Mission College Academic Senate

Ext. 5413

Unapproved  Minutes

Thursday, September 14, 2006

I.          Call to Order/Roll Call
The meeting was called to order by President Catherine Cox at 2:09 p.m.

Senators

   A

   P

Senators

   A

   P

Beggs  (Ext. 5188)  AAS

 

X

Malchow  (Ext. 5370)  Comm.

 

X

Brichko(Ext. 5222)  CATA

  

X

Martin (Ext. 5356) Tech

X

 

Brodie (ASB)

     

X

Moles  (Ext. 5113)  ESL

 

X

Cogswell (Ext. 5388)  AAS

    

     X

Ostrander (x5274) StudDev.

 

X

Cox (x5165)  Pres/Com Svc

 

X

Paicius (x5413)  AF/CATA

 

X

Hernas (x5169)  Com Serv.

    

X

Pembrook (x 5275)  ComServ.

 

X

Juncker  (x5229)  Comm

 

X

Perlas (x5041)  Stud.Dev.

 

X

Kashima (x. 5319)  ESL

X

 

Thickpenny (x5287 ) CATA

 

X

Laird  (x 5186)  Soc Sci

 

X

Ting   (x 5330)  Math

 

X

Lavallo    (Ext. 5399)  Math

X

 

 

 

 

Guests:  D.Boatright, A.Cowels

 

 X

Guests: E.McAlister, H. Robles

 

X

 

II.        Approval of the Minutes

            The minutes for the September 7, 2006, meeting were accepted and approved as submitted (M/S/U – Juncker/Brodie).

 

III.       Order of the Agenda  

            No changes were made to today’s agenda.

 

 IV.      Oral Communication from the Public

            Ellen McAlister commended President Cox for her poise and grace under fire by some of the Board members at the last Board meeting..  President Cox shared that she was invited to make this presentation to the Board by Chancellor Arterberry.  Ellen expressed disappointment that the Chancellor did not stand up to the Board’s hostile environment and treatment of the Senate President. 

 

  V.      Information & Announcements 

            1. President Cox announced that the West Valley College Photography Department will showcase its photos by students and staff next Tuesday, from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. at the Palo Alto Research Center in conjunction with Xerox.

            2.  Senator Ostrander reported that there seems to be an issue regarding student furniture ad student body proportions.  Many students too large for the folding arm desks have been coming to the Disability Center.  Since the students do not have a recognized disability, the Center cannot provide accommodations for these students.  This is a recurring problem and remains to be resolved, most appropriately by the Administration.  The matter is being brought to Facilities & Safety Committee today.  It was briefly noted that the Senate may have made a recommendation in the past on this matter.   Cathy asked Helen to send her an e-mail on this issue and she will place it on the agenda for further discussion at a future meeting.

            3.  Senator Hernas advised that many students use the Library computers to complete school related forms, such as those for financial aid.  Since Librarians are not trained to answer questions on the financial forms, she asked that faculty encourage their Financial Aid students to visit the administrative offices regarding financial aid prior to coming to the Library.

 

VI.       Administrative Business/Actions/Appointments

            A.  Curriculum Committee Report – No report was submitted.

            B.  Staff Recognition – No motions were presented at today’s meeting.

            C.  President’s Report – Please see attached written report.

                  1.  Board of Trustees Meeting  - President Cox presented the MC Academic Senate’s motion requesting a written response to the Behavioral Objectives from the Board by September 28, 2006.  Several Trustees, particularly Trustee Schwartz, indicated that the Senate had overstepped its boundary with the resolution, infringing on negotiations.  He stated further that the Senate was not following shared governance procedures properly, and, I  that light, how could the Senate expect the Board to demonstrate collegiality and shared governance when the Senate was issuing demands and timelines. In response, the Academic Senate Presidents reinforced the fact that the objectives had been presented to the Board at an earlier date, and, to date, the Senate had not seen any item on the Board agenda to address those objectives.  Trustees attending the MC Academic Senate meetings had asked that this discussion be agendized so the objectives could be discussed at a Board meeting.  Cathy also pointed out that the Senators had asked for a written response in order to have an informed discussion at the October 3rd District Academic Senate meeting. 

