By | July 8, 2021
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THE SENATE STANDARD – ISSUE 2.40

ACC Full-Time Faculty Senate Website 

ACC Coronavirus page

Dear Faculty Colleagues,

Let me start with some good news.  At their July 6th meeting, the Board of Trustees approved the 21-22 budget, and that budget includes a 4% across-the-board raise. Chancellor Rhodes, when offering a rationale for the raise to the Board of Trustees, lavished praise on all ACC employees for our collective efforts to keep ACC strong at a time when many community colleges are losing enrollments and revenue, offering no or tiny raises, or laying off faculty and staff.    

Also, please take a close look at the Current Action Items section below to review the several opportunities to share your thoughts, to voice your concerns, and to play a crucial role in our shared governance process.  TLED is looking for feedback on the new Faculty Handbook by July 15th.  You have until July 9th to volunteer as the Full-Time Faculty representative on the search committee for our next Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives in Instruction. Interested in becoming an educational leader down the road in your career? Sign up for the Teaching and Learning Academy by August 1st.

And finally, and most importantly, we’re soliciting full-time faculty volunteers to serve on the various shared governance councils and committees as well as the senate’s standing committees. Active, engaged membership on any one of the committees is the best way to influence decision making at ACC.  You have until July 18th to sign up.

Stay cool.  Stay safe!

Wayne

Senate Meetings / Minutes / Agendas

The next Full-Time Faculty Senate meeting will be this Friday, July 9th from noon until 1:30 pm. Click here to add the meeting to your Google Calendar.

Check out the meeting agenda here.

The June 11th meeting minutes have been approved. You can view them here.

Newsworthy

Board of Trustees Update (4% raises): The Board of Trustees met on July 6th and they unanimously approved the 21-22 budget. The budget includes a 4% across-the-board raise.  Visit the Board of Trustees Meetings website to see the agenda and watch a recording of the meeting.  When minutes are available, they will be added to this page.

ACC Student Success Report, 2020-2021 is Now Available: Download Provost Cook’s presentation to the board.  As the Provost noted in his cover email to the association presidents, “The report documents the amazing success of ACC students during this past very difficult year.  I emphasized to the Board that this success would not have been possible without the incredible dedication of our faculty and staff and the countless hours you have all spent in terms of professional development, adaptation of pedagogies and technologies, and acts of empathy and care for our students.”

Zoom is now integrated with Blackboard! To get started, add the Zoom tool link to your courses. Training and how-to resources are on the way, but in the meantime, support is ready to answer any questions you or your students may have. Visit the TLED blog for more information.

Web Conferencing Update: The Faculty Communications team has updated TLED’s web conferencing webpage here: https://tled.austincc.edu/faculty-support/tools/web-conferencing/   The web conferencing page and updated features table result from a collaboration among stakeholders from Distance Education, Academic Technology, Student Affairs and the Full-Time Faculty Senate and the Adjunct Faculty Association.

3C’s CARING Webinar [July 9]: Join us as we talk with Deans Brandon Whatley and Roxane Royalty and learn more about how they translate “CARING” into action for their teams and students. 

  • 1:00 pm-2:00 pm
  • Register Here 
  • Join Us Here 

Summer Enrollment for Plan Year 2022 is Now Open: During this open enrollment period, you will have an opportunity to enroll in new benefits programs or change current coverage for yourself and your eligible dependents. Any changes you make go into effect September 1, 2021.  If you do not make changes at this time, you will NOT be able to make any changes to your benefits plan until the next open enrollment period (next year) or if you experience a Qualifying life Event (https://ers.texas.gov/active-employees/Life-Changes).

Faculty Communications Archive: Tired of asking yourself “what did that email say again?” Need to catch up on the faculty messages you missed while on break? See an archive of all communications sent to ACC faculty and instructional leadership. Watch this video for more information and email comments or feedback to [email protected].

TLED recap of the April 23rd Faculty Evaluation Forum. Check out the recording of the forum at https://instruction.austincc.edu/tledupdates/2021/05/11/faculty-evaluation-forum-outcomes-april-23-2021/

TLED Summer Software Day [Friday, July 23]: Summer Software Day is an annual event that offers workshops for all ACC faculty and staff. The event provides you with an opportunity to keep up to date with your tech skills and learn new ones to implement in your classrooms and day-to-day tasks. This year, Summer Software Day will be delivered entirely online on Friday, July 23, 2021. Click here to get event reminders. More details are available at austincc.edu/softwareday

HR Compensation Announces Annual Educational Adjustment Process for Qualifying Full-Time Faculty [Deadline, July 31, 2021]: The Annual Educational Adjustment Process for Qualifying Full-Time Faculty is now being conducted by HR Compensation. If you have completed a higher degree or completed additional graduate hours (either 24, or 45 or more) in your teaching discipline or in the discipline of Education in this academic year (FY21), those additional hours or degree qualifies your salary to be reviewed for a higher salary level. See attached for more details. Contact Carla Dykstra at [email protected] with questions.

Current Action Items (These are reminders for things I’ve already sent out):

Volunteer to Serve on the Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Hiring Committee [Deadline:  5PM, Friday July 9]: AVP Gaye Lynn Scott and Chief Diversity Officer Larry Davis are convening a search committee.  The committee will consist of one Full-Time Faculty member and one adjunct, among others.  Important dates to consider:

  • July 16:  Job ad closes
  • July 19 at 1:00PM:  Search committee kick off meeting
  • August 2-19:  Interview period

If you are interested, visit the Full-Time Faculty Senate homepage to find the volunteer sign up form. The Full-Time Senate Leadership Team will select the representative to forward to Gaye Lynn Scott.

ACC Faculty Handbook Open for Comments [Due July 15th]: In 2018, faculty identified the need for significant revision and updates of the ACC Faculty Handbook, and TLED subsequently became process holder for this document. TLED invites faculty to review and offer feedback on the content by July 15, 2021. The DRAFT Faculty Handbook, feedback form, as well as more detailed information about the Faculty Handbook timeline, can be found on this TLED website –  Faculty Handbook Review Project.

Internal Job Posting for Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives in Instruction [Due July 16th]: Faculty can go to the job postings link here, (you’ll see the position highlighted), or you can go directly to the posting with more information here. The deadline to apply is July 16, and details about how to apply are in the posting.

Call for Shared Governance and Senate Standing Committee Volunteers [Deadline: 5:00P Friday, July 18]: ACC’s shared governance structure and various committees are the primary ways ACC Full-Time Faculty can have a significant voice in college policies and procedures, budgets and technology allocations, and all the other decisions that go into running the college.  Here is your chance to let your voice be heard as a volunteer on one or more of the various shared governance and senate committees. Please visit the form here and let us know your preferences by 5PM on Friday, July 18.

Teaching and Learning Academy (TLA) [Application deadline August 1]: Registration is now open for the Fall 2021-Spring 2022 cohort. Watch Samantha Croft’s short video for her take on why now is the right time to join this program. You have plenty of time before the deadline to apply, but please keep TLA in mind over the summer. Please mark your calendar to submit your application by August 1, 2021. Learn more and apply here.

Best,

Wayne