CHABOT COLLEGE ACADEMIC/FACULTY SENATE
R e g u l a r Meeting
Board Room, Building 200
Thursday, September 27, 2007 – 2:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
A P P R O V E D M I N UT E S
Submitted by Rachel Maldonado Aziminia and Ming Ho
Senators
Applied Technology & Business — Michael Absher
Counseling — Rachel Aziminia & Dara Greene
Health, Physical Education, & Athletics — Nancy Cowan
Arts & Humanities — Bill Johnson
Language Arts — Susan Gill & Francisco Zermeño
Library — Jim Matthews
Science & Mathematics — Dave Fouquet & Ming Ho
Social Sciences — Michael Thompson & Susan Tong
Part-time Faculty — Anne Brichacek
Ex-Officios
ASCC — Jove Meyer, Vice President
CLPFA — Shari Jacobsen, Membership Coordinator
Academic/Faculty Senate Immediate Past President — Chad Mark Glen
Guests
Dr. Carolyn Arnold, Institutional Researcher
Melita Fogle, Instructional Assistant for Computer Lab 3906
Barbara Ogman, ECD, Chair of SLOA Committee
Zack Papachristos, Physical Education
Patricia Shannon, Humanities
Presiding Officer
President Diane Zuliani
ITEM
1.0 GENERAL FUNCTIONS
1.1 Call to Order: Vice President Absher called the meeting to order at 2:15 p.m. President Zuliani
presided afterwards.
1.2 Approval of the Minutes: The minutes of September 13, 2007, as amended were approved.
2.0
REPORTS
2.1 Senate President: President Zuliani’s prepared statement is below:
Power Plants in Hayward: Campus heard from a guest speaker, today, Michael Toth, an
expert on the proposals to build two power plants in our Chabot neighborhood. We learned that
ACADEMIC/FACULTY SENATE DRAFT MINUTES
September 27, 2007
just one of these plants will emit higher level of pollutants than the CEC says is acceptable, so
plant owners will be required to purchase industrial pollution credits, which may improve air
quality in the region, but won’t improve air quality here. According to Toth, the location of
highest concentration of chemicals emitted from the plants, called the Maximum Impacted
Receptor Center, is right in the center of Chabot. There are questions as to whether this plan is
compatible with Chancellor Kinnamon’s plans for a green, LEED-silver certified campus, or with
the Industry Driven Regional Collaborative that Chancellor Kinnamon supports, or with City of
Hayward’s plan for a “knowledge industry corridor” meant to take advantage of West Hayward’s
main assets, Chabot College and the Hayward Airport. It is of concern that the Chabot
community has heard very little about this plan, perhaps because the chief representative of the
second plant, the Eastshore Energy Center, is our Foundation’s Vice Chair.
Accreditation Update: I made clear to the Board that our senate is paying close attention to
the national-level debate between accreditors and the Department of Ed. Board member Isobel
Dvorsky, who has served on numerous accreditation site visit teams, said after the Board
meeting that, in her experience, the Department of Education has no knowledge of what actually
happens at a teaching college or during the process of accreditation. She said she would be
pressing this issue at the upcoming state-wide meeting of Board members, and said that if she
could be of service in any way to just ask.
I attended the accreditation training session on Friday, 9/21, arranged up by Accreditation
Liason Officer Chad Mark Glen. I was looking forward to working with accreditation experts for
their ability to clear up what I see as inconsistencies and imprecision in the language used to
describe the SLO requirement. Unfortunately, the experts used the same inconsistencies of
language, and didn’t even seem to notice them as inconsistencies. The positive thing I got from
the Accreditation training was a wonderfully protective attitude from Carolyn Arnold and Norma
Ambriz, whenever the speaker would say “it could be done like this,” or “college so-and-so does
that.” Both Carolyn and Norma would insist that “that doesn’t mean we have to do it like that.”
Their attitudes reflect a seriousness about the rights of our faculty.
Discussions between Senate Meetings: some of you were included in a senate-related
discussion this past week, and some of you were not. I have concerns over this, because as of
now we have a very cohesive group, and a cohesive Senate is the type I intend to preside over.