 

                  President Cox advised that she had discussed this matter with Chancellor Arterberry before placing this item on the agenda. There was some expectation that the Board would ask for a written summary for them to consider.  In anticipation of such direction, the Chancellor had begun to prepare suggested responses to the behavioral objectives.  Cathy distributed copies of the preliminary proposed responses to the objectives by the Chancellor with his permission.  The Board has seen them but they have not been discussed.

 

                  The Board accepted the final budget for the fiscal year, which prompted discussion referencing a recommendation by DBAC and the exit letter from the FCMAT visiting team, which she provided copies of to the Senators. 

 

                  Ongoing issues, i.e. facilities at Mission College, the Technical Assistance Visit Report will be distributed under the appropriate item. 

 

                  Relative to the college’s web site links on many department pages were incorrect.  The matter was reported to Mina Jahan and the problem was attended to immediately.

 

            D.  Committee Appointments

                  1.  Hiring Committee, Director of Evening, Weekend & Emergency Programs & Services  -    Cathy advised that a call for two faculty to serve on this committee was issued and Bob Miller and Jeff Cormier volunteered to serve.  Cathy reminded the  Senators that Jeff was appointed to the Presidential Search Committee last week.  Bob Miller was appointed to serve on this committee (M/S/U – Cogswell/Juncker)  A call for a second committee member will be issued again.

                 

VII.     Old Business

   

   A.     Update on District Resolution

            President Cox distributed the Chancellor’s preliminary responses to the Senate’s Behavioral Objectives and the Technical  Assistance Visit (TAV) Report to the Senators.  It is expected that the Report will be distributed to all faculty in the near future.    At a Chancellor’s Round Table meeting this morning, there was discussion regarding the recommendations on the TAV Report.  There are 14 recommendations, some of which apply to particular constituent groups.  In her opinion, there are recommendations directed to the Board, the Senate, Collective Bargaining, and some to all parties.  She opined that the 7th and 12th recommendations pertain particularly to the Academic Senate.  She asked the Senators to discuss these recommendations with their constituents and be prepared to discuss the report and its recommendations further at next week’s meeting.  She advised that a District Academic Senate meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 3, 2006, to be held at West Valley College starting at 2:30 p.m. 

 

            Cathy asked the Senators to consider the possibility of accepting one of the two recommendations pertaining particularly to the Senate, referring to the recommendation to participate on Accreditation and Enrollment Management..  The West Valley College Academic Senate will be asked to consider the same recommendations.  If both Senates agree to act on these particular recommendations in the TAV Report, it is considered an action of the District Academic Senate.  Several Senators spoke to the issue, emphasizing the need to have a full discussion at the District Academic Senate (DAS) in order to decide as a body on the next steps to be taken.  The DAS set the date of October 3, 2006, to evaluate the status of progress relative to the resolution.  As discussion ensued, it was clear that several Senators wanted to have a District Academic Senate meeting prior to October 3rd.  Cathy agreed to contact President Bangle of the WVC Academic Senate to determine if such a meeting will be possible.

 

            Discussion veered to the last Board meeting when President Cox was chastised by members of the Board. The Chancellor has indicated that he is supposed to act as the mediator between faculty and the Board.  Faculty were directed to have something in writing, and faculty complied.  Why didn’t the Chancellor back the Senate Presidents that were complying with a directive he gave to the Academic Senate.  It is the role of the Academic Senate to bring information to the Board.  Cathy clarified that the Chancellor facilitated placing the item on the agenda and tried to clarify what was presented to the Board.  Normally, there are restrictions to placing an item on the Board agenda outside of the Brown Act regulations.  After the Board meeting, the Chancellor apologized to Cathy that her information was received so negatively.  (A motion to continue discussion on this item for an additional five minutes passed (M/S/P – Malchow/Pembrook).)

 

            As discussion continued, it was reported that the Board made statements to the Senate Presidents that were incorrect and were hostile.  Senators were encouraged to attend Board meetings to indicate their support for the Senate Presidents.  The Board hostile rebuff of the faculty Senate in a public form went unchecked.  Cathy pointed out to the Board during the presentation, they were incorrect on the characterization on the Vote of No Confidence and the issue regarding negotiations.  It is her view that there is no need to pursue this matter.

