MONROE COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY SENATE October 16, 2003 PRESENT: G. Anderson, T. Archie, I. Benz, P. Bishop, W. Brewer, F. Burger, D. Cox (President), T. Digiacomo, K. Doyle, J. Ekis, K. Farrell, M. Filozof, C. Gilbert, E. Grissing, M. Harris, K. Humphrey, J. Kaufman, T. Keys, R. Kuempel, E. Laidlaw, D. Leach, A. Leopard, M. Marino, J. McCauley, M. McKinzie, S. Murphy, P. Peterson, M. Reed, S. Ruckert, P. Sarantis, L. Silvers, J. Smith, E. Stewart, M. Timmons, T. Tugel (Secretary), H. Wheeler, W. Willard ABSENT: M. Bower, D. Brown, S. Cable, S. Callan, L. Chrzan-Williams, A. Hughes, G. Toth, H. Wynn-Preische STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: C. O’Brien, A. Sharp GUESTS: C. Adams, V. Avalone, S. Bender, S. Blacklaw, K. Canfield, D. Cecero, B. Connolly, R. Degus, J. Glocker, F. Rinehart Meeting called to order: 3:37pm 1. Guest Speakers: a. Janet Glocker, Vice President of Academic Services, distributed written summary of “Institute Concept at Monroe Community College” to senators and guests. J. Glocker explained Institutes will function to create new community partnerships by linking College resources to specific industry or community needs. It was noted Institutes will not be housed in specific departments nor within certain physical structures but will be primarily under the direction of the Associate Vice President for Economic and Community Development. Each Institute will have an advisory board composed of industry leaders, interested community organizations, college faculty and staff. J. Glocker spoke of the flexibility required to offer programming when and where community needs are best met, therefore programming may not be limited to academic semesters. b. D. Cox introduced Susan Bender, noting an earlier published agenda had incorrectly identified Service Learning as part of the Work and Learn Center rather than Academic Services. S. Bender provided a brief overview of “Service Learning” as a component of academic instruction. Service learning combines community service with academic instruction, being distinguished from other experiential learning approaches by its intent to benefit both the provider and recipient of the service. For students, service learning can make the academic experience more relevant and provide opportunities for meaningful involvement within the local community. Equally important, community organizations benefit from additional human resources. Senators were provided written information on service learning including ideas for service learning activities and integrating the approach into the course curriculum. Selected sections in Criminal Justice (CRJ 211), Education (EDU 100, EDU 200), English (ENG 215), and Sociology (SOC 200) will be piloting service learning during the spring 2004 semester. Specific sections offering serving learning are located at DCC and are indicated on the 105 screen of SIS. S. Bender encouraged any faculty interested in service learning and possible incorporation into current coursework to contact her. 2. Announcements (D. Cox) a. Paul Bishop, a new senator representing the Public Safety Training Center, and representatives from MCC’s Student Government, Andy Sharp and Christian O’Brien, were introduced. Holly Wynn-Preische was announced as the new senator representing the areas of Transfer/Placement/Bursar/ Financial Aid. b. Training will be offered for senators at 3:30 pm on Thursday, November 6, 2003. Although the training is directed toward newly elected senators, all senators are welcome to attend. Location will be forthcoming. c. The deadline for the submission of nominees for the Chancellor’s Award is December 12 at 4:00 p.m. Senators were asked to encourage constituents to submit names of deserving colleagues. d. D. Cox informed the Senate of SUNY’s mandate to develop and implement a system-wide method determining undergraduates’ “growth” in learning while in the SUNY system. This ”value added assessment” would use common measures to assess representative samples of students from across the SUNY system. The intent of the proposed assessment is to ascertain the contribution SUNY institutions make to student learning in mathematics, basic communication, critical thinking, information management, natural science and social science. A “Memo of Understanding” between System Administration and SUNY Faculty Governance addresses the 1 development and piloting of the assessment. The Faculty Council of Community Colleges (FCCC) response to the MOU was a resolution stating the council’s intent not to support value added assessment. in effect removing t. As MCC’s representative to the FCCC, Tom Cooper is concerned with the repercussions the FCCC’s resolution may have on community colleges, in effect jeopardizing community colleges involvement in developing and piloting the assessment. D. Cox asked Senators to inform constituents of these developments and convey comments regarding the FCCC’s resolution to the Senate’s Executive Committee. In the meantime, D. Cox will be meeting with the leadership of the Faculty Association to discuss the possible impact of system-wide assessment on faculty workload. 