Faculty Senate Minutes
Members Present: Deborah DeMino, Meredith Dickens, Penny
Edwards, Stacey Frank, Pam Goodman, Justin Herndon, Eleanor Leverette, Som
Linthicum, Robin McFall, Jeremy McCracken, Michael Oates, Julia Seligson, James
Walker, Gregg Westmoreland, Derek Williams
Members Absent: Mary Gibson, Tracy Kilgore, Laura McClain,
Richard Reeves, Cynthia Swaney
Guests: Eddie Aman, Jackie
Blakley, Scott Jaeschke
Presider: Mia Tensley
Welcome and Agenda: Mia called the meeting
to order at 12:31 pm and directed all in attendance to the agenda for the
meeting.
New Business:
1. Approval of minutes from October 12, 2018 –
Mia Tensley
Mia distributed copies of the
minutes from the October meeting. These minutes had been posted in the Teams
folder for all to review. She asked if there were any changes other than those
noted in Teams. There were no other changes. The minutes were approved. NOTE:
Mia will no longer print minutes to distribute at the start of meetings.
Faculty will need to review and be prepared.
Action to be taken as a result of
discussion, person(s) responsible, and timeline: Robin McFall will make the
change from Teams, post the approved minutes to the Teams folder, and send them
to IT to post in the College Committees link under the Employee tab in eTC.
2. Constituent
Concerns – Eddie Aman, Campus Police
Chief Aman updated
Faculty Senate on two issues: Active
Shooter Training and Reserved Parking for Events on Campus.
a. Chief
Aman stated there have been numerous requests for Active Shooter Training,
something that is true at all sixteen of the colleges in the system. He
directed everyone to SPARK, where an online module on Active Shooter Training
is located. He stated that we do not hold drills such as those that occur in
K-12. He also emphasized the message in the online training: Run, Hide, Fight. He stated what an
individual does is truly up to that individual. He referenced Emergency
Management Procedures and stated guidelines there are intentionally vague
because we do not want to advertise procedure. He said too many details would
"telegraph response systems to potential shooters," something he
would never want to happen. He reported that when a live training session was
held last year, participation in the event was low. The live training is a huge
undertaking with a number of agencies involved. He asked senators and faculty
to send questions to him or his officers. He emphasized his personnel do have
Homeland Security Training.
b. Chief
Aman announced Parking Lot B was re-opened early, returning 40 faculty, 7 handicapped,
and approximately 125 student parking spaces back to the College community. In
addition, faculty parking spaces across campus have actually increased by
approximately 20 since those added to Lot C will remain. Currently, if an
entity holding an event on campus needs greater than twenty parking spots,
those spots will be reserved in the Mechanic Street lot and a shuttle will be
used. If fewer than twenty spots are needed, those will be reserved in either
Lot A or Lot B. If only a few spots are requested, those may be reserved on
front drive. In addition, he stated that
the shuttles cost approximately $71-72 per hour per shuttle. During the first
few weeks of classes in August, his department contracts two shuttles per day.
After the first few weeks, he and his officers perform "car counts"
two to three times per day of spaces available on campus and cars in the
Mechanic Street lot. When those numbers are compatible, the Mechanic Street lot
is closed for the semester. He also brought up the idea that several faculty
had asked about a gated faculty lot. He said if someone is passionate about
this idea and wanted to research/propose a model, he and his officers are
willing to consider it. He stated such a model would be required by Executive
Staff to consider a gated lot.
Stacey Frank asked
if the Emergency Management group worked with Anderson County for full-scale
drills. He responded his department participated in a full "table
top" this summer. He stated only a handful of people on campus are part of
the Incident Command Team. He re-emphasized drills are a double-edged sword,
but we can rest assured his officers still train for all situations.
Meredith Dickens
asked about notification in case of a situation. Chief Aman responded
notification will happen, but timing can be an issue based on who is involved
and where it takes place. He is investigating purchasing receiver radios for
admins and building coordinators to have quicker notifications. He stated the
reality is that the satellite campuses are the true concerns.
Stacey asked if
the Emergency Management group is functioning as it should. Chief Aman responded
in his opinion it does a good job, especially with keeping everyone informed
about weather situations. He stated it is not possible to build a model
concerning active shooter because every incident is different. His best advice
is simply to always be aware of what is occurring around you.
Action to be taken as a result of
discussion, person(s) responsible, and timeline: All Senators should share
the information concerning active shooter training (SPARK) and parking updates
with constituents.
3.
Committee Updates – various senators
Mia asked for all senators who are members of other committees across
campus to give reports to keep everyone informed of happenings across the
College.
A.
AACC– Penny stated she and another FAC member will help
select and serve as mentors to new faculty on the Faculty Advisory Council. In
addition, she is part of a group tasked with creating and implementing the Dale
P. Parnell award and a ceremony with a keynote speaker where the award will be
presented at the April AACC Convention.
B.
Academic Calendar Committee – The committee has not met, so there is nothing
new to report.
C.
Placement Committee – Julia stated the committee is
still determining new cut scores. The new scores will be in place in the spring
semester.
D.
Service Excellence – No report.
E.
