CODAA (Adjunct Association) reports
WE are not specifically addressing the VNC since we were not involved in it. We would like to offer adjunct faculty perspectives.
Describes what P/T faculty are
Approximately 1300 Adjunct faculty — teach more than half the courses each term.
Of these approx 660 are part of the Bargaining Unit.
CODAA’s contract covers adjunct counselors
CRITERION 2, Core Component
concern about the quality of the ethics training faculty must now do. several constituency members have expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of the training — it is not robust
CODAA recommends input from Shared Governance in the selection of our Ethics training program.
Cirterion 5, Core component 5.b
Positive — for some years, CODAA had prepresentation on Shared Governance and Consituency Pre-Board LEadership meetings.
But now we are also on all major campus-wide college committees and task forces, thanks to Dr. Collins
We are now having monthly meetings with VPAA and student groups
Names positive actions taken through Shared Governance Council
-Recommendations to allow employment of Unaffected SURS annuitants
Input sought from constituencies on Active Violence Training for the College
Implementation of recommended PArking Task Force solutions
Input sought for current Web Page redesign effort
HLC Task force formed with representation by all constituents
Quality committee for institutional AQIP efforts
Areas of concern:
We sahre with FT faculty and their VNC concerns about:
changing academic curriculum to Continuing Ed courses
Modifications to Degree Requirements
Changes to the coding of courses that can impact transferability and student counseling outcomes
A Student Affairs model that had emphasized enrollment growth over student success
REcommendations
Restoration of curriculum to FT faculty, but with the opportunity for non-binding input from PT faculty, standardized across departments
Reconsidering and implementing Counseling Faculty’s recommendations regarding RESET/SEIP (which included input form PT counselors)
Adopting administrative practices and policies that ensure that such errors, such as awarding of SLEA credits without faculty input, will not occur again and reporting this commitment to the HLC
Example of Administrative Policy that Adversely impacts students and PT workers
Prohibition on working in more than one Division or Sub-Division
Students are negatively impacted by
prohibiting adjuncts that teach courses from also providing tutoring in those courses
Counselors from currently prevented from teaching College Success, Career Development and Communications Skills courses
Explains the caps that impact on PT faculty who cannot work more hours than 27 hours per year. So the pay, at about 1000 per hour, annual pay is form 24,000 to 29,000 if they teach to the higher level of 27 credits per year. If PT faculty are dedicating their teaching to the College ,that is very little money. And most cannot even get to that 27 credit limit. So many PT faculty want some other opportunities within the college.
Recommendations
Revisit the policy of barring faculty from working in more than one sub-division
Carefully consider the benefits to students and employees against possible adverse cost impacts to the College
Consider how technology can help make this happen
BoT — recent developments that have been positive
Greater transparency in Bot actions
Greater accesibility to BoT members
Efforts by BoT to solicit input form constituency groups
Appointment of a seventh trustee
Opportunities to address HLC concerns
Completion of ethics training for Bot members
Prioritization of a BoT retreat
Greater communication and cooperation between all BoT members
Civil Decorum in public
Refraining from re-hashing decisions or policy changes that serve to keep past mistakes or disagreements in the public eye
PACE Survey 2014 — satisfaction in 2003 was high in the category of leadership system. It has declined since then. It seems to parallel the satisfaction of FT faculty. However, while the Adminstration says it met with faculty to address PACE concerns, but in reality PT faculty were not consulted. Adminstration DID NOT meet with PT faculty about PACE Surveys.
Moving Forward
wants more positive steps
wants representatives from Bot, Adminsitrators, FT and PT together to develop policies and practices for effective leadeship
Work out of the public arena
Include PT faculty in a portion of the proposed Administration/FT Faculty Retreat.
Most PT faculty feel we are not recognized for the contribution that we make to the students at COD. IT would be helpful for us to be part of the process.
