Harper College Faculty Senate

Professional … pragmatic … principled … progressive

Summary Minutes for December 7, 2006

(Approved February 8, 2007)

Executive Board:  Michael Harkins, President; Tom Dowd, Vice President; Jim Edstrom, Secretary; Linda Campbell, Treasurer; Dave Richmond, Grievance Officer; Julie Fleenor, Past President

 

Actions Taken

  • The Senate approved a rationale developed by the Assessment and Testing Committee to eliminate a portion of the assessment fact sheet.

 

 

 

I.          Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 12:22 PM.

II.        President’s Report

  • The Senate holiday gathering was a huge success; Michael thanked Joan Fiske and Joyce Grattoni for their hard work in organizing this event.
  • Michael acknowledged the many services provided by Pat Beach to the College and to the many students he educates with excellence. Pat was also thanked for the treats brought to the Senate.
  • Colleagues at Lakeland College have articulated concerns similar to those experienced by Harper faculty.
  • Michael will be meeting with the faculty presidents of the collar campuses to dialogue and share information sometime in spring, 2007.
  • The Orientation Week faculty meeting will take place on 1/10/07 over lunch, and will feature a cafeteria-style meal. All faculty are encouraged to attend.
  • Sean Noonan, David Richmond, and Kris Conroy were appointed to the Insurance Committee.
  • Collette Marsh, Teresa Chung, and Kim Fournier were appointed to the Intellectual Property Committee.
  • A call will go out in spring 2007 for the appointment of members to a Shared Governance Committee.

 

III.       Consent Agenda

  • Assessment & Testing: Michael read and recommended approval of a rationale developed by the Committee to eliminate a portion of the assessment fact sheet.

Motion to accept the change was made and passed unanimously.

 

IV.       Informational:

  • Distance Learning SOI (also refer to handout): Data collection by the Distance Learning SOI subcommittee was successful and the tool is ready for online use.

A handout describing recommendations was distributed to Senate members.

  • The Amenities/Social Committee will be asked to establish their own accounting and to monitor funds and expenses. Previously, this fell under the auspices of the Treasurer.
  • HLC: The first draft of the HLC document is almost complete. The timeline for completion of the HLC document is drawing near, and given this, the importance of having the Steering Committee retain ownership of this document was emphasized. An electronic copy of the first draft will be posted electronically in January. It will be possible to respond to some portions of this document.
  • Chairs and Coordinators met and several issues were raised. Program Review was an item discussed at length. The group identified that there is no process for addressing recommendations, program weaknesses, strengths, etc. that are raised in the program review process. The IPC might be one potential source with which to link to further explore issues raised in program review. Also, a taskforce headed by Daniel Corr may be convened to look at proposed changes in Program Review. It is not known whether faculty are being included on this taskforce. Lastly, the group requested that days and times rotate for Chairs and Coordinators meetings.

 

V.  Old Business:

  • IPC: Paul Guymon and July Kapleau presented an update to the Senate. The background of IPC, its communication processes, and the reporting of items to the Senate for dialogue and feedback were reviewed. Items are being addressed by IPC in a timely manner. At times, and as appropriate, certain issues may be directed to other shared governance bodies. The IPC may at times request additional data and clarification of issues. A list of IPC issues will be distributed to Senators to keep them updated on current items. The Senate was thanked for its work with the IPC and Michael in turn thanked the faculty IPC members for their good work.
  • Dean’s evaluations: Blackboard will be utilized and a faculty-wide evaluation of Deans will take place this month. Once the data is collected, the Divisional Senators will contact Deans and offer to meet and provide feedback. The importance of faculty participation and a robust turnout in this endeavor was stressed.
  • Insurance updates: two updates will be provided to faculty in spring.
  • Faculty Foundation: The establishment of a Faculty Senate Foundation will be explored in the spring; the Senate moved and unanimously passed this item.
  • Academic Labor: Michael may bring in a speaker to address this topic as it pertains to trends in higher education throughout the United States. Local 1600 and other faculty college chapters may be invited.
  • Payroll: Issues continue with the new system. Per Judy Thorsen, faculty experiencing difficulty are encouraged to email Payroll. Payroll will schedule an appointment with any faculty member who wants to review payroll issues.

 

VI.       New Business:

  • Accreditation: Cathy Albergo spoke to the importance of accreditation and concerns that accreditation may not be supported philosophically or fiscally by the administration. The Music Department has NISM accreditation; this is not only a Departmental accreditation, but an honor that in turn accredits Harper College as an institution. The Senate will revisit this issue in the spring.
  • It was proposed that the Climate Study be re-authorized by the Senate in spring and distributed to faculty in March or April. This would allow benchmarking and comparison of data.

 

VII.     Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 1:45 PM.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Caryn Levington (for Jim Edstrom)