DRAFT
Draft of the Minutes of the Faculty Senate Meeting August 29, 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, Candy Hochstein, Helmut Kae, Eiko Kosasa, Michael Lane, Paul Lococo, Erin Loo, Susan Lum, David Millen, Kay Ono, Blanca Polo, Tara Rojas, Michael Scully, Christy Takamure, Greg Walker, James West, Irwin Yamamoto
Senators Absent: William Albritton
Guest: Tracy Imper, President of the Student Government
Additional Documents and Links:
1. Agenda (Lococo)
2. Chair’s Report (Lococo)
3. Curriculum Committee Report (Lane)
4. Leeward Notes (Kae)
5. Program Review, Institutional Research, and Assessment Committee Report (Brekke)
6. Proposals from the Division Chairs regarding Disenrollment with accompanying data (West)
7. Temporary Committee for Social Events Announcement: Wild Wednesdays
8. Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Credit for Experiential Learning (Ono)
The meeting was called to order at 3:10 pm. with a quorum.
Senate Chair Lococo appointed Keith Knuuti to represent Lecturers on the Faculty Senate. He noted that the Lecturer’s group is guaranteed one representative on the Senate.
Unanimously approved.
A. Ad Hoc Committees
Chair Lococo informed the Senate that the 2-year authorization for an Ad Hoc Committee on lecturers has expired and asked that a motion be made to renew it.
B. Standing Committees
Senate Chair Paul Lococo appointed the following as Chairs of the Faculty Senate Standing Committees:
1. Academic/Institutional Support (Kae)
2. Budget & Planning (Bauer)
3. Curriculum (Lane)
4. Elections (Loo/Takamure)
5. Faculty (Ono)
6. GenEd Foundations (West)
7. Legislative (Kosasa)
8. Program Review (Brekke)
9. Student (Paula Asamoto)
These appointments were unanimously approved.
Chair Lococo then made several comments to the new Senate concerning conduct during meetings. He stated that he wants to keep discussion fairly flexible and not have a formal speaking rule. He stressed that he does want to let everyone have a chance to speak, not just have one or two people dominate a discussion. With Senate time limited, he stated that he will often set a time limit for discussions, but a motion and vote by the Senate can override any time limits he sets.
Chair Lococo also asked Senators to present issues for Senate consideration with as much evidence as possible at one meeting, with voting (if any) at a subsequent meeting. He implored Senators not to introduce an issue and vote on it at same meeting. He noted that there are some common exceptions to this rule: Curriculum Committee actions, appointments, and a few others. Sometimes there is a legitimate urgency to a motion, and that can be taken up.
He reminded Senators that, according to Senate Charter/ByLaws, matters introduced at one meeting and voted on at a later meeting need only a majority to pass; if the vote is taken at same meeting, the approval of 2/3 of those present is needed. There are exceptions, such as most Curriculum Committee motions and appointments.
Senators Ono and Kae encouraged everyone to read the final draft of the Accreditation Self-Evaluation Report, which is posted on the intranet. People can focus on sections that are pertinent to them. The accreditation team will visit October 15 – 19, 2012. Members of the team will come to the Faculty Senate meeting on October 17, 2012. Some members of the accreditation team may wish to ask Senators questions, especially regarding sections of the accreditation report on governance. Senator Kae informed the Senate that there is a handout called "Leeward Notes" that summarizes information that would be helpful in preparing for the accreditation team's visit. Senator Kae will obtain the "Leeward Notes" in order to make them available to everyone.
An accreditation workshop was held for Division Chairs who were informed about the progress Leeward CC has made since the last Accreditation Report, and Leeward CC should be proud of its progress. Kudos are owed to Accreditation Liaison Officer Donna Matsumoto and Della Anderson of the Office of Policy, Planning and Assessment for their work on accreditation.
Chair Lococo noted that there was a suggestion that Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) be posted on the walls in classrooms. He asked if there were any reasons to object to this. None were forthcoming.
