President’s Report to the Senate

Meetings:

Financial and Budget Planning Advisory Council: Items of note include the Green Initiatives Grant for $418,000, two workforce development grants worth $50.000, and the Budget was approved by the Board on October 7, 2009. Additionally, due in large part to Susan Rinne's determination, we have received $1.8 million FTES as a result of miscalculation recovery. Terri Pearson-Bloom sent out a very articulate e-mail on the subject that I've linked here.

 

We also received an update on the current categorical programs funding situation. There was a handout distributed showing the difference in categorical program budgets from 2008-09 to 2009-10 and it showed a total funding loss of $2.3 million. Another spreadsheet showed the categorical program budgets, the carry-over (if any), and total cuts needed for 2009-10 in Student Services.
The state created guidelines this year on what funds are flexible versus non-flexible. Because the state is allowing some transfers between funds that historically had strict compliance requirements, a public hearing is required at a Board meeting in order to approve transfers. In particular, this concerns the transfer of $227,809 from Matriculation into DSP.
VP Waits requested FABPAC's support of the proposed transfer and advising the college still needs to identify at least $178,663 to keep all categoricals whole for 2009-10. There was group consensus to support that FABPAC was informed, supports the proposed plan, and the transfer is appropriate. The topic will be on the October 21 Board Agenda. VP Waits thanked everyone for the endorsement.

 

Lastly, VP Steinback estimates we'll reduce 123 3-unit classes next spring. The Chancellor's Office is stressing to all colleges to focus on Basic Skills, workforce development, general education, and transfer –also support student services.

 

Dr. Laguerre presented information on the executive level reorganization. He used the same powerpoint that he had used in many division meetings.

Shared Governance Council: Items of note included: The topic of sections reductions for spring came up. SCFA President Tom Grube presented the union's concerns about how course reductions will affect adjunct faculty. My response was that while the Senate values our adjunct faculty, the Senate's role is to ensure that faculty voices are heard in the discussion revolving around the cuts. We are to make certain that the College participates in productive dialogue and makes cuts based on informed input. Because the Chancellor's office has presented its guidelines for cuts, I requested that the District present SGC with a report on which sections will be cut from which disciplines and how spring semester 2010 differs from a typical spring. I stressed that there should be a clear philosophy for making cuts that includes faculty input. Does the Senate want to offer a response to this? Should we create a "philosophy statement" on course reductions?

Bob Myers was present to discuss a Strategic Proposal on Women's Intercollegiate Sports. Unfortunately, SGC had not received the proposal due to a clerical error. We will discuss it in our next meeting.

There will be discussion in the next month or so on the College's Strategic Plan. On October 29th the PERT will meet with Dr. Jensen and then on November 12 and 13th there will be a campus forum and finally on December 4, there will be a community forum on the Strategic Plan.

Dr. Laguerre also commented that there have been some organization changes as a result of Jay Field's departure. A Chief Information Officer position will be created and Jim Ennis will most likely fill that slot. Also, there is a good chance that an academic Dean position, a Dean of Library and Learning Resources, will be created to run the Library, Distance Education, the Teaching and Learning Center, and perhaps tutoring. For the moment this will be filled with an interim but the end goal is to flesh-out the position even more to potentially fill the need that the BSI committee put forward for a center for academic success. This model would include reading/writing/ and math labs as well as the student athlete support under one roof.

We also briefly discussed the budget and got an update on the CBO, HR, and Curriculum Analyst position. They are all moving along well.

Legislative Education Project visit: The LEP staffers were here on October 13, 2009 and spoke to several groups on campus. They were interested in our thoughts on how the decisions that they've made in Sacramento are affecting us. They asked about BSI, accreditation, and categorical programs.

The Board: You can view the Board minutes here.

Other Items:

Accreditation: The visiting team from ACCJC will be here on October 29, 2009. The team will be smaller and stay less time on campus. I have continued to speak to divisions about accreditation and have thanked them for their contributions, advised them of a survey that is soon to be administered, answered questions about our current status, solicited input on how we are progressing, and invited them to participate in the next accreditation reports.

Appointments to Committee: I have asked for participation in a variety of committees. The response has been very good. We should be proud of the strong spirit of collaboration on campus.

IRB: I will be bringing forward to Shared Governance Council the Institutional Review Board recommendations that we approved last semester.