GRAND RAPIDS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING
http://www.grccfaculty.com
September 4, 2009

Call to order: F. van Hartesveldt called the meeting to order at 6:33 a.m., 120 ATC

Present: S. Abid (for M. DeVivo), N. Alexander, R. Barnhart, L. Burris, M. Campo, F. Conner, A. Cook, D. Cope, K. Danko, B. Garlough, J. Greer, J. Hesse, H. Hoare, D. Huisman, R. Kladder, S. Knoppers, P. Laureto, A. Lussky, B. Manker, R. Montes-Sutton, B. Morris, J. Neumann, M. Parsons, L. Pierson, R. Rayla, J. Russell, A. Saldivar, J. Spoelman, D. Terhune, F. van Hartesveldt, D. Wabeke, G. Zeeff, F. Zomer.

Absent: D. Folkert.

Approval of agenda: Approved as written, with the move of RCC and Retiree Update to the September 18 agenda.

Approval of Faculty Association meeting minutes from May 1, 2009: Approved as written.

Presentations from the floor: L. Pierson is replacing W. Acevedo-Ferrer; D. Wabeke and J. Russell are repeating terms as Council Representatives. H. Hoare is expecting a child due in December.

Secretary’s report:

• A thank you from Pam Laureto for the plant sent after the passing of her father.
• A thank you from Chris Foster for the donation made to Sacred Heart Church in memory of her father. A thank you from Sacred Heart Church.
• A thank you from Steve Abid for the flowers sent after the passing of his father.
• A thank you from Bob and Chris Arnold for the flowers sent on behalf of Eleanor Arnold.
• A thank you from Brian Morris for the donation to Hospice of Michigan in memory of his father.
• A thank you from Kelly Gessler for the fruit basket sent after her surgery.
• A thank you from Judy Bezile for the fruit basket sent after her surgery.
• A thank you from Joan Gearns for the fruit basket sent after her surgery.
• A thank you from Dominic Mattone for the fruit basket sent after his surgery.
• A thank you from Maryann Lesert for the flowers sent after the passing of her father.
• In addition this summer P. Phifer’s daughter, Velester Lathrop, passed away; R. Gani had heart surgery; A. Heckwork had a child; R. Duffy, retired, passed away; and S. Wynkoop retired.
• Requests for flowers or an appropriate contribution in the event of death or hospitalization should be sent to Nickie Alexander. For details about who qualifies or to send the request electronically, go to http://www.grccfaculty.com/flower.htm.

President’s report including possibility of VERP, Academic Summit results, and Faculty Council reorganization:

• A retirement workshop reviewing changes in health care benefits is being held on September 12 in Detroit. Contact F. van Hartesveldt if you are able to attend; costs will be covered by the Association.
• Because of events during the week of President Ender’s investiture, Academic Advising day has been changed from October 20 to October 27. Classes are also canceled the afternoon of the investiture, October 22. You may still run your classes that afternoon, but you must notify the Provost’s office. Whatever your plans, inform your students.
• Full time faculty numbers are up a little to 269. Adjunct numbers have increased again a lot to around 575. Each year, there is verbal support for increasing the numbers of full-time faculty, but every year more and more adjunct faculty have been hired.
• If your classes have been overloaded, please notify F. van Hartesveldt. If a class is guaranteed to run but then is canceled, you should be paid in full for it unless you agree to forgo pay or run it prorated.
• Some faculty members have been told they cannot tell students about sources to buy books other than the GRCC bookstore. That is not true. Other bookstore issues include recommendations of materials the faculty member does not support, not having enough books, and not notifying students far enough before the semester starts of required books.
• The political action committee has a balance of $578.91.
• Academic Summit data were sent to Faculty Council and department heads/program directors with a request to prioritize the twenty themes that resulted. If the Academic Summit continues to work, the priorities should be acted upon. Prioritization should be completed by the end of December.
• Administrators are exploring the details of a possible voluntary early retirement program (VERP), although there has been no commitment in writing. One concern is that too many people might take it, draining the college of knowledge and experience. To slow the drain, the VERP could be spread over two or three years and/or might be seniority based. Another concern is the need for a commitment that retiring FT faculty would be replaced with new FT faculty, not with adjuncts. A VERP could save the College $2 – 3 million. If you are considering retirement, you should also consider opting for a 42 year contract next year (see Article 7.Z of the contract).
• Discussion is underway about a possible reorganization of Faculty Council. The college and Council have gotten very large, so that there is more reporting and less discussion than in earlier years. Reorganization would take a constitutional change. If interested in participating in this discussion, contact Katie Danko.

