Faculty Senate Chair-Elect: John Adlish. Executive Committee member, Professional Standards Interim Committee Chair: Greg Ellis

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1 Faculty Senate FACULTY SENATE MEETING MINUTES March 28, 2014 Faculty Senate Chair: Ron Marston Executive Committee member, Salary, Benefits and Budgetary Concerns Committee Chair: Steve Bale Codes & Bylaws Committee Chair: Bridgett Blaque Recognition & Activities Committee Chair: Erin Frock Senator for Applied Industrial Technology: Michael Holmes Senator for At-Large: Jay Jorgenson Senator for Biology: Jim Collier Senator for School of Business: Nancy O Neal Senator for English: Robin Griffin Senator for Humanities: Carlo Ferguson-McIntyre Senator for Physical Science: Jeff Brasel Senator for Social Sciences: John Coles Faculty Senate Chair-Elect: John Adlish Executive Committee member, Professional Standards Interim Committee Chair: Greg Ellis Library Committee Chair: Tom Kearns Senator for Allied Health: Julie Muhle Senator for Applied Industrial Technology: Brian Ruf Senator for At-Large: Tom Kearns Senator for Biology: Dan Williams Senator for Computer Technology: Steve Bale Senator for English: Molly Lingenfelter Senator for Math: Maria Arrigotti Senator for Physical Science: Bronwen Owen-Haugland Senator for Visual & Performing Arts: Dan Bouweraerts Executive Committee member, Curriculum, Assessment & Programs Committee Chair: Melanie Purdy Executive Committee member, Student Learning Outcomes & Assessment Committee Chair: Bridgett Blaque Part-Time Issues Committee Chair: Molly Lingenfelter Senator for Allied Health: Patti Sanford Senator for At-Large: Tommy Guy Senator for At-Large: Melanie Purdy Senator for School of Business: Robert Kirchman Senator for Computer Technology: Judy Fredrickson Senator for Humanities: Dianne Cheseldine Senator for Math: Shannon McCool Senator for History, Political Science & Law: None Senator for Visual & Performing Arts: Brian Wells Absent: Dianne Cheseldine (her proxy was Carlo Ferguson-McIntyre), Erin Frock (her proxy was Sandra Martinez) Guests: Lee Bale, Max Hershenow (H&K Architects), Lee Murray (H&K Architects), Stephanie Prevost, Dave Roberts (Facilities), Dr. Rachel Solemsaas The meeting was called to order at 12:33 p.m. Faculty Senate Chair Marston: Please be sure to sign in (Exhibit A) Approval of the Meeting Agenda (Exhibit B) Motion: To approve the meeting agenda for 3/28/14 as submitted. Page 1 of 8; Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes March 28, 2014

2 Movant: NA Second: NA Vote: Passed unanimously Approval of Meeting Minutes from February 21, 2013 (Exhibit C) Motion: To approve the Faculty Senate meeting minutes from February 21, 2013, as submitted. Movant: NA Second: NA Vote: Passed unanimously Facilities Master Plan Update Dave Roberts, Director of Facilities Thank you to Max Hershenow and Lee Murray of H&K Architects for attending our meeting to provide an overview of the Master Plan s progress to date. In September 2013, the architects presented Phase I of the plan. Since that time, they have received a lot of feedback and refined our plan. They are now working on Phase II, which consists of pedestrian and vehicular circulation at each of our sites. This includes improved parking capacity and quality, improved pedestrian access, striping and lighting. The architects discussed a number of projects that would impact Dandini, Meadowood, and Edison campuses. This would include the augmentation of the current student center with a second floor events center. The Red Mountain building would have a new entrance on the north side, which would incorporate an enhanced lobby and upgraded elevator. A Dandini Learning Center would have a door leading out to the quad. The current student center and library would one day be connected. A new fine arts center, with more seating capacity, would be built south of the Sierra building. No review of RPAC or Redfield campuses was offered at this time. All projects are subject to TMCC finding the appropriate funding. Numerous open forums have been offered for faculty and staff to ask questions and voice comments. Another open forum was scheduled for today, March 28 th, 9 am to 12 pm in SIER 100. Report of Faculty Senate Chair Ron Marston Merit Pay Policy Update The President has signed off on the Senate s motion to approve the Merit Pay Policy. This policy is now before the President s Advisory Committee for a fast track approval on April 14 th. We do not currently anticipate any changes to the policy. Academic Faculty Annual Evaluation Criteria Drafts (Exhibits D & E) In accordance with the new Merit Pay Policy, the Professional Standards Committee has been reviewing and discussing changes to the Academic Faculty Annual Evaluation criteria. There are two plans being reviewed. Currently, the Professional Standards Committee prefers Version A, but will be looking more closely at Version B at their next meeting on April 4 th. In order to receive more feedback from faculty members, the Senators were asked to take these two plans back to their constituents, discuss them, and report any questions, concerns, recommendations or comments to Chair Marston or Chair Ellis. Additionally, all Academic Faculty are encouraged to attend the Professional Standards meeting on April 4 th to participate in the discussions. Chair Marston noted that, once the faculty determines which plan they prefer, it will still need to be approved by the VPAA and President. He has already met with the VPAA and Dean s earlier this week, to obtain feedback and make them aware of what we are planning. They are generally supportive of both plans, but they generally prefer something that allows for some qualitative measures, such as what is included in Version B. For the time being, the appeals process for both the Academic and Administrative Faculty evaluation tools will still be contained in Article 13 of the NFA Contract. We are hoping to have this process revised by the end of this semester. Administrative Faculty Annual Evaluation Form A A subcommittee of Administrative Faculty has been established to review their Annual Evaluation Form A and make necessary changes per the dictates of the Merit Page 2 of 8; Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes March 28, 2014

