Faculty Senate Minutes
March 18, 2009-3:30 PM, Pellissippi Campus
I. Call to Order
Meeting was called to order by Tom Gaddis. Senators in attendance: Wanda Scarbro (President), Mark Fuentes (President Elect), Tom Gaddis (Business Officer & Division St.), Nina McPherson (Secretary & Library Services), Ken Swayne (Communications Officer & EMT), Charles Miller (Parliamentarian & Liberal Arts), Dave Vinson (TBR Representative), Martha Merrill (BCT), Mae Jean King (BCT), David Gilbert (EMT), Lawana Day (English), Sharon Reedy (English), David Key (LA), Anita Maddox (LA), Meg Moss (Math), Linda Streebeck (Math), Daryl Thomas (Math), Brad Rose (NS), Cathy Clay (NS), Yolanda Kirkpatrick (NS), Caroline Best (TS), Ashley Boone (Blount County), Jane Stribling (Magnolia). Guests: Marilyn Harper, Bob Stern, Trent Eades, Catherine Williams, Patty Preston.
II. Approval
of Minutes – Tom Gaddis
Minutes were approved as written with no changes.
IIII. Officer Reports
Secretary: Nina McPherson – no report
Communications: Ken Swayne – no report
TBR Representative: Dave Vinson
Dave asked for agenda items for the Faculty Sub-Council meeting in three weeks. He has already asked that a discussion concerning the role and function of the Sub-Council be on the agenda.
President: Wanda Scarbro
Dr. Wise will attend the Faculty Senate meeting in April.
The confirmation of attendance process for students has been a problem for students. There are nine steps in the process. Faculty need to know more about this process before advising starts on April 6. Apparently, this process was installed at the last minute before spring semester started, and faculty were not told about it beforehand. Some students lost their schedules because they did not confirm their attendance adequately and had to re-register. Questions raised were: Why is this process needed? Is this process needed for financial aid purposes? Can the process be simplified? How were students informed of this new process? Will information about this new process be included in the upcoming faculty advising training?
President Scarbro has received several comments about the DSP redesign and its results for Fall 2008 Semester. Pellissippi’s program is not one of the TBR pilots. JoAnne Thomasson suggested that TBR may not mandate one single program as long as each college is working toward improvement. Some faculty are very concerned about the lowered success rates and the software presently being used. After much discussion, it was decided to trust our colleagues in the TS Department to continue working on the changes they are presently pursuing and to follow up on the future success rate studies.
A new advising initiative, Pathway
to Success, is being considered by the college.
This program, based on a software program, is used at Valencia Community
College in Orlando, Florida. Mary Bledsoe,
Assistant VP for Student Success, presented the program about the initiative. Concerns discussed were the lack of evidence
of success at
.
IV. Committee Reports
Adjunct Faculty: Jonathan Morrell – No report.
Student Scholarships: Trish Roller
Sharon Reedy reported that everything is in place for the book sale. There is a need for additional workers.
Rules: Charles Miller – no report
Nominating Committee: Nina McPherson – No report
Promotion/Tenure: Mae Jean King
Departmental meetings have been scheduled and are on-going right now. Forms have been distributed to deans.
Faculty Emeritus: Mark Fuentes – No report
Faculty Bill of Rights Ad Hoc: Anita Maddox – no report
Budget Ad Hoc Committee: President Scarbro
Five faculty members have volunteered to be on this ad hoc committee. The committee has met twice and has developed twelve questions that they would like to ask Ron Kesterson. A meeting is scheduled for the week of March 20 with Mr. Kesterson.
VI. Discussion
Budget issues – President Scarbro
In discussions with Dr. Wise, it appears that the budget situation for the next two years is ok, but the third year will be a problem. The third year might be a 15% to 20% permanent cut, which could be a $4 million cut. The governor has advised state agencies to use the time to plan for the budget cut. Tuition increase discussions center on a possible 7% increase.
Moderation of Faculty-Staff listserv
The moderation of the Faculty-Staff listserv will not be reversed. Several other listservs exist in the college, but none of them reach all of the faculty and staff. Senators had several questions about how the moderation was being done, who the moderators were, etc. President Scarbro will follow up with Jerry Bryan to get some additional detail about this issue.
Tenure process for Transitional Studies Faculty
There is nothing new on this topic. Additional concerns are the hiring process for someone in TS and who does the evaluation, the dean of which department, etc. President Scarbro will gather additional information about the whole issue.
VII. Unfinished Business
Election update of new senators
President Scarbro has not received the names of all of the newly elected Senators. New Senators need to attend the Faculty Senate meeting in April.
VIII. New Business
Professional standards – Anita Maddox
Anita distributed a resolution dealing with the Professional Standards policy adopted by the President’s staff recently. This matter will be discussed at the next Faculty Senate meeting.
IX. Announcements-Next
meeting-Wednesday, April 15, 2009, at 3:30 PM at the Blount County Campus, Room
107
X. Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 4:12 PM