Mission College Academic Senate

Ext. 5413

Approved  Minutes

Thursday, September 11, 2003 

 

I.       Call to Order/Roll Call

            The meeting was called to order by President Alex Braun at 2:15 p.m. 

 

Senators

   A

   P

Senators

   A

   P

Braun      (Ext. 5355) Pres/Tech

 

   X

Martin      (Ext. 5356)  Tech.

    X

   

Brennan    (Ext. 5313)  Comm

     

    X

Musat       (Ext. 5331) Math

 

   X

Charland  (Ext. 5046)  Stud. Dev.

 

    X

Oliver       (Ext. 5427)  AAS

 

   X

Dooley    (Ext. 5379)  AAS

 

    X

Perlas       (Ext.5041)  Stud.Dev.

 

   X

Estrada     (Ext.5164) CommSvc

 

    X

Rivas       (Ext. 5282)  CATA

    

   X

Johnson   (Ext.5277) CATA

 

    X

Rosner     (Ext. 5317) ESL

 

   X

Laird       (Ext. 5186) SocScience

 

    X

Smebye   (Ext. 5305) CommServ

 

   X

Lavallo    (Ext. 5399)  Math

 

    X

Zeisler      (Ext. 5426) Comm

 

   X

Other:  H.Robles (VP of Inst)

      

    X

B.Grayson (Staff Dev)

 

   X

Guests:  F.Chong, R.Hahn

 

    X

ASB Reps.  B. Casillas,  R.Holt

 

   X

 

            President Braun welcomed everyone to the first Senate meeting and new and senior Senators were given an opportunity to introduce themselves.

 

II.     Approval of the Minutes

            The minutes for the meeting of May 15, 2003, were accepted and approved as submitted (M/S/P – Charland/Rivas).

 

III.    Order of the Agenda

            The Senators agreed (M/S/U – Dooley/Charland) to add Item VIII.B (Confirm DC Appointments to GAP and CBAC) as an emergency item.

 

 IV.    Oral Communication from the Public

            President Chong addressed the Senate and acknowledged the fine past and present Senate leadership.  He expressed his optimism regarding the coming year and hopes to continue to work with all campus entities in a positive spirit and with a tone of civility.  He hopes to return to the Senate as needed to discuss issues and looks forward to getting to know everyone.  He welcomed faculty back for the new year.

 

   V.   Senate Orientation

            Alex explained that the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges and local senates have been accorded a number of powers codified in Title 5.  The Senators received a copy of the section pertaining to local academic senates, listing the Senate’s eleven areas of responsibility. Alex explained further that this District has agreed to rely primarily on the advice of the Academic Senate, and must provide a rationale in writing if they do not act upon the Senate’s advice. 

 

            Alex will continue to provide information regarding the role and the powers of the Academic Senate as he gleans information from both within and outside the district

        

 VI.   Information & Announcements 

            1.   ACE Forums on Faculty Service Areas (FSA’s) will be held at both campuses in October:

                  a)   At Mission College on Monday, October 13, 2003 at 2:00 p.m. (Location TBA)

b)    At West Valley College on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 at 3:30 p.m. (Location TBA).

            Alex advised that FSA’s relate to procedures for a reduction in force should such action become necessary.  It is important that all faculty update their FSA’s.

      2.   Senator Estrada announced that the ASB has provided funds to the Library to purchase over 100 textbooks. Instructors can check on the Library web site to determine if textbooks for their classes are on hand.

 

VII.   Old Business

 

A.       Discuss Status of Resolution of No Confidence in the Chancellor

President Braun explained that last April, the District Academic Senate passed a resolution of no confidence in Chancellor Arteberry due to his failure to follow existing shared governance procedures in respect to decisions made, particularly relative to faculty layoffs and the negative impact on a variety of programs in the colleges.  A specific Bill of Particulars was presented to the Chancellor and is available for review on the MC Academic Senate’s web site. 

 

During the summer, Chancellor Arteberry met with the Academic Senate Presidents and indicated his willingness to engage in collegial decision-making and shared governance.  He has scheduled information round table meetings with the Academic and Classified Senate Presidents to discuss strategy and plans for the district.  The next round table meeting is scheduled for next week.

 

President Braun indicated he intends to keep this item on the agenda as a standing agenda item and will apprise the Senate each week of progress, if any, made on the Bill of Particulars or lack thereof.  His intent is to keep the Senators informed in order to best determine what further action should be taken relative to the resolution of no confidence.  To the best of his knowledge, Alex is not aware of any specific actions to date taken by the Chancellor relative to the Bill of Particulars.  Alex agreed to ask the Chancellor how he intends to deal with the Bill of Particulars, and he expressed his hope that there will be evidence of true shared governance in order to resolve the issues presented in the Bill of Particulars.

