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         March 4, 2022 Faculty Senate...



---Rita Lennon:
Hello, welcome to Senate.

March 4th, I can't believe it's
 already March... this is...


---Bev Everson:
I know.


---Rita Lennon:
impressive.


---Bev Everson:
It'll be summer before you know it.


---Rita Lennon:
I know.

Sarah... thank you so much
 for putting in the sign-in sheet.

So, please follow that and sign-in if you're a guest... administrator...
guest administrator... senate... faculty senate... or faculty.


---Bev Everson:
How do you sign-in?

I'm not seeing it and I think I've always
 had problems with it before.


---Rita Lennon:
Okay... so, the sign-in sheet is available in chat,
 but also it's available on the... on the agenda.


---Bev Everson:
Okay.


---Rita Lennon:
Okay... well, we're going to go ahead
 and get started here.

The agenda...oh, I'm sorry... the meeting minutes from
last month... February... are available on the agenda.

So, go ahead and pull those
 up, senators, take a look.

And we'll begin voting here very soon.

As you're pulling that up... if you
wouldn't mind placing in chat

who you are, the department or division
 that you represent,

and we'll take a few minutes
 to introduce ourselves that way.

We good?

As we're entering the information in chat
about who we are... introducing ourselves...

I'll go ahead and move on to the next.

Are there any requests for agenda
modifications or executive session?

Hearing none and not seeing any comms in chat, 
we'll go ahead and move on to the next.

Are there any requests for open forums
 or short announcements?

Charlie, I do believe you're here
 for a short announcement, is that correct?


---Charlie MacCabe:
That is correct.

I'm not sure what your... what your protocols are here...
so, I was waiting to be invited.

Would you like me to go ahead now?

Please.

Okay... well, thanks every... everyone... and Rita...
and the Senate, for giving me a few minutes.

My name is Charlie McCabe.

I'm an adjunct in geography and
a member of the Climate Planning Group.

As part of the strategic plan, Pima established
this climate planning group

and charged it with developing initiatives
to diminish Pima's carbon footprint...

prepare our students for
careers in related fields...

and infuse climate change awareness in
all segments of our educational community.

In January, Maria Pereira,
who's in physics and astronomy...

Noah Fey, who's in geology...
 and I formed a curriculum subgroup

to directly address the task of making
climate change and sustainability

part of the curriculum throughout the college.

This includes not just developing a course
or courses in climate change,

but making climate change causes,
consequences, adaptations

part of the material included across
 the spectrum of our course offerings.

We've been researching what our peer institutions
and state universities are doing

and also pursuing
 a number of other initiatives.

The enthusiasm of the group has been terrific... 
it's been very inspiring so far.

I don't think I need to explain to this group the
urgency of moving forward with these initiatives...

Monday's sobering IPCC report confirms the extraordinary
risk and vulnerabilities posed by climate change.

We need your help to ensure that
accurate knowledge of climate change

is disseminated widely among
our students and our community,

and that we are not missing this
opportunity to be on the cutting edge

of the transformations necessary
to deal with what lies ahead.

More specifically,
 we need additional members

from as many divisions
 and disciplines as possible,

so we can incorporate useful
 climate change material effectively.

We also need the help of our
 most important stakeholders... students.

Please consider joining our group or recruiting
members for our group... including students.

A final thought.

As the IPCC report highlights,
 the negative impacts of climate change

are felt most acutely in poor
 and marginalized regions and communities.

Pima's strong efforts in the area
of diversity, equity, and inclusion

are one of the many reasons that I
appreciate working here.

Climate change is very much an equity issue...

 locally, regionally, internationally,
 the worst impacts of climate change

will continue to be visited
 on marginalized populations.

Ameliorating current  impacts and future
 impacts of climate change,

especially on marginalized communities,
 begins with increasing awareness

of climate change and the
range of options dealing with it.

So we welcome your help.

I'll put my contact information in the chat and
If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer.


---Rita Lennon:
Thank you, Charlie...  we'll go ahead
and open it to questions.


---Matej Boguszak:
Hey, thank you, Charlie.

What kind of participation
 are you looking for from members?

What are the kinds of things
 you could use some help with?


---Charlie MacCabe:
Well, what comes to mind right away is... if we're going to get
aspects of climate change infused throughout the curriculum,

then we need people from different disciplines to come in and
say... give us suggestions on how that might be accomplished.

Things you could bring up in your own discipline
meetings... adjustments in curriculum,

also making materials available to various disciplines, so that
everybody doesn't have to invent their own course materials.

And whether it's a one hour lecture
 or just a part of an assignment

or a whole unit that becomes part of your your course...
part of your course or your curriculum.

That's really what we're looking for, and
a lot of us are new to this, obviously,

and we're doing some research
 but we could help... use some help

in the research elements too... in contacting
people at other community colleges or universities

and seeing exactly what they're doing... and finding out the
best practices so we can disseminate things more widely.

And commitments large and small are acceptable.

We've been meeting every other week
 for about an hour... an hour and a half,

and we realize this is not something that's going
to be accomplished in a few short months.

So, we have some short range goals
 and some long range goals.


---Matej Boguszak:
Yeah... no, that sounds great... so, like a
repository for ideas or for classes, essentially.

I imagine many of us already do stuff related to climate
change... so, just getting that all into one place?


---Charlie MacCabe:
Right... and we would like to know about that.

We would like to know what other people in
the whole spectrum of disciplines are doing.

And maybe you have some great lesson plans or
ideas that we can pass along to other folks too.

We want to create community... a network...  and we want
a lot more student involvement, so that's a big part of it.

If you can recruit a couple of students
 who would like to participate.

You know, there's no Pima student organization
devoted to climate change or sustainability.

It's extraordinary.

So, you know... we need
some student involvement too.


---Rita Lennon:
Charlie... thank you so much for bringing this to us,
and... are there any more questions before we?


---Bev Everson:
I just wanted to ask if Charlie has talked to Don Gest
because Don has done some climate work.

I'm pretty sure... pretty advanced...
like with the federal government.

And he would probably be a good source
 of information... Don as well....


---Charlie MacCabe:
[interrupts]
Yes... oh... go ahead Bev... I'm sorry.


---Bev Everson:
He's one of the other adjuncts in geology.


---Charlie MacCabe:
Yes, he's part of the climate planning team...
you know... the larger group.


---Bev Everson:
Uh, ha.


---Charlie MacCabe:
But he's not part of our curriculum subgroup.
 
But I'm familiar with the materials that he has
and what activities he's been involved with.


---Bev Everson:
Okay... great.


---Rita Lennon:
Okay... wonderful, Charlie... thank you so much
 for bringing this information to us

and also be sure to leave
your information in the chat.

We'll hopefully get lots of people who are
interested and involved here very quickly.

I love the idea of the repository, though...
that's a great idea.


---Charlie MacCabe:
Thank you.


---Rita Lennon:
Okay... so, we're going to go ahead and
move back to the February meeting minutes

and hopefully senators, you've had an opportunity
to review the meeting minutes from February.

And I'll go ahead and open this up
 for vote to accept them.

Is there a motion to accept the
meeting minutes as written?


---Bev Everson:
Motion to accept.


---Rita Lennon:
Thank you, Mary... I didn't have my chat open...
so, I see now that you have motioned...

and then that Joe has seconded... great.

Wonderful... okay, we'll go ahead and accept the
meeting minutes as written... and we'll move on.

I just saw that Chancellor Lambert has arrived.

So, good timing because we are right on time
for questions and answers.

Chancellor, are you here?


---Lee Lambert:
Well, yeah... Rita, I am here.

Good afternoon, everybody.


---Rita Lennon:
Good afternoon.


---Lee Lambert:
You me to go ahead and...


---Rita Lennon:
Yeah, so... we had the opportunity to receive
 a couple of questions beforehand.

So, I think what... we had 3,  maybe 4 questions
 that were submitted to you?


---Lee Lambert:
Right.


---Rita Lennon:
Okay.


---Lee Lambert:
So, I... the way I'd like to approach this... I'm going to put them
all into a context... and then hit the questions from there.

Because in order to answer the questions, it's better to understand
the larger context in which all of this is happening.

So, first of all, let me say... good afternoon, everybody... 
thank you for being here at Pima.

And you know, I'm just so proud of the work that each
and every one of you have done over the last...

It's now... next week will be 2 years.

And the resiliency we have demonstrated  to
stay focused on our students and our mission

is just amazing... given all
that we have been through.

We are at a strategic inflection
 point in higher education.

And what I mean is... we must address the reality
of the mega trends that are shifting every thing we do

from an industrial era model
to a digital era model.

Our Higher Ed model was built for an industrial era...
 that will no longer be sufficient going forward.

So, we have to jump the curve...
to the digital piece.

So, what's... so, that's... that's one of the megatrends...
that technology is moving us in a certain direction.

Another is the reality of demographics.

Our country... I mean, you all heard the reports.

We're not reproducing at the rate that's
necessary to replace folks as they retire,

it is now at a critical juncture
 for our country.

So, your population pyramid
should look more like a pyramid

if you've done any Googling, you will see
 in the United States it's not a pyramid.

And if you just Google Pima County,
 you will see... it's definitely not a pyramid.

And what that means is... there's less people
in that K-12 space who can go on to college?

And so, we're going to have to face
 that reality as we go forth.

I believe that has a lot to do with why community
colleges... specifically since the Great Recession,

have seen enrollment declines...
a steady enrollment decline.

Now... we fortunately, as we got to 17, 18, 19...
we were able to slow that down and stabilize it

and then the black swan
event of the pandemic hit us.

Where we then took a huge nosedive in enrollment...

almost equivalent to what happened over the
course of that basically ten year period of time.

So, communities who are in service to
low income, disadvantaged populations.

Communities who... and I'm using the federal definition...
Hispanic students... really took larger hits.

It's not universal, but many of us took larger hits.

These are external forces.

And then the competition for
 those learners are ever increasing.

And the competition isn't just colleges
 and universities... it's employers.

And if you've been following the news,
 you know... many employers are now saying...

You don't even need a college education
 to come work for us.

And it's the big players
 who are saying this.

So, this is the reality that
we're all operating under.

And so, as I think about all that, I always
 think of three critical questions I ask myself...

Where's the puck going?
That's the Wayne Gretzky quote.

What problem are we trying to solve?

And what's the data and the evidence telling us?

So, when you bring all of that together... we have to
face the reality about enrollment in that larger context.

So, let me hit the specific piece
 about liberal arts.

The enrollments are... let me first say this... 
my heart is all about the liberal arts.

I had an amazing undergraduate experience,

and I wish everybody could have
 had the Evergreen liberal arts experience.

It is, you know, one of the most dynamic, incredible
experiences that I think any individual could be a part of.

But I also have to be a realist
 and be practical.

Where enrollments have been declining... and
they have accelerated are in the liberal arts.

When you look at the zip codes
 just during the pandemic period,

the classification of... of... oh... I always forget
 what the i's... instructional programs... zip codes.

 I'm not sure how many of you
 are familiar with zip codes.

Double digit losses... in...
guess where... in the liberal arts

and in the physical sciences...
that's the reality we're facing.

Now, I'm committed to working with you
 to addressing this reality.

But we can't address it
 with an industrial era approach.

We're going to have to address it with the digital era
mindset... and... and that's not going to be easy.

And part of the challenge may be just the word liberal.

