Taft College Academic Senate Minutes
Monday, April 7, 2014
Cougar Conference Room
Members Present: President Tony Thompson, Vice President David Layne, Secretary Linda West,
Jennifer Altenhofel, Nancy Artiga, Kanoe Bandy, Paul Blake, Adam Bledsoe, Kamala Carlson, Bill Devine,
Candace Duron, Geoffrey Dyer, Juana Escobedo, Sharyn Eveland, Tori Furman, Shelley Getty,
Lourdes Gonzalez, Gary Graupman, Jessica Grimes, Dan Hall, Vicki Jacobi, Brian Jean, Craig Johnson,
Diane Jones, Kelly Kulzer Reyes, Mariza Martinez, Michelle Oja, Ruby Payne, Joseph Polizzotto,
Joy Reynolds, Denise Romero, Jeff Ross, Becky Roth, Terri Smith, Sonja Swenson, Mark Williams
The meeting was called to order at 12:14 p.m.
Public Commentary
None
Review of March 3, 2014 Senate Minutes
A motion was made by Michelle Oja and seconded by Jennifer Altenhofel to approve the minutes as
presented. The motion carried.
Strategic Planning Committee Update
David Layne
David Layne reported the Strategic Planning Committee is ready to send the planning mosaic to the
Governance Council.
Curriculum & General Education Update
David Layne
David Layne reported the New/Revised Course Application is undergoing revision and will be reduced in
size from a three-page to a one-page document.
Budget Committee Update
Sonja Swenson
Sonja Swenson reported that the committee has its next schedule meeting on Thursday and is currently
looking for funding sources for action items. She is unsure when decisions will be finalized.
Academic Development
Kelly Kulzer Reyes
Kelly Kulzer Reyes reported the committee was pleased to complete the Basic Skills Program Review.
She stated the Building Bridges conference went very well. Kelly and Dan Hall presented, along with
Kamala Carlson and Jessica Grimes.
Nominations for Academic Senate Officers for 2014-2015
Tony Thompson
Nominations for Academic Senate Officers for the 2014-2015 academic year are:
President
Tony Thompson
Vice President
Vicki Jacobi
Secretary
Linda West
Voting will take place at the May Senate meeting. Due to Brown Act requirements, voting members
must sign their ballots.
IT Response to Academic Senate Comments
Tony Thompson
Tony Thompson presented Adrian Agundez’s written response to concerns expressed at the February
Senate meeting regarding the IT Department. (A copy of Adrian’s response is attached to the minutes.)
Adrian indicated to Tony he would be happy to attend the May Senate meeting to answer questions.
Brian Jean asked if his positive comments regarding the IT Department were shared with Adrian. Tony
indicated he would follow up to make sure Adrian received Brian’s comments.
Curriculum & General Education Committee Charter
David Layne
David Layne reported on the progress being made towards development of the Curriculum & General
Education Committee Charter. David said the group working on the charter would develop three to four
possible drafts and bring them back to the Senate for review.
Academic Senate Area A meeting topics/information
Tony Thompson
Tony Thompson shared his notes from the March 21st Academic Senate Area A Meeting held at Modesto
Junior College. Beth Smith, statewide Academic Senate President was in attendance. Topics included:
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Bachelor’s Degree awards at community college will more than likely focus on areas like nursing
or applied sciences.
AB 86 – Non-credit/Adult Education. This function is being moved from high schools to
community colleges and the Senate should be involved in the planning process. Kelly KulzerReyes reported that the Academic Development Committee hasn’t been contacted and should
be involved.
SB 897 – Proposed bill would force Basic Skills instructors to teach Civics
VP’s of Instruction occupied with obtaining grant funds and dealing with grant-related issues
and, as a result, neglecting traditional responsibilities
K-12 Common Core Standards
FON (Faculty Obligation Number). The FON number should be the floor and not the ceiling. A
ratio of 75% full-time/25% part-time is the recommended ratio.
A copy of Tony’s notes from the meeting is included as an attachment.
Ethical Conduct/Professionalism
Becky Roth
Becky Roth reminded the members present of the Institutional Code of Ethics (BP 3450). She stated we
should remember we represent the college and should think before we speak. Diane Jones asked if the
reminder was a result of faculty behavior and Becky stated it was a general reminder. It was also stated
that the policy applies to administrators and staff as well as faculty.
Other
Mark Williams stated he would provide substantial information regarding the tutoring program at the
May Senate meeting.
Diane Jones expressed concern regarding the increase in dual enrollment at Taft Union High School. It
appears they’re moving forward to expand some offerings without the involvement of Taft College
faculty. The high school has contacted Santa Barbara City College to explore dual enrollment options
since our classes were full. Diane stated we want to work with the high school, but don’t want them
dictating enrollment. Concern was expressed that there may be pressure to pass students at the
expense of academic integrity.
Geoffrey Dyer attended the Celebration of Scholar Athletes on April 2nd along with Kanoe Bandy,
Tony Thompson, and other members of the Taft College community. Onolina Taotofi, a former student
and member of the volley ball team, spoke about her experience at Taft College. Onolina stated she
attributes her success to the family atmosphere at Taft College. She said that her experience with
athletics, educators, and Taft College opened the door for her to a better life. Geoffrey stated he was
very moved by her words.
Meeting was adjourned at 1:03 p.m.
The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 5th, 2014.
Respectfully submitted by
Linda West, Academic Senate Secretary
Attachments
To:
Tony Thompson
President, Academic Senate
From:
Adrian Agundez
Director, ITS
Date:
March 18, 2014
Subject:
Follow Up on Feedback from Academic Senate – IT Services
Thank you for sharing the comments you received in response to a recent discussion in
the Academic Senate regarding the services through the ITS department. Listed below
are the comments (italicized) as well as my responses:
Comment:
This message is the follow-up concerning an issue I brought up in the meeting
Monday. Over the holiday break, a change was made to the security locking
system that had the classrooms/labs in the science building on an auto-lock/unlock
schedule that didn’t exist before the break. I’ve spoken with a number of the math
and science faculty who also, like myself, did not know about the change until we
all returned from break. There was never any prior discussion or conversations
that were relayed about the need for the change before or after the break from
anyone in administration or IT. We have electronic remote locks for all those
rooms (they have been with S-1 S-4 for a few years, but S-6 and S-7 have been
recently added) now and they have to be activated manually, but this hasn’t
created any issues I am aware of for faculty. I would like to see things go back to
the way they were (take the system off the auto cycle) until there is open
discussion with IT and/or administration about why the change was made and
faculty have had the change to provide input. Thank-You.
Response:
The Office of Instruction provided the IT office with a list of classrooms
that would be set to lock when classrooms were not in use. This came as a
security concern after finding students sitting in classrooms without
faculty or staff supervision. I will be forwarding your concern to the Vice
President of Student Services and request that this issue be discussed by
the Taft College Safety Committee
Comment:
My experiences with IT are mixed. Sometimes they are efficient and timely, other
times they seem to ignore my requests and I have to make multiple requests to get
something repaired or installed, for example. My requests are not trivial. They
are almost always related to an important project with a deadline and every
minute counts. So, unanswered requests that take DAYS are extremely
inconvenient.
Response:
The IT office is striving towards being more consistent and responsive to
faculty and staff. I apologize for any inconsistent responses and delays to
requests.
Comment:
Positive: All computers were working last fall for the first time. Heidi seems to be
friendly and helpful like Michaela.
Negative: First, all printers should be working at the beginning of the semester,
but if they are not, it should a first priority. Professors and students shouldn’t
have to wait for a turnaround time of almost two weeks. The “key players”
should be notified when equipment has been removed, repaired, or replaced.
Confusion: A list of job duties would be helpful. Many times I have Dan Hall
help with IT equipment because he tends to accommodate more quickly than IT.
However, I don’t know if that is technically what he should do or IT or if its
matters.
Response:
The IT office will be implementing a plan to improve our communication
with instructors to keep them informed with issues concerning their
classroom. We have added the current status of classroom issues to the IT
webpage which should provide the information to all concerned in one
location with easy access.
