Tri-County
Technical College
Faculty Senate Minutes
Meeting Date:
August 28, 2020
Jeremy offered his thoughts on the coming year and how Faculty Senate might focus its efforts for 2020-21. Two major themes emerged as potential points of emphasis…
· Reconstituting Faculty Senate involvement in the construction of “faculty competencies:” During 2019-20, at the invitation of HR and the Office of the President, Senate had created a sub-group to forward discussion on the redevelopment of faculty competencies. Unfortunately, the campus closure had brought those deliberations to a halt. Jeremy suggested that we might again take up that charge.
· Community of support for online instruction: While select faculty have been working effectively in online environments for some time, the sudden and somewhat jarring proliferation of online instruction necessitated by the campus closure in the Spring thrust many faculty into new territory. Given the realization that Covid-considerations will likely continue to make online instruction a much more regular part of TCTC, Jeremy suggested that Faculty Senate explore ways to create a community of support around online instruction. Such a community could foster resident faculty experts who might serve as resources for other faculty seeking to enhance and improve their own efforts to design and successfully lead online courses. This sort of faculty learning community might find natural allies in Academic Development and Faculty Professional Development. A similar recommendation was also noted in the 2019 PLEET report. Jeremy likewise suggested that approaches to online instruction could have ramifications for both the matrix and the loading model.
New Business:
Introduction & Recognition of New Members
With the addition of its recently elected Adjunct and Lecturer Senators, the membership for the 2020-2021 academic year is nearly complete. We are awaiting one final appointment from E&IT. As currently constituted the membership will be…
Senate President Jeremy
McCracken
Senate VP TBD
Senate Secretary TBD
Past President Pam
Goodman
Member-at-Large Amy
Roberts
Member-at-Large Tonia
Faulling
SSE/Learning Commons Som
Linthicum
A&S (F) Jim
Deloache
A&S (F) Rhonda
Whitten
A&S (A) Tracy
Byrd
A&S (A/L) Rachel
Glanton
BPS (F) Meredith
Dickens
BPS (F) Shallin
Williams
BPS (A) Jeremy
Pickens
A&CF (F) Jonathan Chastain
A&CF (F) Melinda Hoover
A&CF (A) Ellen
Hudson
A&CF (A/L) Sharon
Yarbrough
E&IT (F) Stan
Compton
E&IT (F) Bill
Leverette
HE (F) Susan Curtis
HE (F) Malisa Looney
HE (A) Micah Bolin
Proposal for 2020-21 Faculty Senate Meeting Calendar
Following our initial outline, Jeremy offered the draft of the meeting calendar for the coming year, which largely follows the pattern established in prior years. Jeremy, also, offered the caveat that the Spring portion of the meeting calendar may be subject to revision, if, due to Covid-related considerations, the Spring semester is altered or abbreviated. The Senate will move forward with the calendar as it currently stands, while keeping in mind the possibility of further adjustments.
Election of Officers
In accord with the C&B, Jeremy moved for nominations for Faculty Senate officers to serve the 2020-21 term. The floor was opened for nominations and the following names were offered…
·
VP – Meredith
Dickens, Tonia Faulling
· Sec – Som Linthicum
Jeremy will confirm with those candidates that, if elected, they would be willing and able to serve. As suggested in the C&B, it is recommended that candidates seek prior support from their department heads or directors. Given the exigencies of online voting and concerns for confidentiality, it was proposed that actual voting for the positions be conducted electronically out of session, and the proposal was accepted. The ballot will be distributed to the full Senate membership, so that officer may be seated in time for our next meeting on September 18th.
Standing Items;
Constituent Concerns
Jeremy noted for the group that constituent concerns are typically a regular part of the Senate agenda. No constituent concerns were brought forward at this time.
Committee Updates
Academic Calendar Committee, Curriculum Committee, Placement Committee, and Service Excellence Committee have not meant during this period.
21st C Skills Committee had largely
suspended its work during the closure, but has been reconstituted and is planning
for 2020-21.
The Faculty Choice SOAR Award sub-group: Portions of the group met during the summer, but the group has suffered considerable attrition in its membership. It was suggested that the group might benefit from a smaller construction in order to move forward on current work. The group has been in contact with Tammy Fiske and the SOAR award will be part of the Fall Contribute Campaign.
The Faculty Competencies sub-group: See Jeremy’s comments above.
PAC & ALT has been very much focused on Covid concerns, but Jeremy reported that no new information or policy changes were apparent at this time.
Division Updates
A&S: No major updates
BPS: No major updates
E&IT: No major updates
A&CF: Noted that new faculty member, Jonathan Chastain, will be joining Senate as Corey Evans steps away to take on added responsibilities.
HE: Noted that offices have now largely relocated back to Fulp Hall, after a construction hiatus in Anderson Hall, though some construction efforts are still in process at Fulp. HE students are now back in clinicals, which is a positive development for those programs. Lecture classes remain virtual at this time, though labs are operating F2F. An increased use of simulations has provided an opportunity for more experiential learning, while maintaining the ability to physically distance appropriately
SSE - Learning Commons: Noted that the SSC is open and engaging students both physically and virtually. Requirements for physical distancing and masking remain in place, and occupancy standards have been reduced in both public and instructional spaces. Nevertheless, operations are continuing in full. Resources from Health & Wellness and the ARC remain robust. Tutoring appointments and library consultations are convening in both physical and virtual form. Skillshop sessions will go forward with a full schedule featuring F2F and Live Online sessions. The Learning Commons completed a major migration to a new management system, providing a far more robust and far-reaching search and discovery platform for the college – Primo. LC supports are available to students and faculty, and online supports have been extended – recorded skillshops, video shorts, CHAT services can all be embedded into Bb via the Content Collection. Get Connected – the student organizations and services fair – will proceed virtually, as well.
Adjournment
All business completed for
the day, the meeting was adjourned at 1:45pm
Key Takeaways
· Adjunct & Lecturer Senators were seated
· The meeting calendar was adopted, pending possible revisions to the spring term
· Nominations were accepted for 2020-21 officers. The ballot will be distributed electronically.
§ Possible focal points for Senate in 2020-21 could
revolve around the creation of faculty competencies and online instructional
communities
