Faculty Senate Minutes (1/27/17)

Friday, January 27th, 2017

RH 245

1:00PM

In attendance: Ann Barnes, Penny Edwards, Stacey Frank, Tonia Faulling, Tom Hiebel, Justin Herndon, Bill Leverette, Timeko McFadden, Laura McClain, Mary Orem, Mourning Pace,  Richard Reeves, Matthew Simon, Debbie Vance, Jonathan Warnock, Paula Scales Whitmire, Tom Hiebel, and Julia Seligson

Not in attendance.  Meg Allan, Gregg Corley, Ed Eudy, and Renee Turner

Guests: E.J. Aman, Valbona Cela, Lou Moritz, and Josh Wrightson

Welcome and Agenda

Stacey Frank called the meeting to order at 1:04 PM.

Minutes of December 8, 2016

Minutes were distributed and approved via electronic vote prior to this meeting.

Old Business

None discussed.

New Business

Add/Drop Session B – This session starts at the same time as Session B, and there is an issue with some possible extra time for the add/drop period.  Stacey will send out information about this electronically.

Bookstore Concerns – It was reported that ENG 102 and ENG 209 had a shortage of books for the beginning of the spring semester.  Lou Moritz and Josh Wrightson from the Bookstore were present at the meeting to discuss the problems with book adoptions for each semester.  A spreadsheet of the current state of the Bookstore was distributed. They currently have an inventory of approximately $670,000 worth of unsold books in which a small portion can only be returned to the publishers.  They are asking for faculty to be more intentional about their book adoption numbers. If instructors are telling students not to buy required books for their class, please communicate this with the Bookstore.  Penny Edwards is on a Project Charter for Digital Inclusive Access for textbooks. If anyone is looking for information regarding Digital Access, it is recommended to contact Lou Moritz or Penny Edwards for more information.

TCTC Police Department – Chief Aman was a guest at this month’s Faculty Senate meeting to give us an opportunity to meet him and provide an update about the College’s Police Department.  Chief Aman explained his background in both law enforcement and military service.  He has a total of 27 years’ experience in law enforcement. Additionally, he was in the Marine Corps.  He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Anderson University related to criminal justice.  He also graduated from NC State’s Law Enforcement Executive program with a post-graduate certificate.  He believes that educations is an important role in changing the profession from a job to a career.  He has taught at both the TCTC and Anderson University.  He is the Adjunct Professor of the year for 2015-29016 at Anderson University.  Chief Aman explained that the department would be changing names and functions from Campus Safety to a Campus Police Department. You will be able to see this through new branding. You will see officers roaming the halls using a community policing approach. Also, should you need/ want to have he or any of his officers speak to your classes, they would be happy to. The next major update was the Emergency Management Plan. Every Senator was provided with both the EM plan and the Quick Reference Guide.  Each area on campus needs to have a Quick Reference Guide posted for easy access. A situation that occurred during a recent tornado in the area, where an instructor was giving an exam and all electronic devices were turned off rendering the messaging systems ineffective in communicating to this classroom.  Chief Aman discussed the different methods the College has and took suggestions of the Senators. The next work in progress is the response of the Panic buttons. As part of the feedback from the PD session he was involved with, Chief Aman is now requiring follow-ups no matter if it was an accident or not.  If someone doesn’t get a follow-up he would like to know.  Chief Aman is also working to acquire AEDs for the campus.  This is currently a statewide problem. A few other items: Parking is a known problem. There are many discussions about enforcement and new ideas for security. He is also aware of access to exterior buildings being a current problem. This is also being discussed.  There is a current project charter looking into using card access for everything from printing to building access. Chief Aman highly encouraged all Senators to call 1800 whenever they have a problem whether it is with a student, faculty member, staff member, or even one of his officers.  He also gave out his cell phone number in case he couldn’t be reached at his office number.  Tom Hiebel asked if everything that is called in or emailed to the Police Department is tracked.  Chief Aman did confirm that everything is tracked. 

Honors Experience – It was announced that the College has had an Honors Experience for high achieving students for the past year and a half.  It is currently housed within the Arts and Science Division.  It was mostly marketed to Bridge students in the pilot year of 2015-2016; however they are only here for one year.  The College is now focusing on students within the Arts and Science Division for the Honors Experience.  It is on the website under special programs.  Each department has a representative to answer questions from students or faculty members.

