Faculty Senate Minutes (10-22-14)

Faculty Senate Minutes

22 October 2014

Approved November 19, 2014

 

Present: Tom Hiebel, Laura McClain, Brad Bowen, Bruce Kalley, Ron Talley, Justin Herndon, Marla Roberson, Stacey Frank, Todd Crisp-Simons (recorder)

Absent: Lara Wrightson, John Duke, James Whisenhunt, Carol Henry, Brittany Smith, Shona Montgomery, Chris McFarlin, Tonia Faulling, Kevin Bell

Guests: Shelby Duffey

 

Approve September 2014 Minutes: Tom motioned for approval, Stacey seconded, and the rest present voted unanimously to approve.

 

Welcome and Announcements: Marla welcomed the group, and she explained that Galen was unable to attend, so we plan to reschedule his visit with us.

 

Old Business:

1)      Elect a Secretary: Since no one particular person will fill this role, the position will be rotated amongst the entire Senate body, sharing governance and responsibilities.

a.       Marla served on August and September, and Todd will complete this month’s—October 2014. 

2)      Recognized the positives of the Connection article and photos

3)      Marla announced the successful collaboration with IT, getting the Faculty Senate Charters and By-Laws, Committee Member lists, Minutes, etc., posted on eTC.  The minutes will be at the Blog.

4)      Adjunct IET Senators: Justin and Ron will still work on this matter now that they have a complete list.  

5)      Project Charter for Adjunct Study Committee: Keri Catalfomo serves as the contact person for this Project Charter, and Faculty Senate noted concerns in regards to the Project Charter:

a.       Stacey questioned her removal from the group, and she asked Hap if she could still serve, and he agreed; we assume Stacey was removed because she was hired to full-time, but Stacey will look into this matter.

b.      Questions about whether or not this Charter has been approved

c.       Questions on the percentage of 47%, and the number of 167 vs the number of adjuncts employed.

d.      Will there be replacements for the individuals originally on the Charter, given that a large number of the original casts have rotated out for various reasons?

6)      Talent Management: Todd said that he spoke with Sharon, and she planned to call a meeting of the Talent Management body, which she did, and they plan to meet on 5 November 2014, at which time they will discuss replacing Harriet’s old spot with Tom, and will work to acquire further clarification on the application of the Faculty Core Competencies.

New Business:

1)      Ad Hoc: Marla and Todd introduced a current issue, one warranting the creation of an Ad Hoc committee, and Faculty Senate voted, moved, and approved the committee; it consists of Justin Herndon, Todd B. Crisp-Simons, Tom Hiebel, Shelby Duffy, Chris McFarlin and Kevin Steele. This group works as an advocate on the Faculty’s behalf, and some faculty members found discrepancies in their pay vs their contract hours, and issues surrounding overload pay contracts surfaced; this matter only pertains to overload full-timer contracts, and this Ad Hoc committee seeks only to prove or disprove discrepancy issues, which, upon conclusion, these finds will be brought before Faculty Senate, who will work with and on behalf of, both impacted and non-affected faculty, to find a resolution.  The group will schedule to meet, working by the time guideline, and Marla plans to speak with Galen on the matter, and she will disseminate any further feedback to the group after Galen and Marla meet.

2)      Various new topics came before Senate, and they were noted, Senate will work to address these topics: 1) Issues addressing communication and professionalism in the workplace; 2) Faculty Days Off; 3) Issues with Starfish; 4) Advising and Summer Load Issues; 5) BRIDGE letter to flagged students; and 6) Parking, Tickets, and Access.  

a.       Faculty Senate needs many of its constituents to know who serves as their Senators, and all issues need to be brought forward through these proper channels, and, in turn, Senate will work to disseminate all meeting information, committee involvement data, etc., to the Faculty body.  

b.      Many of these issues, along with others, will be addressed in the future, especially when we can arrange for the necessary parties to be present.  

c.       Marla asked for all issues to be forwarded to her, and Marla plans to start a list.

d.      Marla and Todd made a plan to meet with Lou Ann and the respective BRIDGE staff, working to find clarity and a resolution.

e.       Faculty Senate will work to bring Jonathan Finch to for a Q&A.

f.        Calendar: Tom brought up an issue with 14 weeks, and Stacey commented on the negative impact of condensing and rushing information. 

g.       Recycling: Ron brought up some great ideas and comments on community involvement, and Bruce noted Pendleton’s commitment, and questions came up about our college and its current position with recycling and waste.  Given that we are a Technical Two-Year College with multiple advanced programs, which create and generate lucrative relationships with cutting edge manufacturing and industry, we appear dated and unplugged.  Bruce will look into this matter.

