Faculty Assembly

April 19, 2023FAEC MINUTES 03/01/23

FAEC MINUTES 03/01/23

Present: Ken McMurdy (President), Elizabeth Siecke (Library), Amruth Kumar (TAS), Marc Gidal (CA), Malavika Sundararajan (ASB), John McTighe (SSHS), Dean Chen (Vice President, HGS), Monika Giacoppe (Councilor-at-Large for Part Time Faculty),

Jeffrey Ellsworth (Secretary) – absent due to AMPTF

* Councilor-at-Large for under 11 years position is currently open. FAEC has consistently been reaching out to the faculty attempting to recruit.

Vote to bring the meeting to order at 10:08am.

FA President’s Report:

Updates on administrative matters.

FAEC Discussion:

Discussion of ARC.
Discussion of Morale Survey.

Visitors:

Visitor: Susan Gaulden (Interim Provost)

Meeting adjourned at 12:00 pm.

Categories: Uncategorized

April 19, 2023FAEC MINUTES 02/22/23

FAEC MINUTES 02/22/23

* Councilor-at-Large for under 11 years position is currently open. FAEC has consistently been reaching out to the faculty attempting to recruit.

Vote to bring the meeting to order at 10:08am.

Review of minutes for 02/15/23

FA President’s Report:

Boldly Ascending: second one on facilities master plan, third one – attendees should bring proposed outcomes and tasks that are derived from Strategic Plan goals and objectives and the purpose statement – March 20.
Deans will be facilitating this process at the unit level.

FAEC Discussion:

Discussion of Podium Global Tech Experience.
Discussion of faculty wellness.

Visitor:

Visitors: Virginia Galdieri, Jennifer Hicks-McGowan (POER): 10:15am

Jenn is the new Interim Executive Director of Employee Resources & Strategic Initiatives
Jenn is now the TLC HR point of contact person
Reviewed Morale Survey, raised faculty feedback with POER
FAEC raised the possibility of POER having a ticketing process similar to Facilities and ITS that creates a paper trail.
POER is enhancing clarity to pay stubs when faculty work extra duties such as independent studies, overloads, summer work, extra administrative duties. Code lists to identify the type of payment will be posted on POER’s website
Faculty Handbook – in process, hopefully rolled out by the end of spring semester so it will be up and running for next fall. In the future, yearly review of the faculty handbook. Will shortly go to Legal and AFT.
POER will have a follow-up meeting to discuss processes, FAQs and conflict resolution procedures as well as update FAEC about the items discussed.

Meeting adjourned at 12:03 pm.

Categories: Uncategorized

April 19, 2023FAEC MINUTES 02/15/23

FAEC MINUTES 02/15/23

Present: Ken McMurdy (President), Elizabeth Siecke (Library), Amruth Kumar (TAS), Marc Gidal (CA), Malavika Sundararajan (ASB), Dean Chen (Vice President, HGS), Monika Giacoppe (Councilor-at-Large for Part Time Faculty), Jeffrey Ellsworth (Secretary)

* Councilor-at-Large for under 11 years position is currently open. FAEC has consistently been reaching out to the faculty attempting to recruit.

John McTighe (SSHS): unable to attend

Vote to bring the meeting to order at 10:08am.

Review of minutes for 02/01/23 and 02/08/23

FA President’s Report:

In-Service for Staff Panel: Stephanie Barlow (ResLife) – morning of March 9th (Thursday). How to work with students after COVID. Looking for a volunteer from the faculty.
There is no prescribed process for reappointment of lecturers. POER is currently working on developing such. This will have to be negotiated with AFT. There are currently 5 lecturers at the college currently, one is retiring and two additional are being hired for next fall.
College is looking into micro-credentialing programs. Podium Global Tech Experience – internship company – INTD – 290 – interdisciplinary studies, 10 week program for 6 credits focusing in one of three fields: digital marketing, coding, and data analysis.
The Academic Advisement Council has developed a Canvas module for faculty advisement of undergraduate students and would like to share it at a future FA meeting.

FAEC Discussion:

Discussion of proposed bylaw provisions and areas for future improvement.

