Faculty Meeting Minutes
October 29, 2008
SEM II A1105 - 1:00 – 3:00pm
Meeting called to order at 1:15pm
By Terry Setter – Faculty Chair
Announcements:
Terry Setter announced the Consciousness Study Group has submitted a proposal to become a planning unit. He will provide an update as this work progresses.
Peter Bohmer expressed concerns about possible violations of students’ rights following the February 15 event last winter. Particular concerns are with law enforcement, processing of public records requests and giving out student information without the students’ knowledge or consent. He thought the 2002 Patriot Act resolution Act passed by faculty should be reviewed as it set limits on records being subpoenaed. He expressed additional concerns that the police put pressure on students to pay back $11,000 in order to get their charges dropped to misdemeanor charges; about the use of tasers by Evergreen police officers; and the general arming of Evergreen police. He asked the faculty to consider what their role should be to protect students rights to speak out outside of the classroom. Terry invited faculty to send any suggestions regarding follow-up on this work to him.
Council of Faculty Representatives
Sarah Ryan, Peter Dorman, Liza Rognas
Sarah Ryan and Peter indicated that, to date, there is not an Evergreen CFR representative who will work with CFR representatives from other colleges to work together on important shared governance matters. This is an issue as the CFR representatives from other institutions will set the political and legislative agenda for faculty teaching at all of Washington’s four-year public institutions. The faculty visit legislators and lobby to encourage/discourage bills and issues. The CFR creates and shares Progress reports on what the legislators are working on and thinking about. It was indicated that the other colleges pay release time for faculty representatives to participate in this work. Liza Rognas volunteered to serve this year. A vote was taken and Liza was confirmed and thanked for her willingness to serve.
ADA Concerns – Precursor to a Resolution
Jules Unsel
Jules provided an update of the work of the ADA Compliance Committee, which was developed to address ADA physical plant issues. The Committee also developed the assistive technology subcommittee, has led campus organizing that has resulted in activities such as a wheel chair basketball fundraiser, and is working to get an area of the library designated for fire/emergency rescues. Jules also introduced two students in attendance who are active with the Barrier Breakers student group.
Jules suggested that the work of the committee should be about best practices vs. minimum requirements related to universal access. She also indicated that at a summer institute this past summer there was an institute on identity politics where they came up with some general goals to support continued work at the college. She indicated that a resolution would be presented at the November 19th faculty meeting with specific recommendations for ADA improvements. Jules ended by highlighting the assistive technology lab in the library, which has helped considerably to level the playing field for students with disabilities academically.
Extended Education
Don Bantz and Theresa Aragon
The Extended Education (EE) 3-year review was circulated prior to the faculty meeting. Don provided a brief historical context on the creation of EE, which began in response to the 2000 economic downturn to create an additional revenue stream for the college. The EE Report notes that EE will not be able to generate a revenue stream without offering credit-generating curriculum and asked the faculty to focus their discussion on EE’s role within Evergreen’s curriculum.
Theresa then provided a summary of the work of Extended Education to date and thanked the many faculty and staff who have supported this work. She suggested that being a start-up in a saturated market and with unclear expectations has made the work more difficult. Nonetheless she indicated that since the end of the first year of offerings in 2005, the courses offerings have doubled and the enrollment has tripled. This has resulted in a four-fold increase in revenue. She also suggested that EE has been used as an “incubator”, providing a venue for curricular experimentation not tied to FTE or state budget demands other than to break even or better. Examples of this type of experimentation to date include MIT professional-certification, the MPA short course series and the Seattle Central CC on-site offerings which have led to subsequent discussions about possible faculty exchanges between the two colleges. Theresa suggested there are further opportunities to partner with Evergreen faculty in other areas of the curriculum (e.g., sustainability).
Theresa followed by providing some highlights from the 3-year review:
o EE has served approximately 800 people, with 50% new to Evergreen
o Over 400 state employees have received training through EE
o Of those who entered Evergreen through EE, 36 are now matriculated students.
o Not-for-credit workshop participation has been declining as the economy has worsened.
o EE is mirroring Evening and Weekend Studies in that a lot of full-time students are taking EE courses. At other institutions, EE is designed for part-time students, personal enrichment and professional development.
o Customized workshops, which are declining as the budget worsens, and credit-bearing courses have generated the bulk of the revenue for EE.
o While the EE proposal passed by the faculty in 2004 recommends we limit the number of credits that could go toward an Evergreen degree, no limit has been set.
o Money generated from EE goes into academic reserves (to date, Theresa indicated she has only used $200,000 of the $600,000 start-up money designated).
Theresa suggested the question before the faculty at this time is whether Evergreen wants to continue to engage in for-credit coursework as part of EE. Areas of discussion included:
o Do faculty teaching EE for-credit courses write narrative evals? (Yes)
o It was recalled that, when this was considered in 2004, the award of credit was a contentious debate.
o Is EE taking away from the regular curriculum? (it was responded that EE does not change the hiring circumstances and has helped increase FTE’s for MPA and MIT programs).
o Are the same hiring standards applied? (EE faculty teaching for credit are hired on adjunct contract.)
o It was stated that the FTE generated by EE are not counted by the state (this was the primary reason MPA moved short courses into their program).
o It was clarified that financial aid does cover EE for-credit courses.
o It was suggested that faculty should discuss the value of team teaching/learning interdisciplinary experiences at Evergreen to determine what limits should be placed on EE credits counting toward Evergreen degrees.
o It was clarified that use of art studios is compensated with a per student fee.
Faculty Retreat Update
Given the retreat location change, faculty were asked to re-confirm their intention to attend with Sue Bruner at . Some retreat highlights were shared, including a presentation on the current economic bail-out and the Visual History Archive presentation. Terry also indicated a special invitation has been sent out to staff and that there will be break-outs and plenty of social time.
Collective Bargaining Agreement
Chuck Pailthorp and Walter Niemiec
Chuck and Walter indicated that a tentative agreement has been reached. They expressed that there are gains in equity, development of ideals and expectations. Chuck indicated that both sides compromised and built bridges and that it was a respectful, productive process. If approved, the agreement will be for 3 years. Salaries will increase 10 ½ %. Chuck indicated there is UFE-sponsored forum directly after the faculty meeting.
Questions were asked regarding:
o Source of the money (institutional savings/reserve, COLA that was held back during negotiations and tuition);
o Summary of major changes (reappointment and conversion, work conditions codified, RIF policy, possibility of multi-year contracts for temporary faculty , medical leave, temporary faculty compensation, good standing policy, including a need to teach first-year students)
Meeting adjourned.
Next Faculty Meeting:
November 19, SEM II A1105, 1:00 – 3:00pm