PRESENT: G, Avent, P. Bagley, E. Bateman, A. Emerson, J. Emerson, M. Fenger, P. Fox, G. Goicoechea, M. Harper-Harrison, C. Hyslop, L. Hyslop, P. Josey, J. Karr, M. Kuhl, K. Martin, M. McFarlane, C. McMullen, R. McNally, B. Murphy, L. Owens, C. Pyatt, J. Rice, J. Shaw, R. Siler, J. Smith, P. Smith, J. Stringfield, S. Sweetwater, M. Swetich, G. Tenney, M. Van de Ven, P. Warren, J. Williams

ABSENT: J. Allison, R. Barton, J. Blach, D. Borino, L. Brown-Wilson, R. Byram, P. Collins, J. Cox, F. Daniels, K. Dimick, V. Easterly, C. Ferry, S. Garcia, S. Hawkins, D. Hoem, L. Horton, R. Jahns, R. Kampf, F. King, J. Licht, L. Mahlberg, E. McCombs, M. Myrhow, E. Nickel, P. Normandie, S. Popeck, M. Ports, J. Pryor, L. Reber, N. Remington, B. Sanford, K. Schwandt, G. Smith, B. Tenney

OTHERS PRESENT: Brian Dankowski, ASB; Betty Elliott, VP for Academic Affairs; Jan King, Sierra Nevada College

1. ATTENDANCE: Silent roll was taken. Chair Marilee Kuhl declared a quorum present.

2. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 1:20 p.m.

3. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS: Chair Marilee Kuhl welcomed everyone to the meeting. Vice President Elliott was introduced and addressed the Senate.
   1. Need for adding a new position-Assistant to the Vice President - This proposal was brought before Senate early last fall for support. This request has been placed before Senate at this time for final approval before initiation. Senate approved the generation of this position upon hearing the following points:
      1. Duties of individuals already in Instruction include: Alice Horton, Administrative Support to the Vice President; Marsha Holford, Secretary for Social Sciences/Humanities Division; Pauline Fisher, Satellite Education - Telecourse Coordinator; Shirley Chantril and Penny Ronk, Administrative Aid to Grants; and Assistant Vice President Cliff Ferry whose position oversees grants and School-to-Work(Careers).
      2. Gary Corderman has resigned effective December 31. Gary will be taking annual leave until that time. Betty Elliott will monitor duties of that position in the interim. Senate faculty members expressed concerned that one person may not be able to actively oversee the educational centers along with the other duties expected. Vice President Elliott will take this concern into consideration when determining the job description.
      3. The Chancellor's Office has asked GBC to actively pursue its selected 4-year degree programs to be in place within two years. Financial preparation is a necessity. Dr. Remington, Betty Elliott and other administrators will be meeting with Chancellor Jarvis and Vice Chancellor Jane Nichols to request 100% funding for faculty positions. With this funding at 1200 FTE, 24 faculty positions would be needed.
         1. All technical programs will remain intact.
         2. Sierra Nevada College will continue on the GBC campus and will continue to counsel students on an individual basis to determine the program which addresses their career goals. Sierra Nevada will look at the feasibility of developing a secondary emphasis which GBC will be unable to offer.
         3. Cliff Ferry will be responsible for monitoring 4-year education degrees at GBC. He will be the contact person for teacher education which involves counseling students and will also work with faculty and staff. The title, "Dean of Four-Year Programs Institutional Effectiveness" has been suggested for Cliff's new position.
      4. With Cliff's change in job title, the title of Assistant to the Academic Vice President is available. External recruitment will be initiated.
      5. Concern was raised by faculty members that individuals from GBC were notified of Cliff's position change at a meeting in Reno the week prior. Vice President Elliott stated that this was a breach of confidence by the individual who made the statement and that the official announcement was pending final approval. Cliff was, however, advised to begin off-loading some of the grant activity.
      6. Stan Popeck will be the college representative for School-to-Work(Careers); Bob Jahns will report directly to him.
      7. John Rice, who served as part-time faculty mentor, has since moved out of the position. The new Assistant for Academic Affairs will be responsible for overseeing these duties.
      8. Funding for the new position will come from academic support funds, Gary Corderman's position, and part-time project monies.
   2. Discussion continued following the departure of Vice President Elliott. A summary of items discussed is given.
      1. To be informed at a open meeting in Reno of the change in positions for Cliff Ferry is very inappropriate.
      2. Even though UCCSN's push for us to begin our four-year programs as soon as possible came rather unexpectedly, it is not unforeseen since need for teachers in Nevada is tremendous as seen through state legislative figures.
      3. Vice President Elliott is overloaded with work; she will listen as concerns are brought to her attention, whether anonymously or in public forum. With the very recent resignation of Gary Corderman, it is unclear exactly what type of hire is actually needed to assist with academic affairs.
      4. The purpose of Faculty Senate on any college campus is to maintain academic quality but some issues which directly affect this quality have not been discussed during formal Senate meetings. Most issues are discussed privately among individual departments or during private conversations. Strengthening individual programs in terms of quality vs generation of FTE must be addressed. Although the need is recognized and Senate support is given, the job description or execution of duties for administrative or clerical personnel is not a Senate responsibility.
         1. Some faculty feel some decisions about class scheduling are being made without consulting Faculty or taking their opinions into consideration. In some situations it is felt that FTE has been more important even if the class scheduled will not have the quality impact for which the student is paying. Such issues as proper retention of what is being taught, fatigue of the student, fatigue of the instructor, etc., are not taken into consideration when some courses are added to the roster.
         2. Shifting to a quality vs. quantity precedent for Senate will be difficult since Senate has been very accommodating in the past. However, with the upcoming institution of the four-year degree programs, it is essential that Faculty decide what is or is not damaging to individual programs on campus.
         3. GBC will be adding 4-year programs over the coming years.
            1. Residential campus housing must be addressed. Presently architectural plans are in process and the Foundation personnel are exploring funding possibilities.
            2. Proof of the four-year program must be established to change the faculty ratio which would change the sabbatical funding. An important point is that not all 24 of the expected faculty hires need to be doctoral prepared. According to the findings of the 4-year Program Committee last year, those individuals holding Ph.D.'s would come into the institution at a community college pay scale and those current faculty holding a master's degree would be under no pressure to acquire a doctorate. There is no real material incentive for pursuing a Ph.D. since work requirements would remain the same.
         4. The college mission statement does not mention FTE. FTE is a budgeting formula made by and for accountants.
         5. Individual departments are requested to meet and bring together a list of issues which need to be addressed with possible solutions for Senate recommendation at the December 12 meeting.

