Faculty Senate
P R O F E S S I O N A L S TA N D A R D S M I N U T E S
October 16, 2015
In Attendance: Maria Arrigotti, Sameer Bhattarai, Eddie Burke (chair), Greg Ellis, Bill Gallegos, Warren Hejny, Mike
Holmes, Andy Hughes, Tammy Johnson, Linda McGillicuddy, Ted Owens, Julie Stage-Rosenberg, Brian Wells & Jim
Winston.
Absent: Deborah Bader, Laura Briggs, Karen Cannan, Wade Hampton, Scott Huber, Louis Lawson & Kyle Simmons.
Guests: Cheryl Cardoza, Rich Olson, Brian Ruf, Julia Hammett & John Adlish
Meeting called to Order: 10:01 a.m.
1.
Approval of Sep. 18 2015 Minutes:
Motion to approve minutes with no edits: Linda McGillicuddy, Second: Julie Stage-Rosenberg
Motion to approve: Unanimous
2.
Presidential Search Updates: John AdlishJohn informed the committee that the BOR is holding a special meeting
next week (Oct. 23) to discuss the selection of an acting president for TMCC. At that meeting Chancellor Klaich
will present his findings and make a recommendation to the BOR for the new acting president. John then showed
the chancellor's report which includes the results of the survey that the faculty senate conducted back in Sep. The
chancellor’s report concludes with him recommending Dr. Kyle Dalpe (the current TMCC Chief of Staff) to become
the TMCC acting president. This recommendation will be voted on next week by the BOR.
John also told the committee that at this special meeting, the BOR will also be discussing whether there be a
national search for the next TMCC president. The chair of the BOR has repeatedly stated that he would like to see a
national search and an external candidate for the next president but this decision is up to the BOR as a group.
They can vote to allow the acting president to become the interim and therefore the permanent president.
3.
Reorganization, Class Sizes, Withdrawal & Audit Policy - Cheryl Cardoza, Andy Hughes & Eddie.
Eddie explained that he had invited the VPAA (Dr. Buchanan) to attend and talk about these items but she was
unable to as she was meeting with the visiting northwest accreditation team.
Eddie informed the committee that there is going to be a yet another college reorganization. There was a collective
"roll of eyes" from the committee. Cheryl however pointed out that rather than do a re-org now, and then another
one later when the new president is installed, the re-org will be delayed until the college has a new president. Less
turmoil. Cheryl will be chairing the re-org committee.
Eddie again mentioned that because of language in the NFA contract, faculty has a say in any increase in class
sizes. Eddie also mentioned that the NFA contract is currently being re-negotiated and this would be the time to
strengthen that language.
There was a discussion about student withdrawal and audits. Some of the major points were:
•
Eddie mentioned that instructors now get an e-mail message notifying them that a student has changed to
audit (like what happens when a student withdraws). However this e-mail does not include the student name
and he asked Andy if would be possible to insert the student's name into the message. Andy will look into this
ASAP.
•
Maybe students should be required to talk to their instructor before they can change to audit (or a W). Right
now students can withdraw or change to audit via MyTMCC on-line. Maybe this should be tied to having
instructor approval.
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•
There was some back and forth debate over the pros and cons of this. Some members think that students
should be free to do as the wish (be treated as adults), others thought that a consultation with their instructor
would be constructive. No agreement was reached.
•
UNR audit rules are different – there may be some academic conditions on allowing a student to audit e.g.
summer classes in the biology department can only be taken for credit – no audits allowed.
•
The new incoming VPAA will have to be involved in this discussion.
•
There was a discussion of the current drop/withdrawal deadlines. Should they be moved? They have been
changed before but these dates heavily affect financial aid.
•
Eddie suggested that we wait until our next meeting and invite the new VPAA for their opinion and see how
best to proceed.
4.
Professional Standards/SLOA Charges and Possible Changes: Eddie & Brian Ruf
Eddie told the committee that Faculty Senate chair and chair elect have asked that all of the faculty senate
committees look at their charges and suggest possible changes. He said that he has been talking with Brian Ruf
(Chair of SLOA) about some possible changes.
Eddie then introduced Brain Ruf who explained that the work or SLOA is slowing down and suggested that some of
the charges from Professional Standards (PS) could be moved over to a new version of SLOA (whose name has yet
to be determined).
