Academic Senate
Cosumnes River College
February 27, 2009
Orchard Room
DRAFT MINUTES
Attendance: Constance Carter, Kale Braden, Cheri Fortin, Lily Kun, Maha Myren, Ruth Oxman, Darlene
Mathias, Ralph Hendrix, Julie Oliver, Carol Bernardo, Rick Scheubert, Rhonda Farley, Marjorie Duffy,
Jamey Nye, Gary Martin, Emily Bond, Michelle Smith, Sharon Padilla-Alvarado, Teresa Aldredge, Debra
Welkley.
Meeting was called to order at 12:35 p.m.
Announcements:
Women’s History Month has a wonderful presentation Thursday, March 5 from 7-8:30 p.m. at the
Recital Hall
Curriculum Committee New Program Proposals Announced: Chair Dan DuBray announces to the senate the following programs are being considered/proposed for CRC under the new rules of the Program
Placement Committee at the district: Art/Photo, A.A. Degree, Photography emphasizing Black and White
Film; Green Building Draftsperson, Building Information Management (BIM): Certificate in Home Energy
Auditing, Certificate; Sustainable Landscape and Water Systems Design: Certificate; Film/Digital Cinema
Production: Certificate and transfer A.A. Degree in RTVF.
Agenda: Student Services Evening Hours Cutbacks added for discussion.
Minutes: Feb. 6 minutes approved.
UPDATES
Accreditation: The progress toward the Self-Study is going well. The first draft of the document will be released to the Steering Committee by the end of next week (March 6) for release to all who worked on the self study. A draft release to the campus will likely occur in Mid March. Forum reviews of the self study, additional feedback and the 2 nd draft and final reviews will all be complete before the end of May.
College Planning Committee Charge: The College Planning Committee is considering several small changes to its charge and a possible name change. When the proposal is complete it will be forwarded to the Shared Governance Committee and then get reviewed by all the constituencies before college’s
Executive Council gets the document officially.
Discussion:

SLO Coordinator Draft 2: (Attachment) Additional language modifications to the description were considered, and President Nye is taking those edits forward to Dean Kathy McClain. A broader discussion of whether an SLO Coordinator is even needed if the faculty are doing the work of preparing/writing the SLOs and preparing appropriate paperwork for Course and Program Level SLO’s.
ACTION: The President is directed to look into the area of getting more clerical support in addition to the coordinator position.
It was noted that not meeting the requests of the WASC Accreditation standards is a real danger, and those who believe the need to do this is not real have a flawed expectation of the ramifications of failure. CRC does not want to
This discussion also touched on the very broad area of appropriate faculty behavior in the area of college service, shared governance, office hours, and the ability to be treated as professionals by management. It was even purported that many newer faculty hires do not understand the scope of this obligation and that culturally on campus there is a weakening of the understanding of how important this service work is on campus.
Shared Governance Proposal: Foundations for Academic Success Committee: Rhonda Farley explained that this proposal for a new committee was originally founded in the area of Basic Skills. The larger need on campus however in the area of Basic Skills and the Basic Skills Initiative is for sustainable attention to the ability of our students to be successful students. Several ideas before this included even creating a basic skills department, but it was felt maintaining a decentralized model where non-college level courses in English, Math and English as a Second Language would be a better approach. Therefore, those who are been working in this area propose the Foundations of Academic Success Committee as a way to have unified discussions and progress in the area with the goal of meeting WASC standards, coordinate faculty effort and meeting student success goals. One question about the proposal was that the document may have an incomplete definition of ALL basic skills, which may not be limited to specific
English, reading or math skills and should be more broadly defined as any basic skill that fails to allow collegiate student success. Several suggestions about the membership were made and Jamey Nye and
Rhonda Farley will discuss this more before a final presentation is made.
Strategic Plan: Teaching and Learning Effectiveness: This is the next section of the broader Strategic
Plan. Senators should send comment to Jamey before March 11. One more section of the Plan will be coming forward and then the unified entire plan will be get one last review.
Test Proctoring Agreement Form: Available for review. The discussion below on Student Services Hours is connected to this topic.
Possible PD Opportunity: Coping with Disruptive Students: Several presentations have been done in the area previously. Whether this is an area that demands a full presentation at convocation is unclear.
Many workshops on a variety of areas get very little support from faculty and staff on this campus.

