Meeting & Agendas

Wayne welcomed all the committee members and thanked them for being there. Each member introduced themselves and talked about their Professional and Technical Communication backgrounds. Members Present: Anne Gentle, Developer Experience Manager, Cisco Systems, Inc. Uwana Ikaiddi, Developer Documentation Specialist, Big Commerce Cristian Perez, Program Manager - Support Content, Cloudflare Inc. Mary Snider, Sr. Documentation Developer, and Team Lead, Gotransverse Shrie Spangler, Sr. Technical Writer, Adobe Members Unable to Attend: Amanda Crocker, Sr. Technical Writer, PayPal Jeremy Lowell, Chief Operating Officer and VP of Sales, DocForce ACC Faculty/Staff Present: Wayne Butler, Dept. Chair, Business, Government, and Technical Communications Allyson Whipple, Faculty, Business, Government, and Technical Communications Kimberly Anderson, Administrative Assistant

Wayne presented on the background of the Business, Government, and Technical Communications Department (BGTCM) and Austin Community College. He also discussed the functions of the Advisory Committee and what the time commitments look like.

Allyson explained the data she collected on enrollment across the three specializations that the department offers. She also discussed the racial and ethnic backgrounds of the students the department is currently serving compared to ACC as a whole and the types of delivery modes that are offered.

Wayne explained the different types of marketing that the department uses to reach out to students including attending ACC student events and social media. BGTCM is also involved in ACC committees such as the Distance Learning Committee, Assessment Committee, and the Full-Time Faculty Senate which allows the department to be represented at the highest levels of the college.

The BGTCM has the goals of Institutional and Regulatory Compliance, Aligning with ACC Goals, Improving Instructor and Course Quality, and Upgrading/Creating Market-Aligned Awards Plans. Wayne also presented what the Program Decision Parameters were as well as the Short, Mid, and Long Term Issues for the Department. Wayne also gave some ideas for Marketing, Increasing and Enlarging Enrollment Pipelines, and Types of Certificates while keeping in mind the emerging trends of the workforce.

Appoint Committee Officers: -Committee Chair: Wayne Butler (All members voted Yes) -Committee Co-Chair: Allyson Whipple (All members voted Yes) -Committee Secretary: Not Determined Length of Committee Member Terms: -Committee members agreed to pull names from a bag, each member was given either a 2, 3 or 4-year term. Members are not required to fulfill the full term length. Mary Snider – 2 Year Term Anne Gentle – 3 Year Term Shrie Spangler – 4 Year Term Uwana Ikaiddi – 2 Year Term Cristian Perez – 3 Year Term Amanda Crocker – 4 Year Term (Not Present) Jeremy Lowell – 2 Year Term (Not Present) Collaboration and Communication: -Wayne will create a Google Drive for all Committee Information i.e. PowerPoints, Agendas, etc.

Committee Members discussed the possible revisions for the department as well as the emerging trends in the field for Technical Writing. Some of the topics discussed were: Using open-source and flexible tools Learning to Learn How to evaluate tools, and do research The culture of a Tech Company and how to move within it Marketing to Computer Science Students Knowledge of Design and User Experience Wayne shared with the committee that the Visual Communication Department is offering User Experience Courses and that it may be an idea to add those courses to Technical Communications. Committee Members also discussed that Tech Writing has become dynamic and hybridized, looking for more specialized, and needing Tech Writers to be able to move around and get the information you need. A suggestion for how ACC can prepare for this is to match up the program map with what the jobs are looking for. A closing idea was presented to the Committee to change the name of the department.

Wayne made the suggestion of adding headshots and Employer links to the BGTCM Homepage. Committee Members can email Kim Anderson with Supervisor Contact Information and AVP Michael Midgely will write an appointment and thanks for recognition of serving on the Advisory Committee. Wayne also asked that the Committee Members follow BGTCM on Social Media.

Meeting Adjourned at 8:00 pm. The next meeting will be scheduled for February 2020.