The Skyline College Academic Senate has been in discussion for two semesters about changing the dates and times of senate meetings. The reasons for wanting to move away from a Friday meeting time include:
1. Large number of Friday conflicts including faculty conferences, holiday weekends, and professional development opportunities.
2. “Lag” time in being able to communicate vital information from the meeting to constituents.
3. General engagement of faculty and ability to reach a quorum at the end of the work week.
On September 25, 2013, the senate tested out a Wednesday 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. meeting, and on February 6, 2014 they tried a Thursday 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. meeting. A Tuesday, March 26 test meeting from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. has also been planned.
On Friday, February 28, the senate discussed the test results and determined that enough information had been collected from the test meetings to vote on a change of date. Effective Fall 2014, the Academic Senate will meet on 1st and 3rd Thursdays from 2:10 to 4:10 p.m.
(M: Fredricks /S:Ghanma /U). The remaining test date of Tuesday, March 26, 2014 will be kept so as to minimize confusion of further calendar changes for the membership this Spring. All remaining meetings for Spring 2014 will continue on Fridays as scheduled.
It is hoped that this new time block will result in higher attendance at senate meetings and greater dissemination of information. The time block also aligns with that of the College Budget Committee (2nd and last Thursdays), which the Senate President must co-chair, and the Institutional Planning Committee, which will merge with CBC and which the Senate President must attend. President Leigh Anne Shaw would like to thank the current senate membership for the careful deliberation and thoughtful discussion of this change. As always, all faculty are welcome at all senate meetings, and we look forward to an even more engaged and powerful faculty senate coming in Fall 2014.
Article by Leigh Anne Shaw