So I want to remind folks that the Faculty Senate is a state-recognized governing body, and with
that comes certain privileges and also responsibilities. Meetings are required by law to take
place in the open. That is why I follow the Brown Act and post the agenda 72 hours before each
meeting, which is why you cannot send me an agenda item the night before a meeting and
expect it to be discussed the next day. Meetings are considered the conducting of Senate
business by a quorum; and they are to happen in the open. If a quorum (50% plus one) of
Senators has been included in a between-session discussion, the action could be construed as
conducting Senate business by a quorum not in the open, which is a violation of the BagleyKeane open meetings act (described in your handbook), which makes our senate very
vulnerable. I ask all of you to please help me assure the faculty we serve that our Senate
operates with an open agenda.
[End of prepared statement.]
Hayward City Council has apparently approved one of the power plants. Senator Fouquet
commented that he had a neighbor who felt that the council was through listening to community
comments. He also said that Dr. Carlson supported the building of the plants. Russell Power
Plant is a Cal-Pine GE project. The second power plant is the East Shore Energy Center
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ACADEMIC/FACULTY SENATE DRAFT MINUTES
September 27, 2007
(product of Tierra Energy) for whom the Vice Chair of the Chabot Foundation works. Senator
Fouquet stated that he has received occasional mailings from CEC and that it was only recently
he was aware there was a second plant. Senate President Zuliani stated that legally the energy
company doesn’t have to notify anyone other than those residing within 500 feet of a proposed
plant. Senator Matthews said that the library would post the information relating to the power
plants on the library web site. Past President Glen said that one of the foundation board
members, Tom Guarino, currently works as PR for PGE.
Immediate Past President Glen stated the Accreditation Steering Committee would like the
Senate to ratify the chairs of the accreditation standards although this does not qualify as an
“official” list. Comments and/or “blessings” for the chair names were sought. Each committee
should have an administrator as a resource. Currently there are no chairs for Student Support,
Human Resources, Technology Resources, and Leadership and Governance committees.
Immediate Past President Glen stated he was informed at the Institutional Planning and
Budget Committee that faculty had the obligation to work on accreditation, but he could not find
this in the contract. Senator Fouquet noted the contract does state that “participation in the
accreditation process” is the actual intent of the contract. Immediate Past President Glen has a
draft statement that states the Senate endorses involvement of the faculty in the accreditation
process.
M/S/P (Glen/Matthews) that the names of the chairs be approved.
2.2 ASCC: Jove Meyer was not present to give a report, but he requested that the minutes reflect
that students should be involved in the accreditation process.
2.3 CLPFA: Senator Fouquet reported that there will be a more detailed contract with hyperlinks.
The Tentative Agreement is 95% completed, but there is still a little tweaking that needs to be
done. The FA is currently working on the definition of the F-Hour for adjunct or overload. The
new rates may appear lower for some people than the old rates; for such unit members a "hold
harmless" provision will need to be done on a case-by-case basis.
2.4 Public Comments
Zack Papachristos spoke about his disappointment at not being appointed to serve on the
presidential search committee. He was appalled that no “pre-1990” candidates are serving on
the committee. He noted that all members of the committee were hired between 2000 and 2003.
His feeling was that the selection of a representative from each Division should have been a
formal one from the Division. He recommends that the Senate re-visit the selection process and
follow the steps that have been used in the past or at least, review and perhaps establish some
more clear guidelines for selecting search committee members.
Senator Ho introduced Melita Fogle, who works in the library and assists students with
Blackboard, and so has a good insight of the needs of faculty and students. Her main concern
was the computer lab in Room 3906 that is shared by many departments. All instructors who
share the lab need to have it staffed for students. She is the only person who now staffs the lab
where in the past the computer lab had two other staff persons and four instructional assistants.
When she is sick, the lab is closed. She cannot leave the lab or take breaks when no instructors
are around. The lab is limited to students in computer science, nursing, and math. She
requested better a methodology on determining the usage of the labs. She thanked the Senate.
Her extension is 7295.
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ACADEMIC/FACULTY SENATE DRAFT MINUTES
September 27, 2007
Senate Vice President Absher stated that he thought that it was an open lab and believes
that the Senate needs to look at this issue. In the last accreditation, Chabot got dinged on this
matter. Senator Fouquet requested information on whether there were plans for consolidation of
the computer labs. Immediate Past President Glen once developed a list of the computer labs
that was obtained from the student handbook but then was informed that the information was not
all accurate. He stated that the deans should know the labs in their divisions.
Senator Zermeño inquired if the Senate could change the agenda and have public
comments slated first on the agenda, but Immediate Past President Glen stated that sometimes
the “public comments” people can’t make it if they are going to be early on the agenda.
