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