TSO Council meeting Minutes

Mar 26, 2025 – 03:30 PM

Top of Form

Attending:        Jerry Bunce, Bryan Leyton, Chris Steele, Laura Stanely,

Ted Watts, Phil Andrews, Chris Stoynov

Quick recap

The team discussed the TSO Student Organization’s activities and future plans. They also met with the new Director of Continuing Education, Esteban Maldonado. They discussed the use of BC Foundation funds for advertising and instructor recruitment. Lastly, the council considered disbanding and the need for someone to update the website with meeting minutes, as well as the usefulness of a storage booth on campus.

Next steps

Jerry to send a note to Esteban Maldonado asking for an update on Telos program status, course numbers, and future expectations.

Jerry to inquire with Esteban about the status of cross-advertising between Edmonds Creative Research Institute and Bellevue College Telos.

Jerry to visit Student Programs to find a computer science student to help update the TSO website.

TSO Council to make a decision about disbanding at the next meeting on May 28th.

Jerry to report back to the council on any feedback from Esteban Maldonado regarding Telos activities.

TSO Student Organization’s Activities and Plans

In the meeting, Jerry led the discussion about the TSO Student Organization’s activities and future plans. TELOS had 20 classes in the winter quarter, with 5 being canceled, and 325 registrations. However, there was a question about the organization’s impact and whether it should continue. The group also discussed the upcoming spring quarter, with 16 classes planned for spring quarter. Fewer classes and registrations expected in summer. The possibility of adding another session of the generative AI for daily life class was also discussed. But George Liu now has a full time job and is not teaching at this time.

As always thanks go to Donna for collecting and sharing the TELOS class and registration information.

Esteban’s Role and Program Updates

Jerry, Ted, and Phil discussed their meeting with Esteban Maldonado, the new Director of Continuing Education and IBIT. Esteban was described as honest, earnest, and interested in their work. Phil suggested asking Esteban for an update on the college’s pulse regarding their program in their next meeting. Ted emphasized the need for Esteban to focus on their mission and not just be a nice face. Jerry noted that Esteban took over Liz Hollerman’s responsibilities, including the IBIT program, and expressed satisfaction with Esteban’s support for their program. The team agreed to send a note to Esteban, asking about the decrease in course numbers and what they can expect in the future.

Advertising and Instructor Recruitment Discussion

The team discussed the use of funds for advertising and instructor recruitment. They considered donating remaining funds in the TSO Student account with Student Programs to the foundation for more advertising and instructor recruitment. The team also discussed the process of hiring instructors as contractors, which simplifies the hiring process. The treasurer’s report showed that no money had been spent since the last meeting, leaving around $5,000 in the TSO student account. The team also discussed the potential for cross-advertising between Edmonds Creative Research Institute and Bellevue College.

Council Considers Disbanding and Storage

The council discusses the possibility of disbanding and agrees to make a decision at their next meeting on May 28th. They consider holding a final general meeting if they decide to disband. Jerry mentions the need for someone to update the website with meeting minutes, suggesting they might recruit a student for this task. The group also discusses the storage booth they have on campus, questioning its usefulness and contents. No new business is brought up, and the meeting is adjourned.

TSO Council meeting Minutes

January 22nd, 2025

Draft

Attending: Jerry Bunce, Tim Hay, Sandi Medendorp, Laura Stanley, Phil Andrews, Ted Watts, Jan Rea, Chris Steele

Jerry read the TSO Mission statement.

The TSO Council meeting minutes for November 20th were approved.

The meeting discussed the current status and future of the Telos Student Organization (TSO) at Bellevue College, along with class registrations, new instructor recruitment, and the possibility of disbanding the organization.

• Telos Student Organization (TSO) Overview: Jerry Bunce provided an overview of the TSO, mentioning its mission to support Bellevue College’s programs and foster a sense of community through various activities.
• Class Registrations and Instructor Recruitment: The meeting discussed the current winter quarter’s class registrations, noting a happy increase in the number of classes to 20, 316 registrations and a few new instructors compared to previous quarters. TELOS is coming back without the help of TSO.
• New Students: It was noted that some of us are in classes with a good number of new students. Jerry has 10 new students in his Views class this quarter. Michelle, the new Communications person, is doing a very good job.
• Community: When we were on North Campus with all classes in person, it fostered and we developed friendships and community. This environment can’t be duplicated in the hybrid (zoom and in person) environment with TELOS classes spread all over BC main campus.
• Future of TSO: The future of TSO was debated, with some members expressing concerns about the organization’s relevance and impact, while others highlighted the importance of its social aspects.
• Decision on TSO’s Future: It was decided that a final decision on whether to disband TSO would be made at the May meeting.
• Meeting with Esteban Maldonado: The council planned to meet with Esteban Maldonado, the new head of continuing education, to discuss the Telos program and its future.
• Next Meeting Scheduled: The next meeting was scheduled for March 26, where further discussions on the organization’s future would continue.

These minutes were done with the help of Copilot AI.

TSO Council meeting Minutes

October 9^th, 2024

Attending: Jerry Bunce, Steve Denison, Chris Steele, Donna Oberembt, Tim Hay, Sandi Medendorp, Laura Stanley, Bette Murphy, Bryan Layton, Phil Andrews

Jerry read the TSO Mission statement.

The TSO Council meeting minutes for July 24^th and August 24^th were approved.