AACC – Penny Edwards updated Faculty Senate about AACC.  There is a convention that Penny Edwards will be attending in New Orleans.  The faculty advisor counsel committee submitted 2 proposals and both were selected.  Penny will be focusing on bring back a lot of information for all faculty.

Committee Reports

• Advising Steering Committee Update.   Timeko McFadden gave an update for the Advising Steering Committee.  On the core faculty competencies it doesn’t list anything about advising.  Administration staff decided to change this and add some advising competencies for faculty.  There currently are no standards of advising for faculty included in the job description, so a workgroup was formed.  The work group meet with Margaret Burdette, and determined the following four competencies: 1. Faculty member establishes communication method to students on how and where advising time is available to student. 2. Faculty member demonstrates respect to student through being prepared for student advising. 3. The faculty leverages the appropriate technology to increase advising effectiveness.  4. Stays current on College and division polices and procedure and available resource for advising. Galen wanted Crystal McLaughlin to use the following steps before moving forward with putting it into the faculty competencies: present it to Faculty Senate, so that faculty is aware. Next, is to allow faculty Focus Groups to review for feedback. After that, decide on an assessment plan and whether it will be institutional or individual.  The group of people that was on the team to make these competencies came from different divisions within the College.  It is understood that different programs advise differently due to the difference in student enrollment.  Crystal McLaughlin would like to have this finished by the end of the Spring Semester and the college to start using it for the Fall 2017 semester.  Eventually, it will be put into the FPMS to hold faculty members accountable for student advising.  Tom Hiebel wanted to make sure that what is being put into the FPMS system will be measureable. Currently, all items have a way to be measurable to hold the faculty member accountable. 
• Academic Leadership Team.  Stacey will send out the updated information regarding ALT electronically.
• President’s Advisory Council.  Stacey will send out the updated information regarding PAC electronically.

Next Meeting

The next meeting is tentatively scheduled on Monday, February 20^th, 2017 from 3pm to 4:30pm.

With no further business the meeting was adjourned at 2:56 PM.

Recorded by:  Justin Herndon, 1/27/2017

Service Excellence Team 3/10/2020

SERVICE EXCELLENCE TEAM

Meeting Minutes

Date: March 10, 2020

Opening: The regular meeting of the SET was held on Tuesday, March 10, 2020 at 3:00 p.m.

Present:  Cara Hamilton, Melinda Hoover, Kathy Brand, Brandon Rice, Laura McClain, Beth Brown

Absent: Tim Jared, Sisireia Simmons

Celebrations:

·       Cara Hamilton stated that during the February Professional Development day a Bridge student and parent showed up on campus from out of town and needed to talk to someone regarding financial aid.  Adam Ghiloni took time from his PD session to assist this student and parent, going above and beyond with customer service.

·      Melinda stated she recently had the flu and was appreciative of how her co-workers stepped up during her absence and covered her classes and office tasks.  She said they went above and beyond to assist and it felt great knowing co-workers have each other’s back.

·     Laura stated a group of her students presented Dr. Chaudhry with an appreciation basket of goodies for his support of their program. She was impressed that they did this on their own accord showing their appreciation.

Update from sub-teams:

·         Service Obstacles/Lean- Melinda reported the members of their sub-team as Cathy Strasser, Wade Pitts, Sarah Shumpert, and Ken Fletcher.  She stated she met with Galen DeHay and has his support moving forward.  Melinda stated she and Tim will be contacting the person who did the original training here on campus and inquire about possible retraining or information on developing processes and procedures for employees to follow. Melinda stated the goal is to have a meeting to gather information prior to the next SET meeting in April.  Cara recommended that Tim and Melinda meet and begin planning the process of submitting and mapping obstacles and the process of communicating to those submitting.

·         Customer Service- Brandon reported their sub-team (Tina Burton, Jessica Hanning, Berdina Hill, and Ashley Silvey) met on Feb. 3, 2020.  The sub-team reviewed the history and charter of SET. The group will use Microsoft Teams to communicate and store documents and files for the sub-team. The group was charged with brainstorming ideas to promote Customer Service before the next meeting, March 18, 2020

·         Working Cooperatively- Cara reported she has emailed all of the Deans, CCE, and the Foundation for recommendations for her sub-team.  She hopes to have 4-5 diverse members soon.  She plans to meet with her sub-team to brainstorm what working cooperatively looks like and to develop a plan to encourage working cooperatively.

