September 26, 2020FAEC Minutes Sept 16, 2020

FAEC MINUTES 9/16/2020 

Present: Roark Atkinson (HGS), Naseem Choudhury (President), Katie Cohen (Library), Donna Flynn (Councilor-at-Large under 11), Scott Frees (TAS), Kim Lorber (Secretary), Lisa Lutter, (CA), Thierry Rakotbe-Joel (ASB), Mihaela Serban (SSHS),  Ashwani Vasishth (Councilor-at-Large over 11)  

Guests: Sarah Carberry (GECCo) and Stephen Rice (ARC)

Vote to begin meeting to order at 10:06am.

Minutes Approval: The 9/9/20 minutes will be approved at the next meeting.

Faculty Assembly Qualtrics Votes: GECCo and the Councilor-at-large over 11 positions will be voted on by the faculty via Qualtrics.

Targeted List for Faculty and Adjuncts: Naseem will be working with other campus constituencies to make sure we have a completely up-to-date list. There is a great need to have an easily accessible and up-to-date list at all times from administration.

Graduate Council: Scott Frees is the chair of the committee. We need clarification of the FA role and we should have an FA member who is involved with graduate programs. Ashwani Vasishth has volunteered.

SGA: We will invite the president of the student government to come to Faculty Assembly. Our Unit Council meetings are at the same time as those of SGA. FAEC members will rotate attending SGA meetings.

Student Insurance: The opt out option was confusing to students as there was also mention of revisiting this in the spring; it should be once each year except for new students who come to Ramapo College in the spring. There were conflicting explanations and information given to students regarding the health insurance billing and opt-out procedures, which must be addressed. 

Spring 2021: We do not yet know what the spring will be like regarding the number of face-to-face courses. Naseem will seek clarification.

Committees on campus: Naseem will see who is serving in the following committees each of which should have a 2-year term: Mission Fulfillment Committee, Human Capital and Financial Resources Committee, and the Audit Committee. Clarification is needed of whether tenured faculty should serve on these. 

Committees: The campus has many committees at many levels, charged by different bodies on campus and it would be helpful to have a central location with an up-to-date master list with the members identified.

EOF/CRW: Provost Gaulden and Vice President of Enrollment Management Chris Romano notified Faculty Assembly President Naseem Choudhury of a faculty liaison position that will be created for the CRW; the person hired for this combined position would handle the management part of CRW. This means we will not have a director of the CRW; it is no longer part of the budget. 

ARC: 

• ● Stephen Rice, ARC Chair will work closely with FAEC. Two of the unit representatives are new to the committee. Meetings will be on Wednesdays at 11am. Stephen is working with Sarah Carberry to streamline the online submission of materials. Signature management is needed. Hyland is a document management system, not yet operational. The committee will use Google Drive folders until it is. The ARC manual will be reviewed for revisions with a particular focus on procedures. Stephen will work with Naseem. ARC’s presence in the bylaws does include functions not currently being performed. Perhaps WAC and GECCo should also be included in the ARC bylaws. Another goal is to make the submission process easier.
• ● 3/1 Programs: Under Provost Becker, these were called ongoing programs and not new. 

3/1 Programs: Naseem is part of the Psychology 3/1 committee, which worked with our partner institution to ensure the curriculum they cover is comparable to the courses we have here. Some courses are easy substitutions. There are other courses like Research Methods they are not set up to teach.

New Gen Ed: Part of the goal was to make GECCo a standing committee per the GECCo bylaws. It is not in the FA bylaws. In some ways GECCo is an FA committee running parallel to ARC doing pre-reviews. There is a bit of overlap. The ARC bylaws say GECCo reports to ARC. The ARC bylaws need to be revised. 

Bylaws: The various bylaws of major committees need to be reviewed, updated, and synchronized. This will be a big project. In particular, these will concern the relationship of WAC, ARC and GECCo. This will involve a conversation with the Provost. Ed Shannon (FAEC), WAC Chair (TBA), Stephen Rice (ARC), and Sarah Carberry (GECCo) will work with Mia Serban (FAEC) on coordination.

Mission Fulfillment:  This is a BoT subcommittee attending specifically to the activities of: Academic Affairs, Enrollment Management, Institutional Advancement, and Student Affairs. There is one faculty member, Stephen Rice, who has had his first orientation and was invited because he is the ARC Chair. The following document describes the three BoT subcommittees faculty participate in:  https://www.ramapo.edu/board/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/2018/05/Committee-Charter-ao-April-30-2018.pdf

Strategic Resources Allocation Budget (SRAB) Committee: Sarah Carberry is the only faculty representative. This committee makes budget recommendations to Cabinet. At least one more budgeting expert faculty member might be a beneficial addition joining Sarah. The following document contains information about this committee:  https://www.ramapo.edu/iec/srab/

Personnel Issues: These seem to be resolving and dates are appearing for the different committees.

Meeting adjourned at 11:57am.

Categories: FAEC MEETING MINUTES 2020, RAMAPO FAEC, Uncategorized

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September 25, 2020FAEC Minutes September 9, 2020

FAEC MINUTES 9/9/2020

 

Present: Roark Atkinson (HGS), Naseem Choudhury (President), Katie Cohen (Library), Donna Flynn (Councilor-at-Large under 11), Scott Frees (TAS), Kim Lorber (Secretary), Lisa Lutter, (CA), Thierry Rakotobe-Joel (ASB), Mihaela Serban (SSHS),  Ashwani Vasishth (Councilor-at-Large over 11)

Guests: President Peter Mercer, Provost Susan Gaulden, Martha Ecker (AFT President), Tim Judge (AFT Adjunct Representative)

Voted to begin meeting to order at 10:02am.

Minutes Approval: The 9/2/20 minutes were approved with one abstention.

Indemnification Clause for Fieldwork: The administration did not sign this, which resulted in students losing their field placements.

Personnel HR Deadlines: Schedules are still being addressed.

Fall Schedule Planning: This is being determined for the spring as students will begin to register by the end of October. An assessment of how many face-to-face spaces for spring requests for classrooms is needed.

Pre-requisites: FAEC is continuing to work with the Provost and the Registrar to address missing pre-requisites and student qualifications for courses so the faculty does not have to.

Today’s Meetings: FAEC members reviewed Faculty Assembly and Faculty Forum agendas.

FAEC Councilor-at Large over 11: We are still accepting candidates before the faculty votes.

FA By-laws: Mia Serban is leading the update committee.

Student Study Spaces: Can more be designated on campus for students who do not have space at home to study? Perhaps some unused classrooms can be used.

