TCC Instruction Committee Minutes
Date: September 13, 2011
Time: 2:15 pm
Location: Room 602, Green Bldg, Norfolk Campus
Attendance:
In Attendance: Sylvia Ross (English), Ann Johnston (ESL), Christina Rupsch (CTE Dean), Lara Tedrow
(Psychology), Jennifer Ferguson (Health Professions), Don Remy (Eng. Tech.), Tom Siegmund (PHT),
Diana Branton (Dev. Math), Cynthia Cadieux (Transfer Dean), Dawn Walton (Librarian), Okema Bowers
V.
III.
IV.
I.
II.
(Classified), Marilyn Peacock (Math).
Absent: Helena Krohn (Humanities), James Holden (Science), William Paquette (Social Sciences), Lisa
Carter (Information Sys), Lisa Duez (Public Services), Richard Mims (Ind. Tech), Jackie Warren (Bus.
Mgmt).
Ex-Officio: Terry L. Jones (Special Asst. to Dr. DeMarte)
Call to order
The meeting was called to order by Marilyn Peacock at 2:15pm. The members of the committee introduced themselves.
Guest speakers
Dr. Jones is now representing Dr. DeMarte on the committee. He has reviewed the committee’s work on the Honors Program from last year.
Minutes
Minutes from May 2011 were corrected and approved.
Reports
None
Open Business
The committee reviewed the Honors Program, Mentoring, and Professional Development subcommittee assignment from last year. With our new members, the current assignments are:
Honors: Ann Johnston, Lara Tedrow, Diana Branton, Helena Krohn, Marilyn Peacock, and Jim
O’Brien.
Mentoring: James Holden, William Paquette, Richard Mims, Don Remy, Tom Siegmund, and
Dawn Walton.
Professional Development: Sylvia Ross, Jennifer Ferguson, Cynthia Cadieux, Estelle Bussey, and
Okema Harper.
The committee reviewed the TCC Standard Syllabus and wants the following comments and suggestions to be forwarded to Dr. DeMarte:

1) Instructions - #6 which states that an instructor must provide a copy of the syllabus to all students. Does this statement intend a printed copy or can instructors post their syllabus only on Blackboard and leave it up to the students whether to print it or not? (One of the VB instructors also said that students printing it would be a problem in lack of computer time at the
Beach campus).
2) Page 1 – the box at the top that has the instructor checking “Repeatable for Credit” or not. Is this box intended for students to see on their syllabus? Additionally, it would be confusing to them.
3) Page 1 – as Dr. Jones pointed out; the course description for sequence courses will not be the same as the one on the VCCS Master Course File. These descriptions have to be split according to Semester I and II.
4) Page 3 – Under the note in the first paragraph – the word “four” needs to be changed to “five” policies.
5) Page 3 – Under the Statement on Classroom Behavior – Second sentence should say:
“Therefore, all members of the TCC community are expected to demonstrate standards of civility:”
The committee felt that faculty should be included in this statement also.
6) The quotation mark at the end of the 3 rd bullet under “Statement on Classroom Behavior” should be removed.
7) Either on page 3 under Attendance or page 4 under Withdrawal Policy, the committee felt that the Delete Policy should also be stated. Something like, “Students who do not attend or participate in classes by the refund of tuition date may be deleted from the course.”
8) Page 4 – In the 3 rd paragraph under the “Grade Policy, the statement should read “I will notify students in a timely manner and in writing.”
Faculty felt they might not be able to notify the students ahead of time, but they could do so as soon as possible.
VI.
The faculty also suggested that if these or other changes are implemented, that the revised copy should have the changes highlighted when it is posted.
New Business
The committee discussed the charge of writing TCC policy. Dr. DeMarte has charged all the governance committees with writing TCC policy pertaining to their areas. He has suggested that the Instruction Committee consider the Administrative Withdrawal policy. The committee agreed to examine this issue with their constituents before the next meeting.
VII. Other
No other business.
VIII. Next meeting
October 11, 2011 at 2:15 pm, Norfolk Campus, Green Bldg, Room 602
IX. Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 3:50 pm
Submitted by
Marilyn Peacock