·         Showing Pride- Beth and Kathy reported they met with their sub-team on February 25, 2020.  The team includes: Amanda Donald, Brittney Talbert, Breanna Johnson, and Jenelle Peoples. Kathy briefly reviewed the history and updated vision of the Service Excellence Team and sub-Committees.  The following ideas were discussed and a plan of action was developed for each idea.

o   New employee TCTC shirt: HR is in charge of giving all new employees their first TCTC shirt during onboarding.  They also give employees information on where additional apparel can be ordered.

o   Welcome to TCTC:  Someone from the Showing Pride committee will send new employees a card and visit them to welcome them to TCTC.  A small TCTC gift will be given to them.  New employees will receive information (link) on where to order additional TCTC apparel or look into specialized/individual department apparel.

o   TRI-DAY:  A plan will be developed to celebrate TRI-Day every Friday by wearing TCTC apparel.  A weekly employee winner will be awarded small prizes for showing TCTC pride and announced in the Weekly Edge. A Monthly TRI-Day drawing will take place; possible ideas- a monthly designated parking space. Winner will have picture with the President.  Communication on TRI-Day will be sent in the Weekly Edge and by TCTC announcement emails.  A link to TCTC apparel purchasing will be included in the communications.

o   TCTC Birthday Party:  Tri-County Technical College opened its doors on September 10, 1963 with 919 students enrolled. Have a birthday party celebrating the opening of TCTC.  Have a large cake and invite people to stop by and learn about the history of the College.

o   Pride Contest between departments: Future ideas TBD

o   Message Boards Pride contest between departments: TBD

·         Recognition- Laura stated her team will meet on March 12, 2020.  They will begin planning activities for next fall and spring and possibly a small activity during the summer. Laura reported that the group will also revisit and discuss the SweeTCarTCrew. This snack cart will recognize people/departments according to a developed criteria.  Laura reported on use of the recognition portal.  She stated it is difficult to track but stated it is not being used as often as hoped.  More information can be sent to employees encouraging them to use the Recognition Portal.  The sub-team will discuss ideas.

Review Decision & Action Tracking from last meeting:

·         Kathy asked about the SET budget for FY21.  Cara stated she hopes to increase the budget to include future plans/expenditures and conferences.

·         Cara asked the group for a general pulse for SET.  Discussion took place on engaging new people on sub-groups, adding value to the College with good customer service, and seeing the results of slowly changing the College’s culture. Cara thanked the group for their time and passion in helping move the needle with this culture change.

·         Brandon mentioned the Health and Benefit Fair being held March 26, 2020.

·         Action items and Tracking reviewed and updated from the last meeting.

Confirm Next meeting – Tuesday, April 14, 2020                          

Faculty Senate Minutes 1/24/2020

Tri-County Technical College

Faculty Senate Minutes

Meeting Date: January 24, 2020

Location: SSC 205

Time: 12:30 p.m.

Members Present: Renet Bender, Richard Burton, Meredith Dickens, Corey Evans, Pam Goodman, Amanda Karaganov, Som Linthicum, Gerald Maxie, Jeremy McCracken, Mia Tensley, Debbie Vance, James Walker

Rhonda Whitten

Members Absent: Deborah DeMino, Susan Curtis, Roxanna Ezenekwe, Jan Gibbs, Malisa Looney, Foster Sims, Doug Stephens,

Welcome and Agenda: Pam Goodman opened the meeting by presenting the agenda.

1.      Approval of Minutes: Pam asked for any discussion of changes to the November 22nd minutes that had been emailed to Senators.  Som Linthicum asked for a minor change to include the word future as it pertained to Item 4 B paragraph 2.  The edit was made and the minutes approved.

2.      Current Faculty Senate Membership/Officer Positions/Elections

A.    Pam made note of the fact that Betty Rogers was no longer with the college and that her position as well as Pam’s position on Faculty Senate were vacant.  Pam suggested, after speaking with Jackie Blakley and Galen DeHay, that Debbie Vance take the position open in Business and Public Service (BPS) and that the next nominee in the at-large voting be appointed to the open at-large position left open by Debbie Vance moving into the BPS vacancy.  Jennifer Hulehan would be asked to appoint an adjunct to take Betty Rogers’ place.  Som made a motion to keep moving through the at-large voting list until an at-large member could be appointed and the senate agreed.