EXAMPLE
Area
Status
Next
Classroom Description
Maintenance
Areas
of Issues
VOIP/Phones Normal
Science
S11
Projector
Services
Network
Normal
Tech Arts
Normal
Mailroom
Copier
Normal
Library
Normal
Status
In
Progress
Live@ Email
Normal
G-Area
Normal
Banner
System
Normal
CIL
CIL730
In
Printer to
Progress
be replaced
TC Website
Normal
CDC
Normal
Comment:
Here is my feedback regarding IT: The IT service until 7pm is nice, but service
until 7:30pm would be really helpful. 7pm is too early for classes that start at
6:40pm; student workers as the only service provider is sometimes not helpful;
they don’t have access to supplies that might be needed; the online service request
is nice because I can follow my requests. But, there is no email confirmation of
the request, or someone seeing the request or what has been done regarding the
request. In sum, the steps made are in the right direction, but don’t go far enough
to really serve the campus.
Response:
The IT office has adjusted the hours of the evening staff and will be open
until 7:30 pm Monday through Thursday. This staff member is also being
trained on the recent changes in our equipment and will also be given
additional access to software and supplies.
Comment:
My experience with IT is as follows:
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Response:
Last semester, I requested repairs on my laptop; Adrian responded promptly
and expedited the request. I have found that IT does an excellent job helping
me with issues that might arise on my office computer, however, my
experience differs in the classroom as characterized in the example below:
This semester, the printer wasn’t working the first week and a half. Last
week, the printer was working; however, the printer was offline for all the
computers, including the instructor’s station. I called IT, and someone came
mid-class to put all the computers online. When the printer was brought
online, an entire English class’s work printed before my class’s, indicating
that at least another instructor experienced similar issues.
My expectation as that all computers in the T building would not only receive
an upgrade in technology bust also would be operating smoothly before class
began.
The IT Office staff did check the computers and printers in the Tech Arts
classroom prior to the start of school, but in spite of our efforts, we did
experience some issues at the beginnig of the semester. We have been
working diligently toward resolving issues where some of the new
printers would stall and not report an error. We found a process where we
can purge the printer system each night so the system is ready every
morning. Our goal is to keep our classrooms running effectively and
efficiently every day for our students and faculty.
Comment:
I’ve had a good experience with IT. Any time I have a problem, they come right
away to the classroom to fix it.
Response:
Thank you, it is our goal in IT to continue to make our costumer service
the best it can be, and to make improvements where needed in order to
meet the needs of the Taft College campus.
Cc:DM
Academic Senate Area A Meeting
March 21, 2014
Modesto Junior College
--Bachelor’s Degree discussion is focusing on areas like Nursing or “Applied Sciences”, not
necessarily for a wide range of majors – lots of things to get clear on –ie Dual Enrollment,
FTES, etc.
--CC system trying to develop own metric system (many from Scorecard & Student Equity);
Governor developed the ones for CSU/UC; CC system doesn’t want the state to develop
these for us
--AB 86 – Non-credit/Adult Education—SENATE SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN PLANNING – force
your way into that process if you are not invited –school year 15-16 - $25 million for planning
Adult Ed, much more is possible
--SB 897 – Bill concerning issue of forcing Basic Skills instructors to have to teach Civics is being
talked about – involves CTE, ESL, and non-degree applicable courses)
--VP’s of Instruction have been tied up chasing Grant funds and dealing w/Grant –related issues
and not getting things done on campus that are usually done by them and their secretarial staff
--They advise local Senates to learn about the Common Core State Standards for K-12
--Common Core Standards WON’T BE required for HS graduation; they will only be used as
“messaging devices” to let students and parents know where they stand
--Budget - .86 COLA and 3% Growth (Access) is currently proposed – Senate President Beth Smith
thinks that these numbers may change after May revise (possibly even be switched around)
--1.6% growth in CC’s statewide
--$100 million in budget for Student Equity Plan development
--potential $$ for Professional Development for faculty restored.
--lots of people unhappy with Accreditation Agency; CCC could go with a REGIONAL agency without
losing our articulation agreements; but would lose those agreements if we went with a NATIONAL
agency
--FON (Faculty Obligation Number) See handout. The FON is the FLOOR, NOT THE CEILING for FT
faculty
--75/25 (75% of class sections taught by FT faculty) ratio
--Statewide ratio for CC’s currently approximately 56%/Taft College rate approximately 63.63%