Notes - October 4, 2004

De Anza Academic Senate
Approved Notes for the meeting of
October 4th, 2004

Senators and Officers present: Annen, Bresnan, Bryant, Castano, Cole, Cordero, Dolen, Dunn, Goodwin, Hearn, Illowsky, Jensen-Sullivan, Joplin, Mitchell, Mujal, Salah, Setziol, and Winters
Senators and Officers absent: Lopez-Morgan, Moreno, Olsen, Pierce, Rashall, Schafer-Braun, and Sheirich,
DASB Student Representatives:
Classified Senate:
Administrative Liaison:
Guests: Brian Murphy, Rich Schroeder, Karl Schaffer, Vladimir Logvinenko, and Farshod Mosh

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

The meeting was called to order at 2:36, a quorum being present.

Mitchell asked to be allowed the personal privilege to take up item II before item I on the tentative agenda. No one objected.

II. De Anza College President: College President Brian Murphy was present to share some ideas, listen to questions, comments, and suggestions, and to ask the Senate to consider its potential role, in particular, in three important matters.

He began by saying that some things are important and must be done whether or not they are on our collective desired agenda. Most importantly this year, accreditation self study and a concomitant strategic planning process fit this description. Murphy then addressed the three matters: Enrollment, Bookstore, and Community Civic Engagement.

An Enrollment Management Taskforce is about to get started on examining the current decline in enrollment (@9% as of October 4th) compared with last year. The taskforce will also produce recommendations about what can be done to increase enrollment.

The Bookstore is undergoing close scrutiny because it has been losing money recently. Being proposed at present is a Request For Proposals process aimed at examining whether or not it would be in the best interests of the college/district to have the bookstore managed by an outside company. A taskforce headed by Jeanine Hawk will focus on iterating and explaining viable options. The taskforce will include two faculty members, Mitchell (previously confirmed) and one to be determined.

Murphy invited the Senate to cosponsor or at least join a community civic engagement effort. Murphy has enlisted the help of the New York Times and at least one senior member of the Carnegie foundation. He would like us all to explore the potential for student engagement in this effort as well as the institutional obligation required to make the effort successful. Once this is done, he would lead a fundraising campaign to support the effort.

Murphy returned to the topic of enrollment and emphasized how serious the issue is. For example, he mentioned that, every 1% decline in enrollment will cost the district one million dollars. To date, Judy Miner and Murphy have prompted Andrew LaMonque to begin serious and sophisticated research attempting to discover the causes of the decline. Initial speculation focuses on transportation costs, the fee increase and the parking and other upheavals on campus due to Measure E work. Expect the college to "chase WSCH" for the remainder of the year and expect a decline in the announced "productivity" of the faculty. As to potential remedies, Murphy focused on and encouraged the Senate to take up seriously the potential for improvement in the retention and persistence rates of students. A few things along this line that were mentioned immediately were a reexamination of the drop (or W) policy, a reconsideration of the date for paying fees on penalty of being dropped from classes by the institution, and a longer term commitment to shifting the definition of productivity success of the faculty from the 3rd week census to things like retention, persistence, and successful completion of programs.

I. Approval of Agenda and Notes: The Agenda was approved as distributed with the announcement that, due to technical difficulties, item V would be held over until the meeting of October 11th". Mitchell also announced that the Textbook Policy item would return October 11th. It was requested that the next draft of the textbook policy be electronically mailed as soon as possible to allow more careful consideration. The notes of September 27th were approved as distributed.

III. Needs and Confirmations: Illowsky presented the various committee needs in the agenda packet. To them, she added the need for one faculty member to serve on the Bookstore Taskforce.

All those proposed for confirmation in the agenda packet were approved plus Mitchell for the Enrollment Management taskforce as well as Eugene Rodriguez for the Art Search Committee. A separate document was distributed proposing faculty for service on the Physical Education Division Dean Search Committee. All those proposed on that document were also approved.

IV. Tenure Review Update: There brief general and specific discussions but, primarily, approval of those proposed in a document distributed by Rich Schroeder was what was accomplished. Even with that, more names proposed were withdrawn than approved due to lacking or incomplete information as to the process through which they were generated.

V. Executive Committee Orientation: Held over to the meeting of October 11th.

VI. Courses Into Disciplines/FSAs: Setziol distributed copies of the preliminary Courses Into Disciplines/FSA Reports by division (one per division). The Senators were asked to a) make sure the suggested changes (bold print) were accurate, b) review the whole document in terms of completeness and possible deletions, and c) become expert in dealing with the report such that they could accurately answer any and all questions pertaining to how the report works, what it is used for, etc. A due date for corrections, additions, and or deletions will be determined October 11th.

VII. Other Stuff for the Good of the Order:

  • It was announced that small printer printer cartridges could be recycled to the benefit of the college.
  • The question was raised as to student participation on accreditation standard committees. The answer offered was that student participation was invited but was in the hands of the DASB to cause to happen.

The meeting was adjourned at 4: 28 p.m.

Back to Top