March 2, 2002, Monterey, CA

Monterey Mariott
APPROVED

I. Welcome and call to order: The meeting was called to order by President Leonard Woods at 5:36pm on Saturday, March 2, 2002.

II. Roll Call
Members present: Connie Baker, D. Matthew Benney, Lee Chhen, Irvin Coin, Darlene Conwell, Samuel Cortez, Doreen De Los Santos, R.W. Hicks, Michael Moser, Felicia Nepomuceno, James Oda, Joe Omega, Heinrich Palik, Ricardo Quintero, Norris Sanders, Eliot Schipper, Nancy Vandenberg, Leonard Woods, Ling Yeh.

Guests: Trinette Briggs, Janice Dirden-Cook

Members absent: None

III. Approval of Minutes
Minutes were approved as amended.

IV. CFO Report ­ Felicia Nepomuceno
(Report on file)
Ms. Nepomuceno reviewed the updated 2002 WESTOP Budget numbers. Currently, the membership income line item has $10,730. The scholarship fund has $20 in the account. Although more income has been reported, the CFO has not received any checks yet. The pre-conference income since January 1 is $11,675. Conference income is currently at $36,685, and they are only projecting another $24,000 of income by the end of the conference. Ms. Nepomuceno expressed some concern, because the 2002 projected conference income was $110,000. The reason for the large discrepancy is that more people registered using the early bird rate in 2001, rather than registering at the regular rate in 2002. This discrepancy will significantly affect the 2002 WESTOP budget.

With regards to Chapter rebates, Ms. Nepomuceno reported that the membership rebates for 2000 have been paid, but that we still owe money to the Chapters for 2001. Ms. Nepomuceno then referred to the Fund Development line item, explaining that the money was used to purchase the twill shirts for the conference. She still needs requisitions for the shirts ordered by Mr. Palik. She requested that all people who are collecting payments turn them in as soon as possible so that she can make the deposits before the new CFO begins her term, because this process takes some time. Ms. Nepomuceno also reported that we dissolved our Certificate of Deposit with Washington Mutual, and the money was placed into our current checking account. She did open a Business Maximizer account; while she was originally going to put in $150,000, she discovered that the banks only insure a CD up to 100,000. Thus she limited the amount of the CD to $100,000, and will recommend opening another checking account to deposit the other $50,000. The balance forward for the 2001 Fiscal Year should be considered reserve funds. Mr. Schipper had a question about the cash flow problem that Ms. Nepomuceno spoke of earlier. Ms. Nepomuceno clarified that the cash flow issue does not mean that we do have money ­ it just means that the next Board needs to reexamine next year's budget to include a more realistic projection of their income, in order to have a balanced budget. Dr. Baker asked for more detailed information about how we managed to overbudget to this degree. Ms. Nepomuceno explained that the majority of projected registration fees were calculated at the regular price, but that there was a large push to register at the early bird rate, so about 70% of attendees registered at this lower rate. Mr. Schipper asked about what the next Board should do about this problem. Ms. Nepomuceno indicated that they would probably have to tap into the reserves, as well as cut back on activities. She also recommended that the next Conference Chair consider the early-bird versus regular fee when designing the budget.

V. Membership Report ­ Irvin Coin
Mr. Coin reported that he is still meeting with Paula Gray to finalize the figures on who has paid membership for 2002. So far, 445 people have paid membership fees. He observed that we have lots of young people involved; over 60% of the paid members have less than 6 years experience in TRIO, and 1/3 of these people are new members this year. This information should shape what we need to do in order to prepare the leadership of tomorrow. Ms. De Los Santos asked about the breakdown of information by Chapter. Mr. Coin indicated that once all the data is in, he will be providing each Chapter President with this information.

VI. Strategic Plan ­ D. Matthew Benney
Mr. Benney passed out copies of the Strategic Plan. He briefly reviewed the process used at the January Board Meeting, to come up with this final product. He also noted that this document is included in the Annual Report, which is included in the conference packet that all attendees receive.

VII. Legislation and Education Report - Connie Baker
The report was postponed to the emergency topics discussion.

VIII. Professional Development Report - Norris Sanders
Mr. Sanders reported that the Pre-conference activities have turned out be an overwhelming success so far. Seventy-three people registered for the Upward Bound Proposal Writing Workshop, 51 registered for the Tutor Training, and 24 people are registered for the McNair Proposal Writing Workshop. They have exceeded the numbers projected for all workshops. With regards to the Tutor Training workshop, they have had to make some adjustments. Due to an error in the registration process, there were more people registered than they had thought there would be. There should have been 40 participants, but given the additional participants, she has had to modify her training and provide more printed materials. Thus, the workshop facilitator has requested an extra $500 for 11 extra people. Mr. Sanders stressed that we need to ask ourselves if we are trying to make money or provide a service. He felt that these workshops provide a valuable service to the members and to people all over the country who have come to attend the Pre-Conference. Furthermore, he also suggested providing a computer training to the members in the future, because many of them don't know how to navigate through our website. President Woods asked the Board to consider the additional $500 fee for the Tutor Training Workshop. The fee was approved. Mr. Sanders closed by encouraging the Board to continue providing high-quality professional development opportunities to the WESTOP membership.

IX. 24th Annual Conference Report ­ Darlene Conwell
(Report on file)
Ms. Conwell collected room list information for all Board Members. She reported that the Conference packet stuffing went very well, and is now complete. She reviewed the contents of the conference packet & binder. The details of the banquet were reviewed, and it was noted that the WESTOP glasses not used as centerpieces would be sold for $5. Ms. Conwell gave an update on the program booklet and schedule. She highlighted the fact that all meals reflect a different cultural group and that the entertainment matches. Ms. Nepomuceno asked about what the Board Members need to do for the new member event. Ms. De Los Santos indicated that all Board Members need to be at the New Member Orientation from 3-4pm. She will introduce the 3 presidents, and ask them to talk about what they do. She will also introduce the Chapter Presidents to talk about Chapter participation. She then reviewed the new member handbook, which will be given to each person. Mr. Sanders felt that this document should be used as the general member handbook. Ms. De Los Santos shared that San Diego State has offered to put this document on CD-ROM. Ms. Conwell concluded her report. The Board expressed their gratitude to her for putting this conference together.

X. Additional Reports
Mr. Coin gave an update on the election process. He is still looking for three candidates for member-at-large. He is also waiting for one more confirmation for an appointed position. He reviewed the Elections Booklet, highlighting the candidates' statements and naming the candidates. The appointed positions were listed as follows: Stephen Domingues ­ Legislation & Education, Samuel Cortez ­ COE Fund Development, Michael Tokuno ­ Public Relations, and James Oda ­ 2003 Conference Chair. Mr. Coin encouraged us to continue nominating people. He then gave details about the Candidates' Forum schedule. If we don't fill all the elected positions, we may need to do some kind of mail campaign to fill the rest of the spots.

Mr. Oda thanked the BOD for permission to open bank account at Bank of Hawaii. They had over 400 participants at the Palau PDS, and they deposited over $47,000. The net profit was projected to be about $30,000.

Ms. Conwell reviewed the schedule for use of the Presidents' Suite.

XI. Emergency Topics.
Dr. Baker reported that the Policy Seminar attendance numbers are terrible. Last year, almost 100 people from WESTOP were in attendance. This year, there are less than 25 currently planning to attend. She knows that the CSU and UC campuses have had huge travel budget cutbacks. She has secured almost all the team leaders, but still needs more people to go. Unfortunately, March 19th is a travel day for the Arizona Representative, so there will not be any Representatives there that day. They are considering other options, like talking to the aide.

