Mission College Academic Senate

Ext. 5413

Approved  Minutes

Thursday, October 3, 2002  

 

I.       Call to Order/Roll Call

            The meeting was called to order by President Jane Patton at 2:07  p.m. 

Senators

   A

   P

Senators

   A

   P

Brennan    (Ext. 5313)  Comm

     

    X

McAlister (Ext. 5087)  Stud.Dev.

    

   X

Charland  (Ext. 5046)  Stud. Dev.

    X

    

Mancini    (Ext. 5855) AF/HM

 

   X

Dooley    (Ext. 5379)  AAS

 

    X

Martin      (Ext. 5356)  Tech.

    

   X

Estrada     (Ext.5164) CommSvc

 

    X

Musat       (Ext. 5331) Math

 

   X

Guich      (Ext. 5270) Social Sci.

 

    X

Oliver       (Ext. 5427)  AAS

 

   X

Johnson   (Ext.5277) CATA

 

    X

Patton    (Ext. 5296) Comm Stud

 

   X

Lavallo    (Ext. 5399)  Math

 

    X

Rivas       (Ext. 5282)  CATA

    

   X

Light       (Ext. 5717) AF/CIT

     

    X

Rosner     (Ext. 5317) ESL

    

   X

Lynne      (Ext. 5248) CommSvc

 

    X

Sippel      (Ext. 5118) Comm

 

   X

Other:   A.Braun (CRC),

   

    X

VanTassel (Ext. 5334) Tech

 

   X

S. Ghiya, S.Hanna (ASB Reps.)

 

    X

Other:  B.Grayson (Staff Dev)

      

   X

Guests:G.Greenwood L.Jiang, S.Kinsella,

 

   X

   X

Guests: A.Moore, P.Sienna

 

   X

                   

 II.    Approval of the Minutes

            The minutes for the meeting of September 26, 2002, were accepted and approved as submitted (M/S/P - Estrada/Lynne).

 

III.    Order of the Agenda

            No changes were made to today's agenda.

             

 IV.    Oral Communication from the Public

            Phil Sienna urged the Senate to consider moving its decision on the compressed calendar from October 17th to an earlier date, particularly in light of the results of the student survey and the resolution passed by faculty interested in moving to a compressed calendar. 

        

  V.    Information & Announcements 

         1.   President Kinsella announced that Mission College has been given an opportunity to participate in the planning activities associated with the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee (BASOC) for the Summer Olympics in 2012 possibly to be held in San Francisco.  GAP will be discussing the proposal for a tennis facility at Mission College at the next meeting on October 9, 2002. Many details are yet to be resolved.  Copies of the proposal are available in the President's Office for information. Steve is looking for a general reaction to the proposal from the various constituent bodies.

            2.   President Kinsella has scheduled two college forums: October 10, 2002, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Hospitality Management and October 16, 2002, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in SE2-104.  His intent is to be available to hear comments from faculty, staff, and students regarding budget concerns and other issues that pertain to Mission College.  He intends to start off with a discussion on budget issues, and will open the floor to free discussion.  He asked that he be notified, in advance, of any specific items so that he may research the issue and be informed and prepared to address all questions.  Jane urged the Senators to attend at least one of the forums if possible.

            3.   President Patton advised that the data gleaned from the drug survey conducted last year at Mission College, as well as nation-wide, is in the correspondence folder.  She has asked Rosalyn Chan to forward the data via e-mail to all faculty. 

            4.   There is information from the ASCCC regarding voter registration.  Jane encouraged the ASB representatives to suggest to the ASB that they conduct voter registration at Mission College.

            5.   The Mission College Academic Senate will meet with the Division Chair Council on October 24th and November 7th to discuss new faculty allocations. 

            6.   The Academic Senate for CCC's is soliciting nominations from local Senates for a counseling member to serve on the Chancellor's Office Counseling Advisory Committee.  Information has been provided to the Counseling Department.

