Ventura College Academic Senate
Minutes
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Campus Center Conference Room

I.	Call to Order
This meeting was called to order at 1:33 p.m. The following senate members were present:

Arquilevich, Gabriel – Communication & Learning Resources
Aubry, Michael – Career & Technical Education
Corbett, P. Scott – Social Sciences & Humanities 
Hagerman, Michelle – Math & Sciences
Haines, Robert – Math & Sciences
Hendricks, Bill - Social Sciences & Humanities
Lange, Cari – Senate Secretary
Mitchell, Nancy Rae - Career & Technical Education 
Morris, Terry – Health, Physical Education and Athletics
Munoz, Paula - Student Services
Pauley, Mark – Senate Treasurer
Pollack, Deborah - Senate Vice-president
Schoenrock, Kathryn – Communication & Learning Resources

The following guests were present:
Calote, Robin – President
Lall, Sumita - Communication & Learning Resources
Martin, Rebecca – student rep
Tennen, Elaine – Health Services
Untalan, Heather – asst Dean, Distant Education

II.	Approval of minutes
a.	Motion to approve last meeting’s minutes was made by Arquilevich, and seconded by Pauley. Motion was approved 9-0-3 with Munoz, Hendricks, and Corbett abstaining.

III.	Guests
a.	Robin Calote – Time Certain: 1:35 pm (15 minutes)
Dr. Calote was present to conduct a Q and A “rumor busting” session and to address general concerns. She informed the Senate of  major administrative changes, and followed up with the same information in an all users group email:

“Several administrative changes are in the works that I need to bring to your attention.  Most of the information in this e-mail has already been shared with the departments and divisions that will be directly impacted.  Still, given the number of changes occurring almost concurrently, I thought it was important to give the whole campus an overview of what is going on:
 
Robert Taylor will be transferring to Oxnard College at the end of December 2009 to fill an administrative need at that institution.  As part of the budget savings that will be needed to get Ventura College through the next fiscal year, we will not be replacing this position.  Instead, we will be asking two existing Assistant Deans, Jerry Mortensen and Karen Gorback, to share the responsibilities for this division.  Jerry will be handling criminal justice, nursing, EMT/paramedic, auto, construction, drafting, manufacturing, welding, water science, and other occupational areas.  Karen will be handling accounting, business, office skills and (eventually) child development, the foster care program, and the Child Development Center.  Karen will also retain her supervision of the Community Services program.
 
Kay Faulconer Boger has recently indicated her intent to retire in June 2010.   Until then, she will be managing her Ventura College division and bringing closure to a number of projects.  Administrative oversight of the Alternate Text Production Center and the East Campus will eventually be reassigned to remaining administrators after we have had more time to consider the balance of workload issues.  The budget savings from this retirement will also be used toward the cuts that will be needed to get through the 2010-2011 academic year.
 
Heather Untalan will be leaving the Ventura College Distance Education program in early January 2010 to work for Lynda.com, a locally-based online software training company.   The implications of this upcoming vacancy have yet to be determined, and additional discussions are needed with the District IT Office before we will know how to proceed.  Meanwhile, Instructional Technical Support Assistant Krista Wilbur will still be on hand to help get the spring 2010 semester started for online classes.
 
Alex Miranda will be leaving the college and his position as Dean of Social Science & Humanities at the end of November 2009.   While we had initially thought we might save this salary by dividing the departments from this division among the remaining administrators, it soon became obvious that we were running short of places where additional assignments could be absorbed.  Thus we will be advertising for a permanent replacement for this position.  While we go through the hiring process, Diane Moore (retired VC Dean of Communication & Learning Resources) has agreed to cover the position on an interim basis.”

	In response to other questions and general concerns, the President informed us that we cannot anticipate as of yet what the cuts to the general fund will be for next year. She confirmed that the exercise of defining what is “core” to our college was a valuable activity, as some colleges are cutting elective courses, but we will be working to keep what we defined as “core”. The President acknowledged the work of the Program Review and Staffing Priorities Committees. She confirmed that Ventura College needs to hire in order to meet the full time obligation and that all retirees should be replaced, likely within the corresponding discipline. 
	To address the issue of categorical funding, President Calote confirmed that funding there has significantly decreased and as such, categorical programs are slowly being moved over into the general fund.  She will charge the Student Service programs with the task of developing a plan of bringing all of their areas together into a general, all encompassing program. By absorbing categorical into the general fund, we will be moving farther away from our full time obligation, therefore, the President believes there will be more room for faculty growth positions in the near future. 

