October 16, 2023

I. Call to Order

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Welcome

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Approval of Agenda and Minutes from October 9, 2023

Mary Donahue moved, Glynn Wallis seconded to approve both minutes and agenda. No objection.Agenda and minutes approved by unanimous consent.

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Public Comment

Mark Landefeld: The recent legislative measures have not been helpful for the community colleges. Governor Newsom recently vetoed AB811 that would have provided repeatability for certain classes. Also, in the last year the implementation of AB928 passed by the legislature and the governor, has affected the Area E  General Education requirement for the California community colleges.

Sherwin Mendoza: Celebrate Diwali, Festival of Light, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2:30-5:30 pm in the Sunken Garden! Students, faculty and staff are invited to join this celebration and experience the warmth of community with activities, performances and food! Diwali is the annual festival of lights celebrated in South Asia and around the world. It represents the spiritual victory of light over darkness and also commemorates different historical events. Please RSVP in advance and read more about the event on the Diwali website.

Mary Pape asked if the Senate will be meeting Thanksgiving week. Mary Donahue pointed out that Thanksgiving Monday will be the next to last meeting. The officers will need to look at upcoming business and agenda items to make that determination.

Erik Woodbury: The proposed budget allocated plenary scholarships. Those interested should send their requests to the officers by October 30.

Senate Committee Lunch, October 30, 12:30 to 2 pm. 

Department Chair meeting, Friday Nov 3. 12 to 1:30 pm

Concerns for recent events in the Middle East. Help is available. See Quick Notes for the week of October 16 for resources.

If You’re Feeling Anxious About the Middle East

If you are feeling stressed or anxious about recent events in Israel and Gaza, there is help available to you. Students can contact De Anza’s Mental Health and Wellness Center to request individual counseling, or use TimelyCare to speak with a mental health professional online, any time, for free. Employees can find support through the Foothill-De Anza district’s Employee Assistance Program.

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II. Consent Calendar

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Approval of Consent Calendar

Hiring Committee Confirmations (File)

Instructor, Hope Program

Counselor, Academic Awareness/Connect

Budget Advisory Committee

Patty Guitron

Mary Donahue moved to confirm committees, Ravjeet Singh seconded. No objections. Committees approved by unanimous consent.

III. Needs and Confirmation

District and College Needs (Attachment)

• Campus Center Advisory Committee- (1)
• PDL Committee- (1)
• Curriculum Co-Chair - (1)
• Student Grievance and Student Conduct Hearing Board-as many as possible
• J1 Training and Implementation Committee (1)
• EO Representatives needed for Hiring Committees-as many as possible
• Classified Senate Faculty Representative - (1)-the Classified Senate is not subject to the Brown Act. People may join in person or meet online.
• Senate Event Planning Group (2-3)
  • Liliana Rivera, Elsa Jimenez-Samayoa, Jyothsna Viswanadha volunteered to serve in the group to plan and organize Senate events

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Confirmations

None

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IV. New & Continuing Business

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Update on AB 811 - vetoed by Governor

Last week the Governor vetoed AB811 for which the Senate passed a resolution to support its implementation. If anyone is disappointed, they should reach out to the governor and their legislators to advocate for similar bills.

Mark Landefeld pointed out that 3 bills have come through that have a direct impact on our discipline, particularly on the community colleges; more so than CSU and UC.

Mary Donahue: It is next to impossible to go back to when all classes can be repeated. During District Opening Day the chancellor shared about the future expectation for college enrollment. The target group will include older, middle age people who want to relearn subjects and  retune skills from classes they have taken before. 

The current climate is against a return to repeatability. However, we need  to continue to ask for and to advocate for it.

The issue was not the bill but the amendments attached to it. 

One solution is to take the non-credit version of the same class. Only certain disciplines may offer non-credit classes that are career or technical designed as pre-transfer. In fact, the law specifically states that PE is not eligible to be offered as non-credit PE. People have been able to retake a class in a different district.

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ISER Update

Mallory Newell, Accreditation Liaison Officer shared the 2023 ISER web page with detailed information on the accreditation process and timeline.

De Anza has been engaged in a collegewide effort to produce a comprehensive Institutional Self-Evaluation Report (ISER,) as part of the process for reaffirming De Anza's accreditation.

The College Planning Committee serves as the Accreditation Steering Committee to guide the college through the self-evaluation process and prepare for a site visit in fall 2024 by the external peer review team, following guidelines established by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC).

As part of the self-evaluation, the college has been reviewing its programs and activities in the context of ACCJC Standards and Eligibility Requirements. The resulting Institutional Self-Evaluation Report (ISER) will include extensive evidence and a Quality Focus Essay that identifies plans and projects for future improvement. 

