GCPTA MEETING MINUTES
At Hilton Hotel - Clear Lake, Texas
Date: Friday, December 4, 1998
Time: 9:00 am - 1:00 pm

The meeting was opened by Steve Ames and the participants introduced themselves.

New Members:

In-District Associate Member:
Vicki Kitchens of SkillMaster
Larry Markey of Houston Community College Systems
Harold Dishongh of Shell-Deer Park
Terry Sawma of North Harris Montgomery Community College District

Out-of-District Associate Members:
Aaron Pierce of Dupont
George Duda of Schoolcraft Publishing
Sue Pardue of Odessa College
Bruce Farris of Lansing Community College
Paula Riley of Whitco
Elaine Frazier of Texas State Technical College - Marshall

Subcommittee - Rules/By-Laws - Lou Caserta

GULF COAST PROCESS TECHNOLOGY ALLIANCE MEETING POLICY (see attachment)

Subcommittee - Vendor Relations - Jim Gardner

Rosa Gonzales will be sending out information on ATR software, TUTOR program.

Subcommittee - Public Relations - Karen Baird

4th Education & Information Career Expo - Friday, February 12, 1999
Next Newsletter will be coming out the second week of January
International Alliance meeting -  Reception - Thursday, January 14, 1999
                                                Conference - Friday, January 15, 1999

Subcommittee - Education - Leslie Hunt

THECB Quarterly Report
        Submitted November 20th by Bill Raley
        Provided design & development progress report
        Provided copies of ESC meeting minutes

PROGRESS on DESIGN
        Detailed Course Outlines for both courses approved by ESC
        Learning and Performance Objectives for both courses approved by ESC
        Detailed Outlines & Objectives have been incorporated into Course Specification Documents

PROGRESS on DEVELOPMENT
        Currently: New Lesson Plan format adopted by the ESC
        Currently: 34% of the Lesson Plans for both courses
        By December 17th: 44% of the Lesson Plans for both courses
            - Includes semester schedule, handouts, quizzes
            - Test items for the first major exams
                    2 - SH&E; 1 - Intro

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
        By January 31st: Entire Instructor Guide for both courses
        Will include all lesson plans
        Will include all handouts, activities, quizzes
        Will include all test items
        By end of Spring 1999: Possibility of One Web-Based Unit (5lessons) for "Intro" Course

PILOT TEST PLANS
        Pilots scheduled for spring semester
        Plan to pilot Intro Course on 5 campuses
        Plan to pilot SH&E Course on 7 campuses
        Train-the-Trainer for pilot Instructors Scheduled
            - Intro: Thursday, December 17th
            - SH&E: Friday, December 18th

STATUS of ADOPTION of OTHER COURSES for DEVELOPMENT
        Currently collecting curriculum objectives from all Alliances & major campuses represented at 2nd National Conference
        Courses Recently Adopted
            - Equipment - Louisiana
            - Troubleshooting - Mike Kukuk
            - Quality - PPG has offered

What is Distance Education?
Definition - Transferring knowledge and skills in non-traditional ways.
Goal - to develop a vibrant interactive distance learning center/system for standards - based new hire training and to keep evergreen the current workforce

How are the Colleges Using Distance Education?
Student/Instructor Interaction (E-Mail)
Self-paced Courses (Print or Video-Based)
Interactive Video Conferencing
Connections to Specific Databases
Virtual Lecture Halls
Teleconferencing
Electronic Learning Resources Centers
Internet-Based Delivery
Satellite
Computer Labs on LAN and WAN

How is Industry Using Distance Education?
Internet-Based
Computer-Based
Computers on LAN & WAN
Interaction Television
Computer Conferencing

Where Do We Go From Here?
Create Communication Medium - Web Site
Obtain Server Space for a Web Site
Evaluate Various Distance Education Programs and Materials
Develop Distance Education Curriculum
Discuss National/International Certification and/or Validation

Next Distance Education Meeting
January 14, 1999
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Notifications to be mailed soon to all on Distance Education mailing list
The University Center -- room 105
Part of the North Harris Montgomery Community College District
Located in the Woodland

For more information --
Duncan Welder IV
Marathon Ashland Petroleum
P.O. Box 1191
Texas City, Texas 77592
(409)943-7295
wdwelder@mapllc.com

API Support - Merv Treigle
API will:
Skills Standards - Upgrade, start using
Support Alliance & International Alliance

Financial Report - John Payne
Amoco will donate $1,500.00 to the Alliance
Alliance still needs about $10,000 for upcoming and regular Alliance expenses

Advisory committee feedback

Lee College -

Process Technology Orientation
30 Certificate and two year degree
Pilot Plant unit is working

College of the Mainland -

Distillation Unit will be starting in Spring of 99
Site Visit - Exemplary status by THECB
Process Technology Orientation - December 17th
Preliminary Registration - numbers are higher than last semester
Tech-Prep - Dickinson and Santa Fe are interested in participating
Co-Op - Canada (see Jim)

Alvin College -

Spring of 98 - start of Process Technology Program
Possible graduates Spring of 99
50 students enrolled
Next semester, will be offering day and evening classes

Brazosport -

Pilot SH&E in Spring 99
Training program at Dow Chemical (Oyster Creek Site).

McNeese State University -

225 Students in Program
45 grads in May
Now offering courses every semester
Dexter program working
Small distillation unit - two companies donated money to cover expenses, they are allowed to borrow

PTEC Advisory Committee - Subcommittee on Standards at College of the Mainland

Participants:   Jim Gardner, COM/TDS
                        Frank Resch, Amoco
                        Cliff Snodgrass, Valero
                        Duncan Welder, Marathon Ashland

Areas of Improvement

• Challenging Students
• Student Attendance
• Instructor Qualification
• Program Evaluation

• Solicit Student Evaluations
• Solicit Employer/Supervisor Evaluations
• Achieve State Wide Accreditation

• Basic Orientation & Certification
• 3 Years Experience
• Increase ratio of Degreed Instructors
• Review Performance
• Appraisals and Feedback

• Limit absences to 3 Consecutive or 5 Total for Semester
• Exceptions must be approved by PTEC Coordinators
• Attendance Records included with Transcript

• Improved Testing
• Prerequisite Checking
• Entrance requirements
• Course Development
• Consolidate Department

FUTURE MEETINGS -

Thursday, January 14, 1999
Distance Education Subcommittee Meeting
9:00am - 4:00pm
The University Center
        Also
International Alliance Reception
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Nassau Bay Hilton

Friday, January 15, 1999
International Alliance Meeting
8:00am - 5:00pm
Nassau Bay Hilton

Friday, February 12, 1999
4th Education & Information Career Expo
10:00am - 2:00 pm
San Jacinto College - Central Campus

Twenty-six people in attendance
Meeting Adjourned at 12:00 pm

Respectfully submitted,

Valerie M. Billiot, Administrative Assistant
Gulf Coast Process Technology Alliance