Bristol
Community College
Faculty
& Professional Staff Senate Meeting
Minutes
of Monday, September 21, 2015
Room
H129 3:15pm
Senators in attendance: M. Geary, J. Pelletier, R. Benya-Soderbom, D.
St. George, S. Pero, R. Worthington, S. McCourt, J. Boulay, S. Ferreira, J.
Flanigan, L. Neubert, H. Tinberg, R. Amarasingham, K. Hiller, T. Grady, L.
Delano-Botelho, J. Corven, B. French
Absences: C. Leonard, J. Mbugua, J. Constantine, D.
Phillips, J. Jodoin
Excused Absences: G. Leeman
Four guests attended this meeting.
Meeting
called to order:
3:16 pm
Minutes: Minutes from September 3rd were reviewed and
approved with no abstentions.
Division
Reports
·
Division 1: Getting to know new dean;
large division; rumors of reorganization
·
Division 2: Getting to know new dean;
eye on gen ed task force
·
Division 3: No updates
·
Division 4: looking for healthcare
info management program director and instructor, dental hygiene working on
self-study due in fall; clinical lab science is having accreditation visit
·
Division 5: discussion of new academic
programs to BHE (e.g., life sciences); middle school visit; increase
undergraduate research opportunities; planetarium programs; accessibility of
services at other campuses
·
Division 6: No updates
·
Other Divisions: No updates
Senate’s
Strategic Goals for AY 2015-2016
The strategic goals for the academic year
2015-2016 were reviewed and approved with no abstentions by the Senate.
·
Governance:
o
Senate President Tinberg and Secretary
Boulay have begun meeting with BCC President Sbrega and Chief Academic Officer
Sethares on a monthly basis.
o
The Executive Committee has been
invited to attend the full Vice President Council (VPC) meetings.
o
The General Education Task Force will utilize
the Academic Initiative joint governance document (the form may also be used
for a new Title III grant to foster inclusion from all sectors).
o
The Senate will vote on changes to by-laws
and provide input to NEASC groups.
·
Sustainability:
o
A nominations committee will be formed
and new Senators will be mentored.
o
A question was raised whether Senate
membership satisfies committee membership (like MACER does).
§ Division
4 treats Senate membership as fulfilling committee work and Senators have the
opportunity for monthly reporting at division meetings (visibility and
inclusiveness of governance).
§ Senators
noted the importance of preserving independence and some concerns were raised
over being viewed as a committee for college service.
·
Student
retention & support:
o
An ad hoc task force with clear
timeline will be formed, consisting of Senators and constituents. They will be
charged with creating a data report on student retention and support to be
shared with college.
o
A spring summit on academic support
and retention will also be planned.
General
Education Competencies
·
The task force will hold their first
meeting on September 24, 2015; they will discuss the charge, established
timeline, and committee makeup.
·
Five Senators are represented on the
17 member group and Secretary Boulay will co-chair it with Holly Pappas.
·
The Academic Initiative joint
governance document will be piloted by the task force and information will be
shared publicly.
·
A discussion followed regarding the
importance of faculty-driven outcomes assessment; questions were raised about
the impetus for creating this group and whether it was a reaction to NEASC.
NEASC
Working Groups
Questions were raised about the status of the
NEASC working groups.
·
Senators indicated that none of the
working groups received notice of upcoming meetings for this academic year.
·
Senators on the governance group
questioned whether they would oversee the new academic initiative process.
·
Senators on the outcomes assessment
group weren’t sure whether their charge was fulfilled by making recommendations
to form a general education task force.
·
The advising group met twice in
spring, but are not sure how new dean advising will impact their charge; the meeting
focus consisted of eliminating paperwork during advising and having students
meet with the same advisor.
As a result, the Senate will request update on working
groups’ charge, accomplishments, and status to send to constituents so it is
clear to the entire college community.
Proposed
Changes to By-Laws
·
Senate will vote on by-laws at next
meeting; quorum is needed.
·
The Senate will explore electronic
voting via Office 365 (Central Committee discussed requiring committees to
submit electronic minutes to share with community).
·
An amendment will need to be added to
the proposed by-laws to reflect representation of Advising in reorganization to
Academic Affairs.
Other
·
Senators expressed concern over the
number of full-time faculty positions that have not been replaced from last
year and the limited office space for full-time faculty who are teaching at
other campuses (e.g., New Bedford, Attleboro, Taunton).
·
A discussion about student and faculty
equity followed: including the use of contingent labor, the impact of course
cancellations due to low enrollment, the feasibility for students to complete
programs of study at any BCC campus (e.g., integrity of programs and access to
resources for satellite campuses) and how this information is communicated to
students.
Meeting
Adjourned: 4:16 pm
Respectfully
submitted, Jennifer Boulay, BCC Faculty & Professional Staff Secretary
