Cosumnes River College s2

Academic Senate Cosumnes River College March 27, 2009 Orchard Room

APPROVED MINUTES

Attendance: Dan DuBray, Grant Parker, Gary Martin, Jamey Nye, Carol Bernardo, Sharon Padilla-Alvarado, Gregory Beyrer, Michelle Smith, Susan Scott, Darlene Mathias, Travis Parker, Winnie LaNier, Debra Welkley, Georgine Hodgkinson, Hiram Jackson, Constance Carter, Dana Wassmer, Teresa Aldredge, Lon Davenport, Ralph Hendrix, Priscilla Hansen, Michelle Barkley, Norv Wellsfry. Guests: Diem Nguyen, Kevin Hoang.

Announcements:

Next Thursday, April 2, speeches from students on Women’s History Month topics will be provided at 10:30 a.m. in the recital hall. Readings from famous speeches will be presented.

Carol Bernardo reports the Professional Development Committee is working on Fall convocation and e-mails have been sent to collect topic information and ideas for convocation.

Jamey Nye reports the number of equity trained faculty is very low and all faculty are encouraged to complete the training.

Action Items

Agenda approved as presented.

Minutes from Mar. 13 – approved with minor typographical changes.

Updates

Senate Elections: Valid nomination petitions have been received. President (1): Marjorie Duffy. Vice President (2): Teresa Aldredge and Kale Braden. No petitions were received for the office of Secretary. The Executive Committee of the CRC Senate includes release time, and carries the obligation of also attending the District Academic Senate’s twice a month meetings. Nominations from the floor were opened. Winnie LaNier was nominated and accepted the nomination. Constance Carter was nominated and accepted the nomination. The Electronic Ballot will be sent out on Monday. Electronic voting will be due the following Friday, prior to the start of Spring Break. A Candidate’s statement will accompany the ballot for those candidates who provide it by the Monday, Noon deadline. Georgine Hodgkinson will e-mail a request. Accreditation: No report. A comment about the nature of the WASC accreditation standards and how California Community Colleges are now seeing about 40% of recent college site visits resulting in some type of warning or sanction.

Grade Change Form: Form provided from the District Academic Senate, now being seen for final local review. Basically, the only people who can change grades are faculty. The form does include a process now for what should happen if the instructor of record is not available. The rules are very restrictive now so that department chairs are the consultation point for determining a grade change without the instructor’s approval. A dean signature is also used to validate the signature of the instructor or department chair.

Discussion

CASSL and SLO Hiring Process: A few minor changes were noted to the job announcements after consultation between the Academic Senate President and the Interim College president. The positions will be advertised the week of April 13, and interviews will be done in the week of April 27. Jamey Nye and Celia Esposita-Noy will be the hiring committee. Candidates will be invited in for an interview/conversation. A . 4 FTE release will be provided for each slot. Presidential release (.6 FTE) and professional development (.2 FTE) will fund the release.

Shared Governance Proposal: Foundations for Academic Success: A new draft of this proposal is being prepared. After approval by the Academic Senate, the President’s Executive council and the interim college president felt changes were needed. The original draft writer Rhonda Farley and Celia Esposita-Noy are working on the new draft together. The Academic Senate President is monitoring the process and there is still a chance the document may be ready for the Shared Governance Committee before the end of the year.

Compressed Calendar Assessment: Within the last year, the Senate Union Joint Issues committee had this on their table. The District Academic Senate continues to press for Union involvement in the Assessment project as promised with the Calendar process was originally approved. The Draft document (attached) is available for comment to Jamey Nye before the next DAS meeting on April 21. Several suggestions were articulated about increasing the impact evaluation for non-class room faculty including coordinators, nurses, and counseling faculty. Other questions may be needed to evaluate the actual minutes of instruction changed from the previous calendar. Should a student survey be done so as to capture information from students who have attended the colleges under both systems. How have Monday night classes been affected (given the frequent Monday holidays)?

Fostering a Culture of Collegial Consultation: Within the scope of collegial consultation, what are the ground rules? In areas where “Academic and Professional matters” are involved between the Administration and the Academic Senate, collegial consultation is required and consensus is needed. In the area of coordinators though, it becomes a gray area. President Jamey Nye explained it is reasonable that faculty coordinators should be allowed to do their jobs and implement appropriate changes as necessary without Senate oversight. However, when changes are proposed that are systemic and affect instruction or posted rules in syllabi, the Academic Senate has the right to call for consultation. Both the senate and faculty must be respectful of each other. Training for faculty on what Academic and Professional matters include would be helpful. President Nye made it clear however, that administration should not contact individual faculty for advice, and then implement changes implying that collegial consultation has been done.

Recognizing Francisco at the CRC Gala (Saturday May 2nd 5-8pm) : A resolution and commemorative award will be provided. Good food, good music, and a silent auction. All Senators are directed to send possible Whereas comments for the resolution to Jamey Nye.

Meeting Adjourned at 2:02 p.m. Questions for Compressed Semester Assessment (Draft 3-25-09)

1. Are you full-time or adjunct faculty?

2. At which site do you teach the majority of your classes?

3. Do you teach mostly 3-unit lecture classes? If no, then move to the next question. If yes, then which class schedule do you prefer?

a. Block scheduling (MW & TTh classes) b. Regular scheduling (MWF & TTh classes)

4. Do you teach mostly 4- or 5-unit lecture classes? If no, then move to the next question. If yes, then which class schedule do you prefer?

5. Do you teach a combination of lecture and lab? If no, then move to the next question. If yes, then which class schedule do you prefer?

6. Do you have an interest in expanding block offerings in other formats such as Friday evening/Saturday morning?

7. Has your work day changed since moving to the compressed semester? If so, explain how it is now different and whether the changes are for better or worse.

8. Has the compressed semester affected your evaluations in performance review? If so, explain how.

9. Has the compressed semester affected your ability to prepare for your classes? If so, explain how.

10. Have you modified your curriculum as a result of moving to the compressed schedule? If so, in what ways?

11. Has teaching become easier, more difficult, or remained the same since moving to the compressed schedule?

12. For counseling and library faculty, please explain how your responsibilities have been affected (if this is the case) by moving to the compressed calendar. 13. Has the compressed semester affected your ability to interact collegially with other faculty in your department? If so, explain how.

14. Has the compressed semester affected your ability to participate in college governance and/or service? If so, explain how.

15. Has the compressed semester affected your ability to fulfill your weekly college service obligation? If so, explain how.

16. Has the compressed semester affected your opportunities for personal development? If so, explain how.

17. Has the compressed semester affected your students’ ability to succeed in your classes? If so, explain how.

18. In general, how might students be benefitting from the compressed semester?

19. In general, how might students be disadvantaged by the compressed semester?

20. Overall, which do you prefer as a faculty member? The 16.4-week or the 18-week semester? Explain.

21. Which do you believe our students prefer? The 16.4-week or the 18-week semester? Explain.

From the Office of Institutional Research

We need both district and local data on the following areas:

 Student success rates overall since moving to compressed semester  Basic skills students’ success rates since moving to compressed semester  Science students’ success rates (for sciences with lab components) since compressed semester  Retention data  Persistence data  Impact on facilities usage (given the shift to block scheduling)

Other Data

We want to see any perception survey information acquired through local college surveys or other local processes.

Questions collected by Dean Murakami and Tammy Montgomery