Minutes of September 3, 2015

Bristol Community College

Faculty & Professional Staff Senate Meeting

Minutes of Thursday, September 3, 2015

Room H129 3:15pm

Senators in attendance:  M. Geary, J. Pelletier, R. Benya-Soderbom, B. French, D. St. George, S. Pero, J. Constantine, R. Worthington, S. McCourt, J. Boulay, S. Ferreira, J. Flanigan, D. Phillips, L. Neubert, J. Jodoin, H. Tinberg

Absences: C. Leonard, J. Corven, J. Mbugua, R. Amarasingham, K. Hiller, L. Delano-Botelho, T. Grady

Excused Absences: G. Leeman

Two guests attended this meeting.

Meeting called to order:  3:40 pm; quorum 3:52 pm

Minutes:  Minutes from February 23^rd , March 9^th, April 13^th, were reviewed and approved with no abstentions.

Moment of Silence

The Senate had a moment of silence in honor of the passing of fellow Senator Sally Gabb.

Senate’s Strategic Goals for AY 2015-2016

President Tinberg discussed the annual goals, which resulted from the Senate retreat during the summer.

·         Governance: implement the joint academic initiative document; revise By-Laws and vote on them 4 weeks following; report on NEAS work groups; vote on strategic plan at next meeting

·         Sustainability: organize a Senate Nominations Committee and improve attendance at meetings

·         Student Retention/Academic Support: organize an ad hoc retention committee to complete a written report by April 1, 2016; plan a retention summit to be guided by data

Discussions followed regarding recruiting and mentoring new Senators, using Office 365 to increase Senate engagement, greater transparency regarding changes to the academic calendar, and engaging adjunct faculty on the NEASC Governance group.

Proposed Changes to By-Laws

·         Division representation: Because the college’s reorganization of some areas impacted Senate representation (constituent census was conducted by Senators Leeman, Boulay, and Worthington in Spring 2015), proposed changes will reorganize division representation on Senate (e.g., “Division 7” will now be broken out to Enrollment Services, Student Services, and Lash Division) in order to expand representation of constituencies.

·         Article 3 Ad Hoc Committees: created for the length of 1 year and reconstituted as needed (e.g., Grandchamp Committee)

·         Voting: if quorum not present, explore electronic voting

·         Glossary: revise to outline representation of areas

·         Voting on revised By-Laws will occur after 4 weeks

General Education Competencies

·         Senator Boulay and Holly Pappas were tasked with co-chairing a task force that will provide recommendations on BCC general education competencies to Academic Affairs by December 2015. The opening day panel discussion focused on this topic and competency meetings that explored aligning existing general education competencies with AAC&U LEAP Rubrics. Overall, the sentiment was that it was a valuable exercise to explore the assessment of general education competencies and the following points were raised by Senators:

o    The importance of the Senate engaging in dialogue; Senators were encouraged to sign up for the task force

o    Understanding the glossary of terms

o    Purpose is to not tie hands of instructors, but opportunity for communication to students

o    Need for transparency and engaging diverse stakeholders

o    Importance of alignment with courses

o    Where are notes on conversation from 8 years ago?

o    Importance of including both historical context and new perspectives from newer colleagues in discussions

o    Do we have too many competencies or do other colleges have too few?

o    Are existing competencies (or LEAP Rubrics) too cumbersome?

o    Can it be personalized—will students have alternate ways for demonstrating competencies outside of courses?

o    Opportunity to modernize our competencies

Meeting Adjourned:  4:31 pm

Respectfully submitted, Jennifer Boulay, BCC Faculty & Professional Staff Secretary

Minutes of April 13, 2015

Bristol Community College

Faculty & Professional Staff Senate Meeting

Minutes of Monday April 13, 2015

B101 3:15 p.m.

Senators in attendance: J. Pelletier M. Geary, J. Corven, J. Mbugua, S. McCourt, J. Boulay, D. St. George, R. Amarasingham, C. Poore-Pariseau, S. Gabb, R. Benya-Soderbom, E. Kemper-French, S. Ferreira, R. Worthington, H. Tinberg, G. Leeman, J. Constantine

Excused Absences: K. Hiller, T. Grady

Absences:  R. Santos, D. Warr, J. Duponte,  G. Heaney, M. Williams, L Delano-Botelho, C. Leonard,  S. Pero

Guests: 6

Meeting called to order 3:21 pm.