3 Pay Policy. The committee is chaired by Michelle Noel and has been meeting regularly to discuss revisions. They have stoically performed detailed and outstanding work on this evaluation tool and plan to bring forward a draft for approval by the Senate at our meeting on April 18 th. Salary Equity Study The Compensation Equity Committee has almost completed its work and is now making a recommendation to the President on how to implement the equity adjustment. The funds have been found to fully fund the proposed equity adjustment without using Summer School monies. Many thanks to Dr. Solemsaas for advocating for faculty and working hard to help with this process. A final decision should be made by mid-april, at which time more information will be released and people will be notified as to whether their salary will be adjusted. This should allow us to hire new faculty at a competitive salary level. This is pending the President s final approval, but it was noted that Dr. Sheehan reported in her President s Update video, which she sent out to all mailboxes earlier this week on March 24 th, that her goal is for full implementation by July. This is a very positive statement. There will also be an appeals process included in the plan. Strategic Master Plan We are updating our Strategic Master Plan through the Planning and Resource Allocation Council (PRAC). This is a main component of our Mission Statement, which has also been slightly revised several years ago under Dr. John Tuthill. Maria Arrigotti, Julie Muhle, and Chair Marston are currently serving on this committee, which is directed by Dr. Solemsaas. Chair Marston encouraged everyone to review the draft plans and attend the open forums and offer feedback on: Wednesday, April 16 th, 11 am to 12 pm in SIER 108 Thursday, April 17 th, 3-4 pm in RDMT 256 Senate Bill 391 Two subcommittees are currently researching for the Study on Community College Governance. For the most part, these meetings have been informational. On March 12 th, President Sheehan, Jim New, and Kyle Dalpe presented to the Subcommittee on Academic and Workforce Alignment a variety of examples in response to the question of business needs. Several entities included testimony related to the responsiveness of TMCC to the community. These subcommittees are looking at possibly moving the four community colleges out of the Nevada System of Higher Education and putting them under the purview of the Department of Education. This change could dramatically impact our established transfer policies, various agreements we currently have in place with the university, mismatched funding priorities between the colleges and universities, and various other processes. Chair Marston suggested that the Senate pass a resolution outlining our position on this issue, which we can then share with the Chancellor and Board of Regents. SGA President Stephanie Prevost indicated that the students are against this action. It was suggested that a resolution come forward from the SGA to state their position on the change. President Prevost agreed to create a resolution from the SGA, which can also be forwarded on to the Board of Regents. Resolution: That the Faculty Senate of Truckee Meadows Community College affirms its desire for TMCC to remain a part of the Nevada System of Higher Education and be funded along with the other NSHE institutions. Movant: Steve Bale Second: Maria Arrigotti Vote: Passed unanimously Chair Marston will draft a list of reasons why we wish to remain under the purview of NSHE, to accompany the above resolution. Four-Year Degrees at TMCC We are looking at what it might take for our institution to offer four-year degrees. The President and VPAA are on board with this decision. The soonest we might be able to begin offering bachelor degrees would be Fall We do not yet know all the ramifications for this change, including a possible change to the name of our college. Report of Faculty Senate Chair-Elect John Adlish Administrative Evaluations Chair-Elect Adlish still needs people willing to serve on the Administrative Evaluations Committee to put together a process for the evaluation of our Deans. If you or someone else is interested in serving, please contact him. Page 3 of 8; Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes March 28, 2014

4 Consent Agenda (ACTION) (Exhibit F) Motion: To approve the Consent Agenda as submitted. Movant: NA Second: NA Vote: Passed unanimously Committee Reports: Curriculum, Assessment & Programs Committee Melanie Purdy, Chair The committee last met on 2/14/14. BAS Four-Year Degrees The committee is working with Dr. Lance Bowen to review NSHE Code guidelines and other state models to create the documents to help facilitate the creation of these degrees. Considerations will also include embedding within the courses and how to clarify the various requirements. Accreditation is also an issue that must be considered. This can be very exciting for our students. Chair Purdy pointed out that she had been told the degrees would be implemented in Fall Embedding of Courses We have included guidelines for this process on the CAP resource page online. It provides step-by-step instructions for Option A, which is equal hours. If you have forty-five hours of a math course you want to embed, how to technically accomplish that within the MCOs and Certificates. The committee is still working on Option B, which probably will not be as powerful in the sense that people would track the progress of the student, identify specific courses where they will receive their curriculum, and have the same pre-imposed measures for all three courses to demonstrate student competency towards the outcomes, etc. General Education Courses If any department still has established General Education courses, the