The agenda was approved as written. A motion to open discussion to non-Senators was made and passed.

The minutes were approved as written.

Mike noted that he had been interviewed by the Statesman for a forthcoming article on the reorganization. He spoke to the reporter for about 45 minutes.

Mike also reviewed recent Officers' meetings with the administration and (upon a question from a Senator) stated that Dr. Fonte seemed to be more interested in working with the Senate than when we began the year. Mike explained that Task Force Chairs will receive release time in summer for planning purposes. An equal number of releases will be provided to Program Coordinators for the same purpose. Mike also noted that at the request of the Senate, a committee has been formed to review significant aspects of the reorganization and propose changes that might positively impact the organizational structure. The committee should, among other things, clarify responsibilities of some positions, definite proper levels of authority, and propose proper compensation levels for these positions. One aspect of this committee that looks promising is that the committee has members in significant decision making roles. Specifically, these are Frank Friedman, Donetta Goodall, and Barbara Bolin. Senate representation is Hazel Ward (Chair, Academic Affairs Committee), Delores Segura (President-elect), and Mike Midgley (President).

There was discussion on college policy concerning withdrawing students during the first two weeks of class. Senators expressed concern that the need to correct policy to comply with legal requirements was not fully explained, that the issue was not brought to Faculty Senate, and that the memo came from Admissions & Records, which is outside the Academic structure.

The next Faculty Senate meeting conflicts with TCCTA conference. Senators agreed to reschedule the February Senate meeting to Wednesday February 25 at 7:00 p.m.

The Board Elections are scheduled for the first Saturday of May and the filing deadline is during the middle of March. Senators expressed interest in a candidate forum and directed Mike to contact other employee organizations about cooperatively sponsoring a forum.

Mike presented the Senate's December 5 resolution on Planning Principles at the Board of Trustees meeting, along with the Senate's comments on the other proposed policies. The Senate's resolution requested rewriting of the proposed policy. Specific concerns were clarification as to whether the principles were principles, values statements, or process statements, as well as significant concern regarding implementation and interpretation of the policy. Board members discussed the resolution, but eventually passed the policy as written. The Senate's recommendations on the other policies were incorporated by the Board into the final versions prior to being passed by the Board.

Mike reported on the status of our earlier resolution regarding Development Studies, and recent developments in this area. Task Forces have been charged with self-evaluation and doing strategic planning for the program. There are plans for faculty to visit other colleges and meet with other groups. Various presentations will also be given by other entities (Kaplin, Hunter Boylan, etc.) The Senate will continue to review activities.

Tom Gingras reported for Carol Hitzfelder. Salary information is available on John Cise's web page. The committee provided reports on survey data from similar metro community colleges outside Texas, as well as cost of living data, and labor statistics for these colleges. The results of the Committee's straw poll were read. There were 107 respondents with 98 voting to "move up and be compensated at the average salary". Senators discussed the difference in statistics in reports provided and statistics provided by the TCTCC salary study. It was noted the Senate stopped using the salary study data because some colleges did not report and the data was incomplete. Mike explained that presentations would be made to the Budget Priorities Review Committee, Dr. Fonte, and the Board of Trustees.

Saad Eways presented a proposed replacement for policy C-4 Internal Employee Associations. A motion was made and passed to accept the recommended changes. A copy of the amended proposed policy is attached.

Senators discussed the draft policy concerning transfer of administrative personnel to faculty. This issue had been discussed at the December 5 meeting and a decision postponed. Concerns expressed included that the draft was narrowly written and that it did not clearly state whether administrative personnel had taught at ACC or at other colleges. A motion was made and passed that the Policy and Procedures Committee draft a formal statement concerning this policy to bring to our next meeting.

Mike asked Senators for opinions on the evaluation process. Discussion included a comparison between the statements "effective" and "ineffective" and the proposed addition of "needs improvement". It was noted that "needs improvement" does not affect a faculty member's contract. Senators also pointed out that there were communication problems with the evaluation process, that there was confusion about distribution, and that a number of instructors' copies were lost. A motion was made and passed asking that Mike take forward a request that "needs improvement" be removed from the form. (Note: this category was subsequently removed).