Fall 2015 FLEX Day Biology Department Meeting Minutes

A meeting of the CCSF Biology Dept. took place on August 14, 2015 in S300

In attendance were: Raymond White, Sheri Miraglia, Shannon Nixon, James Grass, Ben Machado, Ying Liu, Edie Kaeuper, Elaine Johnson, Christina Sullivan, M.M. Carrasco-Reyes, Lisa DiGirolamo, Peggy Lopipero-Langmo, Joesph Cannon, Laura Branagan, John Tarpey, Steven Kessler, Calvin Hom, Mike Guthrie, Trinh Tran, YenKuang HO, SusmitiaSengupta, Eliza Woo, Dean Lauritzen, Larry Pong, Michael Malachowski, Susan Akana, Carole Toebe, Niccolocaldararo, Jimmy Lim, AriadnaBogatsky, Matthew Schweitzer,

This departmental meeting will pay close attention to the need for faculty to engage and communicate more inside and outside the department.

  • New chancellor pulled bio off the reorganization plan. Applause!!! We are one department!
  • Challenge: logic for reorg plan is that we are too big and cannot run efficiently. Simon has fought to keep us as one department. The department is bigger than many colleges – this allows us (faculty) to hide and do what we do but not participate in other departmental needs.

We all need to reflect on how we individually are stepping up to support this department so that it all doesn’t fall to the department chair.

As example: taking minutes of departmental meetings and review by faculty of minutes. Is this needed? Little response to question. Minutes are ratified from last departmental meeting and Shannon Nixon and Joe Reyes reporting minutes for Fall 2015 departmental meeting.

We need to take minutes at each meeting (not just department meetings – each meeting!) and post on faculty resources site. Use as evidence that we meet, what we discuss.

CCSF SLO

  • Sheri – CCSF SLO coordinator “in training” - been working with K. Weiss who has taken CurricUNET software and built something that can collect disaggregated data for each student in each class at the college.

Match disaggregated SLO data with ARGOS data to draw conclusions about how different student groups (gender, day/evening, etc.) perform on SLOs. Use information to pick different areas to focus on.

Everyone should be thinking about SLO data from spring in the context of ARGOS data to hopefully help pull something together for the program review.

In order to meet CQI of one year, need disaggregated data from spring, plan for improvements in fall, make improvements and implement into program review.

We need to map our course SLO’s to program and institutional SLO’s.

“Notes” within course level SLO reports are helpful for this. Input data into CurricUNET anytime! Don’t need to wait for deadline at end of semester.

We can all use our experiences, in and out of the classroom, to report to each other our approaches to close achievement gaps (as identified by CurricUNET/ARGOS match). Implement into program review.

Outcomes versus objectives – objectives are what you plan for the students to learn, outcomes is whether the students learned the objectives. Outcomes go in syllabus, course outline, CurricUNET.

New Business:

  • Simon - Every instructor must submit syllabus to Simon and Carolyn! Must have current version on file with the Bio Department!
  • Welcome back Ying Liu and welcome Linda McPheron to the department – emergency hires to teach Bio 9.
  • Because of more recent needs (faculty-wise) within the department we have had to initiate two emergency hiring’s. This pushes to the forefront a discussion on “What are our faculty needs as a department?”
  • This is part of the ongoing “Program Review”. (see discussion below)

Program Review

  • Look at program review from last year and start there to put together next program review.
  • As a department, we need more participation from faculty in the development of the Program Review.
  • Program review:Last year #1 request was increase budget for supplies. Supply budget usually $42,000, this year $144,000 in (from lottery money to be used for supplies and equipment consumed in the classroom*). We will be asked how we use the $144,000 and what improvements did we make. We need help from faculty to construct this justification. *Trying to shift $ that is not restricted to cover other costs (replacing skeletons, getting whiteboards.).

$144,000 guaranteed for 3 years – where do we want to spend, justify and assess our needs (through the Program Review).

We need input from different divisions and faculty for the program review.Wish list on faculty resources page. Not a guarantee but helps us make argument to keep getting the money.

Currently, we have purchased:

New binocular microscopes?. iClickers on wishlist. Nick ordered 200 iClickers but no base units (bc not on wishlist). How will we organize the iclickers?

Don’t just ask for stuff, support assessment efforts, support Nick in protect/sharing the resource,…Program review should become interative year-to-year.

