Meeting & Agendas

Department Chair, Pamela Soto, called the meeting to order at 2:38. The advisory board members introduced themselves to the rest of the panel.

Pam explained the duties and responsibilities of the Chair and Vice-Chair. Michele Melkerson-Granryd nomiated Paul Smith to be chair. Steven Boyd volunteered to be Vice-Chair. Vote taken and approved.

Pam noted the curriculum changes that were implemented this year in the program with a handout. She also noted that the NCCA credentials would cost the department around $5,000. She noted that this expense might not be that great of a benefit to the program. Eileen Klein mentioned that if the program increases the enrollment numbers, the division could explore the accreditation issue in the future. Michele Melkerson-Granryd mentioned the importantance of having this type of accreditation. A third follow-up item concerned the Group Exercise INstruction. Michele Melkerson-Granryd reported that the group got a lot out of the experience. The majority completed the semester and it was noted that there was some redundance in the physiology content. Spring evaluations indicated that students were split on the benefits of the redundancy of the materials. Michele believes that it is still necessary to cover the material again. Pam noted that the topic has been discussed in department meetings and that one option would be to require Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology as a prerequisite for the course. The committee discussed the issue and agreed that it was still good to have the redundancy. Eileen suggested gathering more data from the next cohort of students in order to make a final decision. The fourth follow-up item concerned the SWOT Team. A handout for this was distributed. A discussion ensued about the possiblity of developing some hybrid courses. The last item to be brought to the committee's attention was the departmental certifications. Discussion centered around whether the department should replace ACE with NASM for the introductory courses. Karyna Elizondo shared that NASM was one of the top 3 certifications for individuals who aspire to get ot manager levels in the big fitness corporations. Steven Boyd shared that he believes ACE is a good entry level certification but NASM is a better advanced certification. No changes will be made at this point.

Michele Melkerson-Granryd wondered is Dell was a good internship site due to the fact that they won't hire graduates. She also noted that National Instruments might have some internship opportunities as well as Dell Children's Medical Center. Pam Soto invited the committee to share any internship opportunities with the department.

The meeting concluded at 3:39 with thanks from Pam for all in attendance.