Faculty Senate

Minutes

July 15, 2009, 3:30 PM, Faculty/Staff Dining Room

I. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Tom Gaddis. Members in attendance: Mark Fuentes (President), Wanda Scarbro (Past President), Dave Vinson (TBR Rep), Rick Barber (BCT), Mae Jean King (BCT), Ken Swayne (EMT), Trent Eades (English), Lawana Day (English), Marilyn Harper (LA), Anita Maddox (LA), David Keys (LA), Ann Preston (Math), Linda Streebeck (Math), Ron Bridges (NBS), Michael Lusk (NBS), Jean Jackson (Library Services), Trish Roller (Transitional Studies), Tom Gaddis (Business Officer/Division Street), Jane Stribling (Magnolia Avenue). Guest: Nina McPherson

II. Suspension of Rules of Order Mark Fuentes

Rules were suspended to allow Dr. Anthony Wise, Vice President of Learning, to address the Senate and for approval of the slate of Faculty Senate officers.

o Dr. Wise review several significant issues for the upcoming year.

§ As of July 1 a permanent $4 million cut in budget became effective. Stimulus funds will ease the situation for the next 2 years but rules for use of the stimulus funding have proven to be complex.

§ Enrollment for fall semester is currently 40-45% (HC) above where it was at this time last year. The current estimate is that FTE could possibly be up 15% for fall.

§ The surge in enrollment will lead to space and service issues.

§ Pandemic planning is underway. A plan must be developed that would allow the College to go forward with as many courses as possible should there be a need for a 2-3 week closure during a semester.

§ Dr. Wise will support the efforts of Ron Bridges and the professional development committee in coordination with opportunities already provided by Audrey Williams (ETS) and Denise Penzkofer (IDC).

§ Mark Milliron visited campus June 30. The College plans to use his services as a consultant in order to develop the best technical processes possible with limited personnel and space. His expertise may also be helpful in developing a balance between online and on-ground instruction.

§ Also coming up is SAC/QEP.

Mentioned during questions that followed his presentation were perceived effects of the Obama plan for community colleges and what to do when we can’t absorb more students with current space, personnel and budget.

o President Fuentes presented the proposed slate of officers for 2009-2010. It was unanimously approved.

III. Approval of Minutes

Minutes were approved as written with no changes.

IV. Officer Reports:

Secretary: Jean Jackson – No Report

Communications: Ken Swayne – No Report

TBR Representative: Dave Vinson

Subcouncil will be meeting next Friday and the agenda has been set but not distributed. Administrative changes seem to be underway at RODP. The executive director has moved to another position and an interim executive director appointed.

President: Mark Fuentes

§ Budget: Nothing to add to Dr. Wise’s comments.

§ Inservice: Lois Reynolds is planning inservice. It will remain a two-day event.

§ Grades: Administration is considering asking for grades to be submitted by 3 p.m. rather than 5 p.m. on the last day. Discussion followed.

§ Pandemic Planning: President Fuentes is working on a statement and solicited suggestions. It was suggested that he ask the departmental deans for input.

V. Committee Reports

Adjunct Faculty: Jonathan Morrell

Jonathan could not attend but he sent one concern for discussion. There is a need for designated office space for adjunct faculty. Some of the space previously available in Alexander is now gone. There is some work space at Magnolia and Division Street but it is not private.

Student Scholarships: Liberal Arts

President Fuentes announced that Joan Easterly will be chairing the Faculty Senate Book Sale for Liberal Arts. She has distributed proposed dates for the sales (March 24-25 at Pellissippi Campus and the week of March 15-21 at Blount, Division Street, and Magnolia Avenue) and has planned donation drop-off sites to be set up in August. The need for storage space for items collected for the sale was discussed.

Rules: Trent Eades

Trent has reviewed the constitution and a proposal for an amendment to correct minor issues such as changes in administrative titles will be forthcoming. He also considers that the role of the parliamentarian as a non-voting member as designated by Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised conflicts with the Faculty Senate office-holder’s role as an elected representative of his/her department. A proposal for an amendment will be forthcoming.