Library: The library is open from 9am-5pm on Monday through Friday. Reference services are available online 9am-10pm Monday through Thursday, 9am-5pm on Friday, and 5pm – 8pm on Sundays. This will be reassessed throughout the semester. The librarians and library staff are rotating. There are other printing areas (E-wing lab, the Fishbowl, etc.). There are study spaces in the library and they have been meeting current demands using reserve and curbside methods via the online form. One can stop in, sign in, and books can be brought to the person but browsing is not permitted. Interlibrary loans may take time as some libraries are not open. VALE Reciprocal Borrowing is a group of colleges sharing resources directly; this is not working now due to campuses limiting outside visitors.

Faculty/Student Survey for Spring 2021 Course Type Planning: What is the preference for remote versus face-to-face classes this semester as we plan scheduling for next semester? Is there a difference between schools or disciplines? Faculty should be informed about students’ preferences in making their spring course format decision

Restart Committee: Is there a successor committee of the Campus Restart Committee, to identify possible plans for futures semesters well in advance?

Adjunct Space: Do adjuncts have enough space? Can current spaces be repurposed for their use?

AFT Report:

Intellectual Property MOA: is being reviewed.

Class Coverage for A Colleague: Provost Gaulden has informed the deans if any faculty member becomes ill, and another steps in, the latter should be appropriately remunerated.

Return to Campus: Mixed results have been found so far about the return to campus for staff and librarians. Big classes are very hard to manage remotely.

HR: A draft calendar is being reviewed. The promotion binders are being scanned. Promotions will be retroactive to September 1^st. The sabbatical and promotion calendars seem to be on track for this year.

Electronic Packages: What should and should not be in the packages? This needs to be reviewed with HR. There needs to be more structure as to what should be included.

Emergency Help: Strict rules have been implemented about all ITS requests going through the help desk. They respond promptly. During class, how can we ensure immediate responses? Steven Urgo was very helpful, immediately. At this time, ITS has much on its plate. In SSHS we are having trouble with SPSS. Is Social Explorer going to become problematic as it is being offered by the library and running well now?

 

EOF/CRW: The merging does not seem logical and perhaps should be under Academic Affairs (AA). EOF used to be under AA when Martha Ecker was an administrator and it reported to her. CRW was moved by the previous Provost on a temporary basis due to a lack of help. Why is it still there? It was created to bolster Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC).

PROVOST’S REPORT

Face-to-Face Classes: Students in classes on campus seem to be complying with safety requirements. There are approximately 1,000 unique students taking one or more classes and these might meet 3-4 times in a semester and not on the same days.

Events for On-campus Students: Students need safe options while living on campus. If anyone has a suggestion, it should be sent to the Provost.

Fall 2020: is going well. Faculty is asking about Spring 2021. We do not have a spring course delivery decision date yet. Few students made schedule changes regarding their remote course designations. Provost Gaulden wants the spring schedule to be accurate so students will know the delivery method right away. At minimum, if in-person meetings can be designated in Banner, it will be informative to students. This must be done this month for early November registration. A census was sent to students about preferred course delivery for the fall. A new census will have to be done for the spring. Only 34 rooms can hold a full class. Provost Gaulden is appealing to all offices on campus to identify other rooms that might be able to hold face-to-face sessions. The courses that will suffer the most should have the highest priority.

Cleaning: Facilities cleans the classroom between classes. Will the schedule change? The plan is not to do this and to alternate classrooms so a full session’s time is available between meetings for cleaning. This reduces the number of classrooms. COVID-19 will have the last word. The classrooms have had desks removed and others taped off, to ensure social distancing compliance.

In-person Class Pushback: Some courses have experienced in-person resistance. A survey of faculty and students is being prepared by the Provost. The census asks if faculty will teach face-to-face if the state was in stage 3.

Course Delivery Method Vocabulary: There are many differences between online and virtual classes. These should not be used interchangeably; most of our courses are virtual. Asynchronous classes are less popular.. Remote courses were not allowed to convert to online; existing online courses remain as they were. Students do not prefer online courses. In-person classes on select days can be for exams, for example. If we have multiple sections of a course, it would be good to offer them in different formats. We need to maintain the best course delivery for our college. Parents are providing feedback to the Provost as classes are being held in the home

 

PRESIDENT’S REPORT 

Students on campus: So far it seems we are doing well and are in compliance with safety requirements.

Federal Relief:  We will receive a modest portion of the $150,000,000 relief aid recently announced by the State.  The total will be divided among public and private institutions.  The new budget will be coming out shortly including increases as in the past. It will make up for the $68 million cut this fiscal year from the state schools. We are hoping we can get at least another million dollars this year which was denied last year. We are doing very well retaining students; we have a full complement. Most are not living in the residences. The financial picture is pretty sound but we will not know our situation fully until the budget is approved. We will have to cover significant amounts from reserves, which we can use once. The President is cautiously optimistic.

Revised Budget: Will be presented to the Board of Trustees (BoT) this month; it is not known if this will be an open meeting. The FA President and Vice President will speak with President Mercer about having faculty representation at the budget meeting

 

Meeting adjourned at 12pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories: FAEC MEETING MINUTES 2020, RAMAPO FAEC

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September 16, 2020FAEC Minutes, Sept 2, 2020

Categories: FAEC MEETING MINUTES 2020, RAMAPO FAEC

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August 13, 2020FAEC Minutes, July 17, 2020

FAEC 7/16/2020 DRAFT

Attendance: Roark Atkinson (HGS), Naseem Choudhury (President), Kim Lorber (Secretary), Lisa Lutter (CA), Thierry Rakotbe-Joel (ASB), Mihaela Serban (SSHS), Ashwani Vasishth (Councilor-at-Large over 11)

Guests: na

Minutes approved for 7/1/2020 meeting.

President’s Memo (7/15/2020) outlined many details about the fall semester.

Questions: Who is responsible for cleaning classrooms between classes? How will shared adjunct offices be cleaned? Details about the instructional process are needed. How will office hours work as distancing from a second person needs to be sorted out among other issues? Most can work with students via Webex.

Return to Campus: Will all faculty who choose to teach remotely be allowed? Per Provost Gaulden’s email(s), she will approve all requests.

Student Surveys: The majority of students prefer F2F classes.

Discussion re: which courses will be virtual: Some courses like senior seminars might be harder to deliver at the same quality level if they are not in face to face meetings.

