Minutes of Tuesday, October 10, 2017

 Bristol Community College

Faculty & Professional Staff Senate Meeting

Minutes of Tuesday, October 10, 2017 

Room L 101 3:15 pm

Senators in attendance:   C. Almeida, M. Geary,  L. Delano-Botelho, K. Hiller,  K. Plante,  S. Alves, D. Avedikian, R. Rak, J. Barry,  D. Behuniak,  J. Boulay, J. Emond,  J. Corven, K. Woldegiorgis, M. Hyde,  D. Quenga, L. Neubert,  J. Jodoin-Krauzyk, A. Marden, K. Fassbender, J. Dekkers

Absences: R. Rebelo, P. Robillard, M. Roberts, D.Avedekian, J, Corven, J. Emond
Excused Absences: M. Sipala, J. Bjornson,  R.  Weisberger, G. Hamel
Guests: 8 Guests attended this meeting

Meeting called to order:  3:20 pm   (tardy start due to technology)

Minutes:  Minutes from 9/18 meeting were approved unanimously with 1 correction (change BCCC to BCC in bullet two under Professional Development)

Welcome:
J. Boulay welcomed Senators, Guests and Guest Speaker, Joyce Brennan, Vice President, College Communications 

Joyce Brennan Announcements:

• Currently in the process of shaping the use of “@ everybody” in BCC email
• Charge and current goal is to decrease the use but assures that it will not disappear completely. Continue to be used with discretion.  Stop Gaps currently in place to ensure it is appropriately used.
• “BCC Weekly” to replace use in many cases.
• BCC Weekly is a work in progress. Encouraged Senators to email questions or comments 
• Senate expressed concern that no predictability related to finding items in BCC Weekly.  Suggestion made for “Bucketing Items” (i.e. job postings, weekly events, etc)
• Table of Contents does not appear to be working on some mobile device apps.  To be addressed

By – Law Amendments Discussed:

• Reviewed suggested language change in the By-Laws that would encourage Senate sustainability
• New Item added:  Procedures to address Senate vacancies.  This new item reflects language in Union By-Laws 
• Identified term end and start dates
• Added language associated  with Grandchamp Lecture Committee since this is an annual event
• Need to address how we will vote on By-Law changes:  Will it be as a package or will each change be voted upon separately? 
• Comments and additional suggestions should be sent to Lisa Delano-Botelho
• Voting will take place 11/20/2017 

Committee Information:
Grandchamp Lecture: 
The charge: prepare a slate of candidates who can deliver lecture, vote on candidate and inform them.
 Question to consider:  Will this be open to students?
Call for committee:  The following volunteered to serve

• Steve Alves
• Jim Pelletier
• Dana Behuniak
• Ron Weisberger

Textbooks (ad hoc):
The charge:  Collaborate with Student Senate, Book Store, Financial Aid and possibly Bob Resendes.   Pricing student texts exorbitant – how can we drive down the cost for our students?
 Call for committee:  The following volunteered to serve

• Dana Behuniak
• Alyssa Frezza
• Julie Jodoin-Krauzyk
• Kelli Hiller
• Lisa Delano-Botelho

Census Committee:
The charge:  Call HR and get information on Unit members.  Break down members based on the number of units.  Restructure Senate (if necessary) based on growth, shrinkage and/or college reorganization
Call for committee:  The following volunteered to serve

• Kellie Fassbender
• Kathy Plante
• Dana Behuniak

Nominations Committee:
The charge: Identify which Senators are rotating off; recruit potential Senators from respective divisions/areas, solicit nominations.  Vote to be held March 2. 
Call for committee:  The following volunteered to serve

• Mike Geary
• Debbie Quenga

NEASC Steering Committee:

• Forming subcommittees at this time
• There are several Senators on various subcommittees including Senate president, J. Boulay
• Shared Governance will be only one of the areas that will need to be addressed in the 5 year report
• Some subcommittees are still in need of additional volunteers 
• If constituents have not been called to serve but are interested, contact Suzanne Buglione or Deb Anderson