Minutes: Minutes from March 9, 2015 were reviewed, but not voted on because quorum was not met.

Division Updates:

·       Division 1: The search for division dean is about to be finalized.

·       Division 2: Finalist interviews for division dean are being finalized; one candidate withdrew.

·       Division 3: No updates.

·       Division 4: No update. 4/22 bone marrow drive.

·       Division 5: No update. Eighteen Honors Scholars are going to UMass Amherst; the Honors Showcase is scheduled for 4/29.

·       Division 6: No update.

·       Division 7: One Dean of Advising candidate withdrew.

Senate Elections

Title III Updates

§  Nominations for the Writing in the Disciplines Drafting Group: Greg Sethares solicited nominations. Participants were asked to commit to 100 hours of work. While the committee is not fully formed yet, concerns were raised about the composition of the group—direct reports may feel unable to speak freely with their supervisors present.  Multidisciplinary representation and more full-time faculty are needed on the committee.

§  Thinking About Process: At the Professional Staff meeting, Greg Sethares and Jennifer Menard discussed scope range, purpose, suggestions for activities, synthesizing constituent emails. A discussion followed about the importance of ongoing consultations with stakeholders and documentation of findings. This initiative presents a strong opportunity to utilize the joint initiative document.

Update on Governance

§  Report from the NEASC Working Groups:

§  The governance group will look at self-study findings. Unclear charge.

§  The advising group convened once; the task is to identify a comprehensive and effective system of advising. There was some disagreement among the chairs about whether the past task force on advising’s recommendations were met. Only two faculty members serve on this group. Most issues raised were academic in nature (e.g., problems with courses).

·       Latest on Advisement Reorganization: Research finds that most advising centers in country reside in Academic Affairs. A discussion followed about the purpose of advising (enrollment vs. as an extension of the curriculum). Synergy between advisors and faculty will allow for better student support. Steve Viveiros suggested a division liaison approach. When asked to generate pros and cons of moving from Enrollment, advisors indicated that they wanted to move to Academic Affairs. Some faculty and professional staff felt they didn’t have sufficient expertise to respond to this projected move.

Meeting adjourned 4:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Jennifer Boulay, BCC Faculty & Professional Staff Secretary

Minutes of March 9, 2015

Bristol Community College

Faculty & Professional Staff Senate Meeting

Minutes of Monday, March 9, 2015

Room B101 3:15pm

Senators in attendance:  M. Geary, J. Pelletier, R. Benya-Soderbom, J. Mbugua, R. Amarasingham, C. Poore-Pariseau, B. French, L. Delano-Botelho, D. St. George, K. Hiller, S. Pero and G. Leeman

Excused absences: Robyn Worthington, Susan McCourt, Jenn Boulay and Tom Grady

Absences:  J. Constantine, D. Warr, S. Gabb, M. Williams, C. Leonard, J. Corvin, R. Santos, J. Duponte,  G. Heaney, S. Gabb

Special Guest:  Sarah Morrell

Guests:  7

Meeting called to order:  3:17 pm

Minutes:  Minutes from February 23, 2015 were reviewed, but not voted on because quorum was not met.

Reporting from the Divisions:   Division 2 is getting closer to having a new dean with no firm timeline.  Division 1 interviews for a new dean will be held after spring break.  Division 4’s accreditation is up for renewal.  They are working with administration to finalize the process.  Division 5 reported possible instructional issues/academic support with labs moving from E bldg. to the new science building. No input from the remaining divisions. 

Nominations:  a call was made to notify the Senate of any new nominations for the upcoming elections.

