http://www.grccfaculty.com

September 19, 2008

Call to order:  F. van Hartesveldt called the meeting to order at 6:32 a.m., 120 ATC.

Present:  R. Barnhart, J. Hesse, L. Burris, M. Campo, D. Cope, L. Crossman, K. Danko, M. DeVivo, J. Doane, D. Folkert, B. Garlough, J. Greer, H. Hoare, S. Knoppers, P. Laureto, B. Manker, R. Montes-Sutton, B. Morris, J. Neumann, K. Owens (for F. Zomer), M. Parsons, R. Ralya, A. Saldivar, D. Terhune, F. vanHartesveldt, G. Zeeff. 

Absent:  W. Acevedo-Ferrer, N. Alexander, J. Berlin, F. Conner, A. Lussky, J. Russell, J. Spoelman, D. Wabeke.

Approval of agenda:  Approved as written.

Approval of Faculty Council minutes from September 5, 2008:  Approved as written with a few grammatical items under Negotiations report.
 
President’s report:

• N. Alexander recently suffered a stroke.  It is unknown at this time how long she will be out, but it is known she has started talking and walking.  Long term effects are unknown at this time.  Her family is requesting no visitors at this point, but cards can be sent to her home.  Contact F. van Hartesveldt for her information.
• Due to scheduling conflicts with J. Spoelman and J. Fox, the pay calculation informational meeting scheduled on 9-19-08 was cancelled.
•  There is a new faculty evaluation program that is being offered as a pilot program.  This program is a three year process.  The older process is still available.  Documents for that process are located in the College Information folder on the S drive.
• If you have outstanding issues with IT, forward them to F. van Hartesveldt.  The Provost said she will address the issues with Administration. 
• Issues of overpayment were discussed.  They include the following:

• Full time faculty sick days are reserved for base classes and classes split between base and overload.  The number of sick days allowed for overload classes is limited to the number of days the overload classes meet.
• In the past the College has overpaid full time faculty members by paying sick days for absences in overload classes after the faculty members had used all their overload sick days.  Approximately 6 to 10 faculty were affected, and in one situation Payroll recouped the overpayment from the faculty member’s bank account without notice. 
• IT is working to account for the number of sick days that faculty use, allot them to base load or overload, and keep track of when all overload sick days have been used so as not to overpay faculty sick days for overload.  The target date is January, 2009.
• Faculty members are responsible to repay overpayments and are encouraged to contact Payroll if they notice an overpayment.

New IRS regulations effective in January 2009 impose reporting requirements on employers who allow payroll contributions to sheltered annuities (403 B plans).  West Michigan employers, including GRCC, will retain a third party administrator/consortium to handle the recordkeeping required by the IRS.  As a result, some of the annuity vendors that GRCC offers will change.  If your annuity company is not part of the consortium, you will have to pay them directly rather than through GRCC payroll contributions.  A list of vendors is forthcoming.

• Medicare will phase out private fee for service plans.  Currently, under Medicare Advantage you can buy additional coverage after you retire.  When this option is phased out, the cost of traditional coverage will increase and the eligibility age will be pushed back.  If you retire under MPSERS, you have Medicare as your primary coverage and MPSERS as your secondary.  At 67, you will be charged for Medicare unless you have equal or better coverage. 
• September Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting reported the following:

• A presentation from M. Light on the AGC.
• B. Partridge reported on the consortium of 403 B plans and a tax capture issue related to how outlying communities can capture some of the GRCC revenue for their use.  Our BOT can limit the amount and duration that local communities can capture.

• The ATC will be renamed the Wisner Bottrall Applied Technology Center on October 16.  It was discussed whether the event would disrupt classes.
• The Foundation has stated there is a list of scholarships available at their website.

Discussion items:

1. GRCC Presidential Search
1. The new search committee includes a more diverse group and includes more faculty members.  However, there are fewer external community members.
2. Of the three previous candidates, the one from Alpena has dropped out. 
3. The Press recently ran an editorial critical of the search process.
4. Timeline for new applicants is October 31.
2. Committee Reports – Ethics.  Association officers met with the AGC faculty ethics committee and reached an agreement on language for the new faculty Code of Ethics.  A primary concern was that the AGC ethics language might cross into terms and conditions, specifically job duties and discipline, of collective bargaining.  The new language states the AGC ethics process will be reached by mutual agreement of the AGC faculty committee and the Faculty Association.  The next stage is a vote at AGC. 
3. RCC and loss of Capitol Services - With the loss of Capitol Services, the issue whether to keep involved with RCC or not.  This item will be put on the future agenda.
4. Minimum requirements of evaluation - Contractually, you must meet with your evaluator and come to an agreement about professional development. 

Grievance report:  L. Burris reported the following:

1. Grievance 175 is from a group of faculty members who are required to submit time sheets.  There is no agreement and the faculty want to take it to the next level.
2. Grievance 176 is related to a denial of an IIPD grant.  A written response is expected shortly.
3. A grievance is likely from a retired faculty member who sought more classes than assigned.

New Business:  Submit items for the next Faculty Council meeting to F. van Hartesveldt.
Next Meeting:  Friday, October 3, at 6:30 a.m., 120 ATC.
Adjournment:  Motion to adjourn J. Hesse, seconded by D. Cope.  Adjourned 8:11 a.m.

Submitted by K. Danko, Secretary.