Division Updates:

• ODS:  No learning specialist on NB campus since last spring.  Can Senate inquire about the upcoming plan related to this?
• Division 5 inquired what the process is for designating an online course. A discussion followed regarding course designations as a whole (e.g., definitions, transparency, searchability for students). This item will be added to a future agenda for additional discussion.
• Also, explore computer literacy competency (technology may have results from completed survey)
• J. Boulay requested purge data from Steve Kenyon and Kathy Garganta.  Received feedback which will be sent to Senate for feedback

Meeting Adjourned:  4:15 pm
Respectfully Submitted:  Lisa Delano-Botelho, BCC Faculty & Professional Senate Secretary

Minutes of Monday, September 18, 2017

Bristol Community College
Faculty & Professional Staff Senate Meeting
Minutes of Monday, September 18, 2017
Room L 101 3:10 pm

Senators in attendance:   C. Almeida, M. Geary,  L. Delano-Botelho, R.  Weisberger, J. Bjornson,  G. Hamel, K. Hiller,  K. Plante,  S. Alves, D. Avedikian, R. Rak, J. Barry,  D. Behuniak,  J. Boulay, J. Emond,  J. Corven, M. Sipala, K. Woldegiorgis, D. Quenga, L. Neubert,  J. Jodoin-Krauzyk, K. Fassbender

Absences: R. Rebelo, P. Robillard, M. Roberts
Excused Absences: M. Hyde, A. Marden, J. Dekkers
Guests: 8 Guests attended this meeting
Meeting called to order:  3:15 pm  
Minutes:  Minutes from May, 2017 were reviewed, suggested change was to add “academic” to the title of VPC and approved unanimously with aforementioned correction.

Welcome:
J. Boulay welcomed Senators, Guests and BCC President Douglas. 

President Douglas Announcements:

·         At this time, college is seeking to hire new Executive Director of Human Resources

·         President Douglas has identified her 2017 – 2018 goals for the college and shared with the Board of Trustees

·         President Douglas will prioritize the goals for the next Board of Trustees meeting scheduled for October and will then share with the BCC community

·         Identified goals include, but not limited to:  Support teaching and learning; Define shared governance and transparency in such a manner that will facilitate agreement when we have attained that goal; Information sharing and closing the feedback loop

·         BCC has a robust strategic plan. Need is to align strategic Goals with our identified strategic plan

Update on Senate Strategic Goals: These Strategic Goals were unanimously approved.

1.      Student Retention and Success

·         Monitor implementation of recommendations from the Retention Summit

·         Work with College Communications providing input on website design and campus event calendar

·         Work with Outcomes Assessment Fellow, convene a faculty team to create institutional assessment plan of student learning outcomes

·         Work with Academic VPC for input with course cancellation policy and the financial purge

2.      Professional Development and Recognition of Employees

·         Propose greater transparency in the recognition and leadership development of employees of BCC

·         Work toward getting the programs available listed on the BCC website

·         Encourage the publishing of names of employees that have won awards and the reason(s) they have received that particular award

·         Encourage BCC to consider including faculty bios in web redesign

3.      Senate Sustainability 

·         Develop a marketing plan to increase interest and attendance at future Senate meetings

·         Develop ad-hoc Census Committee charge with completing census to occur in 2017 – 2018 academic year

·         Revision of Senate by-laws to meet needs of grooming Senate Leadership

·         Develop the use of technology to meet needs of Senators and constituents on other campuses.

