Notes from ESL Dept Meeting of 10-24-08
(In attendance: Toni Randall, Rena Horowitz, Sharon Jaffe, Kathy Sucher, Elena Garate, John Hoover, Keith Graziadei, Anne York-Herjeczki, Debra Levitt, Nandini Patnaik, Karen Carr, Michael Tracey, Melody Nightingale, Janet Harclerode, Janine Poreba, Tracey Ellis, Lisa Saperston, Molly LeBarge, Piers Armstrong)
1. General Information from the Chair
a. Chairs’ Meeting news i. ISIS Beta testers – new site installed Sp09 – in spring, all faculty will enter their SMC online sites through ISIS. There will be on logon (the one currently used to access SMC email) and links to all other sites from that page. Volunteers are needed now to Beta test the new platform. If interested, contact Georgia Lorenz. ii. Peer evaluation forms – the new forms are still being revised and edited. They will be available for use in Sp09. Current evaluations should be conducted using the old form. iii. Student evaluations – the current AR states that students should evaluate their instructors every semester. This practice has not been followed for years. Personnel Policies and Faculty Assoc will need to work on this with HR. Student evals are not tied to peer evals. This presents a problem for those who initially volunteered to pilot the new forms as, according to the AR, everyone is theoretically scheduled to be evaluated in Sp09! iv. 67% still awaiting an MOU but in place in Sp09 – won’t affect ESL since our credit courses are all load factor 1. v. Enrollment for Sp09 – Administration is optimistic that our enrollment will remain high so new sections have been added and they are willing to add more if needed (primarily during the afternoons when rooms are more readily available).
b. Spring schedule – most teaching offers have been distributed though a few have not, pending evaluations and enrollment. c. Curriculum updates (21A, 10G and 10W, 14A/B, 24, 15). 21A was updated as a consent item in Curriculum Cmmt. 10G and 10W were both approved and will first be offered in Sp09. The paperwork for 14B (increased to 3 units and DE) has been submitted and it should appear on the Curriculum Cmmt calendar soon. Judy and others are working on 14A (increase to 3 units and update) and the ESL24 team should probably start gathering ideas and possible texts so that we can send the new course to Curriculum in Sp09, ready to offer it in F09. Any unit increases (15, 14A/B) will not be in effect until F09. d. PT Evals – get them done this month if possible and paperwork turned in ASAP to Toni. Evaluatees need to submit self-evaluations to their evaluators as well as any other docs they would like to be considered. After the evaluation conference, evaluatees have five days in which to submit a rebuttal. Then, all materials will be sent forward to HR. e. Madjid’s resignation from Internat’l Ed. His replacement has been decided. f. Chito’s resignation from Workforce Dev. Erica LeBlanc will fill in until a replacement is hired. g. Marni Washington’s retirement from Acad Affairs. Emerita, Sheryl, and Erica will fill in until a replacement is hired.
2. Special Guest, Sandra Rowe, Psychological Services (11:30-12) Dr. Rowe introduced herself and handed out flyers about the psychological services. Note that they are now located in LA 110, and students may go there directly or make an appointment by calling 310-434-4503. (Pam has extra handouts).
3. Other Reports
a. Sustainable Works Program- Keith reported that he is offering his students the opportunity to participate in Sustainable Works for extra credit in his 21A class. He sees this as a good way for students to interact with native speakers, to develop ties to the community, and to learn something valuable. b. 21A Community Service Learning- Janine reported that 10% of her 21A grade is based on work associated with a learning service project she is doing in collaboration with Gordon Dossett. Gordon’s Eng 21A students are working with Janine’s ESL 21A students to volunteer. One of the writing assignments is tied to the work. c. Tutoring – Janet reported that four new tutors would be starting at the end of October and the beginning of November. The four tutors who are presently working with us have completed their 6 months and must leave. Sharon is concerned that we are only hiring women; no men were among the final candidates. d. Non-credit update- Kathy reviewed the pay schedules with faculty and pointed out that teaching 15 hours in non-credit is roughly equivalent to teaching 9 hours in credit. However, many questions related to benefits, retirement, and AF status remain. Therefore, Kathy, Melody, and Toni will put together a FAQ sheet. Please send your questions to them. e. Common Essay update- check ESL website for correct dates. Prompt and reading have been determined. Contact Judy or Elena if you have questions.
4. New Business Adoption of SLO/ILO and assessment tool- a new department- level SLO has been added: Students will obtain the linguistic knowledge and academic skills needed to communicate effectively in English. As assessed by a questionnaire (distributed at the beginning and the end of the semester): On a scale of 1-5 rate your ability to: write clearly with confidence speak clearly with confidence read for main ideas understand oral discussions and instructions So as not to collect too much paperwork, we may have students fill out the goal sheet in fall (to assess one SLO) and fill out a sheet addressing this SLO in spring each year. b. Gail Fukuhara has asked if it would be appropriate/possible for some of our faculty members (using their flex hours) to help her office review and assist transferring students with their personal statements to universities. In the past, they have received funding to hire students to do this, but the monies have disappeared and they’d still like to offer this service. However, there is no faculty interest in this. c. Joy Tucker (Business Dept) has acquired a grant to work on microlending. Elena, Sharon, Janine, Keith will collaborate with her. d. Steve Maggiore (McGraw-Hill) has requested that a rep be allowed to visit Quest instructors’ classes to see how they use the text. Faculty have declined the offer and decide that it is not departmental policy to invite publishers to watch us teach as in the past there have been unexpected and unwanted consequences to this.
5. Announcements a. Party at Leah Culberg’s house, Oct. 26, beginning around 12:30 – potluck.
Nov 20, Thursday, 11:15 (next meeting) Mar 6, Fri, 9-3 (Departmental Flexday) Mar 19, Th, 8:30-3:30 (Institutional Flexday) Apr 2, Thursday, 11:15 May 8, Friday, 11:00 June 4, Thursday, 11:15