November 13, 2019FAEC MINUTES 11/06/2019

Faculty Assembly Executive Council [FAEC] Meeting Minutes

Date: Wednesday, November 06, 2019  | Location: A 226  | Time: 10:00 am to 11:00 am

Attendees: Tae Kwak, Donna Flynn, Roark Atkinson, Hugh Sheehy, Eva Ogens, Lisa Lutter, Christina Connor, Robert Becklen, Scott Frees

Guests: Ruma Sen, Renata Gangemi (Communication Arts Covener) , Jackie (ARC Chair), Maya Poran (Psychology Convener),

Secretary: Nakia Matthias

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1. FAEC Minutes Approved  

2. Three Plus One Program [TPO’s]

In relation to TPO’s it appears that  FA President is not informed with reliable information from the Office of the Provost.  Some faculty have the impression that Provost and Deans are circumventing convening groups to develop TPO’s.  If the Provost wants TPO’s to go online ASAP he must not work with individual convening groups but rather than ask conveners to work with each other to examine them.  FAEC suggests that a Vote of No Confidence will be conducted for any dean that attempts to create curriculum as deans are not faculty members. FA must halt further developments until there is agreement among administrators regarding the processes involved in formulating TPO’s.  FAEC will also vote on a resolution that cost benefit analyses must be developed and shared with faculty to illustrate reasons and need for TPO’s. Currently Chris Romano has some preliminary cost-benefit numbers on the prospective tPO’s but has not shared this information. Furthermore, TPO’s are sanctioned by the law which supports their materialization and they have the support of RCNJ’s BoT..  

The benefit of TPO’s is obvious for Community Colleges as they would want to use the TPO’s as  some students would remain enrolled with their institution for longer and TPO’s will attract new students that desire to earn Bachelors degrees.

The provost has stated that courses that are reduced from 4 to 3 credits do not have to be reviewed via ARC.  All courses that are making changes to the number of credits that they bear must go through ARC review. Additionally, all academic programs that are developed at RCNJ are subject to ARC review.  Administrators and adjuncts cannot submit courses for ARC vetting as this is the purview of the faculty. This undermines the purpose of ARC and jeopardizes shared governance.

RCNJ Programs or courses that are taught at external colleges or institutions are not assessed by ARC or faculty members. Their course content is not assessed.

The Psychology convening group [CG] was tapped for TPO’s with Sussex Community College whereby the faculty devised a list of concerns and resources needed for the endeavor.  However, this was never addressed. The CG was asked to provide a curriculum and told that if they did not furnish one, then their dean would create and submit one.  

FAEC suggests that FA produce a list of issues and concerns about TPO’s before moving forward with any aspect of TPO’s and that faculty should take note of any specific changes that are being made to the curricula. FA will address the broader structural/macro level Issues that impact each school in relation to TPO’s.  Processes involving ARC and procedures that ensure shared governance must be examined. There is concern that TPO’s also bear potential negative impact on non-tenured faculty and that some programs will be siloed.

3. ARC Review and TPO’s

The FA will put forth a vote to declare that TPO’s must be ARC approved before moving forward.  As a statement of principle FA can determine that faculty will not teach or contribute to programs that are not ARC approved.  ARC can only enforce this rule if programs come to ARC for review and it appears that the administration could avoid this process.  Part of this can involve outlining the ways that programs will be harmed should the review processes continue to be dismissed in the creation of TPO’s or other programs. A potential ARC sub-committee could serve to examine proposed TPO’s and related programs. FA could vote on an audit process but this would result in the loss of autonomy for convening groups if an external auditing body becomes responsible for vetting courses. There should be a way to empower ARC and convening group to have an audit process.  Every unit has a faculty controlled school curriculum committee that precedes the ARC process

Concerns were raised that administrators could develop versions of the Degree Completion Program which currently have no oversight from convening groups.  Additionally, if RCNJ faculty determine that they will not teach TPO courses then administration can hire adjuncts or temporary faculty to take on this role.  

Meeting Adjourned at 11:30 am

Categories: FAEC MEETING MINUTES 2019, RAMAPO FAEC, Uncategorized

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October 28, 2019FAEC Minutes 10/23/19

Faculty Assembly Executive Council [FAEC] Meeting Minutes

Date: Wednesday, October 23, 2019  | Location: A 226  | Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Attendees: Kathryn Zeno, Tae Kwak, Donna Flynn, Christina Connor, Hugh Sheehy, Roark Atkinson, Eva Ogens

Secretary: Nakia Matthias

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1. FAEC Minutes Approved 

2. RCNJ’s Career Development and Faculty Scholarship

RCNJ employs career development rather than a post-tenure review process. If the provost envisions a post-tenure review process at the College he can only do that if he negotiates that with AFT. The language on the existing process can be found in the Career Development section of the faculty handbook.  The Career Development procedure is on hold when faculty are working without a contract.

According to the provost scholarship at RCNJ is defined broadly and the terms are vague.   This may be because the provost is applying his own conception of scholarship in the promotion and tenure (P&T) process. Even if each unit devised distinct criteria, this still would not make scholarship across units comparable.  Any criteria that aims to classify scholarship must be performed by committee in conjunction with the AFT and cannot be conducted in isolation. Additionally, there needs to be a re-negotiation of the faculty handbook and a revision of the promotion and tenure criteria within it.   

3. Presidential Search Committee

Susan Vallario informed FAEC that she will respond to the letter that it sent on behalf of FA regarding a request for additional faculty representation on the presidential search committee by the end of the current week. Vallario would like receive the names of the candidates within this same timeframe and will further discuss the process with the FAEC President. Vallario copied the board, and Hillary Goldstein with this communication.  The names of the candidates forwarded to the BoT will not be published in the FA agenda.  