Brian then showed the charges of PS and SLOA. Brian and Eddie suggested that the 3 PS charges which could be
moved in the new version of SLOA were:
•
9.10.3.4 - Recommend policies on academic standards such as, but not limited to, grading, forgiveness policies
and academic dishonesty etc.
•
9.10.3.5 - Recommend policies for admission, registration and retention of students.
•
9.10.3.6 - Recommend the academic and summer school academic calendar
There was some debate as to whether SLOA should just be eliminated as a committee. Cheryl immediately jumped
up to say that we do not want to lose control or input into our courses. We need to keep this committee which
allows for faculty involvement. She mentioned that this is fact was one of the questions repeatedly asked by the
visiting accreditation team. This team has been asking how much involvement the faulty have in curriculum and
student learning outcomes. Cheryl emphasized that the SLOA faculty senate committee should be the committee
dealing with these issues.
There was also some debate about the overlap of SLOA and CAP. It appears that SLOA just is a sub-committee of
CAP since CAP basically tells SLOA what needs to be done. Both of these faculty senate committees are involved in
PURS and CARS reports.
There was some discussion about reducing the amount of work needed for a PURS report and possibly to remove
the ad-hoc committee chaired by Dr. Deadman which some people see as a repeat of the CAP/SLOA work.
Eddie pointed out that we do not know what the final new committee make-ups will be and what will be their
charges. This is only the first step in trying to determine what needs to be changed. He said that he will keep the
committee updated.
Eddie then asked for a motion to approve the suggestion to remove charges 9.10.3.5 to 9.10.3.7 from the
Professional Standards charges.
Motion to approve removal: Bill Gallegos, Second: Greg Ellis
Motion Passed: With 2 nays.
5.
Faculty Positions Search Committee: Eddie Burke & Brian Wells.
Eddie mentioned that there are now 25 open tenure track faculty positions. He mentioned that the faculty needs
to be heavily involved in the hiring of these new faculty. He emphasized that the faculty, if asked, agree to be a
member of a faculty search committee even if it outside of your department/area.
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Eddie also mentioned that the
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members of these committees need to know that there is NFA contract language (Article 7) dealing with faculty
hiring. He pointed out that the faculty needs to study this language and make sure it is being followed.
In addition to article 7 there is also a "Professional Recruitment and Search Committee Manual" outlining best
practices which should be followed. The search committee members should also be aware of this manual which
was drafted several years ago. Brain Wells was one of the team which worked on this document which was
brought to Professional Standards last Mar. PS voted on sending it to Faculty Senate to "own". Eddie stated that it
was indeed brought to FS in March 2015but they decided to table it and review it at a later date. This did not
happen and as a result the document has not been "owned" and is floating around and not being used.
Brain Wells then spoke about the need for someone to take ownership. He mentioned that there were now several
versions of this document and we need to set up a join FS/HR committee to vet this document again and decide
where it should live.
Julia stated that the only changes that the only changes she made were to the title page (to include "Working
Draft") and to remove the highlights from some of the text inside the document (which was confusing). She stated
that she did not edit as single word of the content. She also mentioned that she has passed this out to all of the
search committee chairs to make them aware of this document.
There ensued a lively debate over should "own" the document and who/when it should be edited. There were also
some comments about the training sessions for the faculty serving on these committees.
Rick Olson then commented that he was intending to include copies of the table of contents of this manual in a
packet of documents which he would be giving to all search committee members as part of their training. He was
also willing to house the document in HR.
Brian had some additional concerns and questions about the concept of ownership, how does it tie in with the
NSHE code and state laws and who would review/edit the document. It was suggested that this document be
reviewed once/year.
There were back and forth arguments as to who should "own" versus who should "distribute". There was also
some discussion about the failure of several search committees over this past few years.
Eddie asked Brain if he was willing to attend the next FS meeting on Oct 23rd and remind FS of this document and
argue his case. He agreed.
Eddie said he would bring this up as part of his report to FS and invite Brian to speak. Hopefully we can get some
movement on "ownership" and editing of this important document. Eddie stated that the main points to take home
are that most faculty does not know that there is language in the contract discussing faculty hires and nor does
faculty know that this hiring manual document exists. It is there vital that the search committee members are told
of these documents.
6.
PS Fall Travel Funds: Eddie Burke
7.
Eddie brought forward the recommendations from the PS travel subcommittee (Linda, Warren, Brian & Eddie) for
the FS fall travel funds. This time we received 4 applications. The committee recommended awarding funds to 3
out of the 4 people - one applicant's (Sameer Bhattarai) travel was fully funded by their department and therefore
since that faculty member had no out-of-pocket expenses, the committee did not think that there should be any
refund to the department.
