A World of Cultures United in Learning
Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Room 5301
Senate
Representatives: Lottie Bain, Alan Kirshner, Bunny
Others present: Chris Warden, Ron Smedfjeld, Wayne Yuen, Ralph Kindred, Paula Schoenecker, Jim Wright, Doug Treadway
1. Announcements
- Anyone who would like to nominate an Ohlone faculty member to serve on the Board of Governors should inform Susan Myers. The application is due February 26th.
- Several upcoming staff development opportunities: Teaching Institute, Great Teachers Seminar- July-Aug, California Community College Economic and Workforce Development; Teaching Colloquium at De Anza College, March2-3.
- Sally Bratton will be sending out a health
assessment survey to students aimed at determining the needs of Ohlone students
with respect to
- Instructional Skills Workshop will be offered at Ohlone March 2, 9-10
2. Approval of Minutes
Motion: Senate Secretary to send a link to the Senate minutes posted on the Faculty Senate website to all faculty via the faculty listserves. (Loukianoff)
Second: (Myers)
Motion Passed.
Motion: Add to the agenda as an emergency action item the creation of a new Student Learning Outcomes Coordinator position (Klopping)
Second: (Bain)
Motion Passed.
New Agenda Item: Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) Coordinator position
- The SLO committee is overseen by the Curriculum Committee; the SLO coordinator would oversee SLOs, and discipline review process, would assess capabilities of Curricunet, assess processes related to curriculum planning, and work closely with the Curriculum Committee Chair to perform ongoing assessment, with proposed 25% release time
- Discussion about reassigned time- Jim Wright will increase reassigned time to 1.25 positions to use as the Senate sees fit
- The Curriculum Committee will be looking for a person to fill this position
Motion: Approve creation of an SLO Coordinator position; release time to be distributed in this way: Curriculum Committee Chair- 50%, Senate President- 50%, and SLO Coordinator- 25% (Klopping)
Second: (Loukianoff)
Motion Passed unanimously.
- Anyone interested in SLOs and assessment and who would like to be considered for this position should contact Susan Myers or Chris Warden; no experience is required.
3. By-Laws Subcommittee Report Myers, Kirshner
(Review discussion of By-laws per December 6 discussion & vote.)
- Concerns regarding the Constitution vote:
-
some
faculty members feel they were not adequately informed about what
they were voting on--not enough
information about the implications
- misprint on some ballots
- To date, about 80 signatures on the voting roster; haven’t met the required majority
- How should information regarding the constitution changes be distributed -- via a full Senate meeting? discussion blog?
· Constitution issue: there have been concerns in the past that, because there are more adjunct than full time faculty at Ohlone, the adjunct vote could override the full time faculty vote-- in a vote concerning an important issue
- perhaps Faculty Senate should initiate a blog, instead of discussing a Senate issue in a personal blog site set up outside of the Senate
Motion: As an emergency action, the Senate will extend the vote on the constitutional revision for a period of 2 weeks; will communicate the changes with pros, cons, and implications by distributing a flyer to all faculty mailboxes and via the faculty listserve, Friendly Amendment: reserving the option of redoing the vote in the event there is dissent over how the voting was carried out; Susan Myers will have the option to cancel the vote and destroy the ballets. (Kirshner)
Second: (Bain)
Aye: 5
Nay: 1
Motion Passed.
Discussion of the By-laws tabled.
4. Prioritization of New Faculty Positions Myers
(Discussion of prioritization of new faculty positions & vote)
Tabled.
5. Accreditation Self Study - Myers
- Faculty Senate as a body needs to discuss global instructional issues; the Self Study should reflect the voice of the faculty as a whole.
- What would be the best way to do this?
Suggestions:
- One extra meeting a month focusing on self study
- ½ hour set aside to discuss it at each meeting
Discussion of Senate involvement in Accreditation Self-Study Tabled.
6. Administrative reorganization - Myers, Dr. Treadway
- Dr. Treadway distributed a summary of the reorganization proposal going before the Board.
- Questions regarding 50% faculty/ 50% management position
-
the position must be management (rather than
faculty), because one must be
a manager if he/she is to oversee
and manage faculty
- the person would work in this position for a specified period of time
-
under present circumstances, the college is not
in a position to create a dean
position for the library
· A job description for a new dean of technology and interdisciplinary studies will be forthcoming
Add as an action item to the next Senate meeting agenda –Create wording for the Senate’s position regarding the reorganization; email this to constituents with a link to the College Council website.
7. Faculty assignments on committees
(Review list of faculty on committees and discuss Senate's Committee on Committees)
Tabled.
8. President's Report - Myers
- There have been many requests for time during Senate meetings, filling the agenda and making it difficult for the Senate to discuss Senate business. Suggest Susan bring the list of requests to the next Senate meeting and let the Senate as a whole select issues and prioritize them.
- Greg Gilbert article- discusses the larger implications of accreditation and the trend toward accountability; what is the faculty’s role in responding to the push for measurable outcomes and accountability? The statewide senate is opposed to the new WASC standards because it feels that the new standards and California Performance Review are tightening from the federal level down; the fear is that this will become tied to faculty reviews; even though we have a peer review process, the faculty must make sure their voice is clear regarding this.
Adjourned: