The Butte College Communication Studies program offers lower division courses designed to culminate in AA degrees and/or Certificates that are transferable to four-year colleges and universities. The courses are structured to develop personal growth, professional communication, and critical thinking abilities with the objective of enhancing intercultural, interpersonal and public communication skills.
The Communication Studies program at Butte College prepares students for transfer to a baccalaureate major in Communication Studies. In addition, this program offers vital communication skills that are in demand by virtually every company and organization. Students with a degree in Communication Studies are prepared to succeed in numerous professions; in fact, many studies cite "effective communication" as the number one skill in demand in today's workplace. Students majoring in Communication Studies explore communication theories and skills needed in our complex world. These include: oral and written communication, critical thinking, interpersonal communication, gender and communication, intercultural communication and sensitivity, and effective group interaction, among others. We offer two degree options. AA Degree in Communication Studies The Associate in Arts (AA) in Communication Studies degree is intended for students who plan to earn an AA degree in Communication Studies in support of career or other academic endeavors or who plan to specifically transfer to CSU, Chico. AA-T Degree in Communication Studies The Associate in Arts in Communication Studies for Transfer is intended for students who plan to complete a bachelor's degree in Communication Studies or similar major at a CSU campus. (This section adapted from BC 2012-13 Catalog) The Communication Studies program fulfills the Butte College Mission in six distinct ways: 1. We provide our students with vital communication skills needed for today�s workplace. 2. We provide our students with required courses for lower division general education and transfer. 3. We provide our students with courses that lead to the achievement of degrees and certificates for our program, and in support of other Butte College programs. 4. We provide our students with courses that support student learning beyond the traditional classroom. 5. We provide our students with the knowledge, understanding, mindset and skills that will enable them to interact effectively and appropriately in our multicultural and changing world. 6. We provide our students with deep student learning and civic engagement opportunities. It's clear to see how our unique and varied Program Learning Outcomes offer students engaging and meaningful academic, career and life-long learning opportunities. Program Learning Outcomes (PLO's) As a result of an AA or AA-T degree in Communication Studies, the student will be able to: 1. Demonstrate skills to connect, work, and play well with others. 2. Communicate ethically, responsibly, and effectively as local, national and global citizens. 3. Research, organize, and create messages using appropriate resources. 4. Effectively present formal and informal communication to a variety of audiences in multiple contexts. 5. Demonstrate critical thinking skills.
The only item funded from Validation Team Report recommendations was one FT faculty position. commendation one FT faculty position. Below are the listed recommendations with updates.
- The CMST department teaches performance-based courses that rely heavily on multimedia for the presentational aid component of public speeches. As indicated in the CMST self-study, when technology fails or is compromised in any way, it adds significant stress to the already stressful student public speaking experience. The Validation Team strongly recommends providing an infrastructure for continued and full-time media support for students and instructors in both “smart” and “traditional” classrooms. We recommend training faculty in the use of multimedia and mediated communication technology to support instruction, as well. We recommend only scheduling Communication Studies courses in “smart” classrooms in order to give both instructors and students the needed opportunities to model and practice the use of multi- media for varied speaking assignments. (eeking funding for technology support for assessment of student presentations – mini Ipads)
- The CMST Department is drastically underfunded. Its current operating budget stands at $1,367 yearly, which is in stark contrast to allocations for other academic departments of similar size. The department has concrete student-centered plans that more proportional funding would support. These include the Great Debate and public sphere pedagogy, technology for student use and to demonstrate communication modes, conference opportunities and associate faculty training, as well as marketing efforts to publicize and grow the program. The Validation Team emphasizes that the Forensics budget must be a separate consideration, since this is an activity along the lines of sports teams or the Honors Society. Forensics should not be conflated with the department budget, unless the same applies to these other activities. (Not funded; still requesting an increase in department operating budget)
- The team recommends that the budget for the Forensic Team be increased to provide stipends for additional events coaches. Because of safety concerns, the team recommends that Butte College provide a driver for the Forensic Team when they travel to tournaments. The Validation Team appreciates that Administration has funded the Forensics Team on an ongoing basis and supports continuance of this ongoing status. (Not funded; still seeking ONE stipend for a Forensics assistant coach)