Jerry reported that the BC Provost Jess Clark has declined to meet with TSO and has referred us to meet with Liz Hollerman. The letters we signed at the TSO General meeting have been forwarded to Dr. Hollerman. The Council agreed that we should meet with Liz and that Jerry would schedule that meeting.

The TSO Council for 2024-2025 was proposed and approved at the August 24^th General meeting. The TSO Council is:

Council 2023 Officers:

Jerry Bunce                  President                          425-495-0294

Jan Reha                      Treasurer                          206-327-7470

Council Members (at large 2023):

2. Tim Hay 425-454-6636
3. Ted Watts          206-276-8111
4. Bryan Leyton 425-885-0812
5. Chris Steele 206-412-4135
6. Laura Stanley 206-718-7765
7. Sandi Medendorp 425-833-9897

We have an opening on the Council. Phil Andrews has been approached and has agreed to join the council. A motion was made and seconded and approved to add Phil Andrews to the TSO Council for the 2024-2025 period.

1. Phil Andrews 206-4981608

The TELOS Fall quarter is looking good with 16 classes going and only three cancelled. There are some new classes, a few new instructors and returning instructors. This is encouraging. The recent email advertising the Winter classes was the best we have seen. There is a new advertising person and she appears to be doing very well. Evidence being 16 classes being taught in the Fall quarter.

Tim Hay has made a proposal to approach Microsoft about the buildings being vacated in Bellevue or Redmond for potential space being made available or donated to the TELOS program. We miss the BC North Campus which was critical to building the strong TSO learning community. Now we have some classes on zoom and the in-person classes spread all over the BC Main campus. There were two trains of thought. One that TSO Could take over and run the TELOS program in vacant Microsoft building with support from MS Charities. There was strong pushback on this option as no one wants to run the TELOS program.

The second train of thought was that Bellevue College approach Microsoft to obtain space in a vacant building to host the TELOS in-person classes all in one location. A return to a North Campus environment. There was a strong sentiment that BC would not be interested in taking on additional space when they have empty classrooms on main campus and certainly not interested in potential rental costs.

We also discussed a potential collaboration of BC TELOS and UW OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute). Many of our former and current instructors also teach for UW OLLI. A possible merger might be beneficial for both UW and BC.

As we see new people in our TELOS classes keep an eye out for potential volunteers and possible future TSO Council members.

Steve reported that the cost for the August General meeting as ~$1500. We decided to start planning for a December General meeting.

Fall quarter is looking good with 16 classes going and 271 registrations.

The next TSO Council meeting will be November 20^th at 3:30 pm on zoom.

Meeting adjourned.

TSO Council Meeting Minutes

July 24th, 2024

Attending: Jerry Bunce, President; Steve Denison, Ted Watts, Sandi Medendorp, Donna Oberembt, Jan Reha, Chris Steele, Andrea Smith-Clark, Bette Murphy, Chris Stoynov

• Jerry Bunce read the TSO Mission statement
• Minutes for March TSO Council meeting were approved
• Jerry reported that he had visited Liz Hollerman to review the proposed letter to the BC Trustees. Liz told me that she has presented information about the Continuing Education including the TELOS program to the Board of Trustees twice. They are aware of TELOS. Liz suggested that the letter be sent to the new BC Provost Dr. Jess Clark. The Council decided to take the letter to the upcoming TSO General meeting so that everyone in attendance could sign the letter.
• We reviewed the letter and made some updates real time.
• The TELOS Course trends excel chart was shown. This chart is maintained by Donna Oberembt. This will be an attachment to the letter.
• The Summer quarter is down to only six classes.
• Jerry stated that the recent email from BC highlighting the Fall quarter was the best advertising he has seen. Some of the Council members had received the email while other had not. An indicator of the issues BC has in promoting TELOS.
• Jan Reported that we have ~7000 dollars remaining in our accounts

We looked at the proposed schedule of Fall quarter classes. There are new classes and new instructors.

• Steve Denison reported we already had 60 people registered for our next TSO General meeting on Saturday, August 24^th. The North Bellevue Community Center is reserved from noon to 3 pm. It will be $300. He is convening the usual suspects to plan the meeting. Will Stump and Ron will play music at the event. A planning meeting will be finalized next week.
• Next meeting is July 24th at 3:30 pm on zoom.
• Adjourn

TSO Council Meeting Minutes

January 24^th, 2024

Attending: Jerry Bunce, President;, Steve Denison, Tim Hay, Bryan Leyton, Sandi Medendorp, Donna Oberembt, Jan Reha, Laura Stanley, Chris Steele, Barb Warburg, Andrea Smith-Clark, Bette Murphy

• Jerry Bunce read the TSO Mission statement
• Minutes for December TSO Council meeting were approved
• There was a lot of discussion on the future of TSO and what we should do now
• Major decisions:
  • We decided NOT to disband.
  • We will go to every other month meetings.
  • Jerry will continue as President
  • All the TSO members in attendance said they will continue on the Board
  • We will ask to meet with Dr. May.
  • Barb and I will try to talk with the BC Faculty union to see if they can add something about making it easier to hire TELOS faculty.
    • Meeting held with the BC Faculty Union President
    • She will our concerns to the contract negotiations
  • We will plan all TSO member meetings on a six month basis as long as money lasts.
  • We will ask to meet with Dr May just to inform of what we see on the TELOS program (request to meet has been made)
  •  
• Adjourn