Upcoming PACE (Personal Assessment of the College Environment) Study

·         To occur November 2017

·         Divided into 4 climate factors:  Institutional structure; Supervisory relationships; Teamwork; Student Focus

Academic VPC meeting updates

·         The Financial Purge

o   The challenge this year was the FASFA change.  Need to submit tax documents

o   One strategy for improving; advertising to students to fill out paperwork early for financial aid

o   Senators who would like to have input on this topic should contact Kelli Hiller (faculty liaison to academic VPC) through Microsoft Teams)

·         The Bristol Weekly

o   All campus events will be through BCC Weekly (name change from Bristol Buzz)

o   Looking at possibility of discontinuing the use of @ everybody in BCC email

o   AVPC also looking for feedback on the Bristol Weekly.  Again, contact Kelli Hiller through Microsoft Teams

·         Cancellation of Classes

o   For Spring 2018, BCC will NOT populate those courses that did not running Spring 2017

o   BCC looking to decrease the number of courses by 10%

o   Those classes that will not run are ultimately the decision of the Dean of each Division

o   Senate concerns are that classes necessary for the completion of a degree may be cut

·         Late Grade Policy

o   Some faculty are not submitting their final course grades in a timely manner

o   Questioning the possibility to take punitive actions
(i.e. a letter will be placed in faculty file)

Text Books:

·         Concerns regarding text book orders continue

·         Senate would like to create a text book task force

·         More discussion and information to follow

 By Law Revisions:  Tabled until 10/10 meeting
Senate must vote on by-law revisions in Fall 2017.  Vote scheduled for 11/20/2017.  Revisions may include following areas:

·         Sustainability of the Senate and grooming future leaders of the Senate

·         Changing document language that appears unclear. 

·         Send ideas for potential changes/amendments to Senate Secretary, Lisa Delano-Botelho.

Meeting Adjourned: 4:15 pm
Respectfully Submitted:  Lisa Delano-Botelho, BCC Faculty & Professional Staff Senate Secretary

Senate Strategic Goals (AY 2017-18)

SENATE STRATEGIC GOALS (AY 2017-18)

Mission The name of the organization is the Bristol Community College Faculty and Professional Staff Senate.  Its purpose will be to provide a deliberative body designed to promote shared governance, transparency, collegiality, and mutual trust among faculty and staff and administration.  Further, the Faculty and Professional Staff Senate will provide a forum to enhance academic values and opportunities.

Vision: The Senate will be committed to academic improvement, sustainability, and collaboration. Its work will be connected to the college’s mission and this entity will be fully integrated in academic decision-making and shared governance.

1.       Student Retention and Success

a.       Monitor the implementation of recommendations from the Retention Summit (e.g., process for implementation, timeline and goals, assessment)

b.      Work with College Communications to provide input on the website redesign and campus event calendar

c.       Working with the Outcomes Assessment Fellow, convene a faculty team to create an institutional assessment plan of student learning outcomes

d.      Work with the academic Vice Presidents Council (VPC), and VPC representative to provide input in the course cancellation policy and financial purge.

Responsibility: President and Vice President                       Report: Monthly

2.       Professional Development and Recognition of Employees

a.       Propose greater transparency in the recognition and leadership development of employees

                                                   i.      List leadership programs the college participates in on the website along with criteria, application process, and awardees (e.g., Leadership Southcoast, CCLA, CONNECT Key Talent Leadership, Chair Academy)

                                                 ii.      Publish names of employee award recipients and reason they received award (e.g., Silver Shield, Sceptre and Scroll, NISOD, Pride and Performance, presidential fellowship, sabbaticals)

                                                iii.      Include faculty bios as part of the website redesign

b.      Explore internal opportunities such as mentoring or other opportunities to prepare internal leaders to advance

c.       Propose the Senate’s input on classroom-based strategies for All Academic meetings

Responsibility: President and Vice President               Report: November, February, May

3.       Senate Sustainability

a.       Develop marketing plan for the Senate to increase awareness (e.g., blog, other communication, Senate social, listening sessions)

b.      Establish an ad-hoc Census Committee to construct a census for the next Senate election and provide recommendations

c.       Revise bylaws to provide for better succession planning and internal leadership development

d.      Explore technology for meetings to better include other campuses

Responsibility: President and Secretary             Report: October, January, March, April