Senator Ono has asked that the Leeward CC Mission Statement be printed and distributed to the faculty.
Chair Lococo reported on the meeting of the All Campus Council of Faculty Senate Chairs (ACCFSC) on August 24, 2012 at Honolulu CC. He explained that the ACCFSC consists of Chairs of all the Faculty Senates in the University of Hawai‘i system. UH-Mānoa has 12 Senates; UH-Hilo has 10 Senates.
A. President M.R.C. Greenwood’s meeting with the Chairs
1. Stevie Wonder concert scandal: President Greenwood did not explain more than what is in the press: UH was criminally scammed. The UH Regents did not have time to discuss the budget at their meeting, so they will have a special meeting in September in order to consider the budget. President Greenwood and the Senate Chairs agreed that it would be great if the public would be as concerned about UH academics as it is about sports.
2. Faculty Dependent Scholarships: Last year the ACCFSC passed a resolution asking that the Administration look for a way to provide this scholarship again. It has been noted that $500,000 has been set aside for foreign students for tuition assistance even though federal law requires foreign students to demonstrate that they do not need financial aid. President Greenwood said that the fund for foreign students’ tuition is a UHM policy. No progress has been made on this issue.
3. Faculty Support and Morale: One Chair noted that many programs that supported faculty have been done away with, e.g., travel funding. President Greenwood replied that the faculty's contract is the best in the State, so that should help morale. However, she also indicated that she is open to suggestions for programs for faculty in the UH system as a whole or on individual campuses.
4. Research Funding: President Greenwood indicated that she wants more funding for research, including research into teaching methods, e.g., teaching math. She mentioned that two community colleges are already doing this.
5. Cooperation Across Campuses: President Greenwood stressed the importance of the CC's working together to allow students to use credits and knowledge across campuses.
6. Access to Library Online Databases: Some online resources are not available to CC faculty. The UH System is working to make library access to non-UH-Mānoa faculty fully available online. The Library Council and CAO's are trying to determine what is needed in order to make this happen.
7. Budgetary Process: President Greenwood is open to the ACCFSC being more involved. Whoever is involved must be available during the summer. Most budget decisions are made at the campus level, so faculty should be involved at that level.
8. Graduation Rates: President Greenwood stated that graduation rates at the UH campuses are "abysmal," though she said that the federal statistics most often used to measure this are skewed by standards used by private institutions (e.g., first-time freshmen who graduate from the same school).
B. Other Business
1. Common Course Numbering: All of the Senates except UH-Hilo have approved the Common Course Numbering Proposal. The focus now is on having common course alpha numbers and titles for Foundations courses. Chair Lococo posed a question to the Leeward CC Senate: if a fast-track process is proposed, would we approve not going through our Curriculum Committee process to make the necessary changes? Senators are asked to think about this for the next meeting on September 19, 2012.
2. Kuali: The whole UH system is considering switching to Kuali to replace Curriculum Central. Kuali is a financial management program, but it can also be used for curriculum matters.
3. Common Transcript Evaluation: The UH System Committee (along with CAO's) is looking to devise a policy on common transcript evaluation. The goal is consistency. Various options are being considered. Concern was expressed that counselors might take offense at being overruled on what they consider to be their professional judgment based on their experience.
4. Voting in the ACCFSC: Chair Lococo was authorized by the Leeward CC Senate to vote at the ACCFSC meetings and to use his judgment as to which matters should be brought before the Leeward CC Senate for discussion. The ACCFSC discussed its role and also discussed when it is appropriate to bring matters back to their respective senates. The Leeward CC model was received favorably by some at the meeting who were interested in the implementation of this policy.
Senator Cain circulated a sign-up sheet for food and drink for Senate meetings this year. Chair Lococo announced that the next two Senate meetings would be held in BE-104.
The minutes were unanimously approved as amended.
A. Several workshops have been scheduled to help faculty write curriculum outline proposals. The deadline for submitting proposals this semester is September 28, 2012.