  • Please Read (previous Program Review to make sure you know what we have previous stated) the material on the website and HELP with this Review!!!
  • Other request: upgrade TIA at mission to full time. (not granted yet).
  • Faculty replacements. 1 faculty position designated for nutrition not completed due to small applicant pool. Reopening this spring.

2 additional FPAC positions – chancellor said start the process to hire for 2 positions and get it done by spring.

“What are our faculty needs as a department?” How do we express this in the Program Review?

We need input from the department about what our needs are!!!

This is related to our enrollment. Enrollment July 6? college 30%, bio at 65% (we were almost at 100% by august until students were dropped for nonpayment).

If the students come back then the college will probably put resources here (based on the fact that they have approved hiring, resources for us even during low enrollment – we are important and have done a good job in low enrollment times). If students go away then we want to protect the people we have hired.

Increase lab factor (no progress).

Scantron for SLOs in dean’s office.

A discussion group was suggested and called for a department wide discussion about enrollment. All disciplines matter, not just each individual’s class. (Joe Reyes called for and will chair discussion)

Courses that align with transfer curriculum have the best enrollment. Making an academic pathway is only as good as the students in that pathway.

Get your schedule preference forms in next week. Be prepared to be flexible for the spring. Contingent schedules, not necessarily locked in.

Pride of Space Committee:

  • Joe Cannon – POS committee met last semester. Lots of stuff getting dusty and old needs upgrading. Great way to promote your class. Talk to joe about getting a space, upgrading your space. Faculty, honor students can help update boards.

Biology Resources Center:

  • Matt Schweitzer– BRC – working with other offices on campus to get bio tutors here instead of library to get them more accessible to our students. Need more computer access in that room. Anyone with “ins” for new/used equipment? Need staff volunteers to help keep it open. If you have time to spare then please contact Matt. Please schedule your office hours in there.

Specimen/Greenhouse committees – no updates.

Past Practices need to be visited:

  • Past-practice – release units for coordinating labs, etc.

Now, more responsibilities with those release units.

If you are a coordinator, Simon needs to know what actions and work being are done for your release units – should go into Program Review to ask for more units.

Chair NEEDS documentation of what coordinators are doing. Each unit – 17.5 hours expected work. (worksheet available at meeting and from Simon)

Faculty should communicate with coordinator, coordinator should communicate with Simon.

Dean Yee Visit:

Dean Yee – continue your work!  He’s trying to help workload: Dean’s office will make copies for you – student workers. Got new scantron machine for school of science and math with software to do electronic grading. Intent to help with slos; can use scantron, office will run for you, give you excel spreadsheet with data. Pilot this semester with some sections. Downstairs in front of office , 2 monitors mounted 8 feet to make school of science and math announcements. Let Simon know what you’d like to announce (scholarships, for example)– high traffic.

Program review – please put everything that you think may be needed, anything, if in program review then more potential to get. Put it in even if in doubt so resources can be allocated to needed areas.

Anatomy and elevator upgrades stalled until building is brought up to code.

Classroom whiteboards were in program review – not given; may initiate a multi-year project to incorporate into one classroom at a time.

David purchased 2 high velocity fans for S136 meant to blow between classes to move air (too loud for in class) report to him how well they work and he may buy more for S100.

Continuation of Departmental Curriculum Issues:

  • Unanimous decision to continue change of all prefixes to BIO – Simon and Crima submitted initial changes. Any courses that have not been updated in 6 years are inactive (already) and will be dropped from catalog (new).

Scholarship Committee:

  • Scholarships were not submitted. Someone in department needs to take over this responsibility – this is not the department chair’s responsibility.

Department Chair Elections:

  • New department chair starting Fall 2016, should first have a discussion about who is willing.

Simon would like to see role of department chair shifted to share more of the responsibilities among us all.

Carole suggested meeting before elections to make sure job duties are clear.

Who is willing to be department chair?!

Joe Reyes indicated that he is willing.

All full time faculty are encouraged to consider whether they are willing (experience at college and time here considered bonuses) and also to recognize our responsibility to the department and to take chair duties at some point in their time here.

Simon will make available manuscript on duties of the Dept. Chair to all Faculty for review. Please take time to READ!!!

Future meeting, using information taken from “Dept. Chair Duties”, to be scheduled for discussion of candidates and position. This will occur before election in October.