Department Chairs need to resubmit each one of them, to ensure they meet the new requirements. We want to take care of this now rather than delaying and endangering their qualification as a General Education course. As a reminder to the Departments, Chair Purdy has a list of all the courses that have not yet been re-approved, which she will be sending out in April. The link to view current master course outlines, degrees, emphasis and certificates is now listed as Academics Data. Check it out at: Recognition and Activities Committee Erin Frock, Chair (proxy Sandra Martinez) The committee last met on 3/6/14. Distinguished Faculty Awards Nominations The selection committee has been reviewing the nomination materials and finalists have been chosen. Observations and interviews will begin in April. Professional of the Month Award We are happy to announce that our March recipient is Frank Testa (Media Services). Congratulations! NSHE Regents Awards Congratulations to Erika Bein (English) for being awarded the Regents Academic Advisor Award. Only one community college faculty member statewide is awarded this honor. This award carries with it a cash stipend of $5,000. Well done! Commencement Commencement will be held at the Grand Sierra Resort this year on Friday, May 23 rd at 10 am. Chair Frock spoke to Karen Magstadt, the Commencement Committee Chair, and Nadine Winslow (President s office). The reason the ceremony was moved to the Grand Sierra Resort was due to outgrowing both our campus facility in the quad, and also the Reno-Sparks Events Center. Additionally, when Commencement was held oncampus, it cost us tens of thousands of dollars, including rental of the stage, chairs, the sound system, and manpower from Facilities to set-up and tear-down the event. The Reno-Sparks Convention Center charged us $13,600. Due to our academic calendar, Commencement is always planned for the Friday following the last day of instruction. This means that Commencement dates are determined 5-6 years out. As a result, for the next several years, our commencement will be held on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. This creates serious space limitations at the Convention Center, due to competing events. Page 4 of 8; Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes March 28, 2014

5 Also, we only have access to the Ballroom at the Convention Center, which only seats 2,400 guests in addition to the students and platform party. Last year was standing room only. Following the 2013 Commencement, the President asked the Commencement Committee to identify other possible locations for us to hold this event in. She was presented with five different options and she chose the Grand Sierra Resort. This is because the GSR had the lowest price at $13,600. They have open parking. They provided additional rooms for us to use for robing, additional screens and technicians to run audio/visual equipment, and discounted room rates for the students families coming in from out-of-town. Additionally, the GSR will seat 3,200 guests, including the students and platform party. Faculty can park in the south or southwest parking lots and enter the building without having to walk through the casino. Lawlor Events Center was not accommodating to our needs at all. Also, the cost was too high to even consider. There is an SGA student representative on the Commencement Committee. The student body was asked and approved the use of the SGR for Commencement. This year, faculty will be seated up in front of the student section. This should provide a better visual aspect for our faculty. Maps and more information will be provided at our Senate meeting in April. If anyone has questions or concerns, please Karen Magstad or Erin Frock, so they can be addressed at the April meeting. Professional of the Month nomination form Note: Nominations are kept for three months at a time, after which the nomination might need to be resubmitted. Student Government Association Stephanie Prevost, SGA President SGA President Elections Stephanie Prevost has been re-elected to serve a second term as SGA President. Congratulations! Wellness Week The SGA is sponsoring this event next week. There will be a lot of great events going on in the Student Center. All are welcome to drop by and participate. NSHE Regents Scholar Congratulations to TMCC student Nichole Lee for being selected for this high honor. This award carries with it a cash stipend of $5,000. Awards are based on academic accomplishments, leadership ability, and service contributions. Well done! Library Committee Tom Kearns, Chair The committee last met on 3/13/14. Committee Chair Election Tom has been re-elected to serve another term as the committee chair. Electronic Science Fiction & Short Stories The committee is planning an electronic document program, which will highlight science fiction and short stories. This will be posted in the Library and available to all students. The stories will be available on electronic readers and MP-3 players. Distinguished Speakers Forum The committee plans to have Dianne Cheseldine speak regarding her travels in Ethiopia, Africa, once she returns in another month. More information to follow. Part-Time Issues Committee Molly Lingenfelter, Interim Chair The committee last met on 3/28/14. Committee Chair Nominations Chair Lingenfelter is actively campaigning to recruit someone to run for Chair of the committee. If anyone knows of someone who would benefit the committee, please Chair Lingenfelter. Page 5 of 8; Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes March 28, 2014

