PVCC FACULTY SENATE MINUTES
Disclaimer

Guests: Bob Bendotti,  Alan Tongret, Joyce Janiga

Members Absent:  Carmen Marquez, Fred Wieck
 

Dr. Fred Stahl, Dean of Instruction, and Dr. MaryLou Mosley, Assoc. Dean of Instruction, gave the Senate a presentation regarding the Arizona AgriBusiness & Equine Center.   In the fall we entered into an agreement which allows this charter school to physically use a classroom on the PVCC campus for their program.  Currently, they have asked that we consider four proposals for the future:

(1) Rent additional classroom space.
(2) Rent office space for an instructor (Kathy Myer).
(3) Explore internship and alliance possibilities between PVCC Faculty and programs and the charter school.
(4) Permission to advertise that they are affiliated with PVCC.

Several concerns and considerations were raised by Senators and the Senate requested regular updates on the progress of the charter school and its impact upon our institution.

The Senate meeting was called to order at 3:38pm by Steve Platte.

Additions to the Agenda
    Campus Reports - President's Retreat - Bob Bendotti
                                          The World Cafe - Bob Bendotti

The agenda was approved revised.
 

The 12/3/98 minutes were approved as written.

Recruitment Coordinating Team - Fred Wieck
Bob Bendotti, reporting for Fred Wieck, gave the Senate an early alert that a 3-year high school program idea is emerging in a formal way and will be discussed at the next executive committee meeting.
 

Enrollment Management - Bob Bendotti
Bob handed out a draft of R7-1-709 "Community College Classes offered in Conjunction with High Schools" (below) which has been prepared by Don Puyear for consideration by the State Board.  If the State Board concurs, the rule will be scheduled for a public hearing at the April State Board meeting.

R7-1-709. Community College Classes Offered in Conjunction with High Schools
With the approval of the District Governing Board, courses may be offered by community colleges in conjunction with high schools for the purpose of offering community college instruction to high school students under the following circumstances.
1.  Students shall have been admitted to the community college under the provisions of R7-1-301 - Student Admissions and shall satisfy the prerequisites for the course as published in the college catalog.
2.  Courses may be offered at the high school campus provided the courses have been evaluated and approved through the official college curriculum approval process.
3.  Courses shall use college-approved textbooks, syllabuses, course outlines, and grading standards, all of which are applicable to the courses when taught at the community college campus.
4.  Each faculty member shall have a valid community college teaching certificate in the field being taught and shall have been selected and evaluated by the college using the same procedure and criteria that are used at the community college campus.
5.  Each college district shall annually, by September 1, provide a report to the State Board of community college courses offered in conjunction with high schools during the previous academic year.  This report shall list the locations at which the courses were offered, the discipline areas of the courses, and the aggregate student enrollment.

Tom Butler is going to compare the draft's language with the concurrent enrollment document that was previously approved on our campus and report any differences back to the senate for consideration at the next Senate meeting.

Staffing Committee - Hank Mancini
No Report
 
Employee Development - Bob Bendotti
The Employee and Organizational Development Committee received positive feedback from the January EOD sessions.  There were a few concerns offered regarding the employee breakfast and the lack of its substantive nature, however, the format for the week's activities were again positively received.  The committee is always trying to fine tune the process and continued feedback is always welcome.  Bob also expressed the committee's view that the EOD monies have been well spent to support faculty and staff in their efforts to attend activities and share their learning experiences with the college community during employee development sessions.

Professional Growth - John Nelson
No Report
 

Legislative Report - Steve Platte
A recommendation from Mike Napier, the District Faculty Association attorney, is to reform the PAC with the state as a 527 organization which allows broad political activity with fewer restrictions, but contributions to the PAC would not be tax deductible.  Registering with the state allows lobbying the legislature and on state-wide issues, but the PAC would have to register with the county on an as-needed basis to work on county elections (i.e. governing board races).

At the state level, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee is recommending an increase in funding for MCCD of about $1.6 million per year (about 3.2% increase) while the Governor's Office is recommending an increase of about $2.2 million (4.5%).

Important bills in the legislature are SB1396, the Whistle-blower bill, and HB2014, the retirement window bill.  Follow the progress of these bills by pointing your browser to http://www.azleg.state.az.us/legtext/bills.htm
and searching by the bill number.
 

President's Retreat - Bob Bendotti
The annual President's Retreat is scheduled for Friday, March 26, 1999 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Several outcomes for this year's retreat have been identified as follows:

Long-Term:  Transform PVCC towards a more learning and learner-centered environment.
Intermediate:  Build on Outcomes and Subsequent Work from the 1st President's Retreat.
Short-Term:  To consider conditions and signal progress towards the development of a learning and learner-centered college:

• Learning Outcomes Identified in Detail
• Development and Implementation of a System for Measuring these Outcomes on an Individual and Aggregate Level (Class, Program, Institutional)
• Curriculum that is "Built Backwards" from the Intended Outcomes and which must be Developmental
• Wide-Range of Options for Accessing and Achieving the Required Learning Outcomes

Bob indicated that Bob Barr, author of "From Teaching to Learning" has been invited to participate in this year's retreat.

The World Cafe - Bob Bendotti
The EOD Committee in conjunction with Student Life will be extending invitations to students to participate in The World Cafe.  This event will take place in the college cafeteria (reorganized for the event) on Wednesday, March 10, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.  During the event, students will be given the opportunity to consider and answer the question, "What do I need to be able to succeed in my career choice in the next millennium, and how is PVCC helping me to meet my goals?"  Bob is encouraging each faculty member to give some incentives to their students to attend this event.  Counseling and Advisement staff members will be invited to hear the conversation, and all faculty are welcome to attend.