The word liberal is a loaded term, as you all know...
and it's misunderstood in terms of what we do.

But the general population doesn't
 always draw those finer distinctions.

I'm not saying that
 that's going to solve the challenge.

The other thing is, and I have said this to all of you...

myself... and Ian Roark... we have been part of this group of
leading liberal arts colleges, to look at their workforce relevancy.

And we were the only two from a community college
invited in... to be part of the conversations.

We're talking the heavy hitters of liberal arts because they recognize,
they've got to do something differently in order to sustain themselves,

If it's true for them, it's certainly true for us...
so, what can we do?

I think we need to look at those drivers of change
that's moving us from an industrial era to a digital era.

How do we refresh the curriculum...
 make them more relevant...

so students will want to take the courses
and ultimately the programs?

Now here's another reality that's
happened over the last few years.

We are no longer designated by the Department of
Education as a degree granting institution.

Just Google our scorecard and you'll see...
we are designated a certificate granting institution.

And I believe Mesa's also
followed a similar path as us.

Now why is that?

I think a lot of it has to do with the AJAC... because
if you look at where folks are completing with Pima.

The top programs are not degree programs.

The AJAC is probably working
 against us at the college.

Because what's happening?   Students
 finish the AJAC and then what do they do?

They transfer.

They're not staying with us to their full degree... which
would make a big difference in what?  Our enrollment.

And so we're going to have to figure out  what we can do
to keep them here at Pima Community College.

But here's another thing we have to come to terms with.

When you look at the AZTransfer report... we are an
outlier compared to the other community colleges.

More of our courses are not being
accepted by the universities... at all.

Now some of those are direct employment programs,
but that doesn't account for all of it.

And Delores can tell you, along with Wendy... 
there's a fair number of courses we have to clean up...

if we're going to clean that up.

And then you go to... we got a lot of courses that
are only accepted as electives... at the university...

when they should be accepted
straight across the board.

So, we've got to address that reality too.

So my point is... the more that we're willing
 to face the reality of our situation,

the better we're going to be to address
the larger question about the liberal arts.

And I'm committed to working with you to do that...
but we've got to do that together.

And then... if you look at some of
the research that's coming out...

the student is better off not having just a liberal
arts education... or a career technical education...

it is that they have an infusion of both of the pieces...
okay... it's having both... it's not one versus the other...

but both can't happen, probably at the same time...
we're going to have to think differently.

Now, I'm going to come back to... we... our industrial era
model was geared to that high school direct students.

And most of our courses, up until recently,
have been offered during that traditional time period.

We need to start to be more responsive
 to the working learner... the learning worker...

we're all those working learners
here... learning workers.

We don't all have time to go to school at these
traditional times... we've got to be more flexible.

I think that accounts for why Pima aligns well
so significantly... because of the flexibility?

And it's not that all learners want an online experience,

but if it's... if the decision is none versus some...
they're going to choose that option, right?

So keep that in mind as well.

So we have to just look at all of that
 and reposition ourselves.

Now, the other reality is... a little over 40% of the high school
students in the state of Arizona are going on to college.

So you have a shrinking pool
 of high school students

and only a little over, I think it's 45%,
are going on to college.

And then the ones who are going to college,  as you
all know, are what... they're not career college ready.

So... how do we solve that problem?

That's why you hear me talking about
the importance of dual enrollment.

If we can expand those numbers... engage those students while
they're a captive audience.... get them into college courses.

Remember, these are college courses.

We can expand that college going rate
 significantly, which we must do.

We're the second worst, I believe in the country
in terms of states... for college going rates.

That's not a sustainable pattern...
which then results in guess what?

We have to import more workers then
for the opportunities that are in the state,

pushing out those who have
grown up here... and so forth.

And I was in a state who didn't do this very well,
so, I hate to see that come here as well.

But anyway, I think you get the idea.

So, if we're going to strengthen the liberal arts,
I think we have to start thinking a little differently.

And the fast track that you've
heard us talking about

is the infusion of the skills we say
 you get out of the liberal arts education

along with the career technical
components... as well.

So, we need to think long and hard
 about that as we go forward.

Also, I think it's important that we
make sure that we are truly inclusive

to the degrees that we can for all of
our students and all of our employees.

And this is one of the main reasons why we decided
to do a Campus Pride Index assessment.

To determine... where are we... with inclusion...
with the sense of belonging, et cetera?

And yes, our score is very low.

But I think it serves as a good baseline
 for us to work from to improve.

Now, let me put this in a
larger context for a moment.

A little less than 500 colleges and universities
have actually gone through this assessment.

I think it's less than 50 of
 those are community colleges.

Community colleges actually...
typically score very low in the index.

So, I want us not to lose sight of that.

I think the good news is...
we're willing to face our reality.

We're willing to challenge ourselves
 to get better about inclusion,

and I'm committed and willing
to be part of supporting

any of you want to be part
 of improving the environment

for our students and for our employees
 of LGBTQ plus background.

And you're going to see greater emphasis around...
creating gender neutral bathrooms.

I'm hoping that over time, every facility will
at least have gender neutral bathrooms.

That we're better at allowing individuals
to choose their chosen name...

their name that they choose...
not the name that was given them.

And... and we're cleaning up our systems
 to make that easier to happen.

And another important piece is the pronouns.

And that we all respect an  individual's
self identification based on their pronouns.

That it may not be easy... but I think if we stay focused
 and stay committed... we can get better at that.

And so I just want you to know
 that from myself and from the Board,

you're going to hear us really
emphasizing the importance

of supporting all of our employees and
students... especially around inclusion

Let me talk a little bit about...
marketing was another area.

Now to put that in context... community colleges
spend the least amount of dollars on marketing.

I mean, yeah, and it is woeful... it's less than,
I think, $5 per FTE or something like that.

Phil can can correct me
 on the exact number.

Universities are, I think, four
 or five times higher that number.

And then you get into the for-profits, they're spending
gigantuous amounts of money on marketing.

So, we can't compete against that.

So, we have to be very strategic about the marketing dollars
we do have and what we're going to market.

So, what the strategy has been...
 and it's not just how Pima does it,

I see... a lot of it is... you coming out
with the general message...

and then you might select certain programs
 to do program specific marketing around.

Again, we don't have the resources
 to market everybody's program.

And, so... but working together...
we can drive marketing...

because at the end of the day, I think the greatest marketing
is not what we put on TV or what we put on...

 it's each and every one of us.

And if we're all out there constantly promoting
and sending the positive messages about Pima...

that goes a long way to help us
in terms of that attraction...

and letting people know we are the number one
institution for the majority of this community.

And I think we can't say that enough
 and enough and enough.

And so working together to reinforce that
is going to become increasingly important.

especially as the competition continues to escalate
and the demographics continue to work against us.

And I think the numbers are out there... we just are going to
have to get more sophisticated about how we get there.

And another thing about the digital age...
 it's no longer about degrees...

it's no longer about certificates...
it's about lifelong learning.

So, can we create a model
 where someone sees the value

of continually coming back
 for their education and training?

So, it's not a one and done piece,
 but they constantly come back

because they see the value in doing that... and that's
part of the change that we're going to have to see.

And when I talk to employers, they reinforce that point...
and our work with Caterpillar underscores that.

That advanced technology academy
we developed with Caterpillar

is the reskilling... upskilling of engineers, who
have already received their bachelor's degree.

And... so, we know that that is working,

and the more we can do that,
 the more we're going to see success.

So, I think I hit most of the
questions that were asked.

And Rita, if there's time, I'll be glad
 to take some additional questions.


---Rita Lennon:
Chancellor, I think one of the questions was...

how are we obtaining funds for the renovation to
the West Campus... and how... or... can we afford that?

I do think we are going in a good direction with them, 
despite the delays and the timing is good.

However, I worry about the cost... so... um...
if you...


---Lee Lambert:
So, all of our current projects are paid for.

We wouldn't have launched any of those projects,
the ones that have started... they're all paid for.

So, let me first say that... okay.

But let me go back a moment because...
because it raises a larger question... I think.

So, we raised $65 million in revenue bonds...
to do part of the work...

we also were gifted $15 million from the state
 to do part of the work...

and then we had reserves... one time moneys... that we
were able to also draw from to do these set of projects.

And so, we were in a strong financial
 position to do what you see happening now.

So then, the next level of work that's
 going to happen... and I see Brandy on here.

We've been talking about doing some work
around our public safety facilities.

And, at present, we budget it
 so that we can essentially move things

from the 29th straight to the East
 Campus in the existing footprint.

But what we also know

is if we could expand that footprint,
 we could actually grow enrollment.

There is enrollment for the public safety programs,
 if we only had the capacity to serve.

And so, that is new money that we
don't have budgeted... to do that.

So, what I have... you know...
what we have done... we have done this.

We have put a proposal in front of the governor
asking for somewhere between $15 and $20 million...

to help fund the health care expansion.

And then we're going to take the money we had
allocated for the health care expansion...

and I'm going to ask the Board
 to allocate a portion of that

because that frees up... whatever that
money we get from the governor

will free up that much from that project... because that
project's already paid for... so then, it'll free up that money,

and I want to direct it at expanding our public safety
area to what has been recommended.

So, that will be paid for through that process as well,
if the state will come through with those resources.

Now why is this important?

Some of you might say... well, why are we
 spending all this money on buildings?

Why do we need to do that?

Well, a lot of these facilities... especially on the career technical
ed side... the facilities we currently have are inadequate.

to meet the needs of today's and tomorrow's students
who are going to pursue this type of programing.

And I use automotive as a poster child... so, the old
automotive facility was about 10,000 square foot.

It was very crowded... it was very cramped... it was dingy.

And that's not fair to the faculty... and it's not fair to the
learner... to place them in a less than optimal environment.

If you go look at some of the leading automotive programs across
 the country... I came from one of the schools that had one.

Our facility was 75,000 square foot.

Ours is 50,000 square foot.

So, I think... and a high roofline's different... concrete slab...

different levels of electrical power
 coming in and out of those facilities.

And then you go to health... there's another example... right... there's
great opportunity there for us... if we can expand the footprint.

But it's not just any kind of facility.

And so we... fortunately, we're able to remodel
in that instance... or renovate in that instance

because you don't need the same high
 roof lines and those kinds of things

for a health care facility, as you do for an automotive
facility and advanced manufacturing center and the like.

That's why those investments.

And we're seeing for the ones that we have done
so far... their enrollments have gone up.

So, that's clearly... there's a demand out there
for certain types of programing,

and we're seeing that those
investments are paying off.

You don't get the payoff in a year or two...
it's a payoff over a period of time.


---Rita Lennon:
Okay... thank's... 
Chancellor...thank you so much.

We are unfortunately running out of time here,
 but if there's any pressing questions,

there's also a form that we've created
 to capture some more input.

I will place that in the chat here
 in just a moment.

So, should you have any more questions that we need to get
to Chancellor or anyone on the executive leadership team...

please go ahead and enter that information... that's on the agenda...
the link is... and I'll also put that in chat here in just a moment.


---Lee Lambert:
Senate... thank you, Rita... and thank you all for being
at the college... and please have a good weekend.


---Rita Lennon:
Thank you so much.


---Lee Lambert:
Okay... Buh bye.


---Rita Lennon:
Buh bye.

Okay... wonderful... so, let me place that link here for you.

And by the way, this was a last minute
 addition, but from a wonderful idea

because we are... we're talking
 about a lot of information here and

we need your input so that we're making
 sure that the information

that we're bringing to the table is stuff
 that you're concerned about.

