Meeting & Agendas

Attendance:

Adjunct Faculty: Jeffrey Brennan (virtual), David Smith(virtual), Claudia Rodriguez(virtual), Melinda Gildart (virtual), Carol Hitzfelder (virtual), Lillian Spell (virtual), John Naranjo (virtual), Chris Knox (virtual), Lawanna Brown(virtual), La Tasha Roberts, Virginia Hauser,

Full-Time Faculty: Kimberly Cameron (virtual), Yolonda Holland (virtual), Dr. Reed Peoples, Larry Stephens, Johnny Howard, Denise White, Kristy McDermott, Kelli Blount, Okera Bishop, Germaine Randolph

Personnel Changes-

Larry announced changes that have occurred in the department during the Summer, including a new assistant department chair, Kelli Blount, who will be assuming the duties Kimberly Cameron used to do. Emails from Kelli regarding getting courses set up for the Fall and the conversion to Blackboard Ultra for fall courses. Larry mentioned that for faculty who didn't teach over the Summer, training is being held virtually and in person if they need a refresher on how to convert their courses to Blackboard Ultra. The department welcomed five new adjunct faculty members. Kwohn Whitaker, an instructor at Blinn College, will be teaching both ACCT 2301 and ACCT 2302. David Smith, who is currently teaching at McNeil H.S. Larry shared that David will be working in the Accounting Technician Program, which is part of the Pipeline Efforts and Articulation efforts to get more Independent School Districts involved. David is the first representative from the Round Rock School District. Melinda Gildart will also be teaching 2301 and 2302 courses. Dr. Tony Rawlins will be teaching virtually for 2301 and 2302. Anthony Ross will be coming back to ACC as an adjunct to teach ACCT 2302. We are seeing a 15% increase in enrollment due to free tuition cohorts. Enrollment has increased for ACCT 2301 and ACCT 2302 courses.

Select Adjuncts on Accounting Task Force –

Accounting Task Force and normally requires Adjunct representation, select 3 adjuncts who will serve in that capacity to help with the Department Leadership. 1st Claudia Rodriguez, 2nd Carol Hitzfelder, 3rd John Naranjo (J.D). No objections were made to adding them to the Accounting Task Force.

• Larry discussed with the faculty that everyone needs to get serious about making sure they have everything submitted and completed. He announced the report is due by December 15, before the site visit in February 2026.
• Denise presented on the strategic plan, highlighting the need to increase completion rates, expand AI expertise, and strengthen high school partnerships, among other goals. The department was tasked with updating its strategic plan to align with the objectives of the ACC’s Mission.

1. The goal by 2030 is to have 70% of completion ( degrees, certificates, and transfers) that are state-funded. The Department is at 46% as of the last fiscal year 2023-2024. All Departments will need to include something about completion in the Strategic Plan.
2. Questions about the 5 Business Pathways on which programs in Business Studies will be included for the Business Studies Pathways. Administrative Technology, Management, Dual Credit Certificate for Accounting. ATD is for the whole Business Division and includes high schools. The Division Strategic Plan will include the following: Increasing the course Completion Rate by 70%, expanding faculty expertise with AI, expanding high school partnerships, strengthening the involvement of the Advisory Committee, and increasing Grants, internships, articulation agreements, and apprenticeships.
3. Discussion about completion rates and enrollment continued. Thoughts and suggestions were made based on how to track data for students who are enrolled in the Advanced Technical Certificate Programs. Faculty provided input about how some students are enrolled in a Program, but do not complete the certificate, because the students only need a few classes to sit for the CPA exam. Faculty discussed what types of Follow-ups are being completed for former students and suggestions on what methods can help count towards the 70% completion to help students complete. There was an announcement to the adjunct faculty that was recommended by the coordinator for the Faculty advisors to bring on 2 additional Accounting Faculty Advisors to help advise and make recommendations on substitutions. This is an opportunity to earn additional money, and this would help with tracking and finding the data.
4. The department is currently developing a strategic plan that involves coordinating with high schools and dual credit courses. The aim is to increase engagement between high schools and community colleges. There has been ongoing discussion about integrating dual credit courses into Level 1 Certificates. The goal is for high school students to enroll in dual credit courses so that upon completing their senior year, they can earn a Level 1 Certificate.
5. The faculty talked about using artificial intelligence (AI) in the classroom and looked at the ups and downs of it. Some members shared their concerns about how comfortable they are with incorporating AI into their teaching. They also discussed why some AI features aren’t included in textbooks. In the end, they came up with some ideas to help faculty learn more about AI. One suggestion was to apply for a grant to get a subscription to an AI tool like Gemini or Notebook LM for all full-time faculty across different departments. Everyone agreed that the main goal of using AI should be to help prevent cheating and to teach students how to use AI responsibly.
6. One of the topics discussed was increasing course completion. Larry emphasized the importance of faculty providing support and ensuring that students have the resources they need to complete their classes. A suggested action plan included bringing in an additional tutor and encouraging faculty to use Inspire Alerts to identify students' needs. This would allow students to receive assistance from Student Affairs. Another comment was made that warning alerts appear for a student on Ultra if they are not attending and missing assignments.

