Monday, July 11, 2016

Faculty Senate Minutes (6/30/16)



Faculty Senate Minutes
Thursday, June 30, 2016
CD 142  
2:30 PM

 In attendance: Meg Allan,  Ann Barnes, Andrea Barnett, Gregg Corley, Stacey Frank, Tom Hiebel, Justin Herndon, Laura McClain, Timeko McFadden, Aristide Sechandice, Matthew Simon, Debbie Vance

Not in attendance:  Lacey Torge

Faculty Guests:  Penny Edwards, AACC Faculty Council

Guests:  Galen Dehay, Senior Vice President; Sharon Colcolough, Assistant Vice President, Mark Dougherty, Dean of Student Development.

Stacey Frank called the meeting to order at 2:28 pm.  She introduced the meeting agenda and the guests.

Minutes of April 29, 2016

Minutes from the prior meeting were distributed and approved via electronic vote prior to this meeting and have been posted to eTC.

  • Andrea Barnett provided an update on Accuplacer which will replace Compass effective August 24, 2016. A placement conversion chart (from Compass to Accuplacer) will be distributed to all advisors when it is finalized. 
  • Mark Dougherty, Dean of Student Development, introduced himself to senators, discussed the future direction for student engagement (out of the classroom experience), and expressed that he is looking forward to partnering with faculty on the student engagement strategy.   One change that is currently underway is a name change from the current, “Office of Disability,” to “Accessibility Resource Center.”

Old Business

Adjunct Faculty Compensation Model. Sharon Colcolough and Galen Dehay reported that the new adjunct faculty compensation model will be effective for the fall 2016 semester. The guidelines and model pay scale have been distributed to all department heads.  Adjunct faculty contracts will be “all in,” providing a flat fee per course which includes classroom/lab duties plus ten (10) additional hours per class.  Consequently, there should be no difference in course compensation depending upon schedule.  The model provides for a mechanism to reward adjunct faculty for service to TCTC.  Compensation may be increased based on a progression which will include, additional credentials obtained, weighted professional development activities, teaching/industry experience, and a successful performance appraisal.  Adjunct faculty will complete professional development forms and submit directly to human resources.

 
A question was raised regarding the application of this model to faculty overloads.  Galen mentioned that he would like to see something similar implemented in the future.  Sharon indicated that there are additional considerations with overload and dual contracts that must be addressed first, and that we will hear more about this in the future.  The new hourly pay scale however will apply.  Faculty has the option of being paid at the adjunct hourly rate and this practice will continue.  It is also important to note that faculty does not get paid for additional office hours when teaching overloads and that practice would continue.

Faculty/Staff Parking.  Tom Hiebel reported that a committee has been formed and that a project charter should be finalized within the next two weeks. The construction project for the new Student Center has begun and will continue for approximately two (2) years. As a result, additional faculty /staff parking spaces were removed from the construction area (rear of Fulp Hall).  Tom reported that additional spaces will be provided in Lot C and that the Mechanic Street parking lot will be open in the fall with frequent shuttle service.

 
Other concerns raised by faculty are number of permits issued and lack of enforcement.  Tom indicated that permits are also issued to all work study students.   This could cause a perception that students are parking in unauthorized spaces, and may be a practice that should be discontinued especially during the term of construction.  From Tom’s perspective the committee is working on a long term solution to address concerns, with the exception of enforcement. Jonathan Finch, Director of Campus Safety, told Tom that any enforcement issues should be directed to him at jfinch1@tctc.edu or extension 1853.   Senators asked Stacey to invite Cara Hamilton to a meeting to hear her thoughts about enforcement of faculty/staff parking.

 
Adjunct Expo.  The adjunct expo is being held August 20, 2016 from 8:30 am to 2:00pm.  Stacey suggested that faculty senate have representatives at the expo.  Stacey will work out FS coverage for the event.


New Business

Elected Faculty Senate Cabinet Members.    Justin Herndon was elected Vice President for the 2016/17 term.  Meg Allan will serve as Secretary.


AACC Faculty Council.   Penny Edwards was nominated by her peers to represent TCTC. Approximately 40 faculty were nominated nationwide and Penny is one of eleven (11) chosen to serve on the Faculty Advisory Council (“FAC”).  Penny is serving a three (3) term which began in March 2016 and ends in June 2019. 

 
FAC will provide strategic advice about the role faculty leadership can play in the, 21st Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges, recommendations.  Senators discussed adding Penny as a voting member of FS for her term on FAC.  This will require a change to the current Bylaws.  There was a discussion of modifying the at-large-representative section of the Bylaws to allow up to two representatives given certain prescribed conditions.  Meg Allan agreed to draft some language and distribute to FS for review and approval.


Leading Edge Series.  Laura McClain distributed the proposed workshops for spring 2016. This series is designed to reinforce the work skills that employers report are needed in the 21st Century workforce.   Laura encouraged faculty and advisors to support the series and to provide input and feedback to Lynn Smith, the program’s coordinator in career services.

Committee Reports

Refer to update on Faculty/Staff parking herein under Old Business. No other committee reports provided.

Other Matters:

Stacey directed the new members of the senate to read Faculty Senate Bylaws and Constitution (copies were attached to agenda) and she encouraged all senators to commit to representing their divisions in accordance with their duties and responsibilities.   The importance of attending meetings was also reinforced.

One of Stacey’s primary goals as president is to improve the overall communication of senate activities to ALL faculty.  She discussed possible ways to proactively move the communication forward in a positive direction. 

Next Meeting

Meg will reach out to all to determine the best time to hold the next meeting.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:32 pm.

Recorded by:  Meg Allan, June 30, 2016.