Meeting Place: RVS, 2213

Meeting Time: 9:30 am

Participants: Ron Johns, Lala Guerra, Sal Valastro, George Staff, Bob Blodgett, Cindy Carr, James Friedrichsen, Chris Cavalli, James Heath, Dean Becker, Alan Underwood, Paul Nacozy, Bob Blodgett, Leslie Davis, Laura Tacheny, Saad Eway, Dale Biggs, Jan Smith, John Cise, Jeff Bechtold, Paul Williams

1.) Approval of Agenda

2.) Approval of Minutes from: September 3, 2004

3.) Information items presented:

a.) Strategic Planning Committee Meeting - No date was set for the Strategic Planning Committee meeting. The meeting will be next week, but Allen Underwood will get back with the committee to let them know when the next meeting will be.

b.) CYP Planning Process - The planning process at CYP has started. Last week Donetta and the Deans had a meeting and developed a wish list. The architects and engineers had space for 6 science labs at first. At the meeting, Chemistry requested 1 lab, Biology 3 and there were 2 for us left. Now they are planning on building 8 labs, and Biology has requested 5, Chemistry 2 and we ended up with 1. Ron Johns announced that it was still in the planning process. There was united grumbling about the lack of support our department receives, despite its large enrollment and high revenue. Everyone felt that a committee should be developed. Jim Heath, Chris Cavalli, Paul Williams, and John Cise volunteered to develop a strategic defense committee.

c.) Faculty Evaluations – The evaluation cycle begins again. Portfoilos are due Jan. 10.

d.) HazWaste Training – Safety Coordinators, Department Chairs and Lab Coordinators are required to attend a HazWaste training. Training session are today, October 1, 2004, Saturday, October 2, 2004 and next Friday, October 8, 2004, all at RVS 8100.

e.) CAStuff – Laura Tacheny will be going to the Community College Aerospace Scholars Program (CCA) at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas on April 21 through April 23, 2005, with ACC students who showed interest in the program. She announced to everyone that she needed 2 volunteers to drive vans. Paul Williams and Saad Eways volunteered to drive the vans and participate this year.

f.) Department Profits – The Business Department did a study of profit from tuition and state reimbursement. In terms of revenue generated, our department is the 10^th most profitable.

4.) Discussion Items:

a.) Informal Transfer – Try not to do informal transfers unless the circumstances are major. A question came from instructors about the student still being insured if a transfer is done. Ron said he would get a hold of Becky Cole to find out. (Cathy Heald from the EHS office later confirmed that the insurance is purchased per student, not per class, so the student will be insured regardless of what section they are in).

5.) Action Items:

a.) Assessments, Core Curriculum, SACS, and Planning for 2009 – SACS and the Higher Education Coordinating Board are both desiring documentation regarding our Core Curriculum courses and how we assess their effectiveness. Some paperwork on these needed to be filed by Oct. 1, but each subgroup should review the respective forms during the breakout sessions. One of the key aspects of all this is to develop meaningful assessment tools that actually document something worthwhile that we can use in demonstrating our program’s effectiveness.

b.) Departmental Development Day – James Heath announced that the next Departmental Development Day would be Friday, October 22, 2004 in RGC 328. Sessions include police and counseling services and a Labapalooza in the afternoon. He mentioned that he would like more participation from the Physical Sciences Faculty.

c.) Piper Nomination- Jim suggested Ron Johns for the Minnie Stevens Piper Nomination. He asked for letters of support from faculty and staff, which he will then use to write up a nominating letter to send to the Awards Committee.

6.) New Business:

a.) Saad announced that there will be a SWOT meeting for the Engineering Program Review committee at 9:30, Oct. 8, in RGC 331.

Minutes of PHYS/AST/ENG Subcommittee

Oct. 1, 2004

Participants James Friedrichsen, Chris Cavalli, James Friedrichsen, Chris Cavalli, James Heath, Dean Becker, Alan Underwood, Paul Nacozy, Bob Blodgett, Leslie Davis, Laura Tacheny, Saad Eway, Dale Biggs, Jan Smith, John Cise, Jeff Bechtold, Paul Williams, Lala Guerra

It was decided that a portfolio would be done on each student in the Honor class and would be picked up at the end of the semester.