Board of Trustees

Academic Senate President’s Report

A word version of this report can be found here.
Meetings

I wanted to share a unique experience I had at the Basic Skills Initiative Committee meeting. In conjunction with the transition to written proposals and data driven decisions that I reported on in the past, this committee has done something that I haven’t seen in my tenure here at Solano Community College. They were presented with an open and transparent accountability of their available funds and participated in a frank dialogue about how to administer those monies. In speaking with Josh Stein, the BSI Coordinator, he mentioned that this kind of dialogue can be attributed to the leadership of our VPAA Robin Steinback. As Senate President, I am grateful for this kind of collaborative efforts between Faculty and Administration. I am hopeful that this notion of presenting faculty with adequate financial data to make informed decisions will spread to other committees and decision making across campus.

In the same spirit of open dialogue, I wanted to comment that I also had a chance to meet with our new Interim Superintendent/ President Lisa Waits after our last SGC meeting. I am encouraged by her willingness to maintain the standing meeting between the Senate President and her office. I look forward to more conversations in the future.

Regular Senate Business

Reports
VPAA Steinback reported to the Senate information about the accreditation document and the next steps in the accreditation process. I’m sure that we are all anxiously awaiting the ACCJC visit on or before December 14th. Additionally, she reported that one of the benefits of changing over to Banner is now being able to manage carrying over a maximum student debt of $400. This has a very positive impact on our online and hybrid students. In the past, students who had any debt would be dropped from our eCollege classes. Now, this is not the case.

Curriculum Committee Chair Erin Farmer discussed her plans for the committee this semester, ”life after Accreditation” as it were. We can look forward to a new curriculum procedures handbook, workshops on Curricunet, and a report to the Senate on information regarding curricular processes for Job Certification and CTE.

Information/ Discussion Items

Brad Paschal, the Learning Communities Coordinator presented a proposal for Learning Committees to become a Standing Committee of the Academic Senate: As I’m sure the Board knows there are six standing committees:

· Accreditation and Student Learning Outcomes Committee
· Basic Skills Initiative Committee
· Curriculum Committee
· Distance Education Committee
· Flexible Calendar Committee
· Study Abroad Committee

By becoming a Standing Committee of the Senate, Learning Communities would be afforded broader campus input and buy-in on its initiatives, a formalized mechanism to maintain records and accountability of its actions, and a higher level of integration into the overall goals and objectives of the College. Because of the strong history at Solano College for Learning Communities, the Senate enthusiastically received this request. We will vote on its formation at our next regular meeting. The report that Brad presented can be found here.

Progress on Goals

Accreditation and SLO Committee. Initially, this committee was created and based on the State Academic Senate that combines accreditation and SLOs. Locally at SCC, we are contemplating separating these two entities. Not because they are not related, but rather because for now they have two distinct goals and are at different levels of implementation. The Senate has decided that our first step should be to create an Ad Hoc committee that will establish a plan to move forward with our accreditation process. Senators have entrusted me with the task of forming this first group and I’ve communicated with faculty who I believe might have something to contribute to the Accreditation and SLO Committee. At first blush, the committee should have a membership that very closely mimics that of the Shared Governance Council. We also recognize the need for training on Standards, improved outreach to constituent groups, folding accreditation concerns into Division meetings, and a closer alliance between narrative and evidence.

Update By-Laws: Proportional Representation. After some discussion on the current state of our constitution and proportional representation to the Senate, our At-large Senator Jeanette McCarthy and the Senator from Math and Science, Susanna Crawford agreed to spearhead this Senate goal. The constitution and proportional representation docs are available.

5000 and 6000 Policy Review. The Senate agreed with and applauded VPAA Steinback’s idea of jointly reviewing these policies. We have decided to go over them gradually between now and March and eagerly await the first batch of policies from VPAA Steinback’s office.

Action Items
The Senate voted to establish an Institutional Review Board. Rob Simas and those faculty who volunteered to participate in this group have been notified. I am confident that in short order the Board will have specific policies for their review.