COMPUTER INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Cedar Valley College Advisory Committee Meeting
April 17, 2010 12:00 AM Room B125
Present: James Ringstaff, Tim Taff, David Evans, Vin Sundaram, Rhonda Hutchison, Tom Jacob, David Hudson, Lance Schlegel, Joe Moore
CVC Staff: Diane Minger, Aaron Stanton, Carol Speier, Andy Mungenast, Alan Maples
Handouts: Agenda, Schedule for Winter/Spring 2010, Schedule for Summer 2010, Issues Impacting the Current Networking Program handout.
Welcome: Dr. Maples welcomed the committee members and thanked them for
attending the meeting, emphasizing their importance to our program.
Introductions: Attendees introduced themselves and briefly described their role in the IT field.
The meeting was called to order at 12:30 pm by David Hudson, chairman.
Minutes: The minutes from last meeting were approved.
SACS: Diane Minger
CVC Mission Statement: The group was asked to read over the mission statement and give input regarding the relevance and
inclusiveness of the statement. The following comments were made by advisory committee members:
“Seems to be missing goals for achieving SUCCESS with the students.”
“Define community that we serve. Is it South Dallas, all of Dallas county or even the entire U.S. with our online courses?”
“Might add to provide students with a direct link to universities in the area for transfer.”
QEP: The group was given an overview of the SACSCOC process and especially the Quality Enhancement Plan. They were informed that the QEP topic has been narrowed to Student Success in Reading, Student Success in Math, or General Student Success Skills. The following input was offered from advisory committee members: “Fundamentally, both reading and math are key to student success.” “Maybe should offer free online tutorial classes in reading and math to service area High School students. They could take these classes in 10th or 11th grade to help bring up skills.”
“Pretest students in high school to see where they are early in the game. Give them an opportunity to find out what they need to improve their skills before they get to college.”
Coordinator: Al Maples
CORE: Test for Introductory Computer Skills
1. Our Intro classes generate the largest number of contact hours and are the main income generator for our department.
2. The state is reducing the required core credits from 48 to 42.
3. The CORE committee decided that Physical Education, Speech and Introductory Computer classes be removed from the CORE.
4. A test for basic computer literacy was suggested. Accuplacer, a well recognized company, came in as the lowest priced provider. Six correct answers out of ten is a passing score on each intro module. (There are 4 modules: PowerPoint, Word, Spreadsheet, and general knowledge.)
5. There are a number of ways to be excused from having to take the test.
a. If you have taken 12 college hours.
b. If you are a transient student .
c. If you are a certificate student
d. If a designated official excuses you from testing.
6. ITSC 1711 (1 lecture, 1 lab) is a new self paced course, recurring every six weeks to address deficiencies.
Web Developer Certificate
We have changed our Web Specialist certificate to a Web Developer certificate, which includes both animation and programming.
1. Includes 3 programming courses (Logic and design, Programming Language I, and Programming Language II)
2. Projects
a. Two Dimensional: Animation project using Alice
b. Three Dimensional: Graphics and Art using programming
Plan for Increasing Completions 1. Marketing Plan
2. Marlin Mote Plan: Identify students who previously expressed an interest in this major so we can identify those who have earned certificates. Suggestion: send sample degree certificate along with a letter to qualified students advising them of what they need to do to obtain the certificate that they have earned. (Here is how to put your name on this certificate.)
3. Suggestions and statements from group:
a. Opportunities to develop classes for the jobs available in creating applications for iPhones, ipads, etc.
b. With software as a service and cloud computing, you have everything you need in your pocket. Desktops and laptops no longer needed.
c. Online classes need to be changed to be more adaptable to hand held devices.
d. Mobile application certificate could be developed around applications for iPhones and other hand held devices
Networking Program: Andy Mungenast
Andy spoke about the issues impacting the current networking program.
1. CVC offers only the Microsoft track (There are 5 tracks) Not offering: CISCO
CONVERGENCE TECHNOLOGY UNIX/LINUX
SOLARIS
2. Available facilities – still where we were 6 years ago. 3. Graduates – Low due to only 1 out of 5 tracks offered.
4. Advertisement – No funding
5. Good news – About 60+ % are passing their MCP and retention is high.
He then iterated what is needed, in order for the program to be competitive.
1. Appropriate Facilities – Space and Equipment a. Focus on CISCO
•Dove tail to the High Schools
•Our students have had to go to other campuses
•Opens door to CONVERGENCE TECHNOLOGY
•Results in increase in students
•Results in increase in graduates
•DHTI certification integrated with Green Sustainability
2. Advertising – Let folks know we are here and they have an opportunity for good earnings and challenging work.
Andy followed up with a discussion emphasizing the positive employment outlook in the networking field.
The Advisory Board then made a recommendation that was unanimously approved by the board.
The Advisory Board recommends that the CIT Networking department be provided ample dedicated facilities and space for CIT use and that CISCO equipment be purchased to provide the essential lab environment necessary for the Networking program’s success. (See the needs of the program as defined by Andy Mungenast)
The Advisory Board also stated that CISCO knowledge is recognized as being in demand. They were concerned that Advertising continued to be a recurring need. This is the third year that the need for marketing has been an issue.
General suggestions and comments from the committee:
1. To address the need for better math skills in incoming students, it was suggested that Duncanville had an ongoing night program for college bound high school students to
improve their skills. Maybe other high schools in our area could do something similar to this. Or perhaps we could offer something comparable, to better prepare students. 2. We should take our courses into more off campus areas,
churches, etc offering basic computer literacy classes. 3. We should include the following programs in our offering:
.dnet, php, Ruby on Rails. (These are programming languages, currently used in many applications.)
4. Place our catalogs for each semester in local grocery stores and other businesses to gain wider coverage, and reach more potential students.
5. Build an application in house as a technology tool to use in advertising—popup ads, etc.
Adjourn Meeting: The meeting was adjourned by David Hudson, Chairman.
________________________________ ____________________________ David Hudson, Chairman Minutes recorded by Carol Speier
