Minutes of November 30, 2015

Bristol Community College

Faculty & Professional Staff Senate Meeting

Minutes of Monday, November 30, 2015

Room B101 3:15pm

Senators in attendance:  M. Geary, J. Flanigan, H. Tinberg, J. Boulay, B. French, L. Neubert, J. Corven, L. Delano-Botelho, J. Pelletier, R. Amarasingham, T. Grady, J. Constantine, J. Bjornson, D. St. George, J. Jodoin-Krauzyk

Absences: S. Ferreira, S. McCourt, K. Hiller

Excused Absences: S. Pero, D. Phillips, G. Leeman, J. Mbugua, R. Benya-Soderbom, R. Worthington

Special Guest: Jim Armstrong

Two guests attended this meeting.

Meeting called to order:  3:20 pm

Minutes:  Minutes from October 26^th were reviewed and approved with no abstentions.

Welcome, Acknowledgements of Past Service

President Tinberg welcomed Senator Jon Bjornson who will fulfill the remainder of Cecil Leonard’s term. Senator Leonard retired in September and a card was distributed to thank him for his service.

Senate and Work-to-Rule

President Tinberg announced that the Bristol Board of Trustees would be meeting at 3:30 pm that day; attendees were free to leave early should they wish to support work-to-rule by joining BrCCC President Yohe at a meet-and-greet standout. 

Because the Senate is voluntary service that benefits constituents, and the Senate was initiated to provide an alternate voice to the administrative voice, it was agreed that the Senate’s work will not be impacted by work-to-rule.

A motion was passed to produce an official statement supporting work-to-rule on behalf of the Senate. Joining other voices in encouraging both parties to resolve the impasse, the Senate will request that the negotiating team comes to an agreement on a fair and equitable contract for MCCC members, who have been without a contract since June 2015.

Senate and Office 365

Jim Armstrong delivered a presentation on Office 365 for the Senate. This cloud-based software can be used as a repository for documents such as minutes, scheduling, and surveys. Features include:

·         Meeting minutes can be uploaded to the site and all members will be notified via email.

·         A link can be added to approve or decline minutes via Outlook; comments may be added for amendments via this feature.

·         One limitation of approving minutes via Outlook is that it will only work on PCs that have Outlook installed (not via Outlook Web Access).

·         Additionally, it is not clear as to whether unapproved minutes can be viewed by the entire college community or if they can be limited to just Senate members. Some document repositories can have different privacy settings (e.g., access to entire college vs. link access only to committee members). Jim will look into this and will keep the Senate apprised of the program’s functionality.

·         Office365 can be accessed in 3 ways:

a)    Selecting Office365 via accessBCC

b)    Selecting Office365 on the college’s homepage (under Online Portals)

c)     Via www.office365.bristolcc.edu

·         For login, the username is your accessBCC username followed by @bristolcc.edu (e.g., lname12@bristolcc.edu); the password will be the password you use to log into campus computers

·         To access the Senate site, once logged in, select “Sites,” then “Committees,” then “Staff Senate” (Note: Jim will change the name of the site to Faculty and Professional Staff Senate)

Division Reports

·         Division 4: The clinical lab science program’s accreditation went well.

·         Division 5: Dean Saman moved the division meeting and announced the upcoming retirement of Mary True.

·         Division 2: Dean Pearle was granted permission to have psychology and sociology separated into two different departments. She is exploring metamajor pathways for psychology and criminal justice; however, faculty are not directly part of process because of work-to-rule although she is sharing updates with the division.

·         Questions were raised by the Senate as to whether there is uniformity of metamajors within disciplines. This topic was tabled from last meeting due to time constraints, but President Tinberg will ask Associate Vice President Ucci if he will be able to address the Senate for the next meeting.

Update on the Academic Support and Retention Task Force/ Preliminary Data on Academic Support and Retention

President Tinberg shared an academic support and student retention preliminary report he received by Dean Buglione at the executive committee’s monthly meeting with the administration. Senators expressed concern over whether stakeholders were consulted regarding the decision to move the Learning Commons (e.g., TASC and the Writing Center) to the library. The document states “the College holds the vision of creating a full Learning Commons housed in the Library to offer our students a one-stop, comprehensive academic support in the future.”

The question was raised as to whether the task force should continue collecting data during work-to-rule. Because the work will benefit constituents, and in light of the timeline for working collaboratively with administration in the spring, the task force will explore collecting formal and informal data throughout the remainder of the semester. Task force membership consists of Senators and constituents, as follows:

·         Julie Jodoin-Krauzyk, chair

·         JP Nadeau

·         Kimberly Newton

·         Deborah Palumbo

·         Demetrice Phillips

·         Debra St. George

·         Ron Weisberger

Update on Gen Ed Review and Work-to-Rule

Secretary Boulay provided an update of how the general education task force is impacted by work-to-rule. The group last met on November 12^th for a scheduled meeting. Associate Vice President Ucci addressed the group and thanked them for involvement on this initiative. In light of the NEASC reporting deadline, he stated that the committee’s work would need to continue throughout work-to-rule, but as a voluntary committee, unit member could elect to withdraw from the committee without being penalized. Additionally, Vice President Sethares indicated that the committee’s work could be extended into the spring semester to allow for an inclusive and transparent process for constituent communication following work-to-rule. Secretary Boulay stated that she and Holly Pappas would note any limitations in their report.

Nomination Committee

Pursuant to the amended by-laws, President Tinberg is in the process of forming a Nomination Committee for upcoming Senate election. Committee members will serve a two-year term and the group will be comprised of four members—two former Senators and two current Senators. The will be tasked with preparing a slate of candidates for the Senate and Senate Officers by March 2^nd. Interested Senators should contact President Tinberg.

Other

·         A motion was passed to amend the language in the by-laws from “the number of Senators from each division will be 15 percent (or 20 percent) of the total number of its constituents” to “the number of Senators from each division will be 15 percent of the total number of its constituents.”

·         Senator Jodoin-Krauzyk expressed concerns over the language and content used in college marketing (e.g., “ugly schedule” and developmental coursework). She will provide links to these advertisements to Senators and they will vote electronically as to whether the Senate should release a statement about these campaigns.

·         The Senate discussed “going green” by distributing Senate documents electronically to members and using the projector to view documents at meetings.

Meeting Adjourned:  4:16 pm

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

Minutes of October 26, 2015

Bristol Community College

Faculty & Professional Staff Senate Meeting

Minutes of Monday, October 26, 2015

Room B101 3:15pm

Senators in attendance:  M. Geary, J. Flanigan, S. Pero, H. Tinberg, R. Worthington, R. Benya-Soderbom, J. Boulay, K. Hiller, B. French, L. Neubert, S. McCourt, J. Corven, J. Jodoin, L. Delano-Botelho, J. Pelletier, S. Ferreira, R. Amarasingham

Absences: T. Grady, J. Constantine, D. Phillips, C. Leonard

Excused Absences: G. Leeman, D. St. George, J. Mbugua

Special Guest: Deb Cohen

Six guests attended this meeting.

Meeting called to order:  3:20 pm, quorum 3:39

Minutes:  Minutes from October 5^th were reviewed and approved with no abstentions.

Advisement Matters

Dean of Advising, Deb Cohen, discussed what Advising is currently implementing:

·         The dissemination of the Mapworks survey through CSS courses

·         Academic advisors are now connected to each of the academic divisions (including Lash and Workforce)

o    Goal: Gain a better understanding of student needs within division

·         Advising 101, 102, 103 sessions focus—how to be a successful student (ongoing)

·         Appointment Plus program (online software package; started last year), with a possibility of extending to faculty in the future

o    Will assess how things work this semester

·         Assembling advising task force to explore online advising

·         Updating website for academic advising

·         Weekly submissions to Bristol Buzz by advisors

·         Orientation has now moved to Advising; drawing from some aspects from Division 3 boot camp

·         First annual majors fair to be held February 2^nd

Division Reports

·         There were no updates from any of the divisions.

