Approval of Agenda
The agenda was approved as written.

Approval of Minutes
The minutes were approved as written.

President's Report

Senate President Laura Ore presented the following:

• ACC Board of Trustees, April 1, 2002-President Ore reported to the Board that faculty still want meaningful shared governance at ACC and want the opportunity to organize themselves and their support structures. She also reiterated that counselors need the same flexibility to serve students responsibly. She pointed out that all authority moves from the top down and that decision-making should flow both ways. She reported that four full time faculty members had agreed to serve on the newly formed budget committee: Denise Anding, Steve Bradley, John Cise, and Nick Saratakes. However, she also pointed out that the Senate has little trust in the council and committee structure that does not seem to produce desired effects. She reminded the Board that faculty expect to be paid a fair wage for labor, a concept endorsed by the Board and Dr. Fonte. The increase needed for this fair wage is about $2.1 million in fiscal year 2003.
• Senate Officers' Meeting, April 3, 2002-The Senate Officers began this meeting with a brief presentation of the full-time faculty who were affected by schedule cuts in the 2nd eight weeks semester. The officers received a clarification of payments by ACC to ORPs (a statement which was amended later by memo). The Officers asked for two changes in the overload policy: from the term "Overloads" to "Extended Teaching Opportunities," and for the maximum number of lecture equivalent hours permitted in fall and spring from 20 to 21. The administration was agreeable to both suggestions. The Officers asked for immediate help for the RVS campus because one building had been experiencing a bad leak in the roof for ten years. Dr. Fonte said he was having it repaired. The majority of the meeting focused on the desire for shared governance, particularly reasonable timelines, a review of adjunct service on task forces, and increased participation of full-time faculty on committees and councils. Officers reported that Task Force support personnel, rather than Human Resources personnel, were being required to research faculty records and transcripts. The administration agreed to have HR handle this. Problems with the process of Task Force Chair elections were discussed. The administration did understand that some areas of the college did not want deans to run the elections, but the administration did not understand the request to hold TF Chair elections in Task Force meetings. From this discussion, the ideas that Instructional Support Services should run the elections this year and that future elections should be held electronically were later conceived. It is important to note that these ideas were not discussed with the Senate Officers, who first learned of these ideas when the announcement was sent to everyone. Officers also asked that the administration support the quest for $2.1 million for full-time faculty to be paid average.
• Workshop (Service Center), Mission and Values of the College, April 5, 2002-Attendees split into groups and discussed the values and mission of the college. A "Writing Team" was appointed to write a comprehensive mission and values statement. Dorothy Martinez agreed to serve as a representative from the full-time faculty.
• Board of Trustees Retreat, April 12-13, 2002-The bulk of the meeting was devoted to a discussion of the Comprehensive Master Plan to which all budgets are tied. ACC is at a crossroads. Faculty and staff will be asked which road they want to travel. If ACC cannot move the community to a tax increase, life at ACC will get worse. A report was presented by a paid consultant, Mr. Chuck McIntyre, on the need for Facilities Planning from 2002-2015. He outlined the extremely limited resources that the faculty, staff, and students have at ACC, including poor parking (one space for every 11 students), limited office space (on average less than 70 square feet for full-time faculty offices versus the national average of 100 square feet), and lack of standardization across the campuses. This information was based on research and largely ignored by the Board of Trustees. Several Board members took umbrage at the report. The need for a strategic communications plan was also discussed: faculty and staff must be on board in order for a tax referendum to pass.
• Board of Trustees Work Session (Downtown Center), April 15, 2002-The Board decided to table its entire agenda because the Board members had not "done their homework." Tabled items included Board Self-Evaluation, the Board's Secretary's Role in Monitoring Policy, Process of Presidential Evaluation, and Board Bylaws on Voting.
• Shared Governance Meeting (called by American Federation of Teachers), April 16, 2002-A discussion of shared governance was begun and will be continued. More participation, especially by full-time faculty, is requested.
• Executive Vice President's Team Meeting, April 19, 2002-A committee will be formed to respond to the charge that committees and councils have little or no effect at ACC. The college will support the election on May 4 with early polling places as well as polling places on the day of the election. Sharon King will be conducting the Task Force Chair elections and will be looking at traffic in the learning labs and testing centers. Cuts will be made in these areas for the summer and possibly for the fall. It is important not to exceed the hourly part of ACC's budget. There will be no more funding for stipends or course releases for curriculum development. The comptroller is coming to ACC on May 10, 2002.
• Donetta Goodall's All Day Retreat, April 26, 2002-Most of the information at this meeting was also delivered at the Board Retreat of April 12-13, 2002. The administration claimed that the Faculty Senate had agreed to the standardized syllabus, but Senate President Ore protested that this was not the case.
• Senate Officers' Meeting, May 1, 2002-John Cise presented the need for an increase of over $2 million for full-time faculty salaries. Dr. Fonte agreed that the request was reasonable. Problems with Task Force Chair elections were discussed. The prior miscommunication was discussed. The administration indicated that it is open to a discussion of how to hold these elections in the future. Since Math was the only department with a contested Task Force Chair race, it was agreed that if the Senate recommended that the Math Task Force Chair election be re-done in order to be fair, this election would be held again. At its May 3rd meeting, the Senate passed a resolution making this recommendation. Faculty members were asked again to contribute ideas regarding the reorganization of the upper level of ACC's administration. Officers asked about upward evaluations and were assured they would still be done for 2001-2002. The administration also indicated that a report on ACC's effectiveness review would be available soon. Dr. Fonte asked for a meeting with Senators and a paid outside mediator. At its May 3rd meeting, the Senate agreed to discuss this matter further at the next Senate meeting. EVP Kinslow stated that the College will reexamine its Administrative Rule on Full-time Faculty Workload, particularly regarding changing the maximum loading from 20 to 21 lecture equivalent hours in spring and fall, regarding teaching schedules and office hours requiring faculty to be on campus at least four days per week, and regarding distance learning office hours. At its May 3rd meeting, the Senate recommended that this matter be referred to its Policies and Procedures committee.

