Tri-County
Technical College
Faculty Senate
Minutes
Meeting Date: September 18, 2020
Location: Bb Collaborate
Time: 12:30 p.m.
Members Present: Jeremy McCracken, Amy Roberts, Tonia Faulling, Som Linthicum, Jim Deloache, Rhonda Whitten, Tracy Byrd, Rachel Glanton, Meredith Dickens, Shallin Williams, Jeremy Pickens, Jonathan Chastain, Melinda Hoover, Sharon Yarbrough, Ellen Hudson, Stan Compton, Susan Curtis,
Members Absent: Pam Goodman, Bill Leverette, Micah Bolin, Malisa Looney
Welcome & Review of the Agenda:
Jeremy called the meeting to order at 12:30pm and briefly reviewed the meeting’s agenda.
Approval of Minutes:
Quorum achieved, the Minutes from August 28th were reviewed, and the Senate approved the minutes without further amendment. Som has forwarded them for posting to the Blogspot and updated the TEAMS folder.
New Business:
Introduction of Officers
Jeremy announced that, for the 2020-21 academic year, Tonia would serve as Senate VP, and Som would continue as Secretary. Introductions were made by the assembled Senators. Building off Tracey’s suggestion, Jeremy will send the list of the full Senate membership to the Weekly EDGE, along with the calendar of Senate meetings for the coming year.
Discussion & Constituent Concerns
Jeremy noted for the group the recent introduction of the Covid-19 Dashboard to the college’s Covid webpage. The tracker offers week-by-week reporting of confirmed Covid cases among both students and college personnel and is intended to provide additional transparency, particularly as Clemson Bridge students return to campus. Jeremy also reported that a percentage of those students would be receiving regular testing via Clemson Health Services at Redfern Health Center. Meredith asked whether the dashboard would reflect just students who were matriculating on campus in F2F classrooms or if it might also include students attending online. Jeremy understood that the Dashboard should reflect total confirmed cases among both online and F2F students, but also offered that its accuracy would depend on robust self-reporting from both student and staff.
Discussion of the Dashboard led to several expressions of concern regarding both masking and distancing behaviors among our population and a perceived lack of safety and sanitation supports, particularly in high-traffic instructional areas like Oconee and Cleveland Halls. Senators had received (and offered) anecdotal reports concerning a dearth of hand sanitizing stations, insufficient seat barriers and distance markers in classrooms, and lax behaviors and deteriorating standards in public gathering areas and breakrooms. Several faculty have expressed concern about the reliance on individual instructors to clean and disinfect their classrooms areas. In addition, several Senators wondered about the role of faculty in correcting/enforcing behavioral standards and would appreciate some clarification or guidelines. Additional signage in key areas might also help to reinforce that messaging. Jeremy reminded the group that each division should have designated contacts for reporting supply needs, if materials run low, and requesting additional resources, when needed. Similarly, the department head should serve as the first point of contact for expressions of concern.
Jeremy will communicate these issues to the appropriate facilities management teams. Senate also hopes to invite Ken to our next meeting, which could provide a helpful mid-semester pulse-check on safety and distancing measures.
Senators enquired about Senate representation, as well as overall faculty representation, on college-wide decision- and policy-making groups, particularly those dealing with Covid issues. Jeremy offered that, while he was not personally involved in all of those groups and meetings, he did feel like the college was making an effort to incorporate faculty voices into the process, particularly through departmental heads and division leadership. Jeremy also noted that department heads and division leadership were critical linchpins in the dissemination of information to the faculty at-large.
Other key areas of concern included faculty morale and faculty advocacy, both of which seemed to intersect when considering the loading model and matrix. Meredith reported that, at a recent BPS division meeting, there had been significant constituent concerns emerging from the loading model and matrix, particularly regarding adaptations to Covid-driven alterations in instructional load and load distribution. Questions touched upon, among other areas, instructional hours, enrollment sizes, classroom capacities, preps relative to instructional modalities, and service to the college. Overload pay and contractual obligations were important points of discussion – how those policies were being interpreted and the apparently shifting messaging around them. Based on Senate discussion, it appears that these concerns are widely held across departments and divisions.
In order to facilitate better and more uniform understanding of the loading model and matrix and the policy interpretations thereof, Meredith moved that Faculty Senate host a public forum with HR for the full-faculty regarding impacts and perceptions of the loading model and matrix with particular reference to Covid-related concerns. Som seconded, and the motion carried without dissent. Senators will seek constituent input on key questions and concerns. Jeremy will reach out to HR and the administration and attempt to organize the forum with a target date of October 30th. As we solidify the date and time, an announcement to the full faculty will follow in the Weekly EDGE.
Standing Items:
Academic Calendar Committee, Curriculum Committee, Placement Committee, and Service Excellence Committee have not meant during this period.
21st C Skills Committee, during 2020-21, will
undertake to gauge faculty and staff perceptions of the skills. The committee had their first organizational
meeting on September 16th and will meet again on the 30th.
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: Announced two scholarship opportunities for CRJ and Early Childhood education.
E&IT: No major updates
A&CF: Engaged in I-Best recruiting for Spring semester.
HE: Noted their projected virtual health fair.
SSE - Learning Commons: Reminded the group that SSE is in full operation and ready to support our students and faculty, both physically and virtually. Also, noted the recent successes of Get Connected and other digital outreach initiatives, like Live Online skillshops, video short, online CHAT services, and embedded personnel.
Adjournment
All business completed for the day, the meeting was adjourned at 2:00pm
Next meeting: October 9th, 2020 at 12:30pm, online, link forthcoming
Key Takeaways
· Senators expressed concern about the consistent execution of safety and sanitation protocols in classroom areas, particularly in Oconee Hall. Jeremy will follow-up with facilities management and, perhaps, invite Ken to our next Senate meeting.
· Senate noted the addition of the Covid Dashboard as another tool in assessing the impact of the virus on campus. With bridge students returning in the coming week, the dashboard could be an important means of measuring possible change in the density of cases.
· Senate passed a motion to facilitate a public forum with HR for the full-faculty regarding impacts and understandings of the loading model and matrix with particular reference to Covid-related concerns.
§ Now that officers and all members of the full Senate
have been seated, we will publish that contact list to the Weekly Edge, along
with the schedule of Senate meetings for 2020-21.