Chair Mazzochi calls for other members of the COD community to present
Tom Tipton, Professor of English
Hello, I’m Tom Tipton. I’ve been a faculty member here for 22 years, and I have been appointed along with Dr. David Goldberg as a faculty representative to the newly created Accreditation Task Force that will hold its first meet tomorrow morning. I want to thank Glenn Hansen and Richard Jarman for communicating the consensus of the Faculty Senate here tonight. I also want to thank them for taking the lead on this crucial issue. While I’m at it, I want to thank the Board for putting this item on the agenda and listening to the faculty voice. I will do my best as part of the Accreditation Task Force over the next year to help the Board and the Administration get off of probation. I will use the Faculty Senate’s response document as a guide. The operative question I will ask regarding each article of probation will be, “How could this have happened?” As I have been thinking about the meaning of the Board and Administration’s probation since December 17th, I kept coming back to a sports metaphor…of all things a golf metaphor, even though I don’t play golf. The College’s response to the Higher Learning Commission needs to be a drive, not just a putt. The Task Force cannot fall into a “check box,” “cut and paste,” or bean counting mentality. Rather, a true response has to be pointed toward a deep cultural change at our beloved institution. We can no longer afford an administration and board that isolates itself in its own circle of yes men and women. We can no longer afford an “us” versus “them” mentality, where the administration is the “A Team” and all other employees are the “B Team.” Nor can we afford to wait for a new president to come on board before acting in response to probation. As much as I look forward to a new president, he or she, however charismatic, won’t individually be the solution to what has become a problem in the culture of the college. We need to retrain our ears at the college to hear dissenting voices as positive voices — note that I am not saying disrespectful or uncivil voices, but dissenting voices. I have been fortunate to see in the past how all constituencies at the college were able to pull together and collaborate at crunch times, such as during the conversion from quarters to semesters. I wonder, though, whether collaboration as I knew it is now dead at this college. Never to be resurrected even in this post-Breuder era. I hope not, but I wonder whether what is called for now, instead of collaboration, is greater self sacrifice by those who were instrumental in putting the Board and Administration on probation in the first place. The foxes don’t get to guard the henhouse. As much as I’d like to, I can’t see my role on the Accreditation Task Force in terms of collaboration or even in terms of negotiation; sadly I have to see it in terms of making deep changes in the culture of the college, and holding the administrators responsible for putting the College on probation, accountable. I see the Taskforce as a positive step. I thank Chair Mazzochi for creating it. Thank you.
Roger Kempa- talks about financial implications of the HLC report.
Some Bot members were warned about Perkins and Will — no check on references
Chair Mazzochi asks Kempa to stick to HLC issues.
Kirk Allen-
Refers to Hansen’s talk — insinuations that the VNC was a means to force Breuder to early retirement. But long before the VNC the record shows that he was already speaking if early retirement. Accountability — that’s the thing I plead with you folks. You must hold somebody accountable. We will not move forward without that.
Joe Stahl- President of Student Leadership Council. Compilation of student opinions. Notes that an inquiry was passed out to students. We’ve gotten a wide range of responses. those who have been following for a long time and those who have just started. I will be fairly general tonight.
Response to the HLC was to numbers 2 and 3, audit committee and ethics training. Positive responses to those as preventive steps to avoid future problems. But one training about ethics training for student workers. One student was concerned about getting more details on thewhistleblower program.
Another item — SLEA issue. What will happen to the students who were in the middle of taking courses when the issue were brought up? Will they get their credits.
Students hope that everyone can work together and play nice. Reminder to keep students first. COD exists to educate students above all else.
Not a lot of concern that we will lose accreditation. Concerns about deadlines. We don’t want to be scrabbling at the last minute.
Extreme optimism about the BoT retreat and hopes that it happens soon.
Personally I would like to reiterate: COD is not a business. I can comment on the great way that Shared Governance is working now. New committees, parking taskforce implementations were helpful. This district is a good one and as long as the community contributes and is allowed to contribute, I think we will be in a good position.
Chair Mazzochi opens up the floor to Trustees to ask faculty questions.Trustee Olsen – I apprecaiate the FT and PT faculty have put into their thoughtful recommendations.I hope that all recommendations made here get a fair hearing. We also need to remain engaged in this process. We must continue to have this dialogue. I find the model of shared governance is one of the bedrocks of higher education. It is unique and important. We must get stakeholders involved in decision making. We must do more work to ensure that the dialogue continues, including students. We could make students a particular part of an agenda, as well as other staff members who would like to comment and make recommendations. Expresses the desire to have one on one conversations with faculty and others. We should make this a monthly part of our agenda.
Mazzochi– Yes, I spoke with Dr. Collins about this. We would like the Taskforce to give us monthly updates on this. A lot of things get discussed but there is no follow-up or follow-through. We must not only discuss but also put in place an action plan. A monthly report is something we are going to include. We must think through which things we have heard tonight must happen on the basic administrative level vs where are there areas where we as Bot need to be setting some policies. Or where do we need to change policies. We need to think about where best practices are being implemented. I’m very interested in hearing more on administrator evaluation. We need to hear more about setting standards for that. We need to be careful to know we are wearing the right hats and in the right place. We as a Bot have things we need to focus on, and Administration has areas it needs to work on.
It would be helpful for the BoT and the Admin to have a comparable model as faculty to Administrators have so we know the things that are appropriate for the BoT to do, things it is not appropriate. The BoT is here to set the strategic goals, what we think should happen. But the professionals who have the expertise should set HOW that happens.
Napolitano — common theme is communication and collaboration. But we have several other committees andsome of those are open to the public. I encourage faculty, students and members of the public to attend those meetings as well. Not many do at this point. For example, the Budget Committee. Come and share your thoughts and concerns. I encourage Bot members to come as well.
Chair MAzzochi steps to the Podium to present what the BoT has done.
“Road to Feb 2017” to meet the HLC deadlines.
