Mission College Academic Senate

Ext. 5413

Unapproved  Minutes

Thursday,  September 13, 2001

 

I.       Call to Order/Roll Call

            The meeting was called to order by President Jane Patton at 2:09 p.m. after a minute of silence to memorialize this week’s tragedies.  

Senators

   A

   P

Senators

   A

   P

Bell-Cheung  (Ext.5385) AAS

    

    X

McGee     (Ext. 5042) Stud Dev

   

   X

Brennan    (Ext. 5313)  Comm

    

    X

McKean   (Ext. 5326)  Math

 

   X

Cochran    (Ext. 5176)  Stud Dev

   

    X

Monroe    (Ext. 5349) Tech

    X

   

Estrada      (Ext.5164) CommSvc

 

    X

Moore      (Ext. 5382) AAS

    

   X

Guich       (Ext. 5270) SocSci

    

    X

Myint      (Ext. 5316) ESL

 

   X

Jackins      (Ext.5322 )  Math

 

    X

Patton    (Ext. 5296) Comm Stud

 

   X

Johnson    (Ext.5277) CATA

    X

  

Sippel      (Ext. 5118) Comm

 

   X

Lynne      (Ext. 5248) CommSvc

 

   X

VanTassel (Ext. 5334) Tech

 

   X

Mancini   (Ext. 5855) AF/HM

 

   X

ASB:  C.Vincenz

    X

   

Other:  B.Grayson (Staff Dev)

 

   X

Guests:  D.Matarangas, C.Olson

 

   X

             

 II.    Approval of the Minutes

            The minutes for the September 6, 2001, meeting were accepted and approved with the following correction (M/S/U –  VanTassel/Sippel):

 

            Page 4, Item VII.A – Add Mary Moore to the list of faculty members serving on the MC Compressed Calendar Committee.

 

III.    Order of the Agenda

            Jane asked the Senators to add the following items to today’s agenda as emergency action items and to address these items immediately following Item VI.4  as there is urgency to take action prior to next week’s meeting:

 

            Item VII.C – Consider Resolution to Reinforce Mission College Academic Senate’s Support to Retain and Maintain Data on PARIS (Patton) (I/A)

 

            Item VIII.B – Discuss MC Academic Senate’s Response to Terrorist Events on East Coast (Senate) (I/A)

 

            The Senators unanimously agreed to add the above items to today’s agenda (M/S/U – McKean/Jackins).

 

 IV.    Oral Communication from the Public

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

        

  V.    Information & Announcements 

1. Erlinda Estrada announced that approximately 100 people attended the successful grand opening of the Library Building.  She expressed her appreciation for everyone’s support.

2.Senator McGee announced that a number of concerned campus members are planning a forum to discuss the potential backlash against Moslems here on campus and in the United States.  The forum is planned for Tuesday, September 25th outside the campus center.  Dr. Siddiqi, the Instructor teaching the Introduction to Islam course at Mission College, will help lead a discussion.  Anyone interested in helping to plan, in speaking, or otherwise assist in the organization of this event, should contact Donnelle (Ext. 5042).

3.                      Betty Grayson suggested that the college community honor a moment of silence and asked for the Senate’s sponsorship and support.  (See discussion under Item VIII.B, Page 5)

4.   Jane asked the Senators to use discretion when asking for copies of documents passed around                       in the Senate’s Correspondence Folder.

 

VI.    Administrative Business/Actions/Appointments

         A. Curriculum Committee – *On Monday, Jane attended a joint meeting of the Department and Division Chairs.  A number of issues concerning curriculum were discussed.  It was noted that the volume of curriculum has increased greatly over the last few years.  Overall, this is good for the college.  However, it creates a backlog for those serving on the CRC, and because of the conversion to Datatel, the demand on staff dealing with the listing of classes has become overwhelming.  Alex Braun, Chair of the CRC has sent out an e-mail that curriculum for next year must be submitted by October 1, 2001. Many faculty are concerned that their courses will not be approved in time to meet the schedule deadlines.

