Mission College Academic Senate

Ext. 5413

Approved Minutes

Thursday, December 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. 5413)  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

O.Vidaurre (ASB Rep)

    X

 

D. Vidaurre (ASB Rep)

    X

 

 

Division Chairs

   A

   P

Division Chairs

   A

   P

Burrell          (Natural Science)

    X

    

Lam              (Math)

 

   X

Chandler        (Social Science)

    X

   

Lowenberg     (ESL)

    X

  

Cowels          (AAS)

    X

    X

Patton           (Communications)

    X

 

Delongchamps  (CATA)   

   

    X  

Robles          (VP of Instruction)

     

   X

Dinger   (Commercial Services)

   

    X

Toppel          (LATC)

   

   X

 

Guests

   A

   P

Guests

   A

   P

Dr. Chong

 

   X

 

 

  

 

II.     Approval of the Minutes

            The minutes for the meeting of December 9, 2004 were accepted and approved as submitted (M/S/P – Harris/Charland).

 

III.    Order of the Agenda

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

 

 IV.    Oral Communication from the Public

         Senator Charland advised that Helen Ostrander will be replacing him on the MC Academic Senate starting in the Spring 2005.

 

            Dr. Chong wished everyone a happy holiday.  He stated that he will addressing faculty on January 27, 2005, the Professional Development Day, starting at 9:00 a.m., to be followed by a workshop on the Bond Measure and facilities.  He thanked everyone for their support. Dr. Chong stated that he would like to meet with the Academic Senate in the Spring to hold substantive discussions regarding the role of the Academic Senate versus various college responsibilities and how to work together. 

 

            Relative to the Kuwait project, Dr. Chong advised that the project is awaiting approval from the Kuwait government, and the trip to Kuwait has been postponed as the district has not yet received a commitment or any funding for the project.

 

 

V.      Information & Announcements 

            1.   Senator Cox announced that  a collection of 2,000 electronic books, specifically chosen for community college students, will be accessible to students on and off campus starting in the Spring, funded by the Community College League of California.

            2.   Senator McKay announced that the Regional Learning Community Consortium will hold an all day session at Mission College on Friday, March 11, 2005, starting at 8:30 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. for $25.00, including breakfast and lunch.   The keynote speaker will be Vincent Tinto from Syracuse University.  Everyone is encouraged to attend and take advantage of the opportunity to interact with colleagues from other colleges. 

          

             

 

VI.    Administrative Business/Actions/Appointments

         A. Curriculum Committee Report – Dianne McKay, Chair of the MC Curriculum Review Committee advised the Board of Trustees approved the MC curriculum as sent forward last Thursday.  The committee’s schedule for the spring semester will be distributed as soon as possible.  Faculty should plan on submitting drafts to Betty Ensminger by the end of February.

         B.  Staff Recognition – No resolutions were presented today.

         C.  Committee Appointments  -  No appointments were made today.

         D.  Other:  None

                    

VII.    Old Business

 

  A.    Joint Meeting of Division Chair Council with the MC Academic Senate to Review

         The List of Prioritized New Full-Time Faculty Hires

            Alex reminded the Senators that at last week’s meeting, the Senators agreed to remand the list presented on that date back to the Division Chair Council and bring its recommendation to the Academic Senate.  The Senators received the list of the re-ranked positions, and Alex advised that the Senate’s role today is to review the list and determine whether or not to approve the list as ranked or remand the list back to the Division Chair Council for further consideration.  Alex indicated that he will provide time for the divisions chairs to state their rationales and reasoning for the list as submitted, then allow the Senators time to ask questions, and then extend time to any visitors that may wish to address the issue.  The re-ranked list presented is as follows:

 

            #1        Biological Sciences

            #2        Chemistry

            #3        History

            #4        Mathematics

            #5        Physical Education

            #6        Computer Information Technology

            #7        ESL

            #8        Reading

            #9        Counseling (3) Matriculation

            #10      Political Science

            #11      Child Development

            #12      Counseling (2) Crisis             

            #13      Counseling (1)  Vietnamese

            #14      Library Services

 

            The position of Instructional Technology and Services (ITS) was removed from the list and it is the recommendation of the Division Chair Council (DCC) that it be listed as a classified position.  The DCC also recommends that position #6, Computer Information Technology (CIT), be considered a permanent full-time position.  The rationale for the decision on the CIT position is to provide an opportunity for the program to grow and to attract a qualified applicant.   It was noted that this will also permit the person to teach in other departments if minimum qualifications are met. 

