Mesa Community College Faculty Senate­Approved Minutes­2-5-04

I.               Call to Order- order called at 3:15

II.             Approval of Agenda- Emergency agenda provided by Senate President. 2 new business items added (see VII. New Business).

III.           Approval of Senate Minutes - postponed this action because no minutes were provided from the last December meeting.

IV.           Treasurerıs Report- see attachment titled Treasurer's Report from Phil Waclawski.

V.             Committee & Project Reports- none.

VI.           Old Business

A.    Joint Resolution: see attachment entitled Joint Resolution on the Issue of Information Technology. It was reported that although the resolution was submitted, leadership is unsure whether this will happen. The money could be used in many other ways suggested Dr. Christiansen to the Senate leadership, therefore although he knows IT has issues- he did not see it as a crisis point that requires hiring the Dean as discussed in the joint resolution. On a side note- Charles Lewis stated that the meetings between the Administration and the Senate leadership have been very productive.
The Joint Resolution will go into discussion but success is not foreseen. We will have an update next meeting and future action will be taken if necessary.

B.    Faculty Teaching Awards: The Senate approved this motion last semester and it will begin next year.

C.   Senate/DCA/Administration Retreat: The retreat is scheduled for February 27, 2004 from 2-4 p.m. at the Mesa Downtown Center. Charles will email Senate a summary and proposed areas to discuss.

D.   Distance Education Degree: In the Leadership meeting with Dean Mee it was discussed that we should get information from more people than just the Distance Ed Degree Committee regarding all sides of the issue related to this type of degree. A broad perspective is sought and Dean Mee wants to clarify what kind of degree we can and should offer.
Senate discussed and questioned this issue with the following comments:
- Many were concerned as to whether this degree is already a "done deal". Why would a Senior Associate Dean be hired for a program that is not approved yet?
- Several questions were asked about the feasibility of the degree.
- Several voiced that it is good to broaden this discussion to many people to see many different perspectives. A suggestion to bring this issue up at the retreat was made.
- Concerns were voiced as to whether the retreat will be a safe and open environment for all to bring up opposing viewpoints. Charles assured the Senate that the essence of a retreat should be a safe environment and he would bring these concerns to Administration because Faculty should not fear retribution for speaking out on this or any other issue.
- A concern was raised about NCA looking into this degree program therefore giving it the go before we can voice concerns. It was stated that NCA has to look at the Distance Ed degree issues regardless of whether a degree is offered or not. NCA is looking at the on-line classes now.
- Ed Lipinski should be sending us copies of the minutes soon from the Distance Ed Committee meetings that should clarify many issues. This remains a fluid situation- more updates to come.

VII.         New Business

A.    Change in Staffing Policies: see attachment titled Staffing Procedures. The leadership in the senate sees this as a big accomplishment. This clarifies the process of hires for all lines. All vacated positions must go through the Staffing Committee. In addition, Program Development is to go to the Staffing Committee too- to justify the program and lines given. Senate discussed and questioned this issue with the following comments:
- It is good to get this in writing- are these procedures in writing anywhere official? Should be in the Best Practices Manual of the Senate. We should push to have this come out in writing verbatim to all. Do other Colleges have this process? Yes- all but two do.
- It was suggested that Program Development is being affected negatively by this, which needs to be taken into consideration.
- It is believed this will make for a cleaner process of hiring.
- Dr. Christiansen wanted to know the logic of the Staffing Committee to help the process along. He will now be the last person to meet with the committee.
- Several questions and comments were made regarding the structure of the Committee, for example- why can't all of the parties meet together in one big meeting? The logistics of this were questioned, as this may be unmanageable. The Staffing Committee may agree to an open meeting but some parties may wish to air their ideas and questions without debate.
- More direct communication may enhance the process and it was suggested that if anyone has a question or thought about the staffing of a program or department it should be told to all parties.
- Members of the staffing committee present suggested the current tiered process is effective and the current communication among all parties does not affect the outcome as it comes down to numbers in the end.
- Another area suggested to exam was the MAT and PSA hiring process. A question was raised, "How are so many new management positions created without a process in place?" We need to put this on the table as a new issue to discuss. This issue was raised at the leadership lunch and it was stated that there was no point in having a process to hire for these positions because there is no money to do so.
- As a Senate, we should continue to ask for a process. Timeline needed and a process needed regardless of funding as this may directly affect the number of faculty lines given.
- The new procedure that will be in place in 2005 for district to match the number of faculty lines within a given formula should also give colleges an incentive to create more lines.

