Faculty Council Minutes
Attending: Joan Alexander, Linda Anthon, Joel Berman, Amy Bosley, Tom Byrnes, Jean Marie Fuhrman, Debbie Garrison, Deidre Holmes DuBois, James Leonard, Graeme Lindbeck, Terry Long, Brian Macon, Marie McClendon, Pat Nellis, Kathleen Perri, Lana Powell, Bill Snider, Marlene Temes, and Rose Watson
Action Items
Minutes:
The September minutes were approved with two corrections: (1) In the section for the Osceola campus report, change the word “constitutions” to “constitution”; and (2) indicate that the vote on the wording of the first day of online courses will occur during the October meeting.
Appointments (approved):
6-6-0-0 Task Force – Chris Borglum, Winter Park (Communications); Cathy Mestre, East (Business & Public Services); Pat Murphy, East (Mathematics); Margie Szoke, East (Mathematics); Troy Gifford, East (Humanities, Foreign Languages, and Visual & Performing Arts); Paul Labedz, East (Social Sciences); Michael Shugg, East (Humanities, Foreign Languages, and Visual & Performing Arts); Tom Rutenkroger, East (Mathematics); Bill Snider, West (Communications); Mary Beck, West (Science); Boris Nguyen, West (Mathematics); Nathan Baker, West (Mathematics); Elizabeth Morrison, West (Mathematics); Lisa Macon, West (Business & Information Technology); Kris Dougherty, Osceola (Mathematics, Science & Business); Deidre Holmes DuBois, Osceola (Humanities, Communications & Social Sciences); and George T. Witta, Osceola (Mathematics, Science & Business)
Grievance Committee – Anita Kovalsky, West (Health Related Programs); Clay Holiday, East (Communications); Dawn Sedik, West (Communications); Desmond Duncan, West (Social Sciences); Esther Coombes, West (Communications); Gladys Stromberg, Osceola (Humanities, Communications & Social Sciences); Jill Seabacher, West (Communications); Kurt Overhiser, East (Mathematics); Lee Graubner, East (Mathematics); Paul Chapman, Osceola (Humanities, Communications & Social Sciences); Randy Grosch, West (Social Sciences); Reina Reynolds, East (Information Technology); Richard Gair, East (Communications); Rita Swanson, West (Health Related Programs); Teresa Nater, Osceola (Humanities, Communications & Social Sciences); and Tom Reid, East (Social Sciences)
Approval of Change in Policy on Tenure, Assessment and Evaluation
The Council decided that the faculty will evaluate the policy. Debbie Garrison introduced a motion that the Council vote on this matter; all members of the Council voted in favor of it.
Recommended Purchase of Quality Matters
The Council recommended the purchase of Quality Matters.
Approval of Start Right Procedure for First Day of Online Courses
The Council approved this procedure, with Kathleen Perri introducing the motion that the Council vote on this matter; all members of the Council voted in favor of it.
Approval of George Witta as Osceola’s Representative to the College Planning Council
George Witta was approved to serve as Osceola’s representative to the College Planning Council.
Discussion Items
Wording of Constitutional Amendment to Faculty
The Council discussed changing the words “Faculty Association” to “Collegewide Faculty Association.” In addition, it recommended sending the amendment to faculty at large and having the Faculty Association President urge faculty to vote.
Concerns About Enrollment Pressures
The Council determined that these concerns were specific to each campus and that the personalities of individual faculty members contributed to each faculty member feeling or not feeling pressured into taking on extra courses. The Council decided that Tom Byrnes will forward statement that some instructors do feel pressured into taking extra courses for College to meet enrollment pressures.
Testing Center Concerns
Both the East and West Campuses expressed concerns about potential problems with the testing centers on those respective campuses. On the East Campus, some faculty voiced concern over a glass wall that separates proctors and test takers, allowing for a degree of cheating, and the fact that some test papers sent to the testing center on the Osceola Campus were temporarily lost. Furthermore, the wife of an East Campus instructor detected cheating in the East Campus testing center on at least two occasions when she took tests there. On the West Campus, a Council member noted that, about 5 years ago, while taking exams, some students accessed their notes that they had posted online, and that, about 2 years ago, some students used their cell phones to cheat. Essentially, the Council agreed that those who oversee the testing centers must become cognizant of their problems and address them. Also, the Council noted that the testing centers may need additional staff, and asked if the College has a universal policy regarding cell phones, electronic devices, etc. brought into the testing centers.
Colin Archibald: Health-Care Insurance Coverage to Same-Sex Domestic Partnerships
Archibald noted that the issue of insurance granted to
same-sex domestic partnerships is still under consideration, even after two
years, and he indicated that he wanted the Faculty Council to send a letter to
Dr. Shugart and to two other applicable parties to state that the denial of
this insurance is in conflict with Valencia’s principle of being an equal opportunity
employer. Furthermore, Archibald wanted
the letter to contain this statement: “The
denial of health-care insurance coverage to the same-sex domestic partners of
Pat Nellis: Hunter Boylan Report and Recommendations
Nellis asked for recommendations and feedback on the Hunter Boylan Report. Council members offered three recommendations. First, in relation to the recommendation, “Increase the number of full-time faculty teaching developmental courses,” one Council member asked for clarification, wondering if this statement referred to hiring instructors who have expertise to teach developmental courses or if it referred to the indiscriminate hiring of instructors to teach these courses. Another Council member stated that this recommendation reflects an issue of faculty on-campus access to students rather than a quality issue. Second, in relation to the recommendation, “Increase communication between developmental English and mathematics,” one Council member emphasized the need to relate communication to all disciplines, not just to English and math. Finally, in relation to the recommendation, “Establish a process for systematizing innovation,” one Council member suggested that the term “systematizing innovation” sounded oxymoronic.
Recommendation for Adding the Engagement Hours Sub-Committee Report to the March 2006 Minutes
The Council decided to have Brian Macon re-examine the issue of deductions and engagement hours and report on this matter at the next Faculty Council meeting.
Information Items
International Learning
Thera Woodard presented information about International Learning, and the Faculty Council gave its support to this endeavor.
NISOD Committee
The Council selected four of its members—Joan Alexander, Linda Anthon, Jean Marie Fuhrman, and Marie McClendon—to serve on this committee.
Field Trip Policies Meeting
The Council selected Terry Long and Trudy McNair to attend one meeting in which field trip policies are examined.
Closed-Captioned Meeting
The Council selected Ana Caldero to attend the
closed-captioned meeting on
Reports
Campus Reports
West – eligibility of part-time employees serving as at-large senators
Osceola – information from Kaye Walter and other applicable parties about rationale for offering Flex Start classes, urging the College to collect data about the classes, such as the success of these classes and the percentage of students who complete these classes
East – examination of faculty safety and the procedures for the handling of disruptive students
Other Reports
None
Last-Minute Business
A Council member wanted the Council to consider placing guests first on the agenda to avoid their waiting to address the Council.
Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at
The next Faculty Council meeting is scheduled for