MINUTES

Advisory Council Meeting, Education Building, Room 5A/B, Albany, New York

The following members were present: Mike Hatten (acting chair), Arthur Resso, Vincent Ferrara, Yerachmiel Barash, James Devaney, Cindi Frieder (OSC), Tom Rose (DOL, for Denis Peterson), John Austin (HESC), Howard Goldsmith (SED)

Absent: Anthony Stanziani, Wayne Wagner, Arlene Pedone, Vel Pillai (DOB), Lisa Harris (Consumer Protection Board)

Call to order at 10:40 am.

1. Introduction, welcome, and review of agenda by Mike Hatten as acting chair on behalf of Anthony Stanziani.

 

2. Minutes of the April 9, 2002 meeting are amended to delete the word "Suburban" in paragraph 4. Motion to approve the amended minutes by Art Resso, seconded by Vincent Ferrara. Passed 5-0.

 

3. Mike Hatten introduces the meeting’s guest speaker, Deputy Commissioner Johanna Duncan-Poitier of SED’s Office of Higher Education and Office of the Professions. Ms. Duncan-Poitier requested feedback from each Council member regarding critical issues of concern for the school industry. Questions and comments are also taken by the Deputy Commissioner from the audience.

 

4. Unlicensed School Initiative – Howard Goldsmith briefs the Council on the recent NYATEP conference attended by BPSS and the upcoming meeting with NYCE & TC member schools; progress achieved by Monica Borden of BPSS working with NASASPS on getting Sallie Mae to adjust its policy of making loans for students of unlicensed schools; and David Brieff of BPSS to meet with Barbara Lippner of NYCBOE Student Services in September or October.

 

5. AC Report to the Legislature – Mike Hatten advises the AC that Arlene Pedone has submitted her resignation letter to the Governor, but a copy has not yet been received by any of the AC members. Ms. Pedone was chair of the sub-committee drafting the report. Mike Hatten and Anthony Stanziani will pick up these duties.

 

6. Regulatory Reform Initiative – Dave Sherwood explains changes/adjustments on the latest working draft. The word "cumulative" is deleted from Section 126.4(e) as agreed to by the Council at its last meeting. Howard Goldsmith advises the AC that BPSS is working with the Deputy Commissioner on addressing the two remaining outstanding issues of this initiative; the use of "credit hours" and adjustments to the ESL provisions.

Additional submissions from the New York English Schools Association (NYESA) were just received and need to be fully evaluated. The AC agrees to table the vote on the drat regulations to allow these issues to be addressed and resolved.

 

7. Benchmarking – Vincent Ferrara provides a presentation on his analysis of the "Institutional Profile" form. He recommends that SED look at putting OED forms on the BPSS website instead of working with a new set of data. Motion to disband the benchmarking sub-committee and work towards developing a new sub-committee to discuss and make recommendations to the AC on profiling institutions for the purpose of posting more information on schools electronically. Vincent Ferrara makes the motion, seconded by Art Resso. Passed 5-0.

 

8. Some agenda items for next meeting: