Tri-County Technical College
Faculty Senate Minutes
Meeting Date: February 12, 2021
Location: Bb Collaborate
Time: 12:30 p.m.
Members Present: Jeremy McCracken, Tonia Faulling, Som Linthicum, Shallin Williams, Melinda Hoover, Meredith Dickens, Jonathan Chastain, Rhonda Whitten, Amanda Karaganov, Sharon Yarbrough, Amy Roberts
Members Absent: Pam Goodman, Bill Leverette, Jeremy Pickens, Ellen Hudson, Malisa Looney, Tracy Byrd, Micah Bolin, Jim Deloache, Rachel Glanton, Stan Compton
Welcome & Review of the Agenda:
Jeremy called the meeting to order at 12:30pm and briefly introduced the agenda.
Approval of Minutes:
Once quorum was achieved, the Minutes from January 22nd were reviewed, and the Senate approved the minutes without further amendment. Som will forward them for posting to the Blogspot and update the TEAMS folder.
Housekeeping:
· Jeremy noted that the HE division is still working to fill the position vacated by Susan Curtis at the time of her retirement. They hope to have a new Senator installed before our March meeting.
· Amanda Karaganov returned to Faculty Senate, replacing Tracy Byrd as A&S Adjunct Senator. The Senate was pleased to welcome Amanda back, and many thanks to Tracy for her prior service.
New & Ongoing Business
· During our January meeting, it was noted that the President’s Advisory Council currently includes the President of Faculty Senate among its membership, and, in order to facilitate greater continuity from year to year, PAC has proposed that both the current and former Presidents of Faculty Senate serve on the committee and that the term of service be extended to the full operational year, rather than the shorter academic cycle. Senators, having consulted with their constituency, whole-heartedly approved the notion, reasoning that greater faculty involvement and input was always desirable. If adopted by PAC, the change may require some minor updating to the current C&B.
· Jeremy asked Senators, on behalf of the administration, to please help as best as possible to disseminate key information to faculty. The amount of information that faculty are asked to sort and synthesize is considerable and comes from a variety of disparate sources. Details, even important ones, may occasionally fall by the wayside.
o Weekly covid testing was offered as one example of a highly useful resource that, thus far, has seemed to be underutilized.
o The Senate was asked to consider how we might help to amplify important messaging.
· Jeremy brought forward ongoing concerns regarding faculty well-being and morale, particularly in light of the constraints of Covid protocols which have tended to isolate faculty from many of their colleagues. Jeremy noted that morale might be impacted by a number of factors, including policy and bureaucratic restrictions sometimes seen as eroding academic freedoms and agency.
o Several Senators expressed interest in extending the discussion beyond Covid to consider faculty morale more generally. It was also noted that the recently released college survey on high performance teams from Hanover also contained a section on morale. Discussion of the survey results is taking place throughout the departments and divisions.
o Faculty Senate felt that a discussion of the survey might yield additional insights into faculty morale. It was determined that Senate would discuss the survey results in more depth during the March meeting. Jeremy asked all Senators to preview the survey, if possible, and bring points of focus to the discussion.
o Senators are asked to consult with their constituency to garner insights around the issue of well-being and morale and to bring those thoughts and any actionable ideas back to Senate.
· As the spring elections cycle is fast approaching, Senate began to map the key calendar dates that will guide the process. The Senate proposes the following tentative targets...
o March 5th – Senate accepts nominations for FS President. Candidates must be full-time faculty who have previously served a minimum of one year on Senate within the past five years. Those candidates may be current senators who are nominated by a peer or who self-nominate. Candidates who are not currently on Senate may be nominated by a current senator.
§ Discussion and vetting of eligibility
o March 26th – A minimum of two and a maximum of four Presidential Candidates are presented to the full faculty for voting.
o March 31st – New President is announced
o April 2nd – Deans, Associate Deans, or Directors of each division are contacted to request the names of Senators for the upcoming academic year. Each division will follow its own democratic selection processes for electing the specified number of senators.
o April 9th – Deans report the names of Senators for the coming year.
o April 11th -- Deans, Associate Deans, or Directors of each division are contacted to request the name of one nominee from each division for At-Large Senator. Each division will follow its own democratic selection process for electing the nominee.
o April 18th – Each Division provides the name of one nominee for the roll of At-Large Senator
o April 19th – Voting begins by full faculty for At-Large Senators
o April 23rd – At-Large Senators are announced
o May 6th – New Senators join the final meeting of the year.
· In an allied discussion, the Senate reviewed the areas of the C&B relevant to voting rights and eligibility to serve on Senate, particularly Article III, and most specifically Section 1 and Section 3.1, E-I. . Attention was drawn in particular to the role of Deans, Associate Deans, and Directors, relative to voting eligibility. Further discussion was tabled until March in order to provide Senators with an opportunity to consider and digest the letter of the bylaws.
o Meanwhile, Jeremy will reach out to HR to clarify the classification of Deans, Associate Deans, and Directors as faculty.
