College Council (last met on Sept 8 and 15, 2015)
Sept 8:
Accreditation Liaison Officer Catherine Webb gave a report on MPC's efforts to address the...
Notice of Enhanced Monitoring and Possible Special Report (i.e., The ACCJC Letter of August 2015)
This letter recommended the following steps:

1. Prepare a list of courses, sorted by discipline or program
2. Using the list from Item 1, indicate which of the following categories each course falls into:
    • Prerequisite
    • Program entry
    • End-of-program
    • General Education
3. Prepare a list of programs for which 40% or more of the included courses are without ongoing assessment
4. Identify 2013-2014 enrollments for the programs identified in Item 3
5. Consider and evaluate the degree to which programs in Item 3 participate in program review
6. Consider and evaluate how MPC has evaluated participation in ongoing assessment for the programs (or their disciplines) identified in Item 3
7. Consider and evaluate the degree to which the level of ongoing assessment in programs identified in Item 3 has affected resource allocation
8. Consider and evaluate any other pertinent factors regarding MPC’s evaluation of courses/programs without ongoing assessment of student learning outcomes that  emerge as items 1-8 are addressed

Here is how MPC is Addressing ACCJC Concerns:
Program Assessment Summary (addresses #3 above)
SLO Action Plan

Sept 15:
Discussed a single agenda item: choosing a group to audit the institution.
i. Financial Crisis Management Assistance Team (FCMAT)
ii. Cambridge West
iii. Collaborative Brain Trust
iv. School Services
Comparison presented by Steve Crow

At the end of the two-hour meeting, a motion to submit a Request For Proposal from Collaborative Brain Trust unanimously passed.

This was a very interesting meeting where a variety of heart-felt concerns were shared by many of the participants. The discussion centered on the pros and cons of FCMAT versus Collaborative Brain Trust, which was reported to offer the most comprehensive operational audit and recommendations on how to make improvements. FCMAT was viewed by some members of College Council as the most independent of the choices, and therefore the most desirable to address trust issues over budgetary issues at MPC. But their offerings are limited to budgetary issues, and they do not offer action plans to address deficiencies. Others, however, viewed the principle problem to be FTES and how to grow it in a sustainable and efficient manner. Concern was also expressed over inviting an entity with the word "crisis" in their name and how this might be reported or conveyed to the community. 

In my opinion, it was an extraordinary meeting in which heart-felt concerns and perspectives were shared. In the end, consensus was gained through a motion that the best next step is to review a  RFP from Collaborative Brain Trust.

AAAG Report (met September 16, 2015)
1. Discussion over block scheduling, especially the idea of creating a common time to start evening classes (7:00 versus 6:30); I believe 6:30 was preferred.
Block Scheduling Explanation
Block Scheduling Example

2. AAAG heard the same report as College Council did about SLO issues (see above), and that we will hear as a background introduction to the Learning Assessment Committee agenda item. 

3. Discussed a new Faculty Prioritization Form and process that involves a rubric for establishing priority. Discussion centered around the need for qualitative discussion among members of AAAG about the pros and cons of each position. With many positions to consider, it was difficult to find time for short presentations and substantive discussion within the short time frame available; MPC is committed to getting position advertisements out by the winter holiday. As mandated in the state budget, there will be three net new positions, not counting any retirement replacements. The number of retirement replacements, if any, is not clear at this time (I am not aware of any well publicized retirement at this time).  
The rubric

Academic Senate Goals

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