Discussion items:

1. Selection of Negotiating Team chair and approval of team members

• F. van Hartesveldt recommends past chair, J. Spoelman, to remain as Chair. R. Montes-Sutton, J. Doane, and N. Alexander remain. L. Burris, grievance officer, sits in but is not a member. K. Danko has joined in a recording role. Membership is limited to three to five faculty members.
• J. Hesse made a motion to accept the recommendation; R. Kladder seconded. All in favor and motion passes.

2. Negotiations report – contract roll-over?

• We are in the third year of our contract. Talks started this summer about rolling the contract over for one year, and an offer was recently received to continue the same percentages into the next year. This would mean a freeze in the overload rate and a 2% increase on everything else.
• The reason for continuing the freeze on overload for FT faculty has been questioned. Adjunct already get paid more for overload than FT and this will increase the gap.
• Dr. Ender’s comments on Learning Day about the sustainability and the need to study employee pay should not be interpreted that faculty members are overpaid. In every contract negotiation, comparables are used, and GRCC faculty pay is consistent with similar Michigan colleges. A bigger, more difficult issue in the next negotiation will probably be the concept of pay for performance.
• The contract offer will be emailed to all faculty. Representatives are to communicate with faculty in their departments and programs. To discuss and answer questions, an Association meeting will be held September 11 at 9 a.m. If there is support, the offer will be set for a ratification vote.
• If the contract is extended, negotiations will likely not occur in 2009-10.
• Memos of understanding do need to be updated, but they probably will not be addressed with the rollover.
• Pay increases will be from 1.1% to 2% depending on the amount of overload you have. If you have no overload, the raise will equate to 2%. The more overload you have, the less of a raise you would receive.
• Concern was expressed about the two-tiered system of full-time and adjunct faculty. The college saves money when FT faculty teach more overload, yet the college hires more adjuncts to meet enrollment demands. The costs of adjuncts are high. These include hiring, orienting, parking, and office space, yet overall support of adjunct faculty is inconsistent and below that for full-time faculty.

3. Start-up problems

• Issues should be sent to F. van Hartesveldt.
• Sneden Hall transition has gone very smoothly.

4. Committee reports – new IT committee, financial support for Retirees’ Quarterly?
• As a result of the IT reorganization, a new committee is being formed to work directly with IT to make IT better for faculty and students. Those interested in participating should contact F. van Hartesveldt.

Grievance report (including grievance history)

• Grievance 177, in which a retired faculty member was not allowed to select the maximum number of contact hours, is going to arbitration.
• Grievance 180, in which a faculty member seeks the right to continue to teach as part of base load a particular class, is going to a third party neutral hearing.
• Grievance 183, in which an adjunct faculty member was removed from class as a result of student complaints, was resolved by the faculty member’s resignation and an explanatory record in the personnel file.
• As a result of student complaints, the employment of three other adjunct faculty members has been affected. One resigned, and two others, both retired faculty, were advised that they would not be offered classes. Students are more active in reporting concerns, our culture is more sensitive to comments, and administrators are more willing to act on student complaints. All faculty should remind students to bring concerns to faculty before bringing them to the administration.
• A FT non-teaching faculty member was called in about concerns of job performance. A Professional Improvement Plan (PIP) was drafted, but not enacted pending a job study. Subsequently, a similar, additional job position was posted to handle the workload.
• A non-teaching FT faculty member was called in to discuss concerns about job performance, and a PIP was enacted. This was an issue primarily of pedagogy that probably could have been resolved informally, but was not.
• A FT teaching faculty member was the subject of a PIP and a corrective action notice. The corrective action notice addressed a conflict of interest, which the faculty member disputes. The improvement plan primarily addresses communication issues.
• If you take a leave of absence that extends beyond the number of sick days you receive per year, an employer can require you to go on FMLA.
• A faculty member wanted to pay the entire amount of an orthodontist bill up front and get reimbursed. ASR wanted the faculty member to submit a payment and reimburse each month. This issue will likely come up again.
• There has been a long standing issue over faculty member’ ability to take half sick days. Two faculty members decided over the summer not to file grievances over this issue.

New Business: Submit items for the next Faculty Council meeting to F. van Hartesveldt.

Next Meeting: Faculty Association meeting Friday, September 11, 2009 from 9 – 10:30 a.m. at 200 Music Building (the recital hall); Faculty Council meeting Friday, September 18, 2009 at 6:30 a.m. at 120 ATC

Adjournment: Motion to adjourn D. Cope; seconded A. Saldivar. Adjournment at 8:17 a.m.