Support Services Program Review Update Form

SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM REVIEW UPDATE FORM ANNUAL REVIEW

Support Program: ______Educational Centers______By:_____Jessica Enders ______Date:___ 10-15-15 _ 02-26-16

1. Progress Report. Review previous year’s institutional review. Describe the progress made on any recommendations or areas of need identified in your previous year’s review. Specifically, describe progress made toward current department goals and objectives, and learning outcomes.

In 2014-2015 academic year, the college made a conscious decision to put its efforts and funding toward a growth model rather than the status quo. Fortunately for COD, this strategy paid off significantly for the College and more directly, the Educational Centers. This strategy allowed Indio specifically to increase FTES by 42% from the previous year. This sweeping growth pushed Indio even closer to our goal of 1,000 FTES. Once the final 320 report is submitted we will have a definitive response as to whether or not we reach this mark. As it currently stands we were a little short in 14-15, however, the goal is still on the table for 15-16. Also, with the promising news that the stay on Center Status being lifted from the Chancellor’s Office this opens the doors for an additional $1.1M in on-going annual funding if we reach our mark. It’s aggressive, but attainable.

Additionally, through our collegial consulting process the Education Centers played an active role in targeting our opportunities for growth with not only expanding course offerings, but also by launching the “Weekend College” initiative and developing specific degree pathways. Students can now complete full programs at Indio from start to finish. Thankfully, these initiatives continue to be a priority and will remain one of the goals and areas for potential growth as we move into the 15-16 academic year.

Other areas of progress toward goals include opening doors for conversations with our feeder high schools and District Offices to provide more ESLN, General Education and Special Programs, such as EDGE at the high School sites. Data for the 15-16 year will show a wider scope of these initiatives.

2. Provide effective data sources to evaluate this department. Insert qualitative and quantitative data elements that can be used to evaluate this department—what information do you typically use to document your success and justify expanding your department or budget. In the 2014-2015 academic year the Ed Centers had significant growth and made steady advances toward FTES targets. More specifically, the Indio site almost achieved the 1,000 FTES mark with 932.4 FTES generated. It’s essential to note this is an increase of 42% from 2013-2014 academic year which generated 654.5 FTES. Mecca’s growth though not as extensive still had an increase from the 2013-2014 academic year to the 2014-2015 academic year. 13-14 AY 125.6 FTES were generated, and 128.7 FTES in 14-15year. Growth was not specific to East Valley locations, the West Valley (WV) also saw an upward tick in both enrollments and FTES generation. In the 13-14 WV generated 121 FTES and in the 14-15 academic year 138.6, or a 14.5% increase.

of 8 Generally speaking in a time of growth when FTES increase it is not only due to increase enrollments, but also increases in the number of class offerings. This was very relevant to the Ed Centers in 14-15 when the strategy was to grow course offerings. In 13-14 academic year there were a total of 231 course sections offered among the West Valley sites, and in 2014-2015 this number increased to 343 sections.

Additionally, it is with great pleasure Ed Centers reports through our group efforts and collegial consultation Indio now offers four complete degree programs which includes: Psychology AA-T, Business AS-T, Liberal Arts Associate of Arts, and ECE AS-T. Additionally, Indio can now offer many of the necessary courses to complete the CSU Liberal Arts general Education entrance requirements and is close to being able to offer an associates in Communications degree.

It’s been a year of growth and success for Ed Centers and 15-16 seems to be following suite thus far. It’s an exciting time for our students, faculty, staff and the community as a whole. The adage “If you build it they will come,” has been a sounding board for the East Valley for some time now and both sides are actively holding up to their promise of participation and expansion. We are all looking forward to reaping the benefits of the growth in educational offerings.

3. Program assessment. Assess needs of your department dictated by changes in staffing, equipment, training, software/technology and facility needs.

