All Campus Council of Faculty Senate Chairs
November 21, 2014 9:00-11:00 am
Information Technology Center 105B
Attended: Christine Beaule (Manoa Arts & Sciences), Ron Bontekoe (Manoa Faculty Senate), Bob Cooney
(Manoa Faculty Senate), Ann Emmsley (Maui College), Kim Furumo (UH Hilo), Monica Ghosh (Manoa
Library Services), Rajesh Jha (on behalf of Dan Jenkins, Manoa CTAHR), Momi Kamahele (Leeward CC),
Dave Krupp (Winward CC), Eomailani Kukahiko (Manoa Education), Ingrid Lin (Manoa TIM), Anne
McKenna (Kauai CC), Veronica Ogata (Kapiolani CC), Tara O’Neill (Manoa Education), Joel Peralto (Hawaii
CC), Janet Ray (UH Hilo), Ronald Riggs (Manoa Engineering), Andy Stenger (JABSOM)
Guests: John Morton (UH Vice President for Community Colleges), Bill Motts (UH Hilo Biology Professor)
Meeting Minutes
1. Welcome
2. Minutes from October 17 meeting approved
3. Online laboratory courses designation (Kim Furumo and Bill Motts)
A new course numbering system to distinguish between laboratory courses offered in person
from those offered mostly or entirely online is being proposed. The argument was made that
online laboratory courses, especially in the natural sciences, are not as effective as in-person
labs in offering hands-on training and in developing important motor memory skills. Bill Motts, a
Biology Professor from UH Hilo, attended the meeting to argue in favor of the proposal, noting
that transfer students with previous online lab classes may lack basic safety skills and suffer
from insufficient training. Transfer students’ transcripts do not currently indicate whether or not
lab components of science courses were online or in-person. An alphanumeric designation
extended to the entire UH system will allow professors to assess more effectively whether
students were adequately prepared to move onto other lab courses in various fields. A variety of
online lab skills and technological solutions offered were discussed, as well as various meanings
of “online” courses (which may in fact incorporate hands-on training through various
arrangements with nearby labs or combinations of hands on and virtual components), A
consensus was reached to prepare a more detailed proposal before forwarding it to our
respective senates for review and comment.
4. Report from CCCFSC (Dave Krupp)
The new Kuali system was supposed to replace the curriculum central system this fall but will
not be implemented because of the reorganization of the Kuali Company; the planned transition
has instead been moved to October 2015. The CCCFSC discussed the UH administration-UHPAfaculty senates Memorandum of Agreement. It was also suggested that the ACCFSC return to
look at the 360 review process of administrator evaluation. Finally, the new Sustainability Policy
initiative for the UH system was brought to our attention.
5. Report from Board of Regents meetings (Ron Bontekoe, Bob Cooney, Dave Krupp)
Discussion largely centered on the underfunded Colleges of Arts and Sciences at Manoa, and the
independent group I Mua Manoa that has brought attention (including at BoR meetings) to cuts
of Teaching Assistant positions, protesting graduate students and faculty members, and the
Budget Task Force currently researching several new possible budget models for
implementation at Manoa.
6. Report on Civil Café roundtable discussion (Bob Cooney)
The topic of what ails UH was not well addressed, with little attention focused on underlying
problems. It was thought that Robert Bley-Voman (Interim Chancellor of UH Manoa) was
reluctant to acknowledge the budget mismanagement and resultant fiscal crisis at Manoa in this
public forum, though it was also noted that the circumstances were complex and not conducive
to a thorough discussion of the Manoa campus’s fiscal problems.
7. UH Administration-Faculty Senates-UHPA memorandum of agreement vote
John Morton, Vice President of the Community Colleges, attended the meeting to discuss the
communication breakdown between the ACCFSC, UHPA, and UH administration over the
Memorandum of Agreement. We were given a thorough review of the relevant background on
the Hawaii Labor Relations Board complaint behind the need for such a formal agreement. The
ACCFSC had been collecting feedback from our respective faculty senates on a variation of the
original 1976 document outlining on which areas of university life the administration should
consult UHPA, the faculty senates, or both. The UHPA Executives, on the other hand, produced a
separate document. Morton explained why neither would be acceptable, and proposed a
process for moving forward that included seeking an extension to the December 1 HLRB
deadline, and acting as mediator between us (represented by Dave, Ron, and Christine) and
UHPA to come up with an acceptable compromise MoA.
8. Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 10:45 am.