Who will live on campus: International students, possibly first year students, housing insecure, and others. See restart document

Discussion regarding “Compliance” and enforcement: What are the repercussions regarding compliance, or lack of, in the email and restart document? What if faculty or students do not do what they are expecting them to. Students already take a pledge regarding behaviors on campus. Who will enforce these? F2F faculty will need specific guidance regarding compliance. What training will be provided? For COVID19? Who cleans the classrooms? We should not be required to police.

Punitive approaches should be reframed; how do we practically lead?

We need a community buy-in contract to be for compliance regarding masks.

Discussion re: “What is Face to Face”: What are the different models?  Not whole class, split classroom, small group F2F. It is more hybrid than the traditional F2F model we usually do. Can we pivot if we feel psychologically or health wise it is not working; can you tell the class you will be remote henceforth? Selecting F2F means knowing all of these things. Should FA make a statement to support faculty teaching F2F?

Faculty Assembly Meeting: FAEC reps should ask conveners to survey members for questions to be pre-sorted by FAEC to avoid repetition by Monday deadline using a Google doc.

Different College Models in NJ: TCNJ, Montclair, Stockton are proposing plans for stage 3 (see their restart docs) and make clear that they anticipate that the state will be in stage 3 at the beginning of the Fall semester. Most colleges are asking for commitments so the College can prepare dorms, classroom assignments, etc.

Faculty in different schools (units) have varying degrees of information: ASB will be off campus for stage 2 and 3; other deans have not made this directive or given as much information. Naseem will ask the Provost for more information about what is happening in each school and to ask the deans to convey information to faculty with more frequency. We need consistency across the college.

Performance courses meeting F2F need guidelines and resources. How does one sing in a chorale with a shield? Naseem will share a contact from K-12 with Lisa.

Return to campus provisions: It seems we will receive a PPE packet which will be given to each person upon return. These will include a washable mask, which will not be appropriate in labs or performance courses.  We would need microphones to use in classes with proper PPE. We do not expect to have these situations arise because we will be mostly remote.

Convening groups should have their needs addressed: masks for musicians, field work; the answer has been “figure it out yourself”. Resources should have been recommended for certain disciplines.

Personnel issues, timelines, and submission times are important to address with Provost Gaulden so electronic methods, etc. can be sent to everyone. Example: The sabbatical application process should be announced and electronic.

Library Construction: It is possible the shell of the building will be prepared and construction stopped because we do not have the money. When will the library be completed? Our library is now in a dorm. FA can make some of these issues public even if the BoT made no mention at the last meeting.

Please see the changes proposed by Provost Council’s Academic Council page and encourage the faculty to look at it. There are transfer, credit and other issues to be addressed.

Read Peter’s reopening email. The link was in the 7/15/2020 email.

 

 

 

Categories: FAEC MEETING MINUTES 2020, RAMAPO FAEC

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July 20, 2020FAEC minutes, July 1, 2020

FAEC 7/1/2020 DRAFT

 

FAEC 

Attendance: Roark Atkinson (HGS), Naseem Choudhury (President), Scott Frees (TAS), Kim Lorber (Secretary), Lisa Lutter (CA), Thierry Rakotobe-Joel (ASB), Mihaela Serban (SSHS), Ashwani Vasishth (Councilor-at-Large over 11)

Guests: none

Minutes approved for 6/17/2020 meeting.

FA President’s Report

• President Mercer’s bi-weekly email: We hope this will include more new information.
• Funding sources: The College is seeking funds from a variety of sources; it would be helpful to know how these different lines of revenue change the balance going into 2020-2021
• Provost Gaulden has stated that she is trying to keep all lines, tenured and not (temporary, etc.).
  • If the budget process is not transparent, we will not know what is to be cut and why. We know faculty have been furloughed, as have CWA and IFPTE. Unsure about managerial and senior administrative furlough’s or give backs. Rutgers’ president is giving 10% back.

• • Naseem will ask Peter, Kirstin, and Susan about this. Follow-up may be needed. AFT salary savings are ca. $2.5 million
• .

• Scott noted the totals are not identified as included or not in the deficit.
• July 22 will be a morning budget meeting. Naseem encourages us all to be there. We are walking in blind.

•  Presidential search is proceeding as planned and in a timely manner. Is there a contingency plan if the search fails? We should ask the faculty representatives on this committee. We would welcome an update as this process has been going on for 6 months; little will be available to be shared but some information would be appreciated.
• Tentative Faculty Assembly Meeting: July 22, 1:00
  • we need an agenda but we need information about stage 3, the reopening plan, will there be layoffs, etc.?
• FA President’s meeting with Provost Gaulden next week. Naseem will ask Provost about stage 3? Faculty needs to know now which classes might hypothetically be in-person. Cornell modeled online versus not-online and their point is they will open because the infection rate will be higher with online courses than not.
• The College will likely have 1,800 dorming students; many will need structure as opposed to taking all of their courses online. The Governor has said housing insecure and students who cannot remain home should be able to live on campus. Who are the others? Freshmen? No seniors? SSHS Dean Lorenz is meeting with each convening group to determine the course priorities. How will we deliver the courses in-person (logistics) and who will want to teach them? The Task Force is being run by Virginia and Susan. Susan already works 7 days a week. It would be best not to have a train wreck. They should not be blamed. We need a hypothetical Stage 3 plan. Who will teach the face-to-face courses? We were told to swap. With whom? We will need ADA approval from HR to be remote and then the convening groups will have to scramble to fill courses at the last minute with full-time faculty. Naseem will email the Provost and copy FAEC reps.
• Stage 2: ca. 96% of the courses will be remote. Who will be teaching face to face? Will we have a cluster of infections from 1,800 students? Students will share bathrooms at this point. If we must have 1 bathroom per student, opening the dorms becomes more expensive than keeping them closed.
• Naseem will email Peter about the fiscal piece and Susan about academic concerns with Stage 3, copying FAEC. She will also ask when deadlines for ADA exemptions must be submitted.
• Stipends and release time: some have more than they expected and others have less. How was everything calculated? The union negotiates $105/hr. Some faculty were disappointed as they were notified that they were not getting release time or stipends they had expected.
• Diversity on campus: We do not have policies regarding this as seen by Nicole Morgan-Agard’s response to BOT comments. There may be a committee but nothing seems to be happening and faculty has not been included. What is the decency code to which Peter referred at BOT meeting? A speech code cannot be developed so the only approach is to use the rules we have. The Dean of Students used to send many students to a larger body; has it been reduced in numbers as more cases seem to be handled inside that office.
• • Next meeting: THURSDAY, July 16^th at 10am.

