LEEWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE

2004-2005 Faculty Senate

APPROVED Minutes of the March 9, 2005 Meeting

James Goodman, Chair

Nancy Buchanan, Vice Chair

Susan Lum, Secretary

SENATORS PRESENT: N. Buchanan, J. Chernisky, L. Currivan, R. Flegal, K. Fujishima-Lee, C. Ganne, J. Goodman, K. Hill, S. Laycock, R. Liongson, P. Lococo , S. Lum, C. Martin,

D. Matsumoto, S. May, K. Mohanan, A. Ross, D. Sakai, W. Teraoka, S. Wood, L. Yamada

SENATORS EXCUSED: B. Hotta

GUESTS: Jason Lai Hipp, Judy Kappenberg, Peter Quigley, Teancum K.D. Satot

CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 3:15 p.m. with a quorum.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Wesley Teraoka will serve as a Senator on special appointment to represent the Social Sciences Division.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES:

The minutes from February 16, 2005 were approved unanimously. The minutes from the March 2, 2005 Special Meeting were approved unanimously, with a few minor changes. There was some discussion as to whether or not the names of Senators should be identified in the minutes, especially when a senator is reporting the interests of another party. The issue of deciding on guidelines for minute-taking was tabled for the next meeting.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

BUDGET AND PLANNING – No report.

FACULTY COMMITTEE – No report.

ELECTION COMMITTEE – No report.

ACADEMIC/INSITUTIONAL SUPPORT – Senator Fujishima-Lee and Senator Martin submitted a printed report which details some of the campus-wide concerns currently being addressed:

v Wheelchair accessibility for handicap bathroom stalls - work to begin summer 2005

v Signage needed for entire campus – Senator Martin to inquire about previously earmarked funds and to request repair and maintenance funds be used to address this need.

v Need for new water fountains – new fountains to be installed as funds become available.

v FA Building repairs - Repairs are in progress and will take approximately one year to complete.

v “Campus Clean-up Day” proposed – Faculty and staff to help clean campus with direction from O & M personnel. Someone needed to organize details.

v Timer needed for courtyard lights – Timer should arrive in about one week.

In addition, the Committee plans to request that, with the help of Neighborhood Board members, The Bus provide on-campus night service for evening students. The Committee will also investigate the safety of drivers exiting from the West Oahu campus driveway whose view is blocked by cars parked on the grass. The Committee will look into a new concern that has come up related to the budgeting process for the advancement of capital improvement projects. There have been questions posed as to whether there is a master plan list for allocation and a bidding process for fund requests.

LEGISLATIVE RELATIONS COMMITTEE – No report.

STUDENT COMMITTEE – No report.

PROGRAM REVIEW COMMITTEE – No report.

CURRICULUM COMMITTEE – See below under New Business.

AD HOC COMMITTEE - Committee to Study the Impact of the Elimination of the “N” Grade

Senator Liongson presented a PowerPoint report, “Grade Distribution (Summer 02-Fall 04),” which outlined the Committee’s findings following the elimination of the “N” as a grade option. The findings come from grade distribution reports:

v A significant increase in “F” grades

v A significant increase in “W” grades

v A slight increase in “D” grades

v “A,” “B,” and “C” grades were not compromised, ie. the changes in the distribution of these grades were insignificant.

v An increase in number of students placed on warning. From Spring 2004 through Fall 2004 the increase was 27.65%.

Senator Buchanan presented data from the faculty survey, “Survey on the Impact of the Elimination of the N grade,” which asked whether or not eliminating the N grade had significantly impacted grading practices and whether or not eliminating the N grade had significantly impacted other aspects of the course.

Of the 42 surveys returned, 26 responded negatively to both questions. This group also consisted of faculty most likely to have used N grades in the past. Nine survey respondents answered “Yes” to the first question, and “No” to the second. The smallest group, those who responded positively to both questions, numbered seven.

Two representatives from Student Government commented that it was probably a good thing to have eliminated the N grade as it likely motivates students to take responsibility for their learning and helps to maintain grade integrity.

The Ad Hoc Committee plans to meet a few more times and eventually come up with recommendations. The next meeting is scheduled for March 15^th. Suggestions and concerns should be emailed to Senator Chernisky or Senator Buchanan.

NEW BUSINESS:

Chair Goodman introduced a memorandum which explains the need for amending the LCC Mission Statement to comply with ACCJC accreditation standards. The amendment, in effect, adds the sentence-- “The College is committed to the achievement of student learning,” to the second bullet of the Mission, under Learning and Teaching.

