FPPC November 2009

The Faculty Personnel Policies Committee had its last meeting of the Semester on Monday, November 23.  It was announced at that time that there would be no meeting on December 14 as that day is the first day of examinations.  The next meeting will be on January 25, 2010.

The Committee discussed three APs that had been approved by Faculty Council, amended by Cabinet, and returned to FPPC for review.  In each case, the FPPC was asked to review both the Faculty Council version and the Cabinet revisions. 

   – AP 887 – Grievance Procedures for Faculty and Staff

   – AP 817 – Faculty Tenure

   – AP 813 – Assignment of Initial Academic Rank and Salary to Faculty

Each of the above APs was referred to subcommittees for their comments.  Final review and recommendations should take place at the next meeting  (January 25, 2010).

Discussion of AP 872 (Evaluation of Tenure-Track Faculty) generally focused on including advising of students as a part of  the evaluation.  The Chair indicated that she will share the discussion with the Steering Committee as members examine the whole issue of advising.

AP 131 (Public Information Releases and News Media Contacts)  was also reviewed.  This AP, with changes, was approved unanimously.

Adjunct Faculty Survey

Greetings. An effort is underway to more fully integrate the adjunct faculty in the Faculty Organization. A committee, headed by Pam Watkins and including our AFO President, Terri Marquis, is working on an updated Faculty Organization Constitution. They have developed a survey to gauge the level of participation adjunct faculty may be able and/or desire to participate in the expanded Faculty Organization. All currently active adjunct faculty should have received an email from Pam Watkins containing an explanation and a link to complete it. If a faculty member has completed the Adjunct Faculty survey on your (shared) HACC computer, no one else will be able to complete the survey with that computer.  The survey stores IP addresses to discourage multiple submissions from the same computer.  You may complete the survey at home or you can use a different computer at HACC.

The survey will remain open until noon Friday, October 23. Please make every effort to complete the survey and provide comments as appropriate.

Dan Moseler

Faculty Council – 9/28/09

Council met and received a report from the Student Government Association (SGA)and the College Compensation Advisory Committee (CCAC).

• SGA – Continues to work with the Allison Hill Community Center. Also, elections are underway this week (Tuesday – Thursday); instructors are requested to encourage their students to participate.
• CCAC – Weekly meeting are underway with the Administration and Classified Staff representatives. A faculty representative, Debbie Morris, reported excellent communication in this process to-date.

A resolution was adopted requesting that the Administration develop health care option(s) that would permit part-time employees, including adjunct faculty, to buy-in at their expense, if they so choose. The resolution read as follows:

Faculty Council endorses the recommendation of the Adjunct Faculty Organization (AFO) that the Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) develop healthcare options that allow part-time employees, including adjunct faculty, to buy into the health care system at HACC. The option(s) provided to part-time employees should contain provisions which provide portability and coverage for periods where the employees may not be on the payroll (i.e., off-semesters, family leave, etc.) but are reasonably expected to return.

The audited enrollment report was summarized, with the following highlights noted:

• Enrollment was up 13.2% college-wide. More-importantly, credit hours were up 14.6%. All campuses reported increases, with York up 30% before they had to cut-off registrations due to facility constraints; Harrisburg was up 10% after several years of level growth.
• Difficulty was noted in identifying sufficient adjunct faculty to cover increased demand. Particularly severe shortfalls were noted in developmental programs, with all available slots for students filled by early July and many wait-listed for the next semester. These courses, along with the growing programs in Franklin and Juniata Counties, present particular opportunities for adjunct faculty who may be available and seeking increased teaching options.

Dan Moseler

FPPC Meetings, Fall Semester

The FPPC has met twice this semester and is examining the following APS:

AP 831 Affirmative Action and Recruitment Processing
     – Human Resources recommended elimination of this AP. After
      discussion, the Committee unanimously approved its elimination.

The following APS are still in subcommittees and will be discussed by the full committee as reports become available :

- AP 463 Compensation for Adjunct Faculty and Part-Time Employees

- AP 871 Separation from Employment

- AP 841 Personnel Files–Maintenance and Availability

- AP 816 and CP 876 Faculty Furloughs

- AP 898 Emeritus Rank for Faculty and Staff

- AP 842 Attendance Reporting and Recording

Faculty Council – 9/14/09

Council passed with amendments two APs of interest to adjunct faculty who may seek full-time positions:

• AP 813 – Assignment of Initial Academic Rank and Salary to Faculty. This AP provides for consideration of prior academic and/or industry experience in the initial assignment of rank and salary.
• AP 812 – Promotion of Faculty. This AP makes provision for accelerated promotion for faculty who attain specified experience after their hire date that could potentially qualify them for a higher rank assignment.

Both APs give consideration for prior experience, consideration that did not exist when I began teaching at HACC in 1999, but which has begun to be recognized both formally and informally. Please be certain to review the final versions when they complete their review and approval process.

Additionally, a resolution was proposed and accepted that urged the administration to:

• provide access to Google Docs to anyone holding HawkMail accounts. This option is presently blocked.
• make HawkMail accounts available to faculty who so choose.

For those unfamiliar, Google Docs is an option presently available free to those holding Gmail accounts. It provides a variety of features, including online file storage, creation of shared workspaces, and various online applications that include word processing, presentation, and spreadsheet functionality. Microsoft has a similar functionality available free online in Office Live that integrates with MS Office. Both represent differing approaches to what is presently called Cloud Technology, which seeks to push application and storage online and independent of the user operating system. I believe faculty members should become familiar with both, as our students are already beginning to use either or both, including on their netbooks and smart phones.

