Thursday, February 19, 2015

Faculty Senate Minutes 12-18-14

Tri-County Technical College
Faculty Senate Minutes
(sent for FS review on 12-18-2014)

 Date:   19 Nov 14
Location:  RH248A/B
Time:  4:04PM to 5:57 PM
Members Present: Marla Roberson, Todd Crisp-Simons, Stacey Frank, Chris McFarlin, Bruce Kalley, Justin Herndon, Kevin Bell, Tom Hiebel, Brad Bowen, Ron Talley, and
Lara Wrightson
Members Absent:  Tonya Faulling, Laura McClain, John Duke, James Whisenhunt, Shona Montgomery, Brittany Smith, and Carol Henry (the majority of these is due to class schedule conflicts).
Guests:  Kevin Steele and Shelby Duffy
Presider:  Marla Roberson
Name of Recorder:  Stacey Frank
Approval of Minutes:  It was motioned that the October 2014 minutes be approved. The motion was seconded.  The minutes were approved unanimously.  Previously all had approved via the survey monkey link.

 Old Business

(1) Ad Hoc Committee Findings
The Ad Hoc Committee found via discovery (various faculty members talking to Senators) that there was grounds for complaint on behalf of faculty members who were currently working on overload contracts. Marla had brought this information to the Provost Counsel and the deans requested that they be involved asking that concerned faculty bring their discrepancy questions to them. The Ad Hoc Committee agreed that it would be in everyone’s best interest to provide a resolution to the situation.  It is noted that Senate has no legal standing at this point as many were not directly impacted by the changing of contracts and all we can do is provide recommendations that are in the faculty’s best interests. There were several minor changes to be added to the resolution. With these changes, Tom moved to adopt the resolution and was seconded by Todd. Motion passed with a unanimous vote. Marla advised that it would be best to send the resolution to Galen in the morning in order to give him time to review prior to being sent out to the faculty at large.
 
(2) Talent Management Committee
Todd announced that he will be resigning from the Talent Management Committee due to personal reasons. Tom would like to replace Todd; however it was said by the committee that there are too many from the Arts and Sciences Division currently being represented and recommended someone from EIT Division.

(3) Bridge Starfish Letter  follow up
After meeting with Lou Ann to understand more about Starfish and some issues that had been brought to the attention of Senate, (example: flags and letters to students by the Bridge program) Faculty need to remove the flags within Starfish once they are no longer relevant. This will ensure that letters to students do not go out by mistake. The Bridge program acknowledges that faculty names should not be on these letters without prior faculty notice.

(4) Adjunct IET Senators: Justin and Ron will still work on this matter now that they have a complete list.   New Senator is Richard Beckenhauer.

 (5) Follow Up on Public Works/ Recycling
Currently, the Town of Pendleton does not do our trash pick-up. It is questioned as to why, as this would be good business. Per Bruce Kalley, if TCTC would pay for recycling bins, the town of Pendleton would pick up the recycle. Others would be responsible for getting the recycled items into the dumpsters from around the school. It might be a good idea to develop a project charter in order to conduct a feasibility study to identify how to get the dumpsters, who makes sure items would get to the dumpsters, etc.   Bruce Kalley will talk to Ken Kopera for his insight on the matter.  Bruce will also work with Todd and Alex of the Environmental Club.

(6) Adjunct survey update – Stacey is added back.
New Business

(1) Dr. Booth Forum – Todd, Chris, and Ron attended. 
Dr. Booth has conducted a number of open forums this fall. During one of these, those that attended reported that the status of arming campus safety is now pretty much a green light with final approval coming from the next Commission meeting. Ron brought up the idea of the idea 13th grade and providing students with unrealistic expectations might not appropriate.

(2)  Updates of Vending, Café, Bookstore, Printing from Kevin Steele
Kevin Steele provided a detailed introduction of new and changing items under his direction. It has been called to question about the hours of the Café and what students/faculty are to do after this time. Kevin stated that he is looking into a new vending contract to help with this problem, but to keep the Café open later has too much of a monetary decline. He hopes that the new contracts for vending will happen soon, so to aid in these efforts. There have been new directions in identifying new ways to handle business, ie: risk management. Kevins’ division will focus on new things utilizing social media, e-texts using all platforms, book rentals, iPad rentals. He is looking to streamline parking decals and getting student IDs using online programs and an express window that should be available January 2nd. He is also changing from Xerox to a new printing system and software that is the same that Staples uses that will not only be more efficient for faculty and staff, but also students and could potentially be a new source of revenue in other facets, which should take place on December 14th. Lastly, fax options are coming and Ken is now over the janitorial contracts. 

(3) Chris spoke about Campus Safety and that an armed presence is being reviewed and voted on by the Trustees December 1.
(4) There was a short discussion on where employees can go to introduce new ideas. Is there a way to disseminate creative ideas?  Currently the process is to talk to the Department Head and/or Dean.
(5) Where is the Project Charter system? 
(6) Where is the data from student exit survey’s kept?  This is for those that drop out and don’t come back.  Is there a way to find this info out?  Marla provided introduction of where on the website, faculty can find the results of surveys, and it was questioned as to where we can find the results of student exit interviews.

(7) Is there a way that if a student is having problems with one semester, they can be put on probation the next semester? Ron asked questions regarding student enrollment options for those students who clearly cannot handle a full-load, etc.  Marla will invite someone from Financial Aid to a FS meeting in the future.
Committee Reports

Marla – Curriculum Committee – No update

Marla – Provost – email and document sent previously.  If you need a copy, let me know.

Marla – President’s Advisory Committee –Strategic Planning will be December 11.  Campus Safety Plan will be rolled out in December.

Marla – Pendleton 225 –Per Bruce there is a NYE kickoff. There will also be a reception on January 11th at our Library at 7PM. This event is for adults only.

Stacey - provided an idea that she will bring to the ESC committee in providing a DUI awareness presentation to the college in light of the tragedy of the accident by AU.

Next meeting:  Tom motioned to skip the December meeting and return in January 2015, (TBA).

 

Faculty Senate Minutes (Final)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.