Rolling Out the New Academic Initiative Implementation Guidelines: General Education Competency Review

Task force co-chairs, Secretary Boulay and Holly Pappas, provided an update on the status of the new academic initiative implementation guideline for the general education competency review. They offered a recap of the revisions to the Academic Initiative document (e.g., timeline, communication plan, relevant NEASC standard). President Tinberg will sign this document after minor changes are made (i.e., moving timeline and communication plan to the appendix).

Update on Academic Support and Retention Task Force Charge

President Sbrega sent an email calling for joint task force on student retention. Originally, this task force was to be Senate-run, with a focus on the allocation of resources for academic support to students. The Senate then discussed the benefits and challenges of collaborating with the administration during the initial stages of this initiative. The Senate’s goal is to focus on retention at the intersection of academics across campuses. The following questions were raised by Senate members:

·         How is academic support being defined? Allow committee to decide working definition

·         Could this be part of a larger joint effort?

·         Who is on the existing retention council? Is the process transparent?

·         How willing are students to use academic support?

·         What will be the methodology for work?

·         What do we know? What do we need to know?

·         What do students need that we are not providing?

·         Are there existing services that a student needs beyond academic support?

A motion was passed by the Senate to accept the offer to begin collaborative work with the administration in spring 2016; however, they reserve the right to gather data that it hopes will inform the Senate’s efforts as a serious partner in such collaboration.

General Studies and the Meta-Major

Tabled for next Senate meeting.

Other

Meeting Adjourned:  4:16 pm

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

Minutes of October 5, 2015

Bristol Community College

Faculty & Professional Staff Senate Meeting

Minutes of Monday, October 5, 2015

Room B101 3:15pm

Senators in attendance:  M. Geary, J. Pelletier, R. Benya-Soderbom, D. St. George, S. Pero, R. Worthington, S. McCourt, J. Boulay, J. Flanigan, L. Neubert, H. Tinberg, R. Amarasingham, T. Grady, L. Delano-Botelho, J. Corven, B. French, J. Constantine, D. Phillips, J. Jodoin

Absences: C. Leonard, J. Mbugua, S. Ferreira

Excused Absences: G. Leeman, K. Hiller

Four guests attended this meeting.

Meeting called to order:  3:19 pm

Minutes:  Minutes from September 21^st were reviewed and approved with no abstentions, with correction to date of meeting.

Division Reports

·         Division 1: An English department initiative is looking at incoming students’ PARCC results for reading and writing placement instead of relying on Accuplacer with an expected decision in December 2015. Questions were raised over how the creation of metamajors would impact the Commonwealth Honors Program and other similar programs and how Division I might be involved in the process of creating an English major.

·         Division 2: No updates

·         Division 3: No updates

·         Division 4: No updates

·         Division 5: No updates

·         Division 6: No updates

·         Other Divisions: The Disability Concerns Committee is looking how to reshape its mission to become a beacon for awareness. They will explore policies and funding and are looking at accessibility as a shared responsibility.

Discussion and Vote on By-Laws

Revisions to the Senate By-Laws were passed with one amendment to include Advising as a separate academic division, without abstention. Senators Boulay, Leeman, and Worthington were thanked for their work on this subcommittee. The adopted By-Laws will be posted on the Senate blog and changes are as follows:

·         In light of the College’s reorganization of academic areas and after conducting a census of constituents, “Division VII” (which previously consisted of any representation outside of Divisions I-VI) has been retired. Academic divisions now include divisions I, II, III, IV, V, VI, Lash, Advising, Enrollment Services, and Student Services.

·         Electronic voting has been approved for Senate meetings in the event that “a quorum of senators is not present, or if a quorum approves, an electronic vote may be conducted.”

·         A Nominations Committee has been added as a standing committee for the Senate.

Rolling Out the New Academic Initiative Implementation Guidelines: General Education Competency Review

Task force co-chairs, Secretary Boulay and Holly Pappas, provided an update on the status of the new academic initiative implementation guideline for the general education competency review. After reading the description of the project, the following discussions and questions arose:

·         There was confusion over the terms and charge of the initiative (e.g., competencies vs. requirements).

