Mission College Academic Senate

Ext. 5413

Unapproved Minutes

Thursday, September 21, 2006

I. Call to Order/Roll Call
The meeting was called to order by President Catherine Cox at 2:10p.m.

^Senators	A	P	Senators	A	P
^Beggs (Ext. 5188) AAS		X	^Malchow (Ext. 5370) Comm.		X
^Brichko(Ext. 5222) CATA		X	^Martin (Ext. 5356) Tech	X
^Brodie (ASB)		X	^Moles (Ext. 5113) ESL		X
^Cogswell (Ext. 5388) AAS	X		^Ostrander (x5274) StudDev.		X
^Cox (x5165) Pres/Com Svc		X	Paicius (x5413) AF/CATA		X
^Hernas (x5169) Com Serv.		X	Pembrook (x 5275) ComServ.		X
^Juncker (x5229) Comm.		X	Perlas (x5041) Stud.Dev.		X
^Kashima (x. 5319) ESL		X	Thickpenny (x5287 ) CATA		X
^Laird (x 5186) Soc Sci		X	Ting (x 5330) Math		X
^Lavallo (Ext. 5399) Math	X
^Guests: R.Charland, V. Doh, C.Montoya			^Guests: H.Robles, B.Thompson

II. Approval of the Minutes

The minutes for the August 31, 2006, minutes were accepted and approved with the following amendments on Page 3, Item VIII.A (Accreditation Progress Report), as indicated by underlined italics and strikethrough (M/S/U – Laird/Paicius):

First Paragraph:

First Sentence: - ”Interim President Harriett Robles presented a draft of the accreditation progress report developed to respond to recommendation 2 of the accreditation report: the issue of student, faculty and staff recruitment, retention and success, and also staff diversity.”

Third Sentence: “Harriett noted that colleges all over the state have been waiting for the State to develop a model student equity faculty and staff recruitment and retention plan, which was only issued in late June.”

Fifth Sentence: “The college needs to relate this information to our students, and develop strategies to address recruitment…”

Second Paragraph:

Second Sentence: “The first draft of the Student Equity Plan should be ready by Spring 2007..”

Fourth Paragraph:

First Sentence: “Cathy also advised the Senate that the Accrediting Commission for community Colleges (ASCCC) was contacted over the summer about the District Academic Senate resolution and its possible effect on accreditation participation by faculty in the accreditation self-study that the Accrediting Commission will not take that into account.”

III. Order of the Agenda

No changes were made to the order of the agenda.

IV. Oral Communication from the Public

A Senator expressed concerns relative to information received from a constituent regarding the Mission College Academic Senate faculty appointments to the President’s Search Committee. Apparently the Director of Human Resources contacted a Senate appointee, based on hearsay, and questioned that individual’s ability to serve on the committee in an impartial and fair manner. The Academic Senate carefully and thoughtfully selects faculty to serve on such committees and has faith in the people put forward by the Senate. To question their integrity and professionalism is insulting and inappropriate. President Cox stated that it is incumbent upon all the members of any hiring committee to maintain the integrity of the process.

V. Information & Announcements

1. President Cox reported that Cindy Vinson has been appointed to the Academic Senate for California Community College’s Technology Committee.

2. President Cox announced that Ian Walton has received an award from the State Chancellor for Excellence in Technology in Education.

3. Cathy announced that Matt Grayson will attend next week’s meeting to discuss issues involving Tech Prep.

4. President Cox announced that the Mission College Academic Senate has been offered a suite of offices on the third floor. Cathy was asked if the proposal was processed through the Facilities Committee. Cathy agreed to investigate.

5. Senator Pembrook announced that he will be teaching Course CA23 on Distance Learning. He and Cindy have been receiving a tremendous amount of requests for Technical Support from students. This course will help students get up to speed. The class will be offered in two Monday sessions, starting with October 2 and finishing on October 9, from 5:45 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. Curtis encouraged the Senators to advise their students of this opportunity. It was suggested that a flyer be sent out to all users via e-mail.

6. Senator Ting announced that Keith Devlin from NPR will be speaking next Thursday, September 28, 2006, in Sorenson Hall from 10:55 a.m. to 11:55 a.m.

VI. Administrative Business/Actions/Appointments

A. President’s Report – Please see written report attached to these minutes. President Cox distributed two handouts from yesterday’s DBAC meeting: a summary on enrollment and a report from Daniel Peck regarding the effect of Winter session on Spring enrollment. Daniel has concluded that the Winter session actually enhances Spring enrollment.

B. Committee Appointments

1. Hiring Committee, Director of Evening, Weekend & Emergency Programs and Services

Cathy reminded the Senators that Bob Miller has already been appointed to this committee, and a call for a second faculty member was issued. Salaam Albaker volunteered to serve and the Senators unanimously agreed to appoint Salaam Albaker to this committee (M/S/U – Paicius/Perlas).

2. Student Equity Committee - Cathy explained that a call for interested faculty willing to serve on a Student Equity Committee was issued to ensure that the committee could begin to function when appropriate. Mr. Albaker volunteered to serve on this committee as well. Since a number of faculty are needed to serve on this committee, Cathy asked the Senators if they wished to approve the appointment of Mr. Albaker at this time or reissue the call for volunteers and approve all appointments at the same time. Cathy was directed to reissue the call for additional faculty and make the appointments one time.

VII. Old Business

A. Update on District Academic Senate’s Resolution

At last week’s Senate meeting, the Senators were provided with a copy of the report from the Technical Assistance Visit (TAV) as well as a copy of a document prepared by the Chancellor with proposed responses to the behavioral objectives prepared by the District Academic Senate. The Chancellor’s document has not been brought to the Board of Trustees for discussion as yet. The members of the Board have received this document and the item will be placed on the October 5, 2006, agenda for discussion. At tonight’s Board meeting, the Chancellor will report on the TAV report at tonight’s Board meeting. It is expected that an official version of the Chancellor’s response will be presented to the Academic Senate in the near future.

President Cox opened the floor to discussion, and several Senators addressed their concerns relative to the Chancellor’s responses. It appears, based on the TAV report and the Chancellor’s responses that the members of the Board of Trustees do not have a clear understanding of their domain of responsibility and sometimes interfere inappropriately.

Discussion veered to recommendation #12 in the TAV report and the elements involving participation in shared governance committees, particularly in accreditation and enrollment management planning. A motion recommending that the MC Academic Senate allow faculty to resume participation in the accreditation process and enrollment management. Cathy also advised the Senators that Ian Walton has indicated his support for that recommendation. A lengthy discussion ensued, with almost every Senator indicating their reluctance to approve such action. There was consensus that the Senators wished to wait for the October 3^rd District Academic Senate meeting in order to give this recommendation full consideration with all the Senate members providing their views and information. In addition, several Senators noted that when the District Academic Senate lifted the suspension on hiring committees and tenure review, negotiations, which had been progressing, regressed. The motion failed unanimously.

There was additional discussion on concerns surrounding some of the Chancellor’s responses to the behavioral objectives. It appears that every time the Chancellor has indicated “Administrative Duties” it applies to shared governance objectives. The Chancellor’s intent needs to be clarified as to whether he is identifying same for the Board’s information or whether he is suggesting that shared governance does not play a role in this area. Cathy explained that the Board has questioned actions of DBAC and the District Council, both shared governance bodies, such as inviting FCMAT into the District and other budget recommendations made by DBAC. It is her opinion that those are areas where shared governance followed and certain Board members questioned the actions of shared governance bodies. She reiterated that the Board has seen the Chancellor’s responses and there will be a discussion on October 5^th.

At this time, it was agreed (M/S/U – Juncker/Hernas) to suspend the order of agenda and move to Item VIII..A to accommodate guests.

VIII. New Business

A. Presentation, Discussion and Consideration of Alternatives Relating to MC Main Building Facilities Issues

Harriett advised that the issue of what to do with the college’s main building needs to be resolved. She advised that the Board has set up a task force to college information on the issue and 15 meetings and forums will be held to collect input and determine the recommendation the college will make to its President and then to the Board. Harriett introduced the CCS Group, who manages the facilities project, to the Senators to provide information and answer questions – Bruce Thompson with CCS, Vin Do, Staff and Carlos Montoya.