Committee News:

1)      Curriculum Committee: Deadline for changes is October 31, 2014.

2)      PAC: Doing leadership teams and work to focus on iCare standards.

3)      Ron serves on the Committee for Gen Eds, and he will bring up the recycling issues since it pertains to their endeavors. 

Staff Advisory Board 11-13-14

Staff Advisory Board Meeting            Minutes

 November 13, 2014

8:30 a.m.
Ruby Hicks Conference Room, RH102

 Members Present:  Debbie Thrasher, Jessica Raymond, Jamie Black, Andy Heaton, Tammy Stout-Fiske, Debbie Powell, Cathy Strasser

 Members Absent:  Lou Ann Martin

 Length of Meeting:  60 minutes

 Review of Minutes of October 9, 2014

Debbie Thrasher made a motion for the minutes to be approved and posted on eTC. Andy made the second motion and the minutes were approved.

Issues Discussed

1.    Debbie met with Sharon in Personnel to discuss the purpose of the committee besides being the social event planners.  The purpose of the committee is to review any policies up for review.  Debbie has requested from Lisa Saxon and Chris Marino what policies up for review.  Galen sends out policies up for review.  Debbie will get a list of any policies up for review so that the committee can discuss after the holidays.

2.     Debbie presented a Project Charter – Develop an Employee Engagement Program.  There will be a sub-committee that will be chosen.  There needs to be 1 representative from the Staff Advisory Board to remain on the sub-committee and report back to the Staff Advisory Board committee.  Review, revise, and/or approve the Project Charter and respond to Debbie by December 1, 2014. 

3.    Holiday Drop in 2014

Anderson’s event date is 12/5/14.  Anderson has chosen Chick-fil-A and Sue Bladzik volunteered to pick up.  Easley’s event date is 12/10/14.  Easley has chosen Panera Bread.  Panera Bread will deliver.  Pendleton’s event date is 12/10/14.  The menu from the Café was approved.  A brief discussion about the Sandy Springs location, Jamie said that he basically is the only one at this location.  There is no need for a separate event.

Cathy will get the table top Christmas trees for the tables for all campuses.  Debbie T. and Jessica will get the Poinsettias for all campuses.  Cathy volunteered to take care of the poinsettias until the event, bring them to Ruby Hicks.  Jessica will contact Kevin to get the donations from the bookstore.  She will send an email asking for help to stuff goodie bags.

Jessica will check with Kevin and Michel (IT) about the music and fireplace in the TV.  Jessica will design an invitation for Holiday Drop-In.  Debbie will submit post on eTC.

Table decorations will be door prizes.  Debbie will working on getting additional door prizes to give away like gift cards.  A cake has been donated.  Cathy will check to see if an oil change donation from the Automotive Department can be made.

4.    Meeting adjourned.

Next scheduled meeting should be December 11, 2014.

Provost's Council 9-9-14

Provost’s Council
September 9, 2014
2:00 pm.
Ruby Hicks Hall, Room 248

Members Present:     Dan Averette, Jackie Blakley, Tim Bowen, Jenni Creamer, Dan Holland, Lynn Lewis, Marla Roberson, Brian Swords, Hap Wheeler

 Members Absent:      Scott Harvey, Sarah Shumpert

Others Present:          Margaret Burdette, Matt Edwards, Kevin Steele

Length of Meeting:   2 hours
Topics Discussed:

After a motion from Lynn Lewis, seconded by Marla Roberson, the minutes of the July 22, 2014 meeting were approved.

Matt Edwards presented Lync, a Microsoft communication product.  Matt noted the many different communication possibilities, the current advising pilot, and the need for a training process.  The group briefly discussed ways to use Lync to address college/student issues.  Matt welcomes all ideas.