·         There was an expressed interest in the broader timeline of the project, especially if this initiative is a smaller piece of outcomes assessment in response to NEASC.

·         What is the correlation between competencies and course offerings? How will this impact courses?

·         What impact will outcomes assessment measures and results have on faculty evaluations? How will they be used?

Senate recommendations are as follows:

·         Further define intended audience (e.g., faculty, students, both), purpose, charge, and include glossary of terms.

·         Diagram overall timeline for next committee meeting (e.g., how this relates to NEASC response).

·         Bring revised language with additional clarification of charge and timeline to next Senate meeting for signature.

·         Share document with constituents and include Student Services as part of “academic area.”

Update on Academic Support and Retention Task Force
Charge

The committee will gather data on the funding and utilization of academic support (academic tutoring and advisement) across campuses and will explore the impact these resources have on student retention. The committee will submit a written report with findings and clear recommendations.

·         April 11: Preliminary report submitted to Senate at its April meeting

·         May1: Final report submitted to the Senate President

President Tinberg discussed the need for Senators and constituents to serve on this group. Interested Senators should contact President Tinberg to join the committee.

·         Senators discussed additional considerations:

o    possible impact work-to-rule might have on this initiative

o    delivering academic support despite physical space limitations at different campuses

o    defining terms of academic support vs. keeping it broadly defined for the committee

o    allocation of resources vs. funding

o    collection of valid data (e.g., are numbers truly captured by overburdened areas given reporting time constraints)

Meeting Adjourned:  4:18 pm

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

By-Laws for Bristol Community College Faculty and Professional Staff Senate

ARTICLE I:  MISSION, FUNCTIONS & MEMBERSHIP

Mission

The name of the organization is the Bristol Community College Faculty and Professional Staff Senate.  Its purpose will be to provide a deliberative body designed to promote shared governance, transparency, collegiality, and mutual trust among faculty and staff and administration.  Further, the Faculty and Professional Staff Senate will provide a forum to enhance academic values and opportunities.

Functions

●     To advocate for all Faculty and Professional Staff regarding matters outside of the collective bargaining agreement.  Areas include but need not be limited to the following:

○     Curriculum

○     Academic Standards

○     Degree and certificate completion

○     Assessment

○     Planning

○     Professional Development

○     Accreditation

○     Utilization of resources

●     To provide a liaison between Senate constituents and administration

●     To share in college-wide decision making     

●     To participate in the formulation and implementation of policy directly impacting Senate constituents

●     To promote an open and honest community marked by freedom of expression for all at the college

●     To act as a single, representative voice expressing constituent views in college-wide discussions

Membership

Any employee of Bristol Community College whose primary employment (more than 75 percent of assigned hours) is as a faculty or professional staff member is a “constituent.”

ARTICLE II:  GOVERNANCE

The Senate shall be comprised of Senators elected from the constituent bodies from the Academic Divisions of the College:  I, II, III, IV, V, VI, Lash Division, Advising, Enrollment Services, and Student Services.

The Senate shall have an Executive Committee comprised of the Senate officers.

Senators

Eligibility

By virtue of their membership in the Faculty and Professional Staff Senate’s constituent groups, a person is eligible to be nominated or to self-nominate and run for election to the Senate.

Nominations and Elections

The Executive Committee will receive names of nominees from the constituent groups and present the nominees for election to the constituent groups.  All nominations are due by March 2.

Voting

For election of Senators, all members (all full-time and all part-time faculty and professional staff as defined under “Membership,” above) will be eligible to vote.

Number of Senators

The number of Senators from each division will be 15 percent (or 20 percent) of the total number of its constituents, with the following provisos:

●     Total number of constituents will be based on the number of full-time faculty and professional staff in the census, which will be conducted every three years.

●     For Divisions 1-5: if the number of Senators from any of these divisions is below “3,” then that division will have 3 Senators; if it is above “6,” then that division will have 6 Senators. For Division 6, Advising, Lash Division, Enrollment Services, and Student Services: if the number of Senators is below “1,” then that division will have 1 Senator; if it is above “4,” then that division will have 4 Senators.