Dan Moseler

PG&D 08/31/09

Our committee would like to provide training to meet your needs.For example, if you want to learn how to use a blog in your course, or need a refresher in where to send a student for a specific issue, we’re here to help. As an adjunct, you may want to be more informed in relation to current college policies. Please contact Carol Martin at clmarti2@hacc.edu if you have any suggestions.

Carol Martin

Faculty Council Notes – 8/31/09

Council held it’s initial meeting of the academic year.  We received reports from Student Government, from Pauline Chow on the status of the Developmental Education initiative, and Kathy Lencioni on the streamlined process for Course and Program approvals. Developmental Education is particularly important to be aware of, as this semester 1-in-4 new students are in developmental math; 1-in-10 in developmental reading; 1-in-11 in developmental writing. When you couple this with record enrollments (21,794 as of Monday; up 13%), you can imagine the load placed upon these programs. Adjuncts with experience in developmental education may wish to explore options in these programs.

One of the action items approved was the membership of a committee formed at the direction of the college President to merge adjuncts as full members in the Faculty Organization. Adjuncts currently have membership with voice but not vote in this organization; hence the creation of the Adjunct Faculty Organization in the 1990s. A similar merger effort was passed by Faculty Council but defeated by the fulltime faculty a couple years ago. The adjunct representative on this committee is our AFO President, Terri Marquis; the alternate is our Vice President, Cecelia Fox. The objective is to have a revised constitution ready for review by December 1, 2009. Watch for feedback requests from Terri or Cecelia as the semester progresses.

Adjunct faculty may look for expanded teaching opportunities in two new areas: Franklin County, managed by Gettysburg Campus; Mifflin and Juniata Counties, managed by the Virtual Campus. There is more information linked on the HACC Home page.

Dan Moseler

Faculty Council Retreat

A workshop was held at the Harrisburg Campus for all 2009 -  2010 members of Faculty Council and the Steering Committee. Faculty Organization and Council President Bob McLean lead the discussion. Dr. Baehre joined us to discuss her understanding of the intent and purpose of shared governance at HACC, as well as her understanding of the challenges presented by the delayed State Budget. Points of information and discussion included:

• Enrollments for the fall are up 17%, this in the face of severe budget challenges. Some State programs designed to meet the needs of disadvantaged students (e.g., Act 101) may not be funded at all this budget year.
• Record enrollments are challenging the ability of HACC to meet course and program needs, most particularly in developmental programs.
• New in the Council schedule this year is the intent to meet on the fifth Monday, when it occurs.

Faculty Council will meet on the second, fourth, and fifth Monday from 3:15 – 5:00 pm, beginning August 31. Meeting locations are Stabler 102 at Harrisburg and the video conference rooms at the other campuses. All faculty members, including adjuncts, are welcome and encouraged to attend committee meetings. You may voice concerns or make inquiries at the appropriate time in the agenda. Only elected members may vote. The adjunct representatives are myself and Cecelia Fox. You may send inquiries to either or both of us if you are unable to attend.

Have a great academic year!

Dan Moseler

Faculty Council – 5/11 & 13/09

Council met on Monday to review slates of faculty candidates for the upcoming fall-spring semesters. Additionally, we reviewed changes and updates to:

• Faculty template used by Human Resources to advertise faculty positions.
• AP 157 – a reformed Safety Committee following a splitting of the old Safety and Security Committee into two separate bodies. Particular emphasis in the changes was to make certain HACC was in compliance with current Federal and State labor laws and regulations.
• Receipt of a Student Success Initiative Report from ASPA.

Council met on Wednesday for two purposes: conclude business for this academic year; reform under the newly elected leadership for the upcoming academic year. Of particular interest was the review and approval of an updated AP 663, Appeal of Academic Decisions. This AP is the result of the work effort of two faculty and and two deans, intended to clarify and streamline the appeal process under the newly reorganized HACC structure. Pay particular attention to this AP when it emerges in its final form from the college review and approval process.

Council will hold a retreat on a date-to-be-determined during the week prior to the start of the fall semester. The purpose will be to inform new members and establish faculty goals and objectives for the 2009-2010 academic year.

Have a great summer!

Dan Moseler

APSA Meeting 4/27/09

AP157 was passed with changes as suggested by the subcommittee. Changes include altering the title of the AP to “College Safety Committee.” Todd Crawley contributed to the AP to ensure that the contents would be found acceptable to the PA Department of Labor and Industry.

A report was given by the Student Success Initiative subcommittee which summarized discoveries about current student success initiatives by numerous college groups. The subcommittee concluded that a unifying effort was needed to pull these varying parts together to make student success more attainable and reduce duplication by college staff. The subcommittee recommends that this effort be managed by an advisory team under the direction of the Vice President for Student Services.
Ellen Shatto, chair of APSA, will share the report with accompanying write-ups of current initiatives and student poll results with President Baehre in the next few days.

AP 663, the Appeal of Academic Decisions, will continue to be debated during the summer under a group of 2 deans and 2 faculty members as suggested by Faculty Council. This group will hopefully mediate some successful steps to make the appeal process run smoothly and equitably for all parties involved. AP 595 “Academic Dishonesty” will continue as a tabled item until some closure is reached for AP 663.

The committee concluded with an appreciation for the year’s efforts and plans to reconvene in Fall, 2009.

-Risa R. Robinson (Harrisburg Libraries)