Minutes of Thursday, August 31, 2017

Bristol Community College
Faculty & Professional Staff Senate Meeting
Minutes of Thursday, August 31, 2017
Room H 129  3:30 pm

Senators in attendance:   C. Almeida, M. Geary,  R. Rebelo, L. Delano-Botelho, R.  Weisberger, J. Bjornson, P. Robillard, G. Hamel, K. Hiller,  K. Plante,  S. Alves, D. Avedikian, R. Rak, K. Fassbender, D. Behuniak,  J. Boulay, J. Emond, J. Barry, J. Corven

Absences: M. Roberts, J. Dekkers-Mitchell, J. Corven, M. Sipala, K. Woldegiorgis, A. Marden, D. Quenga

Excused Absences: M. Hyde, J. Jodoin, L. Neubert

Guests: 11 guests attended this meeting. 

Meeting called to order:  3:40 pm   ****Note:  The meeting started tardily as many Department Meetings ran late

Minutes:  Minutes from May, 2017 were reviewed and approved unanimously.

Welcome:
President Boulay welcomed the new and returning Senators.  Introduced the new Executive Board.

Update on Strategic Goals:
Discussed the outcome of the Senate Retreat.  Draft of the strategic goals identified at the retreat are available online for Senators to review.  Asked that Senate members review and vote on the goals at the next Senate meeting that is scheduled for 9/18.
Discussed the importance of working toward closing the loop and need to define shared governance in the Senate.

New Senator Orientation:
President Boulay will reach out to the new Senators regarding a “New Senator Orientation”. 

·         Help newly elected Senators to become familiar with the Senate Process.

By Law Revisions: 
Several by-law amendments are being considered:

·         Sustainability of the Senate and grooming future leaders of the Senate;

·         Committees will need to be created in order to best address changes;

·         Changing any language that appears unclear. 

·         Senators were asked to review by-laws. 

·         Send ideas for potential changes/amendments to Senate Secretary, Lisa Delano-Botelho.             

·         Vote on changes to occur on 10/23/2017.

Vice President’s Council: 
Vice President Hiller is new Faculty representative to the academic VPC and has begun attending meetings.  She has invited the Senators to Microsoft Team in order to share information from those meetings.  In addition, Kelli will continue to provide updates at regularly scheduled Senate meetings. Discussed progress of VPC retreat:

·         Topics included class cancellation criteria,

·         Spring 2018 schedule

·         Criteria for pro-rated classes to run.   

 
College Website:
BCC currently in process of developing a more student/user friendly website.  Several Senators attended an informational meeting over the summer.  Shared following info from that meeting:        

·         Goal is to have the website running by the end of the 2017 calendar year;

·         BCC  to consider audience and use the website as a marketing tool;

·         Internal audience will be directed to intranet.

·         Senate would like to schedule a time for group to attend Senate meeting and share progress on the project.

Transition Team to the new President:
Discussed the progress that has occurred over the summer (meetings held on 6/28, 7/19, 8/1, and 8/15) with the transition team to the new College President.  Items that have developed from these meetings include: 

·         BCC CONNECT tour;

·         Key goals and objectives;

·         Spirit Day;

·         Welcome Week;

·         College Climate Survey

·         Need for more professional development at both opening day and adjunct faculty day. 

Jenn Boulay met with President Douglas separately over summer months representing the Senate.  Reports that she informed President Douglas of the results from Senate retreat, discussed campus culture, lack of policies, and expressed concern over the lack of Senate representation on the Transition team.


Retention Summit:
The group met and has created an action plan.  This was shared with group, the academic VPC and President Douglas.   