So, Elena, thank you so much
 for bringing up the idea.

And again, I promise I'll go ahead... and we'll move on
to the next step... which is the Provost report.

Not the next step... it's the next thing on the agenda.
 
We'll go ahead and go on to the Provost report...
and I'll place that link in the chat as well.


---Dolores Duran-Cerda:
Thank you, Rita.

Happy Friday, everyone... it's good to see
all of you as we start the weekend

and I always enjoy coming to faculty senate meetings...
and once again, I want to thank you for...

I know it's been two years worth of ups and downs and
adjustments and being flexible with all the different things,

the demands... not only in the classroom and 
figuring things out for our students and for each other,

but it's been tough on us in our personal lives too.

Many of you are taking care of kids and...
 or elderly parents or just each other.

So, I just want to recognize that
 and know that I'm thinking of you

and I want to check in
 that everybody's doing okay,

and that I'm proud of the work
 that you have done.

And I want to emphasize
 the culture of care and dignity.

And I'm very grateful for everything you're doing
and your role as leaders in faculty senate.

So, I have a couple of pieces to talk about...
and then Aubrey is going to join me in one of them.

So, just to give you an update on things,
and I believe it's part of the agenda later on

a discussion topic about the vice provost vacancy.

So, we're missing Lamatta... she has left... her last day
was on Monday... to take a different position out of state,

but that has left us with several things to be
working on for the rest of the spring semester.

But don't worry,
 we're we're figuring it out

and people are chipping in and helping us
 as as we complete the spring semester.

So, I'm grateful for all the support that I'm receiving.

One of the items that Lamata was working
 on, as you all know, was scheduling.

So, today the schedule is going to go
live for viewing for students and us...

 not for registration, but just for viewing,

especially for the advisors and students who are being
proactive and trying to plan for their next semester in the fall.

But because with this unusual circumstances... and because
we wanted the deans and the campus VP's and myself

and others to take another final look
 and make any adjustments.

Then we decided to postpone it until the Monday
after spring break... so, it'll be posted then.

I've been working with Michael Tulino from the registrar's office...
the student affairs leadership... and the schedulers.

So, we've decided this would be best... instead of posting it,
then making adjustments and things change.

So, we just want to make it clean...
 as clean as possible... and then post it.

So, that was an update that
I wanted to provide for you.

Another one is... the chancellor was talking about
the liberal arts... I'd like to add a couple of things.

So... the Breaking Student Barriers Task Force,

when they made their recommendations
 last year, one of them was on curriculum

looking at curriculum and
how we can strengthen it

and make it using the 21st century skills...
embed DDI... climate action was another piece.

So, what we did was
create a subgroup on curriculum.

So, I know there's a curriculum subgroup  for climate action,
 which we heard about today from Charlie,

but there's also this larger, broader one
 and that is working with a consultant

that we've been using with Bank of America, Rob Johnstone,
who is a guru nationwide with guided pathways.

And now, I forgot his... Diego Navarro, who has been
a faculty member at... in Santa Cruz for a while now.

Anyway, we're looking at these pieces as to... when we talk about
relevant... we should probably define it and what that means

because... we talk about problem
 solving skills, critical thinking skills.

Well, that's in the liberal arts
 as part of a lot of what we do.

When I was teaching,
 when I taught literary analysis,

it's a lot of that... you know... we're
critical thinking, we're problem solving, analyzing.

But we want to make sure that
it's in all of the curriculum...

and it's following the trends now, as the chancellor stated,
with technology embedding that as well.

So, we know that liberal arts are our bread and butter,
 the Gen Eds... so, we want to strengthen that.

One piece of that is transfer.

So, we need to really make sure
our students are completing

because what we're seeing is that they finish their
AJAC's and then... then they leave the college.

So, we want to make sure
 that they also finish their degree.

So, there's lots of work to be done, and this work group on
the subcommittee of Curriculum is mostly faculty members

from various divisions, including the faculty representative
from the Breaking Student Barriers task force, Elliott Need,

and also the TLC coordinator.

So, I just wanted to add that part to
chime in, and I'd like for your help

as to how we can better increase
 our transfer rates and completion rates.

So that was one thing I
wanted to share... and then...

I won't talk about the actual Provost
 report... you all received it.

So, unless there are any questions,
 I'd like to give this time now to Aubrey.

So, we've been looking at the expectations of faculty
teaching in the classroom... in person... versus online.

I know with COVID,  we made that switch that pivot...
famous word that we use all the time,

but we now need to shift back... and adjust back
little by little to in classroom engagement.

We know for our students in the
community college system

that it's so important to have that high
 touch, interaction engagement

not only with the faculty member,
 but with each other in the classroom.

And not only in the classroom,
 on the campuses.

So, our students and potential prospective
 students... even parents, families

that are looking at coming to Pima
 College are going to the campuses

and we want more of a presence of all of you...
you have so much to offer...

as far as advice...as far as letting students know
what your areas are... how we can work together.

So, we wanted to share what our
thoughts are... and expectations.

And I know a lot of the deans are already having
these conversations with their divisions

but I wanted to share
 a new expectation for all of us.

So, Aubrey, if you'd like to give
the background and context.


---Aubrey Conover:
Yeah... just to give people a little bit of feedback..

 Matej in ARC always likes to say, like... what's the problem
we're trying to solve?  Why are we doing this?

So really, I think it is a couple of things...
and Dolores has touched on a few of these.

You know, we're trying to transition into
 whatever the new normal is going to be.

None of us really know, but hopefully
 the trends continue in the right direction,

and we really are more in an endemic stage
 and not a pandemic stage

and can get back to some of the strengths
 that really makes community college

what it is for all of us,
 for our students, for for each other.

And part of that is the presence on
 campus and in the classrooms.

Some of the challenges that we're
facing... just to let you all know is...

we have had scenarios where we have had demand from students
for in-person classes, but we can't meet that demand.

We don't have... the department chairs have indicated...
they don't have adjuncts who can teach during the day.

That they've struggled to fill sections.

And some of that... not completely...
but a lot of that has been because

we have many of our full time faculty teaching
completely... or most of their loads online.

So, we're trying to find a balance
 that meets the needs of our students,

meets the needs of our communities,
 and meets the needs of each other.

Because the other concern... we've actually heard
from many faculty... is a frustration, to be honest...

that... a missing of their colleagues, of being the only
one on campus and they don't see anyone else.

They don't feel like there are colleagues that
they can reach out to if they questions in person.

Of course, there's always email and phone,
 but it really is not quite the same.

So, we're trying to get to more
 of a balancing point

knowing that each division
 and discipline has unique challenges.

You know, there's not a one size fits all for every
department and discipline... and we recognize that.

But we want to start as... as a starting
point to ensure that all of our faculty

that we have hired to teach at the institution...
that we've hired to teach face to face...

have some presence inside the classroom... teaching face
to face moving forward... starting with the fall semester.

And yes, I understand fall semester
 classes have been staffed quite a bit

and we may need to work together
again... to give people flexibility.

But the goal is moving forward for the fall
to have a starting point in the conversation

that full time faculty have at least 50%
of their classes being taught face to face.

Now there might be exceptions for that
 and some of those other things

that we can work with individual faculty,
 but that's kind of the starting point.

One of the key components that we have not
 had a chance to really develop is...

we know many of you are in faculty leadership positions that
take up a big component of your regular teaching mode.

And so I think the question might be
 that we need to discuss together

because we do not have all the answers
yet... is... what does that mean?

So, let's say... half of your teaching load
Is made up of factory leadership roles.

How can we maybe take some of the work that
you're doing... and have part of that be on campus,

so that you can be there for your colleagues...
especially new colleagues,

who might have questions... that type of thing...
but we need to work through those nuances.

And so this is the start of the conversation.

But really, we wanted you all to understand why we're
asking this of folks... and how we can find some balance.

And I see a whole bunch of hands just shut up...
[laughs]

so, we could do our best to answer those questions...
and what kind of go from there?


---Rita Lennon:
Okay... we'll start with Lisa...
thank you, Aubrey.


---Lisa Werner:
Oh, hi... yes... so, yeah, mine... I think you did touch on it a bit
about, you know, if people have a legitimate accommodation

because it would be dangerous if they were
 in special high risk for COVID still.

Especially... there is, you know,
 Pima County has relaxed its mask mandate.

City of Tucson apparently still has it,
 but it may be dicey...

Pima might have to relax
 their mask mandate.

In fact, one of... some of my students faculty... other faculty...
have said that... oh, Pima is getting rid of the mask mandate.

So, there's... there is a buzz around campus...
I know it's not true... but down the line.

If... I don't... not sure what
we will be able to do... right?


---Aubrey Conover:
Ah, let me... let me break your question
into a couple of pieces...

0:47:44.843,0:47:47.863
and then if we got more, let me answer
those... just so I don't lose them.

0:47:47.863,0:47:54.671
So, quickly, yes... anybody who has an accommodation,
whatever it may be... whether it's related to COVID or not.

0:47:54.671,0:47:58.284
That always is going to be something
 that supersedes anything.

0:47:58.284,0:48:04.717
You know, that's something you'd work out with ESC...
and we will absolutely respect any accommodation you make.

0:48:04.717,0:48:12.422
So, please don't take this as overriding that...
those will always be something we want to respect.

0:48:12.422,0:48:14.458
The mask mandate...you're absolutely right.

0:48:14.458,0:48:19.196
The county is shifting away from it...
many areas are shifting away from it.

0:48:19.196,0:48:26.536
The college is... they continue to look at its guidance
based on the science and the directives from the county.

0:48:26.536,0:48:33.644
We may need to shift away from it if it's not supported
by local regulation... that have not been decided...

0:48:33.644,0:48:38.749
those are ongoing conversations... right now,
the mask mandate is still in place,

0:48:38.749,0:48:44.955
but it is something that we will need to continue
to work through... you're absolutely right.


---Rita Lennon:
Thank you... Lisa, if you don't have any more questions...


---Lisa Werner:
That's really good.
Thank you very much.


---Rita Lennon:
Thank you.
Kimlisa... please.


---Kimlisa Duchicela:
Yeah... Aubrey... I find it really disheartening
that you guys are coming forward with this

when there hasn't really been
a dialog with faculty at all.

This seems to just be coming
 completely out of the blue,

and it's just another thing
 that's being handed down to us

without any conversation whatsoever.

I'm happy to hear you say,
 you know, case by case basis,

but then you mentioned classes but you... you don't seem
to have exactly what classes weren't able to be staffed.

I mean, were they social sciences, were they math,
were they biology, what were they?

The other thing is... I think it's time for us as an institution
to stop talking about this as if it's just COVID.

The students have voted with their feet.

We have classes face to face...
that got canceled.

Many classes got canceled... okay... and... what is it?
45% of our enrollments are online.

Shouldn't we have good faculty
 teaching our online classes

that we have worked so hard to make
inclusive, high quality, accessible.

They have voted with their feet...
they are adults.

We cannot force them to the watering hole.

So, to just say, you know... 50% of your load, 50% of this...
with no conversation with us whatsoever.

Don't you think we should have an inclusive
process for something so important?

The other thing is that, you know... prior to COVID,
3 million people were taking online classes.

Now, 5.8 million are.

That tells me that, again,
 they have voted with their feet.