Constituent Concerns
· Covid Dashboard – Jeremy offered some further clarification in response to a recent constituent question regarding the Covid Dashboard -- specifically how/if Bridge students were being included in the Dashboard counts. Jeremy reported that, since Covid-screening for Bridge students is taking place through the auspices of Clemson University, those numbers are being collected first via Clemson and, subsequently, relayed to TCTC for incorporation into the Dashboard. This is a somewhat different procedure than the self-reporting process employed for native TCTC students.
· Rate of Pay for Independent Study – In order to assist students in need of additional credits or a missing course requirement, faculty are sometimes asked to take on “independent studies” with individual students. These efforts, typically undertaken to support a student who might otherwise be prevented from graduating on time, require significant investments in time and effort from the faculty member, yet the rate of pay for those efforts is extraordinarily low – just $50 per semester. This type of intervention often requires the faculty member to essentially teach an entire course to a single student necessitating extra preparation and meeting time throughout the term. It was asked if the Senate could exam that policy and practice in hopes of providing more equitable compensation for the faculty member and their efforts. After inquiries, Jeremy offered some additional perspective on the issue – the incidences of independent studies seems to be quite low, and they are generally viewed as occurring on a “volunteer basis,” i.e. at the discretion of the faculty member. Jeremy further noted that it has been difficult to find comparative data for how peer/aspirants contend with the issue, but he is continuing to research the question. Senators wondered about the notion of “volunteer basis,” noting that student hardship might compel the faculty member to take on the task, even when it was against their own interests in terms of time and financial return. Senators further wondered if some students might be delayed in their progress, if faculty members failed to “volunteer.” Senators generally supported a change to the current mode of operation and hoped it would be possible to move in that direction.
Standing Items:
Committee Updates
Academic Calendar Committee – Jeremy noted that the committee is still working to solidify the calendar for the coming academic year. Once the calendar is published, Senate will need to refer to it in order to set meeting dates for the next term.
Curriculum Committee – no new report provided
Placement Committee – no new report provided
Service Excellence Committee – no new report provided
21st C Skills Committee – The 21st C Skills Committee is finalizing preparations for several listening sessions this spring to further gauge perceptions of the skills on the part of both faculty and staff. Invitations for those sessions are expected to go out shortly.
PAC – PAC met to review the college survey on highly effective teams. Some of that discussion touch upon faculty expertise and how best to leverage faculty skills and experiences for the benefit of the college – selection of knowledgeable faculty to relevant committees, for example.
ALT – no new report provided
Division Updates
Note: all divisions are currently scheduling meetings to review the college survey.
A&S -- no major updates
BPS – no major updates
E&IT – No major updates
A&CF – No major updates
HE – No major updates
SSE – The Learning Commons Team has been nominated for the A. Wade Martin Innovation Team of the Year via SCTEA; sponsorship support has been provided for the upcoming screening of the film Black Men in White Coats with a panel discussion scheduled for February 24th, featuring the film’s executive producer and several local physicians; Open Education Week will run from March 1st through 5th with an array of online webinars for faculty and others hosted by PASCAL (https://pascalsc.libguides.com/c.php?g=842027&p=8170966); the spring skillshop series has begun; several Makerspace events are scheduled for the spring intended to provide a bit of stress-release for students; the LC has received positive feedback for its recently re-tooled webpage with patrons noting its visual appeal and easier navigation; the Learning Commons will partner with Clemson University, the Bridge Program, and our own English Department to sponsor an information literacy and research workshop on March 2nd, Trekking the Info Ecosystem: Survival Skills for Research Success.
Adjournment
All business completed for the day, the meeting was adjourned.
Next meeting: March 5, 2021 at 12:30pm, online, link forthcoming
Key Takeaways
· In light of the ongoing discussion of faculty morale, particularly in the context of Covid, Senators are seeking input from their constituency.
· At out next meeting, we will review the Hanover survey recently released by the College. It also contains a section on morale which might be instructive.
· The Senate has begun to construct a tentative election calendar, mapping key steps in the electoral process as required by the C&B. Senators are seeking nominations for the role of President and should be prepared to present those at our next meeting.
· Events – A panel discussion of the film Black Men in White Coats, with executive producer, Dr. Dale Okorodudu, will take place on Wednesday, February 24th, at 1:30 pm, via zoom and Anderson Events Hall; Open Education Week is March 1-5 with a series of online events for faculty and others sponsored by PASCAL – more information is available at https://pascalsc.libguides.com/c.php?g=842027&p=8170966; the Skillshop series is off and running in the Learning Commons; Trekking the Info Ecosystem: Survival Skills for Research Success, a special workshop sponsored by the Learning Commons, Clemson University’s Cooper Library, the Bridge Program, and the TCTC English Department will take place at 1pm on March 2nd – all students are welcomed and encouraged to attend.