 Margaret Burdette discussed the pending SACS decennial reaffirmation and reviewed the handout that she distributed.  She noted the components, the process, the timeline, and the responsibilities of the reaffirmation.  Margaret will write the report, but will request input and information from across the campus.  As information, Galen Dehay distributed the report Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Principles… and briefly discussed the findings.

Professional development allocation was discussed.  Galen reported that according to Debbie Nelms around $50,000 was unspent during the last fiscal year, and he reminded the members of the group to use their allocations.  Debbie can answer any questions about how the funds can be used.  Galen reported that the mini-grant process did not change.  Mini-grants will only be awarded once a year, and this year’s deadline is Monday, September 15. 

Galen reported that the Executive Staff membership has expanded.   All direct reports to the Senior Vice President (Dean of College Transition Programs, AVP for Instruction & Institutional Effectiveness, AVP for Student Engagement & Development, and the Economic Development Director) will be members of Executive Staff. 

Galen discussed the Student Success Center next steps.

·         Charretts are underway

·         Looking at exemplar sites

·         Hire construction manager by the end of September

·         Process marries design and construction so that decisions are made together and things move more quickly.

Galen distributed Proposal for Comprehensive Studies, ENG 100, MAT 101, MAT 102, and SCI 033, and discussed the document.  All areas impacted by the change agreed that this was a good move.  The change will have some Banner implications, since a new college will need to be created.  It will require significant work, but it is the right thing to do.

Galen distributed Faculty Credentialing Process.  He noted the requirement of a standard minimum work experience requirement of one year, and stressed the SACS requirement for credentialing for an instructor teaching an occupational/technical course who does not have a bachelor’s degree in the field.  

 Under Announcements:

 Marla (Faculty Senate)

·         Posted the link to vote for adjunct representatives for Faculty Senate.

·         Still working on the upgrades to the By-laws.

Marla (Library)

·         Michelle Gregg has resigned.  Marla is re-working that position description.

·         The library is hosting an OVID workshop.  An OVID trainer will facilitate.

Dan Holland

 ·         Attend the Title IX conference and noted that any institution receiving federal funding must have procedures in place to address any harassment/violence issues. 

·         Encouraged the members of the group to familiarize themselves with Title IX.
·         Noted there are serious ramifications if the college is not in compliance.

 Hap Wheeler

·         Adjunct faculty study committee is active.  Asking questions and reviewing best practices regarding adjunct faculty.

·         A very basic division advising center is up and running.  About 450 student have met with faculty and staff. 

Brian Swords

·         The LLR Board has approved the college to offer cosmetology.  If offered, it will be conducted through CCE in partnership with the Pickens County Career Center.  The instructor will be a Tri-County employee.

 Jenni Creamer

·         With Renae Frazier’s resignation, the college is re-evaluating her position, so it is not posted yet. 
·         Recruiter position will be posted soon.
·         With the state proviso, Diana Walter will move into a director role.  We are in the process of filling a support staff position, which will funded by the proviso.

Dan Averette

·         The Michelin proposal has been re-worded to focus on funding for equipment for the career centers. 

 Lynn Lewis

·         Kennel construction will start soon.
·         Pharmacy Technician construction will start soon.
·         The Pharmacy Technician program will start in January.  It will always be a January start.
·         After discussions, moves and renovations are underway to accommodate the Science department and to create classroom space, and to address office space needs.

 Galen DeHay

·         Program Strategy will be an agenda item for the next Provost’s Council meeting.
·         Will roll out the strategy for the next 3-5 years to allow the college to be ready to offer programs that are needed.
·         TSE project will be presented to Executive Staff next week and will be an agenda item at our next meeting.

 With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Recorded By:             Anne Bryan

Next Meeting:            Tuesday, September 23, at 2:00, in Fulp 400

Staff Advisory Board Meeting 10-9-14

Staff Advisory Board Meeting            Minutes

October 9, 2014

8:30 a.m.
Ruby Hicks Conference Room, RH102

 Members Present:  Debbie Thrasher, Jessica Raymond, Jamie Black, Andy Heaton, Tammy Stout-Fiske, Cathy Strasser

 Members Absent:  Debbie Powell, Lou Ann Martin

Guest:  Lisa Anderson from Human Resources

Length of Meeting:  60 minutes

 Welcome and Introductions

Welcome of Jamie Black to the meeting from the Industrial Technology Department. 

