Faculty Senate Minutes
Thursday, October 2, 2008
3:15 PM to 5:00 PM, Chesapeake 105
1. Attendance: Please check-in on the attendance roster.
2. Review the Agenda for the 10/2/08 meeting.
The agenda was approved as written.
3. Review the Minutes of the 9/18/08 meeting.
Minutes from both 9/18 and 9/4 were approved as written.
4. Calendar
Fall 2008 important dates
A. College closed or no classes
i) College Enrichment Day, no classes, Tue. 10/28
ii) Thanksgiving Holiday, no classes, Wed. 11/26
iii) Thanksgiving Holiday, college closed, Thu. 11/27—Sun. 11/30
B. Other important dates
i) Last day to withdraw from 15-week classes, Fri. 11/21
ii) Final exam week, Tue. 12/9—Mon. 12/15
iii) Grades due, Wed. 12/17 at 4:00 PM
October/November important dates
E. Senate meetings
i) Thu. 10/2, 3:15—5:00 PM, Chesapeake 105
ii) Thu. 10/16, 3:15—5:00 PM, Chesapeake 105
iii) Thu. 11/6, 3:15—5:00 PM, Chesapeake 105
iv) Thu. 11/20, 3:15—5:00 PM, Chesapeake 105
F. Board of Trustees meetings
i) Tue. 10/7, 7:00 PM, Kent 262
ii) Thu. 11/13, 7:00 PM, Kent 262
G. College-wide Forum
i) Tue. 10/7, 2:00—3:30 PM, LSC B
ii) Tue. 10/21, 2:00—3:30 PM, LSC B
iii) Tue. 11/4, 2:00—3:30 PM, LSC B
iv) Tue. 11/18, 2:00—3:30 PM, LSC B
H. Academic Council
i) Thu. 10/9, 3:00—5:00 PM, HTC 133
ii) Thu. 10/23, 3:00—5:00 PM, HTC 133
iii) Thu. 11/13, 3:00—5:00 PM, HTC 133
5. Attachments
A. Minutes from the 9/18 meeting
B. Draft student evaluation form
C. Maryland Senate Bill 657 and attachments
1
6. Reports
A. Senate President, including report from Academic Council
Mark Hubley reported on updates to the faculty/administration sabbatical leave program that had been
discussed at previous meetings. Hubley said he had made some of the changes suggested by faculty at
the previous Senate meeting. He included language in the proposal that allowed the review committee to
comment on and rank proposals, before sending them to the president. However, Charlene Dukes was
firm in wanting the president to have the authority to select from all proposals deemed by the committee
to “meet the criteria” outlined in the proposal. Eldon Baldwin suggested it sets a bad precedent to allow
the president to pick from a pool of acceptable proposals. Rather, the committee should be trusted with
making the decisions. Hubley said it was his opinion that Dukes wanted the president to be able to pick
from the pool so that the president could select a proposal that would be of particular use to the college.
Baldwin suggested the president could communicate to the college community ahead of time what areas
would get special attention. Alan Mickelson said that the president can always find ways to fund projects
of special interest. After further discussion the Senate suggested requiring the committee to rate each
proposal with a score based on the criteria. Note this is different from “ranking” the proposals. Hubley
said he would revise the language in the proposal accordingly.
B. Senate Vice President
Swazette Young announced that Danny Jones had developed for the Salary & Benefits Committee
various scenarios to bring salaries up to competitive levels over a five-year period. This plan would be
reviewed and modified by the committee in advance of bringing a proposal to the Senate.
C. Nominating Committee
D. Representative from President’s Leadership Team
Baldwin said the committee would be meeting the following Wednesday.
E. Enrollment Management Team
F. College-wide Forum
i) Representative from Faculty Organization
Laura Ellsworth announced the CWF would meet on the 7th. The CWF is currently operating without a
parliamentarian. The CWF would be reviewing some proposed changes to its bylaws.
ii) Human Resources Committee
Ellsworth reported that a large number (about 30) workshops were planned for College Enrichment Day.
iii) Budget Advisory Committee
Mickelson reported that each area of the college was asked to find ways to trim 1% from its budget.
Although it doesn’t sound like much, this is big for Academic Affairs, because its budget includes faculty
salaries. If salaries are off the table, then the 1% becomes a large percentage of the remaining budget.
iv) Campus Culture Committee
v) Learning Committee
vi) Technology Steering Committee
Baldwin updated the Senate on the college’s plan for student E-mail. Implementation is planned for the
spring semester. Hubley referred to a message from Sandy Dunnington saying that the college is
working on getting faculty access to certain student information via OwlLink. Chairs have access now,
the plan is to get access to course coordinators next, then to all faculty some time next year. Iva Toler
questioned whether or not faculty should have blanket access to student information. She said, for
example, that she is concerned that viewing a student’s record could bias her opinion/assessment of the
student. Scott Huxel said he finds it helpful to be familiar with a student’s record. For example, it may
2
help him address a weakness in a student. Huxel said he can get the information from a department
secretary, but this wastes a lot of time. He would prefer direct access via OwlLink.
vii) Strategic Planning Committee
viii) Assessment Committee
ix) Facilities Committee
G. Chairs’ Council
The chairs discussed proposed changes to the Faculty Evaluation Plan, and there were mixed feelings
about who should assign the performance rating. Some chairs agree with the Senate that the chair is in
the best position to assign the rating, with the dean in the position of concurring or not concurring. Some
chairs were of the opinion that the responsibility of assigning a performance rating should belong to an
administrator (i.e., the dean). Baldwin suggested the chair should have the responsibility of assigning the
rating, but there should be formal training for the chairs on how to properly evaluate their faculty. Hubley
said he hoped the chairs would revisit the issue and come to a conclusion.
H. Adjunct Faculty
Janet Carlson reported that eighteen adjunct faculty attended the Maryland Consortium for Adjunct
Faculty Professional Development, held on 9/27. Carlson will meet with Dunnington every two weeks to
discuss evaluation of adjunct faculty, professional development, and adjunct contracts.
7. Old Business
A. Faculty evaluation process revisions
B. Guidelines for returning messages
8. New Business
A. Faculty engagement in campus activities
Hubley said he had heard concerns that faculty are not sufficiently engaged in campus activities, such as
the Gala. Hubley expressed his own concerns that a fairly small group of faculty seem to do much of the
committee work and other outside-the-classroom work that helps keep the college going. Ellsworth said
many members of the faculty do the minimum they feel is necessary to get promoted. Baldwin said there
need to be rewards beyond getting tenure and reaching full professor. Hubley said there may have been
a day when a professor had a wife at home to take care of the kids and cook meals, and the professor
could spend his time at meetings and socializing with his colleagues. Today’s professors have working
spouses, they share family responsibilities, and they already take a lot of work home with them. Various
members of the Senate said that regarding the Gala, the cost to attend was rather high, especially if
bringing a guest, it was scheduled on a weeknight, and it was at a distant location. Each of these factors
alone was somewhat discouraging. Mickelson and Baldwin mentioned that staff participation is quite
high. There is a cultural difference between faculty and staff. Hubley suggested that faculty already
spend a lot of their “off-the-clock” time grading papers, reading, etc. there may not be much enthusiasm
for attending college functions.
B. Textbook costs
Hubley referred members of the Senate to Maryland Senate Bill 657 and associated documents. He
asked members of the Senate to review the documents for a future discussion.
9. Agenda Items for Upcoming Meetings
A. Program Mentoring?
10. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 5:20 PM.
3