Meeting Minutes
1.
Call to order:
Regular meeting of Faculty
Council was called to order by President, Dr. Sonja Andrus, at 1:25.
2.
Roll call: Absent: John Glass;
substitution: Dr. Lauryn Angel-Cann for Joan Kennedy
3.
Minutes:
Dr.
Andrus asked secretary for minutes. Motion to dispense with the reading by Mary
Weis and seconded by Paula Miller. One opposed. Motion passed
4. Treasurer’s Report: Marilyn Massey
Faculty Scholarship Fund
|
Date |
Amount Collected |
Transfer to Foundation |
Balance |
Explanation |
|
|
|
|
$195.00 |
balance brought forward |
|
|
$255.00 |
|
|
All-College Day |
|
|
|
|
$450.00 |
|
|
|
$405.00 |
|
|
Faculty Council Mtg. |
|
|
|
|
$855.00 |
|
Faculty
Scholarship
|
|
|
Amount
Transferred
|
Balance
|
Explanation
|
|
|
|
|
$532.00 |
balance brought forward |
Faculty
Council Sunshine Fund
|
Date |
Amount Collected |
Expenses |
Balance |
Explanation |
|
|
|
|
$202.00 |
balance brought forward |
|
|
$15.00 |
|
|
All-College Day |
|
|
|
|
$217.00 |
|
|
|
$10.00 |
|
|
Faculty Council Mtg. |
|
|
|
|
$227.00 |
|
5.
Vice President’s Report:
No report
6.
Announcements
a.
Joan
Kennedy will replace Debra St. John.
b.
Groups in
Cougarweb-Click on groups link on top right of screen. Building
Student
Success group, which is a faculty sharing area, has been created by Sonja
Andrus. This may be prefereable for FC vs. CE6 for migrating from WebCT.
7.
President’s Report:
a.
APT
meeting and update on online course load- Information from
b.
Ad hoc
committee for online course changes- Committee developed two proposals, which
were read by Kyle Wilkison. (See
Appendix A.) Faculty commentary and
discussion included suggestion for stronger wording, replacing “review” with
“approval” (Bill Ardis); reword for more inclusive feedback (Mary Milford),
shared governance to have control not of college, but of classrooms (Kyle
Wilkison); ask for this stronger feedback, as can only be told no (Donna
White). Concern that this proposal, as worded, could make admin less amenable
to negotiate (Sonja Andrus). Question of APT faculty reps (Sam Tullock), and
these are Sonja Andrus, John Glass and Cathy Donald-Whitney. How does President
see her role in communicating this proposal to admin and in general (Barbara
Lusk)? My job is to present what you provide and to advocate for you. My sense
is that the ad hoc committee might be more politically aware. There were
queries and emails about the online caps and now these have been addressed at
the level of the APT. The proposal makes two claims with no rhetorical context
and would not be well-received by the intended audience, which is
administration and not faculty. As written, it will not promote cooperation
(Sonja Andrus). Make the proposal more comprehensive by getting full faculty
review, so long-term concerns, like the online course caps, can be more
inclusive (Mary Weis). Proposal made available to committee members (Kyle
Wilkison). Faculty will not get veto power. Faculty need to be integrated in
decision-making process (Mary Milford). Thinking ahead is good, but not task of
ad hoc committee. Return to proposals (Sam Tullock). Charge is moot, because
APT is submitting recommendation to return caps (Mary Milford). Not moot
because responding to a decision that did occur (Kyle Wilkison). Phraseology
should be addressed and be made consistent with differences in policies, a task
of the board, and procedures (Sonja Andrus). Strike “policies” in item one of
proposal (Kyle Wilkison). Ad hoc committee appears to have extended beyond
their stated mission and purpose. If faculty want to put forward a more
comprehensive request for shared governance, this should be done deliberately
and would more appropriately fall under the purview of the Academic Freedom
committee (Val Smith). Request to rephrase (Paula Miller). Who are Leadership
Team members (Marilyn Massey)? LT is comprised of VPPs, VPs, President, CFO and
Foundation director (Sonja Andrus). Are there faculty/academic members (Kyle
Wilkison)? Move by David Garrison to table, send to ad hoc committee, the
composition of which should be expanded to include the President and others FC
members who expressed concerns about wording. Second by Mary Weis. What is
committee charge (Larry Stern)? This is a specific issue and proposal cannot be
rewritten here (David Garrison). Motion by Kyle Wilkison to table the proposal
and send it to the Academic Freedom committee. Faculty Council has been told to
acquiesce to administration, but this is not working. Maybe we can
straightforwardly fashion and present a faculty perspective. Administration has
never had to say “no” to Faculty Council, because we have never pushed the
issue and we have gained no ground (Kyle Wilkison). Motion moot due to previous
motion by David Garrison. Oral call on vote for motion. Motion passes 10-7.