Criterion Two, Core Component 2A
Bot has independent film, audit committee — a triple check system to make sure investments are according to Bot policy. We have a MOU about this. Bot has added more checks.
Bot members have access to all 43 internal audit reports.
Bot has strengthened internal controls,
Criterion Five, Core Component 5.B
Ethics Training program. Bot has included its own Ethics training in addition to what HR has chosen.
Not providing financial statements regularly — we will be providing those month to month.
outlines various measures to increase Bot accountability.
Administration leadership failures
BoT will keep looking at outstanding faculty VNC issues.
particular focus — the SLEA situation
Improve intra-Board cooperation. Needs dates from all BoT members for availability to schedule the retreat.
Action Plan — January
resolving Bd issues 2)oversight administrative issues 3)further information gathering. We know we need to address this by Feb 17
Trustee Olsen — regarding Ethics training and processes. Talk about whistleblowers. Students also mentioned this. There are multiple ways to raise issues. Reporting to supervisors , legal, or report to designated Ethics officer. The importance of anonymous tiplines. We have to have this in cases where there are untenured faculty, for example. Or people at a lower level — fear of putting one’s name to a complaint because of possible retaliation.
Dr. Joe Collins, Acting Interim President, presents updated plan of action, Response to the HLC.
Working document. IT goes tomorrow to the Accreditation Taskforce.
Corrective Plan of Action
gives web address to look at the plan — website will be posted on the COD website. It is not posted yet. Hopefully tomorrow. The Accreditation Taskforce meets at 8:30 am tomorrow.
Show Cause — that will be the next step if we do not correct the problems the HLC has found.
We have 11 months to file an Assurance Filing.
Collins goes through the document which describes what the College has been doing thus far to address the problems. This will all be found on the COD website later.
Chair Mazzochi asks for additional questions.
Trustee Bernstein — thanks for faculty and Collins for presentations. Should we look for an outside person or agency to look in a few months to tell us if we are on the right track? I would hate to have Feb 17 to roll around and we think we have done everything, but we haven’t. Is there an outside agency to bring as a consultant to bring some months from now.
Collins — not an agency, but individuals.II know some individuals that have extensive experience with the HLC. I have been planning on raising this with the Bot — hiring someone outside of the institution to give us feedback on what we are doing and if it satisfies the HLC concerns.
Bernstein — other trustees?
Mazzochi – it is premature at this point. The Taskforce needs to revisit this issue maybe in MAy.
Mazzochi– we need to make sure it’s the right person who knows of our COD needs.
Olsen – -Yes I support that in concept.
Agenda Item 9: Introductory of In-house council. Presented by Linda Sans Van Kirk, HR, COD.
LSVK goes over the Categories of legal costs that institutions incur. Describes the two primary roles that in-house counsel provides.
Goes through pros and cons of maintaining in-house counsel. Goes through salary estimates.
Item 10 — Approval of Perkins and Will for SSC Miller Honorarium, and Commemorative Displays
Trustee Napolitano asks for clarifications about the group.
Schmiedl, COD Facilities Manager — clarifies that it is a stand-alone group within the larger firm. We do not have experience with them. We did not check references. We relied on the information that they submitted. This is only permission to negotiate a contract. If you approve this we will supply the information you are asking for.
Vote: All trustees vote yes. Motion passes.
11. Trustee Discussion
Bernstein – nothing.
Wozniak — I have a statement I’ve been wanting to read regarding issues that have been going on in the Bot. Addressing the boycott — notes that until the Clean Slate came to the BoT we could all work together. Says that they cannot get information, documents. Goes over incidents that have kept the Board from working together. Objects to the swearing in of David Olsen since he cannot hold this office and be on the Downers Grove Board, by law.
Student Trustee Roark-nothing.
Trustee Olsen — I agree that working together is very important. I think tonight’s meeting was a great meeting, especially the discussion of the HLC report. Excellent discussion, hearing from the stakeholders.
I would liek some understanding from the administration, from Dr. Collins, what the scope of the Haynes contract is. I don’t think that the information from Mr LEfort fully addressed the scope of this.
Mazzochi– Mr. Elliot can provide that to you.
Olsen — yes, and shared with all trustees.
Napolitano — sent from Trustee McGuire’s letter should be entered into the record as well as Wozniak’s statement.
MAzzochi– notes activities to celebrate the 5oth anniversary of COd and wants input on the types of activities trustees would like to see to celebrate.
Notes that she met with three students who are running for the Student Trustee position.
Also, all Trustees, can you please give me dates for when you can participate in a retreat.
Regarding multiple attorneys at a meeting — COd is only being charged for one lawyer from a firm, even if more than one from the firm show up.
I would like to entertain a motion to go into Closed session, after which we will vote on item 6B.
Attorney Elliot reads the reasons for which a Closed Session can be held.
Vote — all trustees vote yes.
Closed Session begins.