Mission College Academic Senate

Ext. 5413

Unapproved Minutes

Thursday, September 16, 2004

I. Call to Order/Roll Call

The meeting was called to order by President Alex Braun at 2:10 p.m.

Senators	A	P	Senators	A	P
Braun (Ext. 5355) Pres/Tech		X	Lavallo (Ext. 5399) Math		X
Brichko (Ext. 5222) CATA		X	Martin (Ext. 5356) Tech.	X
Charland (Ext. 5046) Stud. Dev.		X	McKay (Ext. 5312) Comm		X
Cogswell (Ext. 5388) AAS		X	Musat (Ext. 5331) Math		X
Cox (Ext.5164) CommSvc		X	Perlas (Ext. 5041) Stud.Dev.		X
Dooley (Ext. 5379) AAS		X	Rath (Ext. 5413) AF/CIT		X
Harris (Ext. 5796) AF/Comm		X	Smebye (Ext. 5305) CommServ		X
Kashima (Ext. 5319) ESL		X	Szabados (Ext.5289) CATA		X
Laird (Ext. 5186) SocSci	X		Zeisler (Ext. 5426) Comm		X
Guests: S.Arterberry, H.Robles		X	Guests: Ian Walton		X

II. Approval of the Minutes

The minutes for the meeting of September 09, 2004 were accepted and approved as submitted (M/S/U – Dooley/Brichko):

III. Order of the Agenda

Senator Kashima has withdrawn Item VIII.A. The Senators approved the change to the order of the agenda (M/S/U – Charland/Zeisler).

IV. Oral Communication from the Public

Ian Walton, Vice President of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) updated the Senators on the current status of the ASCCC and issues of concern at this time. Ian is in his second year as VP of the ASCCC on 100% reassigned time, and he expects to run for President of the ASCCC in April. One of his current activities on the Executive Committee is to provide assistance to districts relative to Flex Days and Governance. He maintains contact with the Academic Senate Presidents, Vivian Lock and Alex Braun, and he is available to respond to any questions via e-mail. He also maintains the MC Academic Senate web site.

Current hot issues at the ASCCC level are:

• Student fees – The $26/unit calculates to a 136% increase in fees in an 18-month period.

• At a recent Board of Governors presentation on budget issues, it was determined that the revenue collected from community college students has doubled in the last two years. Yet the amount the state pays from Proposition 98 have decreased. In essence, community college students are subsidizing K-12. The ASCCC is developing a position paper on this issue for the Fall Plenary Session. ASCCC President Kate Clark and Ian testified at the Board of Governors meeting using data from the paper.

• The ASCCC is also working on another accreditation paper. Approximately two years ago the ASCCC developed a paper on Accreditation Guidelines (available in the senate office or on the state senate website). The new paper is intended to assist in the implementation of the new standards.

• The ASCCC is currently conducting its review of the Disciplines List.

Current hot issues in Sacramento are:

• The system is working on the 2005/06 budget. The 2004/05 budget signed off by the Governor resulted in an interesting end play on three independent issues:

a) equalization

b) Over CAP growth money

c) Loss of PFE money

The combined effect of these three issues varied between districts. Our district faired very well relative to equalization and with a smaller cut in PFE money than many other districts. The over CAP issue presents a danger as well as an opportunity in that because the district showed an excess in students over the last three years, it is eligible for additional growth funding. However, those enrollment figures must be maintained for this year in addition to normal growth.

The California Performance Review has made some interesting recommendations:

• To introduce mandatory voluntary services for students

• Abolish the Board of Governors (BoG) and place the California Community College Chancellor and three other loosely related agencies under the auspices of the Department of Education. The other agencies are not operational, as is the BoG This places the CCCs in the K-12 category and does not include the CSU and UC systems. The recommendation does not consider the additional cost to the Department of Education. The proposal does not make sense and, if the need arise, the ASCCC is prepared to argue the point along with all other system constituency groups.

V. Information & Announcements

1. Alex advised that the Chancellor is on his way to address the Senate at today’s meeting.

2. Alex announced that the Fall Plenary Session of the ASCCC will be held in Newport Beach on October 28-30, 2004. He plans to attend and he believes there will be additional funds available to send other Senators. It is his view that the Vice President should be one of those to attend. The Vice President will be elected at next week’s meeting. He asked the Senators to be prepared to make nominations and to vote.

3. Senator Szabados announced that an Adobe Day will be held at MC on Friday, October 8, 2004, with Adobe Systems. The event is free, it will begin at 9:30 a.m., and lunch will be provided. The newest version of Adobe products will be demonstrated and, for advanced users, there will be tips and tricks offered in the afternoon.

4. Senator Charland announced that a Learning Community Workshop will be held on Friday, October 8, 2004, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and lunch will be provided. Everyone is invited to learn how learning communities can enrich the lives of faculty and students.