Visitor:

Mike Cunningham, Facilities

Discussion of Morale Survey
Discussion of lack of resources.
Some student aides have been assigned to do ongoing classroom assessment to bring classroom problems to facilities attention.
Extension for facilities repairs, particularly for emergencies: x7660
Website for facilities repairs: https://www.ramapo.edu/facilities/service-request/
- http://repairs.ramapo.edu/
The person who puts in the fix-it ticket gets updates about it being addressed.
Faculty: please never clean a whiteboard with sanitary wipes. It makes it very difficult to clean off future marker ink.
Rather than moving classroom furniture, please contact events. They can potentially either rearrange the furniture for you or assign a different classroom for that day. Moving furniture can scratch up the floors or result in injuries.

Meeting adjourned at 11:57 pm.

Categories: Uncategorized

April 3, 2023FA Minutes 03/08/23

Faculty Assembly Meeting

March 8, 2023

1:00 pm

Alumni Lounges (SC 156-158)

Faculty Assembly 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.

Agenda

Approval of Minutes (2/1/2023)

Reports:

Faculty Assembly President’s Report: (Ken McMurdy)

Announcements regarding Commencement
Announcements regarding facilities master plan task force
Schomburg Fellowship information on upcoming events
Provost Bite-Sized Research Talks: tomorrow 1pm-2pm in Padovano Commons
Multi-Cultural Center: faculty please consider donating books and resources that would be beneficial for the center
Boldly Ascending III: upcoming Monday March 20, 1pm Alumni Lounges

College President’s Report: (Cindy Jebb)

Commitment to the pillars and international education

IGG certificate

Student athletes are doing very well!

Mai Serban to receive the Thomases Award
Schomburg scholar: upcoming events
Michael Middleton is starting 17 April as Provost
Calendar task force – coming soon
Discussion of graduation. Planning and practicalities

Provost’s Report: (Interim Provost unable to attend)

Beth Smith (Assistant Director of Student Accounts): regulatory requirement of students signing form before registration

Introductions:

Jennifer Hicks-McGowan, POER

POER is pronounced “power” because the employees are the power of an institution.

Announcements:

Prestigious Scholarships/Fellowships – Faculty Mentor Program

Aaron Lorenz (SSHS), Dean Chen (HGS)
College wants to raise the number of student applications being put forward
Focus on enhancement of already stellar faculty mentorship on campus

Presentations/Discussion Items:

Faculty Advising Resources – Kevin Brenfo-Agyeman

Advisement Training Canvas Module: one stop resources for faculty on advisement
Find: select Academic Advisement Training for Faculty | Steinheimer after clicking on courses within Canvas.

Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) – Kathleen Hallissey, Office of Student Conduct Director

Discussion of faculty options when confronted with problematic classroom behavior.
Discussion of what resources faculty can suggest to students when students are in distress.
For more information or to make a referral: https://www.ramapo.edu/bit/
For information about counseling: https://www.ramapo.edu/counseling/

Meeting Ended: 2:30pm

Categories: Uncategorized

March 2, 2023FAEC MINUTES 02/15/23

* Councilor-at-Large for under 11 years position is currently open. FAEC has consistently been reaching out to the faculty attempting to recruit.

John McTighe (SSHS): unable to attend

Vote to bring the meeting to order at 10:08am.

Review of minutes for 02/01/23 and

FA President’s Report:

In-Service for Staff Panel: Stephanie Barlow (ResLife) – morning of March 9th (Thursday). How to work with students after COVID. Looking for a volunteer from the faculty.
There is no prescribed process for reappointment of lecturers. POER is currently working on developing such. This will have to be negotiated with AFT. There are currently 5 lecturers at the college currently, one is retiring and two additional are being hired for next fall.
College is looking into micro-credentialing programs. Podium Global Tech Experience – internship company – INTD – 290 – interdisciplinary studies, 10 week program for 6 credits focusing in one of three fields: digital marketing, coding, and data analysis.
The Academic Advisement Council has developed a Canvas module for faculty advisement of undergraduate students and would like to share it at a future FA meeting.

FAEC Discussion:

Discussion of proposed bylaw provisions and areas for future improvement.

Visitor:

Mike Cunningham, Facilities

Discussion of Morale Survey
Discussion of lack of resources.
Some student aides have been assigned to do ongoing classroom assessment to bring classroom problems to facilities attention.
Extension for facilities repairs, particularly for emergencies: x7660
Website for facilities repairs: https://www.ramapo.edu/facilities/service-request/
- http://repairs.ramapo.edu/
The person who puts in the fix-it ticket gets updates about it being addressed.
Faculty: please never clean a whiteboard with sanitary wipes. It makes it very difficult to clean off future marker ink.
Rather than moving classroom furniture, please contact events. They can potentially either rearrange the furniture for you or assign a different classroom for that day. Moving furniture can scratch up the floors or result in injuries.

