Mission College Academic Senate

Ext. 5413

Approved Minutes

Thursday, October 4, 2001

 

I.       Call to Order/Roll Call

            The meeting was called to order by President Jane Patton at 2:08 p.m. 

Senators

   A

   P

Senators

   A

   P

Bell-Cheung  (Ext.5385) AAS

     

    X

Martin     (Ext. 5349) Tech

    X

 

Brennan    (Ext. 5313)  Comm

    

    X

McGee     (Ext. 5042) Stud Dev

   

   X

Cochran    (Ext. 5176)  Stud Dev

   

    X

McKean   (Ext. 5326)  Math

 

   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:  C.Toppel

 

   X

             

 II.    Approval of the Minutes

            The minutes for the September 20, 2001, meeting were accepted and approved as submitted (M/S/U VanTassel/Moore).

 

III.    Order of the Agenda

            No changes were made to today’s order of the agenda.

 

 IV.    Oral Communication from the Public

            Faculty member Steve Manske addressed the Senate on the compressed calendar issue, expressing his view that an overwhelming majority of Mission College faculty members support the implementation of a compressed calendar for Fall 2002.    He reported that fifty faculty members out of 160 full-time faculty responded to the ACE survey, and of those fifty, 70% supported immediate implementation of the calendar.  He urged the Senate to move expeditiously on the calendar citing several reasons for action.  He mentioned the survey results, his understanding that West Valley College has made the decision to implement the calendar for Fall 2002, and that other local community colleges have implemented a similar calendar.  He also indicated that concerns, such as space, administrative support, class schedules, and other concerns that have been mentioned would remain concerns whether we implement a compressed calendar in 2002 or 2003. 

 

            Jane noted that she intends to present a report from the Mission College Compressed Calendar Committee under Item VI.D.3 of today’s agenda.  She asked the Senators if they would like to reorder the agenda in order to address that item at this time.  The Senators unanimously agreed (M/S/U – McGee/VanTassel) to suspend the agenda and move to Item VI.D.3 at once.

 

 VI.    Administrative Business/Actions/Appointments

  D.    Oral Reports

         3.  MC Compressed Calendar Committee  - To begin discussion, Jane clarified that the West Valley position on the calendar is not necessarily what has been reported.  Jane reviewed an e-mail message from Dr. Fox to WVC users, stating that the College Council has recommended that the compressed calendar continue to be pursued for Fall 2002.  Dr. Fox also indicated that there are many concerns that need to be resolved, and Jane advised that many of those concerns are similar to those of Mission College.   

 

            Jane reported further that the MC Compressed Calendar Committee met on Monday for three hours.  Every issue raised by Steve was discussed and deliberated.  After much discussion, the committee directed Jane to send out an e-mail to all faculty advising them of the current status, which she did on Monday afternoon.  This is not any easy decision to make when there are so many uncertainties and questions that remain to be answered.  She asked the other committee members present to speak to the issue if they so desired.

 

            Senator Estrada asked Jane to discuss the ACE survey.  Jane explained that WVC is moving faster towards the implementation of the calendar and ACE has to be responsive.  The survey was originally intended for WVC faculty only, and MC faculty were later included.  However, the survey results may not necessarily be representative of Mission College faculty.   Mission College has 160 full-time faculty, many of which did not respond to the survey (over 100), many citing reasons such as lack of information, the wording of the questions, alternate proposals, and others.  The MC Academic Senate considered the survey to be premature, and the intent of the current Calendar Committee is to create and conduct surveys of faculty, staff, and students that are more pertinent to and reflective of Mission College.  The committee will also consider academic concerns and non-academic concerns, facilities issues, service issues, etc.  (At this time, Mr. Manske left the Senate meeting.)