Motion 05-13 (Currivan/Mohan): To approve the addition to the LCC Mission Statement to comply with ACCJC Accreditation Standards

PASSED – Unanimously

Senator Lococo presented a new program proposal that was reviewed and passed by the full Curriculum Committee on March 3, 2005. The Associate in Arts Degree in Teaching is a program that would provide its graduates a pre-professional, undergraduate degree in Teaching. The program would also enable LCC to provide a bridge to the College of Education at Manoa. There are discussions underway with Chaminade and City Universities for the program to be a feeder line to these campuses directly. Vice Chancellor Quigley discussed Hawaii’s teacher shortage and the ways in which the program could help to ease the shortage. The program is a response to requests for help from the DOE to address the fact that Mainland recruitment and UH graduates alone can not satisfy the state’s need for teachers. The program also invites an opportunity for vigorous, creative relationships with UHWO. There are discussions with UHWO to one day offer a baccalaureate program in Teaching.

Senators brought up a variety of concerns, including that of the low salary range offered to Educational Assistants and the somewhat prohibitive tuition of Chaminade University. There was also concern expressed about the focus of the introductory courses being special needs oriented and a question as to what the eventual B.Ed. would prepare students to do and in what venue.

Vice Chancellor Quigley responded that the goal of the program is to provide students with a pathway to all state colleges; that the courses are flexible and changeable. He also added that the DOE’s special requests have been for elementary education teachers and Educational Assistants with a special needs focus.

Motion 05-14: To accept the recommendations of the Curriculum Committee to approve the new Associate in Arts Degree in Teaching.

PASSED – Unanimously

The Senate was asked to vote on four additional items contained in the Curriculum Committee Report concerning changes and additions to Curriculum Central.

Motion 05-15: To accept the recommendations of the Curriculum Committee regarding changes to Curriculum Central which allow course assessment to be completed on Curriculum Central. These changes to Fields 8 (Prerequisites), 13 (Course Content), 16 (Course Level), and 27 (Methods of Instruction) involve additional language which faculty will answer online as part of the course assessment process.

PASSED – Unanimously

Motion 05-16: To accept the recommendations of the Curriculum Committee regarding changes to Curriculum Central to allow clarification of the Distance Education versions of courses. These changes to Field 19 (Time spent with supervised instruction), 22 (Staff, Equipment and other cost items), and 27 (Methods of Instruction) involve additional wording requiring demonstration that DE courses are essentially the same as courses offered via traditional methods.

PASSED – Unanimously

Motion 05-17: To accept the recommendations of the Curriculum Committee regarding changes to Curriculum Central to change the wording of Field 13 (Course Content) to eliminate “including approximate times spent on each topic.”

PASSED – Unanimously

Motion 05-18: To accept the recommendations of the Curriculum Committee regarding changes to Curriculum Central to change the wording of Field 29 (Textbook) from “Currently Available Textbook Option and Supplies, If Required,” to “Will a Textbook be Required for this Course.”

PASSED – Unanimously

CHAIR’S REPORT:

A draft of the report, “UH System Grading and GPA Irregularities,” will be prepared for the ACCFSC to review and presented to the Council of Chief Academic Officers for their response or action. At issue are the various letter grade options that are available on the different campuses and the various policies on GPA calculation.
Interim President David McClain joined the group and spoke about the following:  

1.  The WASC/ACCJC’s warning on the UH Community College system (http://www.hawaii.edu/vpaa/ ) was a result of external pressure and the community colleges’ poor record of addressing assessment (Leeward, he said, was further ahead with assessment than the others).

Regarding the new relationship between the Community Colleges and the UH system, President McClain reported that the ACCJC believed that the Community Colleges were better served before the UH reorganization.  What is now needed is better system support, coordination, and a single advocate for the Community College system.

At the December 15th meeting of the Council of Chancellors, the Community College Chancellors rejected the notion of returning to the old Chancellor of Community College system; however, a number of options are being explored in response to the expressed concerns which include:

• A Vice President of Community Colleges (VPCC) with line authority from the President to the CC Chancellors.
• A VPCC as a coordinator and advocate for the CC Chancellors.
• Placing the positions of Associate VP of Academic Affairs (currently filled by Mike Rota) and Associate VP of Budget & Finance (currently filled by Mike Unebasame) directly under the Office of the President, with either line or coordinating authority.

2. Members of the University of Hawaii system have testified to the State Legislature that two newly introduced bills would be detrimental to the UH system. One bill desires to create a separate Board of Regents for the Community Colleges. The other bill involves creating a separate Hawaii State University (the current UH-Hilo).

3.  Linda Johnsrud has been appointed by the BOR to serve as interim Vice President of Academic Planning and Policy (formerly VPAA, the post that was held by David McClain).

Senator Lococo distributed handouts pertaining to proposed changes to the AA Core Requirements which will be discussed at the next meeting.

ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 5:20 pm.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Susan Lum, Secretary