Motion by Marilyn Massey to have proposal out for faculty review one week prior
to next meeting. Second by Mary Weis. None opposed. Motion passed.
c.
Academic
Affairs Dean Search in Communications and Humanities. Administration search
committees are appointed by VPP. Are there required numbers for faculty
membership? No stipulations requiring appointment of an FC member (Sonja
Andrus). Bill Blitt is on committee and came from faculty (Paula Miller).
Search committee guidelines were written by Human Resources earlier this year
(Sonja Andrus).
8.
All College Council- Dawn Richardson reported
that President Israel brought concerns to the last ACC meeting from the Board
of Trustees about a lack of unity across the district. Dawn requested faculty
feedback and advised that any suggestions cannot involve regular working hours.
Send feedback to Dawn Richardson, who will forward it to new temporary ACC
liaison. New officers for 2008-09: Francis Choy (Chair); Monica Barron (Chair
elect); Stephanie Hanson (Secretary); Janet Stice (Reporter).
9.
Committee Reports
a.
College
Policy-Mary Milford-no report
b.
Faculty
Council Procedures-David Garrison-no report
c.
Teaching
and Learning-Sonja Andrus- Invitations sent for SOBI training sessions
d.
Technology-Tebring
Daly- Blackboard and Cougarweb do not seem to be secure. Want chairs to have
access to student records. Timed shut down being addressed. May want to create
a place for faculty to eaxchange tips on Black board.
e.
Collin
Community-Lupita Tinnen-Collecting toiletries again and will advise of campus
coordinators.
f.
Academic
Freedom-Kyle Wilkison-no report
10.
Council on Excellence-
Martha Tolleson- reviewing
multi-year contract board reports
11.
New business
a.
Doug
Boliver was asked by Stephanie Meinhardt to get faculty feedback for a
committee reviewing the issue of changing the drop date. Poll faculty and send
comments to Doug via email by next week.
b.
David
Garrison-Constitution Day will be held on Sept. 17th and is mandated
for campuses that receive government funding. Video conference on all three
campuses with Larry Sabato, who has written on 23 modifications to the
Constitution.
12.
Adjournment:
Motion to adjourn by Dawn
Richardson and seconded by Bill Ardis. Motion passed with one opposed. Meeting
adjourned at 2:30 and followed by a presentation by Richard Moore of TCCTA on
current legislative issues of interest to community college faculty, staff and
students.
Minutes
submitted by: Val Smith
Preliminary approval of the minutes by: Sonja Andrus
Final approval of the minutes by: The Collin Faculty Council Representatives
on October 10, 2008.
Appendix A: Ad Hoc Committee on Online Teaching Load Committee Report and Proposal
Chronology
of Events
The Vice Presidents/Provosts recommended approval of #1 and
#2 and tabled #3 for future discussion.
7/21/08: Members of
the Leadership Team (LT) met and approved #1, #2, and #3 (since #3 was tabled
by the VP/Provosts, it is not clear whether or not this had their
approval). Two additional policies that
were presented by Sherry Schumann were approved by the LT: #4) the FT/PT ratio for on-line should be the
same as the FT/PT ration for face-to-face classes, and #5) section size will be
the same as face-to-face sections.
The policy and procedures modifications were not transmitted
to every Dean, nor to every Department Chair, nor to Faculty, and as of
September 1, 2008, none of the changes are included in the on-line Faculty
Policy and Procedures Manual.
Issue
The most important issue in the long-term is the process by
which policies and procedures are created which affect student learning,
academic success, and academic standards.
The process by which decisions #4 and #5 were made gives the appearance
of a lack of respect for faculty which contradicts a core value (dignity and
respect) of Collin College. According
to the AAUP, “Governance of higher education institutions traditionally has
been a responsibility shared by
(emphasis added) faculty, administrators, and trustees.”[1]
The addition of policies #4 and #5 above violates the
principle of shared governance as well as a core value of the college.
“The Faculty Council represents full-time teaching faculty in
college matters and is responsible for:
s
Supporting the College mission and core values . . . .
s
Participating in College District shared governance
s
Promoting effective communication . . . between
faculty and administration”[2]
Proposals
1.
Policies and procedures which deal with
curriculum, subject matter, and methods of instruction must be presented to the
Faculty Council for review and comment prior to the implementation of such
policies and/or procedures.
2.
When policies and procedures that affect
faculty are instituted or modified, all faculty will be notified by email of
such changes and no change will go into effect until it has been published in
the on-line Faculty Policies and Procedures Manual.