- The Validation Team believes that it is imperative to increase the size of the CMST Department by hiring two more full-time instructors. The significant growth of the department and the increasing student demand for classes support the hiring to ensure the department’s ongoing success and ability to provide exemplary speech instruction. We fully appreciate the current hiring of the full-time position for 2014-15; however, the impending retirements of two full-time department members, as well as the small pool of available, qualified associate instructors, further justify the hiring of additional full-time instructors. The Validation Team also strongly supports the CMST Department’s recommendation to restore administrative staff to twelve-month contracts. (One instructor funded; seeking additional instructor to replace a faculty member who recently resigned)
- There is a need for classrooms that support the Communications Studies curriculum. These rooms need to accommodate group activities with movable chairs and tables and must also accommodate individual and group presentations. Not only instructor-friendly smart classrooms, but also student-friendly smart classrooms, are a necessity. Locations of CMST classes need to have an overall better “central hub” to help with building a community among CMST major students. This “hub” would also benefit the CMST faculty in strengthening their family unit. (Not accomplished; still seeking dedicated CMST classrooms)
- The team recommends that the CMST Department continue with your assessment efforts relative to SLO/PLO/GELO assessment. Look for ways to increase faculty buy-in to the assessment process and associate faculty participation and training. Develop and implement additional assessments (such as an ESTEAM Criteria and regarding students’ learning at CMST events). (Not funded; seeking iPads to use for assessment of presentation-related SLOs)
- The team recommends that CMST continue your efforts to schedule strategically, developing a consistent schedule (term-to-term in Fall vs. Spring). Increase numbers of sections as appropriate to reduce bottlenecks impeding students’ goal attainment, allow adequate seats for students completing GE requirements and ensure access for CMST majors. Offer classes in various modalities, increasing offerings at the Glenn Center and in the summer. (The department continues to work on strategic scheduling; having more dedicated classroom space would be helpful in this endeavor – see recommendation #5 above)
- The team recommends that the department continues to develop innovative and articulated curriculum, taught in various modes, including courses in Social Media, Speech for Spanish Speakers, a 1-unit elective for Overcoming Speech Anxiety and, most importantly, the courses now part of the AA-T degree. (The CMST department will be addressing these issues again with its next Curriculum Review)
Goal: Promotion and growth of Forensics Speech and Debate program. (Strategic Initiative 2. a. and 2. b., 6.)
Goal: Promotion of the CMST degree; therefore, increasing enrollment in our major courses and the number of CMST majors. (Strategic Initiative 1. d.)
Strategy 1 - Forensics Assistant Coach (Level III)
The public face of our CMST department and the only intercollegiate competitive activity at Butte College is our Forensics Speech and Debate program. An assistant coach would help to provide coaching, judging and travel assistance for the 13 different events within Forensics, and to accommodate the growing emphasis of public spheres pedagogy, outreach and recruitment. Therefore, the CMST department requests a Forensics Speech and Debate Assistant Coach stipend equivalent to the Track and Field Coach Level 1 ($3448.37) OR a one class buy-out for an associate faculty member.
Strategy 2 - Marketing and promotional materials
With the statewide push of the completion agenda, our college's committment to pathways, and a new funding formula, it is now more important than ever that we reach out to our students and promote our degree; this connection will help to ensure that students know about our CMST AA and AA-T degrees. Therefore, the CMST department requests $2587 to design and produce professional quality promotional materials for our major.
NOTE: If we had a fair increase in our yearly operating budget, we could use those funds to purchase necessary equipment (such as these promotional materials) in order to increase our pedagogical effectiveness and student success.
Strategy 3 - Public sphere pedagogy and events
Application-based, active learning that encourages students to see the relevance of course work is an integral part of our CMST curriculum. Students, the college and the community benefit in a variety of ways from public sphere work. Therefore, our department requests $600 for creation of local Butte College public sphere events (e.g. such as Chico State's nationally recognized "Great Debate" or Shasta College's Civic Expo).
Strategy 4 - Department Budget
CMST is a leader in FTES generation and enrollment for the college, even given the fact that our department is fairly small (as compared to other larger FTES generating departments [e.g. Math/English]). Per the SURE report data, our revenue to cost ratio is an excellent 1.52. We provide core GE classes for the entire student body. Our department has grown significantly in recent years, in terms of majors, full time faculty, and course offerings. To support our growth and student success, we request a department budget increase to $3000/year.
