Department Chairs Council meeting minutesNovember 6, 2014
In attendance: Carl Sjovold, Angela Block, Kelly Gould, Grace Austin, Melissa Fellman, Glennda Wagner, Chris Seddon, Jeff Karlsen, Sheley Little, Doug Copely, Robin Roffey, Larry Johnson, Mel Duvall, Barbara Toupadakis, Marisa Agnew, Angela Block, John Polagruto, Michael Hunter, Beth Forrester, Daniel Styer, Susan Griffin, Chris Daubert, Lonnie Larson, Marybeth Buechner.
Marybeth Buechnerbrought us up to date on some planning and accreditation issues. She came to check in to make sure that the online Unit Plan entry system is working for us. Exporting work in progress (e.g. to share with colleagues) can be a challenge and requires some effort to make it more “readable”. She reported that it is easier to view data using the “summary” tab. Click “instruction”, pick “division” then “department” from the drop down menus. The format looks like a Word document though it is not actually one. This version has nearly all content from the online form included in it. The alternative method is to use the Excel format – “analysis page for” throws all content in from across the college. One must then access/filter information by selecting from within the dropdown menus.
The only thing that has been reported to be challenging by some chairs with this new process is that the ID #s in the far left column do not change with changes made to the unit plan (even an item is deleted). These ID #s simply represent numeration, much like a name. The number does not represent our rankings.
Three questions that Marybeth suggests we ask ourselves as we complete the unit plans:
- Is this feasible?
- Is it already in our or another department’s program plan?
- Should I put it in my unit plan?
If there is an instruction or explanation that we feel is missing from Marybeth’s Planning Handbook,she asked us to let her know.
Mel Duvall gave us the latest PRIE data on student success.
Handouts provided by Mel:
- “Overview of 2014 Scorecard metrics for SCC”
- “Basic Skills Report – Key Points”
- “SCC Planning Data, Success and Retention”
- “Evidence and Data”, Mission of PRIE Committee
Among the questions that Mel asks as an educator: Do I know where my students go? How well are my students doing on campus? What can I do to ensure that what I am doing is truly benefitting my students?Essentially, how effective am I as evidenced by our data?
Mel indicated that how students perform in other departments/areas DOES impact our students. He suggests that staying in touch with PRIE data is valuable in our teaching. We can’t do our jobs as well if we don’t incorporate feedback (data) from both students and PRIE.
Carl Sjovold reported back to the department chairs regarding the issue of classroom substitutes that was discussed in a prior DCC meeting. He provided a handout: “Summary of October 9 meeting”.
A question was raised as to whether or not this issue needs to be addressed by the union. The Instruction office did not seem to want this to be transformed into a policy. The bottom line is: let’s all be vigilant about this, especially the instructional deans. The deans are ultimately responsible for finding faculty substitutes during an absence, not the chairs. There will be a “division by division” approach to addressing this issue.
A concern was raised over the wording of the content in the handout we’ve been provided – it does not specifically indicate that the dean is the one responsible to call in a substitute for a faculty member (the wording is vague). “Who would be responsible to find a substitute when a faculty member wakes up ill and needs a substitute on that very day”? Nothing in the contract obliges a faculty member to get their own substitute when they are ill.
A concern was voiced that ouradoption of a compressed calendar already challenges our instructional time in the classroom due to holidays.
Another chair inquired how much room there is for pushback on this issue? Will there be some consequence to faculty who don’t follow the request of finding our own substitutes?
One faculty member asked for guidance on how to open a dialogue with his/her department where theissue of excessive absences has not seemed to be an issue.
Perhaps the District should be made aware of potential problems that develop when semesters contain as many holidays as this one does (e.g. two Tuesday/Thursday holidays appear during this semester). Perhaps class meeting times can be adjusted to adapt, e.g. extending class time by 5 or 10 minutes. A resulting challenge, however, is that this may result in time conflicts for some courses and not allow sufficient passing time for both students and faculty.
Mary Turner, Vice President of Instruction, is tentatively penciled in for our meeting on 11/20/14to report on summer FTE & Fall FTE changes. She may also be presenting information on the number of hires SCC may be allotted. It was suggested by several department chairs that we also ask her for further information about the issue of who should arrange for faculty substitutes.