VI. Administrative Business/Actions/Appointments

A. Curriculum Committee - Dianne McKay reported that the Curriculum Review Committee (CRC) held its first meeting last week, and a calendar with CRC deadlines has been e-mailed to all. The most significant deadline is September 27^th, the last day to submit proposals electronically to Betty Ensminger. Proposals received by the deadline should be placed on the agenda.

Dianne explained the process:

1. E-mail proposals must be sent to Betty Ensminger by September 27, 2004.

2. Betty reviews proposal with proposer and CRC representative from the appropriate division.

3. The proposal is brought to the committee for review.

4. The proposal is submitted to Hoan Pham, Administrative Assistant to the CRC.

5. The item is placed on the agenda.

Dianne noted that all signatures are not needed in order to meet the September 27^th guideline. Required signatures must be completed by October 21, 2004, in time for the next full meeting of the CRC to be held on October 25, 2004. There will be another full meeting of the CRC on November 1, 2004. First and second readings will be conducted for approval and then approved proposals will be presented to the Board of Trustees in December. These changes will be effective Fall 2005.

Dianne also reported that the committee is meeting every week and working on the following initiatives via subcommittees:

1. A process to review Hours by Arrangement from the curriculum aspect only.

2. The Course Overlap Policy

3. Processes for SLOs

4. Investigating commercial online curriculum processes in conjunction with WVC

B. Staff Recognition - No resolutions were offered at today’s meeting.

C. Committee Appointments

1. Replace Jane Patton on Equivalency Committee - Alex advised that the committee meets as needed, typically every other Tuesday at 4:15 p.m. Senator Ron Smebye was nominated (M/S/U – McKay/Cox) and Senator Smebye tentatively agreed depending on his schedule.

2. Replace Ray Charland on Student Success Committee - Four faculty members volunteered and Alex suggested that all four be appointed to the committee. The Senators agreed and appointed Cathy Beggs, Scott Brunson, Betti Cogswell, and Cathy Hasson to the committee (M/S/U – M/S/U – Cox/Brichko).

VII. Old Business

A. Update Report on Kuwait Project

Based on the discussion that took place at last week’s Senate meeting, President Braun sent a letter to the Chancellor on Monday with the concerns of the Academic Senate and read it to the Senators. A copy of the letter was provided to all Senators and is attached to these minutes (See Appendix A). The sum total of the questions defines the responsibility of the Academic Senate. Alex reported that the questions and concerns were positively received by the Chancellor, and he has indicated that he will provide answers as they become available. Alex stated his intent to keep this item as a standing item on the agenda until the issue is resolved.

Chancellor Arterberry indicated that the questions and concerns were well articulated and they are attempting to answer them. In order to proceed with the proposal, the district must deal with the following issues:

1. Accreditation issue - If we cannot attain accreditation through the appropriate agency, we cannot move forward.

2. The project has to be assigned to one of the two colleges; only colleges are accredited, not the district.

3. The project will have to meet our requirements for curriculum, faculty hiring, equivalency, as well as determine how to monitor and ensure that those requirements are being met.

The Chancellor advised that other campuses are being investigated. Broward Community College in Fort Lauderdale has a similar program in Madrid, Spain, and members of their faculty visit the institution in Madrid annually. Regarding open access, it is expected that non-California resident students will be treated as foreign students and will pay “out-of-state” tuition. In addition, since there are military bases located in Kuwait, it is feasible that a resident of California might attend and pay California fees. As to the inclusion of females, women have as much access as men in other similar institutions in Kuwait. However, he will have to investigate the questions relative to Jewish people.

It is intended that a team will visit Kuwait for four to five days if the firm is willing to provide start-up money, approximately $250,000, and the Chancellor has consulted with Darlene Pacheco, a retired employee of WASC, for assistance in preparing a proposal for accreditation.

The Chancellor was asked how this proposal came to be, why the district is considering it, how it will benefit the students, and to explain why it appears that the project is moving forward without the consent of the Academic Senates. The Chancellor stated that the genesis of this project stemmed from the Interim President at WVC, Bob Jensen. The project is being given serious consideration due to the current trend towards globalization and International Studies. Another reason is money; the project has the ability to earn additional revenue for the district. There will be some costs incurred by the district in terms of faculty and staff time. A job description for a program coordinator is being prepared and an internal recruitment effort will be made. The district will share the cost of the start-up if the Kuwait firm agrees to providing start-up money. If the proposal is successful, the district will hire a college provost to reside in Kuwait. He emphasized that no positions will be filled unless the start-up money is received from Kuwait.