21st Century Skills – Penny stated that she
and Keri Catalfomo recently presented information on 21st Century
Skills to LC 101. She also reported that Professional Development opportunities
are being developed for spring, but she is not at liberty to say more at this
time concerning that topic since decisions are still being made
F.
Academic Leadership – Mia stated the number of students
currently registered at this time for spring semester is lower than in years
past at the same time. She stated several possible reasons were discussed in
ALT:
a.
Students and faculty are learning Banner 9
b.
Registration process looks different
c.
Banner 9 has had "hitches," slowing the
process.
Several
solutions were also discussed:
a.
Banner IT team
will continue to work with Ellucian to fix glitches
b.
During advising, faculty and staff advisors should give
students a brief overview and refer students to the new registration
instructions in Section 4 of the Get Set tab
c.
Jenni Creamer
and Scott Harvey are working on possible solutions such as developing a
registration how-to video and offering an open registration lab to assist
students on a walk-in basis
Another issue from the ALT is that the
College will be undertaking an Environmental Scan and developing a new Ten Year
Vision and Strategic Plan. Those should be completed by the end of the current
academic year.
Action to be taken as
a result of discussion, person(s) responsible, and timeline: All Senators should
update their constituents on what is happening around the College.
4.
Division Updates – various senators
Mia asked senators from each division to provide any relevant updates for
Faculty Senate.
Arts and Sciences – no updates
Business and Public Services – Meredith stated B&PS has been
discussing several areas of concern. First, faculty have expressed concerns
about not having printers in their offices. Too often, they must leave their
offices to go retrieve documents from the printers when students are waiting.
They have expressed their concerns to their dean in a division meeting and
wonder if other divisions have similar concerns. Second, faculty have expressed
concerns about getting assistance for video service requests and for
photography assistance with events. Currently, John Woodson and Amy Roberts are
serving as the "go to" for these requests since the College does not
currently have anyone in Marketing for these services. These requests are being
made on top of the teaching/advising/other duties John and Amy currently have,
and they get inundated. So, their co-workers are concerned for them and wonder
if something else can be done at the College instead.
College Transitions – no updates
Engineering and Industrial Technology – no updates
Health Education – no updates
Learning Commons – no updates
Action to be taken as
a result of discussion, person(s) responsible, and timeline: Senators
should share happenings/concerns from other divisions with their own
constituents to keep everyone informed.
Old Business:
1.
Food Pantry – Mia Tensley
The Student Support Food Pantry is
up and running. Recently, all faculty received cards with the details
concerning the hours of operation. Scott Jaeschke stated that currently it is a
pilot and food is being purchased using student event funds. He stated Student
Support is still investigating ethical, legal implications concerning
donations. Penny reminded everyone that we can request funds we donate to the
Foundation be used for a specific group, such as the Student Emergency Fund
(those funds are not related to the Food Pantry).
Action to be taken as
a result of discussion, person(s) responsible, and timeline: Faculty Senate
will get more details when they are available.
2.
Ad Hoc Answers Posted in Teams in 365 – Mia Tensley
Mia reminded everyone that information for Faculty Senate is posted in
the Teams folder in 365 and everyone should have access. She asked that any
senator having issues with that technology please contact her, Julia Seligson,
or Robin McFall for assistance. Stacey asked if Mia still had the PowerPoint
she used last year to show Faculty Senate how to use it. Mia stated she did
indeed have it. Pam Goodman asked if she would post it in 365. Mia stated she
would do so and can send it to everyone as well.
Mia stated there had been no responses to Penny's posting of answers to
the questions posed in the September Faculty Senate meeting to the ad hoc group
working on proposed changes to the Constitution and By-laws and no other
questions had been posted either. Justin Herndon stated he and Laura had
reviewed the work they had done to answer the questions. Mia asked if there were any comments or
questions from the Senate. At that point, Robin made a motion 1) to recall the
proposed Constitution and By-laws from the ad hoc committee so that it could be
considered and revised by the full Senate and 2) to thank the group for its
work. She stated she was making this
motion based on Robert's Rules and the guidelines in Article V Section 1 of the
current Constitution and By-Laws concerning recalls. Pam seconded the motion.
Robin stated she had concerns about the task assigned to the ad hoc committee
because the response to the question asked of the ad hoc committee did not
correspond to what was listed in Faculty Senate minutes. Stacey responded the
task given was looking at the whole document to determine what changes needed
to be made and to draft those changes. She also stated the ad hoc group had to research
what was being done at other colleges to help determine what our Constitution
and By-laws should contain. Robin stated that task did not match what was
documented in the approved minutes from the December 2017 Faculty Senate
meeting and handed out a copy of the minutes to which she was referring. Stacey
responded that there were issues with the clarity of the minutes from last year.
Julia stated what was in the minutes matched what she had in her handwritten
notes from that meeting, so she thought the minutes were indeed accurate. As
Parliamentarian, Scott asked for a point of clarification to determine if the
motion was to act on the document now or to discuss at a later date. Robin
stated her intent was a later date. Penny asked if a motion made earlier this
year about taking the proposed document to constituents and bringing back items
for discussion would be negated by this motion. Scott then clarified procedure,
stating that the document had to first be recalled so that all senators could
act upon it, so the previous motion is not negated. Jeremy McCracken called for
the question. By show of hands, the motion passed with Penny and Justin
abstaining.
