September 04, 2012 Meeting
Agenda
Academic Senate Meeting Taft College
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
12:10-1:00pm
Cougar Conference Room
Call to order
Public Commentary
Approval of Minutes – May 16, 20012
Agenda
- High School Special Admit Policy update (Darcy Bogle) 10 minutes
- Accreditation Midterm Report update (Eric Berube) 5 minutes
- SLO Implementation Report (Vicki Herder) 20 minutes
- Academic Senate Charter, By-laws, Constitution on website (Devine) 15 minutes President’s Report
Next Meeting – Monday, October 1st, 12:10-1:00 Adjournment
Minutes
Taft College Academic Senate Minutes
Tuesday, September 4, 2012 Cougar Conference Room
Attendees: Kanoe Bandy, Michelle Beasley, David Berry, Eric Bérubé, Darcy Bogle, Joe’ll Chaidez, Bill Devine, Candace Duron, Juana Escobedo, Sharyn Eveland, Shelly Getty, Lourdes Gonzalez,
Jessica Grimes, Vicki Herder, Diane Jones, David Layne, Julián Martinez, Mariza Martinez, Mike Mayfield, Ruby Payne, Joseph Polizzotto, Susan Vaughan, Linda West
The meeting was called to order at 12:15 p.m.
Public Commentary
None
Review of May, 2012 Senate Minutes
The minutes were approved as presented.
High School Special Admit Policy Darcy Bogle
Darcy presented a summary of Senate discussions and recommendations that have taken place surrounding the issue of special admit high school students at the college. The topic was first introduced at the November 7, 2011 Senate meeting. A taskforce was formed in December, 2011, to study the issue, develop a policy, and report findings back to the Senate. After discussion and input from faculty and student service personnel, a draft of the policy was developed and presented to the Senate for review. The draft policy will be presented to the Board of Trustees at the September 2012 board meeting. The policy aligns with statewide policy and permits high school students who have completed their sophomore year of high school and are at least 16 years of age to take transferrable level courses and Math 1060 at the college on a seats-available basis. Students must obtain permission from a parent, school principal, and instructor of the course. Students will receive college credit upon course completion. Special admit students residing in the West Kern Community District service area are exempt from enrollment fees. Special admit students residing outside of the district service area will pay regular community college enrollment fees.
Faculty will continue to receive a list of minors who are enrolled in their classes. Faculty signatures will be required for special admit high school students beginning with the Spring 2013 semester.
A question was raised about allowing children under the age of 16 to take classes. Julian Martinez shared that research indicates that students benefit by taking foreign language classes at younger ages. Darcy suggested that Julian take the question to Brock McMurray.
Accreditation Midterm Report Update –Eric Bérubé
Eric addressed the status of the Accreditation Midterm Report. An electronic copy of the report was distributed to the Senate for review. Completion of the midterm report is required by the accrediting commission and must be submitted three years after the initial accreditation site visit. The report, due in October, describes progress made by the college in addressing the five recommendations made by the site visit team. Eric stated the report satisfactorily addresses all recommendations. The college is making good progress in the areas of program review, strategic planning, and SLOs. A Code of Ethics policy has been developed and approved by the Board of Trustees. The Substantive Change Proposal for distance education courses was submitted and approved by the accrediting commission.
Sonja Swenson made a motion to accept the report as presented. The motion was seconded by Dave Berry and unanimously approved by members in attendance.
SLO Implementation Report – Vicki Herder
Vicki distributed copies of the Status Report on Student Learning Outcomes Implementation that will be submitted to the Accrediting Commission. The report provides the Commission with a status update regarding our implementation of SLOs. Vicki stated that we should be at the proficiency level at the current time and should be looking into program SLOs. Our biggest problem is in getting adjunct faculty to complete and assess SLOs.
Please provide Vicki with documentation of course improvements we’ve made as a result of our assessments. According to Vicki, we must provide evidence that we’re working towards sustainability. She asked that we please complete and submit the “Roadmap to Sustainability” if we have not already done so. Vicki stated that we will continue with training that will focus on authentic assessment.
The report was presented to the Governance Council and will go to the Board of Trustees in September.
Academic Senate Charter, By-laws, Constitution on Website – Bill Devine
Bill stated the Academic Senate currently has two constitutions and we are following neither of them. The 1979 constitution states voting is open to all faculty, whereas the 1993 constitution states voting is limited to elected Senate representatives. Bill suggested it was time to review the Senate Charter.
President’s Report – Tony Thompson
Tony stated that, as a new president, he is looking for involvement and is currently seeking a volunteer to fill the role of secretary. He said he had spoken to Patti Bench who was in agreement that the position could substitute for a committee assignment.
Tony suggested the possibility of the Senate sponsoring an Adjunct Appreciation Luncheon to acknowledge the contributions of our adjuncts and help make them feel more a part of the college community.
The next Senate meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 1st, at 12:10 p.m. Tony requested you forward all agenda items to him.
Other
Sharyn Eveland expressed concern that the established Faculty Hiring Process was not followed this summer when the Learning Skills Instructor position was filled due to Jack Gallon’s unexpected retirement. Sharyn stated the Senate had agreed to replace positions due to faculty retiring in Spring 2012 prior to filling any new faculty positions. She didn’t feel that agreement extended beyond the spring semester. It was Bill Devine’s opinion that the process was not technically followed. Vicki Herder stated the Learning Support Division wanted to evaluate restructuring the position and she felt the wishes of the division were overlooked. Diane Jones, Kanoe Bandy, and Michelle Beasley stated they felt the process had been followed. No agreement on the issue was reached other than we will always do the best we can to make sure processes are followed.
Meeting was adjourned at 1:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted by
Linda West
Acting Academic Senate Secretary