 Guest Speaker

Lisa Anderson discussed the new project charter she is chairing. The purpose of this charter is to develop a new hire employee/staff orientation similar to the new hire faculty/adjunct orientation that is currently in place. The charter is in the early stages of reviewing the current process, gathering information on how it is currently handled and checking to see what can be updated/improved before implementing a completely new process.  The charter will be asking current employees for suggestions during this process. The new employee/staff orientation will include: training, benefits, and exploring technologies to orient new employees.  

 Review of Minutes of September 11, 2014

Debbie Thrasher made a motion for the minutes to be approved and posted on eT. A second was made and the minutes were approved.

 Issues Discussed

1.    The committee reviewed and discussed the results of the survey monkey that was sent electronically  to all TCTC employees concerning the two social events the committee has been responsible for in the past. Debbie suggested doing away with the spring event altogether due to the results of this survey. It  clearly reflects that only 15% attended the spring event in 2014 and only 38.55% was in favor of attending in 2015. The committee plans to discuss suggestions from employees on the survey as options for future events.  Debbie met with Galen to discuss future options for an employee engagement program. She expressed that the staff advisory board clearly wants to focus more on the “Purpose” and “Goals” of the staff advisory board. Galen was very receptive of this and encouraged Debbie and the board to develop more of an employee engagement program that relates to the TCTC Strategic Plan. Galen offered his guidance and support when developing and submitting to the Executive Staff.  Debbie has asked Jessica to work with her on the development of this project and will keep the board updated.

2.    Debbie did confirm that the holiday budget for Anderson and Easley campus is $300 for each campus and they have been notified.  For the Pendleton campus, the remaining budget is $900.  Total budget for the Holiday Drop In is $1500.  Debbie is communicating with each satellite campus on their menu request.  Additional funding has been requested due for the holiday event due to the increase in prices.  

3.    Debbie and Cathy met with Sandra Dacus of the Café to go over the menu and set up for the Holiday Drop In. The menu will be the same as last year with set up of tablecloths and candles for 200 people.  Debbie presented two quotes from the café;

a.    Menu the same as last year with table cloths and center pieces for approximately 200 people the quote was $875.00. The setup and table cloths cost is $100.00 which is included in the quote.

b.    Menu the same minus the cheese trays and for 150 people the quote was estimated at $700.00 which included the set up cost of $100.  Debbie has confirmed the approval of the quote without the cheese trays and for 150 people with a new estimated cost of $700 to be submitted to Sandra to cater the event.  

The group discussed other options for table decorations and give away prizes. The group agreed to  have poinsettias and small artificial Christmas trees to put on the tables.  Pendleton campus will set up for 30 tables – 15 of each poinsettias and trees, Anderson campus – 3 each poinsettias and trees, and Easley campus 3 each poinsettias and trees.   The poinsettias can be bought day after Thanksgiving at $1.00 each at Lowes.  Cathy will get the Christmas trees when on sale.  Give away prizes – table decorations, donations, and some gift card prizes. 

4.     Debbie will complete a revision of the constitution and by-laws to be reviewed and voted on next meeting. 

5.     Meeting adjourned. 

 

The next meeting will be held on November 13, 2014 at 8:30 a.m. in the RH102 Conference Room. 

Faculty Senate Meeting 9-17-14

Faculty Senate Meeting
9-17-2014
APPROVED:  October 22, 2014 (Tom moved, Stacy 2^nd) 

Present:  Lara Wrightson, Tom Hiebel, Laura McClain, Chris McFarlin, Brad Bowen, Bruce Kalley, Ron Talley, Justin Herndon, Kevin Bell, Marla Roberson, Stacey Frank, Todd Crisp-Simons

Absent: John Duke, James Whisenhunt, Carol Henry, Brittany Smith, Shona Montgomery, Tonia Faulling (the majority of these are due to class schedule conflicts)

Guests: Lisa Garrett

Welcome and Introductions

Ron and Justin will speak with the three adjuncts from EIT to see who would like to represent that area from their division.  Marla will update the information on the IT website of all the current reps.

