Faculty Meeting Minutes
October 29, 2008
SEM II A1105 - 1:00 – 3:00pm
Meeting called to order at 1:15pm
By Terry Setter – Faculty Chair
Announcements:
Terry Setter announced the Consciousness Study Group has submitted a proposal to
become a planning unit. He will provide an update as this work progresses.
Peter Bohmer expressed concerns about possible violations of students’ rights following
the February 15 event last winter. Particular concerns are with law enforcement,
processing of public records requests and giving out student information without the
students’ knowledge or consent. He thought the 2002 Patriot Act resolution Act passed
by faculty should be reviewed as it set limits on records being subpoenaed. He expressed
additional concerns that the police put pressure on students to pay back $11,000 in order
to get their charges dropped to misdemeanor charges; about the use of tasers by
Evergreen police officers; and the general arming of Evergreen police. He asked the
faculty to consider what their role should be to protect students rights to speak out outside
of the classroom. Terry invited faculty to send any suggestions regarding follow-up on
this work to him.
Council of Faculty Representatives
Sarah Ryan, Peter Dorman, Liza Rognas
Sarah Ryan and Peter indicated that, to date, there is not an Evergreen CFR representative
who will work with CFR representatives from other colleges to work together on
important shared governance matters. This is an issue as the CFR representatives from
other institutions will set the political and legislative agenda for faculty teaching at all of
Washington’s four-year public institutions. The faculty visit legislators and lobby to
encourage/discourage bills and issues. The CFR creates and shares Progress reports on
what the legislators are working on and thinking about. It was indicated that the other
colleges pay release time for faculty representatives to participate in this work. Liza
Rognas volunteered to serve this year. A vote was taken and Liza was confirmed and
thanked for her willingness to serve.
ADA Concerns – Precursor to a Resolution
Jules Unsel
Jules provided an update of the work of the ADA Compliance Committee, which was
developed to address ADA physical plant issues. The Committee also developed the
assistive technology subcommittee, has led campus organizing that has resulted in
activities such as a wheel chair basketball fundraiser, and is working to get an area of the
library designated for fire/emergency rescues. Jules also introduced two students in
attendance who are active with the Barrier Breakers student group.
Jules suggested that the work of the committee should be about best practices vs.
minimum requirements related to universal access. She also indicated that at a summer
institute this past summer there was an institute on identity politics where they came up
with some general goals to support continued work at the college. She indicated that a
resolution would be presented at the November 19th faculty meeting with specific
recommendations for ADA improvements. Jules ended by highlighting the assistive
technology lab in the library, which has helped considerably to level the playing field for
students with disabilities academically.
Extended Education
Don Bantz and Theresa Aragon
The Extended Education (EE) 3-year review was circulated prior to the faculty meeting.
Don provided a brief historical context on the creation of EE, which began in response to
the 2000 economic downturn to create an additional revenue stream for the college. The
EE Report notes that EE will not be able to generate a revenue stream without offering
credit-generating curriculum and asked the faculty to focus their discussion on EE’s role
within Evergreen’s curriculum.
Theresa then provided a summary of the work of Extended Education to date and thanked
the many faculty and staff who have supported this work. She suggested that being a
start-up in a saturated market and with unclear expectations has made the work more
difficult. Nonetheless she indicated that since the end of the first year of offerings in
2005, the courses offerings have doubled and the enrollment has tripled. This has
resulted in a four-fold increase in revenue. She also suggested that EE has been used as
an “incubator”, providing a venue for curricular experimentation not tied to FTE or state
budget demands other than to break even or better. Examples of this type of
experimentation to date include MIT professional-certification, the MPA short course
series and the Seattle Central CC on-site offerings which have led to subsequent
discussions about possible faculty exchanges between the two colleges. Theresa
suggested there are further opportunities to partner with Evergreen faculty in other areas
of the curriculum (e.g., sustainability).
Theresa followed by providing some highlights from the 3-year review:
o EE has served approximately 800 people, with 50% new to Evergreen
o Over 400 state employees have received training through EE
o Of those who entered Evergreen through EE, 36 are now matriculated students.
o Not-for-credit workshop participation has been declining as the economy has
worsened.
o EE is mirroring Evening and Weekend Studies in that a lot of full-time students are
taking EE courses. At other institutions, EE is designed for part-time students,
personal enrichment and professional development.
o Customized workshops, which are declining as the budget worsens, and creditbearing courses have generated the bulk of the revenue for EE.
o While the EE proposal passed by the faculty in 2004 recommends we limit the
number of credits that could go toward an Evergreen degree, no limit has been set.
o Money generated from EE goes into academic reserves (to date, Theresa indicated
she has only used $200,000 of the $600,000 start-up money designated).
Theresa suggested the question before the faculty at this time is whether Evergreen wants
to continue to engage in for-credit coursework as part of EE. Areas of discussion
included:
o Do faculty teaching EE for-credit courses write narrative evals? (Yes)
o It was recalled that, when this was considered in 2004, the award of credit was a
contentious debate.
o Is EE taking away from the regular curriculum? (it was responded that EE does not
change the hiring circumstances and has helped increase FTE’s for MPA and MIT
programs).
o Are the same hiring standards applied? (EE faculty teaching for credit are hired on
adjunct contract.)
o It was stated that the FTE generated by EE are not counted by the state (this was the
primary reason MPA moved short courses into their program).
o It was clarified that financial aid does cover EE for-credit courses.
o It was suggested that faculty should discuss the value of team teaching/learning
interdisciplinary experiences at Evergreen to determine what limits should be placed
on EE credits counting toward Evergreen degrees.
o It was clarified that use of art studios is compensated with a per student fee.
Faculty Retreat Update
Given the retreat location change, faculty were asked to re-confirm their intention to
attend with Sue Bruner at bruners@evergreen.edu. Some retreat highlights were shared,
including a presentation on the current economic bail-out and the Visual History Archive
presentation. Terry also indicated a special invitation has been sent out to staff and that
there will be break-outs and plenty of social time.
Collective Bargaining Agreement
Chuck Pailthorp and Walter Niemiec
Chuck and Walter indicated that a tentative agreement has been reached. They expressed
that there are gains in equity, development of ideals and expectations. Chuck indicated
that both sides compromised and built bridges and that it was a respectful, productive
process. If approved, the agreement will be for 3 years. Salaries will increase 10 ½ %.
Chuck indicated there is UFE-sponsored forum directly after the faculty meeting.
Questions were asked regarding:
o Source of the money (institutional savings/reserve, COLA that was held back during
negotiations and tuition);
o Summary of major changes (reappointment and conversion, work conditions codified,
RIF policy, possibility of multi-year contracts for temporary faculty , medical leave,
temporary faculty compensation, good standing policy, including a need to teach
first-year students)
Meeting adjourned.
Next Faculty Meeting:
November 19, SEM II A1105, 1:00 – 3:00pm