Dual Enrollment & Early College:  Much discussion took place regarding age criteria. As defined by the State, Dual Enrollment students are typically 16 yrs of age and still in high school.  Below 16 is underage.  The numbers provided (by Sarah Morell)  for students registered in the Fall and Spring are as follows:

 Fall 2014 

 49 students were registered under the age of 16 at the start of the term

15 students of the 49 were homeschooled students

Spring 2015

 93 students were registered under the age of 16 at the start of the term

11 students of the 93 were homeschooled students

Other points made:

-Discussion regarding some students take BCC courses for free, but homeschool and underage do not necessarily take courses for free-

-focus to strengthen the attendance for meetings between Durfee and BCC as Durfee has had less attendance

-Mandate needed from the Superintendent to enhance Dual Enrollment to BCC standards and that Durfee put in more effort with the Dual Enrollment process and not rely on faculty to drive the agenda.

-The possibility of BCC/Durfee sharing a google drive for information.

-Develop a common language between the two schools regarding definition of what our courses are.

-Strengthen the eligibility process for students

-Updates to the Senate regarding changes in policy

-A question came up about why some faculty are not getting letters regarding underage enrollment.  There is a glitch in the system which is not capturing students who turn 16 and no longer underage.

-Recruiting more first generation students/underrepresented groups who meet criteria.

Title III:  A concern was raised regarding the process of how ideas of how to use funds.  There seems to be a “tag” on certain ideas that seem to be permanent ideas.  Perhaps more open forums before final decisions are made.  The timeline seems to have gone by so fast.

NEASC working groups:  Outcomes has met.  Advisement will hold their first meeting on April 8^th.  NEASC seems to be vague on the criteria that Governance should have.

Advising and Orientation move to Academic Affairs:  Senate will send a response to constituents regarding more input needed to this initiative. This is a transparency/governance issue and the Senate’s pilot for our agreement with Administration regarding transparency and shared governance.  Questions were raised as to what the rationale and clear benefits are for this transition.

-Although this initiative was on the All-College Meeting Agenda, it was not discussed as the meeting went into overtime.

-Previous to this new initiative, the Leaning Commons stakeholders were not involved

-A question was raised – does Advising adhere to the College’s mission?

-Advising is an academic issue and belongs in Academic Affairs. 

-There is a need to get students optimistic about advising and not just course selection.

-First year advising experience needs to be revised.  After 2 hours of testing, students were exposed to 2 hours of a PowerPoint presentation regarding advising without a break.

-How is advising defined across the disciplines?

-The possibility of faculty pitching in at the Advising Center in G217.

Other:  April 8^th is the date for the Grandchamp lecture TBA.

Meeting Adjourned:  4:21 pm

Respectfully submitted, Ginny Leeman, BCC Faculty and Professional Staff Active VP

Minutes of February 23, 2015

Bristol Community College

Faculty & Professional Staff Senate Meeting

Minutes of Monday February 23, 2015

Room B101 3:15 p.m.

Senators in attendance: J. Pelletier, M. Geary, S. McCourt, J. Boulay, D. St. George, R. Worthington, J. Constantine, H. Tinberg, L. McDonald for G. Leeman, R. Benya-Soderbom, E. Kemper-French, C. Poore-Pariseau, K. Hiller, J. Mbugua, C. Leonard

Excused Absences: T. Grady, J. Corven, S. Pero

Absences:  R. Santos, D. Warr, J. Duponte, G. Heaney, M. Williams, L. Delano-Botelho, S. Gabb, S. Ferreira, R. Amarasingham

Special Guests: Sarah Morrell, Rebecca Clark, and Erin Smith

Guests: 3

Meeting called to order 3:18 pm.

Minutes: Minutes from November 17, 2014 and January 20, 2015 were reviewed and passed with an amendment to the January minutes adding K. Hiller to the “excused absence” roster.

Election Update

Senators are asked to send Senate nominations for the 2015 election to President Tinberg by March 2^nd. President Tinberg will contact Senators with terms ending during Spring 2015 to find out if they will plan to run again.

Civic Engagement and Leadership Training Workshops

Rebecca Clark (Civic Engagement Faculty Fellow) and Erin Smith (Coordinator of Civic Engagement) informed the Senate about a new student leadership initiative offered by the Center for Civic Engagement. Students were notified via email with a call for applications. Selected students will meet once per month to cover a different leadership topic while leading 5 BCC students on a service project that meets a community need. The program will be offered at 3 locations (Fall River cohort consists of 7 students; 4 in New Bedford; 3 in Attleboro). The Civic Engagement Advisory Board will be updated about this initiative at their next meeting.

