Revised Draft of the Minutes of the Faculty Senate Meeting of October 17, 2012
Paul Lococo, Chair
Susan Lum, Vice-Chair
Eileen Cain, Secretary
Senators Present: Yumiko Asai-Lim, Paula Asamoto, Michael Bauer, Eunice Brekke, Eileen Cain, Christian Ganne, Helmut Kae, Eiko Kosasa, Keith Knuuti, Michael Lane, Paul Lococo, Erin Loo, Susan Lum, David Millen, Kay Ono, Tara Rojas, Michael Scully, Christy Takamure, Greg Walker, James West, Irwin Yamamoto
Senators Absent: Candace Hochstein, Blanca Polo
Guests: Chris Matz and Natalie Kahn, Librarians
Members of the visiting team of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) team: Mary Kay Rudolph, Carl Bengston, Cynthia Reiss, Benjamin Duran, Ian Walton
Additional Documents and Links:
1. Agenda (Lococo)
2. Teaching Excellence Program Report (Lococo/Lum/Cain)
3. Curriculum Committee Report (Lane)
4. LCC Foundations Board
5. DE Committee Proposal (Walker)
The meeting was called to order at 3:15 pm with a quorum.
Members of the visiting team of the ACCJC attending the meeting were introduced to the Senate.
Minutes of the meeting of September 19, 2012 were approved unanimously.
A. Learning Commons Update (Chris Matz and Natalie Kahn)
In the new Learning Commons, the Learning Resource Center and Writing Center are on the second floor near the Circulation area. Students appreciate all the space on the second floor. The KI Office is on the second floor with its own entrance and exit.
The third floor has the books, magazines, staff, and about 60 computers.
Librarians will continue to offer an atmosphere of silence for study. Modular furniture and portable devices make the use of space flexible for students.
30 iPADs have been acquired. Librarians are interested in educational applications for them and have been reaching out to faculty for ideas as to how to make the best use of them. The iPADs will be soon be available for circulation. Leeward CC is the first UH system campus to circulate iPADs.
Instructional Librarian Wayde Oshiro has increased his classes to 60 this semester and will probably increase to 80 next semester. The third floor instructional computer lab can accommodate 23 students.
Senator Yamamoto asked if there are enough computers. Some students have complained about getting access.
The response is that Digital Media (DMED) students have priority for Mac computers. Librarians help them to get access to them.
Students needs are changing, growing. Students are informing Librarians about what they need. The Circulation Department is expanding its services in response to students’ needs.
Senator Scully asked about the proposed coffee shop. The librarians do not know when it will open.
Senator Cain praised Instructional Librarian Wayde Oshiro’s new Research Challenge class and said that he should receive recognition or an award for it.
Senator Cain also asked about the wireless network. Chris Matz responded that it does not always work well, especially at peak hours.
Senator Bauer raised a concern about the fact that ICS students would like to have access to computers on campus in the evening or on Saturday. There used to be a lab open in the evening. Now there is no computer lab for them to use in the evenings.
Chris Matz replied that, at this time, the library does not have enough staff to keep a lab open in the evening, but they are trying to add more staff and hope to expand hours for computer lab access.
B. Campus Report (Lococo)
Chair Paul Lococo gave updates on the Disenrollment and Plagiarism Resolutions of the Senate meeting on September 19, 2012.
1. On Senate resolutions concerning disenrollment, Vice-Chancellor Mike Pecsok and Dean of Student Services Chris Manaseri have requested a meeting, which will be arranged for sometime around the end of October. Chair Lococo would like Senator West to be part of any meeting on this matter. Any other senator interested in attending should contact Chair Lococo.
2. On Senate resolutions concerning plagiarism, Dean Manaseri sent a detailed formal reply that will be forwarded to all Senators. On the topic of serial plagiarism, he is open to Senate suggestions regarding how to implement such a policy
C. Leeward CC Information Technology (IT) Standing Committee (Albritton)
This committee takes recommendations from all Divisions and creates an IT budget. At their last meeting, they discussed general policies. Next spring they will look at the budget. The committee is looking for more volunteers, especially teaching faculty. Irwin Yamamoto volunteered.