 

Categories: FA RCNJ Minutes 2020, FAEC MEETING MINUTES 2020, RAMAPO FAEC, Uncategorized

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July 11, 2020FAEC minutes, June 17th, 2020

FAEC 6/17/2020 DRAFT

Attendance: Roark Atkinson (HGS), Naseem Choudhury (President), Katie Cohen (Library, incoming), Christina Connor (Library), Donna Flynn (Councilor-at-Large under 11), Scott Frees (TAS), Thierry Rakotbe-Joel (ASB), Stephen Rice (HGS), Mihaela Serban (SSHS), Ashwani Vasishth (Councilor-at-Large over 11),  

Secretary: Kim Lorber

Guests: Martha Ecker (AFT-President), Tim Judge (AFT Adjunct Representative

Minutes approved for 5/27/2020 meeting. 

FAEC President’s Report

FAEC President Summary with President Mercer: 

No news; zero allocations for new FY and nothing was received for the last quarter. We have an approximate $31 million deficit. Depending on the Governor’s actions, dorms will or will not be opened. There are 800 dorm bathrooms, which means a maximum occupancy of 800 students based on current CDC guidelines of one per student. This is 25% occupancy, staff would have to come back and we would run at a deficit. $1800 would be 1 student per unit sharing a bathroom. That would be little over 50% capacity and would be a break even amount for staff and services, we would still have a deficit. We are looking at furloughs, layoffs and deficits. The Secretary of Higher Education has changed positions; the junior person is now running things and has less influence. It is unlikely we will have money coming from the state to help this.

Budget /Impact on Faculty: Naseem asked President Mercer to include a faculty member on the budget process; he declined. She will continue to ask. We should know more about what will impact our salary/furlough costs. Two were asked to serve; Jason Hecht has agreed to serve if needed.

Costs and Information Asked of Faculty: We have been asked to estimate costs for delivering some of our courses face to face. It is unclear what to address. There is an estimate of $6,000 to retrofit classrooms for Hyflex teaching. We do not have this information to share. Faculty cannot cost out these things as we don’t have the parameters facilities is supposed to use (tendering etc). Subcommittee Meeting: Katie Cohen said there is no information about costing guidelines for each department/convening group. The numbers are due by June 22^nd. We can only do our best. We need to know which courses are coming back to campus.

Fall Models Approved and Decisions Needed: Stephen Rice reported two have been approved by the Board of Trustees (BoT). One is fully remote and the other is a hybrid. The working group has asked Provost Gaulden for the committee to keep working past June 22^nd. Nursing is considering alternating weeks for groups: one week on campus, one remote. Is it our role to consider how classes will be delivered? We need a universal policy. Scott noted conveners should have been reached out to or will be regarding course prioritization. Other committees have additional information. CA and TAS have the most courses preferred to be taught in a face-to-face format. Most of HGS and SSHS courses can be done remotely; some convening groups/units will be more impacted than others regarding in-person teaching. There are concerns about untenured faculty teaching face-to-face feeling they may not have a choice. Martha Ecker noted there is no central information source in the state; we do not have insight. 

Tim Judge noted the challenges posed for adjuncts who need to prep and may have their courses cancelled within the two weeks prior to the start of the semester. Naseem has advocated for a decision before July 15^th; this has been declined. Communication about the approved two models should be shared with the entire faculty. Fully virtual or hybrid curriculum formats should be made known to the faculty. 

A memo noting course development funding is confusing. There will be no compensation for faculty to be paid to convert courses; course development information was confusing as Thierry noted. Naseem asked for money for adjuncts and there isn’t any funding available. Naseem will seek clarification for the course development funding note. Scott Frees noted first it is necessary to identify how courses must be taught and then who will teach them. Naseem noted we may be in the same place in the spring so it might be helpful to swap courses if one has prepped 3 for fall, try to teach these again in the spring. Provost Gaulden told Katie she will send a memo this week, possibly to let everyone know. The four models proposed will be confusing to faculty who should be informed about the Cabinet approved 2 models, which is more clear. 

FYS, SSI, CRW courses require a delivery decision. In person? 

Liability for everyone is of concern; the universities are seeking limited liability. Stockton created a thoughtful white paper. Martha will ask if she can share it with Naseem. Can faculty be held liable if masks are not made required in class? It is unlikely the requirements to follow school rules and being penalized for this, will be enforced. We can only manage so much in a classroom: phones, texting, etc. How can we monitor mask wearing? 

Martha noted no one can be made to retire; some have offered to take a furlough if medical care and pension contributions continue until they become Medicare eligible. The Cabinet salaries were about $2 million a few years ago; they will have to make some cuts. They have to look at debt services, mortgages, etc. Much is based on state revenue and the virus. The $31 million does not include state loss; this is just dorms, meals and parking. It could be higher if we go 100% virtual. How can we make up $31 million?

AFT President Martha Ecker:

There have been ongoing negotiations regarding furloughs. We have a contract to avoid layoffs using furloughs instead. There will be details this afternoon which cannot be shared per the established rules. Neither Kirsten Loewrigkeit nor President Mercer have shared much information. Provost Gaulden communicates with the union regularly.

● Other Issues:

o Promotion/Tenure: This calendar is not published for next year as they are trying to address what did not happen this semester. Martha said they will try to scan folders to send to the committee members to act quickly. 

o Stepping in To Finish Another Class: Martha discussed this with Provost Gaulden. Historically, if someone has fallen ill, someone else has stepped in without payment. A new system will made requiring the sick individual to use sick leave and the covering professor will be paid on a pro-rated basis.

o Stipends: These should have been negotiated with the union to have a uniform rate. The union wants it to be equitable and transparent. All faculty should be able to apply. This is up to Provost Gaulden; they are not being suspended as some fear. There is a widespread issue with those with course release time picking up an additional course resulting in an overload; this is in violation of the contract. This will not be allowed any longer.

o Handbook: Naseem and Martha have been told the  handbook revision committee is working on the handbook; the Stockton handbook is still the model. At some point the committee will receive an email. Perhaps Donna and Mia can encourage the committee of which they are members to keep moving forward.

o Summer Forum: one was held for students re: racism; faculty is not required to attend. Students were concerned about academic affairs not being involved. There were classrooms issues. Naseem has discussed this with Provost Gaulden. 

o Faculty: 15-25% of the faculty are not US born; not clear about immigration status of visas. There are some faculty who are in limbo and cannot get their visas renewed. Another issue is speeding up that process; the College said they will not pay the extra money to make sure our faculty’s visas are processed in time leaving people in very difficult situations.   AFT is mindful that visas and furloughs are linked and this is an issue. It is part of the AFT proposal for international faculty to not be furloughed. While full-time faculty teach regardless of being furloughed, they are still teaching so is this an issue? Naseem will follow up with Nikhil and Raj. 