The Senators were provided with a white paper indicating the charge of the Mission College community, which is to consider possible options for the Main Building in response to the recent evaluations of the building’s seismic status and provide a recommendation to the Board that will result in the best teaching and learning environment for the students. The college community must look to the future to determine what will best serve the educational needs of our students. It is her firm belief that this decision should be driven by educational needs. The white paper lists the background timeline and four possible options:

Option 1: Take no Action

Option 2: Retrofit the Main Building

Option 3: Remodel the Main Building (Retrofit not Required)

Option 4: Construct New Buildings on Mission College Campus.

Mr. Thompson discussed the issues relative to each option and the floor was opened to questions and answers. The issues of office space were discussed, costs, Bond monies, State funding, square footage, state restrictions and requirements and personal views regarding the various options. When asked for his personal view, Mr. Thompson clearly speaking for himself expressed his view that Option 4 provides the college with a golden opportunity to plan a brand new campus, cluster programs appropriately, etc. This could place Mission College on the map in an area where there are no other similar colleges. As questions continued, it was stated that Option 4 would provide the most square footage and, ultimately, the location of buildings would be decided in the development of a master plan. One Senator asked if an Environmental Impact Report has been made and Mr. Thompson advised that the decision on how to proceed must be made first. Then an EIR will be made.

Several Senators expressed their fondness for the existing building and concerns relating to the taxpayers who funded the existing college and the friendly environment. Harriett replied that a number of hospitals and educational institutions are in the same position and need to make a similar decision. They are opting to build new buildings rather than renovate the old in order to comply with the changes in codes that require these changes. Harriett also reported that she has met with the ASB and they are adamant about the things they like about the college and what they would like to see changed.

In closing, Harriett advised that there will be two open forums tomorrow, one at 9:00 a.m. and another at 10:30 a.m. These forums are also open to the community. CCS Group representatives will attend those forums with her with the intent to listen and collect information.

IX. Correspondence, Publications & Announcements

Correspondence

Publications/Minutes

1. The agenda for the Special Closed Session meeting of the M-WV Land Corporation Board of Directors on September 21, 2006. This meeting was cancelled.

2. The approved minutes for the September 6, 2006, meeting of DBAC and the agenda for the September 20, 2006, meeting of DBAC.

3. The agenda for the September 21, 2006, meeting of ACE Council.

4. A Notice of Committee Activity for the WVMCCD Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee on September 20, 2006.

5. The Goals Update for Fall 2006.

6. The approved summary notes for the August 30^th meeting and the unapproved summary notes for the September 13, 2006, meeting of GAP, as 3ell as the agenda for the September 20, 2006, meeting of GAP.

Announcements/Conferences

1. The Sabbatical Leave Committee will offer workshops to assist faculty in preparing sabbatical leave applications on October 3, 2006, at 3:30 p.m. in Business Room 8 at West Valley College and on October 4, 2006, at 2:00 p.m. in the President’s Conference Room at Mission College.

** 2. Call for Interested Faculty to serve on the Board of Governors: The ASCCC is seeking nominations for tenured faculty who represent commitment to issues of equity and diversity and demonstrate broad leadership experience with statewide issues.

** 3. The ASCCC has begun its formal review of the Disciplines List. The proposals submitted thus far include a proposal to create a new discipline in Creative Writing, to add a degree in Marriage and Family Therapy to the Counseling minimum qualifications, and to add Public Health to the list of disciplines. Proposals are available in the MC Academic Senate Office.

** 4. The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) will host its first Accreditation Institute on January 5 and 6, 2007, at the San Francisco Airport Westin. The Institute hours will be from 10:30 a.m. Friday to 4:00 p.m. Saturday, and is open to all faculty, Accreditation Liaison Officers, and Chief Instructional Officers. Course credits will be available for attendees. The registration fee is $155.00. Applications must be received in the ASCCC Office by December 8, 2006. Additional information is available from the MC Academic Senate Office.

** 5. The Accrediting Commission for Community & Junior Colleges is seeking a faculty member to serve on the commission to represent faculty. Application information is available from the MC Academic Senate Office and the application deadline is October 6, 2006.

6. The Annual Conference of the Economic & Workforce Development, Business Solutions & Workforce Training, will be held in San Francisco, February 27-March 1, 2007.

X. Future Agenda Items

No new items were added at today’s meeting.