 

VI.    Administrative Business/Actions/Appointments

  A.    Curriculum Committee  -   No report was made at today's meeting.

 B.     Staff Recognition -  No resolutions were presented today.

  C.    Committee Appointments            

            a) Appoint Senators to Subcommittees re: Crisis Intervention  - It was agreed that the Senate will issue a call for interested faculty to serve on this committee. 

         b) Appoint Faculty to President Selection Committee  - Jane advised that eight faculty members volunteered to serve on this committee.  A list of criteria was established.  It was suggested that, in the future, criteria be established prior to soliciting faculty volunteers and that those who submit their names be required to submit a short paragraph addressing those criteria.  This item will be placed on a future agenda for discussion.  Prior to voting, Senators discussed each candidate relative to the criteria, and elected, by written ballot, Alex Braun and Anna Szabados to serve on this committee.                           

           c)  Instructional Advisory Team (IAT)  - Jane attended a meeting of the IAT, which operates out of the Office of Instruction.  The team has representatives from various segments concerned with academic and instructional matters.  The issue of new faculty hires came up, and Jane suggested that the Senate be involved in the discussion dealing with academic directions prior to hiring faculty.  The IAT has decided to hold a special meeting on Wednesday, October 16th from 9:00 a.m. to Noon.  Two Senators have been invited to participate and provide the Senate perspective in terms of academic directions.  Senators Estrada and Van Tassel were elected, by written ballot, to attend.

D.      Oral Reports

         1.  Staff Development - * Betty encouraged faculty to submit articles pertaining to staff development for inclusion in the Staff Development newsletter. She would like to open a section on the Mission College page of the newsletter called "Great Ideas for Teaching Students (GIFTS)."  Any teaching gems or ideas are welcome.  *  The NISOD membership bill of $900 was submitted for payment to Staff Development, and the college's Staff Development Committee has recommended that the membership not be paid this year.  The committee believes that there are better uses for the money.  Jane explained that if the college is not a NISOD member, the names of the recipients of the Faculty Recognition Award Program for last year will not be forwarded for the NISOD Excellence Awards as has been done in the past.  In addition, the faculty will not receive the "Innovation Abstracts" that come from NISOD.  A brief discussion followed regarding budget cutbacks, and it was suggested that anyone interested in addressing the issue with the committee should present its arguments to the committee.  Betty also advised that the Senate has $4,000 from the Land Corporation for Senators to attend the ASCCC's conferences.  If the Senate chooses to use a portion of that money for NISOD membership in lieu of attending the conferences, it can be switched.  It was suggested that one possibility is to ascertain if a subscription to the "Innovation Abstracts" can be obtained without full membership.          

         2.  Instructional Technology Committee  - No report.

         3.  Program Review Committee  -  No report

         4.  District Information Technology Steering Committee  -  No report

         5.  Other:   None

 

VII.   Old Business

 

 

A.      Reconsider Proposed Change in Curriculum Approval Process at Board Level

            Jane reminded the Senators of the history behind this proposal, noting that a recommendation to change the curriculum approval process came from the CCLC via Dianne McKay.  At the Senate's meeting of September 26th, the Senate voted to retain the current process under the assumption that the CCLC proposal would move the authority to approve curriculum to the college President.  Albert Moore explained at last week's meeting that the CCLC's recommendation is to have the Board of Trustees delegate the authority to approve curriculum to the Chancellor.  The Senate is being asked to reconsider its action of September 26th.

 

            Jane reported that the West Valley College Academic Senate discussed this matter on October 1, 2002.  She read an unapproved excerpt from the meeting, noting pro and con arguments that were raised.  They ultimately agreed to discuss the matter with their constituents and consider a decision at the next WVC Academic Senate meeting scheduled for October 15, 2002.  Jane also noted that since this is a district policy, both Senates must agree or the matter must be resolved in the manner prescribed in the District Academic Senate's Constitution and By Laws.

 

            In order to open discussion, a motion to change the current procedure was placed on the table by Senator Brennan, seconded by Senator Light.   Several arguments were presented similar to those expressed by the West Valley College Senate members.  A lengthy discussion ensued, and several friendly amendments were made to the motion on the table. Arguments, both pro and con, were raised regarding the possibility of arbitrary decisions, the streamlining of process, and the flexibility and acceleration of timelines.  Albert reiterated that the policy currently states that decisions are made with the concurrence of the College President and the Academic Senate before it goes to the Board.  The proposal just removes the Board from the approval process.     

 

            Alex Braun, Chair of the MC Curriculum Review Committee (CRC) was asked for his opinion.  He stated his view that a change in the current process will not noticeably streamline the current process and will not affect the timeline for getting curriculum items into the college's schedule of classes.   Alex also stated, in his experience, that the curriculum package placed on the consent agenda is approved 99% of the time, and if an item is pulled for discussion, the discussion has been relatively brief.  Albert's opinion differed and several specific examples were offered. Albert and Jane emphasized the fact that, in any case, the Academic Senate can deal directly with the Board.