●     A majority of the number of Senators from each division will be full-time faculty and professional staff.  If a division has 3 Senators, then 2 of the 3 Senators will be full-time constituents; if 4 Senators, 3 of the 4 will be full-time; if 5 Senators, then 3 of the 5 will be full-time; if 6 Senators, then 4 of the 6 will be full-time.

●     If there are not enough full- or part-time constituents to fill a division’s nominating slots for Senators, then the vacant slots can be filled by any combination of full- and part-time constituents.  This is designed to facilitate full representation.

Length of Service

A senator will be elected to one two-year term with the possibility of election to a second two-year term; that is, two consecutive two-year terms may be served.

In the event a Senator does not fulfill their term, the Senator elected will complete that term. This one year will not be considered a full term; that is, the Senator may now choose to continue for two full terms.

Following a one-term (two-year) break, a Senate constituent member may re-apply for nomination for election to the senate.  In the event that a Division does not have a candidate to replace a Senator who has completed two consecutive terms, the  Executive Committee can recommend the Division’s serving Senator for consideration by his/her Division as a candidate for office to represent that Division.

Mechanism of Election

A closed-ballot vote will be held on or about April second.

Each constituent in each division will be eligible to vote for the appropriate number of senators within his/her division during a period designated as election period.

Constituents who work in more than one division may request to vote in one of those divisions. They will vote in only one division.

Officers

The officers of the Senate shall be a President, Vice President, and Secretary.  The officers of the Senate shall constitute an Executive Committee.

Officers must be elected senators. Candidates are nominated by constituents.  Candidates will be elected by a simple majority of all constituents voting.

Terms of Senate Officers

Terms of office shall be two years.  Officers may serve no more than two consecutive two-year terms.  A member may serve again after being out of office for one term.

Senate Officer Vacancies and Leaves of Absence

An officer who is on leave or sabbatical from the college may choose to fulfill his/her Senate duties or to resign.

Any necessary replacements will be appointed by the Executive Committee. Acting as a temporary replacement will not count toward the two consecutive two-year terms that an officer can serve before leaving office.

Duties of Senate Officers

The President shall:

1.    Preside at all the regular and special Senate meetings.

2.    Communicate for the Senate with the college President and administration.

3.    Determine the agenda for all meetings in advance along with the Executive Committee. Represent the Senate at various College functions.

4.    Provide orientation for new Senators.

5.    Charge and appoint members to the Nominations Committee.

The Vice President shall:

1.  Perform the duties of the President in his/her absence.

2.  Perform other duties as assigned by the President.

3.  Succeed the President in the event that he/she is unable to serve out his/her term.

The Secretary shall:

1.    Issue reminders of Senate meetings to Senators and Senate constituencies; when necessary, notify the Senate constituencies of special meetings or special votes, including proposed and ratified amendments to these By-Laws.

2.    Keep the minutes of all meetings of the Executive Committee and the Senate and distribute said minutes to Senate constituencies.

3.    Record a list of members present at each meeting of the Senate.

4.    Aid the President and Vice President with other information dissemination and record keeping as may become necessary.

 

ARTICLE III:  STANDING AND AD HOC COMMITTEES

Nominations Committee

Charge

Working closely with the Secretary of the Senate, the Nominating Committee will prepare  a slate of candidates for the Senate and for Senate Officers no later than March 2nd  each year, delivering that slate to the President of the Senate by that time.  In preparing a slate of candidates, the Committee will make every effort to include representation from all campuses.

Members

The Nominations Committee will be made up of four members, two of whom will be former senators and two current senators.  Members will be appointed by the President of the Senate, who will also choose the Committee chair.

Terms

Committee members will serve a term of two years, with the possibility of one additional term, with the Senate President’s approval.

Ad Hoc Committees

In addition, the Senate may vote to form ad hoc committees for limited terms. All ad hoc committees will be constituted for the length of one-year.    Committee charges will be reconsidered at a September meeting of the Senate, at which time the Senate will vote to continue or end their work.