Adjunct Faculty Recognition: A proposal to recognize the Most Outstanding adjunct faculty member had been proposed, but issues surrounding hiring and other implications were mentioned. A more generalized idea of recognizing a variety of adjunct faculty for extra efforts may be proposed for the future.
Student Services Evening Hours: Testing Center Hours in the evening have simply been eliminated without any type of discussion or announcement. In the boarder discussion, the Senate wonders why the senate has not been contacted in this area because it is clearly an academic and professional matter.
The Senate needs to look at the process of making these decisions and to encourage the administration to involve faculty at the appropriate level. ACTION: The Academic Senate President is directed to contact the administration, and to open the discussion on this as a academic and professional matter. It should be noted that this notification should in no way be construed as a criticism of the professional work of the staff in the area in managing the complex coordination of these areas, no matter what the service hours may be.
Next meeting will be March 13, 2009 12:30-2 p.m. in the Orchard Room.

Student Learning Outcome and Assessment Coordinator
Overview of Responsibilities: The SLO and Assessment Coordinator will facilitate and provide support for the implementation, ongoing development, and integration of an effective student learning outcomes assessment process at the college. Supported by the College Planning
Committee, the Curriculum Committee, the Dean of College Planning and Research, and the
Vice President of Instruction, this person will have the opportunity to create versatile SLO and
Assessment processes which meet WASC standards and are useful for improving our programs and services.
Specific Duties and Responsibilities :
1. Maintain knowledge of the accreditation standards and best practices related to outcomes development and assessment.
2. Support the implementation of outcomes assessment by providing training, support, and assistance to faculty and staff. Disseminate assessment results so they are used to inform dialogue, planning, and decision-making at the college. Assist with the assessment of college-wide student learning outcomes.
3. Facilitate the ongoing improvement of the College’s outcomes assessment process in support of the College’s Outcomes Framework and Philosophy statements. This includes integrating outcomes assessment into various campus processes, identifying and obtaining resources to support outcomes assessment, and assessing and modifying the effectiveness of our assessment processes.
QUALIFICATIONS
Knowledge of:

WASC Standards

intended benefits of Student Learning Outcomes

curriculum processes for the college

best practices in teaching and assessment
Ability to:


simplify and streamline SLO and Assessment processes

collaborate and work well with others

work effectively in a shared governance environment

summarize and describe data

manage multiple projects effectively
Experience:

Tenured CRC faculty member with teaching experience.

Strategic Plan
Teaching and Learning Effectiveness
Draft Goals and Initiatives
1/26/09
Cosumnes River College strives to provide the highest quality instructional programs in transfer, career and technical, basic skills, and general education, using the best current and emerging instructional methods and technology. The College promotes collegiality, data-driven decision making, continuous improvement, innovation, and flexibility to support teaching excellence, facilitate educational equity, and promote the success of its diverse student population.
Goal 1: Extend the College’s role as an innovative educational and community center by assessing and improving the quality of instructional programs and delivery methodologies.
Strategies: a. b. c. d. e.
Enhance the collection, dissemination and use of institutional data and classroom-based research to assess and improve teaching and learning.
Increase the use of alternative delivery methods such as modularization, distance education, and hybrid courses.
Provide enhanced support for innovation and teaching excellence including the institutionalizing and strengthening of CASSL and the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Improve curriculum and delivery methods by the full implementation of the student learning outcomes assessment cycle.
Expand the utilization of teaching methodologies, feedback mechanisms, classroom management strategies and communication methods that enhance student success, retention and persistence, particularly for those groups who are not performing as well as other groups.
Goal 2: Enhance teaching excellence by obtaining the resources necessary to support exemplary
teaching and learning.
Strategies

