COLLEGE OF MARIN
ACADEMIC SENATE MEETING MINUTES
FOR Sept. 3, 2009
12:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Student Service Building, Conference Rooms A & B
Senators Present: Yolanda Bellisimo, Michael Dougan, Joetta Scott, Ron Gaiz, Robert Kennedy,
Arthur Lutz, Sara McKinnon, Radica Portello, Blaze Woodlief, Meg Pasquel, Eric Dunmire,
Christine Li
Senators Absent: Joe Mueller, Derek Wilson, Erika Harkins
Guests: Rinetta Early, Chris Schultz
Minutes
I. Approval and Adoption of the Agenda: adopted
II. Reading and Approval of the Minutes of May 14, 2009: adopted
III. Officers’ Reports
President (Yolanda Bellisimo): Attached
Vice-President (Derek Wilson): No report.
Treasurer (Ron Gaiz): Attached.
IV. Committee Reports
Academic Standards (Rinetta Early): .The committee met briefly today regarding the issue of
repeatability. Counselors feel allowing students to repeat a course is too many times. A
discussion in the committee looked at 4 or 5 allowable repeats. That discussion will continue
Sept. 17, with the outcome reported to the Academic Senate to Oct. 1. Senate President
Bellisimo said it will be placed back on our agenda at that time. She said the sense of the Senate
is that 4 repeats would be the appropriate number.
The Testing Office wants to cease doing GED testing three times a year, a service for which
students pay $85. Tests for the current semester are scheduled on Sept. 22 and Oct. 5.
Senators agree that the tests would be more logically provided at the end of the semester, when
students complete their GED courses at COM. The test is difficult to administer, but was once
offered weekly at COM and current Testing Office personnel are trained to do it (and were hired,
in part, based on that training). Senators are not sympathetic to the Testing Office request.
Curriculum (Chris Schultz): The committee has a new handbook, emerging from a conference in
Southern California, that “guides us in a really systematic way.” Training is beginning in standalone courses.
Governance Committees (Yolanda Bellisimo): The first IPC meeting will be held next Tuesday.
Members of the newly formed committee are invited to attend.
Facilities Committee (Eric Dunmire): President Bellisimo tells Eric that the Academic Senate
would like a report in October for what plans the committee has made for this year. The
committee “didn’t meet much or not at all last year.” We would like a report on Oct. 1 regarding
the committee’s goals and priorities. Senator Dunmire said the problem stems from “different
philosophical views over what the Finance Committee is.” He said one view is that the committee
has nothing to do with the current modernization program, with “its own discreet entities.”
Under this view, the committee is for “long-term planning of maintenance of facilities and
recommendations for long-term financial planning.” Last semester all meetings of the committee
were suspended awaiting final adoption by the IPC of the Integrated Planning Model.
Program Review Committee (Sara McKinnon): The committee should meet soon. A program
review template will be sent out to everybody, despite on-going problems using Banner.
V: Consent Agenda
a) Resolution for David Rollison Retirement: Following a couple of stylistic alterations
suggested by Senator Lutz, the Senate approved a resolution honoring long-term COM
English instructor David Rollison, a former member and president of the Academic Senate,
for his service. The resolution will be presented to the next Board of Trustees meeting.
David Rollison will be invited to attend. The resolution is attached.
VI: Action Items
a)
Resolution 4.01 CCC GE AP List (held from last session): Approved.
b)
To Direct Curriculum Committee to Use Electronic Format for COR: OIM and a staff
expert will be involved in construction of the form. Committee members and department chairs
should approve changes to the format. Changes in content must be approved by the Curriculum
Committee, then forwarded to the Academic Senate for approval. OIM can’t make changes to
the content of that form. Chris Schultz asked Senators to identify what they want from this. A
detailed discussion of that ensued. The item was approved. with emphasis on its completion
before the next WASC inspection.
c) To Approve an MOU on Program Review as Amended: Approved.
d) To Approve Unit Allocation, Cancellation, Restoration, Reallocation Process as Amended:
Approved.
VII: Discussion
a) Syllabus Template (Chris Schultz): Issues of form and content have come up over the
past few years. Should they be standardized across disciplines? Is it a contract or a
guideline? Chris has collected several types of templates and modified one set from the
Southern Association of Schools (“the WASC of the South”) and asked Senators to
review it.
The real question is how to take a developed form forward to the faculty. The
UPM contract currently states that a syllabus is not required, but the school needs to
have one on line for students to review. It’s easy to do, and could solve one of our
deficits in communications with students. Chris recommends that it be taken to
department chairs and brought to the Academic Senate. A small committee of
volunteers, including Chris and Senator Radica Portello, will develop the template,
probably using a bullet-point format.
