spanish-american institute

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Steering Committee Meeting Minutes
Program Development, Planning and Review
February 12, 2013

Topic: Recap of CEA’s Action Report items related to Faculty, Outcomes and Program Planning & Development.

Meeting Date and Time: February 12, 2013 – 4:00 pm until 6:00 pm

Standing Committee Members:

• Dante Ferraro, President
• Caryn Davis, Dean of Academic Affairs
• Freddie Ann Bush, Chair
• Edwin Guevara, Faculty
• Erlinda Manliclic, Faculty
• Semen Mere-Mere, Faculty
• Thomas Schwenke, Dean of Administrative Services

Minutes:

General Discussion: Brief discussion on each response, with a focus on Faculty Standard 3.

Faculty Standards

Standard 3: Faculty who teach English demonstrate excellent proficiency in English. In language institutions where languages other than English are taught, faculty demonstrates excellent proficiency in the languages they teach.

Reporting requirement 4
Provide evidence of the establishment, implementation, and assessment of a system to ensure that faculty who teach English demonstrate excellent proficiency in English as required by this standard.

Plan:
In order to demonstrate excellent proficiency in English, the Institute will use the TOEIC test (Test of English for International Communication) to assess the English language of the Faculty. The steps to demonstrate excellent proficiency will be:

1. Prep work of about 90 days
2. Administer the test to each Faculty member
3. Those achieving a grade of Grade of 7 or 8 will be considered proficient.
4. Those with a lower Grade will be required to participate in program to
strengthen the areas that are considered less than proficient.

Demonstration:
Dean Davis provided a demo and explanation for several of the TOEIC online modules selected for as prep work to help demonstrate excellent proficiency in English. Groups of 3 to 4 colleagues practiced a number of the exercises.

Outcomes:
Groups of 3 to 4 colleagues practiced a number of the practice exercises. Questions on technical support, e.g., log in problems, access to the modules, and grading methods were asked. Dean Davis promised to contact TOEIC. Faculty commented that based upon this brief view of the exercises, proper preparation and practice before taking the TOEIC test will be very important. There was some discussion about working in small groups of 3 or 4, where colleagues could draw on each others’ strengths, as well as eliminate identified weaknesses.

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