Four schools have volunteered to send a representative to serve on the presidential search committee thus far.  FAEC plans to select the faculty members in keeping with the required number requested for the nomination. A total of three names will be forwarded.

The FAEC believes that the nomination form featured on the presidential search web page should not include questions that serve to vet any potential candidates and that the vetting procedure for nomination should be the purview of the FA.

4. Three Plus One Program Prospects

Concerns about the prospect of Three Plus One [TPO] Programs are evident among the faculty.  FAEC views attempts to tap individual units or convening groups for TPO’s as an inappropriate and problematic way forward. Furthermore, the question remains as to whether there is demonstrated interest in TPO programs from students enrolled in Two Year degree programs. The faculty requires input about this to act constructively toward developing potential TPO programs.  Students would need to apply at the end of this academic year to be eligible for aid for RCNJ attendance and inclusion in a TPO program.

The provost is proposing that students in TPO’s do not have to make-up for credit mis-matches at RCNJ based on the 3 credit granting structure at their two-year institutions.  Any plan to change a three credit course to a four credit course must go through the ARC approval process. TPO programs must undergo the ARC review process and the FAEC is prepared to request that any program that moves forward without adequate review be denied by ARC. Shared governance must be at the heart of any process for creating prospective TPO programs. 

Some faculty view the attempt to expedite TPO’s as part of a process to install numerical rather than real diversity at RCNJ. The administration continues to cite the absence of a transportation hub as a reason for the lack of diversity at RCNJ.  However, the push toward TPO’s is in part seen as an attempt to rectify this and ensure that “diversity numbers” are achieved as a means to secure diversity related funding from the New Jersey Governor’s office. The New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education’s outcomes based funding approach prioritizes degree completion and programmatic service to minority students, thus any potential funding from the governor’s office would not simply be tied to enrollment but also minority students’ graduation rates.   In discussions about prospective students’ successful completion of TPO programs a point must be made to ensure that such discussions are void of assumptions that minority students will fail to succeed simply because they would be emplaced in a new academic environment. This is an artificial construct because if white and black students do not succeed at RCNJ or successfully complete at the same rate it will appear that the service and support given to minority students is disproportionate.

Meeting Adjourned at 12:10 pm

 

Categories: FAEC MEETING MINUTES 2019, RAMAPO FAEC, Uncategorized

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October 28, 2019FAEC Minute 9/11/2019

Faculty Assembly Executive Council [FAEC] Meeting Minutes

Date: Wednesday, September  11, 2019 | Location: A220  | Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Attendees: Kathryn Zeno, Tae Kwak, Donna Flynn, Renata Gangemi, Christina Connor, Eva Ogens, Scott Frees

Guest: Tamika Quick 

Secretary: Nakia Matthias

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1. FAEC Minutes Approved [needed]

2. Degree Completion Program and 3 + 1 Program

There is indication from the Provost that RCNJ will be entering into 3+1 program agreements with Raritan, Passaic, and Essex county Community Colleges.  FAEC contends that the 3+1 program should not include classes outside of the purview of the faculty. Faculty should not be hired without consulting RCNJ conveners and Deans.  Additionally, the program should not offer ARC approved courses without the vetting of the syllabus and proper assessment. Adjunct instructors must be assessed for their fit in the convening group, although currently this is currently only done via course evaluations. The community colleges have an interest in offering courses that will be on demand.   RCNJ faculty have expressed concern about the quality of the RCNJ courses taught at community colleges.

A cost benefit analysis of 3+1 programs must be considered as they would be operating in addition to more hybrid and online courses.  Any cost related burdens with the community college should be absorbed by the community colleges. The programs must benefit students in the institutions, as well as Community Colleges and RCNJ.  Concerns were raised regarding potential cannibalization and the logic of the 3+1 program should students determine it cheaper to remain at 3+1 community college for a third year rather than transfer to Ramapo through a 2-2 transfer arrangement.  Assumptions behind potential revenue enhancement for 3+1 programs must be thoroughly discussed and communicated among the faculty. Furthermore, if Bergen Community College signs onto a 3+1 agreement it will not be beneficial to RCNJ as it serves as a feeder school to RCNJ and would be a net loss to RCNJ.

Presently there is a generic job posting for adjunct faculty within the Anisfield School of Business although ASB faculty have not been informed about the call for adjuncts. It is unclear as to whether the call is for faculty to support a 3+1 program with Raritan Valley Community College. ASB’s program requires accreditation and therefore any adjunct hired for must be approved by the ASB’s faculty.  

Provost Becker commented, “we don’t have it all figured out” and that the details of any 3+1 program still need to be hashed out.  He assured that a 3+1 agreement would not pose additional strain on RCNJ’s infrastructure, that it could positively impact the picture of enrollment at Ramapo, and that he would like for RCNJ to be part of the process.  

President Mercer declared that he is “not worried” about financial dimension because should RCNJ split in the third year the 70% of the revenue would go to the community college while 30% would be seen by RCNJ for providing the curricula and vetting instructors. He explained that the 3+1 programs between community colleges and RCNJ would be exclusive since the graduation rate is high at RCNJ and this is viewed as a positive for the sending colleges.  He also mentioned that the 3 +1 program would support students of color in their educational pursuits citing that 36% of the students at Passaic Community College and 89% of the students at Hudson County Community College are students of color.

The NJ secretary of Higher Education prioritizes access to higher education and thus support for 3 + 1 initiatives.  

3. Degree Completion Program

The FAEC President raised the fact that RCNJ is trying to normalize the Degree Completion Program. However, there must be some course correcting as there are oversight issues.  The program is using ARC approved course numbers and there is no input from faculty or conveners regarding the courses taught in the program.  

