Cindy Bollens served as part-time representative to the Academic Senate for the previous two years. Here's her report on last semester.
One of the most important programs to impact the California community college system is the welfare reform program. The community college system is being tasked with developing a self-contained, intensive curriculum to prepare students to successfully complete an occupational program and to develop job readiness. The curriculum will include elements of basic skills instruction, career and academic counseling, personal management and job success skills.
A task team under the direction of Dr. Phil Hartley and Rick Stewart is currently working on the Occupational Preparation and Job Readiness Project. The following is from the abstract for the project which states:
The model would develop an intensive, self-contained "mega course" involving 96 hours of interactive instructional activity. The course would then be implemented and tested for effectiveness as a model for state-wide use.
The mega course will be solution centered focusing on student goals for success and will incorporate the basic elements of time management, basic keyboarding/typing, work processing, spreadsheets, integrated writing and study skills, self-esteem and personal responsibility, basic applied math, employer expectations, and Internet applications.
The course will focus heavily on experiential activities and will rely on materials and application drawn from real world situations. The innovative use of technology will be integrated into the course as a means of individualizing instruction and maximizing student success through outcome measures of student achievement. Learning activities will integrate SCANS skills and will focus heavily on developing group communication and team building skills.
A team teaching approach involving academic, occupational, and counseling faculty will insure that the entire campus community is viewed as a learning resource and that student development is integrated with academic preparation.
This project will impact the effective delivery of occupational education and training by providing a better prepared entering population of students. It will further streamline district wide availability of job readiness training opportunities and reduce duplication of efforts by community welfare agencies. It is anticipated that the project package will be self-supporting through generated FTES and may be replicated easily by other institutions.
In addition to the above project the College has been funded by TANF and CalWorks grants for a program through the Willits campus to address local employment and a project through the Lake County campus to address child-care.
The Academic Senate has been working to revise the current Faculty Evaluation Form. The original impetus was the recognition that the inclusion of student evaluations was optional. It was determined that the student evaluations were an essential part of the overall input, and should be a required element. In the process of revising the evaluation form to include the student evaluation the entire form was given a thorough review and additional sections were added to include commendations, recommendations for improvement, and other information.
A new Flex activity has been added as a result of the "hot topics" meeting held late in the fall semester. The faculty attending the meeting expressed a strong need for a more frequent forum in which faculty could discuss and share information about the events occurring within the campus community. The major concern was for increased communication in an informal setting. Thus was born the monthly Hot Topics meetings being held throughout the spring semester. The noon-time sessions begin with a suggested list of topics; additional topics are elicited from the participants. The participants pick the topics of most interest, and the moderator provides the forum for open input. The participation has been very good, and the general atmosphere is one of collegial sharing. And to add to the positive benefits, all participants get Flex credit!
The part-time faculty has two representatives to the Academic Senate. The position has several benefits. The representative is given an opportunity to participate as part of the shared-governance process of the College. The position provides a clear understanding of the processes within the institution. The Senate involves working with faculty, classified employees, and administration throughout the college. And the position carries a stipend of $20 per meeting!
All meetings are open to the public and are held on Thursdays (except for the first Thursday of the month) at 12:30 in Room 1270. Your current representatives-Laurie Rossa-Vazquez and Neill Bell (and outgoing Cindy Bollens)-would be more than happy to discuss their experience with you.
Since part-time faculty are still excluded from the electronic mail system, much of the information distribution process bypasses us. In recognition of this communication lapse within the College, a resolution was presented and accepted that required that Part-time faculty be included in the distribution of all material that goes to full-time faculty unless the material has a need to be restricted (i.e. applies only to full-time faculty). While it is obvious that this resolution will add to paper generation at the college, it is considered to be the only means of guaranteeing that part-time faculty continue to be in the communication loop until E-Mail access is available.
A resolution was presented and passed to set in place a system of academic titles for the faculty. All faculty will be entitled to petition the Academic Senate for conferral of academic rank. The process for assignment of rank is yet to be decided, but the suggested system is based on placement in the salary schedule (i.e. degree and seniority). Part-time faculty would be given a rating based on a service equivalence to full-time. There is no benefit to the academic recognition other than title conferred; it provides for a title other than "instructor" for publications, student recommendations, etc. Conferral of titles is planned to be by application only. Titles presently being considered would be Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Professor. The process for conferring titles and the titles to be conferred are still to be decided. If you have any input, now is the time to convey it to your Academic Senate representatives.
As we have been continually promised, access is just around the corner. The College has received funding to upgrade its system, and access is promised to be coming in the near future. Fall Semester 98 is now the target date, but we'll believe it when we actually see it. This continues to be a strong deterrent to part-time faculty participation in the communication medium used by the Full-time staff. Until this barrier is eliminated the part-time faculty will be left out of the information exchange available to the staff.[see update on p. 3]
As a result of a resolution on academic standards proposed by Dr. Matt Howard, a member of the part-time faculty, the Academic Senate appointed a committee to update Policy Number 326, "Academic Freedom," in the Mendo-Lake Community College District Policy Manual. The update will take into consideration the updated statement issued recently by the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. Dr. Howard was concerned about administrative pressure to influence his course conduct. His resolution brought to the Academic Senate's attention the need to update the current policy to emphasize the appropriate channels for faculty and students to arbitrate differences regarding class content and requirements.
Sonoma State and Mendocino College are currently investigating the possibility of offering SSU classes in facilities which Sonoma State would erect on-site at Mendocino College. The facility as currently envisioned would consist of a building with classrooms and offices. The building would be located in the vicinity of the red barn building in the Maintenance area. Mendocino College would have use of the facility for classes during the daytime, and SSU would use the facility in the evenings (after 5PM). Classes would be offered leading to a BA in Liberal Studies and, in the future, possibly business.
Copyright MPFA 1998
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited