I. Call to Order & Roll Call

West Valley College Academic Senate

Approved Minutes

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Academic Senate Office, Ext. #2075

I. Call to Order & Roll Call

President Bangle called the meeting to order at 2:15 p.m.

^Senators	A	P	Senators	A	P
^Andrews (Ext. 2534) At-Lge/SS		X	^Harris (Ext. 3750) LA		X
^Bangle (Ext. 2476) Pres/StudServ		X	^Kelly (Ext. 2546) SocSci		X
^Benkoski (Ext. ( 4052) Math		X	^Mathieson (Ext. 4635) AAS		X
^Bowers-Gachesa (Ext.4003) PE		X	^Pavan (Ext. 2441 )Student Serv.		X
^Farrell (Ext. 2490) LA/CS		X	^Reiss (Ext. 2533) Fine Arts		X
^Ghodrat (Ext. 2442) Business		X	^Sandoval (Ext. 2479) Lib/LATC	X
^Hackworth (Ext.2562) Science		X	^McKay, Student Rep.		X
^Guests: C. Pinet, W. Ellis, M. Herauf, A. Moore		X X	^Guests: J. Hendrickson, I. Serna		X

II. Order of the Agenda

President Bangle announced that Item VII. A would be postponed until February 2009. At that time, the item will be used to discuss plagiarism, academic dishonesty and student discipline. The new order of the agenda was approved. (M/S/U – Andrews/Bowers-Gachesa)

III. Oral Communication from the Public

Dr. Celine Pinet gave a brief update on Program Review (PR). She distributed summaries of PR data prepared by herself and Inge Bond. She asked Senators to take this data into account, along with other factors, as they make program level recommendations about resource allocations (e.g. hiring). She reminded them that we are all responsible for ensuring program review, resource allocation and planning processes dovetail effectively with one another. She reported that the West Valley College PRC has received all program reviews. President Bangle commended Dr. Pinet and Ms. Bond on their work. She asked Senators to take this data into account, along with other factors, as they make program level recommendations about resource allocations (e.g. hiring). She reminded them that we are all responsible for ensuring program review, resource allocation and planning processes dovetail effectively with one another.

IV. Approval of Minutes

The minutes for the meeting of 10/28/08 were approved. (M/S/U – Andrews/Ghodrat)

The minutes for the meeting of 11/18/08 were approved. (M/S/P – Andrews/Kelly)
V. Administrative Business/Actions/Announcements

A. Curriculum Committee - Michael Herauf asked the Senate for their approval on the curriculum that is going to the Board of Trustees on December 11, 2008. A brief discussion took place and the following motion was made and approved (M/S/U – Hernas/Hackworth):

“that the West Valley College Academic Senate approve the curriculum that is going before the Board of Trustees on December 11, 2008.”

B. President’s Report – President Bangle reported that her President’s Report has been postponed.

C. Committee Appointments – None.
VI. New Business

A. Report and Consider Possible Solutions Relative to Incident of Plagiarism and Administration’s Handling of it – Postponed until February 2009.
B. Review CCBT Consultants’ Organizational Study and Consider Next Steps in Addressing Fiscal and Organizational Challenges

President Bangle stated that she was quite satisfied in the way the study was handled and that the report was submitted on time (December 1, 2008). She continued that she was involved with the CBT’s study every step of the way and is pleased with the open lines of communication. She asked Chancellor John Hendrickson and Albert Moore to provide information about the organizational study and to answer questions from the Senate.

Chancellor Hendrickson commended the California Brain Trust, their thorough report and the fact that it was completed according to schedule. He stated that it is clear that the colleges share the budget deficit problem and he appreciates the cooperation to resolve district issues. He noted that the colleges have some of the best shared governance process committees in the state. During the time the CBT was doing its research, the Senate roundtable made sure there was a structured communications program in place. He stated that this significant report came from significant effort. President Bangle distributed a timeline flow chart and Chancellor Hendrickson explained the next steps.

Albert Moore explained the process of accessing the report. Moore went over the various ways that people can give feedback on the report, and reminded that the all-college feedback forum is set for Tuesday, December 9, 2008. He noted that any recommendations or feedback that has budget implications need to be considered before the last step (Board Budget Workshop). He stated that all the information presented in the report is the sum total of the CBT’s best efforts; every figure presented may not be completely accurate, and therefore there is a section on the feedback form for misstatements.

Chancellor Hendrickson explained the recent change in the Faculty Obligation Number.  He stated that State law prescribes the FON for every district in California and the State Chancellor’s Office produces the FON schedule.  He explained that the State projected a FON of 364.1 for WVMCCD for Fall of 2009.  Soon afterward, without explanation, the State changed the FON to 323.1, which is now the correct FON.  The District FON is currently 358.  This means that the District is staffed to a level of enrollment that is not being served.  Chancellor Hendrickson noted that the District has seen the benefits of the 21 faculty who took the early retirement incentive. The faculty with SERP have retired; the faculty with STRS have yet to.  Ten faculty will be retiring by July 2009, which will leave the District FON at 348 – 25 away from the FON goal. Discussion ensued, and the Chancellor clarified that the 323 FON would potentially rise as FTEF numbers are restored.