4. Tamika Quick [ Multicultural Center Exploration Team]

Tamika Quick, requested that FAEC nominate at least two faculty members to serve on a multicultural center exploration team.  Under the purview of EDIC the team will gather faculty, staff and students to brainstorm about the development of a Multicultural Center at RCNJ.  There is currently no timeframe for when the Multicultural Center would launch, however the application for the project was submitted three years ago.

The team will be charged with: 

(1) Understanding what others are doing/have done in the development and operation of multicultural centers 

(2) Establishing the vision for a Multicultural center at RCNJ

(3) Establishing the guiding principles of the center

Tamika informed the FAEC that Marva Hawkins was hired as Director of Affirmative Action and that EDIC is place and fully staffed.  She also addressed the campus-wide perception that EDIC is supposed to do, “everything” regarding Equity and Diversity on Campus. He encouraged other campus programs, faculty, and students to develop and conduct initiative to enlarge diversity at RCNJ.   She explained that EDIC’s charge is in part to develop an action plan that to understand how to address the Strategic Plan goal #2.

5. Faculty Searches, Diversity, and Student Involvement with Search Committees

There may be some changes to the way that students engage in faculty searches as they may be permitted to sit on search committees bearing access to applications and the ability to read applications. This decision comes from the Provost’s office.  The FAEC upholds that students should not sit on faculty search committees, read applicant materials, or be involved in internal discussion while faculty are evaluating candidates. Presently, students sit on the committee for the vetting of honors students.

Diversity in Faculty searches must be revisited as faculty are concerned that some searches do not  include faculty with academic expertise with a particular departments and programs. The FAEC suggest that rather than replacing people with area specialization on search committees to achieve diversity, that search committees aim for diversity premised upon a mix of academic specialization and demographic diversity.

6. Program Budget Funding and Cuts

The Provost explained that he as allocated funding to Deans that reflects “more or less” what they received last year and that there was clear distribution amongst the schools for faculty travel funding.

Meeting Adjourned at 12 pm

 

Categories: FAEC MEETING MINUTES 2019, RAMAPO FAEC, RCNJ Faculty Assembly Minutes 2019, Uncategorized

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October 28, 2019Faculty Assembly Minutes 10/2/2019

Ramapo College of New Jersey

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

1 pm, Friends Hall

Faculty Assembly

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Faculty Assembly Minutes Approved

1. President’s Mercer’s Report

Three Plus One Programs

President Mercer indicated that Three Plus One (TPO) commitments between RCNJ and four New Jersey community colleges have been secured to include the community colleges of Sussex County, Hudson County, Passaic County, and Raritan County.  An agreement with Morris County Community College is in development. The president cited RCNJ’s high graduation rate and increased possibilities for student success as factors that are attractive to two-year institutions’.

It is expected that community college students in TPO programs will enroll in courses for their third year at the two-year institution where they began their associates degree.  According to President Mercer, TPO students may also enroll in online RCNJ courses during their final year in the program. It was also stated that in the third year of TPO programs it is possible that three credit RCNJ courses may need to be developed to be taught at students’ respective community college.

It was confirmed that RCNJ will provide faculty, curricula, and establish the terms for designating and including them in TPO programs.   

President Mercer intends to meet with representatives for Passaic County Community College to further discuss TPO programs.  He contends that three plus one programs have not been finalized or “decided” unless faculty buy-in is evident.

TPO programs are currently sought in Communication Arts, Social Work, Biology, and Business, and  Global Studies [track in BA in liberal studies in HGS].

The President offers that the advantage is fiscal if TPO’s  increase the number of enrolled students at RCNJ for even one year it will make a substantial difference to the budget and bottom line.  He asserts that it is a miscalculation to wait and see how things pan out as appropriations from Governor’s office will not guarantee the economic future of RCNJ. He also contends that TOP’s will enhance the quality of the College, enhance its representation of minority students, and ultimately ensure that more students will graduate with better degrees if they attend or enroll in RCNJ’s courses in their fourth year.

The president suggested that potential TPO students will experience the same challenge of commuting to RCNJ that existing students face and that more marketing and promotion of the virtue of spending time at RCNJ is required.

Several faculty members expressed concerns about the prospect of TPO agreements with community colleges.  The following lists the faculty concerns waged during FA in response to the proposed TPO program:

• The level of academic preparedness and overall quality of TPO students 
• Students’ ability to assimilate to RCNJ’s academic culture during their fourth year
• There is no guarantee that the TPO students’ graduate rate will be sustained  
• Building a relationship with students in one year is not feasible toward supporting their success.  
• The one year relationship is not about educating but about  granting credits.
• The RCNJ degree will be devalued should the administration prioritize bottom-line decision-making 
• TPO seems like an unsustainable stop-gap to financial problems experienced at RCNJ rather than a long term solution
• RCNJ TPO agreements will not provide an economic advantage to students for their fourth if they can obtain a cheaper degree elsewhere
• RCNJ’s degree is being outsourced but will not result in real financial gains for the College
• The Community colleges are reaping the bulk of the financial benefit in the TPO structure
• RCNJ faculty will be positioned to assume additional course supervision and assessment responsibilities that are not outlined in their contracts or negotiated via AFT 
• The concept of the RCNJ education is vague within the context of taking on TPO programs.  The integrity of RCNJ’s liberal arts framework will be compromised
• RCNJ will be outsourcing diversity based on student populations that may never be present on campus
• The vetting of the faculty responsible for upper level courses at off-site campuses cannot be ensured or guaranteed
• Faculty may not possess the appropriate qualifications or credentials to teach 300 level coursework at the community college
• TOP’s appear to constitute a licensing agreement which carries the RCNJ “brand” but will lack the heft of the “real thing”
• The administration has not provided evidence of estimations of the impact of the TOP program’s impact on labor and the faculty at RCNJ.
• Agreements will be signed in 30 days before procedural elements of the TOP program are addressed
• Real geographic limitations may exist for some students and there is no evidence that RCNJ will mitigate such challenges for students to be present on campus for a fourth year
• RCNJ can only benefit from such TOP programs if the two-year institutions have exclusive agreements with them or the right of first refusal
• The marketability of a TPO program at RCNJ in not known or supported by representative evidence
• TPO agreements may potentially “put RCNJ out of business”

Some faculty suggested a positive path forward in consideration of opportunities that TOP programs may afford RCNJ relative to getting ahead of community colleges as they are start granting Baccalaureate degrees.

