Academic Senate Minutes

April 1, 2004

 

Voting Members Present: (Senators) Donna Ayers, Terri English, Maria Fenyes,

 Pat Flood, Leslie Foster, Clive Gordon, Paul Kubicki,

Vickie Oddino, John Orozco, Gary Prostak, Rick Scuderi, Janice Silver,

(Exec. Members) Angela Echeverri, Louise Barbato, Dale Newman, Gwen Walker,

Margie Long, Leslie Milke, Michael Climo

Faculty Present:  Joanne Kalter-Flink, Debby Wong, Carolyn Daly, Abdu Malki,

 Lorraine Manoogian, Alex Nikolaychuk, Said Pazirandeh, David Jordan,

Sonia Soto-Bair, Tricia Johnson, Cindy Cooper, Suzanne Ritcheson, Richard Rains,

Geri Shapiro, Mark Pursley

Guests Present: Bill Brennan, technology consultant

Voting Members Absent: Eloise Cantrell, Charles Dirks, Stan Levine,

Roxanne Dalrymple

 

I. President Echeverri called the meeting to order at 1:40 p.m.

 

II. Approval of Minutes (MSC PROSTAK/ODDINO) TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF MARCH 4, 2004

 

III. Officer’s Reports

A.     President (Angela Echeverri)

1. Consultation with the Administration

Enrollment Targets:  

While we are on target for our credit FTES, we are probably going to be between 150-350 below target for the noncredit FTES. This may result in a significant revenue shortfall for the college as a result. The compensation for noncredit FTES is about $2000 (150 x $2000 = $270,000 to 350 x $2000 = $700,000).

Noncredit FTES is generated from several sources: LRC commons (most of noncredit), tutoring, learning skills, noncredit ESL, citizenship, parenting and senior courses, and others. Unfortunately, credit FTES cannot be substituted for noncredit, to compensate for the shortfall. Furthermore, because of past enrollment patterns, LAMC is locked into a very high percentage of noncredit FTES, which are compensated at a lower rate ($2000 vs. $4000 for credit FTES). LRC Computers:

Dr. Barrera informed College Council that reversing the noncredit FTES shortfall is a priority for the administration and that they decided to upgrade about 60 of the computers in the LRC with Block grant funds. The initial proposal was to replace the computers the week after Spring Break and host an open house to encourage students to use the LRC Commons. Some skepticism was expressed by faculty representatives at College Council about the practicality of doing this in the middle of the semester. At the ITAC meeting on 3/30/04, we learned that the computers probably would not be replaced until the summer.

Secretarial Support for Academic Departments:

Maria Fenyes, AFT Chapter President for LAMC, submitted a report to Dr. Barrera detailing the need for more secretarial support to the Academic departments. According to the contract, any department with 20 or more full time equivalent faculty members shall have one FTE office assistant. While most departments at LAMC come very close, none reach this threshold. The following information was presented:

Maria Fenyes proposed increasing the secretarial support staff from the current 3.0 positions to 3.5, by hiring a part-time secretary to help alleviate the heavy workload. She argued that this would decrease problems with assignments and scheduling. Dr. Barrera replied that while she understood the need for the position, she could not make a commitment at this time because there is no hiring policy in place for classified personnel and because of competing needs for staffing on campus.

Accreditation:

New accreditation standards will go into effect for the Fall 2004; there will be 4 standards instead of 10. Next accreditation visit will be in the Spring of 2007 (last visit was in Spring of 2001). Mary Allen from CSU will give a workshop on student learning outcomes on Friday, April 23rd.  LAMC will be hosting an accreditation workshop for the three valley colleges in February 2005.

Educational Master Plan (EMP):

EMP Committee held its first meeting on 3/29/04 and was very well attended. Four subcommittees were formed to address the following issues: history of academic programs, review of College goals and Mission Statement, current status of educational programs at LAMC, and assumptions about the future.

Information Technology Advisory Committee (ITAC):

ITAC held its first meeting on 3/30/04. Officers were elected and a meeting schedule was established.

District Academic Senate:

During the March meeting, DAS approved changes to the Board rules, which will allow colleges within the district to develop alternate graduation plans.

Honors Reception:

Scheduled for Friday, April 2, 2004 at 5:00 PM. Faculty presenters will include: Louise Barbato, Leslie Milke, Gwen Walker, Margie Long, Sonia Soto-Bair, Vilma Bernal, Jan Silver, and Mike Reynolds.

Commencement:

Commencement ceremony will take place on Tuesday, June 8th at 5 PM. Rehearsal and class photos will occur on Monday June 7th at 4 PM. Faculty Grand Marshal will be Alice Lal. Former LAMC student Farisa Morales will give the commencement address.

2. The matter of classified personnel with degrees participating in graduation was discussed.  Last year this body voted this down. Leslie Milke stated that it should be only those classified who are also adjunct faculty. President Echeverri will talk to classified and see if there is an alternative.

