Mission College Academic Senate

Ext. 5413

Unapproved Minutes

Thursday, March 20, 2003

I. Call to Order/Roll Call

The meeting was called to order by President Jane Patton at 2:08 p.m.

Senators	A	P	Senators	A	P
Brennan (Ext. 5313) Comm		X	Martin (Ext. 5356) Tech.		X
Charland (Ext. 5046) Stud. Dev.		X	Musat (Ext. 5331) Math	X
Dooley (Ext. 5379) AAS		X	Oliver (Ext. 5427) AAS	X
Estrada (Ext.5164) CommSvc		X	Patton (Ext. 5296) Comm Stud		X
Johnson (Ext.5277) CATA	X		Rivas (Ext. 5282) CATA		X
Lavallo (Ext. 5399) Math		X	Rosner (Ext. 5317) ESL		X
Light (Ext. 5717) AF/CIT		X	Sippel (Ext. 5118) Comm		X
Lynne (Ext. 5248) CommSvc		X	Toppel (Ext. 5089) Stud Dev		X
Mancini (Ext. 5855) AF/HM		X	VanTassel (Ext. 5334) Tech		X
			Xu (Ext. 5273) SocSci	X
Guests: Carol Qazi

II. Oral Communication from the Public

There was no oral communication from the public at today's meeting.

III. New Business

A. Select Senators and Division Chairs to District Academic Senate Crisis Subcommittee

President Patton explained that the District Academic Senate (DAS) passed a motion at Tuesday’s meeting to establish a Subcommittee of the District Academic Senate to develop guidelines for joint Division Chair Council/College Academic Senate meetings to consider the district-wide impact of local college decisions, to establish criteria for the reductions and changes in faculty, programs, services, and FTE allocations, and to address the underlying issues which are responsible for the district’s financial predicament.

It was also agreed that the committee would be comprised of two Senators from each College Senate, two Division Chairs from each College, and the VPs of Instruction from each college. In addition, it was agreed that the selections would be representative of Student Services, Academic Areas/Transfer. Vocational Education, and Basic Skills. A call for volunteers was issued from the Senate office and the purpose of today’s meeting is to make those selections. It is intended that the committee meet within the week and report back to the District Academic Senate on April 3, 2003.

The Senators estabished the criteria for their selections, and it was agreed (M/S/U – Lynne/Mancini) that Division Chairs Jim DeLongchamp and Steve Dinger would be appointed to the committee as the DC representatives, filling the Vocational Education and Transfer positions. These are two people with broad experience and knowledge of the college and able to represent all four areas. Carol Toppel and Jane Patton were appointed to the committee (M/S/P – Brennan/Charland) with Carol as the representative for Student Services and Basic Skills and Jane filling as an Academic area position.

There was some discussion regarding a note from ACE relative to a District advisory committee to consider and give suggestions regarding the restoration of programs and services. It is their contention that the topics under discussion raise negotiable issues under the Rodda Act. Jane emphasized that the memo raises some valid points, except for the point on academic matters, which listed educational objectives and the determination of curriculum. Issues of curriculum and educational programs fall under the purview of the Academic Senate. It is not the intent of the Senate to charge its subcommittee with “restoration” of positions, but rather to serve as a research committee and develop guidelines for joint Division Chair Council/College Academic Senate meetings to fulfill the tasks mentioned in the motion of the District Academic Senate.

The ultimate goal of the Senate is to retain the 59 targeted positions. During discussion, it was emphasized that district services needs to make the appropriate level of cuts. It was acknowledged that they have made some reductions, but they are not deep enough. The district consists of two colleges with entities that can interact. We need to research exactly what tasks central services is responsible for, determine what the costs are to run central services, research other districts, and compare. It was also emphasized that it is imperative that the Board act on the District Academic Senate’s motion immediately and appoint two members to a joint committee with faculty selected by the Senates before the next District Academic Senate meeting on April 3, 2003.

As discussion continued, it was noted that many faculty were disappointed that the District Academic Senate did not pass a vote of no confidence in the Chancellor. There is some concern that such an action will shift the focus from the current budget crisis and negotiations. As directed by the DAS, the Senate Presidents will provide the Chancellor with a list of concerns as presented at the DAS meeting. If there are no apparent changes in style or behavior, there will be ample time to take such action. It was agreed, the Board needs to be held more responsible; it has indeed been ineffective for many years. It is the responsibility of the faculty and the staff to strongly advise the Board as to what is expected of them. There is an urgent need to shift the paradigm of how the Board operates.

XI. Future Agenda Items

No new items were introduced at today's meeting.

XII. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m. (M/S/U – Charland/Brennan). These minutes are respectfully submitted by Grace Hazán, Academic Senate Secretary.