B.     Pam asked for input concerning the position of Vice President.  The senate agreed that there should be a Vice President, and Susan Curtis nominated Jeremy McCracken, Corey Evans seconded the motion.  A vote was taken and Jeremy McCracken was elected to serve as the Faculty Senate Vice President.  Pam asked how the senate wished to handle the VP/secretary combination.  Debbie Vance concluded that there should be three officers.  It was suggested that Som would be a good secretary, and he was asked if he would consider the position. Som conceded, the senate voted, and Som Linthicum was elected to serve as Faculty Senate Secretary. 

C.     As delineated in the constitution and by-laws, the Senate reviewed the academic calendar in order to map out a schedule for the upcoming 2020 elections.  Pam provided information about the meeting dates and the limitations due to the current academic calendar.  The senate decided to move the election dates forward so that the elections could be held in a timely manner and are consistent with the constitution and by-laws.  The tentative dates for the election process were determined to be:

Nominations for president are to be emailed to Pam no later than February 21 so that the nominations can be discussed at the March 6^th meeting.  The full faculty will vote for the president starting on March 23^rd and the president should be determined by March 30^th.  On April 1^st, Pam will ask for nominations for division representatives.  The vote for division representatives on April 14^th.  The vote for at-large representatives will take place starting on April 16^th and all members of the new senate will be known by April 24^th.

3.      Fostering Learning and Collaboration Strategic Direction

Each division reported their ideas for Pam to take to the next PAC meeting.

4.      Standing Items

A.    Constituent Concerns

1.      Hydrid courses – some students were confused during registration.  Pam spoke with Scott Harvey to see if additional information could be placed on the student’s bill and schedule so that students could see that they were registering for a hybrid course.

2.      Plus/Minus System for Grading- no stipulation from the state level, so the grading system will not change.

B.     Committee Updates

1.      21^st Century Skills will have workshops during Professional Development Day

2.      Faculty Choice SOAR has raised $2300 with additional funds being added on a continuous basis.  Enough funds have been raised so the award can be granted.

C.     Division Updates

1.      Arts and Sciences has a fair on January 29^th.

2.      College Transitions-Tonia Faulling will be discussing Math 150 on PD day

3.      Health Education will be moving to Anderson Hall in March (temporary move)

4.      Student Support and Engagement-skill shops will be starting soon

Next meeting February 14, 2020

Service Excellenct Team 2/11/2020

SERVICE EXCELLENCE TEAM

Meeting Minutes

Date: February 11, 2020

Opening: The regular meeting of the SET was held on Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 3:00 p.m.

Present:  Cara Hamilton, Melinda Hoover, Tim Jared, Sisireia Simmons, Kathy Brand, Brandon Rice, Laura McClain, Beth Brown,

Guest: Laneika Musalini

Absent:

Celebrations:

• Cara Hamilton explained to the group that the College’s phone calls that have previously been routed through blackboard/a third party call center are being changed back to taking calls in house.  Financial Aid has been the test group for this change and to date all is going well with them receiving calls. The purpose for this change is to provide better customer service and more accurate information to callers from our home offices who have a better understanding of their processes and procedures.  Admissions, the Student Data Center and the Cashier offices will soon begin taking their calls back. Cara praised each office for taking ownership and making this cultural change for service excellence. 
• Laura McClain stated her freshman class is enjoying using their new space and during a recent open house they presented Dr. DeHay with a gift bag.  Laura also gave a shout out to I.BEST for having conversations with their students in nursing explaining what is involved in medical assisting.
  Charter Review: Cara reviewed the updated Committee Charter and Committee membership.  She will bring the revised charter before Executive Staff and explain the reason for the changes.
  Update from sub-teams:

