By | November 28, 2019

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THE SENATE STANDARD – ISSUE 14

Dear Faculty Colleagues,

Please take a moment to read through this edition of the Standard before you head out for your well-deserved break.

I’m hopeful that you’ll pay special attention to the current action item “Please Help Missi!!!” So far, I only have two faculty suggestions, and I need more!  I tend toward being a horrible “ugly crier” at our graduations, and I think I’ll have a better chance at keeping it all together if I read other people’s words, rather than my own. Help a gal out, and give me some great things to say to our students. They deserve our very best as they celebrate their success.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I hope you will have a wonderful holiday, full of all the things that make you feel most thankful. I’m very thankful for my faculty colleagues and the rest of our ACC family. I will look forward to finishing up the semester with you all when we return.

Senate Meetings / Minutes / Agendas

Senate Meeting with President Rhodes and Cabinet – 11/8/19 – Minutes are now available for all faculty to review.

THIRD CALL FOR AGENDA ITEMS – 12/13/19 Senate Meeting – noon to 2pm HBC 301 – The agenda for our next Senate meeting is now in development. If you have items you wish to be included, please submit them to [email protected] or your campus senator now.

Newsworthy

Senator Nominations – As mentioned in previous editions of the Standard, we were planning for Fall special elections to fill the two open slots for Senators at the Elgin and San Gabriel Campuses. Unfortunately, we received no nominations, so no elections will be held. We will of course, hold elections in the Spring for the 2020-21 Full-Time Faculty Senate.  

New Action Items [please check due dates below!]

Faculty Values Logo [due Friday, December 6] – The Faculty Values Project aimed to get ACC faculty to agree on key values that inform our work. There is a proposal to update the logo for the Values, and Michelle Fitzpatrick, Assistant Dean of Faculty Development would like your input. Please take a moment to vote on the options for the logo.

Volunteers for the 2020 Institute on High-Impact Practices and Student Success – ACC is putting together a team that will travel to this conference on improving teaching. If you are interested, please submit your name on our travel volunteer form to be considered. Only one nominee can be sent from the Full-Time Faculty Senate.

Faculty Emergency Fund – Please Donate! – The Faculty Emergency Fund is in need of our support. Our Senate Committee, led by Kisha Moragne asks for your help so we can assist our colleagues in need. Take a moment to learn about how you can be a part of this important effort.

New Academic Master Plan Process [December 12, 2019] – You may remember that in the past, ACC developed its Academic Master Plan by having each department submit its own goals and budget requests. That resulted in a nearly 400 page document that was really difficult to review. This year, our Provost, Charles Cook, would like to move toward a more concise and readable version of the Academic Master Plan. One that uses requests from the AoS level, rather than individual departments. He is also interested in focusing on some college-wide goals. A sample master plan that he likes was created by Montgomery Community College. Take a peek, and then weigh in on this new idea. You can submit your comments to [email protected]

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

Please help Missi!!! [due December 1, 2019] – Every semester, the Faculty Senate President gives a short address sharing a faculty perspective at the ACC Graduation Ceremony. This year, I’d like to bring many faculty voices to our students on their special day. Do you have some wishes or words of wisdom you would like to share with graduating students? If so, please take a moment to craft a sentence or two that could be a part of this year’s graduation address. I’ll review all submissions and select as many as possible to include. Submit your statement on the “Graduation Speech Suggestions” form.

Comment on new Proposed Senate Bylaws [due December 6, 2019] – The Senate Bylaws Committee, chaired by Jon Luckstead, is in the process of making changes to our bylaws. This effort has been in the works for several years, and we are pleased to be in the home stretch. The proposed drafts are now available online. You can see the red line version to recognize changes, but the most up-to-date version is the clean copy. You can also review a summary of the major changes. Take some time to review the proposed drafts, and then send any comments to Jon Luckstead ([email protected]).  Once we’ve heard from faculty and improved the draft, the Senate will be voting on whether or not we should call for a vote of all faculty to adopt these changes.

Dual Credit changes [due December 5, 12, and 13] – Please take a moment to view the memo entitled “Dual Credit and Student Success”. If you would like your views on this proposal to be shared with either ASAC or the FT Faculty Senate, please use one or all of the options below:

    – Email a Senate representative on ASAC (membership is listed on the ASAC webpage) – before Dec 5

    – Email one (or all) of your campus senators (senators are listed on the Senate webpage) – before Dec 12

    – Email the faculty senate officers – [email protected] – before Dec 12

    – Join us at the FT Faculty Senate meeting and share your perspectives in person (December 13 from noon to 2pm, HBC 301)

Pay as you go details – Help spread the word to students [through January 6, 2020] – A new registration process is in effect for students. Known as “Pay as you go,” this process outlines new deadlines for paying tuition. To ensure that students keep the classes they register for, they all need to know about these deadlines. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with this information. Then, consider announcing it in class, or sending an email to your students with a link to this information.

Best,

++missi patterson