 

            Senator Lynne reported that many faculty do not realize the impact a change in calendar for Fall 2002 will have on support staff, nor do they realize staff’s level of concern.   She encouraged faculty to discuss the matter with support staff in critical areas.  Senator VanTassel reported that the Social Science Division supports immediate implementation of the compressed calendar for Fall 2002. Senator Moore referred to the minutes of the West Valley College Academic Senate dated September 25, 2001.  She noted that the Senate passed a motion to continue planning efforts to implement a compressed calendar in Fall 2002, contingent upon the college addressing space issues, assessment concerns, and the feasibility of implementing such a calendar in 2002.  She noted that some of the Senators expressed many of the same concerns expressed by the MCAS Senators.

 

            Senator McKean suggested that the committee obtain updated data from other community colleges, such as Santa Monica CC, that have implemented the shorter calendar.  At the last state senate conference, Jane submitted a resolution that passed requesting that the state Academic Senate conduct a survey of all California community colleges regarding calendar issues.  Ian has agreed to follow-up on the status of the survey.  Senator Bell-Cheung requested information on the time line for the committee’s task and Jane indicated that the committee hopes to have the research on identified issues completed by the end of this semester.

 

            The order of the agenda was resumed.

           

  V.    Information & Announcements 

     1.  Senator Estrada announced that a binder of information on Compressed Calendars is available at the Information Desk in the Library to interested parties.  

 

 VI.   Administrative Business/Actions/Appointments

  A.    Curriculum Committee  - Jane reported that the committee will present a large number of courses to the Board in November for approval.  At the next Board meeting, Jane will request that the Board review curriculum more frequently, and Jane stated that there have been some indications that the Board will be amenable to the request.

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

  C.    Committee Appointments

            1.  Associate Faculty Senator – Jane explained that there are two seats on the Academic Senate for Associate Faculty representatives.  A call for interested faculty resulted in one individual, Mark Light, volunteering to serve.  Since there is only one candidate for the second seat, the Senate can choose to appoint Mark or hold an election.  A motion to have a white ballot was passed unanimously (M/S/U – Mancini/Estrada) and the Senators unanimously agreed to appoint Marc Light to the Senate seat.     

         2.  Academic Council  - Jane advised that no one volunteered to serve on this committee.  She asked the Senators to recruit from within their divisions.  A second call will be issued from the Senate Office.  It was suggested that the meeting day and time be verified.   

D.      Oral Reports

         1.  Staff Development – No report was made at today’s meeting.

         2.  Datatel Implementation Committee – Quin advised that she was unable to attend the DISC subcommittee meeting on PARIS.  However, Amelia and Chris Olson may have attended and she will obtain reports from them and report back to the Senate.  She recommended that Jane connect with Mission College and West Valley College entities that are also concerned about the continued maintenance of PARIS, such as the Division Chair Council, the WVC Academic Senate and request them to address the matter with DISC as well.  Carol reminded the Senators that last year the Senate was promised that PARIS would be supported and maintained.  Quin has been advised that there are no more funds to support the personnel necessary to complete the project. 

         3.  MC Compressed Calendar Committee   - See Page 1 for discussion at today’s meeting.

         4.  Others: 

              a) Instructional Technology Committee – Carol reported that the committee meets twice per month.  The problems regarding the six or seven new faculty that are without computers was discussed at length.  In order to ameliorate this problem, the committee is developing a form to assist in processing new faculty into the college community, and it will be brought to the Senate for review.   There are three departments that are involved in the computer trade-up process, and a major problem is understaffing within those areas.  Carol emphasized that the existing staff does an excellent job, however, there are too few of them.  The conversion to Datatel and glitches that occur in classes in session take priority and that slows down the process.  *  Carol advised that a consultant will attend the October 24th meeting of the committee, and it is imperative that the representatives from each division attend the meeting in order to provide pertinent information.  She asked the Senators to ensure that the appointed representative from their division attend the meeting, send a substitute, or let Carol know of any concerns that need to be addressed. Senator Van Tassel requested that a direct contact be established for the Cisco and Business on-line classes to deal with server problems. *  Regarding the number of staff, Carol explained that CBAC rated the technology position highly, but there was no money to follow through this year.