2. Provost Becker’s Report

The Provost outlined the RCNJ mission, TPO legislation and revenue generation needs as the rationale for the pursuit of TPO programs.

Revenue generation would be characterized by the negotiation of a revenue-sharing model with community colleges for students to enroll in a third and fourth year of coursework toward an RCNJ Baccalaureate degree.

Provost Becker suggests that TPO’s can be used to allocate a share of the profits to academic units to pay for faculty, symposium, and other programmatic needs.  He also maintained that the academic rigor of TPO’s can be ensured as RCNJ will control curricula in students’ third year at their community colleges.

The provost would like to conduct discussions about how will faculty be involved.  Furthermore, he would like conveners sand faculty to meet with community college faculty to develop TPO programs.

3. FA President’s Report

Three Plus One Task Force

FAEC supports the formation of a college-wide 3 + 1 task force or committee to liaise between the faculty and administration.  The body would serve to report 3 +1 planning to the faculty, as well as to represent faculty concerns to the administration. The charge for a prospective taskforce should be decided by the faculty.  

4. Presidential Search Committee

The FAEC will ask for one faculty member from each unit to serve on the RCNJ presidential search committee.  A total of six faculty representatives are requested. 

5. Multicultural Center and Bias Response Team (EDIC)

Two faculty volunteers are needed and three are being sought. One would serve as an alternate.  The volunteers would serve the Exploratory Committee for the proposed RCNJ Multicultural Center and also the EDIC Bias Response Team

The Multicultural Center would serve our students on campus. The Exploratory Committee will assist with conducting research about the mission, processes, training, marketing, entailed in the development of a Multicultural center.

The Bias Response Team will address any bias complaint is and EDIC will conduct investigations related to the complaint.

6. FAEC Election: Over-10 Councilor-at-Large for FAEC 

Roark Atkinson (HGS)  [64%]

• Two terms on FAEC
• Over 11
• Secretary of AFT 

Bonnie Blake (CA) [25%]

• Served a two-year term on FAEC  

Abstain:  11%

7. Cybersecurity and National Cyber Security Month (Robert Doster, CIO)

Don’t let potential hackers in!  Beware of phishing and spear-phishing by verifying the sources of electronic communication including file attachments and links.  Scammers and hackers can employ “key loggers” that record all keystrokes related to online activity exposing faculty to password breaches

Password and Account safety:  

• RCNJ will implement forced password reset every 180 days.
• Don’t reuse or share passwords
• Log off of computers in classrooms

Software updates 

Perform/initiate do software updates on personal computers and school computers to ensure the latest security updates

Cybersecurity workshops will be conducted in the Instructional Design center on the following dates at 1 pm:  Oct 10, 17, 21, 29 

2:00pm Faculty Forum

The FF is an informal, closed discussion session for FA members and adjunct instructors interested in participating

Wednesday, October 2, 2019 (Pavilion) 

12:00 pm AFT Meeting Canceled (see email from AFT)

1:00 pm Faculty Assembly

The FA is open to a general College audience, including administrators, but only FA members may vote.  Faculty, including library faculty, and all full-time employees contractually obligated to teach are FA members as defined by our bylaws.

 

Categories: FACULTY ASSEMBLY MINUTES, FAEC MEETING MINUTES 2019, RCNJ Faculty Assembly Minutes 2019

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October 23, 2019 FAEC Minutes 10/16/2019

Faculty Assembly Executive Council [FAEC] Meeting Minutes

Date: Wednesday, October 16, 2019  | Location: A 226  | Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Attendees: Kathryn Zeno, Tae Kwak, Scott Frees, David Oh, Donna Flynn, Christina Connor, Hugh Sheehy, Roark Atkinson, Bob Beckman 

Guests: Jacqueline Braun, Provost Becker, and Student Guest

Secretary: Nakia Matthias

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1. FAEC Minutes Approved 

2. ARC Update [Jacqueline Braun]

Concern over the faculty curriculum as more graduate programs are being developed and three plus one agreements will materialize in the near future.  

The Provost is concerned about having too many courses within the General Education course offerings.  In some instances with ARC reviews double counting of Gen.Ed courses has come up due to the way that the TAS curriculum is organized as its lab credit requirements place some majors over the 68 credit limit.  In such instances clarification as to whether prerequisites are counted within majors. Additionally, according to the Provost, there is no limit to the size or amount of courses that majors bear. However, this is contrary to the liberal arts framework at RCNJ.

There is also some concern about the number of classes available for First Year Seminar sections and course content delivery.

Prof. Kwak pointed out that the number of different classes in a category should not affect assessment, since all classes/sections should be teaching the same goals and outcomes regardless of content.  Categories with few different course numbers may appear to be easier to assess, but that’s an illusion. E.g. some categories only have one course number (such as FYS), but each section teaches different content, as different as a category with dozens of different course numbers.

3. Three Plus One

Faculty have expressed concerns about the direction of the curricula and whether students will be able to complete their fourth year at RCNJ.  It appears that larger majors at RCNJ have been targeted as the initial programs to model Three Plus One programs. According to the hypotheses of RCNJ administrators the financial outlook on Three Plus One programs will be incremental.