Dr. Baker then moved on to the Mathematica issue. She read an email dated April 20, 1999, that was sent to Janice Dirden-Cook and Keith Hori, in response to their question asking what we were going to do about Mathematica. The e-mail from Maureen Hoyler stated that the Mathematica Report had not yet been released, and there would be a small possibility that the report would not be released. The report is flawed because of the methodology and the control group, and the validity of the recommendation is being questioned. The email stated that we should not do anything about it, and that drawing additional attention to the report would be detrimental. It also stated that a response was being developed, and would be used if needed. The email also indicated that WESTOP's response gave them much ammunition, and that not all of the other associations responded. However, it was expressed that any grassroots efforts to combat the study would be problematic. Dr. Baker is concerned that people who want to start new programs will use this study to attack Upward Bound and similar programs, and to examine Reauthorization and push for eliminating the prior experience points. She recently talked to COE about the report and how it will be used by the Bush administration. The Council's response was that they had asked expert researchers to examine and attack the Mathematica Report, and they were well-equipped to do this. When Dr. Baker contacted the Council's research person for the names of the expert researchers, they said that they would be contacting Dr. Baker's husband. This indicated to her that there are currently no researchers working on this issue at all. Her confidence in the Council's ability to deal with this study at an academic level is not high. She does not feel that we will be able to effectively express our detailed concerns about the flawed study to Congress. However, Harley Baker suggested doing what many academicians do, which is to convene an expert panel of researchers who do not have a vested interest in the study. This would require hiring people (at an approximate rate of $1000 a day per person). She does not believe that this is only WESTOP's responsibility, but that it should instead be a national effort. These researchers would review the study and publish their findings, and this document would then be available for everyone to reference. Dr. Baker spoke to COE about this idea, and they indicated that they were considering this option as well, but she does not know where they are in the process. She then highlighted the sessions at the conference, which would be addressing this topic. Ms. Conwell asked about how we might have control over which researchers are hired, if COE does indeed follow through on this effort. Dr. Baker indicated that we do not have control over this, but that any competent researcher would be able to recognize the flaws in the methodology. Additionally, because the researchers were so unfamiliar with the way the programs operated, that they couldn't possibly recommend a solid research design. Dr Baker gave some specific details of the study that were flawed. Ms. Nepomuceno asked whether there has been any discussion with COE about the Strategic Plan that was put out by the Department of Education. More specifically, she referred to goal 1.2, where they stated that they would immediately eliminate any programs that were deemed "ineffective." Dr. Baker believed that this statement applied to all programs in the Department of Education, and not necessarily just TRIO. However, it is believed that the Mathematica study is the only current program evaluation available, except for the positive study on Student Support Services. Further discussion took place about how to elicit action from COE. At the same time, Dr. Baker pointed out that WESTOP members have also been asked to approach the top researchers at our institutions to ask if they would be willing to review the study, and we need to follow through on this request. WESTOP is ready for the political fight, but we are not ready for the statistical fight. President Woods added that instead of rejecting research, we need to invite objective people in to do research. He indicated that at one point, COE had considered finding graduate students to do research. Dr. Baker argued that it is too late for this strategy. Graduate students cannot combat a $5 million study. In the future, we need to stress that the researchers need to understand the programs that they are studying. The Mathematica researchers did not even visit the programs they evaluated ­ instead they collected transcripts for their data. Mr. Palik suggested scheduling an emergency meeting with the COE representatives to let them know what we want, since they will be here for the conference anyway. The large forum may not be the most opportune place to do this, since many other people will be asking other questions. Ms. Nepomuceno stated that we have not heard any indication about how COE is aligning itself with other national organizations. For example, the current chair of the National Association of Superintendents is a former TRIO person; they are the people who know that TRIO is helping their students. However, they do not know anything about the Mathematica study. We have many potential resources, but it appears that we are not utilizing them. Perhaps we as a region can go beyond what COE is doing, by contacting other national organizations that may be willing to advocate for us. Mr. Sanders expressed that, because we do not have the expertise to dismantle research studies, perhaps we need to retain someone who IS an expert and can give recommendations or referrals about how to approach these types of issues. If we wait for COE, more years will pass and nothing will transpire. Further discussion took place about trying to set up a smaller meeting with COE representatives. Ms. Vandenberg suggested that we offer a monetary contribution to hire a panel of researchers, and ask other Regions to contribute as well. If the Regions contribute 50% of the funds, perhaps we can ask COE to contribute the other 50%. Mr. Moser suggested starting with a position paper to educate other regions and associations. President Woods reiterated the story of what happened when he talked to the other Regional Presidents about another controversial issue. In summary, the 3 WESTOP Presidents talked to the 21 other Regional Presidents and found out that 20 out of 21 did not support the COE institutional member fee increase. However, almost all of them voted for it anyway. Ms. Conwell reviewed the conference schedule and listed the COE representatives who will be here, and suggested possible times for them to meet in a smaller group. Mr. Coin supported the idea of developing a position paper and educating our membership at the national level. This is a national issue, but if the other regions do not feel the same way, nothing will happen. Dr. Baker agrees that perhaps the WESTOP President needs to go to the other conferences to speak to their members. She felt sure that there are others who are upset out there as well ­ perhaps we can mobilize them. Additionally, she does not support giving them any money until they act. There was additional support for this idea. Ms. De Los Santos suggested that we take the money we would have given to Institutional Membership and put it into our research fund. Mr. Cortez could report that WESTOP, as a group, does not support Fair Share. Ms. Chhen also emphasized educating our own WESTOP membership as well. Ms. Nepomuceno brought up a more pertinent question about COE's stance on combatting level funding, which is an even more immediate issue than the Mathematica study. Mr. Benney added that if level funding means less programs, this is a good reason for people to attack us on prior experience points. This will be a big issue once it comes time for Reauthorization. Mr. Sanders made a suggestion for proceeding. Once we decide on the top priority issues, we need to develop a position paper to address all of them. We should then forward this paper to other regions, and ask for response and action. A motion was made to formulate a position paper to address the subjects of Mathematica, Reauthorization and level funding (Motion #1). Dr. Baker stated that she would like to see those issues teased out separately. She felt that a position paper might be appropriate for Mathematica, but not necessarily for the other two. Mr. Benney clarified that this paper would outline these three issues separately and make recommendations. Mr. Sanders asked for clarification about who will actually draft this paper. Mr. Cortez felt that we should support this general effort, but to leave these details to the new Board. Mr. Sanders offered a friendly amendment that a timeline be established for this paper to be drafted for review and distribution among the membership within 30 days of establishment of new board. The amendment was accepted. Dr. Baker asked for clarification about the purpose of position paper. More specifically, who is our audience, and what is to be accomplished? Mr. Benney specified that the target audience is this Board. It is meant to be a document that focuses this Board into action in three separate areas, and to outline a plan to address each one. Each strategy will be focused to appropriate audiences as needed. Mr. Hicks suggested including pros and cons of each issue, and how they contrast with the actions of COE. Mr. Sanders - Call to question. The motion was restated. The motion passed. President Woods will arrange for a meeting with the COE members on Monday evening, in his suite. Discussion took place about the best way to educate the membership about what we plan to do. President Woods requested that Dr. Baker present a report at the Meeting of the Members. Further discussion took place about how to structure the session with Dr. Belle. It was suggested that we give him a list of things that we want him to respond to. Ms. Nepomuceno, Mr. Oda, President Woods, and Mr. Sanders agreed to work on this.

