| Senate Standard |
| At the beginning of the year I briefly attended a workforce department meeting to introduce myself and talk about the Senate. The first question one of the faculty members asked was “what does the Senate do?”It is a valid question, since faculty usually are very busy concentrating on their courses and tend to give priority to what impacts their students inside the classroom. So, I asked our past president, Nancy Stano, to give a brief overview of the issues the Senate worked on last year. Boy, it was a busy year! Here are some of these and if you want to see a more comprehensive list, go to the Senate webpage and search for our minutes from our last meeting once they are posted: *Advocated to have our faculty voice heard and represented in the Strategic Plan, as part of the Student Information System, in the Chancellor Search, etc., *Helped improve academic support across campuses, campus maintenance, and information on availability of Distance Education resources, *Supported faculty by ensuring future clinical counselor hires will get faculty status, worked in collaboration with the Provost’s office to get funding for Mental Health First Aid Training, and other initiatives. Personally I have benefitted from being part of the Senate and this experience has positively impacted the way I connect with my students in my courses. If you are looking for a way to get more involved in Senate work, we are holding a special election to help seat Senators for this academic year. See the note below for more information on how to nominate yourself or a colleague. –Juan [email protected] |
| Senate Meeting: Call for Agenda Items |
| Our next Senate meeting is Friday, October 13 (12:00 – 1:30 pm). We will meet in person at HLC and have a virtual joining option as well. If there are any items you want considered for our agenda please send them to me at [email protected]. |
| Service to Faculty Senate Committees |
| We are almost there! We still need a few full-time faculty volunteers for college wide committee work. There are few vacancies left: Adjunct Faculty Staffing2 full-time faculty, distance learning and a department chair from a large department (>40) Faculty Development and Evaluation2 full-time facultyThis committee is doing relevant work in shaping the new evaluation process. It is important to have as much faculty input as possible. Information Technology Committee1 full-time faculty Please send me an email to [email protected] if you are interested in serving in any of these committees. |
| Faculty Senate Special Election Nominations |
| Faculty Senate Nominations are open The Full-time Faculty Senate welcomes you to join us as a Senator and directly impact issues that affect faculty across the college. There are several openings to serve from October 2023 to August 2024 available to be filled by any full-time faculty at ACC, including nominations for President-Elect. The time commitment for being a is 1.5 hours a month. Senators are expected to attend our monthly Faculty Senate meetings on the second Friday of the month from 12-1:30 pm. We hope that you will consider serving the college by sharing your opinions and experience as a Senator. To nominate yourself or a colleague for a Senator seat, complete this form by 5pm on September 28. To nominate yourself or a colleague for President-Elect, complete this form by 5pm on September 28. You can find information on the President-Elect position at the Faculty Senate website. |
| Faculty Comments Needed |
| The following two administrative rules (A/R) and two guidelines/procedures (G/P) need input from our full-time faculty. We will not be able to discuss in the Senate before they are voted on, so it is of more importance for the faculty at large to send their comments (link below). Deadline for leaving comments in these documents is September 29. If you have additional concerns about these items that you would like the Senate to be aware of, contact us at [email protected]. The Administrative Services Council (ASC) has reviewed and approved proposed changes to the following Administrative Rules (AR) and Guidelines/Procedures (G/P) and posted the drafts for comments from ACC employees: 4.0503.02 Accrued Leave 4.0503.02.1 Accrued Leave Guideline/Procedure – The AR and G/P have been updated to align with current practice, process, and procedures. – The changes include the merging of sick leave and personal leave into a single category of accumulated sick/personal leave. 4.0901.01 Employee Freedom from Discrimination 4.0901.01.1 Employee Freedom from Discrimination Guideline/Procedure – The G/P is being updated to include recently enacted legislation. – There are no proposed changes to the AR however comments are welcome on that document as well. The drafts are available for viewing and adding comments here: https://sites.google.com/austincc.edu/asc/draft-changes-to-administrative-rules-and-guidelinesprocedures. Please read the instructions before adding comments. |
| House Bill 8 Learning Opportunities and Senate Bill 17 |
| HOUSE BILL 8 (HB 8) Dr. Gaye Lynn Scott and Dr. Jenna Cullinane Hege already started the road show to inform the faculty on the impact of House Bill 8 on our funding from the State. You might catch them at *HLC on September 28 from 2:00pm to 3:30pm in HLC 12550 *RVS On October 10 from 10:30am to 12:00pm in RVS 8100 *One of the afternoon sessions during General Assembly on September 29 *At our Senate meeting on November 17 Senate Bill 17 (SB 17) SB 17 will impact diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at ACC. It does not come into effect until January 2024 and groundwork this fall will be needed to be in compliance by the start of this coming year. Dr. Gaye Lynn Scott, our Vice Chancellor for Instruction, in her “Beginning of the Semester” video shared some thoughts of HB 8 (minute 5:55) and SB 17 (minute 7:19) earlier this fall and she offers more clarification on SB 17 in a memo. |