• Service Obstacles/Lean- Melinda and Tim reported that they have touched base with Richard Parker, Cathy Strasser, and Galen DeHay to gather information on the original LEAN training.  Of the 27 people who went through this training in January of 2016, 19 are still at the College.  They plan to get updates on the projects that were started and hope to build their sub-team from this group.  Tim stated he has a better understanding of service obstacles and moving forward plans to work on how to assist people in identify obstacles, having a support system for the Lean process to track and obstacles and improve processes by removing obstacles. 
• Customer Service- Sisireia and Brandon reported they have reached out to the following people to build their sub-committee: Tina Burton, Jessica Hanning, Berdina Hill, and Ashley Silvey.  The group plans to meet on February 24 to begin planning.
• Working Cooperatively- Cara reported she plans to pull together a sub-team and begin planning to build relationships across the College.  She stated Dr. DeHay was very supportive of the effort of employees across campus working cooperatively. 
• Showing Pride- Beth and Kathy reported they met and started building their sub-committee.  They also decided on a few short term goals that included: 1) bringing back Tri-Day and awarding individuals at each campus with a monthly parking space, 2) starting a welcome/care committee that will visit new employees and present them with simple information like where to go to lunch, where the link to additional TCTC clothing is located, and present them with a small gift, 3) plan a college-wide birthday party to celebrate the opening of TCTC with a large sheet cake.  All of these ideas are aimed at bringing School Pride back.
• Recognition- Laura stated her sub-team consisted of Ross Hughes, Courtney Embers, Tamia Hunter, Robin McNeill, Jessica Raymond, Lisa Saxon, and Meredith Dickens. The team has ideas for recognition that include: the return of Lunch and Learns, a block party on campus, possible family activities at Denver Downs, and other team building activities.
  Cara asked teams to use the implementation worksheet as they begin planning.
  Review Decision & Action Tracking from last meeting:
  Action items and Tracking reviewed and updated from the last meeting.
  Cara reported that 2 SET members will be attending the ASEHE conference at Coastal Carolina in June.  Laura and Sisireia plan on networking and bringing lots of great ideas back to the team.
  Confirm Next meeting – Tuesday, March 10, 2020                                    
  
  

Service Excellence Team 1/14/2020

SERVICE EXCELLENCE TEAM

 

Meeting Minutes

 

Date: January 14, 2020

 

 

Opening: The regular meeting of the SET was held on Tuesday, January 14, 2020 at 3:00 p.m.

 

Present:  Cara Hamilton, Melinda Hoover, Tim Jared, Sisireia Simmons, Kathy Brand, Brandon Rice, Laura McClain

 

Absent: Beth Brown, (Aida Laham has resigned from team)

 

Special Guests:  Margaret Burdette and Sarah Shumpert

 

Sarah gave a brief review and overview from the previous consensus workshop.  She provided a program outcome summary for the team to review and to think about how to best align the sub-committees with the outcomes.  Also discussed were examples of activities/tasks to be developed to align and reach the outcomes.  Margaret reminded the team that they were an advocate group.  The role is to assist those in charge with what must be done to change the culture of the College.  The following action items were determined following the meeting discussions:

 

1. Committees would be redefined to meet outcomes as follows:

• Program Outcome 1- Continuously improve processes to benefit customers
  • Service Obstacle System– Tim Jared and Melinda Hoover
• Program Outcome 2 and 5- Provide Excellent Customer Service Customer Service and Demonstrate Courtesy
  • Customer Service - Brandon Rice and Sisireia Simmons
• Program Outcome 3 – Show Pride in the College
  • Show Pride – Beth Brown and Kathy Brand
• Program Outcome 4 - Work Cooperatively
  • Work Cooperatively – Cara Hamilton and TBD
• Program Outcome 6 – Celebrate Good Customer Service
  • Recognition – Laura McClain

1. Cara will update the Committee Charter to reflect changes and bring back to the group for review.
2. Committees will meet and update and/or create their sub-teams.  Send the names of the sub-teams to Cara by the next meeting.
3. Committees will start the process of developing a work plan to meet outcomes.
4. Committees will develop an assessment plan on how to assess if outcomes are met
5. Sarah Shumpert will share a template to assist committees with their planning
    
   Review Decision & Action Tracking from last meeting:
   Action items and Tracking reviewed and updated from the last meeting.

Confirm Next meeting – Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020             

Faculty Senate Minutes, 2/14/2020

Tri-County Technical College

Faculty Senate Minutes

 

Meeting Date: February 14, 2020

 

Location: SSC 205

 

Time: 12:30 p.m.