Meeting adjourned at 11:57 pm.

Categories: Uncategorized

March 1, 2023FAEC MINUTES 02/08/23

FAEC MINUTES 02/08/23

Present: Ken McMurdy (President), Elizabeth Siecke (Library), Amruth Kumar (TAS),
Marc Gidal (CA), Malavika Sundararajan (ASB), John McTighe (SSHS), Dean Chen (Vice President, HGS), Monika Giacoppe (Councilor-at-Large for Part Time Faculty), Jeffrey Ellsworth (Secretary)

* Councilor-at-Large for under 11 years position is currently open. FAEC has consistently been reaching out to the faculty attempting to recruit.

Vote to bring the meeting to order at 10:08am.

FA President’s Report:

Discussion of Boldly Ascending series upcoming. Faculty are encouraged to attend and participate.
Administration is interested in building up and improving our overall summer programmatic offerings. Mike Yankovich (Interim Vice President for Operational & Administrative Integration) will take the lead on this initiative. FAEC will maintain communication on this issue and ensure that faculty are informed on and involved in any changes that will impact curriculum.

FAEC Discussion:

Discussion of the academic schedule – need for adequate meeting time and possibly a common hour every day. Limited classroom availability for student and faculty preferred class times. Questions about mechanisms for assigning classrooms and the use of space.
Discussion of Summer/Winter schedule and how to maximize course offerings and student enrollment.
Discussion of ARC regarding criteria and process.

Visitor:

CIO Rob Doster was invited to discuss results of the Fall ‘22 Faculty Morale Survey related to ITS and tech support.

Full sweep of classroom tech before semester started this spring massively reduced tech problems in the first few weeks of the semester. This will be an ongoing practice moving forward.
If a faculty member has a classroom emergency, they should call x7777 and report it. The information will then immediately be disseminated to all ITS personnel for assistance.
Last summer ITS replaced forty projectors/bulbs in classrooms and will be replacing and upgrading the remaining classroom projectors in the near future.
Faculty are encouraged to open a ticket whenever there is a problem, and if it isn’t sufficiently addressed please follow-up. The ticket process is crucial because it enables ITS process reviews that can lead to improvements.
If there are software licenses needed you can email Rob Doster.
A follow up with ITS to prepare FAQs for classroom equipment use, contact names and numbers for specific areas, and flow charts will be finalized and distributed.
Work completed and addressed by Rob and his team will be shared by Unit reps at a subsequent Unit council meeting.
Malavika and John will be the liaisons between FAEC and ITS for ongoing engagement and further follow-up.

Meeting adjourned at 12:03 pm.

Categories: Uncategorized

March 1, 2023FAEC MINUTES 02/01/23

FAEC MINUTES 02/01/23

Present: Ken McMurdy (President, TAS), Katie Cohen (Library), Amruth Kumar (TAS), Marc Gidal (CA), Malavika Sundararajan (ASB), John McTighe (SSHS), Dean Chen (Vice President, HGS), Jeffrey Ellsworth (Secretary)

*Both Councilor-at-Large positions are currently open. FAEC has consistently been reaching out to the faculty attempting to recruit individuals.

Vote to bring the meeting to order at 10:05am.

FA President’s Report:

Discussion of whether FAEC should break down the Moral Survey data in a unit specific way or maintain it at an all college level.

FAEC Discussion:

Guests: David Oh (ARC Chair), and Susan Gaulden (Interim Provost)

ARC Chair David Oh was invited to FAEC in response to concerns voiced by faculty regarding the course proposal review process.

Faculty concerns center around:

autonomy with respect to content
strict adherence to the ARC Manual with respect to suggestions vs requirements
clarity and collegiality in communication and interaction
role of ex officio members in the review process

ARC Chair’s perspective on these and other issues were expressed as follows:

ARC avoids reviewing content except in extraordinary circumstances. In these cases, it makes recommendations that are not required for approval.
Ultimately, no course proposals are rejected, which may be a cause for concern.
ARC committee members have a difficult job and are often the targets of criticism
Some tension between ARC and faculty is due to misunderstandings and miscommunication. ARC is working on improving communication, for example relying more on phone calls instead of emails.
Stricter review by convenor and dean prior to ARC submission would simplify and shorten the ARC review process.