Discussion of Shared Governance

The Senate continued its discussion on shared governance and expressed many concerns. The Administrative Rule on Adjunct Service on Task Forces is ambiguous, particularly about which adjuncts are appointed to, versus eligible to serve on, Task Forces. This matter is also a budget issue because of payment to adjuncts for service. The Senate agreed that much of the work of Associate Deans would be better carried out by Task Force/Program campus-based representation. The Senate also concurred that most of its recommendations are ignored by the administration, as evidenced, for example, by the recent implementation, despite strong Senate objections, of an Administrative Rule on Retention Elections for Program Coordinators. The Senate again discussed creating a committee consisting of Task Force Chairs, Program Coordinators, a representative of librarians, and a representative of counselors. The following faculty members agreed to attend EVP Kinslow's June 7 or 14 meeting to look at full-time faculty representation on ACC's committees and councils: Shannon Bailey, Janet Bickham, Mariano Diaz-Miranda, Joe Lostracco, and David Tobey. The American Federation of Teachers will sponsor another meeting on shared governance on June 18 at 3 PM and will select a Chair for this Shared Governance Committee at that time. One goal is to have adequate representation from all employee groups and students and to determine priorities for each group. All faculty members are encouraged to participate.

Discussion of Faculty Development

One of the SACS "must" statements indicates that individual faculty members should take initiative in promoting their own growth. In keeping with this SACS policy, the Senate agreed that much of the work of the Faculty Development Office would be better handled in the Task Forces and Programs. The Senate will ask the Budget Committee to look into this matter.

Discussion of Faculty Evaluation Committee

The Senate agreed that the Faculty Evaluation process is flawed and that the evaluation forms are confusing. The Senate was also reminded that the Administrative Rule on Faculty Evaluations was never revised and brought back to the Senate as agreed upon. The Senate will make recommendations to the Faculty Evaluation Committee, including to use only student evaluations and the Faculty Input Form annually except in the third major portfolio year. It was also reported that grade distribution reports are erroneous and that evaluations for distance learning sections are invalid. The Senate will work closely with the Faculty Evaluation Committee to improve this process. The Senate also charged its Officers, regarding upward evaluations, with asking the Administration to have each faculty member evaluate his/her Task Force Chair and Dean, the appropriate Associate Vice President, the Executive Vice President, and the President of the College.

Discussion of Course Release/Stipends

It was recently announced that no more course releases or stipends would be available for curriculum development. This decision was, in part, attributed to the Senate. The Senate will clarify to the administration that it objected to abuses of releases and stipends for curriculum development but does not favor abolishment of all curriculum development releases and stipends.

Report from Salary and Benefits Committee

Chair John Cise reported that just over $2 million (approximately 8.9%) is needed to bring full-time faculty back up to average and agreed to report this to the Board of Trustees. The faculty wants the Board to change their policy to target 9-month salaries instead of 10.5-month salaries.

Report from Policies and Procedures Committee

Chair Constance Elko reported on minor recommended changes to Board Policy D-5 and Administrative Rule 4.05.001, both regarding Sabbatical Leave. These minor revisions were approved by the Committee and the Senate.

Report from Audit and Elections Committee

The results of the Faculty Senate elections for 2002-2003 were distributed.

Discussion of Statement of Commitment to Quality Education

It was recommended that the Senate issue a statement regarding ACC faculty's continuing commitment to quality education. It was also suggested that faculty work with campus managers to create a community service project

Announcements - The following announcements were made:

• Faculty members were reminded to vote and to help with the Board election.
• The next Senate meeting will be May 31st.

The meeting was adjourned.

The following faculty members substituted for Senators who were unable to attend the meeting: Terry Perrin for Linda Caplin, Carol Barrett for Daisy Diaz-Alemany, Mark Karl for Susan Hord, Jerry Caples for Steve Kirschner, and John Cise for Nick Sarantakes. The following Senators were absent: Steve Bradley, Patti Dungan, John Maynard, and Robyn Richter.