FAEC mentioned that there is a need to address inconsistencies in the Degree Completion Programs at RCNJ for assessment purposes before taking on Three Plus One programs.  Additionally, the Degree Completion Programs use the same course numbers as The Colleges standard course offerings even though they are not taught by full time faculty.

4. Student Demographic Data and the Goal 2 Taskforce

FAEC notes a problem with the current methods of aggregation for student demographic data.  It is problematic for the purposes of being useful for Goal 2 of the RCNJ strategic plan as it lumps all non-white students together into a single category.  This results in inaccurate information about the actual representations of non-white students enrolled at and graduating from RCNJ. For instance, international students, regardless of ethnicity or nationality are categorized as non-white enrollees.  

Furthermore, careful distinctions need to be created for understanding the enrollment composition of students based on ethnicity and race relative to African-American, Hispanic, Black, and Asian student populations. Consequently, Goal 2 reporting may potentially be below the 5% target for minority representation.  Additionally, an estimated 5% of the student body never identified their ethnicity or race in demographic measures. FAEC suggests the selection and use of non-arbitrary racial and ethnic demographic indicators. 

5. Austerity Concerns

FAEC acknowledges faculty concerns relative to the implementation of austerity measures at RCNJ.

6. RCNJ Presidential Search Committee

Susan Vallario acknowledged receipt of the letter submitted by FAEC to the RCNJ The Board of Trustees on behalf of the RCNJ faculty.  Faculty have registered their sentiments about the proposed composition of the search committee,  the coordination of the search process, and control over the selection of the search consultancy firms that will produce the candidate pool.

Faculty have expressed reservations about the process being coordinated by Brittany Goldstein and offer that the search should not be coordinated by representatives of the president’s office.

There are also concerns that the BoT has not articulated clear criteria for the search process, nor the nomination of faculty candidates whom should serve on the committee.

The BoT has developed a nomination form for potential presidential committee search members.  These form is available on the BoT’s page via the following link: https://www.ramapo.edu/presidential-search/2021-presidential-search-committee-member-nomination-form/

The FAEC announces a need for volunteers for the presidential search committee.  

May be inappropriate for Brittany to be in the role but don’t know whom will be better.  

FAEC would like to ensure that the search consultancy firm employed to identify potential candidates is committed to generating a diverse candidate pool.

The FAEC also suggests that the search committee  a total of six faculty representatives comprising one faculty member from each RCNJ unit.  The faculty representatives chosen should reflect a diversity of intellectual, cultural and rank experience.

7. Provost Becker’s Report

FDF reimbursements have been delayed until the return of  a staff member that administers their disbursement.   

The number of sabbaticals were shared but not the number of promotions.  There are thirty per cent fewer sabbatical slots than in previous years.  The number of promotions slots should be known shortly.

The Provost requires clarification of the purposive distinctions between the career development and post-tenure review functions. The provost restated that faculty units should develop standards for scholarship classification to assist with the review procedures for promotion and tenure applications.

Provost Becker mentioned that RCNJ is allocating a significant amount of funding toward the salaries of faculty that take LOA, sabbaticals, and assume grant-funded positions that do not fully compensate faculty at their base or actual salary.  The provost stated that he would like to ensure this practice so that faculty do not lose salary while pursuing research endeavors. 

FAEC asserts that replacement costs do not amount to more than faculty members’ salaries as adjuncts are secured at a lower rate than full time, tenure track, and tenured faculty.  This is the case as faculty conduct research abroad their unit level duties are absorbed by other faculty members without and normally without compensation.

Meeting Adjourned at 12 pm

 

 

Categories: FAEC MEETING MINUTES 2019, RAMAPO FAEC

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October 9, 2019FAEC Minutes 9/25/2019

Faculty Assembly Executive Council [FAEC] Meeting Minutes

Date: Wednesday, September  25, 2019 | Location: A 220  | Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Attendees: Kathryn Zeno, Tae Kwak, Donna Flynn, Christina Connor, Eva Ogens, Scott Frees,   David Oh, Hugh Sheehy

Guests: Nicole Morgan Agard, EDIC; Tamika Quick, EDIC and Brittany Williams-Goldstein

Secretary: Nakia Matthias

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1. FAEC Minutes Approved [needed]

2. Bias Response Team

EDIC has requested that FAEC nominate faculty members to serve on the Bias Response Team [BRT].  The appointment process will involve the FAEC nomination of three faculty members to EDIC whereby one of the nominees will be selected to serve on the BRT.  EDIC did not declare whether the faculty member should be tenured or untenured. EDIC aims to establish the team immediately to form an exploratory committee which will shape the nature and charge of the BRT.  The volunteer position requires a one year commitment. The faculty representative will meet two times per month until the training for the BRT commences. A trainer from an external institution will be sought to illustrate best practice in assessing bias grievance incidents. EDIC intends that the faculty representative will serve in-part to communicate the BRT’s mission to the RCNJ community.  

FAEC stressed the need to clarify a formal charge and criteria for the Bias Response Team in order to identify potential appointees.  Requirements for the scope, membership composition and size of the committee was requested. FAEC recommended that aspects of the charge should include plans for  how the team will work with other parts of the college. Additionally, it was suggested that two faculty members are selected so that one member could serve as an alternate.

FAEC faculty representatives were asked to inform their units of the need for the BRT appointee and conduct an interest-check.

3. RCNJ Multicultural Center Planning

Regarding EDIC’s plans to establish a Multicultural Center, FAEC underscored that the starting point for this endeavor should be focused on articulating the guiding principles for the Multicultural Center to clarify its mission and purpose to the RCNJ community.  