6 Best Practices for Part-Time Faculty The committee is researching other institutions, to determine the best practices for part-time faculty. The committee is considering looking at a Canvas website, where we can upload and share information with both Part-Time Faculty and others. Part-Time Faculty Advocacy Dr. Kyle Dalpe will be attending the committee s April 18 th meeting to discuss Part-Time Faculty and advocacy. The committee has drafted a list of issues and questions for Dr. Dalpe to address. All are welcome to attend. The virtual orientation page for part-time instructors can be found at: Codes & Bylaws Committee Bridgett Blaque, Interim Chair The committee last met on 3/7/14. Continuance of the Committee The committee met and discussed whether or not the committee should continue as a standing committee included within the Faculty Senate Bylaws. Currently, the committee only has four members. Even after campaigning for a volunteer, no one has stepped forward to chair the committee. Chair Blaque gave a brief history of this committee. It originated when she was the Faculty Senate Chair and developed in response to the onslaught of changes coming down from NSHE at that point. Since that time, NSHE has restructured the Code and the Policy and Procedures Handbook and how they are arranging things. Our institutional Bylaws were also established. This has made it so the majority of the original charge of the committee has evaporated. The needs have changed and the committee may no longer be necessary. The committee has been inactive for several years. Senate Chair Summerhill wanted to revive the committee, so he set forth a revision of the committee s charge last year. The committee is now in its second semester of reactivity and has not yet functioned well. Chair Blaque stated that the committee informed her that, during the February meeting, they had discussed three options for this committee going forward: 1. To disband the committee entirely. 2. Increase the committee membership and find someone willing to chair the committee. 3. Disband the committee and assign the duties of the committee to the Faculty Senate Chair-Elect position, since the Chair-Elect is already our Senate Parliamentarian. Chair Blaque prefers the third option. One of the committee members stated that, They see the value of continuing the committee, but also recognize that the duties could reasonably be assigned to the Chair-Elect. At the end of the committee meeting, all four members stated that, They have no particular investment in seeing the committee continue. Additionally, the Executive Committee discussed this issue. Under Article 5.2 of the Senate Bylaws, the current duties of the Senate Chair-Elect include serving on the Senate Executive Board and College Advisory Committees, update Bylaws, officially represent Faculty Senate at Classified Council meetings, and attend Board of Regents meetings that are held in Reno. The Executive Committee believes that the duties of the Codes & Bylaws Committee reasonable fall under the purview of the Senate Chair-Elect. The Chair-Elect should understand how all of these items function before becoming the Senate Chair. If we want this committee to continue, we will need more faculty willing to serve as members and someone willing to chair the committee. The next meeting is on April 4 th, 9 am in SIER 101. The Senators were asked to help campaign their colleagues for participation. At that meeting, if nothing has changed, Chair Blaque will introduce a Bylaws change to disband the committee and assign the duties over to the Senate Chair-Elect. Then, the Senate will be tasked with determining if it wants the committee to continue to exist or what to do with it. This Bylaws change would potentially be introduced to the Faculty Senate for a first reading on April 18 th with a final vote at the meeting on May 16 th. If anyone has questions or suggestions, please Chair Blaque. Professional Standards Committee Greg Ellis, Chair The Committee last met on 3/7/14. Page 6 of 8; Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes March 28, 2014

7 Academic Faculty Annual Evaluation Criteria Drafts The committee has been reviewing Version A and Version B, which has already been discussed in-depth by the Senate Chair. The committee has been tasked with completing the evaluation revision in April so that it may be approved by the Senate by our last meeting on May 16 th. Everyone is invited to attend the next meeting to further these discussions on April 4 th, 10 am in RDMT 214. We would like to have more involvement in this process. Chair Marston noted that we can always make a final decision on this document, but it still must be approved by the VPAA and the President. If the President will not approve the document we put forward, the Senate would need to revisit this issue in the Fall. If anyone has questions or suggestions, please them to Chair Ellis and he will put that information before the committee. Salary, Benefits & Budgetary Concerns Committee Steve Bale, Chair The committee last met on 3/7/14. Final Report of Sabbatical Leave Activities Form (Exhibit G) Chair Marston has assured the committee that the new Merit Pay Policy includes a provision that people on a sabbatical will be eligible for merit pay. In the past, when people return from a sabbatical leave, they submit their final report to their Dean and then the President for final approval of their project. This has automatically generated a satisfactory evaluation score, which under the step system, qualified them for a step increase. Under the new system, it would not qualify them for merit pay. In order for us to remain consistent with the new Merit Pay Policy, the committee has revised our Final Report of Sabbatical Leave Activities form to reflect these changes. With this in mind, the committee has submitted the revised form for the Senate s approval. It was noted that some faculty believe that people on a sabbatical leave should not qualify for a Commendable 2 and above, since they have not been here at the college meeting with students, grading papers, and dealing with the regular issues of our faculty members. A Commendable 1 should be the highest level of merit pay they can achieve. Other faculty believe that people on a Sabbatical leave are participating in activities to benefit our college, which regular faculty members are not engaged in. It was also noted that, if someone on a sabbatical leave did not return their Sabbatical or they were to receive