NOTE: If we had a reasonable increase in our yearly operating budget, we could use these funds to purchase necessary marketing materials, etc. in order to increase our pedagogical effectiveness and student success, reducing the number of department augmentation requests.
Strategy 5 - Senior-Level Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The need for a senior-level Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is undeniable when one considers that since fall 2006, Butte College’s population of students of color has risen from 23% to 41%. All indications suggest that this trend will likely continue for the foreseeable future. In order to meet the needs of the “now” student, whom our college President has described as racially diverse, sexually diverse, and gender non-conforming, the college must be positioned to consider issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all decision making and to be proactive in response to national, state, local, or college-level discourses, events, or policies related to diversity and equity. This position would work with colleagues across the institution to create a campus climate that affirms the values of diversity and equity as vital aspects of the learning environment while also articulating the importance of actively engaging diversity as part of the intellectual development of students who will compete in a global marketplace. Ultimately, this position would be in charge of developing and implementing a strategic vision and plan for diversity and equity efforts across the whole institution.
More specifically, the Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion would work with faculty, staff, and student leaders to help the school actualize its diversity and equity objectives. As the Chancellor’s Office moves toward the consolidation of programs that support disproportionately impacted student groups, this position could potentially oversee programs that are currently aligned in their aims but have not had the institutional support needed to align their work in more collaborative ways. Some of these programs/services potentially include Student Equity, MESA, EOPS, VRC, Inspiring Scholars, Safe Place, Title IX, DSPS, HSI, GSET, EEO efforts, and perhaps Student Life. This senior-level position could also be responsible for creating a strategic, intentional professional development program for faculty and staff around diversity and equity issues.
While the population of students of color has nearly doubled in the past 10 years, our faculty of color has increased by 1% in that same time period and remains woefully behind at just 12%. At the recent Strategic Planning Retreat, the senior-level Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion was identified as the top priority for supporting student success and creating an inclusive campus environment. These efforts should focus on eliminating barriers to student success, preventing the recurrence of concerns expressed by students, and remedying the impact of these concerns on individual students and the campus community. In order to ensure a safe and welcoming environment that provides equal opportunity for success to all students, our college needs to 1) address hiring issues including unconscious bias training, 2) provide professional development for faculty and staff on cultural competency/cultural humility and privilege, and 3) strategically plan our college-wide efforts to close equity gaps and educate all students, faculty, and staff on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion. This position could provide leadership on all these issues.
As noted in our Validation team report, dedicated classroom space specific to CMST curriculum is needed. This academic year, we lost the use of LRC 102, a classroom uniquely suited to our Small Group Communication and Argumentation and Debate classes due to the maneuverabilty of the furnishings and the large speaking space. The ability to move furniture to accomodate learning activities in many CMST classes is particulary essential in our Small Group Communication classes. In addition, our classes were moved to the LB building into rooms that lack updated technology and that are not conducive to performance-based classes. This was an enoromous loss and has hindered our ability to successfully operate those primary, GE classes. Additionally, LRC 137 has external doors with different numbers, which is confusing to students. Correct signage is needed.