An overriding view, which has been expressed by current and past ARC Chairs, is that the ARC course proposal process is inefficient, and that it has forced ARC’s function to become largely technocratic. However, accountability in curricular oversight is essential. It is the position of FAEC that curricular oversight should continue to reside with ARC, if Faculty are to maintain a high level of autonomy over the curriculum. FAEC is currently preparing FA bylaws revisions that will, in particular, clarify and improve the role of ARC in this regard. These bylaws revisions will be brought to FA later this semester.

Susan Gaulden (Interim Provost):
- Discussion of Morale Survey.
- Discussion of travel funding and FDF funding.
- Discussion of sabbaticals and career development funds.
- County College of Morris: articulation agreement in computer science
- Liaising with high schools to facilitate enrollment
- New book in the works involving stories from high school students, following in the footsteps of the book on COVID stories, but this volume will not be COVID related.
- February 10: Poetry Out Loud event will be hosted at Ramapo College.
- February 14: Bite-Sized Research Talk
- Schomberg Visiting Scholar Program: some small funds are still available.
- Faculty Awards are coming up! Get your nominations in now.
- TLC Calendar: Google calendar available for use
- Considering new software for online student course evaluations

Meeting adjourned at 11:53 pm.

Categories: Uncategorized

February 9, 2023FAEC MINUTES 01/25/23

FAEC MINUTES 01/25/23

Present: Ken McMurdy (President, TAS), Katie Cohen (Library), Amruth Kumar (TAS), Marc Gidal (CA), John McTighe (SSHS), Dean Chen (Vice President, HGS), Jeffrey Ellsworth (Secretary)

*Both Councilor-at-Large positions are currently open. FAEC has consistently been reaching out to the faculty attempting to recruit individuals.

Vote to bring the meeting to order at 10:05am.

Excused Absence: Malavika Sundararajan (ASB)

Approval of the minutes from 01/18/23

FA President’s Report:

SGA did a faculty advisement survey to the students. Limited responses, only 25 students completed the survey. However, initial data to be considered.
SGA leadership will be invited to attend some FAEC meetings during the semester.
Rob Doster will attend on 02/08/23.
Colleen O’Keefe will be meeting with FAEC on 02/01 regarding the budget.
Diversity Convocation: March 22, 3:00 – 4:30 pm.
Removing the March 22 minor convening meeting.
Four forum events scheduled for the strategic plan for the spring semester. The strategic plan will be approved at the next BOT meeting. The next matter will be making the strategic plan actionable and proceeding with implementation. The four forum events are scheduled for Feb 16, 27, March 20, and April 17: 12:30 pm to 2pm. Boldly ascending: (1) overview and KPI’s; (2) campus facilities master plan; (3) draft unit plans; (4) continuous learning through meaningful assessment.

FAEC Discussion:

Morale Survey: planning for how FAEC is going to move forward meeting with different constituencies on campus to address problematic themes that were raised by the faculty.
FAEC is going to revise a report on the Morale Survey for dissemination by the end of the week. Revisions are to be done by Friday by 5pm.
March 8th faculty and staff social event, potentially a second social event on Arching as well. FAEC will invite retired faculty.
Dean Chen and John McTighe are working on potential revisions of the FA bylaws.

Meeting adjourned at 11:40 pm.

Categories: Uncategorized

February 9, 2023FA Minutes 02_01_23

Faculty Assembly Meeting

February 1, 2023

1:00 pm

Trustees Pavilion

Faculty Assembly 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.

Agenda

Approval of Minutes (12/7/2022)

Reports:

Faculty Assembly President’s Report:

The Bite-Size Research Talks have been going well, please consider attending future events.
Diversity Convocation has moved to March 23.
In-Service for professional staff, March 9th between 9am – 1pm, coming out of the pandemic. Looking for faculty volunteers to also participate.
FA Social Events: Wednesday March 8th and an end of the year celebration as well.
Moral Survey: progress is being made on analyzing the data and approaching various constituencies to work on identified areas for potential improvement. FAEC is creating mini-reports to share with different relevant administrative offices.
Renewed bylaw revisions are underway.
Acknowledged tensions surrounding ARC recently and asked everyone to strive for collegiality in resolving these tensions.