Senator Ono asked if IT deals with all technology on campus.
Senator Albritton said that IT makes recommendations to Vice-Chancellor Pecsok.
Senator Ono asked if Divisions should keep IT in their Program Reviews.
Senator Albritton replied that they should.
Chair Lococo asked for approval of the appointment of Senator William Albritton to be the Chair of the Senate’s IT Standing Committee.
Unanimously approved.
A. Chair’s Report (Lococo)
1. UH Community College (UHCC) Senate Chairs were asked to meet with ACCJC Accreditation Team on 10/15/12. 4 UHCC chairs were present physically, and 1 joined by polycom. The interview lasted about one hour and was concerned primarily with how the senates interact with the UHCC System.
2. Chair Lococo also provided an update on the status of UHCC academic policies working their way through the system:
· The policies on Residency, Definition of Credit Hour, and GenED in all degrees are now finalized (all had been previously approved by our Senate);
· Matriculation Fee policy has been approved by Senates but still needs Regents approval;
· Noting of Credential policy needs work on implementation;
· Program Credentials policy (replacing CCCMs) is still working its way through some of the Senates. Chair Lococo reminded Senators that since our campus (including Senate) had approved the Program Credential policy, our Curriculum Committee is using it to guide curriculum development.
3. Kaua‘i CC is working on a no-show policy very similar to ours. VP John Morton has said that if enough campuses believe that this is a good policy, it might be useful to have a system-wide policy. At Maui College, if a students who miss the first day of classes, the student can be disenrolled.
4. Campus Council Meeting of 10/16/12
The Council was provided an update on the Leeward Long-range Development Plan (LRDP). There will be one more open forum sometime in November. Chair Lococo encouraged Senators to review the various proposals and option on the dedicated web page: http://leewardccplan.com/.
There will be an all-campus Council meeting on Friday, October 19, 2012.
B. Executive Committee Report (Lococo/Lum/Cain)
The Executive Committee submitted a report on the new Teaching Excellence Program, which started this semester. There were some early wrinkles in the TEP program, but it is a good program for new faculty for faculty development. At first we heard that new faculty were being required to go and were not being compensated. We found out that they are not required to participate in the TEP.
Cindy Martin, Coordinator of the Innovation Center for Teaching and Learning, then informed the Senate that her office has been wrestling with professional development for new faculty for years. Some people have felt that more support should be offered to new faculty. The TGIF meetings were started. The idea for this TEP came out of a conference at another campus attended by Della Anderson. Funds were obtained from the Student Success Committee for 3 credits of assigned time to assist with coordinating this program. TEP coordinators worked with Division Chairs to schedule new faculty so that they do not teach on Wednesday afternoons when these workshops are offered.
Janice Ito is co-coordinating the TEP with Cindy Martin. Next semester the coordinator will be Carleen Yokotake.
Participants will receive a certificate.
C. Standing Committee Reports
1. Curriculum Committee (Lane)
A. Curriculum Committee Chair Michael Lane proposed that the Senate approve all of the course modifications approved by the Curriculum Committee, as listed in his report dated October 17, 2012.
B. Curriculum Committee also recommends the following course deletion: ART 180. Senator West explained that information that was covered in this class is now incorporated into other classes, so ART 180 will no longer be offered.
Visiting ACCJC Accreditation Team member Benjamin Duran confirmed that in California, all curriculum matters go to the local Board of Trustees for approval. It is unusual for them to disapprove a change that has been accepted by the Faculty Senate.
2. GenEd Foundations Board (West)
A. Chair Lococo indicated that the Senate votes on membership of the Foundations Board because of our Charter/By-laws. Senator West presented a report listing the members for the Senate’s approval.
B. Senator West mentioned that there is an ongoing debate about whether any curriculum change needs to be unanimous. Can one campus, e.g., UH-Manoa, veto changes made by other campuses? Some think that UH-Manoa may want to have veto power but not allow the other campuses to have veto power.