Process for Amendment of By-Laws

The By-Laws will be voted on once per year in the Fall semester. In addition, the By-Laws can be amended according to the following process.

1.    During any regular or special meeting, a constituent or a senator may propose in writing an emendation to these By-Laws.

2.    The proposed amendment will be directed to the Officers and other relevant Interest groups for consideration.

3.    The secretary will distribute the text of the amendment to constituents for review.

4.    At the next Senate meeting which is at least four weeks after the proposed amendment, the Senate will discuss the amendment. It is only after this waiting period and discussion that a vote can be taken.

5.    Following the debate, a closed-ballot vote will be taken of all present.  A properly annotated proxy vote will be acceptable during this closed-ballot vote.

6.    An amendment must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Senate.

ARTICLE IV:  MEETINGS

The Executive Committee and the Senate shall each meet monthly during the academic year.

Special meetings will be called as needed.

Process for Conducting All Meetings                  

The Faculty and Professional Staff Senate promotes collegial discussion and debate; it encourages members and visitors to speak openly, listen actively and respect the confidentiality of those willing to share their opinions.  To minimize the need to time the comments or questions of the discussants, the Senate requests that members and visitors self-monitor.  The Senate is dedicated to working actively to achieve results.

1.    The presiding officer will call the meeting to order.

2.    A majority of Senators (more than 50%) from four of the seven divisions plus two of the three officers will be necessary for a QUORUM during regular or special Senate meetings. 

3.    An agenda and minutes of the previous meeting will be distributed in advance of the meeting. Discussion will follow the set agenda unless agreed by Senators present at the meeting. The presiding officer will recognize individual members and constituents to speak on topic. Motions will be voted on and ratified or denied by voice vote or closed ballot, as appropriate.

Voting

A majority of Senators (one more than 50 percent of the total number of Senators present) carry the motion.

If a quorum of senators is not present, or if a quorum approves, an electronic vote may be conducted.  As with face-to-face voting, a majority of Senators (at least 51 percent) carries the motion in electronic tabulation.

Attendance

It is expected that elected BCC Senators shall attend all senate meetings, whether regular or specially called.  In the event that an absence cannot be avoided, a Senator will designate a member of his/her Division as a substitute; if this is not possible, said Senator will contact the Senate Secretary and the absence will be declared an “excused absence.”  Should a Senator accrue two unexcused absences in a single academic year, the Secretary will notify the Executive Committee which may appoint a temporary replacement from the affected division; this temporary replacement will serve the remainder of the term.

Executive Session

Executive Sessions will be called based on the sensitivity of an issue.  An Executive Session may be called when the Executive Committee (by a majority vote) deems a particular matter to be of a sensitivity that demands an Executive Session.

Special Meetings

A Special Meeting may be called when the Executive Committee (by a majority vote) deems a particular matter to be of importance to the members of the Faculty and Professional Staff Senate.

The purpose of the Special Meeting will be for examination of a particular issue or concern that is being considered at the college, the examination of which cannot wait until the next regularly scheduled Senate meeting.

GLOSSARY

“Constituent,” as noted in this document, will hereafter be any employee of Bristol Community College whose primary employment (more than 75 percent of assigned hours) is as a faculty or professional staff member.

“Divisions,” as noted in this document, will hereafter be the Bristol Community College Academic Division:  I, II, III, IV, V, VI, Lash Division, Advising, Enrollment Services, and Student Services.

 “Non-Represented Groups” will refer to those groups invited to designate and send a liaison to regularly scheduled Senate meetings.  These groups will include but will not necessarily be limited to administration, AFSCME, student government, and non-unit personnel.

“Proxy ballot,” as noted in this document, will hereafter denote an official form devised by the Executive Committee to record the vote of a constituent who is unable to attend a meeting.  A proxy ballot might contain either permission for a present constituent to vote in place of an absent one or a statement of how the absent constituent would vote if present.

“Senators,” as noted in this document, will hereafter be the term used to designate those representing the Senate’s constituent groups.

Approved October 5, 2015