4. Wednesday Meeting Block Schedule 

FAEC recommends that meeting block scheduling be reconsidered for faculty to be able to balance teaching and service commitments.    

5. Formalizing Communication and Taskforce Directives from the Provost’s Office

FAEC affirms the need for the Provost’s Office to formalize all communication relative to processes, procedures, and decisions that affect the College.  Discussion boards should not be employed as a primary means for dialogue or deliberation around issues that impact or involve The College. Informal online discussion board contents should not be used to represent or substantiate the positions, opinions, and input of the faculty.  FAEC maintains that discussion board contents are not a representative or valid means for establishing or proving faculty accord, particularly in instances when there is no indication of broad issue consensus among the faculty.   

Any task force formed by the Provost’s Office should operate with a formal charge and timelines that specify goals and objectives toward task completion.

6. Communication from administration to the RCNJ Community

FAEC observed that the State of the College address and the Back to School Reception were well publicized.  Notification for the Back to School reception was circulated via Ramapo Daily Digest on the morning of the event.

7. Informational Request for Clarity on Three Plus One Proposals

FAEC supports the formation of a college-wide 3 + 1 task force or committee to liaise between the faculty and administration.  The body would serve to report 3 +1 planning to the faculty, as well as to represent faculty concerns to the administration. The charge for a prospective task force should be decided by the faculty.  

FAEC suggests that any decisions around 3+1 require the following:

• Individual convening groups will not be tapped to create curricula or model programs 
• RCNJ faculty maintains curricular oversight
• Courses and curricula must legitimately improve educational access for students
• 3 + 1 agreements must generate short and long-term profit for RCNJ 
• Courses must mirror the quality and content offered at RCNJ 

FAEC recognizes the need for clarity on the status of any agreements with outside institutions relative to 3+1 programs.  There is concern that faculty and programs are being provided with differing information about the existing state and nature of RCNJ’s involvement with 3 + 1 proposals. Furthermore, engagement in 3+1 programs will impact RCNJ programs that are bound to accreditation processes.  

Faculty concerns are also centered on the following:

• Ensuring that cannibalism will not be an outcome of the implementation of 3 +1 programs
• Potential programs would require prospective students to assume more than 1 year of enrollment at RCNJ, thus resulting in 1.5 years or 1 year and summer enrollment to complete a 4 year degree
• There is no evidence of any cost benefit and cost benefit analyses are not being conducted

To address these and other related concerns, FAEC seeks to open discussion of these matters during Faculty Assembly to formulate a resolution that stipulates how faculty will proceed in our involvement with potential 3+1 planning.

8. The FAEC Presidential Nomination, Voting, and On-Boarding Process

Potential FA candidates will deliver speeches during the December 4th FA meeting.  A Qualitrics survey will be distributed among the faculty on the day after the December 4th FA meeting and faculty will have one week to register their responses toward a vote for FA President.  The winner of the vote will be announced by the end of the Fall semester.  The outgoing FA President hopes to onboard the new President over the Spring semester to ensure a smooth transition.

The FAEC will engage in advertising and campaigning to support a robust participation in the vote for the FA President.  The next FA President will be acting during the RCNJ Presidential transition. 

9. Presidential Search Committee;  Brittany Goldstein, President’s Cabinet

The Board of Trustees is commissioning a committee of thirteen college-wide representatives to serve on the RCNJ presidential search committee.

• The BoT specified that the committee of thirteen should comprise:
• Committee Chair, Susan Vallario
• 3 faculty representatives [including Library faculty and adjuncts]
• 5 Board of Governors representatives [including the immediate past board chair]
• 1 Dean [nominated by Dean’s council]
• 1 Student representative
• 1 Alumnus
• 1 staff member

FAEC has been asked to identify and advance up to 9 faculty nominees that wish to serve on the search committee.  The BoT will choose 3 out of the 9 faculty members that the FAEC nominates to serve on the committee. The BoT and EDIC will inform FAEC of any issues with nominees.

There was no criteria provided for the selection process.  FAEC recommended that criteria are established to pre-empt any potential discontent with candidates that are advanced and selected.  FAEC was informed that criteria should be designated by its members. The FAEC maintains that criteria specification and the decision for faculty nominations must come through FA and not FAEC.  Professors that wish to serve must make their case to FA.

The FAEC was informed that the committee will bear one less faculty member than in the previous Presidential search.  The 2004 Presidential search committee was composed of 17 members and the 1985 presidential search committee consisted of 7 members.

FAEC would like further justification and/or rationale for the following:

• The BoT’s faculty selection criteria and factors for disqualification of faculty nominees
• Details of the service commitment for each category of committee membership 
• The selection of 3 faculty members as opposed to 5 members of the Board of Governors 

Meeting Adjourned at 12 pm

 

Categories: FAEC MEETING MINUTES 2019, RAMAPO FAEC, Uncategorized

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October 8, 2019FAEC Minutes 10/02/2019

Faculty Assembly Executive Council [FAEC] Meeting Minutes

Date: Wednesday, October  2, 2019 | Location: A 226  | Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Attendees: Kathryn Zeno, Tae Kwak, Eva Ogens, Scott Frees, David Oh, Donna Flynn, Christina Connor, Hugh Sheehy

Guests: Provost Becker, President Mercer

Secretary: Nakia Matthias

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1. FAEC Minutes Approved 

2. Public Safety Notice

FACE discussed the insensitivity and evocation of  stereotypes in the language contained in the public safety notice that was issued on September 26, 2019 to faculty, staff, and students.  The language in the notice described the two males as appearing to be of “Indian descent” as perpetrators of an act that caused safety concerns for a female students on TCNJ’s campus. Nicole Morgan Agard issued an apologetic statement on behalf of the Office of Equity Diversity and Inclusion to address the concerns of members of the RCNJ community regarding the language contained within the communication. 