The recommendations from the committee were:
•
Crystal Swank $637.50
•
William Doherty $637.50
•
Connie Croysdill $637.50
Total recommended = $1912.50
This is below the $2000.00 available from Faculty Senate.
Motion to approve this funding: Mike Holmes, Second: Greg Ellis.
Motion to Approve: Unanimous
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8.
Sabbaticals Update – Eddie
Eddie told the committee that the deadline for submission of sabbatical applications had passed and that as far as
he knows there have been 6 submissions. He also mentioned that NSHE had informed the president that TMCC
had been awarded 6 sabbaticals.
Eddie told the committee that the applications will be reviewed and scored by the sabbatical review committee chaired by Steve Bale. This committees confidential recommendations will be forwarded to the president who then
decides. It is the president who decides, not the review committee.
There were then some discussion/comments about sabbaticals and the annual plan. Some faculty members are
still confused as to what a sabbatical means for their annual plan and annual evaluation. Eddie mentioned that a
faculty member who is taking a sabbatical needs to sit with their dean/supervisor and agree as to what their
annual plan will be during their sabbatical. That will then become the agreement on which their annual evaluation
will be decided.
There was also some confusion about the time when the post-sabbatical report is due. There is a different amount
of time for a person who takes a fall semester sabbatical versus someone who takes a spring semester sabbatical.
Eddie said that he would look at the sabbatical application and instructions to see if they needed editing.
9.
Next Meetings: Eddie Burke
Next Meetings for Fall & Spring Semesters: Red Mountain 307
Time: 10:00 - 11:30 am
Fall: 11/13/15 & 12/11/15
Spring: 2/19/16, 3/11/16. 4/15/16 & 5/6/16
10.
Old Business:
Evaluation of administrators - TMCC By-Laws Language
Cheryl talked about a new version of language in the TMCC by-laws language which she will be bring to the PAC
(President's Advisory Committee) regarding the evaluation of administrators. Cheryl also reminded the committee
that last academic year the, deans were evaluated. This academic year the vice-presidents will be evaluated.
11.
New Business:
Possible Changes to by-laws dealing with administrative appointments.
Cheryl talked about the faculty concern around the presidential appointments made last spring at TMCC and said
that she is working on introducing a change to the TMCC By-laws. She showed the committee the current
language and a new version.
Specifically this language deals with TMCC Bylaws, Article IV - D.
•
Section D. Recruitment for Administrative Positions. Whenever a vacancy occurs for an administrative position,
an institutional recruitment and search committee shall be appointed by the President. This committee shall
operate in accordance with relevant federal laws, TMCC personnel policies and the TMCC Affirmative Action
Plan. TMCC personnel policies and the College Affirmative Action Plan shall be developed and periodically
reviewed by appropriate administrators in cooperation with faculty. Based on budget considerations, positions
can be eliminated, and appointments can be made in order to absorb the remaining body of work.
Cheryl asked the committee to consider the following new version:
•
Section D. Recruitment for Administrative Positions. "Whenever a vacancy or opening occurs for an
administrative position, an institutional recruitment and search committee shall be appointed by the President.
This committee shall operate in accordance with relevant federal laws, TMCC personnel policies and the TMCC
Affirmative Action Plan. TMCC personnel policies and the College Affirmative Action Plan shall be developed and
periodically reviewed by appropriate administrators in cooperation with faculty. In certain circumstances,
based on budget considerations, positions can be eliminated, and appointments can be made in order to
absorb the remaining body of work. If this is the case, the President, prior to making an appointment
that is not the result of a search process, will consult with the leadership of groups on campus
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which include, but are not limited to TMCC Faculty Senate, TMCC Nevada Faculty Alliance (NFA),
and Classified Council to gather input."
After much debate there was a call for a motion to forward this language to faculty senate.
Motion to approve this language and forward to FS: Maria Arrigotti, Second: Mike Holmes.
Motion to Approve and move to FS: Unanimous
Motion to Abandon the meeting: Everyone, Second: Everyone
Meeting adjourned 11:30 a.m.
Page 5 of 5; Professional Standards Minutes Sept. 18, 2015
TMCC is an EEO/AA institution. See http://eeo.tmcc.edu for more information.
Rev.: 11/23/2015