Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Minutes of May 2, 2016

Bristol Community College
Faculty & Professional Staff Senate Meeting
Minutes of Monday, May 02, 2016
Room B101 3:15pm

Senators in attendance:  J. Pelletier, D. St. George, S. Pero, J. Boulay, J. Flanigan, L. Neubert, H. Tinberg, T. Grady, L. Delano-Botelho, J. Corven, B. French, J. Constantine, J. Jodoin, S. Ferreira, B. McGuire, R. Worthington, K. Hiller
Absences: J. Mbugua, J. Bjornson, G. Leeman,
Excused Absences: M. Geary, S. McCourt, R. Benya-Soderbom
Four guests attended this meeting.
Meeting called to order:  3:15 pm
Minutes:  Minutes from April were approved with an amendment to the timeline for the Writing Center Coordinator position and one abstention due to an absence.
Division Reports
·         Division 4: Accreditation for clinical lab science has been finalized
·         Division 5: Some courses approved by CWCC may be running without going through the department or curriculum committees; minutes are messy in eFolder; no good system for taking minutes and having public viewing
·         Lash: The LCTL is hosting a High Impact Practices Summer Institute with faculty stipends and two CORI workshops on how to seal a CORI record
Final Report from Senate Task Force on Academic Support and Retention
·         The Senate thanked the task force for their service: Jean-Paul Nadeau, Deborah Palumbo, Debra St.George, Ron Weisberger, and Julie Jodoin-Krauzyk (Chair)
·         The final report was submitted and approved with no abstentions
·         The final report will be distributed to constituents with key findings and recommendations highlighted; it will also be distributed to President Sbrega and Vice President Sethares next week
Response to College’s Strategic Planning Draft and Process
·         Senators expressed concern about submitted recommendations not being included in the strategic plan; a dialogue followed regarding processes for providing committee feedback to stakeholders
·         Senator Neubert, co-chair for the Strategic Planning Committee, indicated that all feedback was shared with the committee and consultants before being voted upon for the draft plan; items with suggestions from multiple constituents were reflected in the final plan; there was an explicit focus on incorporating elements of the state’s Vision Project
·         A discussion followed regarding how information is not currently fed back to constituents (e.g., committee reports; College monthly reports)
o    How could the College do a better job of sharing information back to initiators of suggestions?
o    How could minutes/process of giving feedback become more transparent?
o    What role in closing the loop can divisional representatives play on the committees they serve?
o    Is there a good place to centralize meeting minutes? Should it be Office 365?
Senate Protocol for Submission of Academic Initiative (AI) Proposals:
·         Draft Senate Protocol for Submission of AI Proposals:
·         The draft protocol does not require a vote; however, it breaks down the process from Senate perspective
·         Proposed closed-loop process:
a)    Notification (not just sign-off) share with Senate
b)    Discussion and feedback (means of communication)
c)     Markers to monitor down road, share with initiator of proposal
d)    Senate president monitors progress; possible ad hoc Senate committee
                                          i.    Signing signifies something beyond notification with transparency
                                        ii.    What if a bad initiative? Senate provides that feedback

·         General Education Initiative Update
o    Jenn Boulay and Holly Pappas have begun using AI for the general education initiative
o    Secretary Boulay explained process and status for the project:
§  The committee will solicit feedback on proposed competencies via the following strategies in Fall 2016:
·         Program coordinators/department chairs
·         Division meetings
·         Senate meetings
·         Campus-wide meetings
§  The committee looked at the Mass Transfer Block, draft NEASC standards pertaining to general education, general education competencies from other institutions, the College’s draft strategic plan, the College’s educated person statement, the College’s mission statement, and constituent feedback prior to WTR
§  The proposed competencies include: critical reading and analysis, written and oral communication, scientific reasoning and discovery, quantitative and symbolic reasoning, global and historical awareness, multicultural and social perspectives, ethical dimensions, information and technical literacy, and something that captures competencies gained from humanities (e.g., aesthetic appreciation or creative thinking)
§  Due to WTR, the committee did not have adequate representation to work on written and oral communication, quantitative and symbolic reasoning, humanities (or aesthetic appreciation or creative thinking) and this work will continue into Fall 2016
§  The committee proposes that the first-year experience remains a graduation requirement, but is omitted as a competency
Looking Back and Forward
·         President Tinberg offered a recap of the Senate’s 3 strategic goals for the year
o    governance: two Academic Initiatives (general education and civic learning)
o    promoting student academic support and retention (no summit this year due to WTR)
o    sustainability: nomination committee for Senate
§  a conversation followed regarding the pros and cons of having Senate service acknowledged under the College’s committee system (autonomy and independence; possibility of losing representatives and input if Senators only serve on one committee)
Other
·         The Senate will have a retreat during the summer to formulate the strategic goals for next year (date, time and location TBA)
·         President Tinberg encouraged Senators to attend the focus groups for the presidential search in May
·         Senate elections will close tomorrow and a vote for officers will follow; Sharon Pero has agreed to run for vice president
·         The Senate thanked the Grandchamp Committee and Senator Grady for delivering the annual Grandchamp Lecture
·         The Senate thanked exiting Senators: Betsy Kemper-French, Brian McGuire, Susan McCourt, Tom Grady

Meeting Adjourned:  4:13 pm
Respectfully submitted, Jennifer Boulay, BCC Faculty & Professional Staff Secretary



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