3. Goal 2 Taskforce 

The Goal 2 Taskforce has not completed its charge as they have been slated for realization by 2021.  Due to Nicole Agard’s leave of absence, it’s unclear when the Goal 2 report will be submitted to Mercer, but it was due yesterday.  The task force was assembled to examine Goal 2 of RCNJ’s Strategic Plan [Cultivate and Support Equity, Diversity and Inclusion] and provide recommendations for crafting the plan’s objectives.  Presently, strategic goals are not being tracked by any office on campus. The plan’s definition of non-white students is formulated in a manner that is problematic.  For example, non resident students are counted as non-white even if they are white.

In New Jersey state African American and Hispanic enrollment, as well as graduation are important priorities.  The categories that quantify enrollment and graduation require disaggregation for the sake of tracking and clarifying objectives and goals.   RCNJ has exceeded their goal of enrollment numbers which appear to be arbitrary.  

4. Three Plus One Program

There is no new information about any potential Three Plus agreements or the status of their development between RCNJ and Community College institutions.   RCNJ maintains existing reciprocal agreements and a full time staff member from RCNJ at Bergen Community College for the purpose of soliciting and transitioning students into RCNJ.

5. Presidential Search

FAEC is composing a letter to submit to the Board of Trustees [BoT] to request that one faculty member per unit and the Library are included in the presidential search committee.  The FACE does not seek to ask to exclude or reduce the numbers of anyone that has been identified to sit on the committee.

The FA has been charged with the selection of criteria for choosing nominees for the committee.  At present the FACE intends to forward the names of three faculty members to the Hillary Goldstein in wait for a response to the letter for the inclusion of once faculty member per unit and the Library.

Some considerations for inclusion in the committee may include:

Faculty tenure status, length of service at RCNJ over ten years, and one’s classification and a member of a minority population.  FA members will be asked to determine the categories that they wish to be considered for. They will have to make their case for their nomination and an FA vote will be called for the nomination of a faculty member for each category.

The Minority Faculty and Staff Association (MFSA) request that a voting representative form the  group be seated on the search committee. The FACE supports the MFSA desire to include a voting member on the committee.

6. President Mercer [Full Professorship Promotions] 

The president confirmed that the faculty promotion slot numbers for Full Professorships will be made available by mid-October.   November 15, 2019 is the application deadline.  

7. Provost Becker and Three Plus One Agreements

Provost Becker affirmed that RCNJ is not entering a three plus one agreement with (BCC) and that any potential arrangement with the institution would cut RCNJ two-year transfers. He also pointed out that if another four-year institution enters a three plus one agreement with BCC this would harm RCNJ’s transfer enrollment.  The Provost stated that he would like to sign Three Plus One agreements “very quickly”. The provost indicated that per site where Three Plus One agreements would be formed, RCNJ we could attract 60 to 100 students. He also noted that the Budget Office is currently developing calculations to examine revenue and admission projections, as well as opportunity costs for Three Plus One programs.

Meeting Adjourned at 12 pm

Categories: FAEC MEETING MINUTES 2019, RAMAPO FAEC, RCNJ Faculty Assembly Minutes 2019

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September 27, 2019FAEC Minutes 9/18/2019

Faculty Assembly Executive Council [FAEC] Meeting Minutes

Date: Wednesday, September  18, 2019 | Location: A220  | Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Attendees: Kathryn Zeno, Tae Kwak, Donna Flynn, David Ohi, Christina Connor, Eva Ogens, Scott Frees

Guest: Meredith Davis, Communication Arts and Ashwani Vasishth

Secretary: Nakia Matthias

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1. FAEC Minutes Approved

2. RCNJ President Search

FAEC suggests that faculty get ahead of the search for the new college President to ensure that the composition of the committee is representative of the faculty and their interests.  Vice Chair of the RCNJ Board of Trustees, Susan Valerio, whose term expires on June 30, 2020, will be the Chair of the President’s search committee. FAEC recommends that the search committee select candidates for the position whom have a proven record of fundraising at their former institution.  Additionally, despite existing procedures for search committees and the selection of senior administrators and officers, FAEC recommends that the college assemble a faculty and staff led team rather than an external search consultancy.

3. Summer Reading Committee  – Meredith Davis, CA 

Concerns were raised regarding the summer reading criteria selection process.  Submissions are anonymous and criteria are not well defined. In the past anonymous submissions have included works that promote racism.    Currently the committee includes representatives from CSI, the student body, The Center for Student Success, and faculty. The Committee recommends texts for summer reading which are then passed onto the Office of the President and the President’s cabinet.  In the past texts have been chosen by the President’s cabinet and the President based on consideration of whether the work will meet parents’ approval and whether The College can secure the author of the work to speak at the convocation ceremony. The President has been informed of the committees’ discontent with the 2019 summer selection and the author’s speech during convocation.  Questions were raised about the process for selection of the summer reading text and its breach of academic freedom among faculty and ultimately shared governance. Faculty should have more of a say in the choice as to whether the book is included in their syllabus. Suggestions for selecting future summer reading convocation speakers include evaluation of the speaker’s expertise, accomplishment, and  commitment to the subject matter or themes presented in the summer reading selection. Furthermore, it was recommended that authorship of the summer reading text should not be a requirement for an invitation to speak a t the convocation. The summer reading selection is a curricular decision requiring some clear conception from faculty regarding the work’s objectives and goals, as well as its inclusion in course syllabi.  The selection of the summer reading process and convocation speaker is an agenda item for the Oct. 2, 2019 faculty forum.