            *As the Senators discussed the problem, it was stated that Hoan Pham is currently the only person entering classes into the schedule and that is trained on the conversion to Datatel. In addition, he has knowledge of the classroom schedules, etc.  The Senators expressed concern that there is only one person who can input schedule information. There should be backup for all personnel, and it was agreed that the Academic Senate place this item on the agenda for further discussion and resolution. Quin was directed to discuss the problems with Hoan and Dee to determine all the issues and take the Senate’s concerns to DISC.  There should be cross training of individuals and/or back-up training for staff.  Another concern is that it appears as though curriculum is being driven by the printing deadlines for the catalog.  Part of the problem is that the Board of Trustees only approves curriculum once each semester at this time. Jane will ask the Board to review curriculum at least two times per semester.  This will provide ample opportunity to submit curriculum as well as any additional time needed during the conversion to Datatel.

            *Jane intends to call a joint meeting of the Mission College Academic Senate and Curriculum Review Committee this semester to discuss any curriculum issues.

         B. Staff Recognition – No motions were presented to the Senate today.

         C. Committee Appointments

         1.  MC Sign Committee  - Cathy Cox volunteered to serve on this committee once more, and the Senators confirmed her appointment to the committee (M/S/U – VanTassel/Cochran).  At this time the Senators remarked on the wonderful job that the Sign Committee has done to date. 

         D.      Elect Vice-President of MC Academic Senate  -  Mary Moore was nominated and unanimously elected as Vice President of the Mission College Academic Senate (M/S/U – Jackins/Estrada).

         E. Oral Reports

              1.      Staff Development -  Betty Grayson reported that the new faculty orientations and Jane’s workshop have been very well received and well attended.

              2.  Datatel Implementation Committee –  Quin reported that Tuesday’s meeting was cancelled and will be held next week.

              3.  MC Compressed Calendar Committee – A meeting has been scheduled for next Tuesday, September 18, 2001, from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. in Conference Room A.  The intent is to set a calendar and an agenda for the committee.  The Senators briefly discussed the membership of the committee and agreed that students should be represented.  It was suggested that the Senators recruit students from their classes, advise students that the calendar may change by placing signs around the campus center and other pertinent areas, and contact the student trustee.  The possibility of providing payment or a transferable unit of credit to students who participate on the committee and meet the criteria for independent study was discussed.  As discussion continued, it was stated that the Library and Counselors have very specific issues of concern regarding the compressed calendar, as does the Math Department.  Senators Estrada, Jackins, and Lynne volunteered to serve on the committee as well. 

*  Jane reported that Clo Hampton made a report to the Board last week on the compressed calendar.  Clo advised the Board that West Valley College is ready to move forward with a compressed calendar for Fall 2002, and that Mission College intends to conduct further research.  Clo made the same report to the District Council (DC), indicating that the district committee charged by the DC to investigate the calendar question agreed to split into two college committees.  Jane clarified the position of the Mission College members on the district committee, and advised that they did not wish to make a precipitous decision. The college committee intends to investigate critical issues pertinent to Mission College, such as classroom schedules, curriculum, student success, etc., before making a decision.  Jane stated that neither the Board nor the District Council voiced any objections to the colleges proceeding independently or express any concerns regarding the impact this change might have on either college. 

*  This afternoon, ACE distributed a survey on the calendar to all faculty.  Several members of the Senate expressed their concern that the survey was indeed premature and did not necessarily reflect the concerns of Mission College.  Concerns remain as to whether or not Datatel can accommodate two separate calendars; IS provides conflicting information. It is possible that additional programs will be necessary in order for Datatel to accommodate the two calendars.  If the decision to proceed impacts the budget, the Board should make its decision with consideration of those points, especially if an additional cost is involved.   Concerns regarding the impact on students must also be addressed in order to ensure student success. 

*  Jane advised that her intent for the MC Compressed Calendar Committee is to list the issues, cluster them, and form subgroups that will deal with the clusters, such as student success and classroom availability.  The college must ensure that a change in calendar is the right move for the college.  (Further discussion on this matter took place under Item VII.B - see Page 6.)   

              4.  Other:

              a)  Ian Walton – Follow-up report on Ian’s summer activities for the state academic senate:

The MERLOT project (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching) is a national collaborative of over 1300 institutions.  It is creating a free, online resource to catalog and evaluate online teaching and learning materials for faculty.  It includes discipline based peer review panels.