The Chancellor was asked if the proposal is appropriate in light of the fact that the district is placing a Bond measure on the November ballot. Not everyone recognizes the difference in funding categories. He responded that he did not think this project would risk the Bond. The Chancellor was asked who was working on the project and he stated that he, the two college Presidents and the Vice Chancellor have been working on the project. It was suggested to the Chancellor that it might be logical to include college people in the early stages of planning. This project is not just a business transaction. There are other aspects – the issue of pedagogy, curriculum integrity, hiring standards, etc. to be considered. The Chancellor agreed, stating that is why the Academic Senate Presidents have been invited to participate. This is an institutional decision and one college is going to have to “step up to the plate.” In response, it was stated that this puts the colleges in a competitive environment, and could prove to be problematic if only one college benefits from the revenue. The Chancellor then stated that it might be possible that these funds could be removed from the budget allocation model and split equally. He again acknowledged his appreciation for the letter and questions that need to be answered.

At this time, Alex stated that although he and Vivian were invited to a meeting with the people from Kuwait, in the spirit of shared governance, the Academic Senate as a whole should be involved. The Academic Senate President serves as a presiding officer, not a CEO.

The Chancellor left the meeting to attend another meeting. Alex stated that he will keep this item on the agenda to ensure that the Senate is continuously updated on this matter. Alex was directed by the Senators to make a point of thanking the Chancellor for his visit.

Discussion continued after the Chancellor left, and some concern was expressed that a Memo of Understanding was signed before investigating the issue of accreditation. What will happen if the two Senates do not think the program fits in with the Master Plan? Concerns persisted relative to how the proposal came about, how it is in the best interest of our students, faculty, and district. The college master plan must be reviewed to look at its programs and to decide what to increase or decrease in order to provide its students with good programs within the district. Others expressed frustration at the amount of time being spent on this matter, particularly in light of problems this country is facing and the issues that the Academic Senate must address.

In addition, concerns were expressed as to how this project would impact the administrators at each college and how effective it will be to hire of a program manager that reports to the Kuwait firm and the Chancellor. Then the program becomes a renegade program and the program is not inculcated into the college community. It was explained that the intent is that someone from the college will work with a manager in Kuwait.

Alex closed discussion. The record shows that many questions and concerns remain that need to be dealt with. The issue will remain on the agenda.

B. Update Report on Request to Revert to State’s Minimum Qualifications

Alex reported that Vivian Lock, President of the WVC Academic Senate expressed some reservations relative to the recommendation of the Mission College Academic Senate to revert back to the state’s minimum qualifications. Alex suggested that the Senates establish a sunset clause with sufficient time for those departments with local minimum qualifications to review them and decide if they should continue.

It was suggested during discussion that the district’s minimum qualifications be reviewed on a three-year cycle in keeping with the ASCCC’s three-year review. All local qualifications will sunset at a set time and faculty within the effected divisions will be given the opportunity to retain or discard local minimum qualifications. The Senators passed the following motion (M/S/U – McKay/Harris):

“that the Mission College Academic Senate agrees to sunset the local minimum qualifications and that local minimum qualifications continue to be reviewed on a three year cycle with the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges in perpetuity.”

C. Continue Discussion on MCAS Goals/Objectives

Alex averaged out the forms distributed at last week’s meeting. The following is a list of goals and objectives ranked in order of importance for the MCAS to work on this semester and beyond as required:

1. Basic Skills

2. Balance of Curriculum/Academic Directions

3. Student Readiness

4. Program Master Planning

5. Review of Technology Advisory Task Force Report

6. Information Competency

7. Faculty Hiring Policy

8. Student Equity Plan

9. Student Learning Outcomes

In order to effectively accomplish the above task, it was agreed that a number of subcommittees will be formed, each chaired by a member of the Academic Senate. The Senators chose their areas of interest and will meet as a subcommittee to determine how to proceed. A call for interested faculty, staff, and students will be issued as determined by the subcommittees. This matter will be placed on next week’s agenda for further discussion.

X. Correspondence, Publications, & Announcements

Correspondence

Publication/Minutes

1. The agenda for the September 8, 2004, meeting of GAP and the unapproved summary notes for August 25, 2004.

2. The agenda for the FACCC Conference to be held in October at Manhattan Beach. For additional information go to www.faccc.org.

3. An e-mail from Dianne McKay, Chair of the Curriculum Committee re: the committee’s schedule, deadlines, and general information.

4. The agenda for the September 15, 2004, meeting of DBAC.

5. The agenda for the September 16, 2004, meeting of the Board of Trustees.

6. The agenda for the September 8, 2004, meeting of the District Council.

Publication/Minutes Continued

7. The agenda for the September 15, 2004, meeting of DBAC and the approved minutes for the DBAC meeting on September 1, 2004.

8. The agenda for the September 16, 2004, meeting of the Mission-West Valley Land Corporation.

Announcements/Conferences

1. The Fall 2004 Plenary Session of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges will be held on October 28-30, 2004 in Newport Beach.

XI. Future Agenda Items

1. Discuss College-Wide Marketing (Szabados)

2. Discuss Concerns re: 16-Week Calendar (Dooley)

3. Discuss Intersession Proposals (Smebye)

XII. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 4: 00 p.m. (M/S/U – Cox/Harris). These minutes are respectfully submitted by Grace Hazán, Academic Senate Secretary.