 

B.       Discuss Status of Faculty Obligation Number & Full-Time Faculty Hires

Alex explained that Mission College is required to fill a number of full-time faculty positions.  Each college must meet its Faculty Obligation Number (FON), which is set by the state through a complex formula.  The rationale for the FON is to assure the State Chancellor that all community colleges are staffed appropriately and can meet the needs of the community and maintain the integrity of their programs.  Although the State Chancellor can allow colleges to waive meeting their FON, there is no provision for waiving the penalty for failing to meet the FON.   Hence, for every unfilled full-time position short of the FON, the State Chancellor is required to levy a penalty of $55,000/position.  There was some degree of misunderstanding regarding the waiver and penalty last semester.  It was thought that the approval of a waiver would not incur a penalty.  That is not the case.  The penalty is levied and payable over a three year period.  It was stated that a number of districts calculate that it is to their advantage to take the penalty at $55,000/position versus hiring new faculty at approximately $75,000/position. (Note:  At the September 25th meeting of the Senate, the following clarification was made: Referring to Page 2, Item VII.B, first paragraph, seventh sentence, “It was thought that the approval of a waiver would not incur a penalty.”  Ian explained that the issue is complex. The request for a waiver only applied to the six new positions.  The district is not paying a penalty on those six positions.  The State is penalizing the District because the actual number of faculty dropped below the Fall 2002 Faculty Obligation Number.)

 

 

Alex provided the following information on the Faculty Obligation Numbers for the District:

 

District FON  =  363.1 Full-Time Faculty Positions

WVC FON    =  187.6 Full-Time Faculty Positions

MC FON       =  169 Full-Time Faculty Positions

 

Mission College currently has 142 Full-Time Faculty positions filled.  Of the remaining 27 required positions (to meet the FON), five (5) unfilled positions are due to late retirements this year and funds for these positions are budgeted.  Twenty-two of the remaining positions have been defunded by the District, which means the slots exist, but funds are not available to fill those slots.  In order to meet the FON, Mission College will need to re-fund 22 positions and fill the additional five retired positions to offset the shortfall.  If not, the penalty of $55,000/position will be imposed. The current district budget has allocated $400,000 to cover past penalties.   In addition, Alex explained that an investigation is underway at this time to determine if any additional penalties are due from previous years. 

 

In accordance with AB 1725, colleges are asked to meet a 75%/25% ratio of full-time faculty to associate faculty.  This ratio is based on the percentage of courses taught by full-time faculty and associate faculty.  If the college can meet the required ratio, the FON is waived.  It is yet to be determined where the district and colleges fall relative to the ratio. The next step will be to develop strategy to achieve the ratio of 75/25.  It was agreed that this is a critical number and information must be gathered quickly so appropriate decisions can be made.  Harriett explained that many factors are considered in formulating the number – reassigned time, sabbatical leaves, overloads, etc. (Note: Upon achieving the 75%/25% hiring goal, the waiver of the FON is subject to some qualifications as specified in amendments to Title 5, Section 4.2 relative to faculty hiring obligations approved by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges in August.”)

 

Alex pointed out that the community college system is facing a huge budget problem in 2004/05.  Although the California legislature passed the budget, allocating additional funds to community colleges, it was accomplished with two major provisions:  1)  the legislature passed a deficit bond, and 2) the legislature deferred the $8.5 billion deficit to 2004/05. The question before the Senate is how to offset penalties by hiring full-time faculty and maintain the integrity of academic programs while keeping future budget crises in mind.  With these issues in mind, Alex turned the floor over to Harriett to present a proposal from the Division Chair Council (DCC).

 

Harriett explained that the District could be down 66 positions, which need to be hired in order to meet the FON for the District.  There is concern regarding the ability of Human Resources to handle 66 hires since the department is understaffed, and the District is recommending that each college identify positions that need to be filled and select six positions.  Given that information,  the DCC proposes the following:  

      1.   Move forward with six positions for Spring hire (two automatic replacements and #1 through #4 on the approved list.

2.    Allow positions #5 through #10 to move forward without reprioritization.

3.    Reprioritize the remaining positions using the process already in place (joint decision of the DCC and the MCAS).

 

A lengthy discussion ensued, and the issue of the Economics Department was considered. The only full-time faculty member in the department has retired. Harriett advised that the DC of Social Science is agreeable to filling the need with associate faculty for now.  However, the position should be considered for addition to the list.   The position of the Assessment Coordinator was raised once again, and several Senators spoke to the issue, emphasizing the ever increasing need for this position.  The ASB representatives on the Senate also expressed a strong need for this position, noting that hundreds of students were hindered from meeting their needs during registration due to the lack of appropriate placement tools and the lack of guidance.  Although others expressed support for the position, they did not support a change in the current list at this time. The Senate approved the list last year, and the position of the Assessment Coordinator was discussed at great length at that time.  Any changes to the list should be made jointly by the DCC and the MCAS, and given the time constraints, this would not be possible.   The following motion was made (M/S – Dooley/Charland):

 

“that the Mission College Academic Senate accepts the proposal of the Division Chair Council to move forward with six positions (two automatic replacements and ranked positions #1 through #4) and that #5 through #10 be retained as ranked, and #11 through #31 be re-evaluated.”

