Taft College Academic Senate Minutes
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Cougar Conference Room
Attendees: Kanoe Bandy, Michelle Beasley, David Berry, Eric Bérubé, Darcy Bogle, Joe’ll Chaidez,
Bill Devine, Candace Duron, Juana Escobedo, Sharyn Eveland, Shelly Getty, Lourdes Gonzalez,
Jessica Grimes, Vicki Herder, Diane Jones, David Layne, Julián Martinez, Mariza Martinez, Mike Mayfield,
Ruby Payne, Joseph Polizzotto, Susan Vaughan, Linda West
The meeting was called to order at 12:15 p.m.
Public Commentary
None
Review of May, 2012 Senate Minutes
The minutes were approved as presented.
High School Special Admit Policy
Darcy Bogle
Darcy presented a summary of Senate discussions and recommendations that have taken place
surrounding the issue of special admit high school students at the college. The topic was first introduced
at the November 7, 2011 Senate meeting. A taskforce was formed in December, 2011, to study the
issue, develop a policy, and report findings back to the Senate. After discussion and input from faculty
and student service personnel, a draft of the policy was developed and presented to the Senate for
review. The draft policy will be presented to the Board of Trustees at the September 2012 board
meeting. The policy aligns with statewide policy and permits high school students who have completed
their sophomore year of high school and are at least 16 years of age to take transferrable level courses
and Math 1060 at the college on a seats-available basis. Students must obtain permission from a parent,
school principal, and instructor of the course. Students will receive college credit upon course
completion. Special admit students residing in the West Kern Community District service area are
exempt from enrollment fees. Special admit students residing outside of the district service area will pay
regular community college enrollment fees.
Faculty will continue to receive a list of minors who are enrolled in their classes. Faculty signatures will
be required for special admit high school students beginning with the Spring 2013 semester.
A question was raised about allowing children under the age of 16 to take classes. Julian Martinez
shared that research indicates that students benefit by taking foreign language classes at younger ages.
Darcy suggested that Julian take the question to Brock McMurray.
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Accreditation Midterm Report Update
Eric Bérubé
Eric addressed the status of the Accreditation Midterm Report. An electronic copy of the report was
distributed to the Senate for review. Completion of the midterm report is required by the accrediting
commission and must be submitted three years after the initial accreditation site visit. The report, due in
October, describes progress made by the college in addressing the five recommendations made by the
site visit team. Eric stated the report satisfactorily addresses all recommendations. The college is making
good progress in the areas of program review, strategic planning, and SLOs. A Code of Ethics policy has
been developed and approved by the Board of Trustees. The Substantive Change Proposal for distance
education courses was submitted and approved by the accrediting commission.
Sonja Swenson made a motion to accept the report as presented. The motion was seconded by Dave
Berry and unanimously approved by members in attendance.
SLO Implementation Report
Vicki Herder
Vicki distributed copies of the Status Report on Student Learning Outcomes Implementation that will be
submitted to the Accrediting Commission. The report provides the Commission with a status update
regarding our implementation of SLOs. Vicki stated that we should be at the proficiency level at the
current time and should be looking into program SLOs. Our biggest problem is in getting adjunct faculty
to complete and assess SLOs.
Please provide Vicki with documentation of course improvements we’ve made as a result of our
assessments. According to Vicki, we must provide evidence that we’re working towards sustainability.
She asked that we please complete and submit the “Roadmap to Sustainability” if we have not already
done so. Vicki stated that we will continue with training that will focus on authentic assessment.
The report was presented to the Governance Council and will go to the Board of Trustees in September.
Academic Senate Charter, By-laws, Constitution on Website
Bill Devine
Bill stated the Academic Senate currently has two constitutions and we are following neither of them.
The 1979 constitution states voting is open to all faculty, whereas the 1993 constitution states voting is
limited to elected Senate representatives. Bill suggested it was time to review the Senate Charter.
President’s Report
Tony Thompson
Tony stated that, as a new president, he is looking for involvement and is currently seeking a volunteer
to fill the role of secretary. He said he had spoken to Patti Bench who was in agreement that the
position could substitute for a committee assignment.
Tony suggested the possibility of the Senate sponsoring an Adjunct Appreciation Luncheon to
acknowledge the contributions of our adjuncts and help make them feel more a part of the college
community.
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The next Senate meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 1st, at 12:10 p.m. Tony requested you
forward all agenda items to him.
Other
Sharyn Eveland expressed concern that the established Faculty Hiring Process was not followed this
summer when the Learning Skills Instructor position was filled due to Jack Gallon’s unexpected
retirement. Sharyn stated the Senate had agreed to replace positions due to faculty retiring in Spring
2012 prior to filling any new faculty positions. She didn’t feel that agreement extended beyond the
spring semester. It was Bill Devine’s opinion that the process was not technically followed. Vicki Herder
stated the Learning Support Division wanted to evaluate restructuring the position and she felt the
wishes of the division were overlooked. Diane Jones, Kanoe Bandy, and Michelle Beasley stated they felt
the process had been followed. No agreement on the issue was reached other than we will always do
the best we can to make sure processes are followed.
Meeting was adjourned at 1:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Linda West
Acting Academic Senate Secretary
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