So, to just willy nilly, just say, you know, 50%
based on this... without any conversation.

Has this gone through AERC?


---Aubrey Conover:
So... so, to answer your question, we have
started the conversation with AERC,

started the conversation around some of these things,
some of the things that came up in that conversation,

and it has only been recent... to be fair, 
which is why we're bringing into this.

So, a couple of different things...
this is the start of the conversation.

So, I think it's important to stress that...
it's also... I think you touched on this

and I touch on it as well... that it's going
 to be case by case as we work through it.

And you also talked about numbers,
which is important... you know... 45% is online.

That still means that we have 55% in person... 
so, it's about finding balance... it's all about balance.


---Kimlisa Duchicela:
Actually, 40% are in person,
 the rest of them are virtual.

And I think it's unfortunate.

I think if we put virtual in where it should be with online...


---Rita Lennon:
Mm hmm.


---Kimlisa Duchicela:
then the vast majority are online.


---Aubrey Conover:
And I think it's just a matter of finding
 what works for each discipline

to make sure we're meeting the needs of the
students and the demand of the students.

You are right... some disciplines... the demands
have been much more online than in-person...

others have been more balanced, more 50/50... and some
are much more in-person, depending on the discipline.

So, it is going to be a case by case basis,
 which is why we want to still have flexibility,

as long as we're meeting the needs of the students...
and honestly, each other as colleagues... then we're good.

But those are the things that we are
trying to find a balance to meet.

And right now, there are areas where we're...
we're not doing as well as we could be,

and that's why we're having these conversations
to work through these issues.


---Kimlisa Duchicela:
But you're... you...
Dolores... am I wrong?

Did you just say that this is
supposed to start in fall?

It seems to me like the conversation
is over, if you're starting in fall.

But... it... this was not
 an inclusive process at all.


---Dolores Duran-Cerda:
So, this came from AERC...
and I understand what you mean.

and we are keeping virtual because it is a popular modality
for students... as well as online... and as well as in person.

But what we're hearing from students, in
different surveys, is that they want in-person.

Students who do better... they have that engagement
with the faculty members and with their fellow students.

We've been participating... this is separate...
but we've been participating in student forums

with Adult Basic Ed that have virtual
 and online... and face to face, excuse me.

And they talk about
 the convenience of virtual

because they're working, because they're
 taking care of family members, et cetera.

But there was also a richness
 and advocacy for in-person.

So, it is different...
 depends on the division.

That's why we said... as a starting point, 50%...
but it depends on each division.

Some divisions have already started
 this conversation.

Some are probably just initiating now.

But we wanted to have a some kind of
 expectation for us to have a mindset

that we're not completely
 an online institution, at least not yet,

but... but that we need to create that sense of
belonging for students... and you are pivotal to that.


---Kimlisa Duchicela:
And I understand that... but if... if... say a faculty is
teaching virtually, they're touching their students

 and many of us have issues... you know,
Lisa's got issues... I've got a father issue.

You know, if we're virtual, then
 that should be something that is counted.

You know... there are
 so many different ways.

And again, it's really important that we
have good faculty in those online classes.


---Dolores Duran-Cerda:
Absolutely.


---Kimlisa Duchicela:
Because we shine there... we shine...
and the students have voted.


---Dolores Duran-Cerda:
Now, that's true... that's also true
about the case by case,

depending on each person... that...
we're just giving some kind of parameter.

But it doesn't mean
 that it's standardized for everybody.

You will work with your dean...
 depends on the classes, the modality.

So, we just wanted to talk to you to
make sure that you're on board as well,

because this did come from AERC
 and it is important.


---Aubrey Conover:
So... Dolores... I didn't...
[jumble of speakers]

Just to clarify... what I meant before is
 because Kimberly's had asked the question.


---Dolores Duran-Cerda:
Sure.


---Aubrey Conover:
We have started the conversation with the ESC, but it has
been very recent, which is why it has not been put out.

Now, we are not... policy talks about presence
 on campus, already a full time faculty

and we've talked about that relative...
it relative to like the 60%...

and we've talked about, you know... your
full time faculty being on campus, you know,

in terms of days of accountability
 and we work through that.

None of that is changing... that is all... that's all been in
place... and we've kind of talked that through a little bit.

So... you know... that is one of the areas
 we are trying to address to make sure

that we have that presence,
on campus, of the full time faculty

to support each other and students
when they have questions.

That's one of the reasons
 we're trying to find a balance.


---Rita Lennon:
Okay... I'm going to have to
take over the mic again here...

I'm taking the talking stick away
 for just a moment here.

first of all, I do have a couple of comments
that I would like to add to this...

but I would like to also remind you... we are
unfortunately a half an hour behind schedule now

and there is a comment sheet
 so that we can collect all of this information

because I do know that this is going to be

a lot more of a robust conversation
 than we have already.

But I would like to remind everyone
 that the Chancellor did just speak,

and he did say that one of the areas that
 we are growing substantially is online.

And the other thing that he said was that 
we ourselves are not traditional students.

So, if we're concerned so much
 about in-person classes

that are in the middle of the day,
 I don't know how that's going to help

students who are working
 and have other obligations.

Also, I don't know if I truly feel that this is
shared governance when it's...

we're telling faculty that
this is going to begin in fall...

we haven't started at the
beginning of this conversation.

We have once again fallen back on what we
have done in the past as a college and... um...

present a problem and the solution
 and then come to faculty.

And that is not shared governance.
I've said my piece.

Matej... Francisca...
I see that you have comments.

If it is not any further from what I said,
 I will ask you to add it to the forum.

If it does need to be said... I completely understand
and I will welcome you now to say it.


---Francisca James Hernández:
Matej do you want to go first?


---Matej Boguszak:
Oh, sure thing, so... so, I would just clarify again,
 this was not an AERC recommendation.

We did specifically talk about
 not to have these sort of broad,

you know, rules about everybody has to be
 50%, 60%, whatever face to face.

But... but the... Aubrey of the admin representative
came to us to kind of start this conversation about...

hey, it looks like some people haven't even
been back on campus since March 2020.

And... so there's two distinct issues here I think.

One thing is actually being on campus... and
that's something that Pima has decided is important.

And there's that policy about
those silly 5.8 hours per day...

and now it's 60% of that... due to the chancellor's, you know,
sort of three to two flexible work arrangements.

but we shouldn't be
splitting hairs about that.

The second issue is about scheduling classes, and that's where
the need is just very different from discipline to discipline.

And again... like creating such rules that,
you know, that apply to everybody

just would push away great professionals
 like Kimlisa here, who got an award.

and that seems to be very important
 to the Chancellor these days.

Why would we push people like that away
 by establishing hard fast rule like this?

So, my understanding is... that is not something that was
in effect for fall... and fall is also close to being done.

But I think it's important that each division works
 collaboratively on what the needs are

and if there's a need for... to staff
 face to face classes and we can't do that,

then those folks hopefully are working
 on, you know, next time

they do a schedule... to not approve
 so many people to teach online

or to prioritize hiring another
full time faculty member

so that we can staff... staff our courses.

But I would just ask everybody to be, you know,
be collaborative with those schedules.

We've been hearing about
these problems for a long time.

The chancellor keeps mentioning evening
 and weekend classes, but we've... we've scheduled

or at least in math, I can speak for that
 we schedule where the demand is.

And sometimes it's in the evening,
 sometimes it's not in the evening.

So... I'm not sure that that's really
 a main... main factor here.

Anyway... I probably had a couple of other thoughts, but...
but that's kind of what I wanted to ask.


---Rita Lennon:
Thank you so much for your comments.

Okay... we are now a half an hour behind schedule...
we have to get back on schedule.

I'm going to have to pull it here
 and please add your comments to the forum

that has been shared several times and is
also on the agenda...the link is on the agenda.

I will be sure that this information does get back
to both AERC representatives and the ELT.

We do have an administrator meeting... who Dr. Doré...
the Provost... many of us are meeting with them.

So, please... we'll share this information on
March 9th, if you'll please fill that form out.

Okay...
[chuckles]

we're going to move on to our next report...
yes, we are still on reports.

Denise, we're going to ask you to give
 the governing Board report now please.


---Denise Reilly:
Well, I'll make mine short and sweet.
[laughs]

but sorry, my internet's been a little wonky,

I think I've been kicked out of this meeting
about 6 times... so if it happens again...


---Rita Lennon:
[unintelligible]
You're spotty now.


---Denise Reilly:
I have focused with the Board members...
[laughs]  um...

Can you hear me or no?


---Rita Lennon:
Yes, Denise, we can hear you now.

Can you hear us?


---Denise Reilly:
Softer tone... so... so...
[fades out]

There were...
[cuts out]


---Rita Lennon:
Denise... we're... we're not able to hear you,
you keep coming in and out.

Okay... I think she's frozen now completely.

Does that seem to be the case
for everyone else?  Okay.

I will try... I'll... Sean, great recommendation...
I'll try to get her by text.

Let's go ahead and move on to the Learning
Center report... the Teaching and Learning...

I just realized I had that in there
 incorrectly, my apologies.

So the TLC report, please?


---Elliot:
Hi everyone... first of all, I apologize for the
poor lighting and the sound of my voice.

The notes are in here,
 if you can't follow me.

And I have a very boring report after a very robust
conversation at the beginning of this...

so... a little bit of a transition... but yeah, so, this month at
the TLC, we've got 2 main tasks and 2 ongoing programs.

So right now, our 2 main tasks are to...
oh gosh... I lost my place there already.

The 2 tasks are the TLC component of
 Faculty Affairs and Development Unit plan.

So, we're working on the unit plan and we're
thinking about our goals for the next year.

We're thinking about how we fit
 in the larger college structure.

And we are also planning for the April follow-up of
last fall's On Teaching and Unlearning Summit.

So... yeah, we are... regarding the unit plan.... like,
as I mentioned... we're in the goal setting phase.

Some of the big things
 that we're really talking about are

support for our department heads, our discipline coordinators, and
 other faculty leaders... and how to incorporate their feedback

and... and your... you know, your needs
 into our overall programing better.

Regarding the... what I always
 just kind of call the un-summit,

we are specifically focusing on LGBTQ 
plus youth... our student experiences.

Of course, we just heard Chancellor Lambert
speak to this a little bit earlier in the session.

And so part of our intervention with that
is to host a series of events...

to kind of start that conversation here at Pima

surrounding curriculum, pedagogy, and
our classroom experiences for our students.

So... to that, we have identified a keynote...
we're working on a program of events.

And yeah... that's kind of where we're at... so, if you have
any thoughts or suggestions, please do send it my way.

And my goal is really just to connect with some of the
faculty groups that are already invested in this work.

And I have also reached out to Rita... and we're going
to be talking about, you know, faculty senate

and what we can do in conjunction
with you towards these goals.

Let's see... where else am I on the sheet?

So, our dual programs for March include programing
on educational technologies D2L tools.

And we also have... next week is OER weak,
so we have a series of events

championing and celebrating the awesome OER classes and work
that you guys have done so far with some course showcases

and some informational panels just to kind of spread the
word about where we are and to get us talking about it

at a little bit higher level right now... it's... we have some
intervention... we've got some big goals with that...

and the awesome, well, we had...
PCC Working Group that's going on.

In conclusion, you know, it has always... the Teaching and Learning
Center runs off of, you know, our collective labor and ideas.

So, always reach out if you have ideas.

