Bristol
Community College
Faculty
& Professional Staff Senate Meeting
Minutes
of Monday, January 23, 2017
Room H129
3:00 pm
Senators in attendance: C. Almeida, D. Avedikian, J.
Barry, J. Bjornson, J. Boulay, J. Constantine, J. Corven, L. Delano-Botelho, K.
Fassbender, M. Geary, M. Hyde, L. Neubert, J. Pelletier, D. St. George, H.
Tinberg, K. Woldegiorgis, R. Worthington, J. Emond
Absences: J. Dekkers-Mitchell, A. Marden, K. Hiller, S.
Ferreira, J. Jodoin-Krauzyk, R. Rebello, M. Roberts
Excused Absences: D. Behunkiak, G. Hamel, D. Quenga, K.
Plante
Two guests attended this meeting.
Special guests included Holly Pappas
Meeting
called to order: 3:02
pm
Minutes: Minutes from November 21 were reviewed and
approved with one abstention due to an absence.
Division
Reports
· Division
5: Concerns were raised over the price of textbooks. At other institutions,
book vouchers can be used at other stores such as Amazon and other campus
bookstores offer cheaper prices. Book vouchers are typically $200 at BCC and do
not cover all the cost for all of a student’s courses. President Tinberg and Secretary
Boulay will contact the chairs of the Auxiliary Services Committee for more
information. Questions were also raised as to whether faculty are aware they
have the prerogative to offer OER in their courses.
· Division
5: Questions were raised about the planned usage of the E building following
the opening of the J building and sharing of this information with
constituents.
Update
on Strategic Goals
A.
Academic Support and Retention
· Secretary
Boulay (chair) provided an update on the planned Retention Summit:
o
The format will be an “unconference” that is
more participatory and less presentational than prior professional days. An
action plan will be formed as an outcome of the event to help guide our
retention efforts for the following year.
o
The focus will be on the whole student and
will include challenges faced outside of the college. Institutional Research
will be conducting a student survey on hunger and homelessness in the spring
and the results could be shared at the summit.
o
Questions were raised about the types of data
collected in MapWorks and the importance of encouraging students and faculty to
use it to solicit buy-in was discussed.
B.
Curricular Alignment and Integration
· President
Tinberg provided an update on the charge and makeup of this joint task force.
o
Charge: to
develop a curriculum policy across all campuses and divisions to provide
consistent curriculum offerings to students
o
Membership: currently
consists of Senator Bjornson and Senate constituent Shelly Murphy
o
The work is projected to be completed by next
fall and an AI was submitted by AVP Ucci.
C.
Governance
· Representative on Vice President’s
Council: VP Sethares sent call for Senate constituents to apply to
serve; however, no one has applied. President Tinberg urged Senators to apply
and discussed the importance of having a representative there.
· Proposing a Representative to the Board
of Trustees: President Tinberg discussed the need for the
Senate’s voice on the board following recent campus events (e.g., sexual
harassment lawsuit) and suggested that such a representative could serve as an
ex officio member. Howard also indicated that several Board members seemed to
express an interest in exploring this option. Questions were also raised if
this should follow the AI Process. Senators are encouraged to share thoughts
they may have on this matter with Howard.
Update
on Title III
· President
Tinberg, Vice President St. George, and Secretary Boulay attended December
meeting with Senators Behuniak and Hiller.
· The
current proposal addresses two goals—guided pathways and inescapable support.
Various software packages for orientation and registration were discussed, as
well as coaches who oversee academic and resource needs of students. TASC would
be co-located in the library. Faculty and staff teams would be developed to
plan curriculum sequencing and high impact practices to use for these pathways.
The two external consultants from the strategic plan were hired to guide this
process.
NEASC
Report and Gen Ed Review
· The
College submitted a final version of the interim report to NEASC, President
Tinberg is awaiting feedback for sharing with the wider college community.
Topics included outcomes assessment, dual enrollment, shared governance and
advising. Several Senators served on each of the subcommittees tasked with this
work.
· President
Tinberg complemented Holly Pappas and Secretary Boulay for their work on the
general education review. The general education report was sent to President
Tinberg and will be shared with the Senate. Co-chairs Holly Pappas and Secretary
Boulay provided an update on the work. The goal is to have a systematic
assessment of student learning which will include the upcoming assessment day;
however, they are not sure of the approval process for the proposed
competencies.
Grandchamp
Lecture
· Vice
President St. George (chair), Senator Corven, and Ron Weisberger will oversee
this project.
· The
purpose of this lecture is to provide a platform for faculty and staff to
highlight an aspect of his or her work that is not often seen at the college.
This honor is named after Jeanne Grandchamp, the Senate’s first president and
it parallels the work of the LCTL Academic Series.
· A suggestion
was made to change the By-Laws so they include criteria for the lecture.
· Senators
are encouraged to send suggestions to members of the committee and VP St.
George will send award criteria to Senate constituents.
· This
year’s lecture is currently scheduled for 3 pm on Wednesday, April 19th.
Other
· Senate
elections will occur in March/April. The Nomination Committee, which is chaired
by Senator Worthington, will begin recruitment for new Senators. Secretary
Boulay will send terms to Senators. Senators are encouraged to send suggestions
to Senator Worthington.
· A
Senator raised questions about standards and supervision policies for dual
enrollment students.
· President
Tinberg contacted incoming college president Laura Douglas to welcome her on behalf
of the Senate.
Meeting
Adjourned: 3:59 pm
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Boulay, BCC Faculty & Professional Staff Secretary
