June 17, 2021

Research and Growth Opportunities Subcommittee Minutes

Committee Members Present:

  • Bradley Christian
  • Bryant Windham
  • Celina Brown
  • Gary Myles
  • Joe Arrington, Co-chair
  • Lizette LaStrape
  • Matt Porter
  • Sharon Kenan, Co-chair 

Committee Members Absent:

  • Annette Bigham
  • David Davenport
  • Glynnis Gaines
  • Sally Frazier
  • Steven Wenzel 

The Research and Growth Opportunities Subcommittee was called to order in Zoom by Co-chair Joe Arrington at 1:04 p.m. on June 17, 2021.  The meeting ended at 2:01 p.m.  

The next meeting is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on July 15, 2021. 

Minutes from the meeting on May 20, 2021, were unanimously approved. 

Agenda Topics: 

Progress Reports from the Subcommittee’s Working Groups 

  • The group focusing on communicating the success of programs (Bryant Windham, David Davenport, Steve Wenzel) has been doing the following:
    • Meeting with Laura Wichman to collect data and to discuss the group’s upcoming on-campus survey
    • Changing the focus of the survey from successful programs to programs that could use revitalizing and review (on advice from Laura)
    • Conducting the survey next week
    • Will be deciding where to recommend advertising after getting survey results
    • Will be collaborating with Lisa Elliott on the marketing part of the recommendation 
  • The group focusing on how to work with area high schools and home schools to increase first time in college enrollment (Joe Arrington, Matt Porter, Sally Frazier) has been doing the following:
    • Meeting with Londa Carriveau to obtain a list of dual credit high school instructors who also teach dual credit courses for MCC
    • Planning to contact those instructors to determine ways in which MCC could collaborate with them
    • Planning to inquire about ISD facilitator training that a subcommittee member suggested as a forum for obtaining information 
  • The group focusing on outreach to Hispanic students and the community (Glynnis Gaines) has been doing the following:
    • Completing the information gathering effort
    • Planning to work with the results to determine next steps 
  • The group focusing on offering more non-degree options (Annette Bigham, Lizette LaStrape, Sharon Kenan) has been doing the following:
    • Realigning the group’s focus by emphasizing non-credit/credit pathways—based on feedback from interviews
    • Working on recommendations 
  • The group focusing on incentivizing enrollment (Bradley Christian, Celina Brown, Gary Myles) has been doing the following:
    • Waiting for information from other individuals
    • Communicating with Tonya Trepinski-Ochoa about learning framework students, especially 1300 students, who are enrolled in one or more dev. ed. classes
    • Considering small incentives, e.g., celebrating accomplishments throughout a semester
    • And considering big incentives at the back end, e.g., a voucher for tuition reimbursement when finished with dev. ed. courses (Grayson Meek’s subcommittee is getting data on the cost)—it was noted that all dev. ed. courses are free at Austin Community College
    • Considering how to incentivize other students, e.g., after completing the first 15 hrs. at MCC, the student would get a tuition discount and after the next 15 hrs. the student would get another tuition discount—it was noted that a Board member is concerned about tuition and how to lower it, and this group is working on a way to do so 
  • The group focusing on possibly changing the name of the college (Sharon Kenan) has been doing the following:
    • Waiting for community survey results
    • Continuing to contact other community colleges who have discontinued using “community” in their names 
  • The group focusing on the community survey (Joe Arrington, Sharon Kenan, with Laura Wichman) has been doing the following:
    • Presenting information about the survey to the MCC Board of Trustees
    • Waiting for results from the survey (being conducted June 14 through July 14) 

Review of Meeting Dates/Times 

  • The subcommittee’s meeting date/time will remain the same for now, i.e., the third Thursday of the month from 1-2 p.m. The next meeting will be held July 15 at 1:00 p.m.
  • The topic will be revisited at the next meeting in order to give everyone time to think about a change.
  • Due to potential Instructional Council meeting conflicts in the fall (if subcommittee meetings run long), the date may need to be changed. 

Action Items and Timeline 

  • The working group focusing on the success of programs will complete their survey and will review survey results prior to the next meeting.
  • The groups working on 1) incentivizing enrollment and 2) examining non-degree options will likely complete their reports/recommendations by the next meeting.  

Submitted by Sharon Kenan

June 23, 2021