| Original Priority | Program, Unit, Area | Resource Type | Account Number | Object Code | One Time Augment | Ongoing Augment |
| Description | Supporting Rationale | Potential Alternative Funding Sources | Prioritization Criteria | |||
| 1 | CMST | Personnel | 11.000.611.1.150600 | 51100 | $3,448.00 | $0.00 |
| Forensics Assistant Coach | The capstone for our CMST degree is our Forensics course. An assistant coach would help to provide coaching, judging and travel assistance for the 13 different events within Forensics, and to accommodate the growing emphasis of public spheres pedagogy, outreach and recruitment. Therefore, the CMST department requests a Forensics Assistant Coach stipend equivalent to the Track and Field Coach Level 1 ($3448.37) OR a one class buy-out for an associate faculty member. � Butte College Forensics competes against community colleges in Northern California that have anywhere from 2 - 4 coaches. � Butte College is the only community college that offers 13 forensics events and only has one coach. � In 2014, the Program Review Validation Team stated, �The team recommends that the budget for the Forensic Team be increased to provide stipends for additional events coaches.� They see the need for not just one, but two or more coaches to run a successful Forensics program. � Each of the 13 events can be divided into 4 different categories which require unique qualifications and specialties. Much like offensive, defensive and special team units found on our sports teams, Butte Forensics offers: Platform Events, Limited Preparation Events, Oral Interpretation Events, and Debate Events. It is impossible for one coach to cover all disparate events. � The team does not have enough help for safe tournament travel. If a coach is unwell or has a personal (or student) emergency to manage, the rest of the team is left completely unsupervised, uncoached, and without transportation. � Our one coach provides transportation for as many as 18 students in a section. One coach can only transport (at most) 11 students. � Required judging: When attending a competition, Butte College is required to bring qualified Forensics judges. One coach can only cover the judging commitment of 4 students, and yet, our program serves up to 18 students. Thus, not having enough coaches for judging means some of our students have to stay home, or that Butte college has to pay exorbitant judging fees. � The assistant coach would also be responsible for marketing and recruitment of students to the team. � The CMST department would like to grow our forensics program. This is going to be quite difficult without coaching assistance. |
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| 2 | CMST | Operating Expenses | 11.000.611.1.150600 | 54300 | $3,000.00 | $0.00 |
| Operating budget | CMST is a leader in FTES generation and enrollment for the college, even given the fact that our department is fairly small (as compared to other larger FTES generating departments [e.g. Math/English]). Per the SURE report data, our revenue to cost ratio is an excellent 1.52. We provide core GE classes for the entire student body. Our department has grown significantly in recent years, in terms of majors, full time faculty, and course offerings. To support our growth and student success, we request a department budget increase to $3000/year. � Present budget $1367.00 (7 fulltime faculty = less than $200 per full-time faculty and adding in associate faculty $1367/22 = $62.14). � According to the recommendations in the February 2014 Program Review Validation Team Report: "The CMST Department is drastically underfunded. Its current operating budget stands at $1,367 yearly, which is in stark contrast to allocations for other academic departments of similar size. The department has concrete student-centered plans that more proportional funding would support.These include the Great Debate and public sphere pedagogy, technology for student use and to demonstrate communication modes, conference opportunities and associate faculty training, as well as marketing efforts to publicize and grow the program. The Validation Team emphasizes that the Forensics budget must be a separate consideration, since this is an activity along the lines of sports teams or the Honors Society. Forensics should not be conflated with the department budget, unless the same applies to these other activities." � Increasing our general department budget would allow us to meet at least some of the following general needs of the department. Some examples include: � Obtain VoiceThread software annual subscription for innovative asynchronous content delivery in online classes $100 (x3 online instructors) = $300/year � Discipline specific travel and conference funds (ICA, NCA, and NCFA) (cost variable). These conferences routinely hold �GIFTS� sessions at which faculty share �Great Ideas for Teaching Speech.� These materials are vital to keeping our classroom instruction fresh and timely for our students. � Planning and executing an annual CMST �Talk Fest� Celebration for Communication Studies majors = $200 � Purchasing new documentaries for use in classes = $500 � Forensics Supplies: o 2 Visual Aid Stands @ $70 each = $140 o 2 art portfolios for carrying visual aids @ $200 each = $400 o 20 Interpretation black book binders @ $6 each = $120 o 50 Oral Interp Black Book (performance) Materials (10PC) @ $4 each = $200 NOTE: If we had a fair increase in our yearly operating budget, we could use these funds to purchase necessary equipment (such as tripods nad marketing materials) in order to increase our pedagogical effectiveness and student success. Therefore, it would reduce the number of department augmentation requests each year. |
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| 3 | CMST | Operating Expenses | 11.000.611.1.150600 | 54500 | $2,587.00 | $0.00 |