Identified 9 focus areas for the college: 

·         Academic advising;

·         Access to student services;

·         Communication strategies;

·         Cost of attendance;

·         Course scheduling;

·         Curriculum and pedagogy;

·         Enrollment and registration processes;

·         First Year Experiences;

·         Meeting basic needs of our students.

The recommendations made are as follows:

·         Identify structure for oversight, implementation and assessment

·         Ensure key stakeholders are involved

·         Prioritize plan based on college goals

·         Identify key goals, outcomes, party responsibility and timeline for implementation

·         Regularly communicate with college community

  

Meeting Adjourned:  4:00 pm  (Followed by a wine and cheese social)
Respectfully submitted, Lisa Delano-Botelho, BCC Faculty & Professional Staff Secretary

Minutes of Monday, May 5, 2017

Bristol Community College

Faculty & Professional Staff Senate Meeting

Minutes of Monday, May 5, 2017

Room J211 3:15 pm

Senators in attendance: L. Delano-Botelho, R. Worthington, D. St. George, K. Plante, K. Hiller, M. Hyde, J. Boulay, H. Tinberg, D. Behuniak, M. Geary, K. Woldegiorgis, C. Almeida, D. Quenga, J. Jodoin-Krauzyk, J. Pelletier, J. Barry, C. Kenney, J. Bjornson, D. Avedikian, J. Corven

Absences: A. Marden, S. Ferreira, M. K. Roberts, J. Dekkers, G. Hamel, R. Rebelo, L. Neubert, J. Constantine

Excused Absences: J. Emond

Eight guests attended this meeting.

Meeting called to order:  3:16 pm

Minutes:  Minutes from March 6, 2017 were reviewed and approved with 2 abstentions due to absences.

Division Reports

●      1: Luso Centro’s Portuguese Language Day yielded almost 400 students from local high schools and BCC.

●      4: graduating nursing students delivering presentation from 10-1 in G building poster presentation from service learning projects; 2 pinning ceremonies.

●      5: Seeds of Sustainability had a successful plant sale; some plants were donated to a local art gallery.

●      Student Services: Several students participated on the Autists Speaking panel and the event received large turnout from campus; ODS is hiring a full-time C-printer to start on Monday.

●      Lash: The Writing Center’s free reading/writing refresher workshops are beginning in May and will be held at the New Bedford, Fall River, and Taunton campuses; the dates are located on the college’s website. 

Grandchamp Lecture Follow-up

1.    Contribution toward Grandchamp Event

a.    President Tinberg thanked incoming Senator Rak for delivering the 2017 Grandchamp Lecture. There is a modest bill for food items and Senators are asked to submit monetary contributions.

Update on Strategic Goals

1.    Sustainability

a.    Results of Officers’ Election: President Tinberg announced the incoming Executive Committee for the Senate: Jennifer Boulay, president; Kelli Hiller, vice president; Lisa Delano-Botelho, secretary. Their terms will begin after commencement.

2.    Governance:

a.    NEASC Letter:

                                      i.        President Tinberg asked BCC President Sbrega to share the NEASC letter and interim report as submitted by the college for greater transparency. Many senators were involved in the 4 working groups--shared governance, outcomes assessment, advising, and dual enrollment. The AI form/process was reported in the interim report by the college; this document creates a transparent consultative process for collegewide academic initiatives.

b.    Update on Gen Ed Revision

                                      i.        Secretary Boulay provided an update on the General Education Revision AI. The work group submitted a draft report with recommendations for revised competencies to Academic Affairs in December. They received an extension until May so they may further explore the humanities competency and submit a final report at that time. They will also submit a final AI form in May.

c.     Update on Title III

                                      i.        A proposal has been submitted to the federal government for the next round of Title III funding. President Tinberg requested a final version of the application, but has not yet received a response. Some senators were involved on the writing and design teams for the grant proposal. Awardees will be notified in August and implementation would begin in October.

3.    Curriculum and Alignment

a.    Draft report on curriculum development guidelines

                                      i.        President Tinberg forwarded the draft report submitted by Associate VP Ucci to the Senate for feedback. Senator Bjornson provided an update on the project. Draft language includes themes of AI (i.e., inclusiveness and consultation). The document will make clear processes/policies for making curriculum changes. If a curriculum proposal is not approved, the submitter will be provided a rationale. A fast-track approval process is proposed for “non-controversial” changes (e.g., changing course offerings from fall to spring) in an effort to remove red tape in the CWCC process. Senators are encouraged to share feedback with President Tinberg.

4.    Academic Support and the Whole Student Initiative

a.    Next Steps

                                      i.        The Joint Task Force on Academic Support and Retention met and reviewed Retention Summit evaluations from participants, scribes, and facilitators. The scribe notes will be converted into proposed action items after the group reviews this data. The final report will be available in September.

b.    Joint Task Force on Basic Student Need

                                      i.        President Tinberg discussed the need for creating a joint task force with a focus on meeting basic student needs. This was a session at the Retention Summit and a Senate goal for the past academic year.

5.    Collaboration

a.    Report to Board of Trustees

                                      i.        President Tinberg provided a report on Senate matters to the BCC Board of Trustees. He hopes that this will set a precedent to routinely talk about academic matters with the Board.

b.    The New President’s Transition Team

                                      i.        President Tinberg was asked to serve on the presidential transition team by the chair of the Board of Trustees. Incoming President Douglas requested several Senate documents including the AI form.

New Business

Vice President Garganta approached the Senate to discuss the College’s revised withdrawal and preferred name policies.

●      Withdrawal Policy

○      Beginning Fall 2017, faculty will no longer have the ability to withdraw students from their classes. Instead, they must assign students a grade for their performance. Students may still self-withdraw up to the 10th week of the semester. The college is now a non-attendance taking institution; however, faculty can individually take attendance in the classroom for other purposes (e.g., missing too many classes may result in an “F” grade). Faculty may want to remind students of this change around week 8 of the semester.

○      This policy was changed because late reporting negatively impacts financial aid. Similarly, withdrawals can negatively affect financial aid.

○      Draft language for syllabi was shared at the meeting. A communication plan is being developed and faculty should receive additional information about these changes.

○      Enrollment verifications will remain in effect.

●      Preferred Name Policy

○      Vice President Garganta met with campus constituencies to discuss the proposed policy. This will create a common policy across all communities in Massachusetts and is geared to benefit LGBTQ and international students. By Fall 2017, preferred names may be on class rosters. Students will be able to get IDs with their preferred first name. Preferred names will also be included in accessBCC and Degreeworks for consistency.  Folks who wish to use nicknames will also be considered in an effort to become a more welcoming and inclusive campus. Last names will not be changed unless they are legally changed. Transcripts will remain in a student’s legal name. Student ID numbers will not change.

○      The nursing program will need to explore how this relates to hospital rules.

Other

●      The Student Senate is writing a letter to Follet and is looking to have other schools sign on so the bookstore may change their book matching policies to include refund instead of credit. Providence College uses Barnes and Noble and receives a monetary refund for their price match. Faculty are encouraged to place their course books on loan in the library and to add information about the Student Senate book swap to their syllabi.

●      The Affirmative Action Committee is looking to incorporate the Retention Summit findings in their goals and mission planning.

●      Vice President Brennan is looking at rebranding the College’s website over the summer and requested to be added to the first Senate meeting in the Fall. The Bristol Buzz will be discontinued and a new communication tool will be launched for incoming President Douglas. Senators should consider joining a focus group on the website if one is formed.

●      A constituent requested that current Senate leadership be included on the president’s transition team. President Tinberg indicated he would make that request.

●      President Tinberg expressed his pleasure in serving the Senate, particularly as an original Senator. He discussed how the Senate is a vital part of the College and he wished the new slate of Senators success in the coming year.

Meeting Adjourned:  4:19 pm

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