Academic Senate Report to the Senate

Meetings:

In Shared Governance, Dr. Laguerre was out of town so the Interim Director of Human Resources, Dr. Largent, chaired the meeting. We were given a draft job description for the Dean of Academic Success and Learning Resources. The position still lacks input from the Library, but in essence it is completed. A partial list of responsibilities include; library services, basic skills, distance education, and faculty development. What I have noticed today is that the original intent of the position was to spearhead the creation of a Center for Academic Success that oversaw the reading/writing/math labs and tutoring center. I'm checking now to see if this omission was by design or not. Dr. Largent also shared with us the tentative timeline for the VPASA and Executive Director of Institutional Advancement positions. Additionally, she shared that HR has spent about $7,500 in advertising these two positions. I gave a similar PERT update to the one Rob Simas gave to the Senate; recommendations and actions by that group. I also gave a quick accreditation update. The Policy 500 series was up, but Dr. Waits was not there to bring the item forward. I imagine that it would have reflected the Student Conduct policies that we reviewed earlier. What needs to go to the SGC is the Institutional Review Board and the Strategic and Operational proposals (1, 2, and 3) that the Senate has approved. They should appear on the next SGC agenda.

In the Financial and Budget Planning Advisory Council (FaBPAC), VP Roth led us through some highlights of the Governor's Budget Workshop. The District is working on scenarios for a 0%, 3% and 5% decrease in State funding in anticipation of mid-year cuts. The jury is still out on this because the Governor has even spoken of a 2% increase. According to VP Roth, the general consensus among those present at the workshop was that there would be somewhere between 0 -3% reductions considering the State of California is experiencing a 21 billion deficit. In the FaBPAC, there was a presentation on early retirement incentives called SERP. This item is going forward to the Board at its next meeting/study session. What we got was an overview of what early retirement incentives might mean at SCC. When you calculate out the total number of early retirements, not replacing them all with new hires or factoring in possible substitutes/interims/consultants/ or adjunct faculty… the district could stand to save 3 million dollars over 5 years.

I met with Dr. Laguerre and he has asked that I invite all senators to attend the first regular study session of the Board of Trustees this week Wednesday at 6:00. In a previous SGC meeting and then the Board took action on changing the general set-up of the Board meetings. Big changes include having Closed Session at the beginning of the meetings, reducing the number of regular Board meetings in favor of Study Sessions, and the addition of an information/action item spot on the Board agenda. The SGC expressed its concern about these changes noting that Closed Session at the beginning of the meeting is inconsiderate to the public because it is hard to know when they'll end, that study sessions are good they could potentially limit discussion as an item comes up for action and finally, that a combined information/action item might be a detriment to the reflection that having an item up for information then, a week later, up for action offers.

In the PERT meeting we reviewed all of the suggestions and recommendations that Rob Simas received regarding the District's Strategic Plan. The PERT considered all recommendations. Here is version 1 and 2. We kept our eyes out for items that were more tactical rather than strategic, items that were subsumed under already existing goals and objectives, and we tried to be as respectful as possible to the process and the voice of those who were asked to represent their area in the Strategic Planning Workshops. We did make several changes and Rob will be forwarding the final document back out to the College. If you've got a constituent who wonders why their idea or suggestion was not included, please have them communicate with Rob.

Accreditation:

With Robin Steinback out with a hurt knee we are without our "quarterback", as it were. I'm trying to play first string and bring all the pieces together. I am currently coordinating the list of faculty who have volunteered and looking for gaps. The immediate goal is to identify those who will be part of the Accreditation Committee; this means co-chairs, ALO, Senate President, and Editor. I also have been asked to identify a few faculty to participate in the ASCCC Accreditation Institute in March.