| High-Quality Marketing Materials | Per Lisa Delaby, the cost of designing a high-quality 8.5 x 11 brochure that we could use to outreach and recruit (in and out of state students, businesses, etc) is $1250. Then it's another $262.00 for printing and shipping for qty of 500. Promotion of the Forensics program is also key to recruiting new student competitors. Therefore, we request 25 Forensics team jackets cost roughly $35 each, equaling approximately $875. The jackets will be a highly visible representation of the team and its accomplishments (much like the BC athletic attire worn by student athletes). A high-quality digital camera ($150) is needed to provide photos for department and college marketing materials. The BC Public Relations department often requests pictures of our forensics team in competitions; the pictures are usually taken with phone cameras, which doesn't produce high enough quality products to use for marketing materials. NOTE: If we had a fair increase in our yearly operating budget, we could use those funds to purchase necessary equipment (such as these tripods) in order to increase our pedagogical effectiveness and student success. |
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| 4 | CMST | Operating Expenses | 11.000.611.1.150600 | 56411 | $600.00 | $0.00 |
| Public sphere pedagogy and events | Application-based, active learning that encourages students to see the relevance of course work is an integral part of our CMST curriculum. Students, the college and the community benefit in a variety of ways from public sphere work. Therefore, our department requests $600 for the continuation and expansion of the Great Debate and other public sphere events. � Public sphere events have been found increase student engagement in their coursework. This may translate into higher student success rates. � Public sphere work adds a richer level of meaning to course content. � Public sphere events are diverse and inclusive. The Great Debate is specifically designed to inform and discuss important civic issues in a non-threatening, useful way, which connects to the college mission and benefits the community. Supporting this work is vital. � Public events are high profile. They build community relationships within our service area and with CSU, Chico. They bring a great deal of positive attention to our students and our campus. � We request support for continuing a stipend ($500/year) for the faculty in charge of coordinating the event, as we see the preparation work for this event as going �above and beyond� our regular job requirements. � We request $100 to be used for marketing and promoting the event within the college community. In the past, our efforts to promote the event have been limited to anything that is low-cost, and the Great Debate Coordinator has even purchased paper, ink, etc. out of their own pocket in order to have nicer flyers. We would like to have money for colored flyers, and perhaps posters to represent Butte College at the event. |
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| 5 | Campus wide | Personnel | $0.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Senior-Level Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | The need for a senior-level Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is undeniable when one considers that since fall 2006, Butte College�s population of students of color has risen from 23% to 41%. All indications suggest that this trend will likely continue for the foreseeable future. In order to meet the needs of the �now� student, whom our college President has described as racially diverse, sexually diverse, and gender non-conforming, the college must be positioned to consider issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all decision making and to be proactive in response to national, state, local, or college-level discourses, events, or policies related to diversity and equity. This position would work with colleagues across the institution to create a campus climate that affirms the values of diversity and equity as vital aspects of the learning environment while also articulating the importance of actively engaging diversity as part of the intellectual development of students who will compete in a global marketplace. Ultimately, this position would be in charge of developing and implementing a strategic vision and plan for diversity and equity efforts across the whole institution. More specifically, the Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion would work with faculty, staff, and student leaders to help the school actualize its diversity and equity objectives. As the Chancellor�s Office moves toward the consolidation of programs that support disproportionately impacted student groups, this position could potentially oversee programs that are currently aligned in their aims but have not had the institutional support needed to align their work in more collaborative ways. Some of these programs/services potentially include Student Equity, MESA, EOPS, VRC, Inspiring Scholars, Safe Place, Title IX, DSPS, HSI, GSET, EEO efforts, and perhaps Student Life. This senior-level position could also be responsible for creating a strategic, intentional professional development program for faculty and staff around diversity and equity issues. While the population of students of color has nearly doubled in the past 10 years, our faculty of color has increased by 1% in that same time period and remains woefully behind at just 12%. At the recent Strategic Planning Retreat, the senior-level Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion was identified as the top priority for supporting student success and creating an inclusive campus environment. These efforts should focus on eliminating barriers to student success, preventing the recurrence of concerns expressed by students, and remedying the impact of these concerns on individual students and the campus community. In order to ensure a safe and welcoming environment that provides equal opportunity for success to all students, our college needs to 1) address hiring issues including unconscious bias training, 2) provide professional development for faculty and staff on cultural competency/cultural humility and privilege, and 3) strategically plan our college-wide efforts to close equity gaps and educate all students, faculty, and staff on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion. This position could provide leadership on all these issues. |
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