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