COTA Meeting Minutes, April 2007

Committee on Transfer and Articulation (COTA)
Missouri Department of Higher Education
April 26, 2007

Participants: Evelyn Jorgenson, Jamie Carpenter, Jeanie Crain, Don Doucette (via phone), Mike Grelle, Steve Lehmkuhle, Kandis Smith, Keith Swanson, and Clark Triplett

MDHE Staff: Hillary Fuhrman, B.J. White, and Jeremy Kintzel (via phone)

Chair Dr. Evelyn Jorgenson called the meeting to order at 12:05 p.m.

Consent Item

I. Approval of Minutes

A motion was made by Dr. Mike Grelle and seconded by Dr. Jeanie Crain to approve the minutes of the March 28, 2007 meeting. The motion passed unanimously.

Old Business

II. Advisory Council for COTA

Dr. Kandis Smith updated COTA on the proposed advisory council. Dr. Smith informed COTA that Melissa Hattman of UMSL and Yvette Sweeney of StCCC had made a presentation on the council in March and there had been a groundswell of support from all sectors. Dr. Smith reported that the council would be self-nominating and that members would have three year rotating terms. The first round of nominations would be for one-year, two-year, and three-year terms. Dr. Jorgenson added that the council would discuss proposals from COTA and make recommendations to COTA.

Dr. Jeanie Crain asked about the name of the council and whether or not COTA’s decisions would have to be authorized by the advisory council. Dr. Smith responded that the official name for the council could be given by COTA. Dr. Jorgenson responded that the council would only serve in an advising role and would have no authority to approve COTA decisions. Dr. Jorgenson added that COTA would decide what issues to take to the council for comment, but that COTA would be under no obligation to do so. Dr. Crain stated that the proposal for the council seemed to indicate COTA’s obligation to the council.

Dr. Steve Lehmkuhle stated that COTA should take the opportunity to define the role and charge of the advisory council and how COTA would work with them. Dr. Lehmkuhle also stated that the council was designed to provide quick feedback to COTA on important issues.

Dr. Crain indicated that the council could assist with the 2008 Transfer Conference. Dr. Don Doucette stated that nine members may be too few people. Dr. Smith responded that it was designed that way in order to make coordination of the group easier.

Dr. Lehmkuhle stated that the way to move forward is to invite Melissa Hattman and Yvette Sweeney to the next COTA meeting to get more information and relay COTA’s concerns about and ideas for the council. Then COTA would issue a letter clarifying the charge.

Mr. Keith Swanson brought up the issue of student input into transfer issues and how they could find information regarding transfer.

Dr. Crain mentioned the MDHE website was a resource, but was difficult to access the information. Mr. B.J. White reported the MDHE website is undergoing a redesign and that a more user friendly site was scheduled to go live on July 1, 2007. Dr. Crain also suggested that a student panel could be a part of the 2008 Transfer Conference.

III. AAT Articulation Agreement Update

COTA decided that the community college signatory page would be included with the articulation agreement that would be sent to public and independent four-year institutions.

Dr. Grelle asked about the potential for students who have taken the Exceptional Learners course at their community college to repeat the course at a four-year institution. Dr. Doucette stated that if the exceptional child course is not in the four-year institution’s program plan then the student may have to repeat the course. Dr. Grelle then asked if that situation would cause four-year institutions to violate the clause in the agreement that states the transfer students will take no more credits than native students. Dr. Doucette responded that it would not if the Exceptional Learners course was not in the institutions’ program plan.

Dr. Crain asked if the Exceptional Learners course was included in the 62 credit hours intended for transfer. Dr. Doucette states that it was not unless the receiving institutions accepted the course. Dr. Lehmkuhle asked if COTA should make a statement clarifying some of these issues. COTA members felt that it should. COTA determined that electives courses, taken as part of the AAT, would be accepted in transfer on a course by course basis and that receiving institutions would not be required to accept electives Dr. Doucette stated that it should be placed in the agreement.
The additional language was placed in the second paragraph on page two of the articulation agreement.

IV. AAT Indicators

COTA discussed what indicators could be used to measure the success of students enrolled in an AAT program. Dr. Grelle suggested that finding out how many students are in good academic standing after the 1st semester would be an indicator while the program was starting. Dr. Doucette suggested tracking certifications and hiring of AAT graduates in Missouri. Dr. Jorgenson suggested that COTA communicate with DESE to see what date they collected and if they would be willing to share. Dr. Lehmkuhle noted that degree completion would probably be the first statewide indicator available and that anything else would have to come from the institutions and that C-BASE scores could serve as an indicator.

Dr. Lehmkuhle suggested that COTA could issue an RFP to departments of education to monitor the success of the AAT and find ways to support data collection. Also the RFP would be good signal to departments of education to cooperate. Dr. Crain suggested that a working group on this issue could be gathered form signatory institutions. Dr. Jorgenson recommended that signatures for the articulation agreement should be gathered first and then COTA would send a request to gather data, get suggestions for what to measure, and for a research paper on AAT student success.

New Business

None

Other

V. Gateway to College Update

Mr. Jeremy Kintzel presented additional information about the proposed Gateway to College pilot at St. Louis Community College – Florissant Valley. A proposal overview was distributed to COTA members.

Dr. Jorgenson expressed concern that the non-transferable college credit given during the foundational term would blur the line between developmental and college credit and its potential impact on community colleges as a whole. Other concerns raised by COTA members included potential transfer problems, whether or not the courses would be as rigorous as other college level courses and if the course were not, would it give students a false success.

Dr. Doucette raised the issue if this proposal was under COTA’s purview and whether should be discussing or not. Dr. Jorgenson stated that COTA was involved because it had been asked to give its perspective and to endorse the proposal if it was found to be a dual credit situation. Members determined that the proposal was a dual enrollment scenario not dual credit. COTA determined their course of action would be to send a letter to StLCC-FV addressing their concerns and stating the proposal was an institutional matter due to its dual enrollment status.

VI. Planning for 2008 Missouri Transfer Conference

Ms. Hillary Fuhrman brought before COTA the need to begin planning for the next transfer conference. Dr. Grelle indicated that institutions should be polled to identify critical transfer issues, in order to provide a base for the next conference. Dr. Lehmkuhle noted the need to find a location for the next conference soon.

Ms. Fuhrman also stated that a Transfer Quick Facts would be developed over the summer and that it could serve as a replacement of the Transfer Databook.

Adjournment

Dr. Jorgenson adjourned the meeting at 2:10 p.m.

Next Meeting

The next COTA meeting is scheduled for June 6, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. via conference call.