3. Approval of Minutes: Minutes of the September 18, 2003 meeting were approved as written. 4. Action Items a. H. Wheeler presented the following program revisions for Senate approval: PR 2 – Health Information Technology Medical Records – AAS PR 9 – Medical Transcription Certificate PR 1 – Mechanical Technology – AAS PR 1 – Emergency Medical Services Certificate All proposals were passed. b. E. Laidlaw discussed the 2004-2005 Academic Calendar, explaining the vote is in accordance with Senate resolutions since the calendar was presented to senators last spring. E. Laidlaw noted the last date for faculty initiated withdrawal for the fall 2004 semester had been revised to ensure it is 15 class days prior to the end of the semester. E. Laidlaw reiterated the criteria the Academic Policies committee must consider when responding to the administration’s proposed academic calendars. G. Anderson expressed concerns with the educational soundness of MCC’s current and proposed academic calendars, specifically the insistence on maintaining a post labor day start for the fall semester and two separate one week breaks in the spring. To continue to use day care issues as valid reasons for these is incongruent with the Senate’s “3 R’s” campaign and puts MCC students at a competitive disadvantage for summer employment opportunities. She requested the Academic Policies Committee study the effects of spring breaks on student retention as well as revisit the criteria used in developing future calendars. The proposed 2004-2005 academic calendar passed with one dissention. 4. Standing Committee Reports Academic Policies (E. Laidlaw): The committee has drafted a response to the administration’s decision regarding the inclusion/exclusion policy. Curriculum (H. Wheeler): In addition to the four program revisions that were brought to the full Senate for voting as required, the committee has given final approval to the following proposals: NC 1 HED 212: Women’s Health and Wellness NC 2 BIO 155: General Biology I NC 3 BIO 156: General Biology II NC 1(Fall) EAT 111: Electrical Apprentice Training IX NC 2(Fall) EAT 112: Electrical Apprentice Training X CR83 HUM 160: Contemporary Urban Issues CR1 ESL 201: ESOL-Advanced II: Reading/Writing CR2 ESL 145: ESOL-Multi-Skills II: CR3 ESL 130: ESOL-Advanced I; Integrated Skills CR59 BIO 202: Microbiology CR3 (fall) PHL 104: Philosophy of Religion H. Wheeler encouraged faculty to review curriculum postings. All postings are announced through the MCC Tribune. NEG (M. Timmons): Paul Bishop and Holly Wynn-Preische will be filling the senator vacancies in the areas of Public Safety Training Center and Transfer/Placement/Bursar/ Financial Aid, respectively. An election will be held for the contested seat in the area Registration and Records. 2 The committee is working on updating Senate Resolutions as well as the list of eligible voting faculty. Senators can assist with the latter by asking constituents to notify NEG of personnel changes that might affect the voting list. Planning (T. Keys): An ad-hoc committee will be formed to study faculty use of the new campus center. Professional Development (W. Brewer): Tuesday, January 13, 2004 will be the date of the Professional Development’s January workshop. Information on the workshop’s topic will be announced. The committee is developing a Senate website that will be linked to MCC’s homepage. SCAA (J. McCauley): The search process is underway for an Associate Dean of Technical Education. 5. Old Business Senators were polled about constituents’ feedback to the most recent HERI report. No specific concerns were expressed, however M. Marino asked about the administration’s intended response to the survey. Vice President Glocker explained HERI conducts the survey each year, although the years in which MCC participates is in conjunction with SUNY-wide participation. Doing so provides MCC with benchmarks against other SUNY and national institutions. MCC’s administration is concerned with “trends” observed in the results and will continue to monitor these. 6. New Business R. Degus reported 45 courtesy telephones have been installed in classrooms and/or lecture halls in buildings 5, 8 11 and 12 on the Brighton campus. The phones are restricted to internal use and should assist faculty in contacting Instructional Services and/or Public Safety as needed. Plans are under consideration for installation of additional classroom phones in the next year. The Campus Center should be fully operational by end of the fall semester. Tours are being planned to provide information on matching meeting and/or program requirements to available spaces within the center. D. Cox noted faculty concerns regarding their inability to reserve meeting rooms. R. Degus assured the Senate that faculty and departments are to have priority in using the Campus Center’s six meeting rooms. Meeting adjourned at 4:52 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Donna Cox President Terri Tugel Secretary Minutes approved at the November 13, 2003 Faculty Senate meeting. 3