4. Ashwani Vasishth

The faculty should be making a push for the cabinet to be held accountable for decisions they have taken which have resulted in the need to cut funds from programs and services at the College. There is a need for a town hall meeting between the Cabinet, faculty, and students.  The matter of the funding shortfall for The Learning Commons and the Data Science major are not at the fore of the concerns regarding the need for capital. There has been a 30% budget cut in academic affairs, student jobs, and faculty-student research have been cut without justification. There must be an explanation about the need for capital that is driving these decisions. There is concern that prioritization of a Data Sciences Program and building The Learning Commons over installing new classrooms is misguided decision making.  It was suggested that the decision-making process should be opened up to ensure that faculty have a voice in how the cabinet acts on funding matters. There is a need to understand why the Cabinet labeled RCNJ’s financial shortfall of $3.1 million a $6 million “crisis” in the Spring 2019. The faculty should have access to the data that caused the Cabinet to present this information as the driving force behind the need to make sweeping changes to programs.  

The Provost must explain why 3 +1 needs to take effect within a one year span of time or at all.  Faculty must consider its options for the nature of participation in the proposed program as well as whether they will participate at all.  The provost must also consider that with the 3+1 program students will require more remediation resulting in the need for more curriculum than already exists.

Meeting Adjourned at 12 pm

 

Categories: FAEC MEETING MINUTES 2019, RAMAPO FAEC

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September 11, 2019Faculty Assembly Executive Council | Minutes | 9/4/19

Faculty Assembly Executive Council [FAEC] Meeting Minutes

Date: Wednesday, September  4, 2019 | Location: A220  | Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Attendees: Kathryn Zeno, Tae Kwak, Donna Flynn, Renata Gangemi, Christina Connor, Eva Ogens, Scott Frees

Guest: Ashwani Vasishth

Secretary: Nakia Matthias

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1. FAEC Minutes Approved

2. RCNJ Budget

The FAEC raised concerns about the process that the administration and the cabinet are taking in regard to the budget and curriculum and suggest that involvement of the faculty is crucial in budgetary planning matters.   $1.1 million has been cut from academic affairs. The projected budget deficit of $6 million was inaccurate and rising tuition revenue had not been accounted for in that estimate. The budget deficit is 3.1 million less than half of what was projected a year ago.  The Provost proposed a task force comprising faculty that is focused on Academic affairs cuts. The task force’s first meeting was in May. Although fiscal issues are the concern of the primary administration and the FAEC should only be informed, there is concern that budgetary considerations are not being optimized or made for sustained efficiency.

3. Guest: Ashwani Vasishth

There is tremendous unease related to many decisions taken by the Cabinet, and the possibility that they will hurt rather than help the faculty and ultimately RCNJ.  Decision-making requires a conversation about shared governance that engages collegiality, transparency, and participatory decision making processes. Administrators and their offices are all being informed to make changes and have no room to push back for accountability.  There is no accountability for mistakes made and therefore faculty and the Cabinet need to revisit how decisions are made at RCNJ..  

There is also a need to make clear how 3 + 1 could impact faculty at RCNJ and whether it could result in full time faculty commuting to a community college to teach.  The nature of the program and its uptake at RCNJ can possibly lead to loss of control over curriculum, outsourcing of syllabi, and also structural cuts.

4. International Student Enrollments and Transfer Students

International student enrollments are declining and down by half of the number enrolled for the previous school year.  The current political climate does not support the influx of international students. There are a record number of transfer students at RCNJ this year.  However, relying on an uptick in transfer enrollments is not a permanent solution as the demographic profile of the pool of new college students in New Jersey is shrinking. 

5. Library and Learning Commons Reconstruction

Several of the library’s electronic databases have been cancelled and more will be cut in the near future.  RCNJ saved 65K last year with a switch to electronic databases. Although RCNJ sees more revenue because of a pilot program with Rockland Community College, students do not pay for library tech fees and Bradley Center fees.  There are currently under 15 students using the Library under this agreement. The current budget will not allow for sustaining existing databases with an increased unofficial enrollment of community college students college students whom have access to the library’s resources on campus.  

The reconstruction of the learning commons will be funded through a 15 million dollar grant and RCNJ reserves but the budget does not factor in the operating costs of the current facilities. The Learning Commons re-construction is requiring more money from the budget than has ever been raised by the President.

6. Faculty Parking Lots and Reserved Library Parking Spaces

Since entry to the faculty parking lots have not required a card key students and perhaps other unauthorized persons have been parking their cars in it.  The FAEC suggests that faculty contact public safety to address this issue through ticketing. The FAEC President will also discuss this matter with the Provost.

The FAEC will invite the registrar and Beth Foster to a future meeting to review calendar issues.  The faculty was informed that the FAEC requested specific changes to the final exam schedule. However this is not the case. Exams must be scheduled for 200 minutes and  there should be 4 exams per day. However, the FAEC has no role in exam slotting. Furthermore, if irregularities are noticed in the final exam schedule then they should be changed for future exam scheduling.  Additionally, faculty need concrete due dates for grades for each semester and grading cycle in advance. The due dates for grades are scheduled 5 years in advance. FAEC would also like to know the actual percentage of faculty that are submitting grades late.

7. Course Evaluations

If faculty opted for electronic evaluations, the instrument contained the revised questions that FA voted on last Spring.  However if faculty opted for paper evaluations the instrument reflected the old evaluation questions. There needs to be consistency across paper and electronic course evaluations.

8. Call for Interested Candidates for FAEC President

The FAEC President will be ending his tenure in the position and going on an administrative leave for 1 year.  An announcement will be made at Faculty Assembly to call for the submission of names for faculty interested in assuming the position.

Meeting Adjourned at 12 pm

Categories: FAEC MEETING MINUTES 2019, RAMAPO FAEC

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