            The Chancellor will take the TAV Report to the Board for review and discussion at the October 5th Board of Trustee’s meeting.  

 

            At this time, a motion to revisit the Order of the Agenda passed, and it was requested that the agenda be moved to Item VIII.A (M/S/U – Juncker/Cogswell) to accommodate Ann Cowels.

 

VIII.    New Business

   A.     Nursing Department Plan for LVN to RN Grant Program

            Ann Cowels advised that she has been funded by the State Chancellor’s Office to get the LVN Program to an RN Program in a one year time frame.  There is substantial information that supports the need for RNs and it is expected that this need will exist until 2020.   The process for obtaining approval for such a program is substantial and subject to the requirements of the Board of Registered Nursing.  They want a great deal of information, including curriculum and daily objectives for every single class offered and every clinical day.  Mission College probably has the longest standing LVN Program in the area.  It is expected that the students seeking to transition to RN will be flooding other courses.  The Chancellor’s Office released a $2 million grant last year, and she will be using some of that as a template and will not have to start from scratch. 

 

            Ann advised that she will need to hire a number of people to serve within the grant, and she will seek other funding from the Advancement Foundation and other sources.  This will be a program and when institutionalized, additional space, faculty and staff will be required.  The feasibility study is almost complete and she will have to develop contracts and agreements with the clerical agency for hospitals and health care organizations, as well as purchase all the required equipment.  This grant is for $500,000 and she will probably spend $200,000 on equipment alone.  She asked the Academic Senate for its support and outlined the needs for office space, staff, and wet labs.  The floor was opened to discussion.

 

            As discussion ensued, and Ann advised that students will need to fulfill all GE requirements, and the RN Program will be a one year program, which requires five papers/week and approximately 20 hours of clinical/week.  This is a heavy duty program and will take full-time.  Students already in the LVN program are required to attend five days/week and most of them work part-time.  Approximately 50% of our students who graduated from Mission College’s LVN Program do not have an AA degree and often return to complete the requirements.  This program should bring in a number of students and will help enrollment.  The Board of Registered Nursing will allow 24 students per year with potential for growth.  It was suggested that the Facilities/Safety Committee be involved, as well as GAP.  Ann advised she is already on the agenda for the Facilities/Safety Committee.  

 

            It was suggested that it might be advantageous to have a dedicated space, such as a nursing/hospital facility that might be able to be converted for use by the community in the event of a disaster.  If the program grows, it would make it more feasible and attractive.  Ann advised that Santa Rosa Community College has such a facility, using one entire floor with 45 beds ready for trauma.  Funding for this facility was partially funded by donations from a large number of Dentists in the area.  Ann would love to have such a facility, but this program needs to be approved before embarking on other ventures. 

            Cathy asked how the need for space was addressed in the Grants Process.  Ann explained that before the concerns regarding the main building arose, the General Education Building was designated to house the program.  This will need to be addressed once the decision is made regarding the main building. It was noted that implementation of this program might involve limitations to other programs, and this would be completed via Program Review, which is an important responsibility of the Academic Senate.   Program Review is part of the E&FMP, and the Senate was working on the initial stages of Program Review last year, looking at SLOs, the retrospective look and the prospective look forward five years for programs. FTE from programs that are shrinking may need to be reassigned or discontinued to support needed programs.

 

            Cathy asked for direction from the Senators regarding support for this program.  Several Senators indicated a willingness to support this program and respond to the needs within the community as well as provide our students with this great opportunity.  The following motion was made (M/S – Cogswell/Beggs):

 

             “that the Mission College Academic Senate support the LVN to the RN Program to the extent that it is able to do so.”

 

            Discussion ensued, and, in coming to the Senate, Ann explained that she will be asking for more college resources, which will impact the entire college community.  It was stated that approving the above motion means that the Academic Senate in essence is directing itself to consider this program highly.  When the Senate lifts suspension on the Curriculum Committee, the Technology Committee, and the Facility/Safety Committee, the Senate sends out direction to the Chair of those committees that this program is a priority for the college.  The above motion was passed.