As Indio nears 1,000 FTES, and enrollments and locations increase at MTC and West Valley, additional resources are needed to sustain the current growth and to continue to expand and build programs and services that are comparable to the Palm Desert Campus. Personnel/Current Staffing Status: Indio is currently staffed as follows: 1 full time director (Oversees Indio, Mecca, West Valley: Palm Springs High School, Cathedral City High School, Desert Hot Springs HS) 1 full time administrative assistant 12 mo. (provides support for activities at Indio, Mecca, West Valley) 1 bilingual secretary @ 29.5 hrs. 12 mo. 1 bilingual secretary @ 19.5 hours. 11 mo. 2 part time janitorial staff 12 mo. (1 AM, 1 PM) 1 temporary part time weekend janitorial staff (vacant) 2 full time security guards 1 permanent part time security guard Mecca Thermal Campus is currently staffed as follows: 1 Full time secretary @40 hours 10 month employee 1 part time janitorial/security guards @ 24 hours and 12 mo. 1 part time janitorial (vacant) 1 security guard covering 32 hrs/week West Valley Sites are currently staffed as follows: 1 full-time director who oversees all other sites 1 full-time administrative assistant 12 mo. (provides support for all sites)

Staffing Request:

 Bilingual Secretary Position at Mecca move from 10 month to 12 month position. Total increase of $9,133.70 per year. With a lofty goal of 10% increase and increase in FTES Mecca can be a space to capitalize on growth if it is left open in the summer. With EDGE and other programs looking to use the space in the summer terms it is vital to transition the full-time 10 month position to a full time year round 12 month position. Although school is not in session preparation work and daily maintenance still exists. Allowing the person to be 12 months adds value and allows the space to stay open. See handout for costs associated with the increase.

 Bilingual Secretary Position at Indio move from 19.5 hours 11 month position to a 29.5 hour 12 month position with additional training in A&R, ESLN, and Financial Aid Training. Due to current staffing structure of two permanent part- time bilingual secretaries to cover. See handout for costs.

 Part-time custodial position at Indio move to a full time position. In the past year alone Indio has had an increase of more than 30% in enrollments and more than 40% in course offerings. With the additional foot traffic also comes additional opportunities for keeping the campus, clean, fully stocked of necessary bathroom supplies and of course keeping the campus safe and waste and hazard free. The current configuration of two part-time custodian staff does not allow adequate cleaning of the facilities and surrounding landscaping. Increasing our morning permanent part-time custodial position allows for continuity in service and additional hours to ensure the facility remains in pristine condition, and the position can be utilized at the Indio and MTC sites. The increase in hours per week is 10.5 and the increase in annual expense is $28,020. See handout for costs associated with the increase.

 Reclassify current part-time janitorial/security position to a full time 12 month Maintenance Assistant. As we look to expand our course offerings to a Monday-Friday and evening schedule at the Mecca campus, maintenance and grounds needs will also continue to increase. This position would support Indio and Mecca as a Full time Maintenance Assistant. This designation allows for general maintenance repairs, grounds keeping and janitorial services. The vacated hybrid position of Maintenance and Security would mitigate the increase in salary and benefits costs associated with this staffing plan. Further, Security functions would be separated from custodial duties as they require vastly different skill sets. Security has also filled this void at Mecca by hiring additional staff. The need, however is still dire for a full-time maintenance, custodial and grounds person.

of 8  Increased IT support through a full time Information Technology Technician. The Off Campus sites currently have two dedicated TASC computer labs and two additional classrooms set up as labs, and given the large amount of classrooms, offices, and frequent computer and internet based problems that span 5 campus locations, service designated to the off campus programs will increase time on instruction for classrooms and office staff. This position would serve the needs of Mecca, Indio and all three West Valley locations. As we continue to grow and expand technology must function correctly for the adequate delivery of services to our students. This position would allow for dedicated support. Discussions have been had with the Executive Director of IT/IS and their Department is in support of allocating resources and adding staff. See addendum for additional costs associated with this request.

 Currently the Education Centers rely on the Director, staff and evening administrators to retrieve the mail and copy center materials from the mail room and distribute it to the various locations. This process should be addressed as there is a lag in mail delivery, especially for faculty requesting items from the Copy Center. If a person is out sick, or gets caught up with daily activities the mail may not be delivered. Mecca and West Valley are currently the most impacted sites. An option can be to work with the mail department to either hire a part-time Mail Technician dedicated to off-site centers, or pursue a courier service similar to Palm Springs Unified School district. For the purposes of this PRU the option of creating a job will be advocated for. In the “Mail Technician” job description (see attached), essential items 1 and 2 directly state the individual is responsible for distribution of mail and copy center materials. Additionally, the “job environment” and essential duties DO NOT include a campus location. This could imply the individual is responsible for distributing mail on a daily basis to all sites. If this is the case, it would be reasonable to allot 19.5 hours per week, Monday-Friday to a position that is responsible for the distributions of mail and copy center materials to all Education centers. Mileage could also be used from the site budgets.