 

Members Present:  Renet Bender, Richard Burton, Susan Curtis, Deborah DeMino, Roxanna Ezenekwe, Pam Goodman, Amanda Karaganov, Som Linthicum, Malisa Looney, Gerald Maxie, Jeremy McCracken, Jennifer Porter, Foster Sims, Doug Stephens, Rhonda Whitten

 

Members Absent:  Meredith Dickens, Corey Evans, Jan Gibbs, Mia Tensley, James Walker, Sharon Yarborough

 

Special Guest:  Penny Edwards

 

Welcome & Review of the Agenda:

 

Pam called the meeting to order at 12:32pm.  Jennifer Porter (HE) was introduced as the new faculty at-large representative, and Sharon Yarbrough (A&CF) was introduced in absentia as the new adjunct representative.

 

Approval of Minutes:

 

The Minutes from January 24^th were reviewed with minor amendments.  Som will edit and forward to Pam to post in TEAMS.

 

New Business:

 

Guest Speaker – Penny Edwards

 

American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) -- Overview & Update:  Penny offered a brief history of TCTC’s involvement with AACC, including the emergence of the inaugural Faculty Advisory Council (FAC).  Penny had served for the past three terms as our TCTC representative to the FAC and has continue to work with the Council at their behest.  The TCTC representative has served in the past as an at-large member of Faculty Senate and continues to provide periodic updates to Faculty Senate and serve as a conduit to the AACC.

 

AACC has recently developed a Faculty Ambassador Program that seeks to establish a liaison role for each member institution.  Pam will serve as our inaugural ambassador (term-length TBD).

 

Penny also reminded the group of the AACC’s Competencies for Community College Leaders.  The Competencies are designed to assist members as they develop their organizational leadership skills, helping them to identify both areas of strength and areas of potential growth and opportunity.  Penny invited all interested parties to attend the Faculty Leadership Academy as part of the pre-conference activities at the upcoming AACC convention in March.  The session will be facilitated by members of the Faculty Advisory Council, including Penny.

 

A question was raised about possible funding support beyond internal TCTC resources.  Penny advised that a member of the Faculty Advisory Council, as well as the new ambassador position, typically receive strong funding support from AACC.  Also of note for others interested in attending the conference would be the faculty rate, which offers a discount from the basic conference registration fee.

 

Som asked if the Competencies might be a worthwhile resource to help guide our own burgeoning discussions of faculty competencies at TCTC.  Penny felt that they could be helpful and reminded the group that the AACC document should be available in the Faculty Senate’s TEAMS folder.

 

Old Business:

 

Request for IT and Construction Updates:  Following up our earlier conversation, Pam has reached out to both Ken Kopera and Luke VanWingerden for further clarification.  Luke will visit with Faculty Senate during our March 6^th meeting and share IT updates.  We hope to schedule Ken at a later date.

 

Standing Items:


Constituent Concerns:

Preparedness of Dual-Enrollment Students: Renet raised constituent concerns about the relative college-readiness of dual-enrollment students.  Constituents have observed that dual enrollment students seem to have inconsistent understandings and expectations of college-level work and their responsibilities as students.  It was noted that dual-enrollment students, as well as many other students across the college, have not yet acquired the skills to become self-regulated learners and are often reticent to seek support until it’s too late.  Others noted that students don’t seem familiar with course management tools, like Blackboard, and aren’t yet able to navigate digital tools, like Starfish, with confidence.  As a possible solution, Renet suggested that all incoming students – dual-enrollment or otherwise – would benefit from a required College Skills course.  Som offered that the Learning Commons is also a strong resource for students of all walks who need to sure up their “learning how to learn” skillset, mentioning that Skillshops address precisely the sorts of co-curricular skills designed to make students more effective and self-empowered learners.  Som also mentioned that the Learning Commons has been working with Katie Beeson to provide digital navigation workshops for students as an extension of their orientation experience, but that any student can make an appointment with a tutor to better acquaint themselves with digital learning tools, like Blackboard.  Malisa suggested that incorporating that sort of training more intentionally into the orientation experience would be helpful, particularly for dual-enrollment students.  Pam will reach out to Katie Beeson and invite her to share her insights on how we’re currently addressing dual-enrollment students in the orientation process.