o Clarification of Expenses: In-person costs for the library, for example, will require many masks and gloves, barriers, etc. Who will decide what we really need when we create our lists?

o Options to Teach Remotely: We do not have the promised documentation from Provost Gaulden to not have to teach face-to-face if we do not feel safe. There are many decisions that have to be made. No one is compelling anyone to have to come back to campus. Deans on the subcommittee asked how to manage this. They cannot ask of the intentions/needs of faculty. An anonymous survey may be coming from Virginia. Martha noted the decision is up to the Governor about coming back to campus; age is not protected by the ADA, and it is up to OSHA (health and safety). It is murkier than we would hope. There are also possible ripple effects. If someone says “I am not coming” and the faculty member has job security, will adjuncts be asked? They may have less flexibility. Swap now for the spring. We do not know which courses are coming back to campus. If we knew which classes were coming, we could swap now. Thus we are in limbo. The Cabinet makes the decision. 

o Questions: If we go remote, will we have interlibrary loans? Are we losing sight of the pedagogy? asked Roark. Katie spoke with Leigh Keller, the Library Coordinator/Director, and it is complicated to arrange the loans. Do they mail resources? An $11 bill for an interlibrary loan was questioned; the College did not want to pay. Do they require pick up times? How can the budget be calculated? Will the College still be a college? Talk to Deans about pedagogy. 

o Question regarding what do adjuncts know? (ASB) Are they included in memos and surveys regarding the frequent updates with what is happening now?

o Unit FAEC Updates: Be conservative. Keep it factual and evidenced based. If there are timelines, share.  

July 22nd FAEC Meeting: We can schedule a faculty forum. We may have more information from Peter.

Categories: FAEC MEETING MINUTES 2020, RAMAPO FAEC

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July 11, 2020FAEC minute May 27th, 2020

FAEC 5/27/2020 DRAFT

Attendance: Roark Atkinson (HGS), Naseem Choudhury (President), Katie Cohen (Library, incoming), Christina Connor (library), Donna Flynn (Councilor-at-Large under 11), Scott Frees (TAS), Lisa Lutter (CA), Thierry Rakotobe-Joel (ASB), Mihaela Serban (SSHS), Ashwani Vasishth (Councilor-at-Large over 11)

Secretary: Kim Lorber

Guests: Martha Ecker (AFT-President), Interim-Provost Susan Gaulden, President Peter Mercer,

FAEC President’s Report

Meetings with the President: Naseem met twice with President Mercer; she will have Scott Frees (as VP) with her at future meetings. State budget and drawbacks for finishing/extended fiscal year and what might come next year was discussed: We have a big budgetary hole. Going forward we have about an $11 million hole and if for the full year, it is estimated to be a $31 million+. If we open dorms, etc. it will make the holes smaller. She encouraged him to be more transparent with the community to let people know where we stand.

Meetings with Provost Gaulden:

Faculty handbook revision: Susan was not aware that faculty handbook had been stalled; she will check.

Stipend/reassignment times for summer & fall: faculty were approached by deans to give these back for the summer and possibly the following AY. No decisions have been made about withholding stipends in the summer or fall. These are in negotiations with the union.

5 Year Assessment Plan: some groups are starting this in the fall to be completed in the spring. Naseem asked if this can be deferred for a whole year in order to have all materials on hand and to avoid additional projects during this chaotic time. Provost agreed with the caveat that CG provide rational and understand that programmatic changes will be delayed for a year.

Reopening committee: Considering multiple options and engaging faculty. The committee is waiting for representatives to return worksheets for summary. Report to the provost is due June 1.

AFT President, Martha Ecker reported: The 3 unions have met more with the Provost more regularly than the President. Ongoing local negotiations. Stipends and reassignment time: Should be negotiated by the union at a fair rate. Faculty handbook: Employee Relations is working on Faculty Handbook beginning with promotions. Statewide College Councils: AFT is negotiating with the States Office of Employee Relations to secure a no lay-off deal. Negotiations are ongoing. The offer is with the Presidents of the colleges.

FAEC Member

Question regarding student evaluations were raised: Will there be student evaluations in the Fall?

Personnel procedures: Uncertainty around timelines and process going forth is creating confusion. Faculty who are waiting for promotions, etc. have been unofficially told there has been an extension. Needs verification. Questions regarding the reappointment, tenure and future promotions timelines and processes are also unclear.

Re-opening Task Force: Questions about covering for unwell colleagues was raised. What if a faculty member becomes unwell and cannot teach or has to care for someone else? Who is going to teach those classes?  A discussion about the role of convening groups and deans and having consistent processes to address these issues ensued. Scott, who is on the reopening committee, reports from now? until August, we will have to figure out how we communicate within convening groups. Deans will have the final say as this is a personnel and HR matter. We will need to have a conversation with our deans about renumeration; they need to have plans.

For Fall 2020: We need to prepare to be online. We will need to spend our summers converting our courses and need to do very well as a faculty in the fall.
Question about lower our caps was raised: Naseem was told that they would not go down. Suggestion: Faculty with a new prep for a new course that was intended to meet F2F, swap with a colleague who is already offering that course online? May reduce the stress of prepping a new course and in a new delivery mode. Should we expect to go back in the spring? What will happen if we do or do not? Spring 2021 registration has not happened so can those caps be reduced? It will increase instructional cost. We need more information.

Martha reiterated that there is an ongoing conversation with employee relations re: Faulty handbook, personnel calendars and deadlines. This needs to be communicated to faculty. We negotiate with Virginia (HR) now instead of Nicole (previously ER) so timeline is longer. HR also reports to CFO and not Provost. Structure is not ideal. She does not expect caps to be reduced.
What happens if a faculty member becomes sick; some faculty taught through COVID. We need contingency plans.

Grading/attendance: will we go gently/lightly/easier as this semester with one or possible two semesters being remote during possible future COVID 19 waves? No accommodations for additional pass/fail going forth.

Sciences (Scott): Science meetings today. Labs will have to be drastically different. Whatever we decide to go with, unit discussions are needed.
Some programs have been asked to rethink courses: art studio classes, for example. We are discussing remote and not online classes.

President and Provost Gaulden Arrived
Naseem will make a schedule for FAEC meetings this summer and invite them. We are also planning a Faculty Forum.