less than a Satisfactory score on their final project, they would theoretically be required to pay back the cost of their Sabbatical leave to the college. Chair Bale noted that we can determine at a later date what the process might be to determine how a Sabbatical leave final project might qualify for a Commendable 1, a Commendable 2, or etc. For now, we are not establishing any process, but merely updating the form to be consistent with the new Merit Pay policy. Motion: To approve the revised Final Report of Sabbatical Leave Activities form, to include Unsatisfactory, Satisfactory, Commendable 1, Commendable 2, Excellent 1, and Excellent 2, in conformance with the new Merit Pay Policy criteria. Movant: NA submitted by the Salary, Benefits & Budgetary Concerns Committee Second: NA submitted by the Salary, Benefits & Budgetary Concerns Committee Vote: Passed, 1 nay Summer School Pay to Faculty The committee is currently researching and drafting a new policy on the payment of faculty for teaching summer school classes. Currently there are four issues the committee is addressing: Inequities in pay The payment formula NSHE Code Census Notices going out earlier from the VPFA s office Page 7 of 8; Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes March 28, 2014

8 Because the census of students is being taken the week before classes begin, faculty are being paid less than what they might be paid if the census were taken the first day of classes. This is because more students are signing up for the class the week before it starts, but the pay is not being adjusted accordingly to compensate the teacher. Additionally, some class rooms are restricted by the number of computers or labs in the room. This means that fewer students can pay tuition and sit in on a Biology class than can sit in on an English class that has no such restrictions in the room. So, a Biology professor may receive less compensation than an English professor. It is the belief of the committee that our faculty members should be compensated equally for Summer School classes and not based on any class room restrictions. So far, the feeling of the committee is that the student census should be taken on the first day of class. Notice should be provided to the Summer School teacher a week or two prior to the start of class. That notice might state that, Based on the current enrollment, your minimum pay is $XXX. And then, this amount could be adjusted when census is taken on the first day of class. The committee is also discussing the overall profitability of the program. Summer School has been earning approximately $250,000 per year for the college. The committee does not believe it is right to short our individual faculty members on their Summer School compensation when the program is clearly generating enough funds to compensate our faculty in a fair manner. Everyone is invited to attend the committee s next meeting on April 4 th, 12-2 pm in SIER 105. A new draft policy on the payment of faculty for Summer School will be considered for vote by the committee. The result of that vote will be brought before the Senate on April 18 th. Student Learning Outcomes & Assessment (SLOA) Bridgett Blaque, Chair The committee last met on 2/7/14. Committee Chair Election No committee member has been willing to accept a nomination to serve as the chair of the committee next year. Old Business Bylaws Change to Allow the Faculty Senate Chair to Make Motions and Vote (Exhibit H) Senator Robin Griffin submitted this motion as a first reading on 2/21/14. It was noted that, in Robert s Rules of Order, the Chair of an assembly is eligible, but not obliged, to vote. (Robert s Rules of Order, Chapter XIII, 10 th ed., 44, page 392.) Some people believe allowing the Senate Chair to vote is a violation of impartiality. The Chair should represent all of our faculty in a neutral manner and the Chair-Elect should remain as an impartial Parliamentarian of the Senate. Other people believe impartiality is not an issue since the Senate Chair and Chair-Elect were elected to represent our faculty, they are well informed on the issues, and we should trust their judgment. Motion: To approve the change to Article XII of the Faculty Senate Bylaws to allow the Faculty Senate Chair-Elect to make motions and vote on all questions, and to allow the Faculty Senate Chair to vote in order to break an otherwise tie vote. Movant: Robin Griffin Second: Molly Lingenfelter Vote: Passed; 18 yea, 7 nay New Business Bylaws Change Regarding Direct Reports to the President (Exhibit I) Senator Steve Bale submitted this motion as a first reading. It was seconded by Melanie Purdy. It will be voted on by the Senate at the next meeting on 4/18/14. Adjournment at 2:25 p.m. (*Adjournment time will run no later than 2:35 p.m. unless approved via motion by the Senate.) Page 8 of 8; Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes March 28, 2014

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11 FACULTY SENATE AGENDA Friday March 28, 2014 RDMT :30-2:30 p.m. 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of the Agenda (ACTION) 3. Approval of 2/21/14 Minutes (ACTION) 4. Facilities Master Plan Update Teresa Golden 5. Report of Chair Ron Marston - Merit Pay Update - Faculty Annual Evaluation Criteria Drafts 6. Report of Chair-Elect John Adlish 7. Consent Agenda (ACTION) 8. Committee Reports: Curriculum, Assessment & Programs (CAP) Melanie Purdy Recognition & Activities Erin Frock Student Government Association Stephanie Prevost Library Tom Kearns Part-Time Issues Molly Lingenfelter Codes & Bylaws Bridgett Blaque Professional Standards Greg Ellis Salary, Benefits & Budgetary Concerns Steve Bale - Final Report of Sabbatical Leave Activities Form (ACTION) Student Learning Outcomes & Assessment (SLOA) Bridgett Blaque 9. Old Business Senate Bylaws Change to allow Senate Chair to Vote (ACTION) Senator Robin Griffin 10. New Business - Bylaws Change to Direct Reports (1 ST READING) Senator Steve Bale 11. Adjournment (Adjournment time will run no later than 2:30 p.m.)