Senator Johnson stated that he was very concerned about the delayed response by security
in notifying the campus community regarding the armed robbery on Monday. Senator Johnson
would like to have a review of the Chabot College safety procedures…ask questions about what
happened and what can be done to intervene in future. Part of the reason for the delay was that
the student first notified Hayward Police Department. Security was not notified of the matter until
some two hours later.
Immediate Past President Glen stated that if faculty does not feel safe perhaps Senator
Fouquet could determine if the association would be interested in this matter. Senator Matthews
noted that this is a matter that the Senate president should talk to the President Carlson about.
Senator Zermeño noted that these students may have been involved in another incident on
campus. Senator Cowan further noted that these men did it in day light and that this was a
brazen act and frankly more dangerous. Senate President Zuliani stated that she will follow-up
with Dr. Carlson and MacGreagor Wright and will get back to the Senate.
Senator Johnson also expressed his concern that faculty may not be completing the
midterm progress report and its importance in the retention of students. Furthermore, he spoke
of the Disappearing Students? flyer that referred faculty to CLASS-Web/faculty menu/Retention
Comments. The faculty’s comments on students’ needs would be referred to an intervention
counselor. He encouraged faculty to visit the website and he encourage the Senate to support
this effort. Immediate Past President Glen stated that the Senate has supported the midterm
progress report. Senator Gill stated she is hesitant and has misgivings about the use of the
midterm progress report; therefore, she does her own follow-up with her students.
3.0
ACTION ITEMS
3.1 Approval of Curriculum Committee Chair: Senator Matthews reported that the Curriculum
Committee lost its chair for health reasons. The Committee met last Thursday and unanimously
elected Patricia Shannon as chair. Immediate Past President Glen remarked that when Cindy
Hicks resigned P. Shannon came up to the plate. Patricia Shannon’s nomination was approved
by acclamation.
4.0
DISCUSSION ITEMS
4.1 Presidential Search Announcement
Senator Matthews stated the presidential search committee appointments were not done in
a secret room. That the Senate President informed the Senate of the criteria she thought were
important, and that the Senate discussion on the matter can be read in the minutes. Senate Vice
President Absher stated that the senators should read the Senate Handbook that clearly
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ACADEMIC/FACULTY SENATE DRAFT MINUTES
September 27, 2007
explains that the Senate President’s responsibility is to make appointments to committees. He
personally agreed with Immediate Past President Glen that she did it with integrity and that he
has complete trust with the process.
Senate President Zuliani stated that the first discussion on the presidential search committee
appointments was on August 30, but the Senate did not meet again as a whole before the
names were due. She consulted with other faculty, such as Nolly Ruiz, Charlotte Lofft and Jim
Matthews, regarding the procedures to take. She did not consult with the Senate Executive
Committee as a whole because one of the members was a candidate for the search committee,
but she did contact other members of the Executive Committee individually.
Senator Zermeño questioned why no one was selected beyond 1997 and recommended that
if there is a need for alternate that a Latino individual be considered. Senator Thompson stated
that he was not planning to speak about his selection to the search committee, but he greatly
appreciates the confidence that Senate President Zuliani has in him. He believes that it is
important that younger faculty be part of the committee because they will have to deal with the
new president. Senator Cowan stated she genuinely feels awful about this because no one can
really out-guess the Senate president and one can not please every faculty member. She saw
nothing wrong with the process and who was chosen.
Senator Zermeño expressed his displeasure with the Chabot president job announcement
because of the “in the next 5-10 years” statement and no mention of the goal of becoming a
Hispanic Serving Institute (HSI). Senate President Zuliani stated that Jennifer Aries and Dr.
Carlson informed her that the job announcement did not set the parameters, but Dr. Kinnamon
said it does. The committee needs to inform Pam Fisher, the search committee consultant, what
an earned doctorate means to the committee. Senator Matthews stated he does not understand
the reasoning for requiring a doctorate degree because they have not required one in the past.
Senator Fouquet questioned whether the committee would want to exclude a person without a
Ph.D.
4.2 Basic Skills Initiative & Workshops: Senator Ho explained that Chabot College received
funds from the state earmarked for basic skills. There are a number of basic skills projects on
campus, and they are not just in math and English. For example, Library and History have
projects supported by BSI funds. As part of accountability of these funds, Chabot will be sending
a team to a state-sponsored workshop in Santa Rosa to learn about self-assessment of basic
skills program at Chabot.
