MAC Meeting Minutes September 2007

Missouri Assessment Consortium
Meeting Minutes
Jefferson City, MO
September 27, 2007

1. Meeting began at 10:15 a.m.

2. Introductions and Attendance

   1. Present: Michael Cunningham, Janet Juhlin, Martha Kirker, John Scheulen, Beth Nolte, Lisa Edburg, Mike Easter, Charles VanMiddlesworth, Ron Pennington, John Cosgrove, Delores Honey, Kathy Marlock, Michael Strait, Jeremy Kintzel, David Murphy
      

3. The members discussed the possibility of ETS attending a MAC meeting. Jeremy Kintzel stated that he had a list of possible dates and that the panel could decide on a date at the end of the meeting. Charles VanMiddlesworth stated that he would like for the ETS representative to discuss the online products and services available through ETS. Mike Easter also commented that there were new community college products available. A brief discussion of these products followed.

4. Beth Nolte asked if any institutions were considering participation in the Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA). Mr. Kintzel stated that the templates had been developed. It was stated that the VSA was not designed for community colleges. It was also stated that some standardized tests do not yield the level of information needed to complete the VSA items.

5. Members began discussion of SB389 by focusing on the mandatory reporting of faculty evaluations. Mr. Kintzel described the section of SB389 relevant to this mandate and provided a handout prepared by DHE staff. The members discussed the level of specificity at which the information was required to be presented. There was general concern about presenting the information at a disaggregated level. Mr. Kintzel stated that feedback on the information contained in the handout was due by October 5, 2007 and encouraged members to work with their campus administration to coordinate feedback.

6. The section of SB389 regarding performance indicators was discussed next. Mr. Kintzel stated that, as part of its primary focus, the CBHE funding formula task force had had some discussions of performance measures. Deputy Commissioner Wagner coordinates this group. Mr. Kintzel stated that while he had no specific knowledge, he believed the statewide measures would be some subset of the expected measures (enrollment, completions, etc.), although specific parameters would necessarily be a topic of discussion. John Cosgrove stated that common measures can be difficult to understand and that any measures should be developed in conjunction with meaningful conversations with campuses. The members agreed.

7. Curriculum alignment was also discussed. Mr. Kintzel asked members to encourage faculty from their respective campuses to participate in the process. He also stated that the subcommittees had originally identified over 30 courses for competency development. The steering committee, however, narrowed the preliminary focus to around 10. Entry and exit competencies will be developed for the identified general education courses, but the initial focus would be on the development of entry competencies.

8. The committee discussed the assessment matrices for the 42 hour block. Mr. Kintzel stated that he thought there had been an initial timeframe for the matrices to be posted, but the committee asked if the information could continue to be posted on the DHE website. In addition, there was a general consensus that the information should be easy to find on the site.

9. Mr. Kintzel mentioned that an Implementation Matrix for components of SB389 had been developed by the DHE. Delores Honey asked that they matrix be emailed to the members. Mr. Kintzel stated that the matrix would be in the Board Book that would be released prior to the October meeting (http://www.dhe.mo.gov/files/BB1007.pdf - see Tab B attachment).

10. Mr. Kintzel stated that the 2008 transfer conference would be held on January 30, 2008 at the Holiday Inn Executive Center in Columbia, MO. He encouraged the members to attend and mentioned that the COTA Advisory Committee is working with the MDHE and COTA in planning the conference.

11. A brief discussion of the FIPSE grant followed. Mr. Kintzel stated that an announcement of award recipients could come in a matter of days (http://www.nasulgc.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=763&srcid=183).

12. The members suggested that a meeting should be scheduled with the Chief Academic Officers to discuss components of SB389.

13. The next meeting was scheduled for November 16, 2007 at the DHE. In addition, October 26th could be used if issues emerge that require an additional meeting. The meeting in November will be coordinated by Janet Juhlin, Dr. Honey, and Martha Kirker.

14. Meeting adjourned at 12:25 p.m.