Faculty Council Minutes

November 16, 2006

Osceola Campus

Attending: Joel Berman, Tom Byrnes, Helen Clarke, Jackie DiMartino, Jean Marie Fuhrman, Debbie Garrison, James Leonard, Graeme Lindbeck, Terry Long, Brian Macon, Pat Nellis, Lana Powell, David Rogers, Marlene Temes, Michael Shugg, and Myrna Villaneuva

Opening Matters

Welcome:

Tom Byrnes welcomed Myrna Villaneuva to the meeting, an ACE Fellow working with Dr. Walter.

Upcoming Meetings:

The Holiday Party will be held in conjunction with the December meeting on Tuesday, December 12, 2006, at 2:30 P.M., and Debbie Garrison has offered her home as a meeting place. Informal consensus was to meet at Debbie’s instead of at the East Campus. At the January meeting, which will be held at the West Campus, the new Council members will be introduced. Following the meeting will be a social gathering. Tom Byrnes asked each campus president to send him a list of outgoing and incoming Faculty Council members so that they can be appropriately recognized.

Action Items

Minutes:

The October minutes were approved as submitted.

Discussion Items

Engagement Hours Document: Brian Macon gave an update on this document, which was followed by a lengthy discussion, some of it focusing upon the inconsistency which still occurs between departments as to the number of hours deducted for missed time. In addition, while Part One of the document is in effect, Part Two needs a clarified procedure presented as a cover page to the workload form completed every semester or included in the College’s policy manual. Furthermore, the Council indicated the need for a statement or recommendation on virtual hours, agreeing upon the inclusion of this statement in the document: “It is recommended that the five (5) hours that are virtual be offered in a variety of modes in order to provide access to all students.” This statement passed with a unanimous vote. Finally, Tom Byrnes will submit this document to the IAC and the Learning Council.

Faculty Professional Development: Pat Nellis and Helen Clarke apprised the Council of the status of this item. There was an in-depth dialogue on such issues as theme-based, reporting, consistency, and participation. For example, the Council discussed the need to offer faculty a wide range of offerings to make attainment more convenient if a theme-based approach is selected. Also, faculty can select either a structured or an individualized plan depending upon preference. The preferred timeframe would include mapping out individual plans in April 2007, with an implementation date of July 2007. Faculty members would then have a year to complete the plan for compensation. A committee will be formed to prepare the guidelines for the professional development plan, and the committee will be composed of 12 representatives from diverse departments covering both A.A. and A.S. degree programs, with 6 serving one-year terms and 6 serving two-year terms to stagger membership. There will also be Human Resources representation and ex-officio members.

Written vs. Verbal Ballots: A Council member expressed concern over verbal open ballots on sensitive or controversial items. Council members were reminded that their votes reflect campus desires, not personal feelings, and that every Council meeting is subject to Sunshine Laws, which are in fact public record. One Council member indicated that there have been written ballots in the past, while another stated that, for the minutes, an item is notated either pass or defeat without an actual vote count listed. It was the consensus of the Council that a member may ask that only voting members be in the room during a vote and that a member abstain from any vote which makes him or her uncomfortable.

Information Items

6-6-0-0 Update: Tom Byrnes will bring this report to the December meeting. Departments need to equitably rotate supplemental contracts with the faculty base.

4-8-10 Month Contracts: Joe Livingston provided information. The Council agreed with the recommendations with a few minor changes. The College needs to convert as many 4-month contracts to 8-month, and 8-month to 10-month, according to need in each division. A report is being submitted to Dr. Walter and Dr. Mullowney.

Student Conduct Policy: It has been returned to Joyce Romano for her staff to examine, and it will be reviewed again at the January 2007 meeting.

Academic Grievance Policy: It is being revised and will be brought back to the Council in December. Once cleared through Dr. Mullowney, it will be sent to each campus Faculty Senate for examination.

Reports

Campus Reports

West – Graeme Lindbeck stated that election of Senate officers are complete and that he will be serving as President. He reported on the discussion of administrative duties.

Winter Park – Jean Marie Fuhrman announced that faculty recently learned that they can be awarded a partial supplemental contract. There was dialogue about the differing compensation for college-level course labs versus preparatory course labs. Tom Byrnes asked that information be submitted to him on the lab compensation issue and stated that he will take it to campus senates to discuss and then report back to the Council.

Osceola – Jackie DiMartino mentioned recent computer server issues that were very frustrating for faculty and staff.

East – Joel Berman shared some Course Shell for Online Delivery concerns. Debbie Garrison indicated that not all faculty and staff completed the health insurance enrollment prior to the deadline but that Human Resources extended the deadline to ensure that every employee was able to enroll.

Other Reports

None

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 P.M.

The next Faculty Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 12, 2006, beginning at 2:30 P.M., at the home of Debbie Garrison.