 

            The order of the agenda was resumed and moved to Item VII.B.

 

VII.     Old Business (continued)

 

   B.     Discuss and Consider Senate Goals for the Current Year and Strategies for Conducting Effective Meetings

            At last week’s Senate meeting, the Senators were asked to review possible goals with their constituents.  Cathy advised that the goals to be adopted by the Senate, such as the establishment of an RN Program, involves looking at the whole picture.  The goals established to date are as follows:

 

                  1.  Full Program Review  (Dependent on Resolution)

                  2.  Review and Reconsider Faculty Hiring Prioritization Process

                  3.  Review of Mathematics/Science Graduation Requirements  

                  4.  Review and Update Academic Senate Constitutions and Bylaws

                  5.   Priority Registration Revitalization

                  6.   Accreditation (Dependent on Resolution)

                  7.   China/Kuwait and any other future recruitment plans (Dependent on Resolution)

                  8.   Enrollment Enhancement (Dependent on Resolution)

                  9.   Update on Facilities

 

            It was stated that the District Academic Senate consider forming several task forces to tackle some of the issues, such as Math graduation requirements, review of the constitution, etc.   The Senators requested that they be sent the timeline for the prioritization of new faculty hires.

 

            Relative to Program Review, the Senate should place Facilities as a standing item on the agenda

            The Senators reviewed the list of goals and identified the goals to be handled best by the District Academic Senate.  Cathy advised that the District Council has been asked to revisit the District’s Mission Statement, and then revisit the Mission Statements for both colleges.  It was suggested that Mission College could move forward into the technology areas.   It was reported that the Title V has funded two research separate projects looking into community awareness of Mission College 

 

            In summary, it was stated that there are a number of goals that could be dealt with by task forces.    Cathy suggested that two or three people be assigned to do the initial leg work on some of these issues.  She asked for direction.  The following motion was made (M/S/ - Cogswell/Paicius):

 

            “that the Mission College Academic Senate form special subcommittees of the MCAS, one to address the Math Graduation Requirements, one to address the MCAS Constitution and Bylaws, and one to address the Priority Registration Policy.”

 

            After a brief discussion, the above motion was passed.  Discussion veered to the membership of these committees and it was suggested that it might be more effective for the subcommittee to gather information and identify key people in the effected areas who could address the matter with the Senate on the item. There was some concern about the creation of committees during the Senate’s suspension.  The Senate has latitude in forming the committees and giving the charge.  Cathy noted that other Senates around the State, an Executive Board assists the Senate President.  The Executive Council takes recommendations on issues, does some of preparation work and brings it to the Senate so that the ground work has been completed when the item is brought to the Senate for discussion.  Cathy called for volunteers to serve on the Math Graduation Requirements.  Senator Ting and Senator Moles volunteered.  It was agreed that this matter be placed on next week’s agenda for further discussion.

 

  VIII.  New Business (Continued)

 

     B.   Discuss and Consider Academic Requirements for Participation in Student Government

            At last week’s meeting, ASB representative Jim Brodie, noted that attendance in a class is required for students who wish to serve in student government.  This creates problems for international students and others because of the cost and decreases participation in student government.  ASB changed their bylaws last year to remove this requirement, but the ASB advisor is still requiring students to take the class.

 

            Cathy stated that Jim Bracy, Interim VP of Student Services, is the appropriate party to address he concerns relating to ASB.  For academic issues, the appropriate party would be the VP of Instruction or a designee.  She recommended that both parties be contacted relative to this matter.  The question was raised as to what right the Academic Senate has to take up this issue and it was suggested that Cathy investigate the matter to demonstrate support for the students.  Cathy agreed to investigate the matter and will report back to the Senate at a future meeting.

 

IX.       Correspondence, Publications, & Announcements

            None

 

  X.      Future Agenda Items

            No new items were added at today’s meeting.

 

XI        Adjournment

            The meeting was adjourned at 4:05 p.m. (M/S/U – Juncker/Ostrander)  These minutes are respectfully submitted by Grace Hazán, Academic Senate Secretary.

 
  •