HBC 410
President Stacey Thompson opened the meeting and the agenda was approved as amended to allow for a discussion of the task force/department chair elections with EVP Steve Kinslow. The minutes were amended to read as follows: "The Senate was also concerned about the administrative rule (with the Senate's extensive revisions) concerning the election of task force chairs, as this election must be done in the spring semester."
The President's report contained the following items:
Faculty Senate Officers' Meeting, March 31, 2003 The administration announced that the lease would not be renewed for the Downtown Center. We were assured that we were "on target' for the budget of '03, expect for the state's decision to cut 7% from our operating expenses. Departments are asked to cut 20-30% from their budgets. The administration will petition the Board of Trustees to tap into our reserves as a partial solution to our budget crisis. Dr. Fonte was not willing to discuss a contingency plan in case the tax referendum fails. He indicated that there would be a time and place for this discussion after May 3.
In response to our concerns regarding class limits, Dr. Fonte was adamant that the limits would not be increased. He was more concerned that classes are filled efficiently. He insisted that only academic and instructional needs would determine a class's size.
We next discussed the direct deposit rule, which we explained seemed punitive in nature and an inconvenience for the faculty members who did not wish to participate. We reached a compromise which will allow for checks to be mailed to the campuses for those faculty who do not wish to participate in direct deposit. Interestingly enough, 89% of full time faculty already participate in the direct deposit program.
SACS Visit
This visit seemed to go well. The official report will be available in the coming weeks, and the college has five months to give its response. The report will be posted on the web for all to review.
Board of Trustees Meeting, March 4, 2003
Several faculty members and President Thompson participated in a discussion of shared governance and the Board's policy C-5. In her comments to the Board, President Thompson stated that although no contingency plans were in place that the full time faculty expected to be included in any post-May 3 discussions.
Board of Trustees Work Session, March 17, 2003
The Board agreed to a joint election with the city of Austin on May 3. Total price for the election (including Manor and Leander will be $450,000. The release time/ stipend report was presented to the Board with reminders that any further cuts in these areas would be difficult at this time. Minor revisions are expected in the coming months in Board policies. A discussion of policy F-10 will be held at the next Board meeting, March 31, 2003 as well as a discussion of the purchase of Rio Grande.
Administrative and Services Council, March 26, 2003
This council met and approved a procedure for the processing of Administrative Rules.
Academic and Campus Affairs will meet again on April 11, 2003.
EVP Steve Kinslow discussed our concerns about the election of the department chairs in the task forces that had the need for such. He assured us that the number of adjuncts would not exceed the number of full time faculty voting in such an election. He did point out that the rules concerning the use of adjunct faculty were under a major revision and that the membership of adjuncts on each task force was still being worked out. However, he expected that the elections would be held by secret ballot, that the task forces would have the control of the election (unless everyone in the department wanted to serve as chair and in that case the dean would run the election), and that the balloting would be secure.
The nominating committee submitted its final report with an election being necessary at Rio Grande and Riverside campuses. An incorrect listing of "Janet" Caplin will be changed to "Linda" Caplin and Sean Murray will serve as the Senator from Cypress.
The Senate next discussed the faculty's Professional Development plans and various difficulties. Some Senators pointed out that the departments need to be responsible for faculty development. However, more flexibility is needed to keep some supervisors from trying to skewer faculty members. Rather, the individual needs to be the one who decides what is necessary for his/her development. SACS agrees with this point that the primary responsibility for professional development should remain with the faculty member. If development is to be discipline specific, then the Board must change its policy F-10, which puts the money for professional development into the "set asides" for all employee benefits. After one motion and further discussion, the Senate the passed the following substitute motion.
Resolution: The Senate is resolved to reduce the size and scope of Faculty Development and to return faculty development to the departments.
The lack of a contingency plan was discussed. We feel that we need to be a part of the planning that must be going on in light of the difficulty that the tax referendum is facing. Even if the administration is not admitting it, we need to come up with a plan with specific details. President Thompson will need to have a statement from the Senate after the election. We need to have something to adopt on May 2. Above all, the cuts should not come from the place where education occurs. The classroom should be the last place affected by a budget shortfall. We need to keep our perspective on our core values. An ad-hoc committee to study our contingency plans was formed with the following membership:
John Cise gave a report from the Salary and Benefits committee. He presented the Senators with a one page handout detailing how far behind we are in our efforts to be paid a fair wage consistent with the other Texas metro colleges. He also urged us to get the vote out for the upcoming election.
