Attending: Richard Armenta, John M. Crisp, Mike Gadell, Homer Garza, Noe Guerra, Dolores Huerta, Mattie Marcum, William Mareth, Vickie Natale, Mary Peña, Jim Pierce (Chair), Lisa Welch.

Not Present: None

SACS Liaison Dwyer's Kick-Off Visit, January 22, 1998: Chair Jim Pierce made the following points in the wake of Dr. Dwyer's visit:

1. Panola College and Alvin Community College are currently undergoing reaffirmation of accreditation and may serve as resources for DMC.

2. Dwyer iterated the importance of strong institutional support of the self-study and he acknowledged President Dicianna's statement to that effect.

3. Dwyer said that nearly all institutions will have to work into the year following the site visit in order to produce responses to the visiting team's evaluation.

4. Dwyer mentioned the importance of reaffirmation of accreditation to the continuation of federal financial aid.

5. Compliance and Enhancement: Dwyer said that the visiting committee will want to ensure that DMC complies with all of the "must" statements in the Criteria, but that it will be equally interested in the self-study as a means to enhance and improve DMC's programs.

6. Dwyer described the makeup of the visiting committee, which always includes a librarian, a dean of students, a college president, a financial officer, and six to eight members who represent the disciplines of the institution's most important educational programs. He said that a year of so before the visit he will work with DMC to determine which disciplines the six to eight members will represent. Dwyer himself will be a member of the visiting committee.

7. Pierce said that Dwyer wants the Steering Committee to complete the Self-Study Manual by this summer. Noe Guerra, drawing from his experience as a Steering Committee member during DMC's last self-study, suggested the importance of sufficient secretarial support, an office, and phone connections.

8. Pierce said that even though in recent years SACS has shifted emphasis from quantitative measures to qualitative measures, Dwyer stressed the importance of paying careful attention to both kinds of measures.

9. Finally, Dwyer made the point that the Steering Committee and Principal Committees do not, in the course of the self-study, have to resolve the problems that are discovered but that they must bring them to the attention of the administration.

Unit Plans: Pierce said that unit plans are to have been turned in and that Steering Committee members should review their department's or unit's plans.

Principal Committee Chairs: Pierce supplied an update on the selection process for Principal Committee Chairs. Approximately one-half of the twelve chairs have been selected.

Principal Committee Responsibilities: Pierce pointed out some stylistic differences in how colleges choose to discuss their compliance with "must" statements. In its response to Section 4.6, for example, Pensacola Junior College simply listed the internal and State of Florida documents that authorized its continuing education courses. DMC's self-study report of ten years ago, on the other hand, described each of the departments within the Division of Continuing Education and listed some of the courses offered by each one. The Committee discussed the relative advantages of the two approaches. Pierce said that while compliance with each "must" statement must be demonstrated, Dwyer had suggested that DMC not overlook careful qualitative analysis.

Next Meeting: The Steering Committee will meet again on February 11, 1998 at noon in the Century Room. Principal Committee Chairs will be invited to the meeting. Pierce said that all Principal Committees should be in place and have begun their work by mid-spring.

Additional Discussion: John Crisp reported that the self-study web pages, which previously could be accessed only from administrative and faculty offices, can now be accessed from off campus, and he supplied a user I.D. and password. Mattie Marcum suggested the possibility of developing a PowerPoint presentation to help orient the Principal Committees. She also asked whether steps were being taken to re-evaluate DMC's mission statement and to submit it for Board approval, noting Doug Boyce's advice to do so. Vickie Natale said that the Council on Planning and Institutional Effectiveness would be considering the mission statement and that the Board's approval of a revised statement should take place this summer. Richard Armenta said that the Council would be responsible for revising the mission statement and that the self-study Institutional Purpose Committee would be responsible for determining whether DMC complies with its mission statement.

Minutes prepared by John M. Crisp.