 

Discussion continued, primarily relative to the Assessment Coordinator position.  Ultimately, the President of the Senate called for a vote, and the motion passed.

 

C.       Update on Status of District Budget

The Senators were provided with budget figures recently obtained from DBAC.  The final budget for the 2003/04 is as follows:

 

Anticipated Revenue:

      Fund 100                           =                      $72,509,520

      PFE Fund 101                   =                          3,527,327

 Total Unrestricted Revenue    =                      $76,036,847

 

 Expenditures                          =                     $76,852,421

 

Total Estimated 2003/04 Final Budget Shortfall F100 and F101 =   $ 815,574

Less Designated Funds                                                                =   $ 840,510

 

Total Deficit Fund 100 & 101 Final Budget 2003/04                   =   $1,656,084 

                    (MC share = $841,864)

 

The original projected deficit for the district was approximately $13 million.  The actual is approximately $1.6 million.  In order to balance the budget, the District intends to fund the deficit from two sources: 

 

       1) a portion of the reserves over 5% (approximately $100,000), and

 2) approximately $1.5 Million from the $5.5 Million currently in the Retiree Health Benefits 

           Fund – funding a major portion of the deficit.

 

Alex expressed great concern at this decision, which will impact long-term employees. He asked the Vice-Chancellor if there are other accounts with transferable funds that could be used. She advised that it is the Board’s decision to use these funds. It was suggested by a Senator during discussion that a legal opinion be obtained on this matter.  It was noted there is case law in respect to the question and the ACE representatives are aware of this intended Board action.  It was also noted that one of the Senate’s responsibilities as outlined in Title 5 is to make recommendations with respect to … “processes for institutional planning and budget development.”  Alex will continue to monitor the situation and keep the Senate apprised.

 

Due to the late hour, it was agreed that Item VIII.A be postponed to the next meeting and to address Item VIII.B.

 

VIII.  New Business

 

    B.  Confirm DCC Appointments to GAP and CBAC

            The Division Chair Council (DCC) has recommended that Carol Toppel be appointed to GAP, and that Carol and Clement Lam be appointed to CBAC as representatives of the DCC.  The Senators unanimously confirmed those appointments (M/S/U Estrada/Laird).

 

            The remaining agenda items were postponed to the next meeting.

 

X.     Correspondence, Publications, & Announcements

         Correspondence

         1.   The agenda for the June 11-13, 2003 Meeting of the Accrediting Commission for CC&JC.

         2.   Letter dated July 14, 2003, from the Accrediting Commission for Community & Junior Colleges re: the June 11-13 Commission Meeting, including the list of institutional actions.

         Publication/Minutes

1.    September 5, 2003, issue of DVC FORUM.

2.    MWV Land Corporation Cancellation of Meeting Notice for September 18, 2003.

3.    The proposed Operating Procedures for DBAC.

4.    The agendas for the June 5,  and September 4, 2003, meetings of the Board of Trustees.

5.    The agenda for the August 27, and September 10, 2003, meetings of the District Council.

6.    The Summary Notes for the June 4, June 18, July 16, and August 20, 2003, meetings of GAP.

7.    The agendas for the June 19, and July 17, 2003, meeting of the MWV Land Corporation.

8.    The June 23, 2003, issue of FA NEWS from the Foothill-DeAnza Faculty Association.

            9.   The Spring 2003 issue of CCCI  from the California Community College Independents.

         Announcements/Conferences

1.    The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges is calling for nominations for one faculty seat on the Board of Governors. Outstanding faculty who are knowledgeable about the issues facing faculty and others in the community colleges, who represent and have shown commitment to issues of diversity,  and leaders with a variety of experiences are being sought as candidates for this position.  Candidates should submit a letter of introduction, a current resume outlining relevant professional activities and the letter of local senate endorsement.  All original materials must be received in the ASCCC Office by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, September 22, 2003.  Application forms are available from the MC Academic Senate Office (Ext. 5413).

2.    The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges’ Awards and timelines are as follows:

            Exemplary Program Award – Applications will be due December 1, 2003

            Hayward Award – Nominations must be submitted by January 27, 2004.

            Stanback-Stroud Award – Nominations must be submitted by February 9, 2004

            Laroche Award – Applications from Areas A and B will be due March 15, 2004.

                  The call for nominations for the Exemplary Program Award will go out from the ASCCC on October 1, 2003.

3.    FACCC will be holding Regional Workshops starting September through Spring 2004, and its annual conference in November.  Additional information is available from the Senate Office.

4.    The 15th Annual Envisioning California Conference (Dynamic Diversity: Expanding the California Dream) will be held in Universal City, September 25-26, 2003.

 

XI.    Future Agenda Items

No new items were introduced at today's meeting.

 

XII.   Adjournment

            The meeting was adjourned at 4:17  p.m. (M/S/U - Brennan/Estrada).  These minutes are respectfully submitted by Grace Hazán, Academic Senate Secretary.