B.     Treasurer (Margie Long) Long thanked those faculty who paid their dues last month. She reported that she

      deposited a total of $220 to the faculty checking account. She then reported on the following:

1.      Faculty Senate Checking Account:                                  $1,657.55

This includes $400.00 for the (4) $100.00 Academic Senate scholarships. President Angela Echeverri

was reimbursed $30.85 with check #224 for the plaque for the outgoing senate president.

2.      Carla Bowman Scholarship:                                             $3,755.36

3.      Byron Iriye Scholarship: (in honor of Carla Bowman)       $500.00

4.      William Gallagher Scholarship                                                  0                

Long contacted Mrs. Gallagher-Thompson on March 31

requesting a check for $1,000 be sent to LA Mission College

for presentation to two student recipients for an award of

$500.00 each.

                5. David Lee Moss Scholarship                                                  $752.39

                     We have been unable to contact the source for replenishing this scholarship.

C.     Parliamentarian (Gwen Walker) Travel Funds: Walker reported that, as of last week, all of the funds had

      been used. We increased the individual maximums amount this year. The committee will meet and recommend

     how much to allot for next year. Walker then asked that faculty send their requests for reimbursement to

     academic affairs after attending conferences. 

 

IV. Public Address

A.     Cindy Cooper reported on the drive for a bone marrow donor for her brother. On Saturday 500 vials

     were collected but no match was found. There will be about another 100 tested in the next few days.

     An international search has been going on since last fall with no success so far. They must find six out

     of six matches. There is a cost $65.00 to test each vial of blood. The family needs money to help

     with this and with the  international search. If anyone would like to help with the cost, checks can be

     made out to the Jim Fenwick fund and left  with any of the department secretaries.

B.     The SPRINGFEST is coming on April 17. This is a foundation fund-raiser for scholarships. There will be

     food, wine, and a beer garden. The cost is $25.00 per person, which is tax deductible. Both Gwen and

     Angela are selling tickets.                                                                                     

   

V. Guest: Bill Brennan-Technology Plan: Brennan briefly explained the new college technology master plan

 that was approved October 9, 2003. He is currently consulting with the college to help with the implementation

 of the plan. A key feature will be a dean of technology. Brennan has been working with us since late December.

 He pointed out that the college lacks procedures and standards for technology, has limited communication, lacks

 emergency procedures, and has problems with service and support of the existing technology. He then pointed

out that our teaching labs and infrastructure need upgrading. For example the information commons computers

do not have the capacity to use materials that come with students’ textbooks. In addition the network is sometimes

 unstable, there are difficulties with e-mail, and there is virtually no administrative support for systems.

He presented the following four-part program to the administration.

1.      Establish a governance committee-- ITAC had two meetings in April and May this year.

     Policies and standards will be established there.

2.      Creation of leadership-Dean of technology

3.      Reorganization of certain staff functions and positions. Examination of existing personnel

      in like positions and recommendations for consolidation. Focus on academic support

     and help desk support for the campus.

                                   4.   Recommendation for replacement and update of technology on campus.

 

VI. Reports of Committee Meetings:

A.     Council of Instruction (Louise Barbato)  Barbato reported that Bill Farmer announced the possibility

of our participation with an early college high school to be located on and off campus. This would be in conjunction with a proposal to the Gates foundation. The proposal was to work with a charter school on Sherman Way. Mission College would be able to use their classrooms afternoons and evenings.  These

students would be taking classes on campus also. We do not know what the status of this is. We will seek clarification from the president. Last year the Council of Instruction voted against such a proposal. A vote

taken this year also did not favor such an enterprise. Among the reasons for lack of support was the fact

 that we no longer have programs to link up to our local high schools. Clive Gordon stated that recruitment

 with our feeder high schools along with the Jump-Start program were suspended last year. 

      B.  Resource Analysis (Angela Echeverri)

Resource Analysis Committee Report (3/2/04 Meeting)

1.      Meeting times: The regular meetings of the Resource Analysis Committee for spring, 2004 will

 be the first Tuesday of each month at 1:30 p.m.  The April meeting will take place on 4/20/04,

 due to Spring Break

2. District Budget Committee: Dr. Barrera is the new co-chair of the District Budget Committee           (DBC).  The passage of Proposition 57 may mean an additional $30M to $40M to the District.  The college may need to increase enrollment by 3%, 7%, or 11%.  If the enrollment increase were 3% or 7%, there would be no change to class offerings.  If an 11% enrollment increase were necessary, the college’s strategy would be to keep Fall 04 at Fall 03 levels, increase offerings in Spring 05, and start Summer 05 before July 1.

Savings Plan Update

The college must produce three financial reports for the District each month.  These are the Savings Plan, the Monthly Projection, and the Electronic Budgeting and Forecasting System (EBAFS).

3. Dean Positions

Dr. Barrera stated that the administration is considering the creation of new administrative positions: Associate Dean for E.O.P.& S., Admissions & Financial Aid and Dean for Technology.