Action to be taken as
a result of discussion, person(s) responsible, and timeline: The proposed
changes to the Constitution will be moved to the entire Senate for consideration.
The ad hoc committee is released of its duty.
Other Business:
1. SCWHE
Stacey announced
that at the end of November, SC Women in Higher Education would be accepting
donations for travel size female toiletries and personal hygiene items. She
stated any donations could be taken to Jackie Blakley's office or to her
office. Jackie concurred.
2.
Angel Tree and Veteran Assistance
Stacey stated that
it is once again time for TCTC's Angel Tree. In addition, the Student Veterans
will be collecting items for veterans. She stated the items needed are more for
hospice-type situations. She specifically requested arts, crafts, games,
diabetic food items. She stated it is preferable for items to be placed in gift
bags so they can ensure any food items will work for the recipients. She said
all items can be delivered to Patriots' Place in Anderson Hall.
Action to be taken as a result of discussion, person(s) responsible,
and timeline: Senators should inform their constituents of these requests.
Any senator making a donation should ensure the items are being dropped off at
the appropriate location.
3. Revisit Recall
Pam Goodman asked
that we return to the recall vote from earlier in the meeting for
clarification. She asked what the next steps are in dealing with the proposed
document. Mia stated that is still something we need to determine. Meredith
asked if we could hold small group discussions. Stacey stated we need to create
a plan of action because the whole process surrounding the proposed document
has become a mess. Julia suggested that one approach would be to determine what
parts really need to be discussed first and rank based on order of importance.
For example, the elections and the officer duties were of most concern last
year and those are the items listed in last year's minutes. Therefore, we
should review those areas first. Penny stated the proposed documents had items
so intertwined we would need consider how changes in one area of the document
would impact other areas. Julia reiterated we need to prioritize. Meredith
suggested putting proposed changes in bullet format to make it easier to follow
and to create a skeleton for us to build on. That way, we could all see what we
agree on and what we do not agree on. In
addition, we could use those as talking points to gather input from
constituents. Stacey agreed, stating that "everybody does not want to read
the entire thing." Julia asked if it would even be possible to revise the
entire document before elections are to take place in the spring. Mia stated
she would create a place in Teams for us to make proposals for tackling this
process.
Action to be taken as a result of discussion, person(s) responsible,
and timeline: Senators will consider
steps to take. Mia will create a place in Teams for Faculty Senate to make
proposals.
4.
Electronic badges
Meredith updated everyone on her assignment from the last
meeting. She stated she had reached out to Marketing, but the only response she
had received was from Aida Laham, stating that she had not forgotten to
respond, but she had forwarded the request to Gayle Arries for her review.
Meredith expressed concerns that this delay in response ties to what B&PS
services has been discussing about the in-house video and photography needs.
Marketing seems to be overwhelmed and is taking a long time to respond to
requests. She stated we need a system set up to get answers more quickly, not
several weeks or longer. Stacey suggested we contact Cathy Strasser who is
heading up Lean Processes about this concern.
Action to be taken as a result of discussion, person(s) responsible,
and timeline: Meredith will continue to try to get an answer.
5.
Documents in eTC Committee Blogspot
Penny stated she had emailed Mia a concern that the
formatting of the agenda in the Committee Blogspot made reading the document
difficult. She requested that the agenda and minutes be posted in Teams or
emailed to Senators as a pdf. Robin responded that the minutes are indeed
posted in Teams. Penny asked if Senators were interested in having the agenda
posted in Teams or sent to them via email. She stated that they historically
had been placed in Teams (Note: Faculty Senate has items in Teams dating to
November 2017). Pam stated she would like items in Teams. Meredith stated she
thought having agendas and minutes in Teams allowed for an archive of
documents. Stacey stated she would like to have the documents there as well.
Stacey made a motion that agendas and minutes be posted in Teams. Pam seconded.
By show of hands, the motion passed.
Action to be taken as a result of discussion, person(s) responsible,
and timeline: Mia will post agendas in the appropriate folder in Teams in
addition to having them posted on the Committee Blogspot. Robin will post
minutes in the appropriate folder in Teams in addition to having them posted on
the Committee Blogspot.
6.
Minutes in Teams
Mia reminded everyone
the draft of meeting minutes would be in the Teams folder no later than
November 13. She asked that all senators read the minutes and post any
corrections in Conversations in Teams. She also reminded all senators to keep
their constituents up-to-date on Faculty Senate meetings. Robin requested that
corrections for the minutes be made as soon as possible. She stated getting
last minute corrections made the process more difficult.
Action to be taken as a result of discussion, person(s) responsible,
and timeline: Robin will complete
the minutes and post them in Teams. All senators will review and post any
corrections. All senators will update constituents.
7.
Adjournment
Julia made a motion
to adjourn, and Jeremy seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 1:40.
Respectfully submitted by Robin
McFall
Next Meeting: Friday, November 30 at 12:30 in SSC 205
