Foothill College Academic Senate Minutes

May 10, 2004; 2:30 – 4:30 pm, Room 6712

Called to order at 2:36.

Approval of Minutes of 4/26/04: Additions were recommended for Chief Elks presentation. Minutes were approved unanimously with the addition of the comments as stated.

Consent Calendar: Jim Whearty is already serving on the Academic Integrity Committee, and replaces Sherry Manis, who left after the Fall quarter, 2003. All Senators voted unanimously for Jim Whearty to continue to serve on this committee

Election Postponement: There were no nominations for Senate offices from the floor at the candidates forum of May 5, 2004. Past practice has indicated that this qualifies as an election by acclimation, and therefore there is no need for a Senate Officer election. Paul Starer is President, Dolores Davison is Vice-President, and Maureen Mac Dougall will continue to serve the second year of her two-year post. The voting on the proposed Constitutional changes has been put to a vote to postpone voting from May 11 and 12 to May 18 and 19. The vote was unanimous to hold the Constitutional voting May 18 and 19. The ballot created by the election committee was endorsed and will serve for the voting. A sign-up sheet was circulated to staff the voting booth.

Faculty Speaker: Dolores Davison announced that biographies were received from three of the four candidates. Natalia Menendez withdrew her name due to PAA constraints. The ASFC voted on the three candidates and selected Elizabeth Barkley as the faculty speaker for this year.

Budget Update: Verley O’Neal presented that the deficit has decreased from $12M to $3M, due mainly to one time cuts. The committee has yet to make recommendations to changes in operations that would allow for ongoing cost reduction. The May 15^th budget revise will be available soon, and will allow for better planning. Between now and June 30^th, the committee will work to find ways to deal with the remaining $3M deficit. The state is correcting its failure to deal with COLA. Next year, a COLA of 2.014% has been allocated to the district, however this depends on the May 15 revise and the fact that current savings have been made by one-time cuts. There is still a pressing need to find ways to do business more efficiently to allow for ongoing savings to the budget.

Learning Outcomes: Charlotte Thunen presented on the Learning Outcome Assessment Network (LOAN) and E-Portfolios. Included in her presentation were issues relating to accreditation, 21^st Century Learning Outcomes Project, and the focus on assessing, demonstrating and increasing student learning, retention and outcomes. The Good, the Bad, and the Best Practices Series was discussed as well as the different types of E-Portfolios available, including ETUDES and Open-Source Portfolio Initiative (OSPI). Web sites were listed for all of these items. The Senate has been asked to assist in attracting volunteers to use the OSPI assessment tool and develop portfolios, obtain feedback, and provide guidance and comments. All Senators need to announce to their divisions and let Charlotte know by 5/27/04 which faculty would be interested in using OSPI in their classrooms or for their students to use.

Senate Committees: Paul Starer presented information on the status of committees that the Senate is overseeing. A clear listing was not immediately available, and some confusion exists regarding the precise status of these many committees. The Senate website was used as the main source of the committee list, and these committees need to be reviewed, consolidated, or eliminated after further investigation. Some committees are required by law, for example the Curriculum Committee, and are not subject to any revision. Paul presented a list of 63 committees and had previously notified the stated chair of each committee, inquiring about members, status, meetings, etc, and only 9 of the 63 chairs responded. There is a great need to update the list for accuracy. The list was reviewed and suggestions made, but more discussion is necessary. Some important issues regarding the committees is that service credit will only be granted if the committee is recognized and approved. Senators have been asked to take the list back to their divisions, post the list, and obtain feedback regarding the committees and present this at the next Senate meeting (May 24).

Committee Members needed: ETAC needs a representative for the Spam Committee.

The meeting adjourned at 4:30

Respectfully submitted:

Maureen Mac Dougall

Secretary/Treasurer