President Mercer reported that the budgetary news is not good. State of NJ is down 25% in revenues: $10 billion. We are receiving 50% of the April, May, and June planned income. They are not giving any state funding for July, August, and September. Loss of references from events, conferences, etc., we will end up with a loss of 10s of millions of dollars. We have small cash reserves for an emergency.

Revenue side: gave back $5.2 million to students for room/board, and parking.

Naseem asked Peter if there is any possibility to roll out a plan before 7/15. We can have multiple plans while we wait for the Governor’s directives.

Susan said the working timeline is through 6/8. Then it is unlikely to know anything before end of June. PPE costs: where is the breakeven point? When does it make sense to open or not. Many are asking for liability protection, which might change peoples’ minds about reopening.

What would you like us to convey to faculty? Personnel costs and furloughs and potentially layoffs are possible, per Peter. It is frustrating and there is not enough info to know the extent. Courses are filled; who will pick those up?

Susan was asked about the timeline for cancelling courses and what is considered “low enrollment”. She responded; we have to fill classes. Conversation about cancelling courses earlier than in the typical year ensued. She confirmed that deans were paying close attention to this. Cannot increase instructional cost.

Remote work: Susan said this will be a Human Relations issue; we have to have contingency plans for faculty and staff is people become sick. This is a heavy lift and a chance to understand the community we are. We do not want to demoralize anyone. We need to deliver a high-quality product.

Course caps: can’t reduce them now; cannot afford. Assured us to return to old caps when all is well. This is not the new normal.

Faculty who are not comfortable being on campus in the Fall: Can this be communicated to them sooner rather than later? If one cannot come for whatever reason, alert your deans now (Naseem’s suggestion). Can we start these incremental things in-house now?
Susan has been waiting for HR, faculty are not unique, and employees may not be comfortable coming in either. The communication will be forthcoming, but she cannot promise when. She speaks with Virginia (HR) all the time.

Opening Research Labs: there will be the option to use the labs but will need social distancing guidelines. She does not want to give today’s plan but will be communicating soon.

If K-12 doesn’t open, how could we open? Issue surrounding public transportation, etc. were discussed.

Renegotiating academic calendar with the union: Pro’s and Con’s were considered. Lots of unknowns.

Communication: Naseem addressed this with Susan after Peter left. Inclusion of faculty is important in this process including budgetary issues. Transparency is needed.
Susan discussed concerns about meeting enrollment targets vs. deposits, and attracting students to the smaller programs. She discussed the cost of only expanding the bigger majors (there might not be seats for these students). Roark noted other schools are not lowering their tuition and asked if can we create such incentives:
Montclair did a 2 for 3 courses: sign up for 2 and we’ll give you the 3rd. Montclair, Kean, are not in good positions; Ramapo is leading the pact without these problems so far.
In the summer of 2020 deans will create a new 2-credit topic courses to give students a taste of what remote learning is like? If we do not do it well, it will be tough.

Returning students are asking: can they live on campus? How will these be maintained? How will bathrooms be cleaned? Naseem suggested adding a video of the dorms so people can see: you will have your own room, etc. CDC recommends 1 person per bathroom. They also say in healthcare facility, have to have separate room for people with symptoms: we would have to figure that out. We don’t fill dorms so we can spread out students. Timely info is needed for parents to make timely decisions.

Indefinite remote teaching (Mia): We will need to plan for indefinite remote teaching, too. Is the task force plan going to be fall, spring, 2 years ahead?
Susan: The task force is focusing on Reopening only. Maybe another committee is needed

Susan: Summer courses will not be pass/fail. Provisions for course evaluations was also for spring, too. Susan is fine with making temporary policies and extending them.
Course evaluations will go forward in the summer and fall (as before). If we had a redo of S20 of being in person and pivoting the semester, she would possibly consider pass/fail, again.

5-year Program Reviews Communication
Susan will let all convening groups who are on the calendar for next year that they may opt to defer the review for a1 year.

Summer communication: This would be appreciated from deans as well as her. She will ask the deans to join her in her plan to do so.

MARTHA: Required to come to campus or not: This is not a union issue, it is ADA. The real problem will be for people who are at risk of transmitting to elders in the household. She will look into compensation for taking over courses.

Message to convening groups: complete working group documents and note problems.
Reach out to faculty who might have stepped back due to being overwhelmed, etc. Who is coming back and who is not?

Political issue of virus/infection cases/Mia: Other countries have handled things differently and have had better outcomes; this is something we can control. The differences across the globe are based not on the virus but policies/politics.

Communication: Naseem has asked the President and the Provost to communicate every other week; she will communicate with faculty as needed. The deans need to share more information; unit reps from various constituencies need to communicate more as we should, with what we can share, when we meet with our own.

See CNN interview with NYU’s Scott Galloway (per Thierry) re: college at risk of closing.

Categories: FAEC MEETING MINUTES 2020, RAMAPO FAEC

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April 30, 2020FAEC MINUTES 04/22/2020

DRAFT FAEC Minutes 4/22/2020

Faculty Assembly Executive Council [FAEC] Meeting Minutes

Date: Wednesday, April  22, 2020  | Location: ONLINE/REMOTE  | Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Attendees: Tae Kwak, Donna Flynn, Kathy Zeno, Christina Connor, Scott Frees, Roark Atkinson, Naseem Choudhury, Ashwani Vasishth (Interim SSHS Representative), Pinar Kayaalp (interim HGS Representative), Lisa Lutter

Secretary: Nakia Matthias

Guests:  Stephen Rice, Jacqueline Braun

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I.  FAEC Minutes Approved 

II.  ARC Updates

ARC has nearly completed its processes this semester for proposal review and approval.  ARC suggests that a document management system is developed and implemented to facilitate submissions and review should RCNJ continue to work remotely during the fall.. A simple system can be created using Canvas. The college catalog should be published by next Fall.  Stephen Rice will take over as ARC Chair.

GECCo and WAC have separate charges and need to clarify its relationship to FAEC for the future.

III.  Contingency Planning – Remote Fall Semester

The administration should plan for the event that we deliver courses online for the Fall 2020 semester.  In the event that RCNj will resume the Fall semester remotely FAEC suggests the development and implementation of guiding principles at the convening group and unit levels to manage a remote teaching and course delivery process. If we have to extend remote learning into the Fall these online teaching processes should be formalized for consistency.

 Resources that faculty need to continue remote instruction should  be identified.  There should also be informational clearinghouses devised to facilitate this process and address concerns that faculty may have .

It is important that convening groups and units inform faculty that they should prepare in the event that they may need to teach remotely in the Fall.  The process may need to involve ARC to ensure that syllabi include information that aligns with instructional measures implemented for remote learning and teaching.

