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April 18, 2008

Call to order:  F. van Hartesveldt called the meeting to order at 6:31 a.m., Multipurpose Room, 234 SSC.

Present:  W. Acevedo-Ferrer, N. Alexander, R. Barnhart, J. Berlin, C. Bristol (for K. Dobreff/B. Morris), L. Burris, F. Conner A. Cook, L. Crossman, K. Danko, M. DeVivo, J. Doane, B. Foster, D. Godfrey, J. Hayes, H. Hoare, D. Huisman, B. Keelean, S. Knoppers, B. Manker, R. Monaldo, R. Montes-Sutton, J. Neumann, M. Parsons, R. Ralya, J. Russell, J. Spoelman, A. Saldivar, D. Terhune, F. van Hartesveldt, M. Vargo (Guest).

Absent:  M. Campo, D. Cope, P. Laureto, D. Wabeke, T. Walwood, F. Zomer. 

Approval of agenda:  Approved as written. 

Approval of Faculty Council minutes from April 4, 2008:  Approved as written. 
 
Faculty presentations from the floor:  A request has been made from the Grand Rapids Education Association to promote a slate of candidates for the May 6 Grand Rapids School Board of Trustees election.  F. van Hartesveldt distributed cards and will email all faculty with the candidate names. 

Secretary’s report:   A thank you note was received from Chris Foster for the flowers recently sent. 
A note of thanks was received from A. Bowen for the donation made to the Julian Memorial Fund.  A note of thanks was received from Bobbi Dean for the flowers sent after the passing of her husband. 

Negotiations report:  J. Spoelman reported the following:

• Current agenda item involving discussion on the overload limit attached to the sabbatical policy.  Currently, there is no contractual limit on taking overload while on a sabbatical.
• Talks continue on getting some resolution on how the adjunct professional development fund is going to be dispersed.
• Work is still being done on the calendars.  The delay is related to scheduling around two Monday holidays during the summer.
• The first of several Contract Information meetings is scheduled for April 18 from 12 to 1 p.m., in the ATC auditorium.  The topic is longevity training and service and tuition reimbursement. 
• The Nursing department is moving ahead with year round scheduling.  An MOU was recently drafted and reviewed.  While it will be a pilot program, it may serve as a model for other departments interested in this type of scheduling. 

Grievance report:  L. Burris reported the following:

• A possible grievance involves an incident in which a laptop was taken from a faculty member for three days in order for it to be investigated.  The faculty member had called IT stating the computer was performing slowly.  IT examined the computer and found children’s game software installed.  An anonymous complaint was then made to the Ethics Hotline and IT took the computer to Campus Police for further examination.  Nothing illegal was found and the laptop was returned.  The faculty member has requested a written apology from HR, but that was refused.  Questions remain why IT took the computer to Campus Police and why it went through the Ethics Hotline.  HR’s response has been that a grievance would be too late under the contractual time limit.  
• Grievance #173:  This case regarding a faculty member denied partial money from an IIPD grant is being reviewed.
• Grievance #172:  This case is related to a faculty member who was denied professional expense reimbursement for expenses related to teaching and incurred during spring break.  The issue is whether the trip was primarily a vacation. 
• Grievance #174:  This grievance is related to an adjunct faculty member teaching one-half time or more and seeking full GRCC tuition reimbursement.  The reimbursement was prorated according to past practice, but the contract grants the benefit and is silent about prorating.   
• A grievance may be filed regarding mileage reimbursement.  The contract states that the College will adjust the mileage reimbursement rate based on the IRS rate change, but the past practice of the College has been to only adjust it at the end of the fiscal year. 

