Steering Committee Chairperson Dr. Steven Dahlke called the second regularly scheduled meeting of the Academic Senate to order at 3:10 PM. The meeting was held in a hybrid format, with attendees both in M136 and on Zoom. Chairperson Dahlke chaired the meeting from M136.

I.             Attendance

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

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 September 21, 2021 meeting

Chairperson Dahlke used unanimous consent to approve the minutes (Attachment A). There were no objections.

IV.         Communications from:

A.           President Christine Mangino

The Senate received President Mangino’s October 2021 report. 

President Mangino began with an enrollment and budget update: enrollment is currently down, which has budget implications. President Mangino is working with faculty governance leaders and committees to think through how to approach the $18 million dollar budget deficit creatively. She will discuss this further at the State of the College address with updates from the cabinet in November.

The college is working with students who are taking in-person classes and have not yet completed their vaccinations. There are only about 100 students who still need to provide proof of vaccination (some are mid-process, and some have yet to begin), which is down from 3000 just a few weeks ago. President Mangino is waiting on guidance from CUNY about when students will be issued a WA for failure to provide proof of vaccination. The goal is that no student will be penalized through TAP for the WA. For students taking hybrid classes the situation is more complicated: the college could give a grace period for those students who are only coming to campus for the final exam or who have already completed the in-person portion of their course. President Mangino thanked IT and Health Services for their work on this.

Students were wiped clean of debt from CUNY and were now able to apply for an appeal to have their financial aid money cleared. There is also funding available to students through the QCC Fund Foundation Board.

President Mangino encouraged the campus community to wear masks in class, except when teaching. So far there have been no cases of students getting COVID on campus.

16% of students have engaged with the student climate survey and President Mangino thanked ST100 students who are completing it in class. There will be staff climate survey in the next few weeks as well.

President Mangino referenced Dean Michael Pullin’s Title V grant to help support students in the classroom as well as QCC as the site for a Truth and Racial Healing Transformation Center. Lastly, she announced that accommodations for working remotely expire on 12/31/21 and there is no talk from CUNY about renewing them.

B.           University Faculty Senate

Senator Tai offered a brief report from the UFS: it included alerting senators that the UFS is working on library systems and technology (specifically the acquisition of Blackboard as the CMS) and eLearning. She also discussed the UFS resolution expressing solidarity with the faculty at College of Staten Island, who rejected the governance plan proposed by their president.

C.           Steering Committee

The Senate received the Steering Committee’s report for October 2021.

Chairperson Dahlke highlighted the annual reports submitted to the Steering Committee this month including the Committee on Committees and the Committee on Food Insecurity, which submitted an outstanding report that highlighted the meaningful work that committee is doing and the volunteers campus-wide that make that work possible.

V.          Annual Reports of the Committees of the Academic Senate

Chairperson Dahlke offered the annual reports from the Committee on Committees and the Committee on Food Insecurity to the senate as informational items. Senator Tai spoke on behalf of the Committee on Food Insecurity, specifically past chair Jonathan Cornick, who wrote the report, past secretary Elizabeth DiGeorgio, and current chair Ashlie Klepper. Senator Tai thanked all those who donate, including the Social Sciences Department for making office space available to the pantry, as well as student volunteers, and PTK members. The new location of the pantry has allowed it to serve more students, which is important because student needs have also increased. The pantry partnered with the Hope Center at Temple University to help survey the campus: 59% of students experience food insecurity, 40% in the last month. They also experience housing insecurity and have been impacted by the pandemic. 55% of students were not aware of some of the resources available on campus.

VI.         Monthly Reports of the Committees of the Academic Senate

A.           Committee on Curriculum

The Committee on Curriculum offered a brief informational item: English 103 is no longer offered by the English Department so every prerequisite of English 103 has been changed to English 101.

B.           Committees on Academic Development and Elective Programs and eLearning

Senator Apkinar spoke on behalf of the committee, who were proposing a change in the PNET Evaluation Form of faculty. The new evaluation form for online/partially online classes was developed after survey results from the spring 2021 semester. Three questions from the old form that the survey found were not helpful were changed to cover all forms of online teaching. The new questions came from suggestions from faculty. Senators questioned the need for two different evaluation forms (one for face to face classes and one for hybrid/online classes). Since the new form would need to be voted on at this meeting so that it could be implemented this semester, Chairperson Dahlke reminded senators that the form can pass, even temporarily, and continue to be revaluated in future semesters. A motion was made, seconded and adopted 49-6-3 to approve proposal for Change in PNET Evaluation of the Faculty.

VII.       Old Business

Dean Arthur Corradetti brought to the floor two documents: one was the revised strategic plan and framework and the other the operational plan that includes indicators to measure how well the college is doing to reach its outcomes and goals. This is just the first operational plan, for this year only, and aims to reach a 40% three-year graduation rate, a 75% retention rate, and to close some considerable equity gaps. Senator Pecorino asked how the plan relates to the budget situation and Dean Corradetti answered that retention would help budget efforts. Dean Pullin added that the new Title V grant was also well aligned with this strategic plan. A motion was made, seconded, and approved 62-0-1 to approve the Strategic and Operational Plans.

VIII.     New Business

A.           The Senate was presented with a proposal for naming the food pantry. A motion was made, seconded, and adopted 51-1-3 to permanently name the food pantry The Lucille A. Bova Food Pantry.

B.           Senator Pecorino announced that the fall Faculty Executive Committee meeting would be on October 27.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:12 PM.

Zivah Perel Katz, Secretary

Academic Senate Steering Committee