Faculty Senate Minutes 2014-15 1

Minutes

Fort Lewis College Faculty Senate

4 February 2015, 2:30-3:30pm, 130 NobleHall

Senators present: David Blake, Nancy Cardona, Beverly Chew, Ginny Davis, Betty Dorr, Mary Ann Erickson, Kathy Fine-Dare, Michael Fry, Kris Greer, Andy Gulliford, Erik Juergensmeyer, Melissa Knight-Maloney, Justin McBrayer, Michael Martin, Carrie Meyer, Kenny Miller, Astrid Oliver, Dugald Owen, Ellen Paul, Jen Rider, Kaori Takano, Deborah Walker, Laurie Williams

Senators absent:Sandy Gilpin, TonyHolmquist

Guests: Jim Cross, Dian Jenkins, Paul McGurr, Suzanne Wilhelm

President Dugald Owen called Senate to order at 2:30 pm.

I. Announcements

A. Happy Hour with BOT next Thursday 4:30-5:30 in Berndt Hall near the President’s office.

B. Comments to Cathy Simbeck on Intellectual Property Rights Policy due today

C. Committee chairs’ annual reports due to SEC by March 31. The requirement is one page summarizing the activities and accomplishments (esp. in regard to its charge) of the year.

II. Consent items

A. Minutes of January 28 meeting—approved.

B. Course approvals (see)—To explain a question asked last time, Kris Greer explained that courses must be approved first because curriculog requires it. THEN the program itself can be approved.

III. Action items and reports

A. AAUP proposal on faculty representation on BOT subcommittees and Liaison Committee. Justin McBrayer notes that he has learned that many BoT decisions are made informally, in committee meetings; not at the BoT meetings. Andy Gulliford moved; Nancy seconded. Discussion: His proposal would help faculty get more face time with the BoT. The Liason Committee to meet separately with the Board on Thursday before their Friday meeting(s). The other part of this proposal is to get faculty representation on the other committees of the BoT. The goal is to increase communication between faculty and the Trustees. We are trying to avoid violating statutes while adding ex-officio faculty representation in BoT discussions. This would be an opportunity for faculty to get direct face time with the Board instead of having faculty concerns vetted by the administration first. It’s a way to promote a kind of understanding we do not get now. Jim Cross said that when he was on the SEC faculty put forward a list of classes the Board members could attend as guest. Jim said he believes “the more of us they get to know, the better.” Kathy Fine-Dare noted that this would be good for the faculty and good for the Board, based on recommendations of the AAUP. The BoT often uses teleconferencing which is not an effective tool for faculty to communicate with the Trustees.

Approved.

B. Student Success Collaborative report (Suzanne Wilhelm)

The SSC program has 141 schools. Suzanne noted the exciting addition to our platform about career finder, which provides information in real time. SoBA is piloting a new advising model that turns faculty into mentors only and lets the SSC takes over advising of the major. This is a new kind of “everyday advising” that is more intrusive than current methods. The dedicated consultant will be here in early March to conduct trainings and show off the platform. One of them will occur on Wednesday March 4 at 8:15.

Kenny Miller asked how expansive might the new advising be—will it expand next year? Suzanne is not sure about the future. Information is being collected about the students and whether student needs are being met through the Student Success Center. David Blake asked about the faculty tenure track lines impacted by the additional hires required if the SSC spreads to other schools and departments. Optimally, each advisor works with 250 students.

C. Resolution on Accessible Instructional Materials (Sarah Roberts-Cady, Dian Jenkins)

Dian Jenkins explained the background of the Disabilities Services Office. She used to have 50 students; now there are 200. Sarah noted that the proposal is for Senate to make clear that we faculty support the ADA law and our students; the law already requires us all to support the ADA. Sarah said that scanned PDFs are not automatically convertible to screen readers, but PDFs can be made accessible, but she hadn’t even asked the question. She also said that one textbook web site that she required students to use was not useable to screen readers. She said that she hadn’t been asking the right questions. We have a legal obligation to make our classrooms accessible. This resolution asks for administrative support for our efforts to create universally accessible classrooms. Carrie Meyer urged a more proactive stance to meet the needs of all students and she noted that many of these changes benefit students who might not even know they needed it. Carrie motioned to approve; Beverly Chew seconded. Approved, one abstention.

Justin Motioned to adjourn; everybody seconded. Meeting adjourned at 3:23.

-elp