Richland College Faculty Association (FA) Meeting Minutes

Wednesday (3/7/2017) at 2:30pm in SH117

Meeting called to order – Matt Henry

Award of student scholarships

  • A $300 scholarship was awarded to six RLC students. The winners were: TemesgenZerom (winner of RLC DCC Faculty Association Endowed Scholarship), Lindsay Blair, Desmond Orgazi, MareesaZvikomborero, Hung Pham, and Truong Duong.

Approval of 2/8/2016 Minutes and 3/7/2017 Treasurer’s Report– Motion Carried

Vote on Revised Constitution and By-Laws – Motion Carried

Mentoring of New Faculty and PPI– Matt Henry

  • Previously, District Office emailed a request asking for faculty interested in mentoring new Chancellor’s Fellows. In response, Matt inquired about the need for mentors, as the Chancellor’s Fellows program has been put on hold. He also asked about compensation for the mentor training. Last year, the Pay for Performance initiative was used to compensate mentors. The District Office responded that the mentors would be needed for all new faculty, not just Chancellor’s Fellows, and that the compensation for mentors would be decided by the presidents of each college. When Matt brought this concern to Dr. Eggleston, she was amenable to the idea of using the Pay for Performance initiative to compensate mentors, but no solid answer has been determined.
  • The Mentor Training has four sessions—all to be completed in March and April.

Faculty Evaluation Task Force– Matt Henry

  • In an email sent out on 3/6/2017, Matt included documents about the Faculty Evaluation Task Force, a committee he is on to assess and revise the evaluation process for faculty (which was last revised in 1982). Matt would like faculty feedback about the current process. A few questions and concerns that were brought up include:
  • What is the difference between “meeting” expectations and “exceeding” expectations? Is there a need to differentiate? Would a pass/fail system work?
  • What is the overall purpose of the IAP? Is it evaluative or punitive? Or is it just a plan for the faculty members’ goals?
  • There is no single location where faculty’s entire contractual obligations are listed.

Other

  • There were some comments about the new Richland College website. To access the old website, use the letters “alt” at the beginning of the url: for example, or
  • District has renamed and redefined several positions, and faculty expressed concern that Instructional Associates for Labs, for instance, have been reclassified in a way that prohibits them teaching. Faculty also expressed concern that the job descriptions now require lower credentials and provide lower pay, so finding and keeping good lab associates may be more challenging. Matt explained that a lot of the changes are a result of changes in federal law. Deans can complete requests to have certain individuals or positions renamed and redefined.

The next Faculty Association meeting will be held on April 5, 2017, at 2:30.

The Faculty Association Pizza Party will be held on May 10, 2017, from 11:00-3:00.

Respectfully submitted,

Jessica Oxendine