The California Community College system is a participating institution.  Ian was appointed by the state academic senate as one of seven faculty in the mathematics discipline review team and has been participating in its activities for the last year.

In August Ian attended the first MERLOT conference in Tampa, Florida and presented a panel discussion on "Challenges and successes of reviewing mathematics material" along with faculty members from South Dakota State University and Louisiana Technical University.

Project material can be viewed at www.merlot.org

         b)  Day of Mourning  -  It was reported that West Valley College and all district offices will be closed on Friday.  Mission College will conduct business as usual.  

 

Due to the hour, the Senators agreed to suspend the order of agenda and move to the urgent items of business, Item VII.C and Item VIII.B that were added to today’s agenda as emergency items.

 

VII.   Old Business

   

    C.  Consider Resolution to Reinforce Mission College Academic Senate’s Support to Retain and Maintain Data on PARIS

            Jane provided historical information on the origin and development of PARIS (Planning & Research Information System).  PARIS was created at Mission College with funding from a Title III grant and technical support from District Information Systems was developed to serve as a mechanism for faculty and staff at Mission College to access vital information.  Over a period of years, Title III hired programmers to develop the STAR system and numerous reports that provide support for important internal decisions.  The next phase of PARIS development was intended to create a comprehensive set of reports providing support for planning and decision making in areas such as class scheduling, WSCH-FTE, and matriculation.  With Title III funds depleted, District Information Systems was twice funded to develop these reports.  With little progress to show after more than a year, Mission College used PFE funds and the Title III programmer to develop the Vital Stats report module to benefit both colleges. Mission has now invested approximately $180,000 in this development.  The system has been very well received, well institutionalized, and heavily used at Mission College. 

 

            When Datatel was proposed, Mission College expressed many concerns as to how PARIS would be maintained.  Mission College was repeatedly assured that PARIS would be retained and maintained.  The latest news is that under the Datatel  conversion, PARIS information ends with Spring 2001; nothing more current will be available until the translation process is complete.

 

            In April 2000, the District Academic Senate took a strong position with the following resolution:

 

            “Whereas, The West Valley-Mission Community College District (WVMCCD) has contracted with Datatel to implement a new computer system; and

           

            Whereas, Mission College and West Valley College are primarily Mac environments; and

           

            Whereas, Mission College and West Valley College is dependent on PARIS and the STAR systems for customized information access, data gathering and tracking; and

 

            Whereas, the WVMCCD has invested heavily in the development of PARIS and STAR; and

 

            Whereas, Information Systems is necessarily making decisions as a part of the Datatel implementation that will have an impact on academic/instructional issues without direct consultation with the Academic Senate, which is the appropriate body for making academic/instructional decisions; and

 

            Whereas, The colleges may need to purchase PC platform and/or high end Mac computers, Citrix servers, or any other additional equipment at an enormous cost, pulling needed resources away from students’ needs; therefore,

 

            Be It Resolved, That Information Systems contract to fully support and maintain the current PARIS and STAR systems until the same functionality is available through Datatel; and

 

         Be It Further Resolved, That Information Systems and the Datatel Implementation Steering Committee (DISC) consult directly with the District Academic Senate on Datatel implementation issues with academic/instructional implications.”

 

         During today’s discussion, the Senators agreed that it is imperative that the extent and the importance of the PARIS system to both Mission College and West Valley College be communicated once again to Steve Kinsella and Joseph Giroux.  It was noted that staff designated to the conversion has been directed to other duties.  The college uses the system for academic decision making.  The Senators unanimously passed the following resolution (M/S/U-Brennan/Jackins):

 

            “Whereas, The Mission College Academic Senate has previously expressed strong support for the Datatel conversion of PARIS reporting capabilities (including the essential “Vital Stats” report module); and

 

            Whereas, Vital Stats is used as a decision support tool by faculty, administration, department and division chairs, staff, grant writers, marketing personnel, and members of numerous campus planning committees; and

 

            Whereas, Vital Stats supports critical college activities such as educational master planning, accreditation, program review, matriculation, and the Partnership for Excellence;   Therefore

 

            Be It Resolved, That the Mission College Academic Senate strongly urges that the entire Vital Stats report module be fully translated/converted to run under Datatel; and

 

            Be It Further Resolved, That the Mission College Academic Senate supports the reprioritized list of Vital Stats reports for conversion jointly developed by the Academic Senate and the Mission College Office of Institutional Research.”