XI. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 4:05 p.m. (M/S/U – Paicius/Perlas) These minutes are respectfully submitted by Grace Hazan, Academic Senate Secretary.

Mission College Academic Senate

President’s Report

September 21, 2006

District Academic Senate Resolution Update: The Chancellor will be presenting the report from the Technical Assistance Team to the Board at this evening’s meeting during his “Chancellor’s Report”. He will be placing a formal item on the next Board agenda for discussion, and will officially send his draft written response to the “Behavioral Objectives” to the two college Academic Senates in the next week. Since this item is on today’s MCAS agenda, further information will be given during the Academic Senate meeting.

Student Government: As directed last week, I have been making inquiries about the requirement that ASB officers and Student Senate officers take a leadership class in order to hold their offices. According to Dona Boatright, Interim VP of Instruction, there is a requirement that students holding office carry at least 5 units per semester, but there is no specific requirement for a particular class. I have asked Jim Bracy, Interim VP of Student Services, to look into the requirement and explained the concerns of the students.

Enrollment: Enrollment is still in flux district-wide. It looks like Mission’s enrollment is down 192.73 as of this week when compared against our goal for Summer/Fall (I’m not including our Winter/Spring goals in this comparison). However, this number does not reflect positive attendence and late-start classes yet, and the final actuals for this semester are likely to be considerably closer to our goal. West Valley’s data was presented in a slightly different format, so I can’t do a direct comparison, but it looks as if they are in a similar situation to Mission. It is important to remember also that our goal includes growth for the year; our base is slightly lower and is what we must meet to avoid losing ongoing money.

SHARED GOVERNANCE AND OTHER MEETINGS

As usual, please remember that these are only my notes and not official minutes of the meetings.

DIVISION CHAIRS COUNCIL, 9/18

• Harriett introduced Shaun Blaylock of CSS Group for a discussion of the Mission College Main Building and the issues facing us. A similar presentation will be made at MC AS 9/21.
• DC’s were asked to communicate out to their faculty (esp. including part-timers) that any time assistance is needed with disruptive or potentially disruptive individuals, there are two numbers to call: 911 for emergencies, and 299-2311 for non-emergency situations (including after-hours facilities issues). The second number connects you to County Communications (although they sometimes answer the phone “Sheriff’s Office”). They have long list of contact numbers for the District. Do not call the campus police number – they will not get the message in time!

DBAC, 9/20

• $3.9 million in one-time funds will be coming into the District this year as part of AB 1802, the Education Trailer Bill. These funds were not asked for by the Community College system and are “bonus” money allocated in the Governor’s budget; they have been allocated by the State Chancellor’s office based on FTES of each college. Some are unrestricted and some are restricted. Linda Francis presented a breakdown of the distribution, and DBAC discussed how the monies will be allocated within the District.
• Most of the funds will be split out between the colleges based on FTES, since that is how they were allocated by the State.
• Money for Transfer and Articulation was allocated as a flat amount per college, and will be given to each college accordingly.
• Money for State Scheduled Maintenance was the subject of some discussion over whether it should be allocated to Central Services or to the colleges. It was decided that since the maintenance is carried out by Central Services, the funds should go there, while the projects on which it will be spent have already been prioritized by the colleges and approved by the Board.

President Hartley also indicated that he would strongly recommend that although the bulk of the money is going to the colleges, Central Services be allowed to submit requests to the colleges for funding so that some infrastructure projects can be carried out.

• There was a report on Basic Skills due to the State today (9/20); it is supposed to include the plan for spending the Basic Skills funds. The request for the report was only received from the State Chancellor’s office three weeks ago and did not allow sufficient time for the plan to go through the shared governance process. Apparently numerous colleges around the state are having difficulty filling out this report as it is the first time it has been required. Stan will request more information from the State on this report.
• It was mentioned that the State Chancellor will be requesting a report from the District on the expenditure of the FON penalty money by colleges to ensure that it is spent appropriately.
• Daniel Peck reported on research about the impact of Wintersession on enrollment in Spring semester. Based on surveys of students enrolled in the past two Wintersessions, it appears that there is actually a beneficial effect on Spring enrollment overall. A copy of his report is being passed out to the Senate.