 Counseling staff at Indio/Mecca become a permanent position at the college. Currently Indio has counseling services five days per week with two counselors on site on Thursday and Mecca has services for 8 hours per day three days per week. This availability is possible due to funding from the Title V HSI Grant. Funds from this grant will run out June 30, 2015 leaving East Valley with a potential for a significant void in services. We are therefore requesting 1.5 dedicated bilingual counselors for the East Valley sites. The need is there and a lapse if service will cause undue hardship for the students. There is currently evidence of this impact when looking at the number of appointments in 13-14 versus 14-15 when there were intermittent lapses in services. More specifically, Mecca was impacted the most. In 13-14 AY 326 general population appointments were provided and 14-15 only 101 appointments. Due to the support of EDGE Indio was fortunate to see an increase from 13-14 to 14-15, however, if dedicated counseling is not provided at Indio one can surmise the number of students served will in turn decrease. In the 13-14 AY 1,250 appointments were attended and in the 14-15 AY 1, 880, which further illustrates the continued need for dedicated counseling services at the Education Centers. In speaking with the Director of Counseling and also reviewing the needs of our SSSP plans, not hiring a counselor will impede our ability to provide services such as SEPs and quality contacts for our students. This problem is unfortunately not unique to East Valley. As COD continues to expand EDGE, ESLN and credit offerings in the West Valley dedicated counseling services need to be provided. We therefore request 0.5 counselors dedicated to the West Valley as a starting point for services, with the hope of expansion as the campus develops.

Professional Development/Budget Increase:  Increase travel/professional development budgets. The mileage and a training budget needs to be established for all off campus staff to remain current with policies and procedures that are utilized at Palm Desert Campus. Additionally, a professional development budget for growth should be created for administration and staff at the Center Sites to ensure their skills are kept up to date with the needs of the position and institution. Also, with the onboarding of additional locations, the school’s mileage budget should be increased for staff traveling among the various campus sites. Since July 1, 2015 to September 30th, 2015 more than $1,000 was spent in mileage alone. This is already more than one 1/3rd of the annual allocated budget. With increasing commitments, growth opportunities and outreach to the off campus sites and surrounding communities it is imperative to provide a budget that accurately reflects the travel and professional development needs of the Ed Center faculty, staff and administration. Ed Centers is formally requesting an increased mileage and professional development/travel budget from $3,000 per year to $6,000 per year. This allows for the increase mileage allowance for off- campus locations, especially as we look to increase outreach efforts, as well as being able to attend at least three professional development opportunities per year (split amongst administration and staff) and/or bringing in agencies to facilitate the training. See handout.

 As the Education Centers continue to grow discussions concerning where the responsibility of providing both instructional and non-instructional materials continues to surface. For example, in order to offer specific Sociology courses, the software SPSS must be purchased on an annual basis. Currently Ed Centers does not have the ability to cover these additional expenses. We are therefore requesting increases to our supply budgets as follows: Mecca $2,000 to $6,500, West Valley $350 to $2,500 and Indio $7,000 to $12,500. If it is the desire of the district to continue to have the departments provide all instructional materials and the ED Centers provides only the non-instructional materials this budget proposal will be significantly modified. Student Support Services:  Rotations of Admissions and Records, Financial Aid and all other Student Affairs/Services programs are needed to provide like services as the main campus. For accreditation purposes each location that is seeking center status should have similar services to the “main” campus location. Ed Centers is proposing to have a standing rotation of staff for more than one day per week at the Ed Center locations. We know transportation is an issue for many students so to have additional options rather than one day per week would be ideal. Additionally, to allow for more immediate responses to information requests from students it would be beneficial to conduct training opportunities for staff at the Centers and provide access to the appropriate screens with the SIS so they can more accurately present students with the information they are seeking in a

of 8 timely manner. See attached handout for current services offered at Indio. Equipment/Supplies Request:  West Valley and MTC are in in need of technology updates as most computers are out of district standard. MTC needs 13 new computers for classrooms, conference room, testing lab and administrative office. The IT/IS Office has placed this need on their proposed Annual Refresh Process/Timeline, however this process has not been fully approved at the district. Until such time that a process is identified to address the refresh issues, especially at the off-site locations, Ed Centers will continue to put forward requests for equipment refresh. (funded)

