Minutes of Thursday, September 1, 2016

Bristol Community College

Faculty & Professional Staff Senate Meeting

Minutes of Thursday, September 1, 2016

Room H129 3:00 pm

Senators in attendance:  Robyn Worthington, Mary Hyde, Carlos Almeida, Livia Neubert, Jim Pelletier, Sil Ferreira, Geraldine Hamel, Dan Avedikian, Deb St. George, Mike Geary, Jacci Barry, Jim Constantine, Julie Jodoin-Krauzyk, Jenn Boulay, Howard Tinberg

Absences: Jon Bjornson, Jim Corven, Jennifer Dekkers-Mitchell, Amy Marden, Marie Roberts, Kelemu Woldegiorgis

Excused Absences: Lisa Delano-Botelho, Kelli Hiller, Dana Behuniak, Ric Rebello

Three guests attended this meeting.

Meeting called to order:  3:12 pm

Announcements

Sharon Pero resigned from her position as Senate vice president due to health reasons; the Executive Committee will appoint a Senator to serve out her term, per the by-laws.

Robyn Worthington is now a new full-time faculty member and Mike Geary is now the coordinator for the Writing Center.

Welcome and Introductions:

President Tinberg welcomed new and returning Senators.

Minutes:  Minutes from May were approved with abstentions due to absences.

Draft Senate Strategic Goals 2016-17 (see draft language)

·         Senators were provided with draft strategic goals for the Senate; they will be voted on at next meeting.

·         The draft goals were constructed as a result of the annual summer retreat and considered the past, present, and future.

·         Proposed Goals are as follows:

1.    Curricular Alignment and Integration:  Determine the extent to which curricular offerings are consistent across all campuses.  If such alignment is not present, offer recommendations to provide curricular consistency.

a.    With administration constitute a Joint Task Force on Curricular Alignment across Campuses whose charge will be to assess the consistency of current offerings and, if appropriate, offer recommendation to correct alignment.

b.    Invite the chairs of Division Curriculum and the All-College Curriculum Committees to share with the Senate their observations regarding curriculum alignment across campuses

c.     Responsibility:  Senate President; Reports:  All Senate Meetings

                                          i.    Discussion: How will physical space relate to curricular support? Is there equity among campuses? What role does transportation play (e.g., CATCH casino only at Taunton, astronomy equipment outside of Fall River)?

2.    A Culture of Collaboration:  Take steps to improve collaboration regarding academic matters across all relevant sectors across the college.

a.    Follow through on a current proposal offered that the Senate have a permanent representative on the Vice-President’s Council.  The Senate will recommend that it designates the colleague who will serve in this position.

b.    The Senate EC will continue to meet monthly with the President and Vice-President of Academic Affairs to promote further exchange of information and collaboration

c.     Propose that the Senate provide input on the agendas for All-Academic Meetings

d.    Responsibility: Senate Vice-President;     Reports:  All Senate Meetings

                                          i.    Discussion about new appointment on academic vice president’s council: Will Senate be involved in the selection process? Will new representative have an ad hoc seat on the Senate? Will Senate by-laws need to be changed?

                                         ii.    Discussion about Executive Committee’s monthly meetings with President Sbrega and Vice President Sethares: Should this also include Vice President Ozug and Vice President Garganta?

                                        iii.    Discussion regarding all academic meeting agendas: Will Senate provide significant input or have time allotted at each meeting?

3.    The Whole Student Initiative: Work to acquire, and aggregate current, data on the economic challenges facing our students that affect academic performance.

a.    Create and constitute a Joint Task Force on Student Need whose charge will include the following:

                                                 i.    design and distribute a survey of students on their economic needs as those needs affect academic work

                                                ii.    conduct focus groups on students’ economic well-being

                                              iii.    consolidate current data on student needs

                                               iv.    distribute data acquired to ALL instructional staff, full and part-time

                                                v.    offer data-driven recommendations that will enhance students’ opportunity to succeed academically

                                               vi.    Responsibility: Chair(s) of Joint Task Force/Senate Secretary;  Reports: October, April, May 

1.    Discussion: Would the proposed joint task force on student need be able to merge with the existing hunger committee or the no-name committee that is working on a student survey? When the Commonwealth Honors Students explored student needs as a research topic, VP Gabbovitch indicated that some Pell-eligible students do not apply—why not? Should the Faculty and Professional Staff Senate include a student member? In an effort to avoid duplication of committees, are there existing committees exploring these topics? How do the different student needs at various campuses impact their academic success (e.g., taking BIO 111 without a sufficient math background)?

On-going Goals and Activities:

4.    Governance: Work toward the implementation of the joint Senate/Administration goal:  Establish a clear, inclusive, closed-loop process for academic decision-making, including timelines, identification of stakeholders, clear roles & responsibilities, broad input, and verification that stakeholder input was heard.

a.    Implement new “Senate Protocol for Responding to Academic Initiatives”

b.    Monitor college use of the Academic Initiatives guidelines and process

c.     Monitor, and report on, the work of the various NEASC “Working Groups”

d.    Responsibility:  Senate President; Reports:  All Senate Meetings

a.    Opportunities: inclusive closed-loop process via AI form; Title III grant (meet with consultants); look at general education and civic learning initiatives

5.    Academic Support and Student Retention: Drawing upon the report of the Senate Task Force on Academic Support and Student Retention, work to convene a full, frank, and productive college-wide discussion of academic support and student retention.

a.    With administration, Plan a “Summit on Retention,” to which all stakeholders are invited to participate and from which clear and actionable recommendations, with timeline,  follow

b.    Responsibility:   Senate President/Former Task Force Chair; Reports: September, November, February, April, May

                                          i.    Possible opportunities: retention summit; joint task force on student retention and academic support

·          

Follow up: Task Force Report on Student Retention/Academic Support and Meeting with Administration

·         President Sbrega emailed a response praising the Senate committee’s work and then convened a group of administrators, Senate members and Senate task force members

·         A discussion followed as to whether the Senate should participate in a formal task force. If so, there should be a clear charge, timeline, and outcomes.

·         A motion was passed to have the Secretary contact Senate members to participate in an electronic vote  to decide whether or not the Senate should participate in the proposed joint task force

·         The following motion was passed:

o    The Secretary will contact Senate members to electronically vote on whether or not the Senate will join the proposed joint task force

·         Senate members were invited to join the College-wide Retention Council.

Other

·         A date will soon be set for the Grandchamp Lecture.

Meeting Adjourned:  4:01 pm

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