THE SENATE STANDARD – ISSUE 2.12
ACC Full-Time Faculty Senate Website
ACC Coronavirus page
Dear Faculty Colleagues,
It’s that time of the year when projects and initiatives launched last year and early this year start coming to fruition. So, I have much to report on in this issue of the Standard. Below find updates on Board of Trustees and IT activities, as well as requests for feedback. Read about the Full-Time Faculty Senate’s (FTFS) roles in new initiatives, like the ACC Cross College Communications Team, and share what being a Riverbat means to you. Learn about a holiday charity opportunity, a job opening, and don’t forget about the free Virtual Lilly Conference.
We’re approaching the final stretch, with Thanksgiving around the corner and the end of the semester a few weeks out. We have a president-elect, some promising news about a vaccine, but still hearing ominous warnings about social distancing during the holidays to fight off another surge.
Hang in there. Stay safe. Take care of yourself, so you can take care of others. Looks like soon we’ll have much to be thankful for.
Best,
Wayne
Senate Meetings / Minutes / Agendas
11/13/20 Senate Meeting – The minutes for this meeting are currently in development. They will be posted after approval.
12/11/20 Senate Meeting, noon – 1:30 pm – This is the first call for agenda items for our next monthly Senate meeting. Please send items for consideration to me at [email protected] or to your campus senator by Friday, December 4th. Find details on how to join this meeting online on the Senate Calendar. You can also add the event (and online joining details) to your own calendar by clicking on the 12/11/20 Senate Meeting link above.
Newsworthy
FTFS Communications Officer Julz Decker becomes founding member of the ACC Cross-College Communications Team. ACC has experienced tremendous growth over the last several years and as the college becomes more complex internal communications become more challenging. In response to concerns from constituent groups and ACC faculty and staff via the Climate Survey, Chancellor Rhodes tasked Brette Lea, VP of Communications and Marketing, with launching the team as a way to make internal communications more efficient and effective. The Cross-College Communications Team will share best practices and develop innovative approaches to improving complex campus-wide communications as a way to drive the Chancellor’s CCCs—Collaboration, Connection & Caring. Be sure to share your input and feedback on campus communications with the Faculty Senate Leadership Team at [email protected]
Board of Trustees Meeting – The ACC Board of Trustees held a special meeting on Monday, November 16th. The major agenda items included Institutional Effectiveness reports. These reports included Regional Advisory Committees’ recommendations by Dr. Molly Beth Malcolm and Mr. Chris Cervini, an update on the Academic Master Plan by Dr. Charles Cook, and an update on the Districtwide Campus Master Plan by Mr. Neil Vickers. For all the details, visit the Board of Trustees website to find a table with links to agendas, minutes, and videos. Dive into the November 16 agenda to get all the details and presentation slides.
Course Evaluation Update – Given most courses went online in response to the pandemic, the paper course evaluation process proved no longer feasible. IT and TLED rolled out an updated online course evaluation form and process. Since the course evaluation tool we have been using was no longer upgradable or adaptable to the new demands, a new tool was adopted. Unfortunately, the new system cannot report results like the older system did. Specifically, the old rankings, i.e. Excellent, Very Good, etc. are not possible in the new system. Various work groups, committees, and key stakeholders are holding discussions about new performance category options. We full-time faculty are represented by the five members of the Faculty Development and Evaluation shared governance committee and FTFS leadership (FSLT). Note that the course evaluation content has not changed. Keep an eye out for future updates as more information becomes available.
Chosen Name Utility for Students – Based on input from faculty, staff, and students, IT has been working on a “Chosen Name” utility which will allow ACC students to replace their legal, given name with their chosen names. The function will allow users to change how their names appear in email, Blackboard, and other digital spaces. A fully operational version is expected in about a month. The Student Chosen Name utility will serve as the foundation of a similar tool for staff and faculty later this year.
What does being a Riverbat mean to you? College Marketing is doing so much fun stuff this week to celebrate RB’s 10th Birthday! They’d love to hear from faculty about “what it means to be a Riverbat”! Add your comment into this Google Doc.
The Office of Compliance Job Posting – The ACC Compliance Office is looking for an Operations Coordinator to join the team! Review the job description and apply at https://bit.ly/2JIMf9A
26th Annual Giving Tree – The time has come to spread some cheer and bring smiles to our students and their families. The ACC Support Center is having their 26th Annual Giving Tree! Purchase a holiday gift for ACC Support Center families. Sponsor a child for the 26th Annual Virtual Giving Tree by signing up for a virtual tag by November 30th, 2020. For questions contact[email protected]
How to Sign-up:
- Access the Giving Tree List: Giving Tree 2020 List
- Choose the campus of preference (bottom of excel sheet tabs)
- Choose a child to sponsor
- Enter your name, email address and method of delivery
- Due date for purchasing or shipping your gift is Monday, December 7th.
Virtual Lilly Conference [Nov 30] – The Lilly Conference is virtual this Fall and will be held on November 30th – December 4th, 2020. TLED has purchased a college-wide license which means all ACC faculty and staff are can attend FOR FREE! Click here for more details.
New Action Items [please check due dates below!]
MyACC Survey [Due Dec 2] – IT is developing a faculty portal called MyACC to pull together various resources and tools faculty use via Online Services, as well as other places on the ACC website. The goal is to make ACC tools and information more accessible and navigable for faculty. IT’s developers are looking for faculty feedback as they continue their work towards a mid-Spring ’21 launch. All faculty are invited to visit the MyACC test site to take a tour. Then, complete the feedback survey to share your thoughts on the design and various functions by December 2nd.
Current Action Items (These are reminders for things I’ve already sent out):
Administrative Rule for Review [Due Dec 2] – The Administrative Services Council (ASC) has reviewed and approved proposed changes to the following Administrative Rule (AR) and Guideline/Procedure (G/P) and posted the drafts for comments from ACC employees:
6.01.004 Criminal History and Background Checks for Employment
The AR has been updated to reflect current regulations and practices, as well as the reference to Board policy. Some clauses have been moved from the AR to the G/P, or vice versa, as appropriate. Additional wording changes have been proposed for clarity or consistency.
The draft is available for viewing and adding comments here: https://sites.google.com/a/austincc.edu/asc-internal/admin_rules_drafts
Please read the instructions before adding comments. The deadline for comments is December 2, 2020