The Pierce College Council met on Thursday to address potential beautification efforts on campus as well as discuss several school-related issues.
Some members of the council, made up mostly of administrators and faculty members, suggested that the school’s current arrangement of buildings and their colors may not be as welcoming to students as they would like.
“Campus culture can be impacted by the look of the buildings,” said Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh, Vice President of Academic Affairs. “The way the campus is designed now, it tells students to ‘keep it moving.'”
PCC Chair Mark Pracher expressed interest in the possible hiring of a color consultant to gauge a coordination that appeals to the desires of students, thereby reestablishing a “sense of community.”
“We may want to redo the colors to make (Pierce) a more interesting place to be,” said Pracher.
ASO President Tessa Moss was scheduled to speak in front of the council, but was unable to attend.
In place of Moss was Colin Chow, an ASO representative.
Chow reminded the council of the ASO’s lobbying trip to Washington D.C., which occurred over the weekend, to increase awareness about community college issues.
Additionally, Chow reported that Pierce’s current enrollment is at an all-time high and that its 25 clubs located on campus is also a record high.
ASO will announce a club council president before the end of the semester to oversee the clubs.
The council also focused on the importance of Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) assessments for all active courses, programs, certificates and degrees.
SLOs are typically an extensive approach at measuring the effectiveness of curriculum and teaching methods involving objective contributions from students as well as faculty.
Although SLO assessments serve as an important tool to collect feedback from students, the council agreed that SLO results are essential, but not conclusive.
“Instructors should not be evaluated solely on SLO results,” said Barbara Anderson, Speech Department Chair.
The PCC is a collection of representatives from all college constituencies that makes planning, budget and policy recommendations to Pierce President Robert Garber.
They will meet again Thursday, Nov. 29 from 2 to 4 p.m. in the College Services Conference Room.