ACADEMIC SENATE MEETING
UNAPPROVED MINUTES
Friday, October 19, 2007
Council Committee Members:
Present: Kathy Schultz, Anne
Cavagnaro, Micha Miller, Joe Ryan, Craig Johnston
Senate Members
Present: Erik Andal, Vonna Breeze-Martin, Brian Greene, Tom
Hoffstra, Alicia Kolstad, Maryl Landess, Morgan McBride, Lynn Martin, Susan
Medeiros, Don Smith, Laurie Sylwester, Jeff Tolhurst and Jeri Perez (recorder)
Others Present: David Baggett
The meeting was called to order
at 1:35
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: for 9/14/07
ACTION: The minutes were approved as submitted
M/S/P (Ryan/Cavagnaro) Unanimous
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: for 10/8/07
Faculty Hiring Prioritization Meeting
ACTION: The minutes were not approved as submitted. Unanimously agreed for changes as recommended and then send out via e-mail for approval.
ACTION AND DISCUSSION
ITEMS:
1. Equivalency
Policy and Procedures-Kathy Schultz
Skipped
– rescheduled for special Senate meeting on Friday Oct. 26, 2007
2. Staff
and Faculty Wellness Committee-Kathy
Schultz
At our first Senate meeting, Laureen confirmed she will
no longer be heading the Wellness Committee due to the lack of funding from the District and her desire to
develop a new committee called the Campus Health Advisory Committee. After further discussion, it has been
determined that the new Advisory committee will be addressing different issues
than the Wellness Committee did. If the Senate is interested in the
continuation of the Wellness Committee we will need a faculty member who is willing
to be the chair. This committee was involved with sending cards to faculty and
staff as well as planning and implementing some health activities. Contact
Laureen for more details on the committee and what the position entails. Kathy
will send out a memo to all faculty to see if anyone is interested in the
position. Tom Hoffstra will talk to
3. Hiring
Prioritization Update and Process Draft-Kathy
Schultz
A. The Hiring
Prioritization Committee met this morning and, based on the Senate
recommendation, decided the replacement positions should be filled first and
then listed them in order of LDS, Biology, HHP, Counselor,
Counseling/Articulation and Journalism/English. The prioritization list will go
to the President’s office next and then to District. Kathy will inform the
Senate when she hears back from the President on what the District has decided
B.
Kathy will be
creating draft policy and procedure guidelines for the hiring prioritization
process. In addition, the campus Hiring Prioritization group will also be
working on updating the procedures for the campus wide process as well. Kathy
asked the Senate how they felt about incorporating a written ballot voting
system for the Hiring Prioritization Process. The Senate would have to wait
until the tallying of all ballots was completed before they could leave in case
of a tie. Kathy felt a written ballot voting system would allow people to feel
more comfortable about saying what they need to say and not feel uncomfortable
if they did not vote for a colleague. The general consensus of the Senate was
not to have written ballots. The new guidelines from the campus prioritization
committee would have dates/timelines that would address when things should
start and be finished, as well as show how things are handled when a position
is vacated. Spring hiring prioritizations will be for replacement positions
only. Listed below are some of the issues that ensued from the discussion:
1.
Some Senate
members felt faculty will say whatever they want to and will vote what they
feel is right and not be concerned about open voting. Therefore, a written
ballot is not necessary
2.
Brown Act
dictates that a written vote can be called for during the middle of the meeting
if it is felt necessary. The Senate felt this offered the best way to proceed.
3.
Small departments
are at a disadvantage and would like to explore the idea of 1 department =1
vote. Would also need to look into how this type of voting would effect voting
for other positions, as well as faculty who span more than one department.
4.
Development of a
vision for the College to proactively identify new, viable programs that meet
local, regional, and state needs that will be in demand by the student
population.
5.
Would like
supporting history to be available during the hiring prioritization meeting
such as (1) what positions have been proposed into the hiring prioritization,
and (2) what positions have been selected in the hiring prioritization over the
past 3-5 years. Also historical information that may show why a position is
needed.
4. Resolution
F07-A- Community College Initiative- Kathy Schultz
Proposition
92 has been accepted and will be on the ballot in February. The YCCD Board
passed a Resolution at this week’s Board meeting in favor of this Proposition.
There is not much the college can do to support the initiative other than pass
a resolution stating that we are in support of it. Individuals may support it
outside of their employment. Proposition 92 will separate the funding formula
which will separate community colleges from the K-12 system and will use a
formula that is based on their growth which will give them a bigger piece of
the funding. The Proposition will reduce tuition to $15 a unit and increases
will be based on per capita income with no max at this time. The proposition
will also allow the State Chancellor to select their Vice Chancellors instead
of them being an appointed position. The state Academic Senate is supports the
proposition with the caveat that ASCCC has a philosophy of No Tuition for
Community Colleges. Kathy suggested
visiting this website for more information http://faccc.org/CCI.htm
ACTION: Resolution F07-A-Community College Initiative was Approved for first reading M/S/P (Ryan/Breeze-Martin) 0 Nays, 3 Abstentions
5. District
Budget Allocation Committee-Kathy
Schultz
Kathy
Schultz and Joan Smith are on this committee for
6. Adjunct
Curriculum Development/Review Stipends- Joe
Ryan
This
new proposal allows the possibility for adjunct to receive a stipend for
reviewing courses in areas were there is not a full time faculty member or if
the ratio of courses needing review is greater than 6:1 then a full time
instructor could give some courses to an adjunct for assistance. With the 6:1
ratio an instructor should be doing approximately 1 course a year. Joe has
agreed to do a training on curriculum review at the adjunct in-service each
semester. If this proposal is accepted by the Senate, it will then be up to the
Administration to find the funding. The document will be changed to say part-time/adjunct instead of just
part-time since there are permanent part-time instructors. The adjunct will be
paid at the non-instructional rate for a max of 3 hours.
ACTION: Senate unanimously agreed for the Curriculum
Committee to move forward with the guidelines and finding funding through the
administration. M/S/P (Breeze-Martin/Andal)
6.
Facilities Update-Campus Smoking Policy- Kathy Schultz
The
smoking ban is lifted and the campus is back to the prior smoking policy.
Facilities is in the process of taking down signs and reestablishing the
smoking areas. The smoking policy is running through shared governance for
review and changes. If faculty would like to share ideas please address them to
your facilities committee representatives and/or on the district web forum https://www.yosemite.edu/discuss/login.asp?purl=%2Fdiscuss%2Fshowtopic%2Easp^^QS^^t=33
The Senate expressed concern over the
different information currently posted and feel it is confusing the students.
They would like correct information consistent throughout the campus. Kathy
will see how things look next week and if necessary will speak to facilities. Kathy
suggested that instructors use this opportunity to inform their students of the
smoking policy and will try to have this information in the next Weekly
Bulletin. The B.E.E.R. Club will be having a trail cleaning on 11/10 and will
be picking up the cigarette butts that are littering the area. A Senate member
suggested a tally of butts collected in different areas could be resourceful
information in the future; Anne will contact Elbert with the suggestion.
7.
State Academic Senate Fall Plenary Resolutions- Kathy Schultz
Kathy
and Anne will be attending the Area A meeting tomorrow where resolutions will
be submitted, edited and revised. Kathy informed the Senate to let her know
today if they had any issues with the resolutions she e-mailed out to them last
week. One Senate member asked if resolution 4.0 would affect the college’s
relationship with the high school and the middle college program. Kathy did not
feel that resolution 4.0 would have an effect on our relationship with the high
school. Any new and/or revised Resolutions coming out of the Area A meeting
will be sent out to the faculty when they come in.
OTHER INFORMATION ITEMS:
1. Intersession Proposal Update- Kathy Schultz
Last week
MJC Academic Senate and the YFA voted against this proposition at this time.
MJC has passed their 07-08 calendar without the intersession. They may decide
to do some research on the issue; if so, Kathy asked that
2. Campus Health Advisory Committee-Kathy
Schultz
Laureen
will have a proposal for the structure and formation of the Campus Health
Advisory Committee at the next Senate meeting.