 

Parking Concerns:  Rhonda shared constituent concerns about diminishing parking spaces in the face of impending campus construction, as well as the organization and visibility of those spaces.  Potential challenges might include ample or accessible parking for those with accommodations, the ability for faculty moving between campuses to find timely parking before class, and low visibility for some parking spaces.  Pam will reach out to Chief Guess and invite him to share his thoughts on those concerns.

Committee Updates:

 

Academic Calendar Committee continues to work on semester schedules with deadlines pending.

Curriculum Committee recently distributed updates to the campus community including final approval for the new Logistics & Supply Chain Certificate, the Vet 290 Senior Learning Integration course, PKS 102 Introduction to Packaging Science course, and the PHY 200 Applied Physics for pre-pharmacy course.

21^st C Skills Committee will host a session on PD Day focusing on oral communication and digital literacy.  A&S is assessing those two skills during this academic year, with the other divisions taken them up in 2020-21.  21^st C Skills is also lending support to the Academic Design Charrettes, as well as the forthcoming Tech Talks (March 11^th) which will focus on written communication in workplace settings.

The Faculty Choice SOAR Award sub-group met last week with Tammy Fiske and Michelle Jacobson to help chart their course forward after some modest successes building up the fund during the recent ConTribute campaign.  The sub-group recommended that the Senate continue moving forward with planning for the Award, but aim for a Spring/Summer 2021 target date to make the first grant.  The sub-group felt that it would be in the best interest of the award process to take additional time to determine appropriate criteria for the award, solidify the logistical process of nomination and selection, and to further bolster the fund through additional fundraising over the next year – in essence to be purposeful, deliberate, and intentional about the process, and not feel rushed by the rapidly moving semester.  The group also asked the Senate to begin to consider other fundraising possibilities as we continue to grow the fund.

 

The Faculty Competencies sub-group are hoping to begin formal work very soon, aiming to complete their efforts by August 2020.

 

PAC will be moving forward along parallel tracks as they begin to chart our new strategic directions.  Pam will be working with the team focusing on “Fostering Learning & Collaboration.”

 

ALT has been devising a new definition for how the college conceptualizes and tracks student success.  According to the working definition as currently proposed…

 

TCTC’s definition of student success is completing a meaningful, high quality credential that leads to a family-sustaining wage.

 

The initiative further stipulates…

 

The TCTC student experience creates the learning environment that fosters completion and ignites transformation. The credential may be earned at the college or at a 4-year university, based on the student’s goals and potential. 

 

Jeremy noted that this new working definition appears to touch on some of the concerns recently raised in Senate relating both to student employment expectations and their understanding of the relationship between their degree and their marketability/employability.

 

  

Division Updates

 

A&S reported that the recent career fair had been a success with strong interest garnered.  A similar effort is underway to organize a fair focusing on potential transfer students.

 

BPS will be hosting their own career fair on March 25^th.  The Business Technology Advisory Committee will also be hosting Steps-to-Success on April 1^st from 9am 12pm.  The schedule, which will be finalized shortly, will include several concurrent student-oriented sessions.  Faculty are advised that, if they are willing to release interested students during class times to attend a session, a ticket of verification will be provided.

 

EIT reminded the group of its ongoing efforts to merge and streamline its programs.

 

Health Education will host its spring Health Fair on February 26^th.  The fair will run concurrently on several campuses -- Pendleton (1pm – 5pm), Easley (9am – 12pm), and Anderson (9am – 12pm).  The fair will include a student-driven poster session, as well as health related benefits like blood-pressure checks.

 

SSE - Learning Commons faculty librarians are working on the migration to a new library management system – Alma/Primo.  The migration is occurring in concert with other PASCAL colleges and universities across the state and will provide us with a more robust information discovery and management system.  The LC is also piloting possible tutor-led workshops to addressed points of frequent technical difficulty in writing mechanics for many students.  A beta workshop will focus on the exigencies of commas and the frequent and fixable errors made by many, many students.  The LC, in partnership with Academic Development and journal editor Stacey Frank, will submit a proposal to host the 2021 South Carolina Conference on Innovation in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.  If the proposal is accepted, there may be multiple opportunities to contribute to the effort and gain valuable experience in conference organizing.

Essential Takeaways

 

Pam has marshalled the essential takeaways and will be distributing them to the Senate membership.

 

Adjournment

 

All business completed for the day, the meeting was adjourned at 1:35pm.

 

Next meeting: March 6, 2020