Review of minutes of August 19, 2014

Tom Hiebel moved that we accept the minutes as submitted; 2^nd by xxx; all approved.

Elect Vice President and Secretary  (Current list of Senators attached)

1. Duties of the Vice President
2. Assist the Faculty Senate President in soliciting nominations from full-time faculty in each division and in soliciting nominations for the member-at-large representative.
3. Schedule and facilitate Faculty Senate meetings in the absence of the Faculty Senate President.
4. Represent Faculty Senate on the Provost’s Council and other committees in the absence of the Faculty Senate President.
5. Communicate Faculty Senate concerns to responsible Vice President and/or the President of the College in the absence of the Faculty Senate President.
6. Assume other duties of the Faculty Senate President as needed in his/her absence.

Justin Herndon accepted the nomination for Vice President.

2. Duties of the Secretary
3. Record minutes of Faculty Senate meetings.
4. Send minutes to Senate members within 7 business days following a Faculty Senate meeting.
5. Send approved minutes to appropriate contact for public posting

No volunteers for the position of Secretary.  We will probably rotate this function.  For this meeting, Todd and Marla took notes.

3. Duties of Faculty Senate Representatives
4. Attend Senate Meetings
5. Solicit agenda items from constituents
6. Disseminate meeting minutes to constituents
7. Encourage open dialogue and transparency among constituents
8. Represent the faculty body and the Senate’s interests by serving on at least one other outside committee

Old business

·         By-laws – copy attached.  Need to approve changes to add Past President and to change the wording on Article IX 4e to reflect agreed upon sentence from August 19, 2014 meeting.

o   Passed (Tom Hiebel proposed and Chris McFarland 2^nd. All voted to approve the changes.)

o   Marla will update the by-laws and send a copy to all.  Also post on the websites.

·         Talent Management Committee update – Todd Crisp-Simons

o   Todd updated that the committee hadn’t met since March 26.  He emailed Sharon C yesterday to ask about the current status of the Committee. 

o   To fill the 3^rd faculty slot on the committee (left vacant by that faculty member leaving the college), Todd nominated Tom Hiebel.

·         Transformative Student Experience – Executive Summary is being presented by Galen DeHay to the Executive Staff on Wednesday.  As soon as he presents it, he will send me a copy and I’ll forward to the Senators.

o   This was approved by Executive Staff Wednesday AM so Marla was able to pass out the Executive Summary.

o   Galen would like to address Faculty Senate about the TSE.  Marla will invite him to the next meeting.

o   It was noted that there were no faculty involved in the membership of the creation committee.  We will ask Galen about that when he attends the FS meeting.

·         Faculty Senate budget – we will have one next year with the primary costs anticipated for printing and a recorder.  Galen or Marla’s areas will absorb for this year.

·         Professional Development (info from Galen)

o   Foundation: “The funds generated by this endowment will be used to assist the faculty in an academic department each year to strengthen their teaching. The endowment will support innovation teaching projects, attendance at seminars and workshops, return to industry, advanced course work in the faculty’s subject area, or other faculty development projects.”

o   Mini-grant funds are similarly used within this scope of professional development. Professional development funds cannot be used to buy equipment. That is the most common request that is denied. Professional development is focused on providing learning opportunities through formal/informal course work, conferences, consultation, coaching, training, and learning opportunities within the scope of a faculty/staff member’s practice.

o   Can adjuncts use the funds? The answer is yes. According to Debbie Nelms, department heads/program coordinators should decide how their funds are allocated based on program needs. If a program has an adjunct that requires professional development to perform his/her job, then the department head/PC can sanction this expenditure.

o   It is not recommended that a mass “cattle call” email to all adjuncts stating they can use professional development funds. Funds are limited.  Department heads/PC’s should use their professional judgment to allocate finite resources.

o   When will the schedule for the October professional development day be out?

o   Who created the schedule?  Faculty Senate requests to be involved in the scheduling of the next Professional Development Day.

o   Is there anything about conflict resolution?  Does the SC Tech system offer something like this (specifically addressed to how faculty can/should engage students?

o   The Faculty Senate wonders if this is a volunteer activity for the adjuncts and lecturers, would it still be illegal?  We do not think it would be since it is a volunteer and not required activity.