3. District Benefits Committee-Kathy Schultz
The
District would like to put together a committee that could take a look at
different health care companies and shop around for companies that are not as
expensive but still meet the needs of the employees. Let Kathy know if you are
interested in participating on this committee. Laurie Sylwester volunteered.
4. UC, Davis
Speaker- Kathy Schultz
On
October 26 the Career Tools For Excellence Committee has a speaker coming in to
speak on “Beyond Ethics” and has opened the engagement for anyone who would
like to attend.
The
speaker is John Hancock, from UC Davis.
The contacts for more information are
5. *Speakers-Lynn
Martin
On November
12 the Columbia College
Counseling, Financial Aid, Health Services and Veterans Services Departments with
be hosting a special guest
speaker to our college for an informative talk about student behaviors. Dr.
Tamara Oxford Ph.D., MFT, MFC is an engaging, motivating, exciting speaker who
will hold your attention throughout her 90 minute
presentation. This will be a practical, useful presentation for
everyone. Dr. Oxford will focus on behavioral challenges some of our students may be experiencing and offer helpful
tools that will enable us to better serve our students in classrooms or service
areas.
6.
*Sabbaticals-Kathy Schultz
Sabbatical
presentations in the past were given at the Fall In-service, but were scheduled
at alternate times last year and this fall. Kathy asked the Senate when they
would like the presentations to be given. The Senate was in agreement that they
would like for sabbatical presentations to be given in the morning of
in-service and that faculty should be prepared to give their sabbatical
presentations the first In-service after they return. They expressed that it is
very important that all faculty and staff have the opportunity to see the
presentations of their fellow faculty members and in-service is a time when
everyone is available. Also, they feel the person coming back from sabbatical
is fired up and eager to share what they have been working on and should be
able to present it when they are fresh with enthusiasm. The Senate would also
like to see the time limit allowed increased to 20-30 minutes in order to allow
the presenter enough time to adequately present their information; even if that
means other events and presentations need to be shortened to allow for this
change. Or to have the brief report during In-Service and the longer flex
activity created for later in the year. This is also the time when Board
members and staff are here and have the opportunity to see the presentations.
The Senate would like this item to be put on the next meeting agenda for
further discussion.
REPORTS:
·
Curriculum- Joe Ryan
The full Curriculum Committee voted on Wednesday to
adopt the new Curriculum Outline form. The “Fees/Materials” was not on the old
one. Sections 6,7,8,9 & 10 are representative examples matching Title V;
they are only examples. This process will soon be done on the CurricuNet web
program which will give examples and instructions on how to fill in each
section. If the course requires practicum and the course would not be the same
without it, it is best to put it in the Course Content section not evaluation
section.
·
President
Elect-
Looking forward to attending the Area A and Fall
Plenary Session with Kathy and sharing the information with the Senate when she
returns.
·
Representative
to the Board-
1. David and the Chancellor
came up and visited the
2. The Board stated they were
comfortable with different calendars for each college if it is good for the
students.
·
Distance
Education Rep.-Melissa Colon
The Distance Education
committee needs more A & S faculty representation.
1. DE Plan
The committee is continuing work on this DE Plan which
is a required component for applying to for the Title III Grant. Kathy shared
some of Joan;s comments about how DE will be helpful in generating FTES and helping with the
college’s room utilization numbers. However, Joan has also been very clear that
while instructors are encouraged to use DE if appropriate, no one will be
forced to do online or hybrid in their own course delivery, it will be an
individual decision
2. Title III Grant
The committee met with administration and the grant
writer to work on strengths and weakness and make changes.
3. Mini WebCT Workshops
The time and dates for spring are being put together
this semester and will be sent out shortly.
·
President- Kathy Schultz
1. Staff Development Committee
Update
Tabled due to time
2.
40th Anniversary Committee
Detailed information tabled
due to time. Joe Ryan volunteered to cook.
3.
Senate Unit Plan
Tabled due to time
4.
Vice Chancellor of Education Services
Tabled due to time
ADJOURNMENT:
The
meeting was adjourned at 4:10 pm by Kathy Schultz