Minutes of Monday, January 23, 2017

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 19^th.

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