I want to talk about opportunities, and
I'm always glad to hear from everyone.

So, thanks for listening, everyone.

---Rita Lennon:
Elliot, thank you.

I'm really impressed with your ability to speak
when you have obviously a sore throat

or something going on...
something compromising your voice.

So, thank you so much for your report.

I do believe we have Denise back... so, we can try
and get back a little bit of time here... and, ah...

if she's here... you've got the floor.

Okay... not hearing from her.
[chuckles]

We'll go ahead and move on
 to the PCCEA report... um... Matej.


---Matej Boguszak:
Hello, everybody. Thanks Rita.

would you like to show my report or
should I try to screen share? or...


---Rita Lennon:
I can do it for you... absolutely.


---Matej Boguszak:
Thank you.

So, I'm going to just... subbing for Makayla today...
she had to take a little leave.

And here are some of the recent things that came
to mind when I was asked to prepare this report.

So, some of the AERC representatives
are working to add some custom questions

to kind of a climate and satisfaction
 survey that's going to be administered.

You might remember this from 2017 and 2019,
 it's the CESS survey...

that's, you know, nationally
 administered by an outside firm.

The... we looked at the results from the last time around and
kind of identified... where did we have the most dissatisfaction?

And then tried to get at why that might be so...
so, we suggested some questions to be added there.

So it's still not in their final form.

If you have any suggestions, feel free to contact me
or just...just EI the... I suppose the AERC.

Let's see... and then there also seems to be...

different folks seem to be under different
impressions about what the morale is at the college

or, you know, how satisfied people are.

In the 2019 survey, it did show some declining trends in terms
of satisfaction from 2017... as did the PCCEA's own survey.

And so we just need to know where we're at...
so, we know what areas we need to work on.

The class and comp study
process is continuing.

There was a meeting just this morning.

I don't have the latest... maybe you can, Scott.
I don't know if he's here... he could add a little bit.

He's on that committee...
 maybe some other people as well.

As of last month, it still wasn't quite clear
what the new salary scales were going to be,

and how people were going
 to be placed on the schedule

and how people would be able to move up
 on this... on the new salary schedules.

So... so, they're really focusing on getting that finalized with
a focus on just having clear and objective criteria.

So it's fair, equitable and so it's
competitive with the market,

but that also we have some internal
equity that's not all out of whack.

So lots more open questions,
lots more work to do.

I'm getting a little nervous because, you know,
May is around the corner in a couple of months

 and there's still a lot of unknowns... known
unknowns... unknown unknowns... all of that.

For faculty position... position prioritization...

you might remember that fact rubric from a few years ago...
where we decided where to reduce... were to add positions.

And so, the same consultants... Siegel...
 who's doing the class and comp study,

was also contracted to help the college with
those kinds of prioritization decisions.

We've had a few meetings since last fall... and discussed
some criteria that we could look at, as far as where to hire.

But really, those are all just quite general conversations,
and we only have one more meeting.

And the latest sort of draft model we looked at... really
just looked at enrollments... like how many sections,

how many... you know, what's the enrollment cap...
or what's the average enrollment in those sections

and how many instructors would we need for that?

So, that's... that seems pretty basic.

And hopefully we can, you know, make some... develop some
more criteria that would help us decide where to hire.

We keep hearing from the Chancellor and
at Board meetings about, you know...

resource the allocations... and we need to make hard decisions
about which programs to grow... and which to close.

And so... I'm hoping that we'll... we'll get some advice from
the professionals on stuff like that as well.

And that relates to faculty hiring, which... our policies are kind of
out of date in that whole area... you have the backgrounds here.

So... so we've been meeting to really
harmonize and update all of those policies...

put them in one or two places,
where it's easy to see what the process is.

And again, with a focus on a timeline in recent years...
we've got so many positions authorized late,

we weren't sure what the enrollment was going to be
and whether it should be provisional or regular.

And so we've had lots of delays recently that have
led to exactly the opposite of what we're striving for,

which is robust, strong, large,
 and diverse candidate pools... right?

If it gets posted sometime late... or in the spring
for a couple of weeks, it is not open very long.

We can't attract the kinds of candidates
 we need here at our college.

So, that's a big work in progress and we hope to get
something finalized by the end of the semester.

As far as scheduling goes, though,
we've talked about that a little bit.

Rita... do I have it correct in my memory that there was maybe
going to be a study session of the Senate on scheduling.

But... again, about those... the conversation earlier...
so... so, here you have a few quotes from policy.

Let us know if anything seems off like in terms of
the kinds of classes we're offering,

 too much online... too much face to face...
are people being asked something unreasonable?

Is the process not fair and equitable?

Please try to work the best you can and then
let somebody know if things aren't aren't working out

because this is really key for the students...
 for us to offer the classes,

but also for the faculty... to be able to use
their expertise the best they can

and have some say in what kinds of
classes they teach... and how.

Let's see... the college budget... I have not carefully,
personally reviewed the last study session.

You have the links to the video
 and the presentation there.

But I did note that there was talk of some... establishing
some staff to footsy ratios... like we did for faculty.

PCCEA has repeatedly asked for measures like this
to be used to kind of look at the size of our... of our...

of our employees, I guess, outside of just faculty.

You may remember one or two meetings
 that caused the faculty senate...

I asked the chancellor
 why such ratios are not appropriate.

And so it sounds like there's
 some reconsideration of that.

I'm not sure what 15 to 1 is based on, 
but we'll certainly follow up,

and I'm glad to see that there is
 some more budget planning going on.

You all know the enrollment thing.
 It sure doesn't look great.

Even Pima is doing worse than other Arizona
 community colleges.

And so... the plan is to come up kind of... with 3 budget
scenarios for... and bring them to the Board in May.

Kind of like we had when we had to do
 those really drastic cuts over time...

so that the Board can kind of select the path forward for us...
and what is the right size for our institution?

And then I don't want to take up more time... if you have any questions
about what the AERC is working on or not working on.

Again, feel free to reach out to me or Mikayla...
or you got the links here to the website.

You can submit an issue
 or concern for us to look at.

And I believe... oh... and then we gave a report to the
Board at their... I believe it was the February meeting.

Any questions on anything?


---Rita Lennon:
But don't also forget that we do have the
faculty comments document... the form as well,

so that it can get back to... we can link it back to you to get...
 if there's any questions that come through that way as well.


---Matej Boguszak:
Great... for sure.


---Rita Lennon:
Thank you, Matej... It's good to see you back in this role for
[chuckles].   just a short... a short one month time.

Okay... I'm on to my report now, I'll go ahead and share
my screen so that you can see what I'm talking about,

and I promise that I'll take as little time as possible.

This image, I think, is an important image for us to
look at and think about as a business, as an entity.

This is from Six Sigma, and
if you're not familiar with that,

it's just a model that a lot of businesses,
 both large and small use.

One of the things that this image shows is that

this is what a team looks like... and
 the phases that they should go through.

The first one, the upper left, called
 forming, is when you're

just becoming a team and you're kind of
 in that honeymoon phase...

you kind of go through storming and norming...
 those are the puddles... the issues.

And then hopefully if things go well, you move into the
upper right hand corner, which is called the performing area.

And I'm interested to know where faculty feel
we are as a team considering faculty.

So, all of the types of instructors.

And then how do you feel that... are we a
cohesive team with our administrators?

How about with staff?

I would love to start having some
 more conversations around these things,

not only about where we feel we are now,
but how are we going to move

if we're not yet in the performing section
 on any of these connections?

How are we going to move there?
How are we going to get there?

So, this is something that I would like to start
having a conversation about here in the future.

And the next thing I'd like to
talk about is shared governance,

and I know that I brought this up during the Provost
report and with Aubrey sharing his... the information.

You know... this is something that's not... that's been around
for a really long time... as we can see since the twenties...

Use of... the American Association of University Professors...
I can't even say the words

developed a statement
about shared governance.

And in their statement, they mentioned that
personnel decisions, selecting administrators,

preparing the budget and setting educational policies
were all surrounded by this shared governance model.

And these words are even part of the core component 5A
from the the Higher Learning Commission.

So, we have a set of rules of how shared governance
should work effectively at our institution,

and I have to beg to differ that our institution is
not quite there yet, and we need to keep pushing.

We need to be at the table
 when a concern is raised,

but also during the decision making
 and the implementation.

We can't be presented a problem
 and the solution at the same time.

And when it's expected to be implemented
and call that security governance anymore.

And we can no longer as a faculty team,
allow that to happen.

And so, if you are in agreement with me,
 I see a couple of head shaking.

I only see a couple of heads, however.

So, if you're in agreement with me... this is not something
that I am saying, you know... we're going to fight.

That's not what I mean, but we do
need to hold them accountable.

If they truly... if the executive leadership of our
college feel that diversity, equity, and inclusion

are something to not only place
on our website but also to fight for,

then we also need to recognize
 that we should have DEI as well.

That we should be recognized as an entity that needs
to make... help make decisions here at this college.

So, I won't go any more into that... I'm sure that we
have other things we can talk about.

One of the things that I would like to share and this is
going to be an open discussion here in a moment

is the HRC visit that's going to
be here on March 28th and 29th.

So, I would like to get us a little bit more prepared again
as a team... a cohesive team... about what to expect.

I realize that the criterion to core component 2C
is what they will be starting their visit on...

what they'll be looking at... really.

But, as we know, in years past... once the HLC are here
on our campus, they can ask to meet with anyone.

And I don't want us to not be prepared.

So, I do want to remind you that in
December 2021... faculty senate leadership

during our administrator meeting asked to have the July 7, 2021
letter from the HLC brought to our attention or given to us.

And... well... we haven't received it yet... but I'm looking
forward to the fact that we will receive that very soon.

And in our March 9th meeting, we will remind them
again that we have yet to receive that.

So... lastly, there is a couple of entries
 here about some of our faculty

in the community and what we've been doing
 to strengthen our community ties.

And I'd like to point out that one of them
 was the Emerging Leaders Student Summit.

You know... I always love to get in front of, of course,
my students... but then also, any students.

And Denise Riley was a presenter.

She facilitated a session called
The Art of Engaging Conversation...

the poor thing... the art is not with her today, but that's
 I think that's more of the winds fault, not not hers.

And then... I and Dr. Nancy Gamboian, who is part of the
Fitness and Wellness Group, she's the program director there.

We did a session on Training for Resilience, Creating Change
Through Perspective... and that was an amazing time.

I also want to bring up that Brandy Wright Randolph,
who is the program director for the EMT program.

He had a couple of sessions on K-Gun 9 for his
Emergency Medical Technician program.

So, I'm happy to hear about all of us
 working on these wonderful things.

And if you have something that you would
like for me to share with faculty senate

and also with anyone else...
please get that information to me.

You may know that... or may not have heard yet... that our graduation
ceremony will be hopefully in person... if all things go well.

It will not, however, be at TCC...
it's going to be at the Kino stadium.

So, information is... you can follow that link
and find out about more information there.

And finally, something that I've participated in
several times throughout the years...

I think this is probably going to be my fourth or fifth year...
is the letter of intent signing day.

And this is a way for us to start
 the celebration at the very beginning.

So, when students are showing their intention to either come to Pima
or to start a program here at Pima, we start the celebration there

and we continue that celebration, of course, and
that support system all the way through to graduation.

This year the session is going to be on April 14th
or the event, I should say, is going to be on April 14th.

And the Provost has challenged us to have more programs, more
faculty, more divisions and departments... and students there.