          C.  Staff Development (David Jordan)

1.      Etudes Training - Thursdays 4:30 to 6:30 pm, March 25th (LRC 205) and also

Friday, April 16,23, and 30 - 9-12 am - LRC 205
Participants to date - Norris Dorsey and Marie Valeroa (Business),

Marion Manalo (ESL), Maria Bates (English), Pat Flood 9(CAOT)
Etudes - "at your computer" training - participants to date - Mark Pursley (Pace), Terry Bommer (Business), Abdo Malki (Math), Louie Zandalazini (Culinary Arts), Lilamani de Silva (Child Development), Vickie Oddino (English)
2. Brown Bag Lunches -
    Richard Rains - April 1st - Thursday, 11:30 to 12:30 - Physics Lab - Inst. 1015
    "The Spirit of Opportunity on Mars" - current and future exploration of our     universe
3. Faculty Lunch Talks
    Rosalie Hilger - "Identity Theft" - April 21, 2004 - Culinary Arts Lab 1007 - noon -    

    lunch costs $10.00
4. Denim Day - Weds. 4/21 - events to be planned by Diversity and Staff Development

 D. Institutional Effectiveness Committee: Report to Academic Senate (3/25/04)

1. Elections: The committee elected Donna Ayers as vice chair and Deborah Paulsen as recorder.

2. Maury Pearl confirmed that Dr. Mary Allen will present a workshop on student learning outcomes and assessment for Mission College faculty on Friday, April 23rd. 

3. The committee continued discussion of the upcoming unit assessment for student services.  Maury Pearl, John Cantley, and Mark Pursley will meet with representatives from student service offices on April 14th.  The purpose of this meeting will be to begin work on developing a set of Student Learning Outcomes for student service departments.

4. The committee also decided to review and evaluate the unit assessment that was recently completed for academic departments.  This should help streamline the process to produce a more efficient system for the next round of assessments.  We request that a representative from the academic senate join our committee to participate in this process.

5. Next meeting will be Thursday, 4/29 at 1:00 PM in the Plant Facilities   Conference Room.

E.  Assessment and Planning Committees Report:

The chair disseminated the memo received from the Vice-President of Academic Affairs regarding the proposed purchase of computers for the Computer Commons. Vice-President Farmer discussed the danger

 of not meeting the non-credit FTES targets this year.  Maury Pear’s statistical analysis reveals that a

significant amount of non-credit FTES is generated in the Computer Commons, where there has been a propitious decline in computer-use due to outdated hard-drives. Since LAMC needs to upgrade its

 computers to guarantee student-use and thereby help protect its non-credit FTES funding, Mr. Farmer proposes that block grant money be used to immediately purchase approximately 70 new hard-drives and a new server.  In addition, an outside contractor will install these computers, which will cost under $60,000, for approximately $5,000.    Members further suggested that LAMC should explore additional options to generate non-credit FTES.   As an example, Mr. Farmer noted that LAMC could offer senior education courses on Fridays; such courses would help meet the colleges target goals for non-credit enrollment and

also improve the use of facilities.

 

VII. Reports of Senate Committee Meetings

A. Curriculum (Leslie Foster) The last date for updates effective Spring 2005 is this April 12th, please plan accordingly.  Also, please remember that everyone completing a course update or submitting new courses is required to complete the Library portion (it is mandated by Title V and Accreditation, very helpful for our students and takes less than 10 min. Richard Rains commented on how easy the library form was to use and stated that he wished he had looked at the resources and made recommendations sooner.

B. District Academic Senate (Michael Climo)—There will be a sub committee on  developing a board rule for grant proposals and new initiaves. The sexual harassment policy was discussed and minor changes were recommended. The next meeting will be on May 13 at Valley College. The proposed district emergency equivalence plan may be an item for action at that time.

C.     EPAC: (Sonia Soto-Bair) The committee met Tuesday, March 30th at

 L.A. Trade Tech. College.

Summary of Discussion:

1.  Possible significant policy change involving Master degrees without licenses: Example: Nursing does not require a faculty member to be a licensed nurse; but can teach with a Master's degree. Discussion referred to discipline. EPAC is requesting a list of affected disciplines.

2.  Disciplines with no minimum qualifications will be notified for their decision. List available.

3.  Disciplines of perspective faculty appealing district decision for inclusion into hiring pools are now given a 20 day waiting period to meet and to decide upon these appeals.  Otherwise, EPAC will make the decisions. Some appeals are two years old.

4.  Discussion centering on rejecting, for AA degrees purposes, English and Oral communication taken in countries where English is not the legal language. Could affect foreign students. 

5.  Academic Rank:  Should there be local control or district standardization?  Discussion referred to local Academic Senates.      

 

VIII. Old Business

Educational Master Plan (Michael Reynolds/Gary Prostak) Met Monday and set up four subcommittees to

 work on projects. There is a tight timeline, but they are hoping to have a draft to the senate by the

 December 2 meeting.                                                                                                 

 

The meeting was adjourned at 3:05 p.m.

Submitted by Dale Newman, Secretary