 

            Relative to the ITS position, the DCC recommendation is that the position be listed as a classified position.  Even though the position has been a faculty position, the original job description has changed and will no longer involve teaching.  It was also noted that WVC has a similar position and it is a Board approved classified position.  Another concern relates to the Faculty Obligation Number.  If the position is a faculty position, the college will be adding another faculty member that does not generate WSCH.  In addition, ACE has some concerns relative to Lab Faculty Specialists that must be addressed.

 

            A lengthy discussion ensued. Some Senators expressed their concerns relative to the DCC recommendation and others expressed their support for the recommendations.  

 

            Ultimately, it was stated that the focus of the Academic Senate is on academic integrity.  The traditional process has been for the Division Chairs to bring its recommendation to the Academic Senate for ratification.  In light of the fact that the list has been discussed at the last two meetings, the following motion was made (M/S – McKay/Harris):

 

            “that the Mission College Academic Senate accept the Division Chair Council’s recommendations for the 2005/06 new faculty hires as submitted.”

 

            Those who had concerns reiterated their positions, citing major concerns relative to funding for the position and the need for someone with a background in technological and visual communication.  It was explained that the job description for the ITS position includes visual and graphic aspects.  The decision on which classified positions will be funded will be a college-wide decision.  There is no guarantee that the position would be filled, be it faculty or classified. 

 

            The above motion passed, and President Braun stated that the list will be forwarded to President Chong through the Office of Instruction.  The Senators expressed their appreciation for all the work done by the DCC.

             

           

VIII.  New Business

 

    A.  Review and Consider Approval of Curriculum Overlap Policy as Developed by the Curriculum Review Committee (McKay) (I/A)

            The Senators reviewed the draft submitted by the Curriculum Review Committee. The intent of the policy is to settle disputes relative to overlap between disciplines. During discussion, several amendments to the language were suggested, and the following motion was passed unanimously (M/S/U – Charland/Cox):

           

            “that the Mission College Academic Senate accepts the Curriculum Overlap Policy with the recommended changes.”

 

      B. Discuss Concerns Relative to the Issue of Priority Registration for International Students

            EOPS students, DISC students, and Athletes are currently given priority enrollment. Apparently, International Students (IS) have been given priority enrollment ahead of continuing students.  There is concern that the continuing students are having difficulty attaining their required courses.  There are many students, particularly in Health Occupations, who need a number of pre-requisites and that are not able to enroll in the required classes.  These students are paid by the State to get through the program in four semesters or they get dropped.  This is a serious problem.

            At this time, it was suggested that discussion on this issue be postponed to the Spring and to invite Carol Qazi to join the Senate discussion on this matter.

 

   C.   Discuss MC President’s Proposed Reorganization

            This item was postponed to the next meeting.

 

   D.   Consider the Crisis Intervention Committee as a Standing Subcommittee of the MCAS

            This item was postponed to the next meeting.

 

IX.    Correspondence, Publications, and Announcements

            Correspondence

         1.   E-mail from Jane Patton regarding ACE and new hire requests dated December 10, 2004.

         Publications/Minutes

            1.   The publication dated September 2004, from California Community Colleges, “An Aspiration for Excellence:            Review of the System Office for the California Community Colleges.”

         Announcements/Conferences

              

X.     Future Agenda Items

No new items were introduced at today's meeting.

 

XI.    Adjournment

            The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m. (M/S/U).  These minutes are respectfully submitted by Grace Hazán, Academic Senate Secretary.