 Provide Media Carts to the West Valley. At the present moment, the off-campus West Valley sites need approximately 14 fully equipped and updated laptop/media carts for classroom use to disperse among the three West Valley Locations (Cathedral City High School, Desert Hot Springs High School, and Palm Springs High School). The current carts at Palm Springs High School were due for a refresh around 2013 and are nearing their useable lifespan, and the other locations do not have ANY media cart equipment. If they are not the daytime teacher in the classroom, they are using CD players and overhead projects to show “transparencies.” To ensure we are providing equipment that is consistent with district standards, and up to date we need to provide additional resources to these location. The total expense to fund all 14 carts is around $27,500. See handouts for supporting information, costs and details. (funded)

 Art Exhibit Hanging system and installation. In our efforts to both promote student accomplishments and provide a cultural component to our campus, Indio would like to invest in an art exhibit hanging system to display student work. In discussions with the Art Department, the idea has been briefly discussed to create a committee that is comprised of Students, Faculty, Staff, Administration and the Community to identify works of art that were created in classes at COD that can be displayed and rotated among the campus locations. The total cost for the system and installation is approximately $2,500.00. Other Services/Community and Education:  Campus and community mural project. Through our collegial consulting process, a discussion about the arts at the East Valley arose and the idea of a community mural project was born. With the assistance of the Arts Department at College of the Desert East Valley Indio-Center would like to utilize a portion of the “Visiting Artist Fund” and additional resources through this process to bring a well-known female muralist, Judith Baca to Indio to not only facilitate a discussion and event on campus, but also to bring together 20 students (10 COD students and 10 students from Coachella Valley Unified School District) to conceptualize and create a mural within a two day time span. EVC has the space and with her expertise she can facilitate the vision. (See handout of experience and expertise.) To further connect the various art platforms, discussions emerged around the idea of bringing Nobel Laureate Poet, Juan Felipe Herrera to create a piece to coincide with the mural. The vision is to have this project completed in March 2016 to connect it with “Women’s History Month.” Also, for a more solidified connection to the community, this could be an opportunity for the You Promise Campaign to work with the 10 identified CVUSD students to provide them with a scholarship to College of the Desert. Finally, being Baca is one of few known female muralist, this projects also lends itself to partnership opportunities with the Ophelia Project and/or Soroptimist. Total asking price for materials and artists fees for the mural project only is approximately $12,500. Again, there may be some funds set aside for the project within the “Visiting Artists Fund,” however, it is not sufficient to fully fund the project.

4. List accomplishments department has made in the last year.  Increased sections, variety of offerings and enrollments at all off campus sites.  Hosted successful summer EDGE program at both the Indio and West Valley sites serving 183 and 61 students respectively.  Provided a rotation of all Student Support Services and began extending Academic Support Services and hours at EV sites.  Offered 4 complete degree programs for Indio in response to the expressed student and community need.  Weekend course offerings expand student opportunity.  Indio Center has partnered with the City of Indio and numerous local organizations for conferences.  From September 2014 through May 2015 a total of 683 bus passes were distributed at the East Valley locations.

5. List the department’s current goals and objectives. (2 – 3 measurable goals that are congruent with College of the Desert’s Strategic Master Planning Goals.  Increase transfer paths, degree options and expand Weekend College offerings. For example, increase Kinesiology offerings.  Generate 1,000 FTES to achieve “Center Status” at the Indio Site to obtain the $1.1M in annual on-going revenue.  Resume a standing rotation of all student support service, not on appointment basis solely.  Develop and launch an Outreach Plan for Center Locations.

This report prepared by : ______Jessica Enders ______10/15/15_02-26-16__ Name (print & initial) Date

This report submitted to: ____Dr. Annebelle Nery/Dr. Joel Kinnamon______10/15/15____ Name (print & initial) Date

of 8 FEEDBACK & SUGGESTIONS TO THE PLANNING COUNCIL FOR NEXT REVIEW: