Having the ability to record presentations in many of the CMST courses (Public Speaking, Small Group Communication, Argumentation and Debate, Oral Interpretation, and Forensics) is imperative to student learning. These performance-based classes need updated technology to record speeches and presentations, upload the videos to the Internet, and allow students to access them online in order to reflect on their work. Therefore, the CMST department requests 10 mini iPad Air2.  

• Enhancing a Culture of Completion and Academic Achievement
• Supporting Student, Faculty and Staff Success
• Enhancing a Culture of Inclusiveness

• Seeing yourself as others see you is fundamental to achieving public speaking competency. Watching videos of their presentation is one of the best ways for students to gain insight into their speaking abilities, and is a common practice used at other colleges.
• Video-recording speeches and the later viewing of those videos provide students with an opportunity for self-reflection on their work. It allows students to see what areas they are doing well in and identify what they need to improve. This reflection helps students make improvements in their speaking and achieve success.
• iPads are the easiest, most efficient way we have found to record speeches and distribute the videos to students via a private YouTube channel.
• Although many students do have access to phones that they can record their speeches on, our department identifies that there is still a significant need to provide this access for students who do not have smartphones. We have observed that the “digital divide” does, indeed, exist on our campus, and letting students know ahead of time that we have the ability to record their speeches for them avoids them having to “out” themselves in class as being someone who lacks a phone.  We do not want to disadvantage students without smartphones, so we need a way to allow them view/access their speeches.
• In addition, even those students with smartphones often do not have enough memory, or lose their phone, or run out of battery power, etc., and this is not noted until right before they are about to speak.  We need reliable back-up recording technology for those situations.
• Equally important is that the iPads allow us to record and store student speeches on a private YouTube channel for easy access to use for future assessment purposes (e.g. We will be able to chose random speeches and analyze them with a uniform rubric to assess whether or not the students are meeting particular SLOs associated with presentations.).
• Currently, our department does not have enough iPads for all of our instructors or classrooms to have them. (Currently, we have 3 iPads. We request 10  more total; one for each full-time faculty, two for Main Campus classes, three for the Chico Center and 1 for the Glenn Center). 10 x $400 = $4000

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 ($3372.41).

• Enhancing a Culture of Completion and Academic Achievement
• Supporting Student, Faculty and Staff Success
• Enhancing a Culture of Inclusiveness

• 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.
• 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; this semester we have 15 students that want to travel to one tournament alone. 
• 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. 
• We are requesting a coaching stipend of $3372.41/year, equivalent to Track and Field Assistant Coach Level I stipend. 

With the statewide push of the completion agenda and our college's committment to pathways, it is now more important than ever that we reach out to our students; this connection will help to ensure that students know about our CMST AA and AA-T degrees. Therefore, the CMST department requests $2437 to design and produce professional quality promotional materials for our major.

• Enhancing a Culture of Completion and Academic Achievement
• Supporting Student, Faculty and Staff Success

• Guided Pathways may help many students find the right path for their interests and career goals, but only if they have clear, easily accessible, pertinent information about that path.
• Some of our students work well in online environments, while others prefer the traditional, tactile paper approach.
• Communication Studies has a unique need to provide information about the possibilities that our major opens up.  Ours is a highly versatile, interdisciplinary major that prepares students well for a variety of degrees and careers, but this fact is less intuitive or visible than some other disciplines (e.g. psychology leading to a major or career in that profession).
• Our program is unique in that most of our classes meet GE requirements, so students who take their GE within our program can fairly easily obtain a second AA degree, which enhances their value as transfers or upon entry into the workforce.
• Our major is particularly well-suited for undecided students, who may not be as well served by the Guided Pathways approach.  Promotional materials will help such students see that they can still explore within our interdisciplinary degree, while moving forward efficiently. 
• SPECIFICS:

• Professional quality marketing materials that identify the GE and IGETC transfer suitability of our classes, the possibility of earning a second degree with your GE, the variety of upper division majors and careers that our degree prepares them for, and the value employers place on the communication skills we teach.
• Glossy, color, tri-fold pamphlets for distribution at promotional events on campus, and distribution to area high school counselors. Per Lisa Delaby: $1250 for creation of brochures and $262.00 for printing and shipping for quantity of 500.
• Quality cardstock, color handouts for distribution to Butte College counselors and Communication Studies faculty to hand out to interested students ($50).
• Promoting the Forensics program is key to recruiting new student competitors. 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).

   

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. 

• Enhancing a Culture of Completion and Academic Achievement
• Supporting Student, Faculty and Staff Success
• Enhancing a Culture of Inclusiveness

• 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.

Previous CMST SLO assessment outcomes from the Public Speaking and Small Group Communication classes (Personal Report of Communication Apprehension) revealed that our students have a higher than average rate of communication anxiety. Therefore, we request $5000 for additional paid part time faculty office hours and enhance our students’ access to individualized help. 

• Enhancing a Culture of Completion and Academic Achievement
• Supporting Student, Faculty and Staff Success
• Maximizing Resources to Support Student Learning

• Working with students one on one in office hours is important in all disciplines, but is especially important when trying to help students work through their speech anxiety. Additional paid office hours are requested for part time faculty to be able to work with these students.
• Communication studies finds itself in a unique position to require more office hours than some other disciplines. Oral communication is the primary content for both CMST 2 and CMST 4 and makes up most of our course offerings for part time faculty.  Because it is a knowledge-based skill, it requires additional support for students outside of the class to help students construct their speeches with feedback, practice before a “live” audience, and manage their speech anxiety.
• Our previous self-study revealed that our students have a higher-than-average rate of speech anxiety. This anxiety is ideally addressed by increased time with faculty, in order to prepare for presentations. Office hours are one of the best ways to address these issues, particularly since many of the issues are sensitive for students, and they do not wish to share their deepest fears in front of their classmates. Although we cover speech anxiety as part of our course content through reading, lecture and classroom activities, helping students overcome it is truly an individualized process.  One strategy might work for Student A, but not for Student B, so faculty need to meet one-on-one with students who have high anxiety levels in order to customize suggest strategies to the individual.
• Many part time faculty, in order to better serve their students, meet with students without compensation. We would like to offer at least some compensation for these hours. 

CMST is a leader in FTES generation (ranked 7th) and enrollment for the college. 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 $4000/year.

• Enhancing a Culture of Completion and Academic Achievement
• Supporting Student, Faculty and Staff Success
• Maximizing Resources to Support Student Learning
• Enhancing a Culture of Inclusiveness

• 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:
• 2 Visual Aid Stands @ $70 each = $140
• 2 art portfolios for carrying visual aids @ $200 each = $400
• 20 Interpretation black book binders @ $6 each = $120
• 50 Oral Interp Black Book (performance) Materials (10PC) @ $4 each = $200

In alignment with our Program Review Validation Team 2014 Report, the CMST department requests one full time faculty hire to replace a recent resignation. This new full-time faculty will help to support student success, promote our major and contribute to the overall growth of the CMST department. 

• Enhancing a Culture of Completion and Academic Achievement
• Supporting Student, Faculty and Staff Success

• The CMST department had grown to 8 full time faculty members, but with one resignation last year, we are back down to seven.
• In order to meet student demand for our classes, promote our major, and continue the every day work of the department, we need another full-time faculty member to replace the one who left. 
• This would bring our full-time faculty number back up to the total requested by our latest Program Review Validation Team Report in 2014.