It is important for faculty to revise syllabi to address obligations to students including office hours, methods of course delivery, grading etc.

The administration cannot structure the course but can inform faculty of the methods of delivery and the interface for instruction.  For remote course delivery faculty are not obligated to use college approved LMS.  For Summer classes, faculty must use Canvas.  

The faculty can develop proposals for remote instruction rather than react to proposals that the administration puts forth to ensure that there is some clarity on how we will proceed in the fall. 

IV.  Reappointment and Promotions

At present, binders are on hold and decisions are on hold for promotion and reappointment.  Reappointment and promotion decisions are on pause until September.  There is concern about the lack of an online document management  system  for reappointment applications.  A system should be developed to ensure that these processes can be implemented remotely.

V. RCNJ Library

The library is currently working with consortiums and vendors to facilitate free services for books and other resources but cannot be sure that companies will extend free services through December.  The library is using trial versions for some services but may not be able to do this through the summer.  The library is operating with an extremely limited budget and librarians will make decisions that support the curriculum holistically and equitably distribute resources between Units.   The library is operating on reduced funds from this year’s budget unit at least September 30.  FAEC is  concerned about the fundraising for the library and the possibility that it could be idle. Communication from Library Unit liaisons will be distributed to each unit to provide more information about resources going forward.

VI. State of RCNJ’s Finances 

There is currently a hiring freeze but it is unknown as to whether there is also a promotion freeze.  There are concerns about job loss on campus.   There is also concern about  how the College will manage financial losses due to potential reduced enrollments and a drop in fees that The College usually depends on as part of student attendance. 

RCNJ may  be bound by Sodexo contracts although students are not on campus and foodservice operations are abnormal due to the COVID19 emergency.  Filling classes may be an issue and if RCNJ transitions to online instruction in the Fall  there will be a loss in parking and dorm fees. There is the possibility that monetary gifts to the college may be rescinded as donors renege on their pledged contributions.  

FAEC would like to know when the debt will be retired for the dorms.  It would also be helpful for the administration to provide projections or an exact accounting of figures indicating RCNJ’s losses over the summer and otherwise.  

The Provost  is waiting for other units in the college to determine which areas must be scaled back before considering reductions to academic affairs.   In the provosts purview, Academic Affairs should be a last resort for cuts. Adjunct instructors may be reduced in an effort to manage losses going forward.  Currently 300+ adjuncts are teaching approximately 100 sections over the course of the year.

VII. Stipends  

Stipend in general will be on hold over the summer due to budget shortfalls.  Any negotiation of stipends with the Provost must involve AFT as per  the local contract.  Course releases and stipends are very inconsistent.  It is an extraordinary measure to cut salaries across the board but reducing the number of stipends granted will be a reasonable way for the administration to scale back.  

There needs to be a consistent and universal process for how faculty are being asked to relinquish or forego stipends.  The criteria by which faculty are being asked to give up stipends needs to be documented.  Some faculty have been asked to provide services without a stipend, while some have not.  Furthermore, there is irregularity in the distribution of  summer stipends. 

VIII. FA Transitioning and FA Bylaws 

On July 1, 2020 Tae Kwak will step down as FA President and Naseem Choudhury will resume this position.  However the FA bylaws indicate that the official start date is  September 1.  The FA  bylaws must  be revised to reflect the July 1st start date.  Naseem and Tae have worked together to ensure that the transition is seamless.  Some FA procedures have been inconsistent and out of sync with FA bylaws. Naseem will revisit the FA bylaws to ensure that codification and modification is implemented to support transparency within FA processes and structures.  The FA bylaws may have to change or eliminate the over and under 11 year requirement for some positions.

Meeting Adjourned 12 pm

Categories: FA RCNJ Minutes 2020, FAEC MEETING MINUTES 2020, RAMAPO FAEC

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April 22, 2020FAEC MINUTES 04/15/2020

DRAFT FAEC Minutes 4/15/2020

Faculty Assembly Executive Council [FAEC] Meeting Minutes

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Date: Wednesday, April  15, 2020  | Location: ONLINE/REMOTE  | Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Attendees: Tae Kwak, Donna Flynn, Kathy Zeno, Christina Connor, Scott Frees, Roark Atkinson, Naseem Choudhury, Ashwani Vasishth (Interim SSHS Representative), Pinar Kayaalp (interim HGS Representative), Lisa Lutter

Secretary: Nakia Matthias

Guest: President Mercer, Provost Gaulden

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I.  FAEC Minutes Approved 

II.  Stefan Becker and Full Professorship Promotion Slots

Stefan Becker is returning to RCNJ as a full professor of Environmental Science.  He will be working in Environmental Studies with SSHS.  Becker may possibly be teaching Physical Geography, World Sustainability, and FYS. 

Not necessarily specific to this case, but concerning senior administrators (including Provosts, Vice Provosts, and Deans) who are are hired with faculty tenure and full professor rank, if they choose to formally join the faculty after they step down from their administrative positions, can create imbalances.  In particular, there is concern that (1) they contribute to the total number and proportion of full professors which is likely to negatively effect the calculation that goes into determining the number of full promotion opportunities available for traditionally hired faculty, and (2) they may adversely affect the student/faculty ratio and breadth of field, particularly for smaller Convening Groups, and negatively impact the possibility of hiring a necessary specialist needed for the curriculum in that Convening Group.

FAEC suggested that there should be clarification about how the College handles the transitions from an administrative to faculty positions.  There should be specification about whether such transitions will take up faculty promotion slots, as well as what the implications are to FTE. FAEC also suggested to the Provost that convening groups and search committees should be involved in any considerations regarding the transition of administrators to faculty positions to ensure that there is alignment and that the CG’s needs have been factored into any assessments.

III.  RCNJ Hiring Freeze and New Faculty Lines

The existing hiring freeze will be sustained until further notice.  Units that have conducted searches and received acceptance for offers made have already obtained approval.   Offers will not be rescinded but new offers will not be made.  All searches are presently on hold.  Searches for two part time lines for the library have been suspended. There was/is an active search for a Canvas Administrator, and a  search was completed for a new Nurse Practitioner but no offer has been made.

IV.  RCNJ Budgetary Concerns

Students received partial reimbursements for room and board. RCNJ will have to examine cost cutting as the state is withholding funding that it previously committed to grant the College.  The cuts to the RCNJ budget are greater than the federal stimulus would be. When courses are solely remote, and if the College cannot resume classes on campus RCNJ will be ”in the red” without revenues raised from room and board, including auxiliary revenue raised from summer rental of dorms and classrooms. The Provost stated that The College cannot promise that everyone will keep their jobs.  The provost stated that, “absent something unusual, there will be staffing considerations.”  Additionally, the Provost explained that reassign-time and stipends will have to be negotiated but will be considered on a case by case and reasonable basis.