4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the September 26, 1997, meeting were unanimously approved.

5. SENATE CHAIR REPORT: Chair Marilee Kuhl reported the following:
   1. Regent's Review Publication - Jill Derby has instituted a bi-monthly publication of the Board of Regents of UCCSN. The first issue mentions GBC's 30th anniversary and Dorothy Gallagher's 50th wedding anniversary.
   2. Board of Regent's Meeting held at CCSN - Las Vegas:
      1. The Nevada K-16 Collaborative Program for Academic Success was discussed. (Since the Regent's meeting faculty from GBC attending a meeting in Reno will be sharing information in their divisions.)
      2. Salaries for the Chancellor and the Presidents were approved. A study will be conducted by personnel from the Chancellor's office in December pertaining to salaries of all UCCSN employees.
         1. The Las Vegas Review Journal recently released an article listing salaries of the top 100 employees employed by the state of Nevada. The Journal had requested the salaries for all UCCSN employees from the Chancellor's office.
      3. Jeanne Blach and Russell McMullen presented the GBC Foundation Audit Report.
      4. Dr. John Richardson, Acting President of TMCC has become the President of TMCC.
      5. The Regent's Award Program offers students opportunities to work the community while attending college classes.
      6. A video was presented depicting academic experiences of students on all UCCSN campuses. The difficulty of students transferring from a community college to a 4-year program was discussed. Students expressed concerns about size of classes and individual counseling differences when transferring to a larger university setting.