§  We do believe that the adjuncts and lecturers should be paid for their time.  However if not possible, then we feel they should have the ability to attend on their own time.

New Business

·         SACSCOC Decennial Reaffirmation – Handout from Margaret Burdette

·         Faculty Credentialing Process – handout (TCTC and SACSCOC)

·         The Executive Staff currently consists of the following positions.  This is a leadership team that is designed to provide advice and guidance to Dr. Booth, and as such, is comprised of whatever positions he deems appropriate – it is not governed by any outside agency and can therefore be changed as he deems appropriate.

o   Senior Vice President (vacant)

o   Asst VP for Curriculum and Instruction (Galen)

o   Asst VP for Student Engagement (vacant)

o   Dean, College Transitions (Jenni)

o   VP Business Affairs (Gregg)

o   Executive Director of the Foundation (vacant)

o   Director of Economic Development and Government Relations (vacant)

o   Director of Public Relations (Rebecca)

o   Asst VP Human Resources (Sharon)

o   We would like there to be faculty representation on this committee. 

§  Marla spoke to Dr. Booth about this.  He asked that I remind Faculty Senate that the Chief Academic Officer is on the committee. The committee has increased in size this Fall to have additional input.  Also 1 out of 10 employees are on the President’s Advisory Committee.   Dr. Booth has an open door policy and is willing to meet with anyone that has a concern.

§  Marla also wonders if a faculty member is on Executive Staff, then shouldn’t a member of Executive Staff also be on Faculty Senate?

·         Transition Courses moved to Comp Studies

o   Within the College Transitions division, the Comprehensive Studies department is responsible for delivering academic coursework to assist students in cultivating the foundational knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors necessary for success in college and life.  In alignment with this philosophical framework, all transitional, pre-curriculum courses will now be delivered by Comprehensive Studies.  In addition to the current developmental coursework (ENG 031, 032, 150; MAT 031, 032, 150; RDG 032, 100) and College Skills course offerings, the following transitional math and English courses will be housed in Comprehensive Studies: MAT 101, MAT 102, and ENG 100. With a specific focus on effective and efficient progression through pre-curriculum coursework, we believe this change will result in positive impacts on successful student transitions.

·         Adjunct Questionnaire – copy is attached. The survey went out on 9/8. A reminder will be sent on 9/15 and it will close 9/19. 

o   Two of the Adj Faculty Senators did not receive the link for the survey.  Marla will send the link to them.

o   Marla contacted Chris Marino to find out the status of the survey.  He emailed the survey on September 8.  Per our request it will now close September 26.  Marla will send the link out to the individuals that elected to NOT receive any contact from Survey Monkey.  Other possible issues could be spam filters or junk mail filters or blocking Chris’s email.  He will send out a reminder to please answer the survey.

o   Of the 393 employees with an employee class of adjunct instructor:

§  33 opted out of receiving email surveys

§  359 received the survey

·         Behavior and Intervention meetings – we need a rep.  Scheduled for Monday at 8:00 AM. (Let Jonathan Fitch and Dan Holland know.)

o   Chris McFarland will be rep. 

o   Marla will email Jonathan Fitch and Dan Holland.

 Committee updates

·         Student Success Center update (Marla)

o   Project Manager, Architect, students and various staff met last week.  We are in the planning stages to see if this is something that needs to be done to increase student success.  See more info in Connections. 

General Education Outcomes Project Charter (Ron)  Ron updated on 9-22-2014

o   In addition to skills and knowledge specific to an occupation or discipline, students are expected to acquire general education as well. This committee was formed because it is time for the college to review its proposed general education outcomes. The following are some of the questions to be asked in the discussion: "If  general education makes a more rounded student experience then what do we define as general education? Where do technical courses come into play? Can those same courses develop General Education Outcomes? Among deliverables is "Develop general education outcomes that reflect core skills, attitudes, and behaviors required by employers, four-year colleges/universities, and society." The committee's initial focus is on a list of skills, attitudes, and behaviors identified by members of the many department advisory committees. It focuses on what the employer would like to see in the people they hire (examples: work place ethics, interpersonal teams, society skills). The committee will develop a communication plan to inform faculty and staff about revisions and the purpose of revisions to the existing list of general education outcomes.

o    This Project Charter will develop a list of outcomes which will be in a planning stage document before the next SACSCOC visit but not actually implemented in the courses until after the SACSCOC visit.

