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June 19, 2007

A meeting of the Horticulture (Golf Course/Turf Management)Advisory Committee for Mt San Jacinto College (MSJC) was held on May 3, 2007, at Menifee Lakes Country Club, Menifee, CA. Minutes of the meeting follow:

  1. Attendees. The following members were present at the meeting.

Name / Organization/Title
Del Aldrich / Golf Course and Resort Consultant
Tom Benson / Student, MSJC
Bill Blackman / Associate Faculty, MSJC/Horizon
J. Briones / Maintenance and Operations, MSJC
Alberto Canédo / Canyon Lake
Rick Collins / Dean, Career Education, MSJC
Scott Cupell / Horizon
Dan Farrar / Menifee Lakes Country Club
Kent Garner / Horizon
John Hardin / Highland Springs Country Club
Anly Hernandez / Rancho California RV Resort
Jake Huxman / Bear Mountain Golf Course
Gary Koch / Murrieta Cemetery
Tom Kueneman / Primera Turf
Frank Larios / Maintenance and Operations, MSJC
Laurie McLaughlin / Associate Dean, Career Education, MSJC
Steve McLaughlin / Horticulture Department Coordinator, MSJC/Pacific Sod
Jeff Morrow / Highland Spring Village
Dave Nobbs / Course Co.
Denny Purvis / Arroyo Fairways
Rose Russell / Administrative Associate, MSJC
Rich Severns / Severns, Inc.
Dottie Smith / VTEA Coordinator, MSJC
George Suares / Horizon
JesseTroche / Menifee Lakes Country Club
Scott Vlahos / Indian Hills Golf Club
  1. Welcome & Introductions

Ms. Laurie McLaughlin, Associate Dean Career Education, MSJC, opened the meeting at 8:16 a.m. She welcomed the attendees and introduced Mr. Steve McLaughlin, Department Coordinator. She explained the importance of Advisory Committees to the college. The college must determine if its programs are relevant and current. Input is needed from businesses and industry to guide us in this process. Ms. McLaughlin also told the members that one purpose for advisory committees is to find possible instructors for the program.

The members introduced themselves. Ms. McLaughlin reviewed the items in the meeting packets.

  1. Horticulture Program Update

a.Program Changes

Mr. McLaughlin welcomed everyone. He told the group that MSJC has a very refined program in Horticulture, which was recently renamed from Golf/Turf Management. The course designations have been changed to HORT.

Mr. Bill Blackman, Associate Faculty, provided additional updates. He is currently working on changing the courses to meet the Golf Course Association minimums. The Golf Course Association requires a minimum of 400 hours – which we have under the Turf Certificate Program. We need to get our logo and a link to our program on their web site so people looking for training will know we are an available option.

We are looking for an arboricultureinstructor. Please refer anyone who you think might be able to do this to Mr. McLaughlin. We have a real need for part-time instructors.

b.Distance Learning

A current student said that he would really like to see classes online. Time and work limitations sometimes prevent him from attending classes. There was a discussion about what can effectively be accomplished with online classes. The consensus was that most classes could be offered in a hybrid format with no more than 1/3 to 1/2 of the classes online and the rest face-to-face classes. Field trips could be part of those classes counted as face-to-face since the members felt they are very beneficial to the students.

Ms. McLaughlin asked the members for some specific recommendations for courses that would be good online or hybrid. The members felt that HORT-102 Introduction to Turfgrass Management, HORT-103 Advanced Turfgrass Management, and HORT-104 Soil Science and Management would all be good candidates for hybrid format classes.

Ms. McLaughlin relayed to the members that MSJC is a leader in distance education statewide. Our retention rate for online at MSJC is very close to face-to-face classes. There are already 3 electives in the program that are offered online: COMM 103, CSIS 101, and MGMT 103. Mr. Hernandez said that if the employers are willing to work on computer use with their employees who are taking the class they will feel comfortable and will be excited about the program and Mr. Collins suggested that the instructor could take students to the computer lab at the first class and introduce them to using Blackboard online. Mr. Blackman felt the soils science class might be the best class to start with as the class uses a lot of PowerPoint presentations.

RECOMMENDATION: Explore offering HORT-102 Introduction to Turfgrass Management, HORT-103 Advanced Turfgrass Management, and HORT-104 Soil Science and Managementclasses in a hybrid format.

c.Broadening the Program

Mr. McLaughlin stated he would like to broaden the program in an attempt to draw in more people. We have already changed the title in an effort increase the student base by including horticulture versus just golf course/turf management.