12 Faculty Senate FACULTY SENATE MEETING MINUTES February 21, 2014 Faculty Senate Chair: Ron Marston Executive Committee member, Salary, Benefits and Budgetary Concerns Committee Chair: Steve Bale Codes & Bylaws Committee Chair: Bridgett Blaque Recognition & Activities Committee Chair: Erin Frock Senator for Applied Industrial Technology: Michael Holmes Senator for At-Large: Jay Jorgenson Senator for Biology: Jim Collier Senator for School of Business: Nancy O Neal Senator for English: Robin Griffin Senator for Humanities: Carlo Ferguson-McIntyre Senator for Physical Science: Jeff Brasel Senator for Social Sciences: John Coles Faculty Senate Chair-Elect: John Adlish Executive Committee member, Professional Standards Interim Committee Chair: Greg Ellis Library Committee Chair: Tom Kearns Senator for Allied Health: Julie Muhle Senator for Applied Industrial Technology: Brian Ruf Senator for At-Large: Tom Kearns Senator for Biology: Dan Williams Senator for Computer Technology: Steve Bale Senator for English: Molly Lingenfelter Senator for Math: Maria Arrigotti Senator for Physical Science: Bronwen Owen-Haugland Senator for Visual & Performing Arts: Dan Bouweraerts Executive Committee member, Curriculum, Assessment & Programs Committee Chair: Melanie Purdy Executive Committee member, Student Learning Outcomes & Assessment Committee Chair: Bridgett Blaque Part-Time Issues Committee Chair: Molly Lingenfelter Senator for Allied Health: Patti Sanford Senator for At-Large: Tommy Guy Senator for At-Large: Melanie Purdy Senator for School of Business: Robert Kirchman Senator for Computer Technology: Judy Fredrickson Senator for Humanities: Dianne Cheseldine Senator for Math: Shannon McCool Senator for History, Political Science & Law: None Senator for Visual & Performing Arts: Brian Wells Absent: Dianne Cheseldine (her proxy was Carlo Ferguson-McIntyre), Bronwen Owen-Haugland (no proxy), Nancy O Neal (her proxy was Robert Kirchman), Patti Sanford (her proxy was Linda McGillicuddy) Guests: Dan Adams, Lee Bale, Engrid Barnett, Bill Newhall, VPAA Jane Nichols, President Maria Sheehan, Frankie Talbot (proxy for Stephanie Prevost, SGA) The meeting was called to order at 12:31 p.m. Faculty Senate Chair Marston: Please be sure to sign in (Exhibit A) Approval of the Meeting Agenda (Exhibit B) Motion: To approve the meeting agenda for 2/21/14 as submitted. Page 1 of 10; Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes February 21, 2014

13 Movant: NA Second: NA Vote: Passed unanimously Approval of Meeting Minutes from December 13, 2013 (Exhibit C) Motion: To approve the Faculty Senate meeting minutes from December 13, 2013, with the amendment that, following the resignation of Katie Smith, Molly Lingenfelter had not yet been formally named as the interim chair of the Part-Time Issues Committee by the Senate Chair. Movant: Molly Lingenfelter Second: Melanie Purdy Vote: Passed; 1 abstention Administrative Report President Maria Sheehan Shared Services The NSHE Presidents in the north will be participating in a retreat with Chancellor Klaich and Steve Zink next Monday, February 24 th. They will discuss possible shared services and how the institutions in the north might be able to support each other in the areas of Institutional Research, Information Technology, Human Resources, some areas of finance and Financial Aid. There is a meeting of the NSHE Shared Services Committee and the Board of Regents scheduled on February 27 th to look at what the next steps might be. The effort is to save money by increasing efficiency and consolidating the human resources involved. SB-391 This was the legislative bill to pull the NSHE community colleges out of the NSHE system and put them under the purview of the Nevada State Department of Education. This bill failed; however, a study is now being done of all the NSHE community colleges. A first meeting has taken place and a second meeting is scheduled for March 12 th to discuss this issue. The goal of the committee is to look at our funding structure, our governance structure, and our academic, technical and career programs as they align with state goals. Board of Regents Meeting on March 5-6 The Board of Regents has asked us to review our mission statement and we will be asked specific questions as to how we are addressing our mission overall. President Sheehan s Performance Evaluation On April 7 th thru 10 th, or April 8 th thru 11 th, President Sheehan s performance evaluation will be held. She will have more information on a concrete date and time later on. These meetings are open for anyone to attend. The evaluation will begin with a three-hour discussion on President s achievements and failures during the years she has served as our president, followed by an exit review. At 5-1/2 years, President Sheehan and President Richards are the longest serving presidents. Because we have had so many changes, the evaluations will need to be staggered. We will be hearing about contract extensions, but Dr. Sheehan will not be involved in a contract extension because she is the queue for an evaluation. Dr. Richards is in the queue for a contract extension. They do not have enough slots to evaluate all of the presidents at the same time. Hence, some evaluations are being deferred and will receive an extension for the time being. A contract extension basically means that you keep doing your job for a period of time. If Dr. Sheehan is offered an additional term, she needs to determine what she would like to do with that time and how long she would stay at TMCC. Dr. Sheehan believes her continued stay at TMCC depends upon: 1. The energy and passion she brings to the job. 2. Utility and whether she is still producing and benefiting TMCC; if she does not feel she is still benefiting TMCC, she will leave us on her own accord. 3. The decision of the Board of Regents and whether they might want a change in leadership. Things Dr. Sheehan would like to achieve in the future: 1. Build the base for external revenue. We currently have a $25 million campaign with a little less than $5 million more to go for the science expansion at Redfield campus. We received a $300,000 pledge last week. The pledges come when we spend time with donors to tell them what we do. Dr. Sheehan believes her time is better spent telling the story of our institution and what we do in order to raise funds. 2. Build a public/private partnership. This would allow us to lease land we are not using. This has the potential to become an extraordinary revenue stream for our institution. Such partnerships take years to develop. We Page 2 of 10; Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes February 21, 2014