Senator Bellisimo noted that WASC now requires Student Learning Outcomes to be
included in each syllabus. Senator Dunmire asked if the requirement referred to a
syllabus for each course, or for each section and instructor. A course syllabus could
serve as a supplement to an instructor’s syllabus.
Senators discussed the fact that you don’t have to garner agreement from every
instructor on what would be included in a “big” syllabus, other than issues that are the
same for everyone like the official policy on cheating. While SLOs and purposestatements can be broad, course descriptions could vary by instructor. A large syllabus
would not have to include a calendar and week-by-week activities. Perhaps a very
generic syllabi on-line could include links to instructors’ pages and other, more
detailed, class syllabi.
Senator Bellisimo noted that we don’t have a choice in whether to do something along
these lines, but the question is in what we want to do. The committee will meet and
bring specific suggestions to the Senate.
b) Bolinas lab: This was covered in president’s report (attached). Senator Bellisimo said
the board of trustees is worried about murky legal issues involved with the selling of
the property, should the district decide to pursue that option. The property must first
be offered to public institution, then put up for general bids (including those proffered
by non-profit organizations) only if the public institutions express no interest. So the
notion of a long-term lease makes more sense because the property would stay in our
hands and we would have control over who we lease it to. The California Academy y of
Science is very enthusiastic about the idea. They have put together long-term lease
partner4ships with other scientific groups, “so they know the drill.” They want a
partnership in which everyone uses the lab for learning purposes.
c) Review WASC Rubric for SLOs: Deferred.
d) Timing for Placement Tests: Deferred.
ADJOURNMENT: 2:00 p.m.
For questions or information concerning the Academic Senate minutes, please contact: Michael
Dougan: michael.dougan@marin.edu, X7336.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
September 3, 2009
1.
SLO Award to Robert Kennedy
Robert Kennedy has been honored as the recipient of the California Community College Network for
Student Learning Outcomes Assessment 2009 POWER award for Institutional Outcomes. POWER
stands for Promising Outcomes Work and Exemplary Research. You can check it out at:
http://www.sloassessment.com/
The award ceremony should be a lot of fun. It’s on Wednesday, October 7th in San Francisco and
Sara, Robert, Becky Brown and I will be attending.
I love this kind of publicity for our faculty and the college!
2.
Bolinas Lab
Joe Mueller and I met with Nick and Fran on Monday to talk about a possible partnership with the
California Academy of Science. Fran and Nick were very receptive to the possibility and Joe will meet
with representatives of the academy and then set up a meeting with Fran and the academy fund
development officer. We discussed two alternatives: 1) selling the property with an agreement that the
scientific community, including us, could use the facility cooperatively; 2) a long term lease with the
college owning the property and the academy leasing it and maintaining it. The second option seems
more doable because we have more control over who we can lease property to, plus it may give the
college something of an income stream for ongoing maintenance of the site. We have little control over
who purchases property and there is quite a bureaucratic dance that goes into government entities
selling surplus property. Joe will let me know as soon as he has an appointment set with his contact at
the academy. In the mean time, Fran is going forward with an appraisal update of the property and will
be reporting to the board in October, possibly with a resolution about selling the lab site. Apparently,
the board wants action on this so our intervention to create a college/scientific community partnership
has to move fast.
3.
Retirement Gift
I bought a key ring and took it to be engraved for David Rollison. It will be ready to mail to him by next
week. It’s customary to write a resolution for a retiring past-president of the Senate. I have sent a draft
in a separate email that we can edit and approve tomorrow. We can send it with his gift.
4.
Discontinuing GED Testing
Nick has informed me that the testing office has requested that we discontinue GED testing. They feel
it is an added burden to their job and that Tam High School District is offering several testing times
each week – more than we can offer. Apparently, the testing costs the district and they are looking at
this as a potential savings. Thus far they are talking about discontinuing the testing and not the GED
classes. However, the English Skills Department will be talking to Nick about this and perhaps about
the revitalization of this program.