 

            Alex continued, stating that going to the Board is not a timeline constraint; the major factor that delays curriculum approval is the class schedule printing deadlines. If the Chancellor is delegated the authority to approve the curriculum, it will not shorten the overall length of time given the current process. The above prompted discussion on the process for preparing the class schedule.  It was agreed that the issues of Datatel and the Class Schedule and how it impacts the curriculum approval process is to be discussed at a future Senate meeting.

 

            Beyond that, to change the status quo, Alex opined that the change should only be made for compelling reasons.  Although the reasons offered in support of the change appear reasonable, the arguments against are far more compelling, particularly the argument that the Board makes its decision in public, eliminating the opportunity for an arbitrary, capricious decision by one individual

            Arguments both for and against the proposal continued at length, and many options and friendly amendments to the original motion were considered. Jane called for the question, and the motion failed.  The previous motion passed by the Senate on September 26th, to retain status quo in the curriculum approval process stands.  

 

   B.   Discuss & Adopt MC Academic Senate Goals for 2002/03

         The Senators reviewed a list of proposed goals for the Academic Senate to accomplish this year.  The goals were based on the recommendations of the Accreditation Team.  After a brief discussion,   the following goals were adopted and approved (M/S/U - Brennan/Estrada) with an amendment indicating that the Senate will accomplish its tasks, "working closely with all departments and divisions." 

 

            1. Begin the process of an overall review of the curriculum, and re-visit the process for its ongoing review.

            2. Work with Program Review to make necessary adjustments in the process.                           

            3. Re-evaluate graduation requirements and change as needed.

            4. Review general education requirements and the spoken and written competencies for degrees and certificates.

 

         Regarding Items C. D. and E under Old Business, President Patton explained that it was her intent for Senate subcommittees to focus on the items for one hour today.  She asked for direction on how to proceed.  It was agreed that a subcommittee will focus on the Constitution changes, in order that the curriculum review and graduation requirement issues can be dealt with at the next meeting.  It was agreed that next week's agenda will indicate a business meeting from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m., and subcommittee work will be conducted from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.

 

VIII.  New Business

 

    A.  Consider Policy on Learning Communities

         The Senators were provided with copies of a proposal, in accordance with policy, to create a Learning Communities Program at Mission College.  An appendix, "Frequently Cited Goals of Learning Communities" was also distributed.  The Senators were directed to review the documents, share the proposal with their constituents, and be prepared to discuss and consider approval of the program at next week's meeting.  Peggy Messerschmidt will be available to answer any questions or concerns.

 

    B.  Discuss Senate Seats on Various Committees

            Jane explained that, as Academic Senate President, she is required to sit on almost every college and district committee. This task is overwhelming. Her intent is to discuss how to best maintain Senate representation on these committees.    Further discussion on this item was postponed to the next week.                                                                                                                  

                   

X.     Correspondence, Publications, & Announcements

         Correspondence

         1.   Memo dated September 12, 2002, from Chancellor listing Guidelines for Employee Participation in Elections.

            2.   Letter dated September 27, 2002, from the state Academic Senate re: Voter Registration and Mobilization Co-Chair instructions.

            3.   Memo dated September 27, 2002, from Dianne McKay, Interim Vice President of Instruction, regarding new faculty hires for the 2003/04 academic year.

         Publication/Minutes

         1.   The agenda for the October 7, 2002, meeting of the MC Curriculum Review Committee and the meeting summary for September 23, 2002.

            2.   The results of a nationwide and Mission College survey regarding drug and alcohol use.          

            3.   The September/October 2002 issue of the ace Update from ACE.

            4.   The agenda for the Classified Senate meeting of October 3, 2002.

         Announcements/Conferences

        

         1.   The Mission College Smoking Policy revised January 24, 2002, has been reissued.  New signs have been posted and all employees are asked to note the signs if people smoke in the wrong area.  Ask smokers to go to the first floor away from the building to smoke.

            2.   The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges will hold its Fall Plenary Session in Los Angeles, October 31 - November 2, 2002.  Funds are available for Senate members to attend.  Please notify the Academic Senate Office (Ext. 5413) if interested in attending.

 

XI.    Future Agenda Items

1.  Discuss Issues re: Datatel and Deadlines for Class Schedule Affecting Curriculum Approval Process.

 

XII.   Adjournment

            The meeting was adjourned at 3:55 p.m. (M/S/U -Van Tassel/Brennan). These minutes are respectfully submitted by Grace Hazán, Academic Senate Secretary.