (start-end)
- Basic skills classes for parents and students

Community Needs
- Accessible education
- Quality Education
- Community based education
- Reasonably priced education
- For accountability

How to Identify Needs

Marketing
- People to make the transition from college to industry easier
- To Business and industry
- To students

Surveys
- Legislation defines some
- Environmental scanning
- Survey perceptions of students best learning styles
- Student feedback
- Identify drop out rate
- Cost effective
- Flexibility

Analysis-demographics
- Elderly market to workforce
- Market analysis
- Monitor changing demographics
- Community linkages
- Identify national needs and lead nation in academics and training for special populations
- Become involved in the community
- Interaction with business community
- Dialogues with local employers

How
Survey Apprenticeship programs for instructional needs
Tuition/fee rates
Communication
- Performance
- Standards
- Economic impact on community

Group One - Are there communities we are not addressing?
- Disabled/handicapped
- Senior Citizens
- Single Parents
- International
- Immigrants
- At risk
- High school students seeking jobs/careers placement
- Non-traditional/flexible schedules
- Business Partnerships
- Gangs
- Separated from the service


Group Two - Are there communities we are not addressing?

+ Financially needy
Special needs students
Distance learners
Parenting skills
Tutoring
High School dual enrollment
Physically challenged students
Senior adults
Children
MCCCD employees

[[Delta]]
Infant care (toddler)
Advanced professionals
Gangs
Ultra-specialized groups
Gay
Religious
International students

Group Three - How can we increase involvement with our communities?

- Offer More Training
Hands-on business skills seminars and training
Technology training and access
Volunteer education and training
Provide more ESL classes and job skill training program for international people

- Outreach
Programs to target populations
Meetings with industry
Going to community meetings
Involved in PTA
Get involved with agencies that serve them
Open houses
Articulation with public secondary schools and universities
Encourage more student group/team involvement at community aid level
Going to our public schools
Provide seminar for high school career counselors and use them to help in outreach

- Strategic Expansion
Hiring more minority teachers
Internal development of Maricopa-educated staff (success models)
Intentional targeting of minority groups in our communities

- More Flexibility - Course Options
Classes at Elementary Schools
Offer really flexible scheduling
Credit courses on TV - PBS - Public access
Summer express
Outreach classes at businesses; high schools
Holiday sessions

- Give Something Away
Lottery
Refreshments
Career days

- Survey
Ask them what they need
Learn about their special needs and accommodate them

- Be Competitive
Maricopa "Academic" College Bowl
Actively grow and pursue school rivalry in academics/sports
Competitive tuition rates

- Volunteerism
Service learning programs
Offer intergenerational activities

- Partnership
High School Days at community colleges
Business-educator exchanges
Faculty-teacher teams
Make parental participation a primary emphasis

- Facility Sharing
Become a community school
Allow use of facilities for community groups

- Public Relations
Public access
Community forums
Talk shows
Increased exposure in the media: classes on TV; marketing the classes

Group Four - How can we increase involvement with our communities?

- Community Involvement
Participate in community committees and councils
Present college/district updates to city councils and school boards
Community advisory committees
Advisory groups
Register to vote
Communicate--a two-way street
Form partnerships of all kinds
Focus groups involving community and their needs
Participate in community activities
Encourage citizen advisory committees
Share college information with neighborhood and residence associations i.e. newsletter
Attend PTO meetings and other school meetings
Close linkages with community organizations

- Outreach
Volunteer for school career days
Extend internship

Having more cultural events on campus to bring in the community

- Mission Priority
Create economic incentives
Give rewards
Make input from your community a campus priority! Start today at the college level and do it every day. Make it a priority. Strive to make your college "externally driven"
Use technology to get more involvement

- Flexibility to Meet Needs
Let them find their needs
Live up to their expectations
Courses using home computers
TV courses
Provide more flexible ways for students to complete degrees
Challenge and/or broaden our concept of what our services are Openness to offering course at non-standard time
Meet their needs
Make students successful (Provide opportunities)

- K-PhD Partnership
Establish ongoing relationships with our local K-12 schools
Share in use of facilities and resources
Public school and university partnerships
College Days for K-12 students and families
Use libraries as a community resource
Outreach to students in junior high and high school

Group Five - What barriers keep us from meeting the needs of our communities?

- Facilities
Lack of auditorium

- Student Attitudes
Lack of understanding of what "school" is all about
Fear of the collegiate setting
Too many demands on student time

- Staff
Not enough counselors in elementary schools
Lack of bilingual staff in chronology area
Not enough bilingual people
- Transportation
Lack of transportation

- Time/Resources
Time constraints--over-extended with current tasks
Lack of flexibility (time, format, etc)
Hungry
Finances
Socio-economics

- Not Understanding Needs
Not listening to customer (our students)
Not using demographic information available
Labels, meeting the wrong needs because of stereotypes
Thinking we are "experts" know what is needed without asking
Having quality education breaking barriers that separate people because of economics

- Politics, Management; Attitudes
When voting on issues we need to prioritize people not things
Too focused on internal district operations
Fear
Trying to address too many needs, may result in a lack of quality of services
Education priorities not identified
Attitude
Too much politics in the business of schools
Have more staff meetings to pull ideas together
Too many resources- human, financial and technological going to or driven by District office
Having equipment without know how
Lack of prioritizing our needs
Not enough community involvement or programs to bring people together
Not enough community involvement in college affairs

- Community Issues-Media Influence
Frustration with how to proceed such as dealing with gangs
Conflict of values between generations
Ageism
Lack of enlightened electorate
Breakdown of family and neighborhood caring
Loss of civility in America

Group Six - What barriers keep us from meeting the needs of our communities?

- Limited Financial Resources
Funding for Skills Center in a wider area
Funding - grants - scholarships for low income students
Affordability
Financial Constraints

- Limited Services and Transportation
Transportation
Services available at community colleges
Child care for single parent students
The big needs of students and their every day reality vs being a student

- Not User Friendly
People unwilling to make changes

Being aware of the different cultures and needs of each individual culture
Making registration and admission easier--less threatening
Lack of District transcript
Language
Being close-minded
Unwilling to change paradigms
Having the desire to want to actually make change
Traditional classroom paradigm
Staying in our "paradigm" of teaching methods
Unclear and mixed messages on what colleges can do for the individual and for their communities

- Poor Communications
Understanding and awareness of changing community needs
Lack of cooperative efforts of colleges
Community members not really knowing their needs
Effective communication between other MCCCD's and job fields
Effective communication between staff and clientele
Public knowledge of the variety of services available through the community colleges
Lack of broad marketing strategies

- Curricular
Universities not accepting classes/transfer
Make transferring to four year colleges easier
Not having latest technology
Non credit courses (lack of)
Eliminate non-traditional barriers to women entering non-traditional employment

- No Employment Linkages
Lack of linkages with employers
Lack of business/industry knowledge of vocational training services through the community college system
Need to better communicate business linkages
Lack of business/industry and community college partnerships

- Safety Within the Community

Plus/Delta evaluation of the strategic conversation was held.

+
Great turn out
Good participation
Community representatives
Student participation
Age
Physically challenged people
Diversity of opinion

[[Delta]]
Acoustic problem
Process/logistics
Not enough time
Did not talk about Bond
More time to socialize

**Not Enough Publicity

Dominic O'Neill provided an example/sample from the Culinary Arts Program at Scottsdale Community College.

ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 8: 45 p.m.

______________________________
Roy C. Amrein
Secretary

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10/12/94