14 are in the first year and it will require a lot of Dr. Solemsaas s time and Dr. Sheehan s time to develop. Once we achieve our goal, we then have a guaranteed revenue stream for the institution. We recently held a black tie event for this effort. Thank you to all of our faculty members who participated in the event. They did a stupendous job. The event was $275/seat and we sold out before we even sent out our invitations. The goal of the event was $50,000 and we raised $70,000. There is no reason we cannot grow this event to be in the range of $200,000 within a couple more years. This money is dedicated to a concentration on our Career and Technology programs at our Edison campus. Next year, Dr. Sheehan would like to look at the arts because she believes there is an interest in the donor community and the arts. Additionally, we are working on other projects for the future and Dr. Sheehan will need faculty help with this effort. Board of Regents Meeting June 5 th and 6 th - The June meeting will be held at TMCC. Dr. Sheehan will be working with Chair Marston and Dr. Nichols on how we might best showcase ourselves to the regents. We want to include faculty and students as we highlight the kinds of programs we have to offer. We will be discussing this opportunity more as time goes on. Any ideas should be directed to Chair Marston. Vice President of Academic Affair s Report Vice President Jane Nichols Budget Reduction Update (Exhibit D) Dr. Nichols gave an update on the recommendations the Budget Reduction Committee has made. The committee s last meeting was as the end of January. The committee thoroughly reviewed ways for savings, such as turning off computers automatically at 11 pm each night. We are counting on additional revenue for next academic year through the nursing differential fee, which is currently in place. We are also budgeting for a 1% enrollment increase in student fees. Our state budget for next year is set; however, how we decide to spend those monies will make a difference in our process. A report will be sent to President Sheehan, which contains recommendations as to how we should spend new revenue we might be receiving. The recommendations include information on the most critical areas we will want to replace going forward. As of today, these recommendations are our plan going forward, which basically continues the cuts in operating and also a few positions we cut this year. No more cuts are anticipated to our operating budget. The non-academic savings are primarily in either eliminating positions, or moving positions onto foundation money, indirect cost recovering money, or soft money. We reluctantly recommended eliminating one classified position. The big dollar amount in the budget recommendation is the buyout, which should save us $900,000. Offers have been made to various applicants for the buyout. We will not know the exact savings of the buyout until the end of March after people have had the opportunity to confirm that they will take the buyout. If the savings is less than what we have projected, we will need to look for a savings elsewhere. We currently have some vacant faculty positions being saved for potential equity adjustment dollars. We can also pull the committee back together if we need to look for additional savings because we do not get the full savings we anticipate from the buyout. Dr. Nichols will keep the Senate informed as this process develops. Our final budget will be presented to the Board of Regents at the June 5 th -6 th meeting. Policy Change for Incomplete Grade (Exhibit E) This policy resides in the course catalog. When Dr. Nichols reviewed our process for handing incomplete grades, she felt strongly that it was too bureaucratic and did not provide the faculty with the judgment they need in order to give students an incomplete grade. Dr. Nichols presented a revised policy, which she would like to include in the catalog for next academic year. This revision basically states that we will get rid of the demand that a student has completed a substantial portion of the class (75 percent). Instead, a student must be performing passing work in the course to qualify for an incomplete grade. A student with non-attendance, poor performance or requests to repeat the course is unacceptable reasons for issuance for the I grade. Faculty will no longer need to submit information to Admissions and Records as to what work the student still needs to perform in order to satisfactorily complete the class. The work must be completed by the end of the next regular semester, etc. Because we have a number of part-time faculty members who may not be available in the next regular semester, the responsibility for working with the student for completion of the course and changing the incomplete grade would fall upon the department chair, coordinator, or with the dean. The revised policy would remove Admissions and Records from the process. Additionally, granting a student an incomplete grade prior to the final deadline when a student may drop the class and receive a refund of tuition should not occur. Page 3 of 10; Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes February 21, 2014

15 Following the last available drop date is when an instructor should make the judgment call to give the student an incomplete grade in the class. The instructor may change the grade at any point after issuing an incomplete grade; however, if no grade change form is completed by the last day of the next regular semester, the incomplete grade will automatically be changed to an F grade. Since the department chair or dean signs the grade change form as part of the process, a request was made to Dr. Nichols that the final sentence in the draft policy be removed, which states: The change of grade form from I to another grade must be signed by the department chair or dean. It was requested that the policy be revised to say, passing work at the end of the course. Dr. Nichols agreed to this. It was also suggested that this information on incomplete grades be included in the instructor s syllabus for the course. It was noted that this policy is not a legally binding contract, but merely the guidelines we will follow here at TMCC. Additionally, Dr. Nichols agreed to put the responsibility of initiating the final grade on the student rather than on the faculty member, department chair, or dean. Dr. Nichols will work on the draft policy and resubmit it to the Senate office so that it can then be distributed to all Senators. Chair Marston asked the Senate to address concerns via to him. NOTE: Following this Senate meeting, Dr. Nichols did submit a revised draft of the policy to the Senate office, which was sent via to all Senators on 2/25/14, with a request to offer any feedback to Chair Marston no later than 2/28/14. A copy of this information is on file with today s Senate meeting minutes in the Senate office. Report of Faculty Senate Chair Ron Marston Merit Pay Policy (Exhibit F) After offering two open surveys, open forums, many open meetings, and extensive vetting by faculty and administrators, the Merit Pay Committee has developed and approved a Merit Pay Policy, which is to be included in the TMCC Institutional Bylaws. This policy will need to be approved by President Sheehan and the President s Advisory Committee, and subsequently approved by Chancellor Klaich and the Board of Regents. The appeal process outlined in Section 3 is not yet concrete as to the process for appealing evaluations is included in the NFA Contract. What is currently in the NFA Contract conflicts with the Merit Pay Policy. Chair Marston has been working with the