Minutes

Faculty Council Steering Committee

October 30, 2002

Members Present: Brenda Ammons, Becky Blackwell, Lisa Bogaty, Rick Bower, Sharon Burlingame,Kathy Byrd, George Cox, Lawana Day, Rasey Feezell, Jonathan Fowler, Cata Folks, K.D. Lawson, Leon Jones, Nina McPherson, Harold Rowland,Dave Vinson

I.The meeting was called to order by Business Officer Leon Jones at 3 p.m.

II.The minutes posted to the F.C. Website were approved.

III.Officer Reports

Communications OfficerRick BowerNo report

TBR Representative, Dave Vinson, reported that the Sub-Council meeting did not go particularly well, as far as the issue of Gen. Ed. outcomes was concerned. Motion that number of required Gen. Ed.courses be restricted to 35 hours was not supported by the S.C.

SecretaryCata FolksNo report

President ElectKathy ByrdNo report

PresidentLisa Bogaty

Division Street

K.D. Lawson proposed to try summer school at all 4 campuses in Summer 03, then make the decision regarding future closings at Division Street based upon data from Summer 03.Kathy Byrd raised the question of why Division Street summer now seems open to debate when previously it was being called a done deal.Nina McPherson pointed out that many strong objections were raised in a meeting last week over this issue, leading to a reconsideration. At present, Dr. Bruns has stressed that the Division St. summer closure has not been determined and that this is certainly not a “domino effect” issue involving a move toward reducing the number of site campuses. However, according to Bruns, faculty should consider the problem of having fewer classes make at each campus if the courses are distributed over all 4 campuses. Are the savings really going to be as high as estimated, or is this an inflated figure? Dr. Bruns contends that the cost savings represent “real” money, whereas possible loss of F.T.E.’s are not, but Lisa notes that there can be a false economy at work in pitting faculty against maintenance expenditures, due to loss of morale and productivity of personnel who are treated in this way. Another problem involves the heavy preparation for the new DSP courses, which will occur during Summer 03, when Division St. faculty are locked out of their offices.

TWAV/WEB load date

Administration has agreed to allow load determination to be made after the last day of Drop/Add for classes using class enrollment as a factor in load determination, effective S03.

DSP

Revised courses will be implemented in S03.

Overloads

Discussions look goodfor the implementation of a college policy allowing faculty to carry overloads from semester to semester, until enough hours are accumulated for a reduced teaching load.

IV.Standing Committee Reports

Adjunct FacultyRasey Feezell

Rasey reported that when he sent a letter to all adjuncts, only 2 replied; however, the response went up significantly when he mentioned the possibility of a raise. One adjunct mentioned teaching here for 14 years with only 1 raise, and there were similar comments from others. As far as the possibility of applying for the 15% increase now in place, Feezell indicated that the requirements were so time-consuming that few adjuncts seemed to find it worth the extra trouble. Several questions were raised concerning the validity of this attitude, but the consensus of the S. C. seems to be that all adjuncts are far overdue for a raise.

Motion

If there is any new money for salary, the percentage raise should be the same for adjuncts as for full-time faculty.

Motion carried.

Promo/TenureJean Jackson/Toni McDaniel

Concern about inappropriate questions and comments during Peer Review proceedings has been raised. All faculty should be warned that the procedure demands the maintenance of a serious and professional tone or measures may have to be taken to ensure against unprofessional conduct during the process of Peer Review. Issues having nothing to do with the candidates’ professional duties have no place in such meetings.

High Performance Teaching*Elaine OswaldNo report

Faculty Forum*Paul BaxterNo report

Booksale/ScholarshipAnne Kinggard, Anita Maddox

Faculty After Hours

Anita Maddox reported that the next F.A.H. will be @Cozymel’s 3:30 Friday, November 1.

Rules CommitteeChuck WrightNo report

V.Unfinished Business

VI.New Business

VII.Announcements

VIII. The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Cata Folks

Recording Secretary