Taft College Academic Senate Minutes
Monday, November 3, 2014
Cougar Conference Room
Members Present: President Tony Thompson, Vice President Vicki Jacobi, Secretary Linda West,
Jennifer Altenhofel, Megan Andrews, Kanoe Bandy, Wendy Berry, Eric Bérubé, Paul Blake,
Adam Bledsoe, Bill Devine, Candace Duron, Kamala Carlson, John Eigenauer, Juana Escobedo,
Sharyn Eveland, Tori Furman, Shelley Getty, Michael Giles, Greg Golling, Lourdes Gonzalez,
Jessica Grimes, Dan Hall, Brian Jean, Craig Johnson, Diane Jones, Kelly Kulzer Reyes, Steve Lytle,
Julián Martinez, Mariza Martinez, James P. May, Janice Mendenhall, Michelle Oja, Ruby Payne,
Joseph Polizzotto, Stacie Rancano, David Reynolds, Joy Reynolds, Sonja Swenson, Susan Vaughan,
Stefanie Walsh, Karen Ziegler
Guests Present: Darcy Bogle, Dena Maloney, Mark Williams
The meeting was called to order at 12:15 p.m.
Public Commentary
None.
Review of October 6, 2014 Senate Minutes
A motion was made by Diane Jones and seconded by Joy Reynolds to approve the minutes as presented.
The motion carried unanimously.
Standing Committee Updates
Strategic Planning Committee
Dr. Eric Bérubé
Eric reported that the committee will be meeting on Friday to complete the evaluation of the
committee. He also reported that he will be stepping down as chair of the committee at the end
of the year to devote full time to accreditation.
Academic Development Committee
Kelly Kulzer-Reyes
Kelly reported the Basic Skills Initiative report was submitted. She also reported the allotment
was back to $90,000 and the current budget reflects that allocation.
Budget Committee
Bill Devine
Bill reported there was an update to the budget, a revision of BP 6200 and 6250, and the
committee approved the new budget calendar.
Curriculum & General Education Committee
Vicki Jacobi
Vicki reported on the following committee items:
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A new local certificate was approved for Energy Technology.
BUSN 1510 (Business Communications) has been added to the GE pattern for
Communications & Analytical Thinking.
ASTR 1511 (Astronomy) was approved for distance learning.
A discussion took place during the last meeting regarding whether or not it was the
committee’s function to review and approve SLOs.
More justification should be required for the rationale for inactivating courses. Stating a
course has low enrollment is not sufficient justification.
Accreditation Update
Dr. Dena Maloney
Dena reported that sixty-eight people, including faculty, administrators, and classified staff are currently
serving on accreditation teams. The first draft of the self-study was submitted and reviewed by Dena
and Eric who provided feedback to the teams. A second draft of the self-study is due by December 1st.
The Accreditation Steering Committee has set July as the target for sending the self-study report to the
ACCJC.
Dena stated that she, Darcy Bogle, and Sam Aunai have all recently participated in accreditation site
visits at other colleges. There appears to be an emphasis on SLOs. Taft College is under the 2002
accreditation standards and it is expected that we should be at proficiency level by this time.
The college submitted a report regarding our SLO progress in the Fall of 2012. We were asked to report
on eleven items and the college was determined to be below average in nine out of the eleven items.
Recommendations can be used to help us improve our process.
Areas of greatest concern:
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Lack of institutional wide dialog on SLO outcomes and how they relate to institutional
improvement.
Student awareness regarding goals and SLOs
Quality of SLOs we’ve developed (should be useful in improving courses)
The college needs to provide evidence that we’re using SLO assessment results to make institutional
improvements. Evidence can be found in eLumen, division meeting minutes, and other committee
meeting minutes.
Dena stated there is a conference scheduled in Bakersfield on November 17th regarding institutional
level outcomes.
Technology Committee Update
Dr. John Eigenauer
John reported on the proposed implementation of a new Computer and Network Use Procedure
(AP 3720). He stated faculty should be thoroughly informed regarding its content and suggested all
should have to sign in verification they’ve read and understand the procedure. The procedure states
that college property can’t be used for personal reasons and that the employee has no expectation of
privacy when using the resources of the college. John expressed concern that similar procedures have
been used against employees at previous districts and that we need to have a full discussion regarding
the impact this procedure can have before it is implemented.
Brian Jean agreed that it was an issue that should be discussed in more depth at a future meeting.
It was suggested that members email their concerns regarding the proposed procedure to
John Eigenauer with a cc: to Adrian Agundez.
Student Success and Support Program/Proposals
Darcy Bogle
Darcy previously distributed materials regarding dual enrollment, high school special admits, and high
school articulation.
Darcy stated we already participate in articulation agreements with Taft Union High School. Current
policy states that the student must complete 12 units in residence before receiving the articulated units.
The State Academic Senate recommends eliminating the in-residence requirement.
A motion was made by Diane Jones and seconded by Kamala Carlson to remove the 12-unit in residence
requirement for high school courses articulated with Taft College Courses. The motion carried with one
member voting against the motion.
The current high school special admit policy states the student must be 16 years of age or older and
can’t take degree level courses they can take at the high school. In general, college courses must be
designated 1500 or higher with the exception of Math 1060. Darcy is proposing an expansion of the
policy to include the Student Success course and a number of CTE courses. Diane Jones stated she would
like to hear from CTE faculty before agreeing with the proposal. Kanoe Bandy said the proposal has not
been discussed with the Applied Technology division and she would like to see what classes are
involved.
The college is currently offering the following dual enrollment courses at TUHS: Biology 1500,
Sociology 1510, English 1500, Information Competency 1548, and Psychology 1500. The high school has
requested that we offer Speech 1511 instead of Sociology 1510. The change was requested as a result of
the “perfect 60” requirement.
A motion was made by Diane Jones and seconded by Bill Devine to offer Speech 1511 as a dual
enrollment course instead of Sociology 1510. Sociology 1510 and Psychology 1500 will be rotated in
subsequent semesters. The motion carried unanimously.
Other
The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, December 1st.
Meeting was adjourned at 1:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Linda West, Academic Senate Secretary
Tony Thompson