6. COMMITTEE REPORTS:
   1. Academic Standards - Written report submitted; unanimously approved.
   2. Budget - None
   3. Compensation and Benefits - Written report submitted; item two was approved with items one and three unresolved for the following reasons:
      1. Policy and Procedure Manual - Committee was informed there were more changes to be made, report will be submitted at the next Senate meeting.
      2. Faculty Workload Policy - Committee recommended no changes at this point for non-teaching faculty. A non-teaching faculty member was opposed to this recommendation. The individual will meet with the committee and Stan Aiazzi to discuss changes.
   4. Curriculum and Articulation - Written report submitted; the report was approved with the exception of BUCK 101/102B. The committee had previously recommended it be initiated as a RPED class whereupon Stan Aiazzi addressed the committee proposing that the course correlates directly to the rangeland management program as opposed to a rodeo class. Senate asks the committee to review the class to find a more appropriate prefix, review the course syllabus, and evaluate the academic merit as opposed to recreatational merit for the course. Those classes pending Senate approval are listed as "Articulation in Process" in the roster.
   5. Distance Education - Written report submitted; unanimously approved.
      1. Clarification was made that telecourses will still include viewing video tapes; however, communication and additional assignments will be added with the installation of online technology. Online will not begin until each satellite center has at least one computer in place for student use. This will additionally increase the pay ratio for the instructor as telecourses need 30 students in order for the class to be held whereas online classes are paid according to the number of students enrolled.
      2. The committee will begin to look at individual property rights. The committee welcomes questions and comments.
   6. Facilities - Written report submitted; unanimously approved.
      1. Senate was informed that architects will be on campus December 3 to discuss plans for the $2.5 million McMullen remodel. Anyone interested in attending is to contact the Facilities Committee to acquire an invitation.
      2. Patty Fox recommended that the plaques along the wall in the CCC be moved and redisplayed to make better use of the area. This change will allow the Art Department and other Departments to display work by their students. The bulletin boards currently used by the child center would be relocated to the cafeteria. Comment also stated that the prints in the cafeteria are quite dull and perhaps those may be replaced with student work as well.
   7. Faculty and Administrative Evaluations - None
   8. Personnel - No written report submitted; the committee recommends the approval of sabbatical for Ralph Siler for the 1998-99 Academic year. The Senate unanimously approved.
   9. Scholarship and Awards - Written report submitted; unanimously approved. Senate was reminded that Star Night will be held Friday, May 8, in the College Theatre.
   10. Student Relations - None; A Faculty Survey was distributed concerning the LRC hours; the survey will be distributed to students as well.
   11. Four-year Degrees - None; Cliff Ferry met with the committee to update the progress on the upcoming 4-year programs. At this point, no new information is known. He has been submitting reports to the College of Education in Reno with no response although he has had contact with Jane Nichols. The committee wishes Cliff to specifically articulate whether or not there is progress and what that progress is.

7. OLD BUSINESS: No old business was brought forth.

8. NEW BUSINESS:
   1. Computer Lab Use Policy - A handout was distributed listing the rules for use of the computer labs on campus. Concern was raised for those courses which only require computer access one time during the semester. The policy reads that those non-COT students who wish access are to pay $10. It was initially agreed that anyone using the computer labs would contribute toward supplies, software licenses, maintenance, and lab tech wages. The exception to this is the Critical Skills Lab who pay for their own supplies. It is felt that even if a class uses the lab minimally, it is worth the $10 in allowing the students to learn a program. This item will remain under discussion. Individuals who have comments are asked to submit them to Larry Hyslop. The policy will be up for approval at the next Senate meeting.
   2. Phi Theta Kappa - Regina O'Shea-Hockett will not continue as the advisor for the next academic year. Suggestions for advisors are welcome. Any full-time or part-time Faculty member may qualify. Please submit the names to Janice King.
      1. The Phi Theta Kappa Induction will be held Saturday, December 6. Everyone is encouraged to attend.
   3. Internet Address - A proposal has been made to change the GBC web address to www.gbcnv.edu. Alternative suggestions need to be submitted to Jeff Cox immediately. This is in an effort to become our own entity and to relieve the load currently held by the hub at UNR.
   4. 1998 Regents Awards - Consist of a Teaching, Research, and Creativity award. A minimum of two and maximum of three names may be submitted by GBC. Deadline for submission is December 1.
      1. Dr. Jack Smith was nominated for the Teaching Award.
      2. Sarah Sweetwater and John Rice were nominated for the Creativity Award.
   5. GBC Mascot - It is recommended that Senate come up with suggestions for our college mascot. A committee headed by Karen Martin will take and review suggestions. Final recommendations will be brought before Senate for approval.
   6. GBC 30th Anniversary - Festivities will be held, Saturday, November 15, from 10 am - 2 pm. Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend. The Child and Family Center will be open for people to tour.
   7. GBC Christmas Party - A committee headed by Cindy Hyslop will be formed to make the arrangements. Dates of December 18 and 19 were suggested. Several individuals suggested a replay of last year's party at the Western Folklife Center. Help from individuals is greatly appreciated.
   8. Honorary Associates Degree - Nominations are due to Dr. Remington by December 31. Senate is asked to think of nominations and bring them to the next Senate meeting.
   9. Outstanding Faculty, Student, and Staff Awards - Ed Wright, Computer Services, was nominated for the Outstanding Staff award. Jill Stringfield was nominated for the Outstanding Faculty award.
   10. Faculty Senate Web Page - This item will be discussed at the next Senate meeting. The issue involves placing the not-yet-approved minutes and committee reports on the Internet vs. E-mail.

9. PUBLIC COMMENT:
   1. Senate would like to recognize Juanita Karr for the recent Senatorial Citation she received as rendering exemplary services to libraries. Six of these awards were issued in the state.
   2. Faculty Art Show is displayed in GTA. Several of these items are for sale.

10. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 3:26 PM. Next meeting will be held Friday, December 12th, at 1:15 pm.