FAEC expressed concern that some universities and colleges are using the COVID-19 crisis as an excuse for austerity.  In most other institutions the administration will see a dip in their salaries.  Additionally, in the past when Stefan Becker served as provost, the FAEC President asked him whether non-academic units would experience budgetary cuts.  Stefan asserted that it is not his business and that he did not know.  FAEC stated concerns about administrative bloat at The College and informed the Provost that it should be informed about what non-academic units are cutting and scaling back on. In discussion with the Provost,  FAEC noted that the core function of The College involves teaching and that administrators should be mindful of this. Furthermore,  FAEC reminded the Provost that it is necessary for the FAEC to be informed of the guiding principles and approaches to addressing budgetary cuts and administrative bloat.

There is a rumor circulating that a letter has been presented to faculty that informs them that they will receive an 11 percent pay cut.  This is not the case, there are no such  letters being distributed to faculty or staff.  However AFT has specified that during declared financial emergencies faculty can be subject to a 3 per cent pay cut.  Furthermore, the Provost explained that If the state declares a financial emergency tenured professors could be vulnerable to termination.  

FAEC recommends that other revenue generating ideas are explored.  Considerations should weigh how faculty can contribute and how people can take more classes remotely.  This issue involves the marketing of online classes, which should be taken up by the College.

Although Chris Romano has communicated that RCNJ enrollments for the summer 2020 and Fall 2020 are solid, there is still uncertainty regarding how The College will proceed in the Fall.  Boston University devised a contingency plan not to resume campus-based classes possibly until January 2021.  RCNJ must be prepared with contingency plans.  

According to AFT an RCNJ provost has never exercised the power to regulate or reassign the mode of course delivery, or where courses should be situated [if online or at other off-campus locations]  but could certainly make this determination.  

There has been no further discussion of Three Plus One programs that the FAEC has been privy to.

V.  RCNJ Commencement and Student Concerns

RCNJ is examining ways to develop features that can replace a graduation  and harken back to an actual commencement ceremony.  President Mercer indicated that graduation, “is not going to be as it was”

FEAC suggests that the administration send out an official announcement as soon as possible to proactively address concerns about commencement and other issues that seem to be uncertain.  Mercer explained that students can voice their concerns with the Dean of students, and that he would not deter them from reaching out to him directly.  

VI. RCNJ Student Survey

The Provost shared that the student survey reflects students complaints about faculty are using several kinds of online interfaces to facilitate classes and that faculty are assigning too much work.

Meeting Adjourned 12 pm

Categories: FA RCNJ Minutes 2020, FACULTY ASSEMBLY MINUTES, FAEC MEETING MINUTES 2020, RAMAPO FAEC, Uncategorized

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April 15, 2020FAEC MINUTES 04/08/2020

DRAFT FAEC Minutes 4/8/2020

Faculty Assembly Executive Council [FAEC] Meeting Minutes

Date: Wednesday, April  8, 2020 | Location: ONLINE/REMOTE  | Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Attendees: Tae Kwak, Donna Flynn, Kathy Zeno, Christina Connor, Scott Frees, Roark Atkinson, Naseem Choudhury, Ashwani Vasishth (Interim SSHS Representative), Pinar Kayaalp (interim HGS Representative), Lisa Lutter

Secretary: Nakia Matthias

Guest: President Mercer

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I. FAEC Minutes Approved 

II. Status of RCNJ Commencement 2020 

Graduating students are expressing uncertainty about the fate of RCNJ’s commencement ceremony.  President Mercer explained that RCNJ is awaiting information from Governor Phil Murphy and the Stay-At-Home order to make a determination about whether the graduation will be cancelled or postponed.  

FAEC suggested that informing students about whether graduation will happen can help them adjust the changes and mitigate uncertainty–even if graduation was pushed to December.

FAEC also proposed that the College conduct an Arching ceremony in lieu of a graduation commencement.  President Mercer will communicate with students about the prospects for a commencement ceremony and he expressed a desire to do more to do something for students beyond an arching ceremony.

FAEC will compose and distribute a message to students to provide them with information in an attempt to alleviate uncertainty.

III. President Mercer’s Communication to Faculty

FAEC informed President Mercer that all faculty have not received the e-mail message and that it is in its explanation of issues that may impact the college community.  President Mercer relayed that the state sequestered money and our funding is being reduced at a time when the College is most vulnerable. The college does not have much of an endowment.  AFT will meet with Peter to discuss the matters outlined in the e-mail.  

FAEC expressed concerns about enrollments for upcoming semesters and terms at the College citing the impact that changes may have on international student enrollment and the limited RCNJ endowment.  There is also concern that the unexpected events resulting from this crisis may be used by the administration to make abrupt changes such as possible potential programmatic changes, furloughs as causes for concern, mandated online and remote classes, and the delay or extreme limitation of  tenure decisions.

FAEC urges faculty to complete the surveys that have been disseminated by the administrator  in order to register faculty sentiments and positions on the teaching experience.

FAEC also suggested the need for a collective virtual space where faculty can communicate online.  

IV. OSS and DACA

FAEC is concerned with how students with special needs are dealing with remote learning. FAEC is wary that all students may not receive the kinds of help that they require and  may fall through the cracks.  

FAEC urges faculty to be aware that if a student is not a legal permanent resident and a Dreamer they cannot be placed on rosters to receive federal OSS funds.  The DACA program is more vulnerable than ever and measures to protect students should be revisited.

V. FAEC Position Tenure and Openings 

FAEC seeks a replacement for the FA Secretary which is  a non voting position. The candidate can be a non-tenure track faculty member.

FAEC terms are coming to an end for the representatives of TAS, ASB, and the Library

The FAEC unit representatives for CA, HGS, and SSHS have been filled on a temporary basis and require permanent faculty participation.

VI. The final FA meeting for Spring 2020 [April 29, 2020]

FAEC will assign roles for  facilitating the final FA meeting via Webex.  There is a need to manage participants, sort through comments made via the chat function, coordinate verbal participation, and enforce time limitations for verbal comments or questions

FAEC will ask the Provost to speak with deans about more consistent communication with faculty, as well as to examine and suggest models that deans have exercised to communicate with faculty 

Meeting Adjourned 12 pm

 

Categories: FAEC MEETING MINUTES 2020, RAMAPO FAEC

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