FACULTY SENATE
March 25, 2004
PRESENT: G. Anderson, I. Benz, P. Bishop, W. Brewer, F. Burger, S. Cable, L. Chrzan-Williams (Vice-President),
D. Cox (President), K. Doyle, J. Ekis, C. Gilbert, A. Hughes, K. Humphrey, J. Kaufman, T. Keys, E. Laidlaw, D. Leach, A. Leopard, M. Marino, J. McCauley, M. McKinzie, S. Ruckert, L. Silvers, J. Smith, T. Tugel (Secretary), H. Wheeler, W. Willard,
ABSENT: T. Archie, M. Bower, D. Brown, S. Callan, T. Digiacomo, K. Farrell, M. Filozof, E. Grissing, M. Harris,
R. Kuempel, M. Mendez-Rizzo, S. Murphy, M. Pastorella, P. Peterson, P. Sarantis, E. Stewart, M. Timmons, G. Toth,
H. Wynn-Preische
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: S. Piciulo, A. Sharp
GUESTS: V. Avalone, K. Canfield, B. Connally, P. Wakem
Meeting called to order: 3:35pm
1. Guest Speakers:
Barbara Connolly, Dean of Academic Services at DCC – Academic Initiatives at Damon
Neat Students: The number of students taking courses at DCC has increased from 1145 FTE’s, (headcount of 4491) during the 2001-2002 academic year to 1326 FTE (headcount of 4814) in the current year. The demographics of the student population, while not much different than MCC as a whole, does show more ethnic diversity than the Brighton campus and is predominately female and younger than in past years. Students are extremely passionate about being at Damon. Student comments and opinions are highly valued and Damon is a true learning community.
Neat Faculty: Numbers have increased from 35 full-time and 82 adjunct faculty in the Fall 2001 semester to 45 full-time and 118 adjunct faculty in Spring 2004. There is a mix of faculty teaching their full load at Damon and those that split their time between Damon and Brighton campuses.
Neat Programs:
Teacher Education is the newest program to be offered at DCC. Curriculum proposals for 3 degrees within the program have been submitted to SUNY and state approval is expected in the near future. Until then, students enrolled in education courses are working under an advisement sequence for teacher education within the Liberal Arts degree.
Law and Criminal Justice: A new initiative within the Police Science degree is Brighton Watch, a service learning project linking learning outcomes of a particular course to community service needs. Through Brighton Watch, students have monitored motorists’ speed through neighborhoods and educated senior citizens on travel and computer safety tips. Perkins’ funding has been received for PREP (Police Recruitment Educational Project) which uses a collaborative effort between the Rochester Police Department and CEAS (Center for Educational Access and Achievement) to identify and tutor students entering the police academy. Currently twelve students are in the program, and numbers are expected to increase next year. Additionally, the Paralegal Studies Certificate recently received American Bar Association approval; the department collaborating with the Homeland Security Institute to develop coursework for a Homeland Security Management Degree; and grant funding has been received to join with Office and Computer Technology in the development of coursework and laboratory space for a Computer/Cyber Security Certificate.
Human Services: The Early Childhood Certificate links Rochester Parent Network and day care providers in Brigthon. New initiatives include the design of credit bearing courses leading to Family Development Credentials and a new course, Contemporary Urban Issues, will be offered next fall.
Under the direction of Susan Bender, Service Learning has linked courses in Education with Junior Achievement and the School Without Walls; Sociology with the American Red Cross; Political Science with Volunteer Legal Services; English with Wilson Commencement Park; and Criminal Justice with the Brighton Police. The program continues to grow. The Center for Educational Access and Achievement (CEAS) offers both pre-collegiate (e.g. STEP, STAGE) and collegiate programs (C-STEP, STAND, Bridges to Baccalaureate) with the goal of keeping students in school or providing skills training for employment. The programs are extremely successful. AmeriCorps, a national community- based organization has its Rochester regional site housed at DCC and provides education awards to students for their community service.
Dean Connolly invites faculty to come and tour the Damon campus to see first hand the “neat” stuff DCC has to offer.