Nominating Committee: Jean Jackson – No report.

Promotion/Tenure: Mae Jean King

Mae Jean will be seeking faculty to serve on the committee.

Faculty Emeritus: Mark Fuentes

The proposed policy has again been revised and it was presented to Learning Council. The policy has been discussed at Presidents Staff where a continuing concern seems to be the method of evaluation. Mark will look at the evaluation again and discuss it with Dr. Wise.

Faculty Bill of Rights Ad Hoc: Anita Maddox – No report.

Budget Ad Hoc Committee: Wanda Scarbro

Wanda reviewed information available on the TBR web site regarding the changes in tuition for fall. TBR describes the change as a tuition REVENUE increase rather than a tuition increase since the amount a student’s tuition will increase is dependent on the number of hours the student takes. TBR projects a revenue increase of 5.5% at community colleges, dependent on enrollment and courses taken.

Faculty Development Ad Hoc: Mark Fuentes/Ron Bridges

Both Mark and Ron have had discussions with Dr. Wise regarding faculty development. Ron is chairing a committee focused on providing additional opportunities. He distributed information including statements of purpose, goals, and vision for the committee and some possible topics for workshops and presentations. A survey is being planned to solicit faculty input. Contact Ron to contribute additional ideas or to volunteer to serve on the committee.

VI. Unfinished Business

Certification of instructors for Web and Dual Enrollment courses:

The following motion regarding certification of instructors for Web and dual enrollment courses remains on the floor from the April meeting:

Faculty Senate strongly opposes any and all attempts by TBR to require standardization of web courses and also the requirement of faculty certification to teach web and dual enrollment courses.

After learning that this is not a TBR initiative and that there is no push for standardization by Pellissippi State, Wanda Scarbro moved that the motion be withdrawn. Her motion was seconded and approved with one abstention.

VII. Discussion

Final exams –

There was some discussion regarding the possibility of recommending a 3-day examination period. This recommendation will not be pursued at this time. If there are further concerns for future discussion, contact President Fuentes.

Responsibilities of Faculty President –

There was some email discussion during the spring regarding responsibilities of the president. Duties of the president are defined in the Faculty Senate Constitution, Article VII, Section 2.

Dual Enrollment –

In May, Wanda Scarbro organized a meeting of a committee with concerns about the current handling of the dual enrollment program. Among issues discussed were the current placement of administrative oversight of the program, the impression that the program seems to be driven by the high school rather than the college, and qualifications of participants. This group recommends appointment of a college-wide committee to review the program.

During discussion it was indicated that 78 DE courses are planned for fall, that dual enrollment may also be aimed toward RODP classes, and that dual enrollment offerings will continue to increase. Mark Fuentes, Wanda Scarbro, and Lawana Day will craft a motion for discussion at the next meeting.

Nominations/Election of Outstanding Faculty –

During spring semester there was a request for Faculty Senate to investigate the process used for nominating and selecting recipients of the Outstanding Full-time and Outstanding Adjunct Faculty awards. The process has changed over the past several years to make the nomination process easier but the changes have resulted in little information about the candidates being included on the ballots making it more difficult to vote. President Fuentes met with Ann Satkowiak, chair of the Employee Development Committee which handles employee awards to discuss the process. He reported that if Senate recommends a better process the committee is willing to work with it, if not, the committee will continue to use the current process.

The recommendation stemming from the discussion was for further research to determine who is on the committee and their plans for the process for the coming year. It was also suggested that the members of the committee be invited to a Senate meeting.

VII. New Business

Faculty Development Committee –

President Fuentes’ request that the status of the Faculty Development Committee be changed from ad hoc to a standing committee was unanimously approved.

VIII. Announcements

Next meeting: September 16, 2009 – 3:30pm – Faculty/Staff Dining Room – Pellissippi Campus

IX. Adjourned at 5:20 p.m.