Gianni DiCrosta, Diana Garcia
The Pierce College Council approved its Technology Master Plan at their monthly meeting last Thursday.
The Technology Master Plan highlights the integration of technology into the learning experiences of Pierce students.
This plan is only a portion of the official 2010 Master Plan Update, a document displaying all future construction on campus for the next several years. The original construction draft was created in 2002.
“We had a full Master Plan approved in 2002 under [past president] Rocky Young. This was before we had any bond measures,” said interim president Joy McCaslin. “It was sort of an exercise over what we could do.”
McCaslin explained that past president Robert Garber held focus groups with the Pierce College Council (PCC) in 2006.
“Those [focus groups] are what we are seeing in today’s Master Plan update,” said McCaslin.
According to Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh, Vice President of Academic Affairs, if the full Master Plan is approved on August 5, it can still be changed should Pierce College not meet its accreditation standards in 2013.
Abu-Ghazaleh explained that the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges has a concern about Student Learning Outcomes (SLO).
SLO’s are statements explaining what a student should have learned or attained in the course of a particular class.
“The first Commission concern is the SLO issue,” said Abu-Ghazaleh. “What I translate that as is ‘you [Pierce] need to meet the standard now’ and if they were to evaluate us today, we would wouldn’t meet [the standard], but we are moving towards it.”
Donna-Mae Villanueva, Dean of Academic Affairs, stressed the difference between the Master Plan’s role at the district level and at the college’s level.
“The district’s plan is more theoretical and philosophical,” said Huberman. “The actual implementation of the plan is up to the college itself.”
The 2010 Master Plan Update will be presented at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College July 28, and will be voted on for approval by the LACCD August 5.
For more information on the Pierce College Council and a copy of the 2010 Master Plan Update, visit http://faculty.piercecollege.edu/pcc/