A Senator asked whether there is a contingency plan for next year, or whether the District is going to have to reduce the FON. The Chancellor responded that he has asked the Board of Trustees to remain open to the possibility of having the Land Corporation be a source of strategic spending if it is part of a District growth program. Another concern was raised over the District’s ability to move quickly on the recommendations. Chancellor Hendrickson explained that he has gone through all the recommendations and put them in order of timeliness. He agreed that actions need to be taken soon in order to accomplish some key recommendations. He stated that he will organize the report into a work-time document so that we don’t lose sight of the timeliness.

At this time, President Bangle opened the meeting for discussion and distributed suggestions for framing discussions at the constituent group and council level, the report’s financial recommendations, the report’s conclusion and the California budget update number 24.

Vice President Pat Andrews stated that within the report, there was little that she disagreed with or was surprised by. She noted that the District’s mismanagement is clear and although this is everyone’s problem, she does not want to see faculty carry the brunt of the issue. Senator Andrews referenced the joint letter written by President Bangle, Mission College Academic Senate President Stephanie Kashima and ACE President Ed Kleppinger that was emailed to all West Valley College faculty on November 10, 2008. The letter asks that SI not be loaded in coming year due to the budget crisis. However, according to Senator Andrews, ACE is now asking that SI be loaded. Senator Andrews then made the following motion (M/S/P – Andrews/Pavan):

“that the West Valley College Academic Senate move that keeping with the joint letter signed by the two Senates and ACE leadership and in taking into serious consideration the recommendations of the CCBT, the WVCAS recommends to the District Load Committee that they follow the direction of the faculty leadership by halting any effort to load Supplemental Instruction in advance of the Spring semester. Instead, we ask the Load Committee to take into account our current fiscal state and support the joint letter approach of incrementally introducing new load criteria for Supplemental Instruction.”
Discussion ensued on the clarifications of HBA and SI, and it was agreed that it is the wrong time to demand paid load for SI and it is not to the advantage of the faculty make the offering of 200 courses in Spring 2009 contingent on whether the SI is loaded. President Bangle explained that the ACE representatives on the Load Committee changed their minds since signing the joint memo and are now requesting to load SI at the existing rate. The motion then passed.

At this time, Senator Andrews made the following motion (M/S/U – Andrews/Hackworth):

“that the West Valley College Academic Senate recommends to the WVC faculty to proceed with the scheduling and delivery of Supplemental Instruction for the Spring 2009 semester as one way to contribute toward the fiscal crisis we are currently facing.”
Discussion ensued, and the motion was amended as follows and then approved:
“that the West Valley College Academic Senate recommends to the WVC faculty that as we negotiate load for the future we proceed with the scheduling and delivery of Supplemental Instruction for the Spring semester as one way to contribute toward resolve the fiscal crisis we are currently facing”
At this time, the discussion turned to retention. Although it was agreed by the Senators that WVC needs to retain more students, there were concerns over quantity versus quality. What is the college’s mission – to retain or properly train? A Senator asked at what cost of do faculty retain students. Meaning, would some classes have to be “dumbed down” in order to retain students? It was suggested that faculty find a way to nurture and retain students while giving quality instruction. It was noted that the upcoming Flex Day, set for January 30, 2009, will feature a training session on this topic. It was suggested that faculty with high retention rates should be polled and possibly sit on a panel during Flex Day. A Senator expressed the opinion that there needs to be a level of retention measurement and/or responsibility along with ramifications for not meeting retention goals. It was suggested that Department Chairs be trained on how to deal with instructors who aren’t retaining. President Bangle stated this could be a future Senate discussion.

A Senator expressed concern that many faculty don’t know the break-even numbers, how many students are needed in a class in order to “pull your own weight” nor what the retention goals are. There were questions over why faculty cannot fill out add forms for students; President Bangle responded that faculty are now able to do so and a manual was recently created to teach instructors how.

The discussion on retention versus quality of education continued and President Bangle pointed out that faculty members are to be content experts and students’ life changers. She continued that for many, West Valley College is the first and only door to higher education. A Senator agreed and stated that the students who continue to attend WVC are the ones who are invested. She recommended that the college cultivate a perspective and culture that encourages student to stay, and it starts with everyone a student interacts with. Faculty may need to change their perspective and start thinking about what kinds of skills they need to teach a student in order to have that student stay in class. It was also pointed out that basic skills are also an important part of retention and a change in curriculum and pre requisites is needed. In response, it was suggested that students receive credit for SI.

President Bangle asked the Senators to continue reading the report and come to the next Senate meeting (12/9/08) with specific recommendations from constituents.

VII. Future Agenda

• 
  Discuss General Education and Core SLOs for WVC Associate Degrees
  
• 
  Discuss EEO Plan Analysis Component
  

VIII. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 4pm. These minutes are respectfully submitted by Academic Senate Secretary Lauren Johnson.