a. b. c.
Enhance access to the learning technologies and environments necessary to support effective teaching and learning. In particular, improve communication and resource sharing across the college in a variety of ways including:
• Assessing and modifying scheduling practices to enhance access to the facilities that
• support program and teaching methodology needs, and
Assessing and modifying facilities or the assignment of space to better meet program and teaching methodology needs.
Provide improved support for curriculum and program development (i.e. summer stipends, reassigned time).
Provide enhanced support for SLO assessment and classroom-based research. d. e.
Assess and modify practices, processes and resource allocations in response to the changing workload and responsibilities of faculty.
Assess and enhance the professional development offerings and support provided to employees
Goal 3: Support teaching excellence, enhance student success, and facilitate educational
leadership by creating a culture of collaboration, cooperation, and collegiality.
Strategies a. b. c. d.
Create and enhance community-building activities that promote collaboration and between different employee groups on campus (faculty/classified, full time/adjunct, counseling/instruction, full time/adjunct, faculty/classified/management).
Enhance inter and intra discipline collaboration and cooperation by the full implementation of the outcomes assessment process.
Identify and implement professional development activities that will enhance collaboration, cooperation, collegiality and a broader collective understanding of our students and our college community.
Expand participation of faculty and staff in campus events and activities.

Purpose
Cosumnes River College recognizes the critical role of English, Math, and English
Language Skills in the success of all students. The Foundations of Academic Success
Committee’s primary purpose is to establish a highly coordinated, decentralized basic skills program that promotes student success for students below college level in one or more of these skill areas. It is responsible for the development and implementation of the Basic Skills Initiative Action Plan. This committee meets the third Friday of each month.
Areas of Responsibility

Create a Basic Skills mission statement that informs the College

Develop the Annual Basic Skills Action Plan

Oversee the Basic Skills Initiative Budget to ensure that expenditures match the current year’s action plan

Collaborate with the CRC Academic Senate and Shared Governance
Committees (especially Academic Integrity, Budget, Curriculum, Facilities,
Instructional Technology, Matriculation, Professional Development, And
Professional Standards) to ensure that Basic Skills interests are represented

Provide enhanced coordination within and across the Basic Skills disciplines

Ensure that Basic Skills students have a highly structured program that promotes their success within and beyond the Basic Skills program

Develop/support training opportunities for faculty and staff within and across the
Basic Skills disciplines

Provide opportunities for enhanced collaboration between Basic Skills instruction and student services programs , college-level courses across the disciplines, and certificate and degree programs

Communicate the importance of the basic skills curriculum through outreach and articulation efforts
Membership

Faculty Membership
Faculty Chair appointed by the Academic Senate*
2 Members from each of the following areas:
English Reading Faculty
English Writing Faculty
ESL Faculty
Math Faculty

Counseling Faculty
Content Area Faculty
In addition to:
EOP&S Coordinator
DSP&S Coordinator
Tutoring Coordinator

Administrative Membership
Executive Secretary: Vice President of Instruction
Vice President of Student Services or Dean of Enrollment Management
Dean of Humanities/Social Science
Dean of Science, Math, and Engineering

Classified Membership
RWC IA
ESL IA
Math Center IA
Outreach Specialists

Student Membership
2 Students (current or former basic skills students preferred)
*The chair and chair elect shall be designated by the Academic Senate President in consultation with the College President. The faculty chair of any shared governance committee shall serve as a fully participating Senator of the Cosumnes River College Academic Senate. Responsibilities of the faculty chair to the senate include but are not limited to attending all Senate meetings, presenting a fall semester planning report, a spring semester progress report, and an end-of-year summary of all shared governance recommendations. The Chair is also responsible for communicating Committee issues to the attention of the Senate and to the appropriate college and district groups for review, assistance, research and possible recommendations.