Meeting & Agendas

SA: We got 18 proposals, vetting process is ongoing, tough decisions because more proposals than slots. Everyone that wanted to be involved is involved. SA: Programs not chosen: France (too tourist), London Brit Lit (incomplete proposal), Taiwan Ceramics (complicated, language barriers), London Theatre/Acting EHS & IP used risk scale (low moderate extreme). Considerations for negative publicity. People said “nothing ever happens”….. SA to Marvy Reyes : When you’re looking at proposals…..Belize can be easily managed….IP most worried about ski resort Spanish program….Both Argentina and Spain programs were approved. EHS agrees there are health and safety issues with winter climate. Winter sport activities not mandatory, but students will still do them. Bad publicity for Argentina program. MR: Do other universities offer programs that have high-risk programs? If something happened, it would shut down all programs….Not no, but not yet. Two years of experience required to answer PR experience if it happens. SA: Worried about publicity if something happens. MR: As long as not outside range of study abroad offered at other institutions, that could later change….My worry is if we’re threatening the integrity of our core curriculum. SA: This came up with Ceramics in CR and Spain Spanish program. Deans viewpoint: not if threatening core curriculum, but if core contact hours could be justified. MR: Deans would speak best to contact hours. Cirric can’t be overlooked. i.e. Intro to Psych. This threatens someone’s credit when they advance to the next level. SA: Shirin---Mike made her chair of committee to start a peace program. I sit on this committee, Mike and Gaye Lynn supports this effort. Sure we’ll eventually have a program. Marvy: Why not be a special topic, we’re doing a bait and switch. Get more out of it if not an Intro class. SAA: Can’t have an Honors course over the summer? No—has to be accessible to everyone so we can’t have an Honors class. MR: Suggested looking for another course number for this program….. SA: No special topics approved for Intro to Psych. Any others that came up as problematic? MR: i.e. World Lit SA: Rationale is that they are highlighting when abroad, and front load while in Austin. MR: Receiving unis will decide whether or not they get the credit for these courses. Students will have to do redo the course. SA: On tough questions, no one was willing to say no or question…Not seeing the repercussions. MR: Articulation could check with key partner institutions to see if these credits would be accepted. “Ron” is the key keeper of core curric. Best as special topic or elective. SA: Six credits help students to access financial aid. Reason for why we are seeing the double up of courses. MR: Couldn’t see how they can account for the time. SA: Peru did, but others were lacking. SA: Publicity/marketing questions----in NAFSA, sessions about social media during study abroad (i.e. blog, FB updates) many universities have major issues with content that goes up on blogs and facebook. i.e. drinking photos, parents get upset….Disuaded people from promoting blogs. MR: Best to keep it on BlackBoard. Focus on classroom instruction. SA: Fac handbook---media inquiries. Revamped since June b/c of issues that came up…Please peruse before sent to legal… Marvy: Brett will always be first contact….Emergency response as annex. SAA: SAEAC will be part of the domestic response plan. If something wrong, perceived or real, I will get appropriate people involved. MR: Faculty orientation, have Brett come. SA: We will have one that is an entire day. EHS, Marketing, HR. Multiple offices. Other thing: email to be sent to key people of program plan for the whole year, including deadlines. You’ll see outreach, class visits, info sessions, info tables. We need ideas of how else to get the word out. Should we send to Marketing requests to put update to FB. MR: Best share your plan and we can see how we can build into it. SA: Keep it to just current students. Core audience is students. MR: It’d still be students, but would be coming from other unis or would be new students. Gives you more reach and numbers, but less assurance that they knew policies and rules. Lets see and we can do the plan and weigh the pros and cons. Benefit to doing a real external push to let them know ACC has study abroad as an option. Lots of responsible learners that could be interested. SA: Plan going to EHS, Marketing, Business. Marketing do a plan and we can roll out with the plan. What is the front door initiative? Marvy: First week of classes there an intensive effort on campuses with welcoming, directions, advise. Marketing would be on campus to push social media. Study abroad could be there to promote and give a tease of what’s coming. Push Card. SA: All we have is website card. MR: Link to marketing form and we can request that. SAA: How do we get more plugged in on this kind of stuff? MR: If I had to pick a committee that is the most valuable: Student Access and Success Committee. Learning lab managers, Student Recruitment, etc collection of people who aren’t administrative are people that are on the group and are the best contacts. SA: We’re constantly missing things and we’re not plugged in as an off. MR: It’s student initiative driven. Best clearinghouse for information and best place to network. Richard Armenta—make a case to be added ex-officio or just go. SA: Gets us more students, more numbers on the programs. MR: That’s where I put my new employees. SA: Would someone from marketing be good on the committee? MR: Kirsta Caliz, marketing coordinator, would be an awesome contribution to the committee. SAA: One of the other things, talked with Lyman Grant about it, trying to do something in International Education Week in November, week before Thanksgiving. Lyman says great way to push before Thanksgiving break. Marvy: Would this be too late as a recruiting event? SAA: They’d still have a couple of months to apply. Marvy: Include with plan, and I will see if the dean things they can leverage the event as recruitment effort….Recruiters go out in end of October, they could take our materials. Not just HS students, but a lot are and aren’t the first yield but would be good for an awareness push. SAA: Other thing that came up when talking with LGrant, we could have a new pres or Mike do a reception with our key business partners and international leaders and make them aware we have Study Abroad and would give skills to students they might hire. Partnerships could come out of it, grants. Marvy: Too new for president, but could be something for Mike to do. Most sensible group for this is the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. Relationship not so good right now, that will be the Pres’s priority. SAA: What happened? Marvy: Very political. Progress reports weren’t received or handled well. Damaged our relationship with them. Damage control is needed……Faculty could recruit alumni and come back for reception, invite Accent, contact media, show what these former students have done that they want to show. Mike could suggest that influentials join the reception.  