C. Our Foundations website at Leeward CC is up-to-date but UH-Manoa’s is not. Senator West was able to update our Foundations courses on UH-Manoa’s website. All Foundations chairs should have the ability to update their courses.
3. Faculty Committee Report (Ono)
The system office subcommittee for Academic Policy has not met, but when it does, Senator Ono will let us know. At the November meeting, Prior Learning Assessment policies will be disseminated to all Faculty Senate Chairs and Committees, and then to all Senators so we can get input from our constituencies.
In the Business Division, students have to pass all classes with a C, but not all have C’s; some have CE or CR.
It was mentioned that Prior Learning Assessment Policies sound risky.
Senator Ono responded that we need to build in assessment to keep the integrity of our programs. Some people don’t want to take an introductory class if they have been working in the field. One goal of this policy is to get people to complete degrees. Participants enjoy the camaraderie they find when they come back to school.
A. MilVet Program (Ono)
Leeward CC received a Perkins Grant for this program. Students on campus are involved in this program. Leann Chun and Joy Lane are MilVet counselors. On the first Friday of each month, there has been an event in GT-105. They will send out a memo to find out who is a Vet. We are a military/veteran friendly campus. Senator Ono said she wants them to feel at ease here. An event will be held on November 2. Perkins has established a DSST Testing Center. We want the scores on the test to be transferable. There is a House Bill. Suzette Robinson at the system level.
4. Elections Committee (Loo/Takamure)
The last day to nominate anyone to run for Senate is Friday, Oct. 19. So far the committee has received 17 nominations. Nominees need to submit a biographical statement and a photo; these are due on Friday, Oct. 26. The election will be held during the last week of November.
A. Math & Science Loading Zone Parking Situation (Lane)
Senator Michael Lane and Chair Paul Lococo met with Vice-Chancellor Mark Lane. Mark Lane resisted the idea of assigning parking passes. If faculty members want to park in the loading zone, they should call Will Akama and inform him that they want to park there. If Will is not in, we should call campus security, and we are not supposed to be turned down. Michael Lane asked how far in advance they need to call. The no parking signs are still in place, and there is no reason for the barriers to be where they are. Security officers answer to Mark Lane, and he said he will have the barriers removed. Michael Lane and Paul Lococo will follow up on this.
B. New Education (AAT) Building and Space Concerns (Lococo)
Chair Lococo relayed the Senate’s resolution on this matter to the Administration, and he has forwarded to Senators Vice-Chancellor Mike Pecsok’s response. This matter can be discussed at one of the next Senate meetings.
C. Formal Faculty Involvement in Campus Distance Education (DE) Policies (Lococo)
Chair Lococo brought up the issue from the 9/19/12 meeting concerning the creation of a Senate ad hoc Distance Education committee. He then asked if any senators were interested in making a motion proposing such a committee.
One suggestion was that one of the members be the Curriculum Committee Chair or an appointee of the Curriculum Committee Chair.
The question was raised as to whether other campuses have DE Committees. Chair Lococo indicated that most UHCC campuses have a standing committee on Distance Ed, or are considering such.
Senator West asked if this committee will address peer evaluation of teachers of DE courses. He is concerned about untenured faculty teaching DE courses and how they would be evaluated.
Chair Lococo responded that the ad hoc Student Evaluation Committee is handling this issue.
Senator West summed up the discussion: This new committee would look at all matters related to DE from a faculty viewpoint and make recommendations.
Senate Chair Lococo asked for a volunteer to chair this new committee.
Senator Helmut Kae volunteered to be the Chair.
Senator Kae’s appointment was approved unanimously.
A. UHPA (Cain/Lococo)
Chair Lococo received a reply from Associate Director Kris Hanselmann regarding the Senate’s letter and resolution requesting delay of implementation of the proposed UHCC Teaching Equivalencies Policy. She had sent a letter to VP John Morton expressing concerns about the policy.
UHPA cannot bargain on this matter.