Steering Committee Chairperson Dr. Steven Dahlke called the third regularly scheduled meeting of the Academic Senate to order at 3:13 PM. The meeting was held in a hybrid format, with attendees both in M136 and Zoom. Chairperson Dahlke chaired the meeting from M-136. 

I. Attendance

53 votes were recorded at the time attendance was taken and 64 members of the Academic Senate were present during the meeting.

Absent:  President Mangino, Andrea Alfaro, Parisa Assassi, Nadia Baquaei, Franca Ferrari, Daniel Garbin, Shenaz Georgilis, Jonathan Janeke, Azita Mayeli, Nickolas Pirovolikos, Renee Rhodd, Barbara Rome, Magala Tawde, Jodi Van Der Horn-Gibson

II.  Approval of the Agenda

Chairperson Dahlke used unanimous consent to approve the agenda.  There were no objections.

III.  Consideration of the Minutes from the October 17th Meeting

Chairperson Dahlke used unanimous consent to approve the minutes.  There were no objections.

IV. Communications from:

A.  President Christine Mangino 

The Senate received President Mangino’s Report which was presented by Dr. Phyllis Curtis-Tweed

Dr, Curtis-Tweed acknowledged the work of Queensborough Community Cares and the recipients of the award for this year, Yang Xu, and Annette Lazaro and all the faculty present for their hard work. Dr. Curtis-Tweed encouraged everyone to look at the CETL website for upcoming programs. CUNY Teaching and Learning Conference is coming up and faculty are encouraged to attend and if possible, present. QCC is transitioning to Brightspace and she thanked faculty who will be Faculty Champions. Registration on this date is 26% higher than at this time last year. and 23.5% up for winter registration. Dr. Curtis-Tweed spoke about QCC athletes. Also, holidays can be a time of strain and stress. There will be a faculty and staff consultation hour on November 17^th at 11 AM which can help faculty who may need additional support for referring students. CUNY Tuesday is currently going on and she encourages faculty to support and donate. Dr. Curtis-Tweed acknowledged those who participated in the NYC Marathon and each participant agreed to raise $2,500.00 in support of our students. The college has received major gifts; Amazon New York donated over $25,000.00 to the Food Pantry. Grubhub increased their funding this year from $5,000.00 to $7,500.00 for the Food Pantry. The Libra Philanthropies awarded $20,000.00 to the Kupferberg Holocaust Center. The KHC has a Nazi Concentration campus exhibition on Tuesday, November 14^th at 6 PM. QPAC is having a student production of Church on November 16th and 17^th. 

B.      UFS Report

Dr. Tai discussed the transition to Brightspace. The University Faculty Senate has been collecting faculty impressions and faculty have signed up for training sessions. Dr. Tai wrote a piece for the University Faculty Senate blog, which includes links about the rollout of Brightspace. If there are any concerns about Brightspace, please let Dr. Tai know. Chancellor Matos Rodriguez was present at the last University Senate Meeting and spoke about Brightspace and new faculty lines. There was a discussion about cybersecurity and protecting faculty and student identities. 

C.      Steering Committee Monthly Report 

Dr. Dahlke acknowledged the faculty who are Faculty Champions for the transition to Brightspace and faculty who are on two college committees. On Starfish there are opportunities to discuss with students via text issues that are concerning, using the "to-do" feature. There is a QCC icon on work computers that offers up-to-the minute enrollment and retention. Dr. Dahlke spoke about donating to CUNY Tuesday and there are 14 teams and encouraged those present to donate.

V.  Election to fill Senate Adjunct Representative Seat

Nominee:  Dr. Jennifer Gliere, Music

One ballot was cast on behalf of the Academic Senate. Dr. Gliere was elected, and the term will end April 2024. 

VI. August 2023 Graduates 

•  August 2023 Graduates

         Dr. Dahlke congratulated the graduates of August 2023. 

•  December 2023 Candidates from Graduation – Vote to be taken –

         Students were asked to log off and exit the room. 

         Shall the list of Candidates for December 2023 Graduation be approved?

         The vote was unanimously approved -53-0-0  

VII. Monthly Reports

• Committee on Curriculum Report – vote to be taken

        Shall Social Sciences Department Program Revision, to add a Social Work concentration, be approved?

        The vote was unanimously approved -53-0-0

• Academic Development Committee on Student Evaluation of Faculty Survey findings

Rezan Akpinar discussed the Faculty Development Committee and its charge of evaluating the Student Evaluation of Faculty forms. In Spring 2023 there were two surveys – one for faculty and one for students. The evaluations of students revealed several key findings, but the response rate was only 15%. Some students stated that they never filled out a faculty evaluation form -- of which 60% considered faculty evaluations forms effective for assessing teaching quality. There needs to be better communication about the purpose and impact of the forms. Most students did not believe that their feedback on the form influenced future course instruction, indicating a lack of motivation to complete it. Recommendations included improved communication with the students regarding the evaluation process and adding questions about instructor accommodations and professionalism.

Faculty issues were related to faculty notification and viewing of student evaluations and ways to improve student response rate such as making the evaluations mandatory. Faculty desired professional development workshops on topics such as student retention, innovative pedagogy technological integration and inclusive teaching. 

VIII: Unfininished Business

• Special Committee on Pedagogical Response to Artificial Intelligence - Final Report

Dr. Litroff presented the final report, which has four documents that are actionable items to be considered by the Academic Senate at another time, namely the December 12^th Academic Senate Meeting. The committee defined Artificial Intelligence. Areas for which the committee needs recommendations include the need for assistance for guidance and policy both at the departmental level and at the college-wide level, involving faculty, administration, and staff. Dr. Litroff asked everyone to read the policies and to discuss them at the departmental level.

IX: New Business

• Brightspace Update

Dr. Dahlke stated that on the Senate homepage there is a tab for Brightspace Transition with helpful information and videos. Brightspace is user-friendly.

• Committee on Cultural and Archival Resources 

Professor Jessica Prepetit spoke about all the various cultural events hosted by the KHC, QPAC, the Fine Arts Department and Dance. The committee seeks to create more collaboration amongst different departments such as the English Department interweaving some cultural assignment with another department such as Arts. QPAC has been renovated and there are various programs taking place. 

 Other New Business from the Floor

• Alisa Cercone suggested having additional hours for club meetings and faculty time. Dr. Dahlke stated this would be discussed.  

• Haishen Yo stated that many students in MA 119 were not passing the course and students do not have to take this course. There are easier Math courses for students such as MA 321 and MA 301 and department chairs can place students in these easier courses and help with retention with students.

Meeting Adjourned at 4:06 PM

Philip Nelan, Secretary