4.3 Board Presentation of SLOs: Guests Carolyn Arnold and Barbara Ogman reviewed the
PowerPoint that will be presented to Board of Trustees. The outline of the slides follows:
2. Overview accreditation in US higher
1. Overview
education
a. Accreditation Review
a. Nine Regional Accrediting Bodies
b. New Accreditation Standards
b. Western Association Schools and
c. Student Learning Outcomes (SLO’s)
Colleges
d. Grades vs. Student Learning
c. Accrediting Commission for
Outcomes
Community and Junior Colleges
e. Classroom Examples: Assessment of
(WASC/ACCJC)
SLO’s
d. Standards of Good Practice
f. Q & A
e. Voluntary
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ACADEMIC/FACULTY SENATE DRAFT MINUTES
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
f. Peer Review
Overview of the accreditation process
a. Self study
i. Each colleges writes a self
evaluation
ii. Addresses the 4 WASC/ACCJC
Standards
iii. New in 2002
b. Team visit
i. A team of peers comes to our
college
ii. Evaluates our evidence against the
Standards
iii. Validates (or not) our self study
c. Accreditation Commission decision
Paradigm shift:
a. old standard-teaching
i. Are we providing instruction?
b. new standard-learning centered
i. Can we demonstrate learning?
New standards ask…
a. What should students learn?
b. How well are they learning it?
c. What evidence exists that students are
learning?
d. How can the information be used to
improve earning, teaching and the
institution?
What has the student learned
a. When they-earn a degree from chabot
of Las Positas
b. Complete a program/major
c. Complete a course
New WASC/ACCJC Standards,
institutions must
a. identify, measure and analyze student
learning outcomes(SLO’S) at the
course, program and degree level.
b. engage in broad-based dialogue
about student learning.
c. integrate SLO assessment into all
planning and resource allocation
processes.
d. provide evidence of this focus on
SLO’s in the Self Study.
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
September 27, 2007
a. Provide a clear description of what
students are expected to learn.
i. Skills
ii. Behavior
iii. Knowledge
9. I want students to be able to…use specific
and not vague words
a. Vague words such as know, do,
understand, be exposed to
b. Specific words such as describe,
analyze, argue, solve, create, compare
c. We must change the way we
communicate with students. If we
express with vague words this we
won’t get this.
10. Student Learning Outcomes
a. Determined by faculty
b. Supported all institutional functions
c. Clearly communicated to student and
public,
d. Assessed to determine degree of
attainment
e. Results are use to improve learning
11. SLO Assessment Cycle
12. The Difference between Grades vs. SLOs
a. The grading process differs from the
SLO Assessment process in a number
of ways.
b. Today we will illustrate one of those
differences with examples from
classroom assessments
c. Holistic vs. Distinct
i. Grades are holistic measures of
multiple skills
1. Grades provide feedback to
the student on their overall
performance
2. Grades do not pinpoint which
skills need improvement
ii. SLO’s are distinct measures of
specific skills
1. SLO’s provide feedback on
student learning of the
specific skills
2. SLO’s pinpoint which skills
need improvement
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ACADEMIC/FACULTY SENATE DRAFT MINUTES
iii. Example 1: Anthropology 3
1. Course SLO: Students who
successfully complete ANTH
3 will be able to collect,
describe, use, and interpret
the data resulting from
anthropological
methodologies including
participant observation and
ethnography.
2. The Assessment: A capstone
project which culminates in a
5.0
September 27, 2007
fieldwork-based research
paper.
iv. Example 2: ECD 50
1. The SLO for the course:
Analyze an Early Childhood
Environment Based on
Specific Standards (such as
DAP)
2. The Assessment: Write a
paper that describes the
environment using all criteria
required in the instructions.
13. Questions and Answers
REPORTS II
5.1 Senate Committees: No report.
5.2 Senators: No report.
6.0 GOOD OF THE ORDER
6.1 Future Agenda items
6.1.1 Cameras in Labs — Farhad Javaheripour
6.1.2 Title V Curriculum Updates & AS Degree Report — Nolly Ruiz
6.1.3 New Directions for IPBC — Christina Ruggiero and Yvonne Wu-Craig
6.1.4 The “Greening” of Chabot — Francisco Zermeño
6.1.5 Textbook Expense — Kathleen Kaser
6.2 Adjournment at 4:30 PM. Next Meeting: October 11, 2007
6.3 Fall Meetings: 2nd & 4th Thursdays.
October 25, November 8 & 15*, December 6* & 20*.
(*Special Meetings not on 2nd or 4th Thursday)
RAM/MLH/DZ
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