NEASC Response to Dual Enrollment

Sarah Morrell, Dean of Access and Transition, updated the Senate on NEASC feedback as related to dual enrollment.

·       NEASC has a new official policy on dual enrollment programs, with limited available information at the time of the College’s self-study.

·       The College is tasked with illustrating an affirmative commitment in order to comply with said dual enrollment policy.

·       All dual enrollment courses offered at the college should have the same academic rigor as other BCC courses (e.g., not developmental education).

·       A NEASC Task Force on Dual Enrollment has been formed and will meet on February 24^th. Senators were invited to participate.

·       Students participating in the Commonwealth Dual Enrollment Program must have a 3.0 high school GPA and be recommended by their guidance counselors; they are eligible to take one free non-developmental course per semester. If these students are under 16 years of age, faculty are notified after enrollment, generally 1 week prior to the start of classes.

·       Underage students who are homeschooled don’t participate in the Commonwealth Program and are not vetted in the same way; however, they pay for the courses and must take placement tests. These students are able to take developmental coursework.

Update on Governance Initiative

·       The March 2^nd All Academic Meeting will focus on this matter.

·       The VP of Academic Affairs is interested in identifying the topic for the pilot study by the end of February.

·       Possible topics suggested by VP of Academic Affairs Sethares or President Tinberg include:

o   upcoming Title III grant, a proposed Veteran’s Center, the Supplemental Instruction Program, a proposal to move Advisement to Academic Affairs

·       Senators are asked to send additional ideas to President Tinberg.

·       Assessment of the joint governance initiative will be an important part of the pilot.

·       Additional discussions followed regarding the equity of academic support at various campuses, changes to the Writing Center, the budget for academic student support, learning communities not automatically being rolled over on course schedule, and the need for ongoing communication between academic and student support areas.

NEASC Working Groups

VP of Academic Affairs Sethares sent out a call for volunteers, but response was fairly low. Four task groups are being formed according to the NEASC recommendations (shared governance, assessing student learning outcomes, student advising systems, dual enrollment). The following Senators have requested to serve on the respective task groups:

·       Governance: H. Tinberg, S. McCourt, J. Boulay

·       Assessing Student Learning Outcomes: R. Worthington, M. Geary, G. Leeman

·       Student Advising Systems: C. Poore-Pariseau, E. Kemper-French

Feedback on By-Laws Changes

Senators Leeman, Boulay, and Worthington obtained a census of constituents from Human Resources and have drafted a proposed amendment to Article II (Governance) of the Senate By Laws. They recommend that a) Division 7 be separated into 3 separate groups to reflect the college reorganization—Lash Division, Enrollment Services, and Student Services; and b) to change the per division Senate composition from 5% of the full-time faculty and professional staff from each area to 15%. The latter recommendation stems from the approved 2013 by laws revision not adjusting the percentage when shifting from full-and part-time faculty and professional staff to just full-time faculty and professional staff for these calculations. Secretary Boulay will send recommendations electronically to Senators for a later vote.

General Studies Meta-Majors

Senator Hiller discussed her role in the planning of the newly proposed meta-majors. They are designed to provide students with a direction and experiential education within their field of interest. Students declare a concentration earlier, but can change their program at any time. In order to enroll in General Studies, students will have to opt out of the offered meta-majors. She explained how health students who may not be eligible to enroll in the nursing program benefited from the Guided Pathways to Success Program. Department chairs have been involved in the planning of these academic foci.

Grandchamp Lecture

Every spring, the Senate sponsors a lecture delivered by a fellow faculty/staff member. The committee has invited JP Nadeau to discuss his research on April 8^th. The Senate will need to establish a new committee and process. Senators are asked to send nominations President Tinberg. He will invite past winners to form an informal advisory group to help with the direction of this program.

Other Items and Reminders:

Senators Tinberg, Leeman, and Boulay met with VP of Technology, Jo-Ann Pelletier, to discuss a Senate pilot study using Office 365 to improve communication channels to constituents. The goal is to transition toward electronic voting if quorum is not met at face-to-face meetings.

Meeting adjourned 4:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Jennifer Boulay, BCC Faculty & Professional Staff Secretary