·         Recruitment Project Charter (Ron)

o   What is the difference between recruitment and marketing?

o   What is TCTC’s goal to recruitment?  Email ideas to Ron and he will pass on to the committee.

·         Honors (Todd)

o   This is a faculty committee only at the present time.

o   It is exploring the various options such as should :

§  Honors be on a small scale

§  What classes should be Honors? 

o   There is no Project Charter yet.  Ron asked Todd to please include him in this committee.

Additional updates

·         Class size

o   Tom brought up that he has heard that there is some beta testing of classes of up to 40 students.  Laura said that one of the classes is her’s.  Why are we doing this?  Possible explanations are: determining if student’s success is impacted by larger class sizes.  Is it due to how much it would cost to change the building to accommodate either more classrooms or more offices?  Philosophically, if this is an experiment, what do we owe the students that might be negatively impacted by larger class sizes?  What are we saying to the students and our other stakeholders if we increase class size?  A final concern is for the instructor of such large classes (will they have any assistance, pay increase, time off)?  A class of this size impacts testing and paper submission.  How will we determine what classes should be allowed to increase enrollment?

 

o   This will also be used to determine which classroom is used for which class.

·         Shortened semester

o   Chris and Marla need to contact Scott Harvey to find out what specific processes are done between semesters.  Can this be automated?  Can we help?

o   Marla spoke with Scott Harvey for clarification on the semester length of courses.  Scott appreciated that the Faculty Senate wanted more information on the end of term processes.  He noted that these processes are currently automated as much as possible.  The change to the length of semester had little to do with the processes but rather to do with the fact that we were meeting for classes more than necessary. Per Scott, according to SACSCOC each course must meet for 750 minutes per credit hour.  After meeting with the Strategic Scheduling committee (Tim Bowen, Janet Fuller, Scott Harvey, Robin McFall, Chris McFarlin, Brian Swords, Della Vanhuss, Stan Compton) our class meeting patterns were adjusted to follow SACSCOC requirements. In addition, TCTC also had a local policy in place that classes must meet for the same number of days per week. (i.e., if we met for 14 Monday’s, then we had to meet for 14 Tuesdays, 14 Wednesdays, 14 Thursdays, and 14 Fridays).  After lengthy discussions, that policy was removed by recommendation of the Academic Calendar committee. As a result of these changes, the Academic Calendar committee subsequently removed excess meeting days from the calendar. 

·         Student survey – how can we get more students to answer the survey?

o   Incentives?

§  Have to fill out the survey to receive a “ticket” to be allowed to take the final?

o   What can we do to help get more responses from the students?

o   Marla will invite Chris Marino to a future meeting.

Other projects for this year and who would volunteer to lead or help me?

·         Create a digital copy of minutes. Ask IT for server space and/or put on a thumb drive to pass between Presidents.  (Some of this is on Blog at http://tctccommittees.blogspot.com/search/label/Faculty%20Senate)

·         Create a TOC of a Faculty Handbook – last one was revised in 2004.  While this doesn’t have to be a complete “book of the documents”, at least create a list of specific documents and where to find that info.  Most is on eTC.

·         Create a historic record.

·          Invite to speak to F/S

o   Matt Edwards to give a state of the IT talk.

o   Dr. Booth to give a state of TCTC

o   Chris Marino regarding surveys

Marla to do

·         Schedule meeting room

·         Update charter and committee members with IT

·         Invite Jonathan to talk about Security at the October 22^nd meeting

·         Invite Galen to talk about TSE at the October 22^nd meeting

Future Meeting schedule and location and discussion items

·         September 17 (Wednesday),

·         October 22 (Wednesday) Change per request of members.  Will be 4 to 6. Room RH248.  Marla will send out an Outlook invitation.

·         November 19 (Wednesday)

·         December meeting has not been scheduled.