Meeting & Agendas

Welcome and introductions made by all. Present: Jack Housworth, Tom Allen, Corey Weber, Kipa Smith, Laurie Born, Jeanna Keener, David Houke, Liz Coccia, Rick Thompson, and Michelle Shuler. Not Attending: Rachel Nolan (arrived but called away at start of meeting), Liz Salinas and Christine Price.

The TR enrollment numbers are so low that the only way to keep the course from being cancelled is to have the Adjunct teach it at a different LEH pay rate than the regular LEH load. This semester there were five students who wouldn’t graduate if the class had not been taught. Kipa advised the Texas State University (TSU) TR program is growing in leaps and bounds. There is a nationwide struggle for TR workers. Liz advised ACC has a Transfer Agreement in place with TSU. Mental Health issues within the community may require HUSE to look into curriculum changes; two areas of interest are in mental health and gerontology. Liz will contact Health & Kinesiology, Occupational Therapy and Social Work disciplines to see if students who are unable to meet their science requirements would consider coming into the TR program. A new department TR flyer is being designed. Liz met with Continuing Education about the possibility of their offering “Activity Director’ class(es), which will feed into our HUSE TR program.

Liz would like to create new opportunities for students. There are a lot of students who want to work with children but there aren’t enough agencies to place them. Kipa volunteered to take General HUSE students. Laurie recommended we contact Community First Village and Lifeworks.

Two years ago, the department was going to review our current Criminal Justice Certificates. It’s been two years since and enrollment has remained very low. There doesn’t seem to be a reason to justify keeping the program alive—there have been no graduates since 2015. Liz is requesting to retire the Addiction Counseling in the Criminal Justice System Certificate program. Corey discussed changes in the criminal justice system and said most people now complete training through private, online programs. Jack motioned to retire the Addictions Counseling in the Criminal Justice System (Level One); seconded by Tom.

Corey advised they have a need for LCDCs and ASL-fluent students. Tom reminded all to refer interested students to Park. He can work with them to waive their $35 application fee. HUSE has had a number of student psychological health issues this semester. Liz will check with other departments to see what policies they have in place in dealing with these type situations. Currently, HUSE doesn’t have a mental health policy. The Board recommended creating a policy that will re-direct students who are not appropriate for Human Services into other majors. Adjourned at 11:04am.

Tom will remain on the Board for another 3 years.

Liz inquired about names to enlist for the Board, preferably names from agencies who will accept ACC students for Internship. Recommendations suggested were: Clean Investments, Cenikor, and The Sobering Center. La Hacienda’s Director was suggested as a representative for Therapeutic Recreation.

Minutes were reviewed. Motion to approve the minutes was made by Jack; seconded by Jeanna.

Discipline Assessment Cycle Data from 2017 Outcomes: Last year’s goal to increase networking for students was met. Human Services (HUSE) invited three universities or agencies to speak on campus. A small job fair for students was also organized last spring. The student learning outcome was to measure having students understand how to become an LCDC intern. Pre and post-tests were given in Internship to gauge if students understood what they needed to do at the end of internship to become a LCDC. Students did poorly on the pre and post-tests, with a slight improvement on the post test. They couldn’t understand the transition from school to becoming an LCDC. As a result, Liz created a flowchart for students which is now presented at the beginning of the internships.

Last year Administrators were looking at Department Chair duties. Department Chair changes have been identified and will be effective January 2019. Department Chairs will now have a reduced teaching load depending on department size, the general idea is that Department Chairs will have fewer classes to teach in exchange for Department Chair duties. The HUSE Department Chair’s load will change from 12 hours of release time to 15 hours release time in the Fall.

Changes in Student Services: Faculty advising hasn’t been finalized. There will be a standardized faculty advising process for students but nothing has been decided for implementation. Every student has a College advisor. There are also now different types of Counselors-Clinical Counselors who only do mental health; completion Counselors and transfer/career Counselors. There are also enrollment and academic Advisors for students who have remediation issues; as well as the CARE program (a crisis intervention program). ACC has also initiated Title IX to deal with any type of harassment or violence, which faculty are mandated to report.

ACC is requiring two or three measures be identified and reported. The department goal this year is to have two new agencies accept a student intern. We will also repeat the networking measure from last year. The student learning objective is to use the department Ethics exam to evaluate whether students could make ethical decisions before they enter internship.

Liz requested Board input. ACC has instituted a new policy for replacing faculty; positions are now posted in the fall, with interviews done in the spring. In the interim, Rick’s courses will be filled by adjuncts. The question is whether HUSE should be a department of two or three F-T Faculty in FY2021. Discussion ensued on enrolled patterns, the value of F-T vs adjunct faculty, and the need to maintain a strong Human Services program in light of the opioid crisis. Jack motioned the Board strongly recommend the replacement of Rick’s F-T position; seconded by Tom.