Los Angeles Community College District

East* City* Harbor* Mission* Pierce* Southwest* Trade Tech*Valley* West*

Deans of Academic Affairs and Workforce Development

Meeting Minutes

April 5, 2007

Attendees

Ara Aguiar, West; Leticia Barajas, Trade; Carole Delgado, Pierce; Abe Farkas, West; Richard Galope, City; Renee D. Martinez, VP, East; Maria Elena Martinez, Southwest; Bobby McNeel, Harbor; Cynthia Morley-Mower, Trade; ND Ondoy, Mission; Laura E. Ramirez, East; Laura M. Ramirez, East;Ed Zayas, Mission; Diane McBride, District Workforce Development; Betina Vallin, District Workforce Development

New Programs

On the agenda for West LA were four new skill certificates- 1) Dental Assistant, 2) Medical Office Assistant, 3) Insurance Clerk and 4)Pharmacy Technician. The dean, Abe Farkas, brought the Allied Health program director, Araceli Aguiar to the meeting. West intends to proceed to certificates and AA degrees eventually for these programs. Abe had visited Cerritos College in March for a tour of their Pharmacy Tech program. He will provide LOWDL with a notice of intent. It was suggested that the names of the programs be changed to reflect the more advanced course requirements for the certificate and AA degrees. Abe said that he had anticipated doing that. Everyone agreed that there is a big need for the allied health programs and so there was no problem with competition among colleges. The medical office assistant program will focus on clinical training. This is a specialized niche which provides separates the West LA program from other program, which are run through the Business department. This one is offered through Allied Health. Pierce also has their courses offered through the business discipline. Araceli added that West has a 3 unit class offered on line in Allied Health which is very successful. Dean Leticia Barajas of Trade added that there are too many proprietary schools recruiting students in the health area for high tuition rates. West is also developing a basic skill for health and a medical terminology class.

Career awareness was mentioned as a need and an important component to all programs. Abe mentioned that one of the CCCAOE break out sessions offered career resource network information. Contact Abe Farkas for more details.

Trade added to the agenda a discussion on the programs under consideration: 1) a certified program in Process Technology 2) Criminal Justice (AJ)

Harbor has a degree program in Process Technology and asked that Trade meet with Harbor (the faculty/chairs) to iron out any differences and avoid competition. Trade said they were planning to invite interested people from other colleges to a meeting there to discuss. Bobby suggested that they do this at the monthly district discipline committee meeting. No one else had a concern about this program.

The proposed Criminal Justice program created was discussed. Leticia gave the phone number of Bill Elarton at Trade (213) 763-3701) who will be running the program if it is developed. She wanted to know everyone’s concerns so she could know how to proceed. She asked about specialty niches and general AJ. The group agreed that there would be fewer problems with competition with a generic AJ program, than one with a security emphasis, such as the program at Harbor. East offers AJ and does not offer security guard training. Harbor concentrates on high level security guard or non sworn officer training. Bob McNeel explained that this is a higher level of employment than regular security guards who work in stores, etc. Harbor works on contracts with TSA, LAX, and the Port, and so has developed expertise in this area of security. It was mentioned that all colleges but Trade do have AJ programs, and since there is evidently a need for graduates in these fields, Trade should have a program as well and it would not impact enrollment at other colleges. Mission has discontinued their security program. Renee Martinez suggested and all agree that there needs to be more discussion on this with the disciplines at affected colleges.

Abe mentioned that LA County Probation Transfer center is moving from their area to Whittier, which is an opportunity for East.

Leticia and others will make plans for follow up discussions.

Budget Reports

Financial reports for VTEA (10594), CTE (10491), and Basic Skills (10112) programs were provided. All funds with the exception of funds intended for carry over (Fund 10112) must be encumbered by June 30th. It was asked that budget work be done as soon as possible to avoid the last minute crunch which is very difficult for accounting staff.

CTE funds can not be carried over to next fiscal year. Unspent funds district wide will be returned to the State. It is important to spend the money in order to demonstrate the need for CTE funds.

Basic Skills (10112) may be carried over to next fiscal year, but there is always the possibility that the state finance department will use unspent carry over funds to fill deficits in other programs.

Revised budget reports for Basic Skills should be sent to Diane by Thursday, April 12. The mid year reports were sent out for colleges to review if needed.

Fund 19227- LEP funds from DPSS were also mentioned, although the SAP print out was not part of the packet. The colleges were allocated $8,000 to use for curriculum development/coordination for students who are English learners. They do not have to be CalWORKs students although the funds are from DPSS.

VTEA Quarterly Report

The 3rd report is due to the CCC Systems Office on April 25, which means that the narratives must be submitted to Diane no later than Friday, April 18. Diane reminded the group that the narratives should be brief and should address activities and expenditures that are allowable and in the Plan. Colleges were advised to keep an auditors point of view in mind when preparing the narratives.

VTEA Application Process/Update

The application is due to the District on Monday, April 30. This year, the state is requiring that the application be submitted electronically. This does not affect the reporting and submission from the colleges to the District. The District WFD Office will submit the report on the online system.

Aves Scholarship Info

Good news: It’s been confirmed that the District will be receiving funds to award scholarships next year (07-08). The amount is doubled from previous year, to approximately $ 50,000. per college. Deans asked whether the checks could be distributed each semester. Diane also encouraged colleges to collect “thank you” letters from students for the foundation to give to the donor, and provide our office with copies.

Career Brochure

A sample of the reprint was passed around for final updates, forward other changes to Diane. Deans were asked to provide any updates for their colleges that were not already included. The cost per college will be approximately $1,000. District WFD is waiting for the third bid.*

WFD Awards Update

Invitations have been sent electronically. Diane will ask Presidents to be presenters at the awards luncheon and a script will be available. Diane has confirmed that Dr. Barrera and John Clerx will be the Masters of Ceremony.

The committee discussed ways to honor the CA Foundation for the scholarships to CTE students. It was agreed that a student recipient should speak briefly. Success stories from one or two CTE students were also discussed. This would be a new addition to the Awards program, and all agreed that it would be good.

CA Edge Campaign

Diane reported on the highlights of the CA Edge Campaign symposium held in Sacramento on March 23rd. Handouts of the executive summary were provided.

Other Items

Contact Diane if you would like a copy of the VTEA Audit Corrective Action Plan. Copy of other programs can be obtained from Mee Lane.

Next meeting

The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 10, 2007 in District Board Room; Harbor will host.

Thanks to East LA College for hosting the April meeting.

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