Members present: Glen Avanttaggio, Maggie Brown, Han Lim, Eric Baer, Mike Cicero, Phil Sell, Sharon Hashimoto, Helen Burn, Pat Phillips

Guests: Gwen Spencer & Steve Seeman

Handouts: 12/6 Minutes; E-mail Responses to W Inquiry; Financial Aid Satifactory Academic Progress Policy

Phil: Reviewed faculty coordinator responses to e-mail inquiry (handout). Generally, demonstrated that W's have no effect on GPA's; however, a pattern of W's may hurt a borderline student attempting to transfer or seek employment. General discussion concerning the W grade and a policy proposal limiting the number of W's a student can take continued. Concerns about implementation of a policy, the lack of awareness of the current policy, lack of clarity in the catalog, student misperceptions and confusion, and the need to resolve enrollment issues as soon as possible at the beginning of the quarter were discussed. A subcommittee was formed to work on the issue. Members are Bob Bonner, Helen Burn, Mike Armstrong, and Gwen Spencer.

Steve Seeman: Steve (Director of Financial Aid) discussed the connection between students' grades and financial aid. He reviewed the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (handout) in practice at Highline. In addition to information on the policy, he emphasized that the financial aid policy cannot be less stringent than the college policy. It is based on a 2.0 cumulative GPA and considers the number of credits attempted versus completed. Financial aid students at the college are in the minority, ranging between 30 and 40% of the student population. Attendance forms requiring faculty signatures verify the number of credits a student is taking at the time of receiving a financial aid check. Students who are on suspension have the option of going one quarter at their own expense to restore good standing or file an appeal. Steve emphasized that he does not want financial aid policies to intrude on grading policy.

Action: The January 24^th meeting is cancelled.

Pat Phillips, Secretary