So, I challenge you... 
Who can you get to get there?

Who can... how many students do you think your division
or your department can sign up to be there?

It's going to be an in-person session,
 so keep that in mind.

It will be at the West Campus... and it is on
April 14th... I do believe that's a Thursday,

so just... I realize that we're teaching
 at that point... some of us are.

Okay... I think I did that all within
a couple of... about 4 minutes.

So, I... hopefully we've got a little bit
 that time back on the agenda.

I will start... stop sharing my screen here and we'll
move on to DFW concerns, which is Brooke Anderson.


---Brooke Anderson:
I think Kelly has her hand up, though... so...


---Rita Lennon:
I'm sorry, I can't see it...


---Brooke Anderson:
Can we give her a second?


---Rita Lennon:
Yeah, absolutely, of course.


---Kelly O'Keefe:
Thanks. I didn't want to interrupt anyone.
[chuckles]

I did ask about the letter of Intent Day being offered virtually...
since we know that it's possible... as well as in person...

because programs such as... you know, the one that I teach
with Health Information Technology is fully online.

And what comes with that is a lot of
 students that do not live in the state.


---Rita Lennon:
Sure.


---Kelly O'Keefe:
So, it would be a great opportunity to
offer both in-person and virtual

 because if they're wanting more and more
students to be signing, which is great,

but we can't do that if all of our
 students aren't offered the opportunity.

So, just want to put that...


---Rita Lennon:
Yeah.... and actually, Josie Milliken has ment...
has answered that in chat...

and so... she said that she has asked about this...
 and a virtual version is in the works.


---Kelly O'Keefe:
Wonderful... thank you.


---Rita Lennon:
All right...


---Kelly O'Keefe:
Great thanks.


---Rita Lennon:
Thanks for the information, Kelly... thanks for raising
the question... okay, so, Brooke, you've got the floor.


---Brooke Anderson:
Thank you, Rita...
hello, everyone.

So, I think this one could become
 a really big topic to discuss, too.

This is... but... so, we might just think about...

I'll share a few things and then maybe think about ways to
gather feedback on this and continue the conversation

In the couple of the areas that I work within, we are talking
a lot about DFW rates... right... and continuing that conversation

and some department heads in certain areas are being tasked
with looking at DFW rates and doing something with them,

and in those conversations, something that I've been thinking a lot
about is this connection between attendance and DFW rates. 

The data that we're looking at right now is problematic in
 a lot of ways... right... that are being brought up by faculty...

putting together, for example, DFW into one category... right.

So... thinking about ways we need to
disaggregate this information.

And then we don't have an ability
 to drop students after the 45th day.

So, how many of these D's and F's are actually
students that just disappear on us, right?

In the conversations I've been having with faculty
about equitable assessments... through liberation...

focuses, but with branding across
 the curriculum, these kinds of things.

What I'm hearing more and more from faculty is just
a concern about the students that just disappear... 

or they stay, but they don't ever turn in any work... right.

So, I think that it's really important that we start to think about
how we can connect the attendance records that we keep 

because we are in attendance granting institution...
 right... or an attendance taking institution.

So, we have this data in attendance tracker that
shows us student's last day of attendance.

Are we linking that to DFW rates, right?

How many of those D's and F's are actually
students that just stopped attending?  Right.

And of course, different modalities
 track this differently as well, right?

Because in online, this is pretty easy
to tell with the data because

faculty who teach online take attendance
 based on active participation.

Now, if your in-person or virtual, you might mark
students as attending for simply being there.

But that doesn't mean
 they've turned in any work, right?

And there is a big difference between
failing a student... giving them a D or an F...

because you evaluated their work as at a
failing level... and failing a student because

you never had any work to evaluate
to begin with or not enough work to evaluate.

So, I think it's really, really important
 that we look at that

because my sense is that the bigger issue
 actually... probably is related to the fact that

our students, for so many different reasons,
that are not necessarily even within our control 

are just simply not completing their classes...
 not doing the work that they need to do.

I know... in my area and with a lot of the faculty
that I talk to about these issues,

it's not that our students aren't capable of
passing our classes, it's that they just end up

for who knows how many reasons... not actually
doing the work required to pass the class.

So, anyways... I just wanted to bring this to senate.

Maybe think about how we have this
conversation across disciplines... you know.

I know not all disciplines, not all divisions are necessarily
even looking at DFW rates in the same ways

or doing anything consistently
across the college.

Different deans may be having
 different approaches with their faculty,

but this does seem like an incredibly important
conversation for the senate to be having

and... and to really, really... I mean...
I think it's essential

to be connecting our attendance records
or attendance data with our DFW data.

So anyways, I don't know, Rita.
[laughs]

That's kind of my... my general 2¢.

[unintelligible interruption] 
I don't know what next steps are...


---Rita Lennon:
I know.


---Brooke Anderson:
If we want to have some conversation or
if we're already kind of running to behind it

and we want to somehow continue this in another way
or another format.  What do you think?


---Rita Lennon:
Well, I think this sounds like a really
 good study session for sure.

You know... we definitely could work...
move that into a study session.

You know... something else that I didn't bring up
in the report... but... that we need to start doing again...

we need to start getting going again...
I should say... is our subcommittees.

So maybe this is something that we bring to it...
you know... we create a DFW subcommittee.

Any other thoughts?

Denise.


---Denise Reilly:
Yeah, I'm literally scared to even speak
right now... can you hear me?

---Rita Lennon:
We can hear you.
[laughs]


---Denise Reilly:
Oh, my gosh. So... 
[laugh cut off and gets muted]


---Rita Lennon:
You're muted.
[interrupting voice] You're muted.

Yeah... you muted yourself, but we can hear you.
[chuckles]

Or maybe not... are you there?


---Denise Reilly:
Ahhh... I'm sorry, my internet's unstable again,
 this is ridiculous. [laughing]


---Rita Lennon:
My gosh... okay... if you put it on chat,
 I'll say it for you... [chuckles]  or... um...

Well, anyway, the DFW information especially
discerning...  who are not doing the work... you know...

students who are submitting work...
and it's not up to at least to a "C" level... 

versus those who are just are
not submitting work... enough work... 

I think is a really important and valuable info... data
for us to know.... data set for us to have... to have.

You know... I'm sorry, I taught all last night
 and then I taught this morning...

and so obviously my tongue
stayed in the classroom...

my brain stayed somewhere else...
 who knows?  Maybe it's on I-10 by now.

But, I agree... if we don't have any
more discussion here at this moment...

I just saw Denise jump back on... so, maybe we can
give her a second to turn on her mic and speak.

Okay... I'm just smiling because
this is the first meeting...

I should knock on wood, because
April will be a doozy for me...

that this is the first meeting that  [laughing]
I've stopped technically...

or at least not.... not yet... okay...
well, we'll go ahead and move on.

If you do have any more thoughts, comments, or ideas
of how we could continue moving on this work for DFW...

please go ahead and put it on the forum...
put it in chat... something.

Okay... we'll go ahead and move on to the open discussion
about the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs...

which was Dr Mitchell's role
before she has left the college...

and there's been some concerns
with her leaving the college...

and what this really means for us...
what this means for support for Deans.

And so let's go ahead and have
 a conversation about that.

Two things... two key pieces that I wanted to
bring up... just, are bullet points that I had added...

 is first... making sure that we have faculty inclusion
whenever we're hiring the next vice provost position.

One of the concerns that we've had with Dr...
or we had with Dr. Mitchell... was...

for the past 6 months, we were... as Senate, we were asking to
meet with her... and we were not able to get a meeting with her

Either she would make a meeting and cancel it... or she
would move the meeting multiple times... or what have you.

And please don't take that as me throwing her
under the bus for an inability to do her job.

What I mean by that is she's obviously had so much
on her plate that she wasn't able to meet with us,

but we need to make sure that the
next vice provost is able to meet with us.

We need to be able to have that conversation and
work collaboratively with whoever is in that position.

The next thing that I want to bring up is that March 11th
was actually supposed to be with the vice provost...

she was going to be talking about schedules.

We were going to be asking her questions about
things like Ad Astra and how it's making news...

and how we're making these decisions for our scheduling
in-person classes versus online courses versus virtual.

How does that all tie in?

I did bring this up to the provost...
 and she just had to leave.

However, one of the things that she mentioned is... maybe
we should go ahead and continue with that conversation.

and the first study session... she believes that this should
be multiple study sessions... that is addressing this concern,

and the first one would be more
 about presenting information.

So, the information I think she had in mind
 was kind of providing the background

about how schedules are created
 and how they move through the process.

Michael Tulino... you were... you were "volun-told"  that
you would be there at the March 11th discussion...

and others... who are part
 of creating the schedule.

Another option would be just for us to talk about it as faculty
and then bring our concerns to the administration...

you know... not as problems, but like,
here are some concerns we have...

and here are some solutions
 that we would like to see happen.

So, I'd like to open it up to everyone.

What would you like to see,
 what would you like to talk about?

Nothing?  We're good with schedules...
there's no problems whatsoever, huh?

We've got it figured out?


---Matej Boguszak:
Are you asking you about topics?  Like
scheduling topics for these study sessions.


---Rita Lennon:
Actually, I'm talking more about the...
 well, the March 11th study session...

the idea about having a presentation,
 maybe for one of the study sessions.

The previous idea was to turn the study session
 for March 11th into more of a presentation

and talk about how the schedules are created... and how they
move through the process on the operations side of the college.

And then having another study session... probably
right after March... I'm sorry after spring break...

and... where we would discuss more concerns or
issues that faculty have... that would just be one option.

Another option is just leave March 11th alone
with the topic at hand... and just open it up to faculty

so that faculty can bring our concerns,
 issues, thoughts, questions forward

and then we can work with the administration
as we have in the past with other studies sessions...

to identify concerns and work for a solution.

So, there's two options, the
 first one is leave a study session alone,

do not have presentations, just leave it
 as a session for faculty to talk.

Second one is to schedule presentations instead of
having faculty speak or have the opportunity to speak.


---Brooke Anderson:
I see Marcos' hand is up... Rita.


---Rita Lennon:
Sorry... Marcos, I'm
 so sorry. Please go ahead.


---Marcos Trujillo:
There is... I dropped a comment in... just in case.

Can people hear me okay?
Because my internet's a little shaky too.

I'll just echo my comment, that I think...
while we have discussions around scheduling, 

not only is, you know, understanding what our expectations
 and limitations of modality and things like that

are helpful when we make the schedule...
but you know, I've been here for 4 years...

and I hear from my colleagues who have much
more institutional experience than that,

that the process of scheduling has been
a source of confusion... challenges.

A lot of time goes into those things
 with very little instruction.

And so, I'm not a person who necessarily likes having to
learn brand new systems or technology solutions constantly,

but recently, in the curriculum subcommittees
and the AJAC committees...

and their Curriculog system is a fantastic
example of a software program that works 

and something where you enter it and it
automatically goes to a supervisor for approval.

It automatically goes to the next person,
 and everything would be able to be,

you know, created to where you can't enter things
that are off time... or that are not in the block.

And so the fact that in 2022, we literally have
to read a piece of paper or from our screen,

copy it to another document...
create copies of those documents...

and create these weird trails of shared spreadsheets
to create a really complicated schedule.

Just seems like a huge opportunity to actually
have some streamlining of our processes 

and not having only 5 people have to handle
our schedule for the entire entire college...