 

            (Please Note:  The reprioritized list of Vital Stats mentioned in the above resolution is attached to these minutes as Appendix A.)

 

            Jane was directed to forward this motion to Steve Kinsella on Monday, with copies to pertinent individuals, including all DISC members.   

 

VIII.  New Business

           

    B.  Discuss MC Academic Senate’s Response to Terrorist Events on East Coast’

            Dan Matarangas reported that West Valley College will be closed on Friday, September 14, 2001, in memory and deference to its student Nicole Miller who was a passenger on United Airlines’ Flight 93.  Mission College will be open as usual.

 

            It was suggested that the Academic Senate sponsor and support a moment of silence to be observed on Friday at Noon.  The following motion was passed unanimously (M/S/U – Jackins/Cochran):

 

            “that the Mission College Academic Senates send out a request for a moment of silence at Noon tomorrow (Friday, September 14th) at all campus locations.”

 

            Jane was directed to send an e-mail to all faculty to hold a moment of silence at Noon tomorrow.

 

            Senator McGee reported that some students have expressed concern after experiencing some negative behavior from others on campus.  He advised that an open forum is scheduled to be held sometime next week with Dr. Siddiqi, a MC instructor, facilitating the event.  The Senators unanimously passed the following motion (M/S/U – Jackins/McKean):

 

            “that the Mission College Academic Senate supports the proposed open forum to be held next week with Dr. Siddiqi as speaker in response to the events that took place on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, in New York and Washington.”

 

            Because diversity is a unique aspect of Mission College, it was also agreed during discussion that the Senate should issue a motion urging the campus community to come together.  The following motion was passed unanimously (M/S/U – Brennan/Jackins):

 

            “In response to the outpouring of emotion surrounding the terrorist attacks, the Mission College Academic Senate would like to encourage all Mission College faculty, students, and staff to foster an environment of respect, healing, and open communication as we grieve together over this tragic loss of life.”

 

            Jane was directed to forward this motion to all MC faculty.

 

The order of the agenda was resumed.

 

VII.      Old Business (Continued)

 

   B.   Discuss Academic Issues Relative to Compressed Calendar

            A copy of the ACE survey on the calendar was reviewed by the Senators.  The question of the calendar is clearly an ACE and Academic Senate matter. The Senators expressed concern that faculty will answer the survey without input from the Senate relative to academic issues.  Although the Senate does not intend to undermine the responsibilities of ACE, and even as it recognizes ACE’s responsibilities regarding negotiations, there remains a need for MC faculty to receive pertinent information based on investigation and research to be conducted by the MC Compressed Calendar Committee.   Negotiations cannot commence without consensus of all those represented.

 

            The Senators agreed that the survey was premature and inappropriate and expressed concern that faculty will respond without adequate information.  Consequently, Jane was directed to advise Carolyn Fisher, President of ACE, of the Senate’s concerns and request that a concerted effort be made to work together on this matter.  She was also directed to request that Carolyn join the Senate in an e-mail to all faculty on Monday, indicating that the Mission College Academic Senate has concerns that academic issues relative to Mission College have not been addressed in the calendar survey.  Hence, the results of such a survey cannot be taken as definitive and should be followed-up with a survey jointly prepared by the Academic Senate and ACE.

 

The remaining agenda business items were postponed to the next meeting due to the late hour.

 

1.                    Correspondence, Publications, & Announcements

         Correspondence

1.  Letter dated August 31, 2001, with the first draft of the proposed accreditation standards.

Publications/Meetings

1. The agenda for the September 12, 2001, meeting of the District Council.

2. The first copy of the Peralta Art & Literary Journal of prose, poetry, and visual art from Peralta 3.       Community College District.

4. The September 7, 2001, issue of the DVC FORUM from the Diablo Valley College Faculty Senate.

Announcements/Conferences

 

XI.    Future Agenda Items

         1.  Discuss needs to back-up and cross-train personnel (Senate)

 

X.            Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 4:15 p.m. (M/S/U-Jackins/Estrada).  These minutes are respectfully submitted by Grace Hazán, Academic Senate Secretary.