XII. Unfinished Business
Ms. De Los Santos gave an update on the NSF research proposal. The Southern California Chapter established an ad hoc committee, which then decided to pass it back to the Board. At this time however, they are not allowing NSF to do research on their students. Most recently, Ms. De Los Santos learned that the NSF representatives will be arriving at the conference on Sunday. They have skipped formal procedures and plan on starting their own focus groups. They have been given permission to speak at the Southern California Chapter Meeting. She does not support their actions, and feels that this is not just a SoCal Chapter issue. She encourages the Board to develop some guidelines and parameters about what kind of research is being conducted on our programs. President Woods expressed concern that we don't have enough information about what data they plan to gather. Further discussion took place about the need to be cautious with outside researchers, and how to address their requests. Mr. Quintero, the chair of the ad hoc committee, clarified that these researchers are trying to sidestep the Program Directors, and conduct their research without any approval. He felt that this issue would affect all of WESTOP, not just those programs in Southern California. That is why he made the recommendation to refer the issue to the President-Elect, and the new Board. President Woods reiterated that until we have more information, we cannot make any decisions. Mr. Sanders also requested that we consult with someone who knows more about research, before we make any decisions. It was decided that we need to inform members, and particularly Program Directors, about this issue at the Chapter Meetings as well. Mr. Coin stressed that we need to be careful that other faulty studies like the Mathematica study do not occur. Dr. Baker agreed that the next Board needs to develop some policies and guidelines about research that is conducted on TRIO programs. Mr. Coin agreed to follow-up on this issue with the new Board.

Motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at approximately 9pm
Motions

Motion #1: Motion that the WESTOP Leadership formulate a position paper to address the subjects of Mathematica, Reauthorization and level funding, within 30 days of the formulation of the new Board.
Move: D. Matthew Benney
Second: Norris Sanders
Vote: 16 yes, 0 no, 2 abstentions

Motion #2: Motion to adjourn
Move: Irvin Coin
Second: RW Hicks
Vote: Passed unanimous

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