Just kind of seems... yeah... like, this is a really cool
place where we could actually look at a lot of things

that could potentially be available
 that other places have already implemented.

Instead of trying to rework the system
 that feels so antiquated.

Thanks, everyone.


---Rita Lennon:
Marcos thank you so much.
 That's that's a good point.

And you have several people who are saying...
Yes, I agree.  That's cool.  That's an amazing idea.

And Matej has brought up that...
I thought that was Ad Astra.

That's why we bought Ad Astra... was to
address exactly this... among many other things.

Is there anyone here who would like to
speak to Ad Astra's role in scheduling?


---Marcos Trujillo:
My understanding is that it's really only been used to show
enrollments compared to occupancy in classrooms,

or that's at least the only times that I've heard it mentioned...
and then... at least for us in the social sciences...

it basically got kind of thrown out... because it tried to reassign
us to new classrooms with different kinds of technology...

and so, the last time that I heard a lot about it, we
ended up sort of ignoring what it was recommending

and creating the schedule despite it... because it wasn't
necessarily a system that integrated into how we schedule.


---Rita Lennon:
Thank you, Marcus.

Kate... I see you have your hand up?


---Kate Schmidt:
Yeah, and I recognize I don't know what I don't know, but I did
happen to get a 15 minute tour of Ad Astra yesterday,

and I think that might be something that's worth
bringing to senate...or your summit... at some point

because I was actually pretty impressed.

The last time I saw it, we didn't have pathways
loaded into it... but it seemed like there is...

I think Morgan pointed out in the chat that... and Matej... that this is
software that's supposed to help us with the scheduling process.

So, maybe it's further along than any of us...
you know... recognize.


---Rita Lennon:
Kate, thank you so much.

Is... can we... I mean... I do believe it was the vice provost...
this was part of her purview, right?

Is that being shifted to someone else... or was... am I wrong?
Is that not... was she not in charge of Ad Astra?


---Kate Schmidt:
She was... and I assume that it will be shifted
to somebody else... whether it's, you know...

I know that the current plan is this national
search that Dolores mentioned to you.

Whether that gets whifted within the interim.

But I think there are staff that could at least just show you some
of the features... that might give some information for conversation.

That's there's an opportunity now to look
 at how how to influence this process.


---Rita Lennon:
Okay... thank you.
Matej.


---Matej Boguszak:
Yeah... yeah... there does seem to be a disconnect between
what Ad Astra can do and what... how we are actually using it.

So, I look forward to hearing from
Morgan... and maybe somebody else,

because it does... it is presented certainly and to the board as... 
we are doing all these wonderful things with the schedules for years...

and it has platinum analytics... was mentioned many, many
times... but it doesn't seem so platinum...

if we're not analyzing those recommendations as carefully...
or using all the features... then I'm not sure what goes on.

So, yeah... I'm hoping that we can improve our scheduling.


---Rita Lennon:
Awesome... yeah...
Morgan.


---Morgan Phillips:
So, one of the challenges that we have is Ad Astra,  just the same
way Amazon or a lot of the other intelligent systems works,

builds off of the data that we have in our system...
that we have on our students...

and the information that we collect and appropriately
catalog for our students has been somewhat spotty, truthfully.

So, when students come in
 and they're coded to programs,

historically, those have not been
 very reliable indicators.

Ad Astra, when it's working the way
 that it ultimately can work,

is able to look at students...
 see what program they're in...

look at the pathway the student's in... see what courses
they've already completed... what ones they already need.

It can look at their course taking patterns in the past and know
this particular student tends to sign up for afternoon classes

or they always take theirs at night... or something like that...
and then Ad Astra actually can project...

Here's what you should offer based on all of the students
 that you have in your system.

Since we don't have that information so far,
it's just been running on historical data.

So, it looks at... and says... you offered 5 sections of
linear algebra last year... you only filled them up 30%.

You probably don't need 5 sections... 2 is
probably fine... so, that's the only information.

And then going through COVID basically has
completely wrecked that historical information 

because you don't know which things are COVID reasons and which
thing is the actual trend for the data that you're looking at.

So, that causes... and Matej just put the same
thing in the chat... that causes some issues for that.

We're building the pathways in the Ad Astra.

I don't personally know exactly how
far that is... but Kate mentioned that.

And I know that's one of the things
 that LaMotta was working on.

That's the first piece to be able
 to do that forward looking process,

but that's ultimately where it potentially
 can go if we get all the pieces put in.

And that's the platinum analytics,
 we don't have to buy anything extra,

we just actually have to
 use what we purchased.


---Rita Lennon:
Right.

Okay... thank you so
 much for that clarification.

Kate... I see your hand is still up?


---Kate Schmidt:
No, I put it up again... I just wanted to say what...
the things that Morgan was saying are possible

looks like they're much further along than I expected
based on what was literally a 10 minute demo yesterday.

But like the pathways are loaded,
 it is pulling from student intent data

and then looking at student behavior data
 to to make some predictions.

So, my guess is that
 has not been ruled out.

I think it'd be really helpful for people
 to see what has already been done

and sort of, have some influence
 on how we, you know, how we move forward

and then what is it that we're looking at... and
what... you know... where are there challenges?

Yes, obviously our enrollment numbers
have been different over the last two years, 

and that makes artificial intelligence not as...

but again, I'm not the expert,
 but I was pretty amazed that it was

as far on... for along as I... I mean,
 I just haven't seen it in 2 years.


---Rita Lennon:
Yeah.

Okay... so, maybe a little bit of presentation
 at our study session would be useful

so that we could then have a little bit
 more robust and fuller conversation.

Yeah, it would be great.

It would be nice to have online campus and
central leadership to see this information too... yes.

Okay... well, I'll keep working on... off this.. you know... outside 
of the meeting... I'll keep working on the study session

and see what we can do in such
a short period of time, 

we might need to do a couple of study sessions surrounding
scheduling and other topics... you know, similar topics.

Kate, I still see your hand up. So did I...
oh, okay... okay... I'm sorry.

Like, hey, I missed it the last time...
I could have definitely missed it this time.

Matej, do you have something?
Are you? Are you?


---Matej Boguszak:
Yeah... may ask...


---Rita Lennon:
[physically]


---Matej Boguszak:
about the vice provost position?
 You know... to go back to that real quick.


---Rita Lennon:
Yeah... So, that was Lamata's position.

And so, I just want to make sure that as we're, you know...
as she has now left the college... that we are going to...

where... everyone is reminded... or at least I've said it on a...
you know... in a meeting that's being recorded...

that faculty is very, very, very enthusiastic about being part
of that hiring process and decision making and the planning...

and the hiring committee...you know... the whole thing...
because of some concerns or issues that we've had in the past.

And this is such a vital part of what we
can do... and how we do our jobs.

So... was that... does that
answer your question Matej?


---Matej Boguszak:
Yeah... well, no... sorry.

My question is... if...
so,  I understand the scheduling...

and you know, this work is extremely important
and there need to be resources devoted to it. 

But... so... could somebody articulate exactly why...

what this position does... and why
 we need this particular position?

It has changed in the description
 or title over the last few years.

I... it was just prioritized for a
$26,500 raise for this year.

Again, in the larger context that we have...
and it has provost in the title...

But I believe the faculty have heard
zero times like over emails,

some kind of announcement from the vice provost...
or associate provost... I don't know what the titles are.

So, could somebody kind of articulate...
why do we need that, and not another division dean?

or why do we need that and not more
folks in the curriculum office?

 or more support for department heads to do the
scheduling... or... you know, software? I'm not sure.

Does it need to be at this level?


---Kate Schmidt:
Are you asking somebody on this
call today to articulate that?

Because I would think, since Dolores had to leave early
and she said it was actually for a meeting about this,

that she probably has more information... I'd
recommend that this be a conversation that...

I know Senate leadership has an admin meeting... and
I think next week... and I think that's already on the agenda.

But I think your point is a good one.

That maybe a discussion has to happen a little bit before
selecting people to be on this committee for a national search.

That kind of what you're saying?

I don't know that anybody on this call
 has that information,

I have a feeling it's being looked
 at like, literally as we're speaking.


---Rita Lennon:
Oh, okay... well, that's really a good, you know,
that's a good perspective to bring, Matej.

If you wouldn't mind... maybe you and I can meet...
and faculty officers can meet... at a time real soon,

so, that we can get some data about
 when was this position created?

What was the level that it was created at?

How has it moved up and not stayed level,
and all that kind of stuff?

You know, this also brings up a major
 concern for me as a... as a Hispanic woman...

this leaves two females at the executive level now,
one being Dolores, and one being Nick.

And that's concerning... those.... that's... how... how are we
a DEI institution when we have a Latin-X provost... female...

and we have one other female and... that doesn't
even go into the other categories, I realize...

but you know... it's... it's concerning anyway...
this trend that we're moving into.

And how are we going to fix that?

Sorry, I'm talking off the cuff and I'm
 going to go ahead and stop doing that now

because we're recording
 and we need to keep moving forward.

All right... so our next...

if we don't have anything more to talk
 about with the vice provost position

and any other concerns... again... I would like to
capture this information in the Google form.

if you wouldn't mind....
so that I can bring this forward.

But let's go ahead and move on
 to the next open discussion,

which is the Higher Learning Commission
 visit, which is March 28th and 29th.

Are there any thoughts, concerns, questions, comments...
that we would like to capture here at our senate meeting?

Marcos.


---Marcos Trujillo:
Is this... I guess I'm not really super familiar HLC site visits,
 and so, is this something where the...

like the Senate is in the process of... like, they will be
having a scheduled time with those site visit people...

or are we requesting time with them? 

Because I think, you know, having our accreditors here is
 an opportunity to address a lot of things.

But I'm also, you know,
 I understand that they're here to address,

you know, kind of specific issues
 that revolve around the board.

But even today, some of our conversations around
diversity, equity, inclusion, faculty inclusion, representation.

You know, are all really big parts of what we're experiencing
as faculty, as staff, our students are experiencing this.

And so, is this site visit an opportunity
 to bring those concerns up to the HLC

that, you know, we have this administration
 that really aggressively uses

and leverages this kind of language
 and this sort of political perspective.

And when we look at internal survey
 data of satisfaction,

when we look at our diversity
 of the people who we hire,

when we look at our attrition rates
 and who doesn't complete...

none of the conditions of being diverse, inclusive,
Hispanic serving... are indicated in our outcomes... really.

And so, I guess my question is... would this be an
appropriate visit for us to share those concerns

or is that going to not really be something that
they're even... you know... here to respond to?


---Rita Lennon:
Those are all amazing questions... and I'll tell you
that the biggest concern that I have in this position

is the fact that we've had very little
 information provided to us at any level.

So, generally speaking... when the HLC is on
our campus, they can ask to speak to anyone.

This is what happened when we found that
we were deficient in our learning outcomes

and why we had to quickly act
on their recommendations

for our learning outcomes and the
assessments a couple of years ago.

We have asked several times now at our
executive meetings to have some sort of...

you know, we've asked broad questions,
 we've asked general questions,

we've asked very specific questions
 about what we really should expect.

And... the last time I remember hearing
 anything about it was in December.

Kate, I know you were at that meeting, so please let
me know if you remember something other than that.

But... the last thing I heard was from the provost...
oh, I'm sorry... from the chancellor was that

they're only going to be speaking
with the the governing board.