IV.	Discussion Items
a.	Distance Education Faculty Handbook & Rubric for Excellent Online Courses
	Heather Untalan was present to inform us that in order to assist instructors with the development of a distant education course, she developed a Distant Education Handbook. She asked that the senate reviews, discusses, and approves the handbook and accompanying rubrics as a tool for faculty usage. We agreed. The documents will be reviewed at the next Senate meeting on Dec. 3, 2009 as an action item. 
	Untalan then addressed general questions. No final word has been given in regard to the possible centralization of IT to the district offices. Untalan stated that distant education course student cap numbers are determined by the individual deans, but the agreed upon maximum is no more than the capacity of the largest classroom on the VC main campus (125 students).

b.	Anti-Smoking Policy at VC
	Elaine Tennen spoke to the Senate about forming a committee to aid in the establishment of a smoke free campus, where all smoking must occur within designated areas around campus and in the parking lots. Our facilities oversight group has already approved the formation of this committee. The smoke free campus campaign was raised in 2005, but it was seen as an AFT work condition issue. Now the AFT has changed its’ policies and several campuses, including Moorpark, have adopted a similar smoke free policy. Tennen also informed us that our campus has free smoking cessation programs and support available. Ventura College would not therefore be marginalizing smokers, but rather would be helping to create a healthier campus environment. 
	The Senators agreed to speak to their respected divisions about the formation of such a committee looking to develop a smoke free campus program. This issue will be addressed as an action item during the next Senate meeting.

V.	Action Items
a.	AP 5701 –  Athletics Programs (Second Reading) 
	Motion to approve this version of Academic Procedure 5701 was made by Corbett and seconded by Morris. Motion unanimously passed.

b.	AP 55XX – Enrollment Priorities (First Reading)
	The Senate was asked in general if they approve of the proposed concept of an upper end unit constraint to enrollment priority. Concern centers around cohort groups, high unit majors such as nursing, and students that require remediation courses may be inadvertently shut out of classes due to an upper end priority constraint. After some preliminary discussions, it was agreed that this issue is perhaps more complicated than it appeared on first blush. The Senate will request Susan Bricker and a representative from counseling to be present at the next senate meeting to help address the logistical questions surrounding this academic procedure. 

c.	AP 4235 – Credit by Exam (First Reading)
	This item will appear as an action item during the next Senate meeting.

d.	AP 7367 – Employee Rehiring Prohibition (First Reading)
	This item will appear as an action item during the next Senate meeting.

e.	AP 7120-C – Recruitment and Hiring – Chancellor (First Reading)
	No information was available at this time on this item. It may appear as an action item during the next Senate meeting.

VI.	Information Items
	There were no additional general informational items at this time. 

VII.	President’s Report
a.	Administrative Council report 
	Due to Sezzi’s other committee obligations, he was unavailable to report on Admin Council at this time.

b.	DCHR, DCSL, DTRW, DCAS, DAWC
i.	DSCL: FERPA letter
	Information on this item will be presented during the next Senate meeting.

ii.	DCHR: AP 7211 – Minimum Qualifications and Equivalencies
	Our suggestions and revisions to this academic procedure passed.

iii.	DCHR: BP 7205 – Employee Code of Ethics
	In response to the Senate moving to accept the AAUP statement of Ethics as our employee code of ethics, the Chancellor reported that the district would like us to have one unifying statement that applied to all employees. To do this, Sezzi suggests that we form a task force.
1.	Task Force membership (1 faculty from each campus)
	Senators were asked to solicit the names of interested individuals. Information on this will be presented during the next Senate meeting.

VIII.	Vice-President’s Report

IX.	Treasurer’s Report
a.	December Dues Drive

X.	Campus Committee reports
a.	Staffing Priorities Committee report – Becky Hull, Chair 
	Becky Hull presented the Senate with the Staffing Priorities Committee results and justifications:
“Nov. 19, 2009    
Staffing Priorities Committee 
PRIORITY LIST  - Rationale 

Background:  8 presentations were made to the SPC on Nov. 13th.  As colleagues, it is difficult to hear peers’ program needs, while all the time knowing that only a few may possibly get a faculty position.  The list below is presented in PRIORITY ORDER and was supported and voted on by the SPC.  We encourage the Academic Senate Council to support our recommendations.

