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