B.    Active Retirees: We have an AR representative in Senate and we want to improve the voice of retired faculty. How should we utilize this section of faculty best? A question was asked regarding the creation of a subcommittee to look at how to involve AR more and to help with issues such as office space, phones and access. A subcommittee was suggested to have AR members on it. A motion was made to create a subcommittee to look at issues of concern. The motion passed unanimously. The chair of the committee is Chuck Horn. Chuck called for any volunteers to be on the committee and members were asked to ask chairs to suggest membership of the committee.

C.   Student Records/FERPA: an Army recruiter who claimed he got her personal information from student records contacted a student. The student and her family were upset and the legality of this was questioned. It was suggested the student may have waived privacy in this case, but the issue of informed consent was raised. This issue will be forwarded to Dean Johnson to be researched.

D.   Instructional Council: a new prefix may have been created without the approval of an instructional council. It was suggested that a college could introduce a new prefix if the next step is course development. This issue was taken under further review and a request was made to clarify the curriculum process by faculty to stay clear and true to the intent of the process.

VIII.       Information & Announcements

A.    Presidentıs Report:
1. Senate will meet at Red Mountain for our April 15 meeting.
2. Should a District sub committee on the bond be formed? Feedback was sought as to whether FEC should form such a committee to enable the faculty voice be heard on the bond. Comments on the issue included:
- Is the faculty voice united on this issue?
- Should PAC become involved?
- A sub committee implies assumptions and it was suggested faculty get involved on an individual basis. A question was asked as to whether the O'Neill survey was used as a marketing testing mechanism. No answer given.

B.    President-electıs Report:
1. Attempts to get Dr. Glasper to MCC are made and this would be a good thing for the campus.
2. FEC report- employee discipline action to pass; yet this is being fought because it is very broad.
3. Travel Policy in question. Policy suggests employees with 3 traffic violations cannot drive to work. Need to explore this policy at the next meeting.
4. 6 resumes for open board position were received. FEC wants to be involved in the recommendation process.
- Nancy Stein is not running for re-election therefore there will be 2 seats open.
5. MOU memo of understanding for meet and confer was passed unanimously. See attached MOU memo.

C.   Secretaryıs Report: Secretary Absent

D.   Department Chair Association Liaison Report: A resolution was presented to upgrade secretary position to an Administrative Secretary to increase compensation. This issue was presented as an either-or for Chairs in regards to a CIO position. This was questioned as seeming unrelated and putting chairs in a difficult position.

E.    Senate Memberıs Report:
1. At Large Members: No reports
2. Zone Reps
- Zone 1 Lyn Dutson- Suggested sending a sympathy card to Gene Eastin Family. Agreed upon by all.
- Zone 2 No report
- Zone 3 Barry Vaughn- A faculty member came to him and questioned a gift given to President Bush. Wanted to know if this was paid for by MCC and was this legal. It was clarified that the gift was given by a local artist and was legal.
- Zone 4 no report
- Zone 5 Harold Cranswick- requested a response on speed humps and bumps in front of the east side of campus.
- Zone 6 no report
- Zone 7 Naomi Story- Faculty member asked about missing Senate minutes. The issue was to be followed up on and resolved.

IX.           Adjourn- 5:20 p.m.