Last year, the shared governance groups collectively worked on a draft that was circulated and reviewed in May. The Decision-Making Roles and Processes section was written by the Academic Senate and the Classified Senate.

Mallory and Brandon Bailey are the main editors for the report. They would like to collect feedback by November 3. Submit a final draft to the Board in December for feedback.

She encouraged Senate representatives to share and get feedback from their constituents. The Senate may choose to review, give feedback and approve the draft.

They have identified 2 areas for improvement. The first is a new shared governance process. Resource Allocation and Program Planning (RAPP.) The second area is on finance, the district allocation of funds to the colleges. 

There were discussions and suggestion on the Course Outline of Record, the curriculum process, the program review process, the SLO process and standard syllabus, ideas from Opening Day strategic planning sessions

Submit feedback by Nov 3.

Introduction to Senate: What we do & How we do it, Part 2

Erik Woodbury continued with his Introduction to Senate presentation with a focus on how the Senate conducts its business.. In the previous meeting Erik covered what, why, and when for the Senate. 

This week started on Slide 28 Basics for Regular Meetings Notice and Agendas

The topics were Agendas, Motions, and Consensus. See powerpoint for details.

There were some discussions and questions regarding the Brown Act. The De Anza Senate operates under a modified Brown Act, a specific parliamentary system, design to facilitate group participation and decision:

– A majority of members must attend in-person or online from within district boundaries

– All online locations for voting members are published in the agenda

– Online locations (not on campus) must allow for public participation

– Members who do not give adequate notice cannot vote and do not count toward quorum

– Members of the public may participate from any location if online

The Senate meeting is open to the public and does have closed sessions. Closed session has its own special rules. It usually deals with disciplinary or legal matters.

The Brown Act is very formal, complex, and strict. Brown Act violations could invalidate parts or the entire meeting. Violators may be fined.

Slide 39 Short Guide to Robert’s Rules provides a convenient reference.

The presentation continued with the role of the chair, guidelines for motions, amendments, debates, points of order, postponement, tabling, and voting.

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Senate Governance Structure Update: Curriculum, VP structure, terms, and other Update

Goal: form a Governance Update Working Group

The Academic Senate Constitution and By-laws were updated in 2021. Changes to the Constitution require a vote of the full senate, all faculty members. The Executive Committee of the Senate can change the By-laws with a two-thirds majority vote.

One of the structures that requires changes is the Curriculum Co-chair system. Currently, the co-chair is appointed by the administration and not chosen by the faculty. There is no term limit for this position. The curriculum vice chair position is also appointed.

Curriculum is the first of the 10-plus that is under the purview of the Academic Senate and faculty. Therefore, the co-chair should be selected by faculty with a specific term of service.

Foothill College Academic Senate officers include 2 vice presidents. One of them is the Curriculum Co-chair chosen in their general election.

Christopher DiLeonardo moved to form the Governance Update Working Group, Mary Donahue seconded. No objections. Motion approved.

The work group will come back to the Senate with an initial proposal for updates and changes.

Estimated time and time line. 2-3 meetings, 5-10 hours work. Report by Winter quarter. Finalize before the Spring election.

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Goal and Priority Setting: Action Oriented

Jamboard

Members discussed and determined what the Academic Senate should focus on and take action in 2023-2024. See Jamboard.

Some of the items include:

Constitution and By-Laws Updates: Leadership structure and other edits

Navigating AI: College practices and policies

RSI (regular and substantive interaction) in online classes

Support for online courses: workshops and training

James Capurso: They have added more training and workshops to the Canvas Certification Calendar.

Lauren Gordon took the online teaching and design course @ONE that is great for accessibility.  

https://onlinenetworkofeducators.org/course-cards/

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Good of the Order

None

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Adjournment

Mary Donahue motioned, Jayanti Roy seconded, to adjourn, no objection. Meeting adjourned.

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Attendance

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In person

Erik Woodbury, Patty Guitron, So Kam Lee

Mirsaeid Abolghasemi, *Deborah Armstrong, Christopher DiLeonardo, Mary Donahue, Sheldon Fields, Kevin Glapion, Lauren Gordon, Dawnis Guevara, Elsa Jimenez-Samayoa, Sherwin Mendoza, Anna Nguyen, Mary Pape, *Thomas Ray,  Liliana Rivera, Christian Rodriguez, Jayanti Roy, Lakshmikanta "LK" Sengupta, Rachel Silveria, Ravjeet Singh, James Tallent, Alex Swanner, Jyothsna Viswanadha, Felisa Vilaubi, Glynn Wallis

Online

Mark Landefeld

Absent

Shagun Kaur