President’s report:

• Retro pay will be paid on May 2, 2008. 
• Recent department head elections have concluded.  M. Vargo is the new department head in Behavioral Sciences, and all others up for election have been reelected.
• Administrator evaluations were recently sent out.  Please complete by May 9.  Discussion took place about the statement that says non-constructive criticism will not be passed on to the administrators being evaluated.  It may be unfair to administrators to not see all comments and for Institutional Research to screen them.
• Under the new contract language, tuition deferment can be requested for GRCC classes taken by faculty.  There are some forms that need to be completed prior to the start of the class.  HR states that deferment cannot be taken for dependents and spouse due to IRS implications.  This issue is being further investigated.
• Discussion continues on the ability for adjunct faculty to create flexible spending accounts.  The administration has provided letters from the provider and legal counsel that FSAs can’t be set up for adjunct faculty.  It was discussed whether they may be able to at least have FSAs for dependent care even if not for medical. 
• There is no resolution on how the adjunct professional development fund will be dispersed.  Since the end of the year is near, the Faculty Association is advocating for it to be distributed soon.  Administration has suggested that this year’s amount roll over until next year.  However, this is not how the funds were negotiated.
• The job opening for a summer student worker has been posted.
• J. Neumann recently met with the bookstore to discuss faculty concerns.  It was stated that it is up to the faculty member to get the extra material associated with a class removed from the website if he or she does not want it shown.  The bookstore also stated that the check boxes that are automatically marked when students select a class on-line is part of Follett’s software and they cannot control it.  It was suggested that the bookstore should not be recommending anything, as it is a conflict of interest.  If problems persist in the Fall, action maybe taken. 
• The Scholarship committee will be meeting on 4-18-08. 

Discussion and action items:

• Committee Reports
• Nominating:  J. Hesse emailed that F. van Hartesveldt is running for President, N. Alexander is running for Vice President, J. Spoelman is running for Treasurer, and K. Danko is running for Secretary.  The election will be on the agenda for the May 2, 2008, Association meeting.    
• Ethics:  AGC is scheduled to vote on a proposed Faculty Code of Ethics on April 22, 2008.  Lengthy discussion took place including the following:
• Faculty concerns can be discussed on the day of the vote.
• N. Alexander and J. Spoelman met with the AGC representatives regarding the conflicts that exist between their code and items that need to be negotiated.  Some things were agreed on, but the document would have to change in order to preserve the Association’s right to bargain. 
• Possible language changes could include adding a phrase that any process to uphold the code should involve mutual agreement between the AGC, the College, and the Association. 
• The Association sees items in the AGC Ethics Code that are subject to bargaining, and so the Association should be involved.
• If specific goals are put in the contract, then that is all that some people would do. 
• There is value in having a code in order to encourage faculty to higher standards.
• The regulatory piece of the Ethics Code is the portion being objected to.  This area has the potential to cross over into bargaining issues.
• M. Vargo from the AGC presented his views.  He stated the following:  The hope was to develop a set of guidelines that all can agree on.  Ethical behavior is something that needs to be encouraged and incorporated into the fabric of the College.  The AGC tried to be participatory as much as possible but had little feedback until recently.  Additionally, the Code of Ethics might be an alternative to the anonymous ethics hotline ran by HR.  The AGC policy not only gives faculty a vehicle for talking about other faculty and ethics, but also gives them a way to bring forth ethical issues.
• Many departments expressed concerns.  The policy seems to include language that is subjective and treading on dangerous territory.  Some issues in the document are not ethical things and are things already mentioned in the contract and/or other policies such as FERPA.
• This policy can only be endorsed by the Faculty Association if language is agreed upon regarding the regulatory process.  As of now, there is no signed language. 
• It is unclear how the policy will be enforced or how it will be managed.
• After 42 years of teaching and service as Faculty Association President, Chief Negotiator, and Treasurer, this is Dick Godfrey’s final Faculty Council meeting.  Discussion took place.

RCC report:  B. Foster reported the following:

• Budget problems continue to strain the RCC. 
• The RCC wants the House to only deal with Section 115 trusts and not the medical reimbursement accounts, with the primary concern being that pre-funded accounts may be raided. 

Next Meeting:  Association meeting on Friday, May 2, 2008 at 10:30 a.m., Ford Fieldhouse.

Adjournment:  Motion to adjourn, D. Godfrey; seconded, M. DeVivo.  Adjourned 8:15 a.m.

Submitted by K. Danko, Secretary.