-SA started in the fall, based on summer’s experience, some situations came up that caused us to rework version and be more direct and addresses new topics. Changes due to bumps in the road. -Review handbook TOC. -Policies shrunk down and took out HR related topics. -Conflict of interests—don’t enter into contracts. -Confidentiality changes in a study abroad environment. -Safety and crisis response information. Domestic response will be included in a different document. -Section on communication overseas: Blackberries. They are expected to use those for crisis management. Not optional. -Accompanying persons. -Handling FERPA. -Faculty expense reports turned in by required deadline. -Crisis management: incident report -Go Final by Monday for lawyer’s to review. If you have ideas, etc of stuff you want to see as far as policies and procedures, email SA.

RR: Different environment for students and faculty. What happens here different to something coming up overseas. Culture shock, students with no travel experience, students feel lost---so there is an extra duty position of care—above care of what we have here in Austin. “What would a reasonable and prudent person do under these circumstances?” but in a lawsuit, this is turned around. “Was their injury? Persona, mental, reputation?” Can I show someone was negligent? Not a question of first question, but what should you have done under the ideal circumstances. Example of speaker at conference: 1) Faculty should have know X student would have done dumb things and had an extra duty to take care of the student. Student got drunk, fell down a cliff. Lawyer said faculty leader had extra duty to prevent that. 2) Seriously ill student left in a hospital unattended, group continues travels, and student was assaulted. Uni lost the case. Extra duty to care – not performed. You have to have the 24/7 responsibility. If we put those faculty leaders in that increased environment of extra duty to care, increased physical activity, walking,being active, leading groups, doing things out of the ordinary. So, what ACC wants to require all faculty leaders to get a medical clearance. We will look at physical demands and try to estimate hours per day on a form of physical activity. Set up a physical. Provider asks for health history. ACC gives them form based on history and physical evaluation and job demands, tells Physician to tell us yes or no, can this faculty leader do this job.( ie police officers are required to do these forms) ACC will only get back YES or NO, no other details. Also ask faculty to give us the Medical History Information (allergies, meds, etc.) and put in sealed, signed envelope. SA will have those as the 24/7 contact. Only in case of emergency will this envelope be opened. Upon return, faculty will get envelope back. We are just looking to provide for our faculty. Areas of special health risk, this info will be part of Physical Assessment Form. SAA: We started some of this in the last cycle, now we are getting the whole system into place. Catherine Angel: What do we do if a faculty gets sick? SA: In proposal, backup faculty member was identified. Backup faculty listed would go out to replace the indisposed faculty member. One conversation with Deans this fall is to talk with Back Ups to be prepared to go to replace. CA: Those back up might have classes here during the summer. SA: Two options: send someone over, or cancel the program. Publicity angle, learning, credit, complaints, the preference is to send over the Back Up. CA: For shorter periods, is there someone at the institution that could step in and host? SA: Almost had an incident this summer with a faculty member who had gotten sick during the last week, almost had to fly over there. No way to plan for this, best thing is to have a faculty member to go over there. Faculty must communicate with us if they aren’t well. We can help them find medical providers. Karen Bell: Why can’t we use our own physicians to tell us we’re ok to go abroad. RR: We cant make you spend money with your own provider for job related requirements. Plus, these physicians specialize this and understand more the physical demands. That is why we are going that route. Legal would have to look at whether or not we could let faculty use their own physician. We chose this route because we have this in place for Health Science, Police