Treasurer's Report - Larry Burgess
Larry reported that the combined balance in the Association checking and savings accounts is $7,001.55.  This represents an addition of $28.33 interest earned.  Of the total dollars in the account, $2,140.50 is in the Faculty Association Scholarship Fund (reflecting an addition of $25.00 by donation), and $4,861.05 left in unencumbered Association General Funds.  The Treasurer's Report was approved as written.

Secretary's Report - Jeanne Franco
No report.

President-Elect's Report- Tom Butler
Tom attended the January Governing Board Meeting as PVCC's Faculty representative where the Governing Board endorsed the establishment of Charter Schools by Maricopa Community Colleges and unveiled the plans for the new "Red Mountain" campus in east Mesa.

President's Report - Steve Platte
Meet and Confer process is underway.  An Occupational Program Directors Proposal is being added to the M&C proposals by the FEC.  The M&C team is also considering how to handle any changes to the Faculty Evaluation Plan (FEP).  The FEC is also adamant that any requirements for mandatory participation in the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) be negotiated as part of M&C and not be part of the Common Policies.

Dual/Concurrent Enrollment: The FEC has scheduled a retreat on Tuesday, March 9, to discuss the issues of dual/concurrent enrollment.

Professional Growth: The FEC has scheduled a retreat on Tuesday, February 23, and again on Tuesday, March 2, to discuss the roles and responsibilities of the FEC and the Professional Growth Committee.

Chancellor search: Two finalists have been named and will be interviewed by the board soon.

PVCC President's Cabinet:
The parking situation on the east side of campus is being monitored and probably some sort of new temporary parking area will be developed.

There are plans to have a faculty dining area upstairs in B Building in the open area across from the new mail room.  The old Puma Rooma is going to become a game room in accordance with student requests.

The district is proceeding with diversity training at PVCC and throughout the district.  A concern was raised about how the scheduling of these events is hindering rather than promoting participation by faculty. For example, a diversity focus group was hastily scheduled by district at PVCC on Wednesday, January 13, (during our week of employee development meetings) and only 4 people (including one faculty member) attended.

The Arizona Agribusiness & Equine Center (AAEC) charter school is renting classrooms at PVCC in the afternoons.  The administration is very supportive of cooperating with this school.

The college does have a Technology Strategic Plan, approved by the Strategic Planning Committee on 9/19/97, and it is posted on the web.  A question is whether the plan needs to be re-evaluated considering the changes on campus over the past year and a half.
 
 

Boiler Plate Curricula - Hank Mancini
Hank express faculty concerns regarding the lack of structure in academic planning by students.  He presented a flyer prepared for Pre-Health Majors that spells out courses to be taken on a semester-by-semester basis as an example of how to help students plan.  Hank asked that a committee be formed to sit down with advisement and find ways to better help students in their planning process.  Volunteers for this committee were Hank Mancini, Marilyn Cristiano, Kevin Arps, Renee Cornell, Jane Marks and Tom Butler.

Staffing Committee procedures - Hank Mancini
This item was tabled until after the Staffing Committee meets again.

Scholarship Fundraiser - Alan Tongret/Jeanne Franco
Alan announced that this year's scholarship fundraiser will be held at the Thursday, March 11th performance of "The Women," a Clara Booth play.  The performance will be held in the new Black Box Theatre and with a cast of 25 women, should prove to be a very enjoyable evening.  The Black Box Theatre has a seating capacity of 150 of which 80 seats will be designated for the scholarship fundraiser.  Because the theatre lobby is not large enough to accommodate the traditional reception, Alan suggested that we arrange for the reception in the courtyard or in the cafeteria should the weather not be cooperative.  Jeanne asked for volunteers to organize the event.  Muriel Coil volunteered to arrange for door prizes again this year, Ron Brooker volunteered to arrange for the reception, and Steve Platte, Gary Quick and Jeanne Franco will be in charge of ticket sales.

OYO Membership in FA - Tom Butler
The Faculty Executive Council has requested that local senates consider the ratify (or not) the following statement regarding FA membership for OYO's.

"The FEC recommends that the MCCCD Faculty Association offer membership to faculty hired on a One Year Only contract, and that the membership dues be half the amount assessed of probationary and appointive faculty, but no less than the amount assessed by AAUP for such members.  Membership privileges would include access to the Association attorney in matters relating to employment and grievance, the right to vote in campus Senate elections, and membership in the AAUP.  Such membership for One Year Only faculty would not accord the privilege of voting in campus Division or Department Chair elections, or does it construe any commitment on the part of the college or Faculty Association to continued employment beyond the one year contract."

The statement was approved unanimously by the PVCC Senate.

Travel Committee - Steve Platte
The former chair of the Travel Committee has resigned and a new chair must be appointed for the rest of the 1998/99 academic year.  Steve asked that Walt Thielen be approved by the Senate at the new chair of the Travel Committee.  Walt was unanimously approved by the Senate.

Parking - Steve Platte
See this announcement under "President's Report" in item 4 above.

Faculty Dining Area - Steve Platte
See this announcement under "President's Report" in item 4 above.

Technology Strategic Plan - Steve Platte
There is a Technology Strategic Plan (approved in 1997) for the college, and it is posted on the college web site. However there appears to be confusion about what the plan covers and how it is being implemented. The Senate directed the Senate President to attend the Technology Coordinating Team (TCT) meetings and to work with TCT regarding updating the plan.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:20pm

Respectfully Submitted by
  Jeanne Franco
  Senate Secretary