NFA President, as well as John Albrecht, legal counsel for TMCC, to look at amending the NFA Contract accordingly. Some components could be proposed and changed once the policy leaves our Senate. If any substantive changes are requested by the President s Advisory Committee, Chair Marston will bring that back to the Senate for debate and further approval. From this point on, the policy is moving out into other paths, including revisions to the Academic Faculty Annual Evaluation Process, and the Administrative Faculty Performance Review, in order to make accommodations for the new policy. The Professional Standards Committee is reviewing changes to the Academic Faculty evaluation tool, while a special adhoc committee made up of Administrative Faculty and chaired by Michelle Noel is reviewing changes to the Administrative Faculty Performance Review process. These recommended changes should be coming back to the Senate for confirmation in April It was noted that Items 1.j and 1.k were included in the policy because we are no longer under the step system. There was a concern that, under the new system, we have ranges which faculty members cannot go beyond at the top of their range. Michelle Meador has told Chair Marston that we have no faculty members that are currently anywhere close to being at the top of their range limits, which is often referred to as being redlined. Chair-Elect Adlish stated that, if someone is redlined and they receive merit pay, that money is only paid out for that year. It does not add to the base salary of someone that is redlined. Additionally, we just eliminated the deputy chief of police position. There are inequities all over campus. Chair Marston pointed out that, after going through the equity adjustment process, we want to be fiscally responsible. Some people believe that senior faculty members who have been here a long time and automatically received a raise year-after-year already make too much money. Some people believe this is what has created the salary inequity. A member of the Senate pointed out that, if we start dividing amongst ourselves and make judgment calls that senior faculty are already making enough, we are opening ourselves up to treating ourselves unequally in terms of pay increases. This is an overreaching issue on how we perceive ourselves as a whole. Singling out one group of faculty over another group, and making judgment calls on each other that may not be Page 4 of 10; Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes February 21, 2014

16 fair or justified is not wise. It is important that we are unified as a faculty body on issues of compensation and treat one another the same. It was pointed out that everyone s salary information is available for anyone to view. When we look at the obscene amounts of money that fire fighters in Clark County, and members of the faculty at the medical school, are making, we have no faculty members at TMCC that are anywhere near those obscene amounts. We are arguing pennies comparatively and we should treat each other equally until the lawyers tell us otherwise. Chair Marston reiterated that we will not need to apply for merit pay. It will be automatically awarded based on meeting the required criteria spelled out in the Merit Pay Policy. With these issues in mind, the Merit Pay Policy is now brought before the Faculty Senate for approval. Motion: That Item 1.j be modified to state: Merit awards shall be added to the base salary for all qualifying faculty. And that Item 1.k be deleted entirely from the proposed Merit Pay Policy. Movant: Steve Bale Second: Melanie Purdy Vote: Passed; 3 abstentions Motion: To approve the Merit Pay Policy, with an amendment to the TMCC Institutional Bylaws, Section J, as submitted, with the exception that the above modifications shall be made to Items 1.j and 1.k. Movant: Merit Pay Subcommittee Second: Merit Pay Subcommittee Vote: Passed unanimously Facilities Master Plan Update An open forum is being held today from 12:30-3:30 pm. Another forum will be held on March 28 th. Additionally, VPFA Solemsaas will be giving an update at our Senate meeting on March 28 th. Everyone is invited to attend the forums, ask questions, and offer feedback. Equity Adjustment Update It has been determined that an equity adjustment will cost us around $700,000, which is quite a bit more than initially predicted. There are some options for how we might implement and fund this. We have not yet identified funding sources to cover the costs. The funding source that has been identified is the open faculty vacancies. We currently have nine such vacancies, which would provide a little over $500,000. The administration has committed to using these dollars to fund the equity adjustment, but it will not be enough. A list of priorities has been developed and provided to the President on how to implement equity by pulling monies out of our contingency fund. This would be done with the anticipation that we could pay it back next year. This may not work as we could potentially have another budget shortfall. We have six total scenarios for funding. The second option is to fund equity adjustments for people who have been here working for ten years or less. The reason for this priority is that the way the system requires us to hire faculty is that we must provide them a certain amount of money for years of service that we grant them as they come in as a new hire. In order for us to not hire someone new at more money than someone that is already here working with the exact same years of service, we need to bring those people here with ten years of service up to the proper salary level. We have a priority to fund that group of faculty, which would require a large chunk of the adjustment monies. Then, we would fund everyone else in the following year. Discussions included separating out the academic faculty from the administrative faculty, funding the academic faculty but not the administrative faculty for the first year, etc. Many people feel that this would not be fair. Employees are employees here and should be adjusted equally. A member of the Senate pointed out that we also must not discriminate against those employees with longevity, who may be at the top of the salary scale. Additionally, people who have been here 15 years or less are left out of the adjustment, yet they are also at the bottom of the pay scale. Adjustments need to be made for those people also. Chair Marston clarified that we would not be moving someone with ten years into a higher position than someone that has been here eleven or twelve years. We do not want to create an initial adjustment that would put someone with more years of service below someone with fewer years of service. Chair Marston is willing to share the draft study with anyone that is interested, with the understanding that it may not reflect the final numbers we end up with. We should begin notifying people of what equity adjustment they can expect to receive once the plan has been reviewed and approved by the President, hopefully in the month of March Page 5 of 10; Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes February 21, 2014