And really, that's what their
focus is going to be on.

But I don't know if I truly believe that because...

they can talk to anyone they want to
 they can ask to speak to anyone.

It's like the FDA... they can... they could look at anything
they want to do while they're on your campus.

So, my concern is that we're not going to be
prepared, as a team of faculty... cohesive team.

And I... I'm going to be in March 9th...
I'm going... on March 9th...

I'm going to be asking for them to share the agenda
as soon as the agenda has been created and finalized.

But that doesn't necessarily mean that they will.

So, I wish I had more of an answer for you...
but I have the big fat... I don't know... is my answer.


---Marcos Trujillo:
Yeah, thank you Rita... I really appreciate that...

and I think that probably, we all have a consensus that
that's probably the information that we've all experienced

or know of, too, is that... only what we're told, which is very little,
which seems very strategic on the hand of our administration.


---Rita Lennon:
Any other comments or concerns, thoughts,
 ideas, questions?

No...


---Matej Boguszak:
Does anybody know again, if this visit is solely related
to the governing board and how it's operating, or is...


---Rita Lennon:
They have.


---Matej Boguszak:
Again, we don't have the letter right


---Rita Lennon:
No... exactly... we did ask for the letter back in December
and we were told that we could have the letter.

And in March, we still don't have the letter...
March 9th, I will be asking for the letter again.

But you know that that gives us
 a very small window to prepare.

I've heard here-say that the letter says something about
criteria in 2C... but I don't know if that's true or not.

I don't... I don't know... I've not had eyes on the letter
 and the officers have been...

the officers have asked... and I know that others in this
meeting have asked in other... in other venues.

So, I don't have answers to that... and so...

I will be asking again for the letter... I'll ask for the agenda
once it's finalized... that it's shared... you know

I think it's... in the spirit of transparency...
I think these things should be shared with us.

I don't think they should be hidden.

And even if they are only for, you know... they're only
going to be reviewing the governing board.


---Matej Boguszak:
Yeah. Or if we could just get confirmation... I think somebody
said it only relates to the board and their workings, but...

So, in that case, there's nothing
 for us to prepare, I suppose.


---Rita Lennon:
Well... what if they want to ask perspective,
 our perspective of how the board works?

[laughing]
I mean, we have board representatives, you know,

so, what if they want their perspective of how the board works...
or the fact that we talked about this in meetings?

You know... I mean, they decide how we function as a college...
and so I think that they would want to ask,

but I don't know... I'm not. I'm not sure.
Mary.

---Mary Sibayan:
You know, my issue and I agree with you,

we need to be prepared... because it
seemed like the last time they came

a lot of it did have to do with
governing and administration.

And I'm sorry, but from my perspective,
 it seemed like then

the faculty got blamed for everything
 and we suffered all the penalties.

Now that is my memory.

Thank you for people that are nodding.

But that's how it seemed to me
 and that I feel like since their visit,

my experience at Pima has been downhill.

As a professional?


---Rita Lennon:
Mary, thank you.

I just looked at the time, I am so sorry it is two minutes
before and we still have to get to our business section.

Marcos, do you have a quick question?
And then we can move on and finish up here.


---Marcos Trujillo:
Yeah... thank you.

And, you know, my intention is not to
 assign more work for any of our senators,

I really appreciate
 all that you do for us already.

But I wonder if it would be appropriate if there was some
sort of letter that was drafted and submitted to the HLC...

and just saying, like... as a faculty senate,
 as a representative of the faculty,

we would love to share our perspectives
 around our relationship with the board

or that we're like, available and
interested in meeting with them.

Because again, there's no indication that our
administration wants to include us in any process.

There's very few indications of that
 through our recent history.

So... do we need to take a more aggressive approach
 and try to communicate with them directly?

Because going through supervisors
 representatives, provost...

who should be responsive
 to us as the faculty to which they serve...

And if that doesn't get us leeway,
 I don't know if we need to put ourselves

on the radar of the HLC as opposed to asking for more inclusion
when we're just seeing that pattern really not be met.

And I know we have some of our ELT here, so I hope that
this can be something that is taken with a lot of urgency

and taken seriously and that we can have this letter
by Monday... right?  If we've had it for months.

Doesn't seem like it's a necessary thing
 to obstruct our ability to understand

how our institution is functioning or how
we might be able to contribute to improving it.

So, thank you.
Appreciate you all.


---Rita Lennon:
Thank you.  Thank you for those who are
adding stuff to chat as well... I agree.

Okay... well, that's definitely something
 that I can take forward for the officers

and talk about... and come up
 with some sort of a plan that way.

Okay.

Thank you so much for...
[laughing]  all the talking.

We've had some really, really, really
intense conversations this meeting.

It's all coming to a head... we do have one AP that
 we need to review... and I don't know if Maria is here.

We did request Maria be here for... in case you had any questions,
but the draft AP is in the agenda and the summary as well.

If you look on the summary... it says that
I was identified as a stakeholder unit...

and that's because I teach clinical research and we work with ethics
committees and human subjects on a very regular basis.

So, I can give you an idea of kind of the transition
 of how this AP has kind of turned around

and the history of that, if you would like.

But please go ahead and look at the AP and we can
go ahead and open it up to discussion should we need to.

And I'm not seeing Maria, here...
 Maria is with STAR.

I'm not sure if you've ever...
 if any of you have met her before.

I'll try and answer any questions if you have them...
if not, we can go ahead and move on to the next thing.


---Matej Boguszak:
I noticed though... the policy moved
 from the provost office to STAR...

and that makes sense to me was
the Provost Office cool with that... or...


---Rita Lennon:
Yeah... the provost offices as of... well... Kate is here...
so, she can talk on behalf of the Provost office. 


---Kate Schmidt:
I don't... I can't speak on behalf of the Provost on
this one... on how cool she may or may not have been,

but I am guessing that she was consulted...
and given that it's an appropriate place for it .

But I will confirm that,


---Rita Lennon:
Okay... during our stakeholder meeting,
 that was how it was presented to us.

Michael Parker was also at that meeting... so... Michael,
if you're still here with us and you have a different...

[laughing]  my memory sometimes changes
over time... as I guess all of our's do.

Michael, you were there June 3rd...
Michael Tulino... you were also at that meeting.

So, just to give you a brief history, the... it's been... the STAR's...
you know, the division of STAR haven't... would say that...

anyway... who has reviewed any human subject
protection... or clinical trials or research studies

that have come... like a proposal
that's come to the college...

they have always been the team who
review it... and then approve it... or don't.

So, it's moving away from human subject
protections because we don't really have

interventional studies
 that we do here at the college.

It's more behavioral... and this is more about the
research design... the way that the study is designed

and if it's ethically designed
 or not, versus protecting human subjects.

Okay... well, we'll go ahead and move on.

So, just to let you know, this is a 21 day review... so,
if you do have any more comm... Lisa, you have a question?


---Lisa Werner:
Oh, yeah, sorry about that.

So how does this affect, for example,
 in some of our science courses,

we sometimes have students do experiments on
each other... I mean... like measure heart rate,


---Rita Lennon:
right?


---Lisa Werner:
Or run out and find other people on campus
 and measure their heart rate.


---Rita Lennon:
Yeah.


---Lisa Werner:
Is that in the mix with this at all?


---Rita Lennon:
Yeah, that would be... that would go through a process
 called minimal risk or moderate risk,

and it would be evaluated to see if we need
 to have an ethics committee review it.

And that's the thing is... if we do design a study
that does... is more than minimal risk,

it will need to have an ethics committee such as the
University of Arizona's Institutional Review Board

would take a look at the design and
the ethics around the study and approve it.

And then that would go to to the college... it would go
to STAR... the approval of the IRB and the design,

and then they would be reviewing just...


---Lisa Werner:
what I'm talking about... these are things that are in existing
classroom labs... and they're were like a one day thing.

Students design a study and...


---Rita Lennon:
right... so, just to let you know that Jennifer Katcher
was there for representation of your team?


---Lisa Werner:
Okay, well that's true then... okay.


---Rita Lennon:
And she didn't really seem to have too many
 concerns about what you guys are currently doing

and how that would affect you
or change what you're doing.

Great question, though... because we do that too...
we design clinical trials all the time in my program

and then we run them on unsuspecting...  [laughs]
I'm just kidding... they're all expecting.

Okay... I see that we are on our last thing
 and I apologize... we are over time.

But... Brooke, you are on...
 for senator elections.


---Brooke Anderson:
Great... so it looks like a good thing to end on...
just to to move us forward to our next meeting,

these are just some general reminders
that this is the month we start elections.

So, remember that half of our divisions are elected
this year... and then the next half next year.

So, just an update for everybody... the divisions
that have seats up for election are as follows:

adult ed, communication, library,
 social science, humanities and education,

student success and workforce development.

So, I will be sending out through Rita... call for
nominations next week and that'll stay open.

I'm thinking probably just timing wise
until about the 21st, probably.

So that there's some time to kind of look at if we need to
kind of do some recruiting... if we don't get enough interest

or if we're good to go ahead
 and move on to the election process.

The elections, remember, happen in our divisions among division
faculty... and that'll take place early in April through email. 

And then we will have our new senators for the next year,
announced in May... that started the timeline.

Couple reminders... remember that if you are a senator in
one of those divisions and you want to continue... fantastic.

Remember to nominate yourself so that
you can continue in that seat.

Adult Ed has two full time seats and one part time.

Remember, every division has a part time seat and then for
every 10ish faculty... rounding up... there's a seat for senators.

So, communication actually
dropped to 50 full time faculty.

So, that means we'll have 5
 instead of 6 full time seats.

Those are not all full right now, anyways...
neither were the adult education seats.

So... we'll be recruiting for 5 communication
senators... and then the 6th part time person.

Library has 1 seat and 1 part...
1 full time seat and 1 part time seat.

Social sciences, humanities and education have 3 seats
for full time and 1 part time senator.

Student success...because Denise is in the role...

And, also in social science, actually, the part time seat will not
be up for election, because officers are serving in those roles.

Sarah is one of our social science senators...
and so, that part time seat will not be up for election.

And so, the student success
 will just be for the part time position

and then workforce development... because Brandi is serving as an
officer, will have 1 seat up for election for full time and 1 part time.

Ideally, right... full time faculty are filling full time seats and part time
faculty are filling part time seats, but that can vary depending on demand.

And then also remember that if there are more faculty
in your division interested in seats than there are seats,

you can represent another division.

So anyways, just a few reminders
 about elections and the timelines.

And I say Kiddos in
 Mary's window, hello Kiddos.

And that's kind of an update... if you have any questions
 about the election process... feel free to reach out.

And we will get those nomination forms
out to everyone next week.

And I think that's a wrap.


---Rita Lennon:
I like it... she said the words... those are my
words to say... I'm kidding.  [laughs]


---Brooke Anderson:
You can repeat them.
[laughs]


---Rita Lennon:
No... no... I'll just ask for a motion.
How about that?

I'm not getting any chat...
always happens to me.

Okay.
[laughs]


---Dr. Christina Waddell:
I motion to... yeah, we got it.


---Rita Lennon:
Okay... motion to close...
and we have a second.

Thank you so much.

All right... everyone have a wonderful weekend.

See you March 11th
 for a topic to be determined.


---Dr. Christina Waddell:
Thanks.


---Unknown:
Thanks everybody.


---Rita Lennon:
Buh bye.
Thank you.