Terry Keys, Director, Instructional Technologies - Instructional Technology Update
Although faculty are familiar with many of the services provided by Instructional Technology Services, a tour of the ITS website can be informative. As a part of Education Technology Services, the focus of ITS is to improve education through a variety of instructional means. One of the primary focal points of ITS over the past several years has been providing support for the development and delivery of on line courses. MCC has been a leader in the SUNY Learning Network, now offering 121 sections of 86 different courses on line. Hybrid courses use a combination of on-line delivery and face-to-face meetings to deliver a course. Currently, six hybrid courses are being offered.
MCC joined with Suffolk and Herkimer Community Colleges to pilot the campus based initiative known as CourseSpace. Password protected, CourseSpace allows faculty to combine all technology options currently available (e.g. threaded discussions, student quizzes, submission of assignments; video clips, etc.) when teaching. Although CourseSpace is now merged with SLN, it is not limited to on line courses, but can be used as an enhancement to any course taught at MCC.
The Faculty Innovation Center provides faculty with access to the latest equipment in technology. ITS offers training in a variety of areas easily located on the ITS web site. Faculty also have free access to SkillSoft, a self paced training program offering 800 programs through the web. Also on the ETS web page is a link to Tech News providing updates on general technology topics.
Faculty are encouraged to share ideas on technology use in the classroom with ETS.
2. Announcements (D. Cox)
The Executive Committee will be selecting individuals to serve on two ad-hoc committees of the Senate. The first will provide a follow up to the list of recommendations submitted in 2000 by a previous ad hoc committee studying MCC’s promotion process. The second committee will be concerned with the issue of civility on campus. The Executive Committee will formalize specific charges for each committee. Names of interested faculty should be submitted to the Executive Committee.
Senate elections will be held this spring. D. Cox offered to discuss Senate responsibilities and opportunities with any department requesting her to do so.
3. Approval of Minutes: Minutes of the February 25, 2004 meeting were approved as corrected.
4. Standing Committee Reports
Academic Policies (E. Laidlaw):
· The committee has received a great deal of feedback (both positive and negative) from department chairs in response to the committee’s draft of an alternative academic calendar.
· Work continues with TRS to on the curriculum revisions for current TRS courses.
· Pete Otero, Michele Deagman Reed and Richard Ryther met with the committee regarding current policies on academic honesty. Ideas to educate both students and faculty on academic honesty included opportunities for faculty discussion; providing a link to a website stating the policy within course information sheets; publishing “factoids” related to this topic in the Tribune on a regular basis. The problem is most likely under reported, with about fifty cases involving academic dishonesty being reported to Student Services this year.
Curriculum (H. Wheeler):
· Currently has 19 proposals posted for review:
NEG (S. Cable):
· In preparation for the upcoming election of MCC’s representative to the Faculty Council of Community Colleges, the Tribune published a statement prepared by Tom Cooper outlining the responsibilities and duties of the position. A call for nominations was published in the Tribune on March 23.
· Notifications will be sent to departments and areas with Senate seats up for election this spring.
·The committee continues to research issues related to membership and voting status within the Faculty Senate. Their findings will be submitted to the Executive Committee by the end of the semester.
Planning (T. Keys):
No report
Professional Development (W. Brewer):
The committee has interviewed applicants for professional leave. Recommendations will be forwarded to the administration after all applications have been reviewed. Nominations for the Wesley T. Hanson Award for Teaching Excellence and the MCC Award for Professional Service Excellence are due April 7.
SCAA (J. McCauley):
· Open hearings have begun for the Associate Dean of Technical Education. Recommendations will be forwarded to the administration next week.
· Departments scheduled to hold chair elections this spring have been notified. To date, each affected department has at least one candidate for the position.
5. Old Business
There was no old business.
6. New Business
There was no new business.
Meeting adjourned at 4:46 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna Cox Terri Tugel
President Secretary
Minutes approved at the April 22, 2004 Faculty Senate meeting.
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06/02/2004 |