Notes - March 3rd, 2008

Notes - March 3rd, 2008

The De Anza Academic Senate
Approved Notes for the meeting of
March 3rd, 2008

Senators and Officers present: Argyriou, Bambhania, Chang, Chenoweth, Coleman, Dolen, Goodwin, Guevara, Hanna, Hughes, Kessler, Kramer, LaManque, Lathers, Lee-Klawender, Maynard, Miller, Mitchell, Paicius, Schaffer, Setziol, Shively, Walton, and White, and Winters
Senators and Officers absent: Gallegos, Glapion, Ng-Lee, and Schafer-Braun
DASB: Andrei Fomento Classified Senate: Al Guevara
Administrative Liaison:
Guests: Keith Hubbard, Mathew Walker, and Gregory Anderson
Curriculum Co Chair: Anu Khanna SLO Coordinator: Maryalice Bonilla

[NOTE: Item numbers are reflective of agenda numbers in the order they
are actually taken up at the meeting.]

The meeting was called to order at 2:33 a quorum being present.

I. Approval of Agenda and Notes: The agenda was approved as distributed with the change in the title of Item V to Senate Election .
The notes of February 25th, 2008 were approved as distributed with minor corrections.

II. Needs and Confirmations: There were no confirmations. Kramer went on to highlight those committees in particularly important or particularly timely need.

III. WISE37 Club: Keith Hubbard and Mathew Walker from the student club called WISE37 were present to request $500 in support of an event demonstrating practical steps towards environmental sustainability to students. It was MSC (White/Hanna) to donate $500 to the club for the event. Immediately after approval, a discussion arose wherein several people noted that there seemed to be an increase in the number of requests for financial support recently and suggested that the group should consider setting aside a specific and total yearly dollar amount for such support and that criteria should be established. It was the sense of the senate that these were good ideas.

IV. Basic Skills Initiative: Gregory Anderson was present to give the group an update on the status of the initiative and steps coming in the near future. He showed the group several screens from the Basic Skills initiative web site and distributed more copies of the Basic Skills introductory brochure previously distributed to the group and pointed out that Bambhania and Hughes were team leaders in the effort.

The main topic presented was the recoding of a number of classes to numbers indicating a basic skills status and thereby enabling the college to capture categorical funding for basic skills classes. At the same time, these courses go from being degree applicable to being non degree applicable. Anderson urged faculty to go to the basic skills initiative web site and use the easy to find self assessment tool.

V. Senate Elections: Kramer gave several reasons for getting an elections committee up and running early this year since, for the last two years, the Senate has failed to live up to its own guidelines for the timing of elections. He also mentioned that it was embarrassing to have no one actively seeking the President or Vice President position and expressed a hope for a contested election. He completed the presentation by outlining the easy and fun duties of the Elections Committee.

VI. Curriculum Update: Khanna outlined a busy year to date for the curriculum committee, giving the group a report on the work and accomplishments of the committee and the faculty who submitted materials to it. Course renumbering, new courses, and the reconsideration of degrees and certificates due to new state mandates have all been accomplished or are significantly under way.

VII. Load: Setziol distributed a document proposing an ad hoc committee to propose a formal, curriculum driven process for changing the load factors of existing courses. The document included suggested draft language for an ad hoc committee to consider. The complexity and can of worms nature of the topic prompted a number in the group to be wary of this [and perhaps any] proposal. In response to a request, Setziol agreed to return with a simplified version.

VIII. District Policies: Chenoweth distributed a draft document entitled “Principles and Strategies for Budget Reductions” to be discussed at the next meeting.

IX. Good of the Order and announcements: - Paicius provided a flyer for an ePortfolios event.
- Chenoweth referred Senators to an electronic distribution of materials from the statewide Academic Senate concerning several proposed changes to the State Disciplines List.
- Newly tenured faculty, including Kramer, Gallegos, Maynard, and White were announced as being honored at a reception by the Board of Trustees shortly after the Senate meeting.


The meeting was adjourned at 4:32.