Larry talked with the faculty about the need to add some guidelines about AI in their syllabi. He asked everyone for their thoughts on what should be allowed or not when it comes to using AI. They looked at what should be included in their AI Policy Disclosure and agreed that each syllabus should clearly state three things: which assignments will be prohibited, permitted, or required to use AI. The faculty shared their feelings about using AI in their courses and discussed which assignments would be suitable for it. It was suggested that AI shouldn’t be allowed for graded assignments, but instructors could choose to let AI be used, as long as it’s noted in the assignment instructions. They also talked about setting some limits on AI use for homework. Another idea was to allow AI for extra credit assignments. The discussion also touched on the downsides of completely prohibiting the use of AI, which can be a disservice to students' learning. Faculty members agreed that it’s important for students to understand the need for ethical and responsible AI use, making it clear that any assignment involving AI should encourage critical thinking. This conversation will continue among the faculty as they gather more input on developing AI disclosures for their syllabi.

 Administration

• Larry shared with the faculty that there is a calendar being created and everyone will have access to see the scheduled meeting dates for the Accounting Task Force, Advisory Committee meetings, and Deadlines for Attendance Certification and Grades Submissions.

 Registration/Scheduling

• Free Tuition Cohorts have made a huge impact on enrollment for the Fall 2025 Semester. For the Fall 2025 Semester, there are 41,300 students enrolled. Business Studies has under 3,700 students for enrollment. The accounting department is up 15% enrollment over last year. There are 1,472 students enrolled.
• There are limited spaces on the schedule, so with the kill sessions that begin on Thursdays, enrollment will increase to 1500-1600 students. There are 2/3 sections that will not make it for the Fall, and some sections will have their enrollment date postponed.
• For the courses ACCT 2301 and ACCT 2302, 267 free tuition cohorts are enrolled for the Fall 2025 Semester.

• Students can still change their schedules if there are spaces available
• There is a new Strategic Scheduling system, baseline. If the section meets 65% of enrollment, the section will be carried to the new schedule. A section will get dropped if it doesn’t meet the 65% enrollment. Larry announced that if there are enough students, he would be able to postpone the enrollment and extend the date for enrollment extended increase enrollment.
• There are More face-to-face classes on the schedule; some sections are already at capacity. The enrollment date will be pushed back if there are a minimum of 8/9 students enrolled.
• Spring 2026 Scheduling preferences will need to be made as of September 2, 2025.

 Add/Drop; Withdraw

• Students can still change their schedules if there are spaces available
• This evening and next week, there will be a tuition check, and if students are not on a payment plan, they will be dropped from their courses.
• If it’s after the last day to add or drop a class for the 16-week session or 1st 8-week session, the student will not be able to make any schedule changes. Late adds create problems. Students can reach out to the instructor for approval to be added to a class as an overload.

 Incomplete

• A student can receive an incomplete for a class only under extraordinary circumstances. Students cannot receive an "I" after the withdrawal date for not attending or if they did not complete any assignments.

 Lighthouse

• It is not necessary to post a detailed syllabus with specific dates for Lighthouse purposes.
• Syllabi must be posted when the schedule is made available for registration. Course objectives can be posted so that students can review the assignments and the Curriculum Vitae. Office hours do not need to be posted until the semester begins.
•  Larry mentioned that there is someone assigned to check whether instructors are complying with the syllabus posting requirements. It was announced that the Accounting Department was compliant for the Spring and Fall 2025 semesters.

 Attendance Verification/Grade Submission

• The calendar being created will include an attachment indicating the dates when attendance must be verified and when grades need to be submitted. Additionally, instructors will receive a follow-up email reminding them to confirm their attendance for their courses and submit their grades.

 Mentors for New Adjuncts

• The confirmation of mentors for the new adjuncts was discussed. Johnny Howard will mentor David Smith, while Kristy will work with Melinda Gildart and Anthony Ross. The mentors for Kwohn Whitaker and Dr. Paget Rawlins have not yet been confirmed.

TSBPA Proposed Rule Changes

• Larry discussed changes to accounting degree requirements, noting that the 150-hour program now requires 30 hours of accounting (12 defined, 18 flexible) and has removed the research and writing requirement. He expressed concerns about the reduced emphasis on writing skills, given that students increasingly rely on AI for report generation and communication. Larry also highlighted that CPA review courses can now count for up to 6 hours towards the 150-hour requirement, and suggested exploring partnerships with CPA review providers to offer relevant 2-hour classes.

CPA Exam Working Groups

• Meetings Schedule – Meetings for the Accounting Advisory Committee and Accounting Task Force have been scheduled, and the location has been confirmed for the meetings.

Student Event Schedule

• There will need to be dates set for Student Events and they will need to be added to the calendar.