Faculty Council Minutes
January 28, 2005

In attendance:

Norma Driscoll	Dennis Gilbert	Bob Barber
Alice Whitenack	Andy Salzman	Stan Taylor
Sheila Broderick	Christina Salter	Ray Smith (Classified)
Bert Pooth	Stephen Selph	Jim Salt (LCCEA)
Sharon Kimble	Mark Harris	Chris Seifert
Peggy Oberstaller	Sue Thompson	Jim Bailey
Larry Scott	Craig Taylor

The minutes of the Council meeting of 14 January 2005 were approved.

Introductions: all present introduced themselves.

Sheila Broderick announced that Teresa Hughes, who had been approved as a Faculty Council representative to the Space Assignment Committee, would not be able to fulfill those duties because of schedule conflicts.
She also noted that Sonya Christian is working on resolving the privacy issues associated with sending e-mails to groups of students. Helen Garrett has sent an e-mail to faculty and staff providing a temporary solution involving the use of the “blind copy” feature rather that the “to” box.
The faculty council will have a representative on a workgroup to examine the technology plan, but we are awaiting the Technology Council’s input.

Bert Pooth reminded everyone to spread the word about the two open forums to discuss the learning plan. The first will be Wednesday, 2 February from 11:00 to noon, the second on Thursday, 3 February from 4:00 to 5:00 PM. Both will take place in room 309 of the Forum Building.

Jim Salt announced that the members of LCCEA in attendance at the faculty wide meeting voted to support the ATU in the event they strike against LTD. He also noted that a rally in support of the drivers and other workers would be held Saturday, Jan. 29 at noon at LCC.

LTD strike
Considerable concern was expressed over a statement on a flyer released by the Office of Instruction and Student Services. In particular, it is feared some students may drop their classes because they don’t believe they will be able to “complete the requirements listed in the syllabus”.
Bert Logan reported on the impact of the strike on student financial aid.
Some points he made:

Students receiving financial aid must take 12 credits per term.
If a student completes 60% of coursework before dropping it, they generally do not have to pay back aid for that course.
Because 60% of this term is over in mid-February, students who can’t make it to school will not be able to meet that requirement. It is not certain that all students are aware of this situation.
Financial aid may be withdrawn if a student does not maintain satisfactory academic progress. Satisfactory progress is considered 80% of coursework completed. In the event of a bus drivers’ strike, students that ride the bus may not be able to meet this requirement, but the financial aid department will give them a break if they can show that they tried to make arrangements with their teachers.

Bert asked that faculty help affected students by providing as much evidence as possible that the students’ made an effort to contact faculty and make appropriate arrangements.

If teachers give students incompletes, those courses do not count toward the 80% course completion requirement.

Bert noted that his department faces two opposing concerns: giving credit for satisfactory progress and compliance with college and governmental policies.
Larry Scott noted that the requirements are a really big problem in Co-op ed. These students’ loss of time affects their employers as well as their financial aid and many of them need buses not only to get to school, but also to their places of employment.
Andy Salzman expressed concern about students missing art labs where the necessary materials may not be available at another time.
Mark Harris reported that some certifications have class time requirements.
Denis Gilbert noted that the financial aid policy is a guideline. He also asked what about students who might want to withdraw rather than deal with the difficulties the strike might bring them. They wouldn’t get refunds and might have to repay some financial aid.

With reference to the statement on the flyer, Jim Salt suggested we share with fellow faculty that we have the authority to decide how grading is done.

The council voted to release a statement noting a) that the council opposes actions taken in connection with the strike that might harm students’ standing, grades or financial aid, b) the council urges faculty to help minimize the negative impact of the strike on students, and c) the council calls on the administration to help minimize the impact of the strike on students and that they should seek to recoup bus riding fees from LTD and distribute these to the people, especially students, who paid them. Sheila Broderick and Bert Pooth will work on the statement.

Sustainability
Stan Taylor reported on the work of the Sustainability Core Group, which includes Stan, Joe Russin, Jackie Fern, and Sonya Christian.
The group has identified 3 aspects of sustainability in LCC operations:

1) sustainability with respect to resource use and waste management;
2) Sustainability in learning; and
3) sustainability of the institution. Six working groups have been formed to address six areas identified as areas of interest to the sustainability core group.

Dennis Gilbert noted that we shouldn’t maintain mediocrity, that sustainability should be for the best aspects of the college. Jim Salt asked how broad is the focus? If too broad, it won’t get much done. Larry Scott said he’d been on the Energy Management Committee and changes they suggested had often failed because people won’t change (by turning down their thermostats, for example). so education is an important aspect of achieving sustainability. Mark Harris was interested in the idea of a summer academy on sustainability and suggested it could help people learn sustainable practices.
Stan hopes more faculty will join the group.

Faculty Decision Making Grid
Bob Barber introduced the grid, a work begun as the governance system was being designed. The grid lists 38 topics where faculty make decisions, and indicates the extent to which faculty decisions, as well as those of various other entities, affect the topic. It is not a finished work.
Dennis Gilbert suggested we look not only at the existing situation, but our aims.
There was discussion on how to examine the grid. It was agreed that the entire council should go over the “Workload” and “Diversity” as the first item on the agenda at the next meeting.