Committee Name: Faculty Association
Meeting Date: 8/18/2020 12:00:00 AM
James Tuite, Philomena Hughes, Corinne Hoisington, Beth Shelton, Cynthia Deutsch, Jessica Anne Coco, David McGee, Donna Hobbs, Holly Clapper, Jessica Hogan, Jim Bell, John Lofaso, John McCullough, Juville Dario-Becker, Karen Alexander, Kathy Thomas, Kenneth Ashley, Brent Lester, Lisa Aiken, Marci Gale, Alison Moore, Phil Hamlett, Steve Perry, Susan Fitzsimons, Lana Velez, Tim Wilhelm, Jim Atkinson.
N/A
- Introduction of Officers for 2020-2021 School Year. James Tuite (President), Cynthia Deutsch (Vice President – President-Elect), Ernie Wade (Secretary), Marci Gale (Treasurer), Shannon McDermott (Arts and Sciences Division Representative), and Ashley Pearson (Counseling and Library Representative), Susan Fitzsimmons (Professional and Career Studies Division Representative).
- ​Approval of Minutes from meeting on 3/24/2020. All in favor.
- Approval of Minutes from meeting on 4/28/2020. All in favor.
A. Announcements
- Jim Tuite expressed thanks to those who volunteered to serve on the governance committees. Some members are serving on more than one committee. Therefore, slots can be made available to anyone willing to serve on a committee.
- Syllabus attachments have been posted on the Faculty Association website. College policy requires that statements regarding ADA and Title IX must be included on all course syllabi; faculty are only encouraged to include the early alert and COVID-19 statements because the requirement for those statements has not been approved through the governance process.
- The Faculty Association Canvas Website contains recordings of Faculty Association meetings, online teaching ideas, syllabus statements, and prior and recent professional development meetings. All faculty members (full-time and adjunct) are encouraged to enroll.
- A reminder regarding the required telephone and Canvas training.
- At a recent Vice President’s Cabinet meeting, the issue of the on-time receipt of adjunct contracts was addressed. Hopefully, this issue will be remedied this semester. Priority is being given to faculty teaching face-to-face classes.
- Allison Moore acknowledged that the budget for professional development had been eliminated due to budget cuts. There will be no tuition reimbursements, and no professional organization membership fees can be paid. However, those who participate in virtual conferences that relate directly to remote teaching or services can be reimbursed through the available CARES Act funding. A fee reimbursement form has been made available on the daily bulletin must be completed by participants. They will be reviewed by Lewis Bryant and Dr. Mickles for approval.
- LEA Award winners from the Spring 2020 semester should receive their $50 stipend soon. LEA certificates are being mailed to award recipients.
- The Faculty Association budget is $150.
- All CVCC employees must sign the Faculty and Staff Safety and Health Agreement before coming to campus. Those faculty and staff members who report to campus (considered medium risk) must complete the college reopening training by 5 PM on August 21st, 2020. Other CVCC employees should complete the training by 5 PM on September 25th. The training must be completed by instructors teaching courses remotely as well, who are considered low risk.
- Faculty are asked to make technology requests for hardware related to remote instruction as soon as possible.
- Faculty must comply with FERPA requirements for online instruction. If a lecture is presented virtually in real-time, it cannot be shared with other classes to preserve student privacy. The Department of Education guidelines for FERPA will be published on the Faculty Association Canvas website.
B. Faculty Suggestions for the 2020-21 Academic Year agenda:
Explore the best practice(s) for proctoring exams, especially in those courses where proctoring is necessary since the CVCC Testing Center will be closed for the fall semester. Allison Moore encouraged faculty to share their best practices by using the new Excel link to be posted on the Faculty Association website. Furthermore, Jim Tuite acknowledged the existence of information available on Cornell University’s website that pertains to how bandwidth can be reduced as a best practice in delivering online instruction. This information will be made available on the Faculty Association website.
C. Needs of the Faculty for the 2020-21 Academic Year
- A faculty member suggested proctoring exams through Zoom by creating virtual testing rooms where students’ can complete their assessments under the supervision of trained faculty and staff members. In cases where some students do not have adequate Internet access at home, allowing these students to complete assessments in computer labs should be explored. ADA students’ accommodations need to be considered in establishing policies for proctoring examinations.
- Cynthia Deutsch expressed concern for those students enrolled in real-time classes who do not have adequate Internet access at home, and how this issue should be addressed at the college.
- Cynthia Deutsch suggested that the Faculty Association make a recommendation for establishing flexibility in real-time virtual classes. Cynthia made the motion that an asynchronous component is incorporated in synchronous courses to accommodate students who cannot participate in synchronous classes for technical or access reasons. All in favor of the motion.
- Jessica Anne Coco expressed concern about adjunct faculty pay dates and inquired about how faculty pay is prorated at CVCC.
- Juville Dario-Becker requested that faculty inform Ken Bunch about their use of open education resources (OER) to assist Ken in compiling marketing materials for the college.
MEETING ADJOURNED AT 2:09 PM
None at this time
None at this time
Ernie Wade