               

 VII.  Old Business

 

    A.  Consider Further Academic Senate Responses to Terrorist Attacks

         Senator Sippel presented the following statement to the Senate for consideration:

 

Senate Statement on the Events of September 11th, 2001

 

            As our nation moves through the initial shock of the events of September 11th into the inevitable reactions of anger, fear, and sorrow, our campus community moves with it.  Now is the time to evaluate ourselves; how have we been affected, and how are we affecting others?

 

            Our goal as educators is to illuminate, to encourage examination, to foster critical thinking, and to facilitate communication.  Our ideal campus is one that promotes a free exchange of ideas begetting understanding, not hatred.  Fettered emotion that grows without direction can eventually shatter the very environment it intends to protect.

 

            Events like these can remind us of the racism and hate that lies dormant in our world, waiting for a chance to sprout and flourish.  As educators, we have the power – and more importantly, the obligation – to redirect harmful outbursts of retaliation into positive learning and expansion of world view. 

 

            Therefore, we owe it to our students, our nation, and ourselves to be pro-active in our community by transforming hateful speech or acts into teachable moments that encourage the broadening of mind and soul.  The Mission College Academic Senate urges all faculty and staff not to stand idly by, but to seize these moments of change and help our students create a future free of hatred and bigotry.

 

            This is a time when we need to be united to embrace the many colors, cultures, identities, beliefs and appearances that comprise our community, for we are a sum of all of our campus’ parts, and to single out one would make us less whole.  Too many times in history we have seen the dangers of unchecked and misplaced nationalism; it is important that we recognize our choices and actively state that we, the faculty, staff, and students of Mission College, choose a path of peace, respect, and healing.

 

            The Senators voted unanimously to adopt the above statement (M/S/U – Cochran/Johnson).  It was agreed that, in addition to the statement appearing in the minutes, it will be placed on the MC Academic Senate web site, printed on colored posters and posted in the Library, Cafeteria, Student Center, and other strategic locations.  It was also suggested that faculty be encouraged to share the statement with their students and possibly post it in their classrooms.  Any other suggestions should be forwarded to Jane.   

 

VIII.  New Business

           

  A.     Discuss Concerns Relative to Back-up and Cross-Trained Personnel 

            This matter was raised several weeks ago with particular reference to the calendar timeline for curriculum, the schedule of classes, etc.  In addition, there was some concern that there be documentation in the form of a procedures manual.  It was reported that there are other people trained to take over Hoan’s  tasks.  Jane asked for direction from the Senate on this matter.

 

            After some discussion, the Senators directed Jane to take the matter to the Management Advisory Team (MAT) meeting.  This group is comprised of administrators, managers, department chairs, and others.   MAT should consider this matter from the perspective of all operational tasks in all areas.   All essential jobs, such as registration, financial aid, and schedule of classes need to be covered by someone that is cross-trained and/or a procedure manual be made available for someone to take over a position if necessary.   

 

   B.   Discuss Status of MCAS Committee to Review Prerequisites

            Since a number of Senators are involved with the Compressed Calendar Committee, and since the Senate is focused primarily on the calendar, Jane recommended that the Senate defer discussion on this matter until early November.  At that time, the Senate should devote several meetings to deal with the issue of prerequisites, hold forums, etc.  She asked the Senators for direction.

 

            The Senators agreed, and Jane requested that they broach the subject of prerequisites within their divisions to determine if there are any issues that need to be addressed, such as changes in prerequisites, students’ needs, basic skills level, placement, etc., and collect them for the appropriate time.   

 

 IX.   President's Reports

  A.    GAP – Jane explained that the Governance and Planning Committee’s charge is to make recommendations to the college president regarding issues of governance and planning.  All major constituent groups are represented on the committee, and issues such as the direction of the college, accreditation, E&FMP, and the like are covered.  She reported that the committee is considering a change in membership to include additional faculty and staff representatives.  No final decision has been made as yet.  She will keep the Senate apprised.