Mr. Blackman said that before this program was begun, students in Riverside County had to go to either San Diego, College of the Desert or Mt San Antonio to get the education in this area. The program at Mt San Antonio is much broader than ours. The program has been around for a while. The College of the Desert has a par 3 golf course. Mr. Blackman feels we need dedicated classrooms and broader offerings.

Ms. McLaughlin asked what courses could be added to the program. Suggestions included: green house, landscape design, xeriscape, risk management, safety and OSHA compliance training, human resources, facility management topics that relate to golf courses. She told the members that we have a challenge in broadening the program when we are already struggling to enroll people in the core courses we currently offer. It is sometimes necessary to have a smaller program and build a good base and then add to the courses offered.

d.Public Relations

Ms. McLaughlin asked the group for their ideas on howwe can get the word out. Suggestions included:

  • Word of mouth
  • Bringpotential studentsand workplace supervisors to meet with the instructors and see the program
  • Inviting potential students and workplace supervisors to sit in on a class
  • A program orientation session that will give potential students information about services and available assistance such as the centers on both campuses where they can be walked through the registration process
  • Since most English as a Second Language students have a fear of failure, create a one page bilingual flier about the program that can be posted at golf facilities
  • An instructor could go and talk to potential students during their lunch break

RECOMMENDATION: Create a bilingual flier that golf courses can post at their facilities.

RECOMMENDATION: Ask employers to establish an incentive of pay raises for their employees as their moved through the program. Ms. McLaughlin told the members that there is a company in northern California that had a college come and teach the courses on site and they had a chart that showed courses titles and tied them to pay raises

RECOMMENDATION: Explore having former students come to college career fairs to talk to prospective students. Ms. McLaughlin pointed out that we could combine that with an orientation for the program.

e.Dedicated Area for the Horticulture Program

The group discussed the possibility of having some dedicated space on the college campus for the horticulture program. Ms. McLaughlin asked how much space would be needed and how it would be maintained. The current landscape crew that is employed by MSJC is already overtaxed. Mr. Blackman said they can adapt to whatever space they are able to get and could build a green in a couple of thousand feet. Mr. McLaughlin said they can write it into the curriculum to maintain the turf area; however, summer is a problem because there are no students and in winter it is dark during class time. We have been using this golf course, Menifee Lake Country Club, as an outside classroom.

Ms. McLaughlin asked the college ground crew member present at the meeting how this would affect them. He said there is plenty of land and if the program would be donating the equipment, it would be a great idea. Mr. Blackman feels certain we can get everything needed to build the course donated, but the issue is if we can we get the labor to take care of it. Mr. McLaughlin saideither a green house or golf green would be a good public relationship builder.

RECOMMENDATION: Explore possibilities for developing either a golf green or a green house to provide better hands-on experiences for students and build public relations.

  1. Labor Market Information

Mr. McLaughlin reviewed the Labor Market Information for this career cluster.

  1. OccupationalInternship Program

Ms. McLaughlin referred members to the Occupational Internship Brochure and flyer on CalWORKs Occupational Internships. Please let us know if you are interested in hiring someone through this program. This includes non paid internships.

  1. Feedback from Business Partners
  • A member asked if it is possible to set up a tour and who should be contacted if they wish to do that. Ms. Laughlin replied that they should contact her administrative associate at 487-3441. The associated can then contact Mr. BlackmanorMr. McLaughlin who can set it up.
  • Mr. Blackman recognized John Hardin who is 22 years old. He has been involved with golfing since he was 16. He was a golf pro. He was asked if he wanted to start working in maintenance. He began taking classes and really enjoyed what he had learned. Mr. Hardin has only been on the golf maintenance side for 9-10 months and has obtained his license. Was just hired as the superintendent at a local course and saved that course $2,900 in the first month on the water bill. This program is huge for anyone who is willing to put an effort into it.

RECOMMENDATION – Mr. Hardin’s story should be used as a testimonial in the advertising.

  1. Closing Remarks

Ms. McLaughlin drew everyone’s attention to the Feedback Form included in their packets and asked them to fill out the form if they had any other comments, recommendations, or requests. The forms can either be turned in at the end of today’s meeting or sent through the mail.

Mr. McLaughlin thanked Menifee Lakes Golf Course for their hospitality and reiterated what a great partner they have been.

  1. The meeting adjourned at 9:39 a.m.