#1	ART – 3D/Sculpture/Ceramics
•	Currently has no fulltime faculty in this area
•	Safety issues of primary concern, especially with the supervision and management of 2 studios
•	Has been following the college attitude of “doing more with less” but has finally reached a point where it can’t be done anymore
•	Has 14.5 FTEF in this area
•	Very difficult to find local qualified adjunct faculty
•	Has expensive equipment in place for classes but no faculty who know how to use it
•	Was a top position last year and went unfilled after the President level interviews
•	Department has had 3 recent retirements with no replacements

#2	MUSIC
•	Despite limited faculty and cancelled classes, the department continues to offer a comprehensive program BUT quality will diminish at this pace
•	The program services more than the needs of our students - - it is a part of the greater community (local, county, state, and national)
•	Annually performs to more than 20,000 community members
•	Has 1,400 student headcount with only 2 fulltime faculty and 23 adjunct faculty
•	VC’s Music Program is most influential within music and cultural circles in the community
•	Has been one of the top prioritized positions from SPC over the last few years

#3	LEARNING DISABILITIES SPECIALIST
•	This is an instructional position
•	Class offerings are down due to the impact of the recent reorganization of EAC
•	Serves as a resource to the entire campus, not just the EAC and its students, and is a liaison with Nursing, Math, English, ESL, and Basic Skills for core curriculum
•	Currently 1 LD Specialist and this is the 5th consecutive year presenting/requesting a 2nd LD Specialist (note: Moorpark has 3 and Oxnard has 2)
•	Program has received state and national recognition
•	Students in the program have a higher graduation rate than the campus at-large
•	“universal design of learning” is going to be promoted with this position

#4	DANCE
•	Has had no fulltime faculty in the program for over 30 years (possibly more)
•	Current part-time faculty all have fulltime jobs; only 1 dance class offered during traditional “daytime” hours
•	Other institutions of similar size have full departments with several fulltime faculty
•	Local University of California offers a full Dance Program; VC has strong articulation for transfer opportunities to this and other universities throughout the state and U.S.
•	Has close to 80% retention rate
•	Part-time faculty continue to present stellar dance concerts each semester
•	Program is well-received and supported within the community’s cultural arts arena
•	Last year had a hiring process “pulled” by the President

#5	CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant)
•	This part of the Nursing Program has never had fulltime faculty
•	May possible be losing 2 current part-time CNA faculty
•	Course offerings depend on availability of part-time faculty; have offered classes for 75 to 120 students (60 students per lecture and 1:15 ratio in lab per state mandate)
•	CNA certification is a requirement for admission application process for VC’s ADN (Nursing-RN) Program
•	Course offerings in high demand!
Note: On Nov. 3rd (the first day to submit completed CNA applications) custodial staff noted that students were in line at 2:15 a.m. By 7:05 a.m. department staff had applications and a list with 106 names on it for 90 slots for Spring’10
•	Qualified CNA part-time faculty more difficult to find than Nursing faculty due to state requirements above minimum quals
•	95% of CNA students pass the State CNA Certification Test after first attempt

in Alpha-order:	
#6	Counseling
	English
	Math

STAFFING  PRIORITIES  COMMITTEE  MEMBERS  2009:
Becky Hull 	      	Past Academic Senate President  (Chair)
Peter Sezzi 	      	Academic Senate President                            
Deborah Pollack     	Academic Senate Vice-President
Mark Pauley            	Academic Senate Treasurer
Cari Lange               	Academic Senate Secretary 
Steve Turner           	General Education                                      
Sumita Lall                 	General Education                                        
Ted Prell                      Voc/Tech                                                    
David Farris                 Student Services                                         
Patty Wendt                 At Large                                                     
Kammy Algiers            At Large “

	Senate round table discussion centered on the concern that CNA, a highly impacted required pre-nursing program did not get ranked higher.
	Morris motioned to approve the Staffing Priorities Committee’s recommendations to the President’s office. Haines seconded the motion. The motion carried 9-1-1, with Lange opposing and Haines abstaining. 

b.	Program Review Committee report
	See above.

c.	Curriculum Committee report
	There was a subcommittee formed to look at why our students aren’t completing degrees at a higher rate and to see what degrees are being awarded. This committee may address the issue of revising certain degree programs to make them more compatible with GE requirements.  

d.	Faculty Professional Development Committee report
	There was no additional information at this time.

e.	Core College Design Team report
	The CCDT is currently review, and making reduction suggestions for the District Office’s budget. 

f.	Sabbatical Leaves Committee report
	The committee will review four sabbatical proposals for 2010-2011.

XI.	Adjournment
	The meeting was adjourned at 3:05 p.m.