SA: Keep it at $1000 but make it more competitive? Or lower amount to $700 and cover 70+ students, not a huge increase but would go around to more people. KB: I like that. SA: CAB took away option for funding based on CAB money is supposed to be for all students, and this is an exclusive group. Always students for whom $700 means they aren’t going. Nice if a few slots for economically needy students. Is there any chance we could address real need? Have a couple of slots for students that depend on the scholarship entirely? Financial Aid for programs with 6 credit hours. Be good to have a few students that could rely on a financial need scholarship. RR: Any conversations with Foundation setting up scholarship money? SA: Not time. Marvin Reyes agrees with tiered system. Increase social equity. SA: We own the process/system and can modify as needed. If we do a system… CA: Those that have no possibility of going, won’t apply. $700 Is better than nothing. SA: Students should fund raise to get money together. CA: Can students organize to create fundraiser? SA: Some faculty leaders have done fundraisers. No organized effort, not sure what it would look like. MR: Brit Lit took on a lot to do this fundraiser. If not supported, hard to pull off. SA: Ebay site where they can ask for donations as a fundraiser. SA: Need to decide by August 23rd what the amount and process will be for summer 2012. MR: Two slots that are full rides. SA: Any complaints that we aren’t sticking to ACC’s mandate of full access? MR: Foundation could address this. CA: Can’t be a full ride until we know where the student is going. KB: Should be a set amount. SA: Average of outliers, high and low. SA: Remaining money, divide equally amongst students. MR: 75% of our students are part-time. SA: Here is the background. We have had issues with students that get their scholarships. The only way we had to make it about the student that is enrolled here at ACC with a plan that will lead to something. MR: Do an either/or---something to show that they are a responsible learner. SA: Students from other institutions aren’t eligible. MR: Co-enrolled students. SA: Look at credits earned within the past couple of years. MR: demonstrated they are here at ACC and are a responsible learner.

SA: One of the other things, talked with Lyman Grant about it, trying to do something in International Education Week in November, week before Thanksgiving. Lyman says great way to push before Thanksgiving break. MR: Would this be too late as a recruiting event? SA: They’d still have a couple of months to apply. MR: Include with plan, and I will see if the dean things they can leverage the event as recruitment effort….Recruiters go out in end of October, they could take our materials. Not just HS students, but a lot are and aren’t the first yield but would be good for an awareness push. SA: Other thing that came up when talking with Lyman Grant , we could have a new pres or Mike do a reception with our key business partners and international leaders and make them aware we have Study Abroad and would give skills to students they might hire. Partnerships could come out of it, grants. MR: Too new for president, but could be something for Mike to do. Most sensible group for this is the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. Relationship not so good right now, that will be the Pres’s priority. SA: What happened? MR: Very political. Progress reports weren’t received or handled well. Damaged our relationship with them. Damage control is needed……Faculty could recruit alumni and come back for reception, invite Accent, contact media, show what these former students have done that they want to show. Mike could suggest that influential join the reception.