College of Marin
Academic Senate Checking Account
Union Bank of California, Kentfield Branch
Date
Description
Balance
6/20/08
Open account (Close WestAmerica
account)
7/9/08
Reimburse Yolanda Bellisimo for retiree
& appreciation gifts/awards and related
costs
as per 04/17/08 minutes – UBoC Check
#101
7/10/08
Deposit C.o.M. faculty payroll
contributions
for June, 2008
7/10/08
Service charge for 120 Union Bank checks
8/04/08
Deposit C.o.M. faculty payroll
contributions
for July, 2008
8/21/08
Deposit C.o.M. faculty payroll
contributions
for February, 2008 & $1.00 new faculty
contribution made in August, 2008
09/09/08
Deposit C.o.M. faculty payroll
contributions
for August, 2008
10/01/08
Deposit C.o.M. faculty payroll
contributions
for September, 2008
11/03/08
Deposit C.o.M. faculty payroll
contributions
for October, 2008
11/06/08
Reimburse Michael Dougan for purchase
of Bulletin Board for Academic Senate for
placement in the mailroom above the copy
machine
Deposit
Withdrawal
$ 1,448.75
$1,448.75
$270.57
$91.00
$1,178.18
$1,269.18
$15.35
$94.00
$1,253.83
$1,347.83
$94.00
$1,441.83
$99.00
$1,540.83
$118.00
$1,658.83
$123.00
$1,781.83
$45.45
$1,736.38
12/03/08
12/04/08
12/04/08
12/09/08
Deposit C.o.M. faculty payroll
contributions
for November, 2008
Reimburse Yolanda Bellisimo for cake
Pay Campus Bistro for food & flowers
Reimburse Meg Pasquel - flowers
$153.00
$1,889,38
$75.00
$230.49
$53.88
$1,814.38
$1,553.89
$1,530.01
Date
Description
Balance
01/05/09 Deposit C.o.M. faculty payroll
contributions
for December, 2008
01/16/09 Reimburse Sara McKinnon for Wikispace
yearly membership
02/04/09 Deposit C.o.M. faculty payroll
contributions
for January, 2009
03/03/09 Deposit partial C.o.M. faculty payroll
contributions for January, 2009
03/03/09 Deposit C.o.M. faculty payroll
contributions
for February, 2009
04/02/09 Deposit C.o.M. faculty payroll
contributions
for March, 2009
04/09/09 Registration for Sara McKinnon for the
Spring 2009 State Academic Senate
Plenary session
05/05/09
Deposit C.o.M. faculty payroll
contributions
for April, 2009
05/13/09
Reimburse Yolanda Bellisimo for the
purchase of four key rings from Tiffany &
Co. for C.o.M. retirees’ gifts
05/14/09
Reimburse Radica Portello for Orchid
and picture frame
05/14/09
Reimburse Ben Angulo for Senate lunch
05/14/09
Reimburse Yolanda Bellisimo for senatepurchased gifts (Stars & engraving costs)
06/08/09
Deposit C.o.M. faculty payroll
contributions
for May, 2009
06/22/09
Reimburse Yolanda Bellisimo for Senatepurchased gifts (envelopes & engraving
costs) for retirees
Deposit
Withdrawal
$163.00
$1,693.01
$200.00
$1,493.01
$149.00
$1,642.01
$9.00
$1,651.01
$158.00
$1,809.01
$158.00
$1967.01
$325.00
$158.00
$1642.01
$1800.01
$503.72
$ 1296.29
$79.66
$1216.63
$200.00
$445.54
$1016.63
$571.09
$158.00
$729.09
$87.96
$641.10
Date
Description
Balance
07/06/09
Deposit C.o.M. faculty payroll
contributions
for June, 2009
08/05/09
Deposit C.o.M. faculty payroll
contributions
for July, 2009
09/10/09 Deposit C.o.M. faculty payroll
contributions
for August, 2009 (Including $13.00 from
July)
Deposit
Withdrawal
$149.00
790.10
$149.00
939.10
$168.00
1107.10
As 0f 09/10/09 - District Budget Totals
$ 11,080.68
Union Bank of CA Total
$
1107.10
Total in both Academic Senate Accounts
12,187.78
$
Whereas David Rollison has been a member of the College of Marin English Department faculty
for 34 years and has served several terms as chair of the English/Humanities department; and
Whereas David Rollison has been a member of the Academic Senate; and
Whereas David Rollison has served as President of the Academic Senate; and
Whereas David Rollison has been instrumental in establishing the participatory governance
system at the College of Marin; and
Whereas David Rollison created and helped organize the Faculty ListServ; and
Whereas David Rollison has served on numerous governance and hiring committees; and
Whereas David Rollison has championed the academic interests of the faculty and students at
the college:
Be it Resolved that the Academic Senate of the College of Marin acknowledges David’s
dedication to the college, its faculty and its students. We, the Academic Senate, thank David for
his years of service and wish him well in his retirement.
Yolanda Bellisimo
Academic Senate President
Derek Wilson
Academic Senate Vice President
Approved by the Academic Senate, September 3, 2009