   B.   Board Meeting – * The last Board meeting was a strategic conversation (SC).  An SC is designed as an alternative to a regular Board meeting with a single focus.  The focus at the last meeting was on a change of boundaries for the district.  A consultant has been hired to look into the matter and the consultant’s report indicates that the present apportionment is disproportionate to the demographics.  The Board charged the consultant to continue the study. * At tonight’s meeting, Mission College will present its preliminary E&FMP to the Board.  President O’Hearn, Lee Callaway, Jim Burrell, and Jane will make the presentation.

  C.    PFE Self Assessment – The state Chancellor’s Office has advised that all PFE programs must be evaluated by each community college district by February 1, 2002.  The criteria for the evaluation have been established and provided by the state.  The district will probably evaluate each college individually.   Jane advised that the Senate will be asked to assist with the assessment that deals mostly with how the college is meeting its PFE goals.

  D.    IMPAC Study – The Intersegmental Committee of the Academic Senates for Community Colleges, CSU, and UC has undertaken a project called IMPAC (Intersegmental Major Preparation Articulated Curriculum Project).  This is a faculty-designed and faculty-run project to ensure that students transferring from community colleges to UC and CSU are prepared for work in their chosen major and transfer without having to repeat coursework.  Cluster teams of faculty develop a report on various disciplines, and Jane distributed reports written to date to the appropriate Senator for review.  Any comments, concerns or remarks must be submitted to IMPAC.  Additional information and instructions were provided with the reports.  Senator Lynne reported that she has attended one of their meetings and found it extremely interesting and productive. An IMPAC meeting will be held Saturday, November 17th in Oakland, and Mission College is included on the invitation list.  Jane will keep everyone informed.   

   E.   Disciplines List  - Several weeks ago faculty were advised that the Academic Senate for CCCs is reviewing the current disciplines list.  Any recommendations for revisions must be submitted to the MC Academic Senate for approval.  Jane asked the Senators to discuss the list with their colleagues to determine if any changes are required. 

   F.    Program Review  - A call for faculty interested in serving on the Instructional Program Review Committee has not been successful.  Jane asked each Senator to recruit an individual from within their divisions to participate on this extremely important committee.  It is particularly important in areas where basic skills are prerequisites for their classes.  Faculty must be involved.  Program Review is a mechanism for self-assessment and is conducted for departments on a five-year rotation basis.  She emphasized that an increasing number of expenditure decisions are being tied to program review. 

 

 X.    Correspondence, Publications, & Announcements

         Correspondence

            1.   E-mail messages regarding Datatel.

            2.   E-mail message from Carolyn Fisher re: ACE survey on the calendar.

         Publications/Minutes

            1.   The minutes for the September 19, 2001, meeting of DBAC.

            2.   The minutes for the September 18, 2001, meeting of DISC.

            3.   The agenda and summary notes for the September 26, 2001, meeting of GAP.

            4.   The California Community Colleges Program and Course Approval Handbook.  The Senate office has one copy available, and the handbook has been posted on the Chancellor’s Office web site (www.cccco.edu/cccco/esed/curric/newhndbk.doc). 

            5.   The September 2001, issue of PRESIDENT’S Update from the state Academic Senate.

            6.   The agenda for the September 26, 2001, meeting of the District Council.

            7.   The September 21, 2001, issue of DVC FORUM from the Diablo Valley College Senate.

            8.   The September 20, 2001, issue of FA NEWS from the Foothill-DeAnza Faculty Association.

         Announcements/Conferences

            1.   The MC Transfer Night is scheduled for Thursday, November 8, 2001, from 4-7p.m. in Center Space.

            2.   The Plenary Session of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges will be held from November 1-3, 2001, in Cerritos, California.

XI.    Future Agenda Items

            1.  Discuss Fund 17 Freeze (October 11, 2001)  

            2.  Discuss Schedule Changes Relative to Contract w Students  (Moore)   

 

XII.   Adjournment

            The meeting was adjourned at 3:50 p.m. (M/S/U – McKean/VanTassel). 

 

            These minutes are respectfully submitted by Grace Hazán.