THE SENATE STANDARD – ISSUE 2.36
ACC Full-Time Faculty Senate Website
ACC Coronavirus page
Dear Faculty Colleagues,
I hope your summer classes are going well. The emerging issues the Full-Time Faculty Senate is monitoring over the summer include the Board of Trustees budget process, the developing initiative to open more face-to-face opportunities on more campuses come fall as the COVID-19 pandemic trends towards better days ahead, and following through on the video conferencing platforms the college will continue to support going forward. You’ll find new information about the video conferencing issue in Newsworthy below.
Also under Newsworthy below, see the call for Full-Time Faculty volunteers for our Shared Governance and Senate Standing Committees. It is our presence on these decision-making committees that give us the strongest voice at the college level. If you’ve been seeking opportunities to have your voice be heard, here is your opportunity. See below for details.
Stay cool!
Wayne
Senate Meetings / Minutes / Agendas
The next Full-Time Faculty Senate meeting is Friday, June 11th from noon to 2:00PM. Click the link above to add this meeting to your Google calendar. View the meeting agenda here.
Newsworthy
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.
Web Conferencing Update: The Faculty Communications team has updated TLED’s web conferencing webpage here: https://tled.austincc.edu/faculty-support/tools/web-conferencing/
New things you’ll notice:
- Links to knowledge base “how-to” articles for each of the tools, including zoom polling, and breakout rooms
- New FAQ page
- Clarity note that the chart displays only features that are currently available & supported by ACC
- Chart update: Added new available feature – video pinning
The Web Conferencing Summit Event Recap articulating the positions and recommendations of the Full-Time Faculty Senate, the Adjunct Faculty Association, and TLED and IT at https://instruction.austincc.edu/tledupdates/2021/02/26/web-conferencing-summit-event-recap/
TLED Charla Series: TLED is hosting a Spanish language ‘practice’ series this summer to help ACC employees gain practice and exposure to reading, writing, listening to, and speaking Spanish in support of our Latinx students. Each session will feature an article in Spanish chosen by the facilitator. Participants will read the article and come to the discussion ready to practice higher education Spanish terms by listening, typing in the chat, and speaking. Facilitators will help guide the conversation, translate as needed, and post or share vocabulary specific to the article. You’re invited to Charla en Español (Chat in Spanish) in this friendly environment!
Click here to view the schedule.
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].
Summer Wellness Classes: Our amazing wellness instructors will be back NEXT WEEK with virtual wellness classes available FREE to all ACC employees. We even have a couple of NEW classes (including some 30 minute options) and returning past instructors for this semester.
Check out the Summer schedule HERE to view and access these classes, and be sure to mark your calendar with your favorite classes to join! In fact, you can click HERE to add the shared Wellness Calendar to your Google Calendar for easy access
Please be sure to Register HERE prior to attending any classes. While there is still no attendance requirement, this form is required for participation. You may sign up for as many classes as you plan to attend using one form, and can even edit to add new classes as desired. This form contains the official class waiver and provides us with a way to communicate important information regarding the classes throughout the semester. We hope you will join us, and see you in class next week!
HR Memo on Housing Support Services: The College recognizes that during these times of challenge, employees need support and assistance in a variety of ways. There are a variety of city and county programs that provide assistance. To view the full memo and list of options, click here.
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 [Proposals due Monday, June 14; Event 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. TLED’s Faculty Development team is seeking presenters for Summer Software Day sessions that focus on:
- ACC Resources
- Accessibility and Universal Design
- Active and Engaged Teaching
- Adobe Tools
- Assessment Techniques
- Creativity
- Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity
- Wellness
Please consider submitting a workshop proposal or encouraging a colleague to do so. Workshop proposals are due on Monday, June 14, 2021. 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.
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