College President’s Report:

The Board of Trustees approved the strategic vision statement on Monday night. The new task is developing KPIs for the strategic vision statement. The process is ongoing with the strategic plan.
The Academic Master Plan is ongoing and moving forward.
Discussion of budget and financial matters.
Provost transition with Michael Middleton on May 1. Discussion of the transition plan.
Strategic Communications: new hire.
Discussion of recent tragedies across the country in recent weeks. Important to support our students and each other through these difficult times. Please attend upcoming events and programming related to these matters.

Provost’s Report:

Congratulations faculty who were granted tenure by the Board of Trustees on Monday night.
Discussion of relationships with community colleges and high schools.
Adam Fried: new assistant dean of teacher education
Region 6 Poetry Out Loud event at Ramapo College
TLC Calendar – google calendar that people can add to their own google calendar
Provost Council: policies are up for review, please consult the Provost Council website for details.
Jeneen Kelly – new registrar

Introductions:

Leiah Heckathorn, Director of the Roukema Center

Michael Yankovich, Interim VP for Operational and Administrative Integration

Announcements:

Two Factor Authentication (with Q & A) – Rob Doster, CIO:

Cyber Insurance: college is in the process of obtaining
Two Factor Authentication is necessary for obtaining the Cyber Insurance
Email was sent by Rob Doster last week on Two Factor Authentication,
please consult the email and follow instructions.
Can get a fixed code if traveling abroad (for example).
Can get a code texted to your phone instead of installing the app on your
phone if you prefer.

Instructional Design Center (IDC) – Michael Bitz, Director:

Please come visit the lab! We are here to help you with a wide variety of matters.
IDC has virtual office hours in addition to being physically open at the lab.
IDC:

o Ray: Canvas Administration, Respondus, Turnitin, Linkedin Learning
o Deb: Canvas Development, YuJa, Qualtrics, WebEx, Google Workspace
o Lauren: Instructional Design

TechFest: 1983 next Wednesday – announcement by Sharon Leathers
ChatGPT: announcement by Tammy Redd (FRC) – February 15 round table discussion

Enrollment Update – VP Chris Romano, update presented by Ken McMurdy:

Enrollment numbers exceed revised goals

Discussion Items:

Budget Overview – Colleen O’Keefe, Interim CFO/VP for Fiscal Health:

Overview of current budget status for the college.

Academic Master Plan Task Force – Stephanie Sarabia and Ken Goldstein, co-chairs:

Thank you to everyone for engaging so meaningfully with the data collection of the Academic Master Plan!!!
The Task Force is currently processing all the gathered materials to prepare an initial draft of proposals. Once an initial draft is prepared the faculty will once again be engaged for feedback.

Counselor-At Large: part time faculty – voting issue

Monika Giacoppe

Meeting Ended 2:30pm

Categories: Uncategorized

January 30, 2023FAEC MINUTES 01/18/2023

FAEC MINUTES 01/18/2023

Excused absence: Jeffrey Ellsworth (Secretary)

*Meeting minutes taken by Dean Chen

*Both Councilor-at-Large positions are currently open.

Vote to bring the meeting to order at 10:05am.

FA President’s Report:

‒ FAEC contacted the ITS to inspect all classrooms and ensure all work stations and classroom facilities are functioning well.

‒ SGA survey results on faculty advising will be shared with the FAEC

‒ Two FAEC Councilor-at-Large positions still need to be filled as soon as possible

‒ BOT Committee Report

– Operational and Administrative Integration (Michael Yankovich, Interim VP)

– Fiscal health

– Strategic plan

‒ Transparency on the College’s compensated service (Provost Office)

‒ Ramapo letter in support of fellow COPLAC institution, the New College of Florida in Sarasota

FAEC Discussion:

‒ Morale survey

– Sharing non-unit specific report with faculty

– Discussing and addressing areas/issues of concerns with managers responsible for: ITS, Facilities, HR, ER, teaching & service, faculty & equity, student mental health, and public safety

‒ Bylaws revision (Dean Chen and John McTighe)

– Planning on meeting with ARC, WAC, and GECCo

FAEC Guests: None

Meeting adjourned at 12:05 pm

Categories: Uncategorized

Faculty Assembly

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