Faculty Senate Meeting
July 14, 2003
Minutes

Members Present:  Robert Larsen (Presiding), Roger Bowles, Del Bullock, Tinker Clift, John Falkenbury, Frank Gentry, Renelle Gray, Aniruddh Hathi, Mike Huneke, Linda Jaster, Mark Long,  Linda Martin, Tracy Marshall, Jean Norwood, Amy Patrick, Lee Poehls, Greg Poston, Stephen Range, Steve Roessler,  Lynn Tilden, and Richard Wheet. 

President’s Meeting – Corrected vacation accruals (handout), the e-mail sent campus wide earlier this semester was incorrect.

 SCHEDULE OF VACATION LEAVE ACCRUALS FOR FULL TIME EMPLOYEES EFFECTIVE JULY,1 2003 

The carry over is a little more and we get an extra 1.5 days a year vacation.

U.T. Tyler will be offering courses here on campus. They will be teleconference type of classes. You will get residency credit as well as having a professor in real time to answer questions. The schedule of classes are during the work week but Elton made it clear that anyone who wants to take these classes will be able to work their schedules around them.  The classes will be via Interactive Television in TSTC Waco’s distance learning room located in Room 119 of the Aerospace building.

for more information

http://www.uttyler.edu/schedule/fall03/FALL03SCHEDULE.PDF

for handout material

http://waco.tstc.edu/uttyler/index.html

For those who don’t want a technical education they are talking to UT Tyler about a Masters in Business Administration.

New hours for the swimming pool on campus this is in response to the differences in the single students as apposed to the students with families.

On Monday pool closed

Tues  11-7 Everybody

Wed   11-3 Everybody            3-7 Adults only

Thur   11-7 Everybody

Fri      11-3 Everybody            3-7 Adults only

Sat     11-7 Everybody

Sun    11-3 Everybody            3-7 Adults only

Validation data from systems for the 03/SU semester are in.

As of now there in now no 2004-2005 calendar and there will not be one until we get some definite answers from the co-board in Austin, about what constitutes a semester, what constitutes a week, etc. It seems the co-board doesn’t want to put it into writing.

New hires as of September 1, 2003 will get no benefits until after 90 days of employment. They will accrue vacation time. This is a cost saving measure put out by the State. If hired before the 1^st of September then they will be grandfather in under the old system.

A COP was approved and passed, making library materials to those in Palacios and Fort Bend. This was one the things that SACS wrote us up for. We had no procedures for making our education material available to our remote campuses.

Procedures for gifts, bequests and contributions it hasn’t all been approved yet but it is going to all be done electronically. It will be a better tracking of donations for the campus.

Leadership and managerial skills for TSTC Waco supervisors, this will be used for professional development day. Topics are Managing work priorities, setting identifiable goals, proactive listening, moving from conflict to collaboration, personal strategies, navigating change. Similar to the connections training of several years ago.

COP for a student meal plan. With the new service provider on campus all new students living in single student housing will be required to purchase a 5-meal a week plan. There has been a great deal of trouble keeping a good food service on campus this will help insure that they will be able to maintain a profit margin.

There is as yet no Summer graduation speaker. They would like to have a successful alumni to speak. If you have someone from your technology that has made a name for themselves in their field and would like to speak contact Eliska Beaty in College Relations 867-3049.

The rec center is replacing all the carpet areas with ceramic tile.  The carpet is only four years old and already stained beyond cleaning.

Further information on the budget is forthcoming as well as the letters with actual amounts.

July Agenda:  

Public safety- Chief Harlan was at the presidents meeting but the questions to be brought up before the Chief had not been forwarded to Bob. Chief Harlan did say that all speed limits unless posted are 30mph.

Senators are asked to canvas their departments about question that we can put before the Campus Public Safety so that it will clarify their role on campus. Questions are to be given to Senators to be brought up and discussed in the August meeting so that we will be able to invite Chief Harlan to the September meeting to redress these issues.

Since Richard Wheet is now the president elect there is a need to fill his slot as parliamentarian for the remainder of the fiscal year. Steve Betros has indicated that he would be happy to serve this. office. There were no other nominations .A motion was made and seconded and a verbal vote was taken with no opposition and no abstentions. Steve Betros is now Parliamentarian. 

Gerald Collum has come up with an alternative calendar but it has not been brought forward yet.

New Business:  Six months ago Mike Huneke attended a meeting at systems office to develop a new SOP regarding pay based on certification and to discuss the discipline process. After two days the main sticking point systems H.R. wants to keep the process they have now of being able to no renew the contract with no reason giving. Rich Morris said it was not a negative employment event. Employees have no recourse for non-renewal. The faculty wants to be given a reason for non-renewal. After two days everyone agreed to this change except systems. Representatives from Marshall, Sweetwater, Waco, and Harlingen all agreed that it was a manageable workable system that if a contract was non-renewed there would be a reason given. This opens up a process by which a person that received a non-renewal could dispute the system. Everyone left the meeting thinking that this new SOP was a done deal.  Elton Stuckly approved it, also the Dean of Instruction from Marshall, Harlingen and Sweetwater were there and they approved it. The heads of HR from all the campus all agreed that it was a workable plan. Since then Systems has sat on it which means that they approved just to get everyone out of the meeting and then let it drop.  Point was made that HR gives no recommendations or reasons for a non-renewal and that stand made for a negative employee event. As a prospective employer would see a non-renewal for a department closing the same as a non-renewal for not doing a good job.

Resolution has been brought forward with 6 points that if a employee is not renewed then administration must show why. This resolution will be voted on at the August Faculty meeting.

Attendance for the last three or four months to be checked and a note sent to the dept. chair of senators that have not been attending asking  if their department still want to participate in the senate.

Faculty senate has about $3000 left in the budget . It has been proposed that the Executive committee set a date, time and place for a faculty BBQ.

Meeting Adjorned 6:13