October 28, 2015 Meeting

Agenda

Taft College Faculty Association Agenda

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

 

  1. Welcome and Lunch

 

  1. Approval of Minutes from September meeting

 

  1. Treasurer’s Report

 

  1. Reimbursement for gift cards for CTA representatives

 

  1. TCFCBC Update
    1. Retro pay
    2. Academic Calendar 2017-2018
    3. Frey Report
    4. EEO Advisory Committee
    5. Retiree Health Benefits for New Hires
    6. Independent Study
    7. Non-Credit vs. Credit Loads

 

  1. Dual Enrollment/Concurrent Program

 

  1. Potential Canvas Stipends

 

  1. Screening Committee Training

 

  1. Other

 

  1. Next Meeting: Wednesday, November 25, 2015, 12:10pm, Location: Cougar Room (Lunch will be provided) (Every 4th Wednesday)

Minutes

Call to Order

President Diane Jones called the meeting to order at 12:12 p.m..

 

Approval of Minutes

David Layne made a motion, seconded by Kelly Kulzer, to approve the minutes. The motion was unanimously approved.

 

Treasurer’s Report

Cash Balance: President Diane Jones reported an increased balance, owing to receipt of the first dues check, of $11,302.11 before lunch.

 

Reimbursement for Gift Cards for CTA Representatives

President Jones requested the Association to reimburse her for two $50 Starbucks gift cards. Kelly Kulzer moved to approve the motion, seconded by Robin Polski, to reimburse President Jones. The motion was unanimously approved.

 

TCFCBC Bargain Updates

A). Retro Pay: President Jones reported that faculty teaching in the summer should have received retro pay October 9th. Regular pay for 10-, 11-, and 12-month employees should be received October 30th.

 

B). Academic Calendar: President Jones reported that the bargaining team reached consensus on the academic calendar, although one difference was noted—the Veteran’s Day holiday was moved to Friday. Some discussion ensued on whether a Thanksgiving week break had been considered like Bakersfield College and other local schools. It was noted that while this issue had been raised and carefully considered, from a scheduling point of view it didn’t work for non-faculty groups as it would require shifting deadlines. Another point made was that attendance is impacted for non-credit ESL courses. Tony Thompson moved to approve the motion, seconded by David Layne, to accept the academic calendar. The motion was unanimously approved.

 

C). Frey Report: President Jones summarized how the Frey Report is applied to section 7.3 of the faculty contract. Ranks 30-36 of the non-doctorate maximum at step 20 of the Frey report are averaged and compared to step 18 of the 10-month TC salary schedule. If the salary is at or above this step, then the salary remains at the status quo; however, if it indicates that the TC faculty salary has fallen below, then a change in pay is indicated on the salary schedule. Since the newest Frey Report indicated we are in compliance, then the salary schedule will remain as is.

 

D). EEO Advisory Committee: President Jones reported that the District requested to add the Equal Employment Advisory Committee (EEO) as a committee, so the AEER Committee (Mark Williams, Robert Meteau, Adam Bledsoe, Greg Golling, and Diane Jones) met and voted to approve EEO as a committee assignment. It made its recommendation to Dr. Maloney, and she approved it, so now it is on the approved committee list. Also, any faculty members serving on this committee during the Fall 2015 semester will receive credit towards one of their two committee assignments.

 

E). Retiree Health Benefits: President Jones reported that since the District asked for an extension for data that the faculty bargaining team requested, this issue was tabled. The team, however, has met and discussed options and will be ready to move forward on this issue after studying the requested data.

 

F). Independent Study: President Jones reported that the District’s mutual interest in discussing independent study led to a taskforce (Mark Williams, Darcy Bogle, Diane Jones, and Jessica Grimes) that met to discuss Bill Devine’s and the Association’s recommendations prior to the bargaining meeting. She noted that all were concerned with differentiating the Academic Senate’s role from the Association’s concern over compensation, which the District has informally suggested would be less than regular pay. Therefore, President Jones suggested that the Association re-examine independent study, generally classified as special courses, as a low enrollment issue in which current enrollment management tools and division chairs can collectively determine when and which classes should be offered. Since the bargaining team has worked hard to avoid special deals by honoring the contract, she explained that the independent study should be considered different from club advisorships where the former could affect all teaching faculty, unlike the latter, which is voluntary. Furthermore, arguments tying compensation to quantifying work could lead us down a slippery slope path best left alone.

 

Some discussion ensued regarding these points: differentiating independent study, an elective course that goes above and beyond major requirement, from other courses; the Learning Support Division’s work on establishing criteria and a rationale for when not to cancel sequential low enrollment courses, capstone courses, or courses needed for graduation, a document sent to Instruction as an enrollment management tool; the English Department’s Annual Program Review request for two literature classes offered each semester as another enrollment management tool.

 

President Jones concluded the discussion with the report that the bargaining team reached consensus to indefinitely table this issue.

 

G). Non-Credit vs. Credit Loads: President Jones summarized that the contract is silent on non-credit compensation. Historically, TIL wasn’t part of the bargaining team but is now, but records would be used to establish past practice, which for some was that faculty who taught 20 non-credit units were compensated at 15 credit units. However, the bargaining team was apprized of a change in how the state pays non-credit courses. This change means that the state will pay the same rate for ESL non-credit courses and for workforce preparatory courses, courses similar to TIL. President Jones also noted that adjuncts are paid 100% and that Taft College receives more money for FTES and thus has more to afford these courses. As this issue is still in the early stages, compensation hasn’t been clarified yet.

 

Other comments included the following: the compensation earmarked for equal pay is under “enhanced funding,” which Taft College has never applied for. Still, if we can win this argument, it would anticipate what the state seems interested in implementing—making all basic courses non-credit. Another faculty member noted that non-credit courses in ESL were paid at the same rate until the fall semester of 2015.

 

Dual Enrollment

President Jones commended Bill Devine, Kamala Carlson, and Tammy Sutherland for upholding the contract requiring qualified faculty to teach dual enrolled courses.

 

Potential Canvas Stipends

President Jones discussed the possibility of receiving stipends, flex credit, or salary credit for developing courses in Canvas, similar to what happened when Faculty developed courses in ETUDES. Since Taft College will save $40,000, some of that money could be used for faculty stipends to ensure the transition to Canvas is seamless. It was reported that eight faculty have signed up to pilot and that these faculty may receive a stipend.

 

Screening Committee Training

President Jones reported that all people serving on screening committees must be trained, which expires after two years. A training will be held during the January in-service.

 

Other

President Jones reported that the email regarding the Spectrum club has been handled.

 

Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 12:58 p.m..

Supporting Docs

 

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