Faculty Council Minutes

September 21, 2006

West Campus

Attending:  Linda Anthon, Joel Berman, Mark Bollenback (for James Leonard), Karen Borglum, Amy Bosley, Tom Byrnes, Jackie DiMartino, Debbie Garrison, Deidre Holmes Dubois, Gloria Hines, Graeme Lindbeck, Terry Long (for herself and Joan Alexander), Brian Macon, Marie McClendon, Kathleen Perri, Lana Powell, David Rogers, (ex-officio), Bill Snider, and Rose Watson

Action Items

Minutes:

The July minutes were approved as read with two corrections:  the removal of the hyphen from Deidre Holmes Dubois’s surname and under Reports for Osceola the changing of “faculty members who would teach” to “faculty members who want to teach.”

Appointments (approved):

Curriculum Committee – Joe Menig, West Campus (Foreign Languages); Melody Boeringer, Osceola Campus (Natural Sciences); John Niss, East Campus (Mathematics); and Boris Nguyen, West Campus (Mathematics).

Committee for Student Assessment of Instruction – Susan Matthews, Richard Gair, Marya Holzer, George Rausch, Oscar Cuan, Trudy McNair, Teresa Johnsen, Shari Koopmann, James May, June Mair, Barbara Ball, and Tom Byrnes

Policy on Tenure, Assessment and Evaluation

Discussion occurred regarding the policy and proposed changes, with the suggestions that the definition of “tenure” be at the beginning under part A and that the policy reinforce the Intellectual Property Rights Policy.  The most concern was expressed over needed clarification as to the guidelines/procedures that would be used to determine the issue of termination.  Finally, the group was cautioned that not approving a portion of the policy would delay the rest of the policy.

Proposal for Constitutional Change

There have been suggestions on changing the wording of the constitution to permit the election of the Council President from a larger pool of eligible applicants.  After discussion of the results of the votes at the various campus Senate meetings, a motion was made to put out for faculty vote Option B, which allows for the Council President to be from current and past Council members.  It was suggested that the voting occur over a 10-day period at the beginning of November and that the Faculty senates determine the voting procedure.

First Day of Classes or Distance Learning

The vote was postponed to make the first day of the term the official start date of distance learning classes, thereby providing a consistent approach but still allowing leeway for exceptions.  Deidre Holmes DuBois wanted time to consult with Osceola faculty.

Discussion Items

Common Course Outlines

Karen Borglum underscored the importance of completing the common course outlines.  There is a 2-year plan to complete 942 course outlines.  Currently, 82 have been completed, 200 are in the review stage, and 27 are ready for vote.

Clarification of Tenure Policy

While it may not be possible to list every situation in which termination may result, perhaps a clarification of the procedures could be provided or developed with faculty involvement.

Course Caps

Faculty expressed concern over not being consulted about the increases in course caps and feel that the larger class size is affecting the quality of learning.

Shared Governance

There is concern that the shared governance model appears to be eroding in that there is no faculty input in certain decisions.  Examples cited were recent decisions regarding class capacity, closed-captioned videos, and the Learning Council move to the DTC.  Amy Bosley will locate the principles of shared governance and share them with everyone.

Information Items

Sexual Harassment Policy

Dr. Shugart instructed Bill Mullowney to convene a committee composed of faculty, staff, and HR to propose changes to the policy.

6-6-0-0 Policy Committee

At a Senior Staff meeting, Kaye Walter was directed to convene a committee to examine the 6-6-0-0 policy and the conversion of 4-month contracts to 8-month contracts.  She has asked Tom Byrnes to form a committee composed of provosts, deans, and faculty members to discuss the issue of what the College might do for faculty members who have 4-month contracts and have had them for some time.

Endowed Chairs and Sabbaticals

Endowed Chairs will be funded in March, with funding available in April instead of July.  Two years of sabbaticals will be awarded in order to get one year ahead, and deadlines for applications are in October.

Faculty Professional Development

A committee is to be formed to recommend how the policy should be implemented, and it must be ready for the spring.  It should include 4- and 8-month faculty.

“Quality Matters”

The Alternative Delivery Standards Committee is interested in adopting this nationally recognized program as the College’s own process.  “Quality Matters” is a peer-based approach to quality assurance that will recognize the quality of online courses.  A one-year subscription costs approximately $5000 and includes training and materials.  Amy Bosley asked that faculty view the website at http://quality matters.org/ and provide her with feedback.

Reports

Campus Reports

West – need for dialog with faculty regarding change of grades, with Tom Byrnes discussing the issue with Renee Simpson

Winter Park – internal concerns with IT, security, and parking

Osceola – updated constitution and new copiers making fewer copies per minute

East – issues already covered

Other Reports

There was concern expressed over deans being inconsistent in deducting hours for days missed.  Tom Byrnes will talk with Amy Bosley and find the document that outlines the policy regarding the deduction of hours.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 4:50 P.M.

The next Faculty Council meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 19, 2006, at the Winter Park Campus, in room 143.