B. The Current committee is still waiting for members to be appointed.
C. The Committee has added a link to its homepage for its Annual Reports to the Faculty Senate.
D. Chair Michael Lane noted that an item in the Faculty Senate minutes of April 9, 2012 needs to be corrected: approved ICS 197S was incorrectly listed as ICS 297S.
E. The Committee decided that it will only review the modified fields in course outlines approved since Fall 2010.
F. The new Leeward CC Mission Statement changes Field #37 in Curriculum Central.
G. Chair Michael Lane will set up the Academic Review Board and appoint its Chair. The Board will determine the prerequisite policy regarding ENG 21, ENG 22, and ENG 24.
H. The Committee will review course outlines every 5 years. The Review Date will be indicated in Field #42. Chair Lococo noted that the Curriculum Committee can make a recommendation to the Senate about what the review date should be.
I. Curriculum Committee will present recommendations to the Faculty Senate in the spring for revisions to the course and program outlines.
J. Curriculum Committee will revise all the questions in the Proposal Process after the accreditation visitation in October.
A. Prior Learning Assessment (PLA): A Perkins Grant funded a pilot program last semester. Modification of HB 2639, effective July 1, authorized the UH system to grant credit for military experience. There is a Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) system committee that is working on a PLA system-wide policy, and the Senate’s input on this will be needed. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Policy allows no more than 30 credits for prior experiential learning; Leeward CC allows only 21 credits.
Transcript evaluation is very important in regard to this issue. Students must have at least a C in all core classes. One problem is that, when transferring credit, sometimes there is no grade. UH-West O‘ahu is accepting the DANTES Single-Subject Test (DSST). This is a policy issue, and it needs to be discussed at the Division level. Senator Ono has received a Perkins Grant to create a DSST/CLEP Testing Center.
B. Military Veterans Credit Equivalency Policy: The Military and Veterans Coordination Program (MVCP) at Leeward CC holds sessions on the first Friday of every month. The event provides lunch and resources to the military and veterans. Ten percent of Leeward CC students are veterans.
The main priorities of the Office of Planning, Policy and Assessment (OPPA) are the accreditation team visit and the implementation of the Tk20 Assessment Tool, which is being used for assessment data. Data from Accounting, ICS, the Associate of Arts in Teaching (AAT) and the Writing Discipline will be used to pilot the new system.
There will be two training sessions: one on September 14 for assessment officers and one on September 17 for Administrators and Division Chairs. Alicia Brown of OPPA will be able to help faculty who cannot attend these all-day sessions.
The Program Review Committee’s priorities are professional development for faculty regarding course assessment and working with Student Government to develop an exit survey and/or other methods of assessing the AA Degree.
A. Proposals from the Division Chairs for Automatic Disenrollment of Students (West)
Senator West presented a report on two proposals unanimously adopted by the Division Chairs regarding disenrollment of students under two conditions. This will be taken up at the next Senate meeting, and a motion will be made.
1. Prerequisite not met: This problem can occur when a student is pre-registered in a class before final grades have been submitted. The current practice is that the Division Chairs are asked to consent to disenroll students who do not meet the prerequisite for a course, but the DC's want these students to be disenrolled automatically. All DC’s have agreed to this proposal.
2. No show during the first two classes of the semester: The DC's are proposing that students who do not show up for the first two classes be automatically disenrolled. Senator West had requested data from Dean of Student Services, Chris Manaseri, regarding the success rates of students who were no-shows during the first week of classes for the period Spring 2010 – Fall 2011. This data was appended to Senator West's report. The chart shows the student completion rate (CRate) and student success rate (SRate). The data indicate that success rates for such students average only 21% compared to 65—70% overall.
Division Chairs gave five reasons for these two proposals:
1. Eliminate financial aid fraud: Some people enroll to obtain financial aid and are committing fraud. Leeward CC is penalized for this.