September 20, 2007
Members Present: Myrtho Blanchard, Kate Blackwell, Sheri David, Lisa Donaldson, Charlie Errico, George Gonchar, Bruce Mann, Mitch Markon, Nicole McBeth, Sima Otsuka, Van Robertson, Charles Scarborough, Sherrill Wharff, David Williams, and Nancy Wyatt.
Members Absent: Frances McDonald, Jennifer Reynolds
Guests: Nancy Crippen and Ginger Primus
1. Call to Order: Alison Baker called the meeting to order at 2:05 p.m.
2. Review and Approval of the Minutes: The minutes were approved as distributed.
3. Committee Organization:
A. Alison called for nominations for committee chair. Charlie Errico was nominated. There being no other nominations, Charlie was elected by acclamation.
B. Charlie took the chair and called for nominations for vice-chair. Mitch Markon was nominated. There being no other nominations, Mitch was elected by acclamation.
C. Charlie explained the roles of the two subcommittees: the faculty subcommittee, which, in addition to considering issues unique to faculty ranked personnel, acts as the nominating committee for the President’s Sabbatical Award; and the classified subcommittee, which, in addition to considering issues unique to classified staff, acts as the nominating committee for the Classified Emeritus Distinction. It was moved and seconded to create the faculty subcommittee, and the committee unanimously approved the motion. It was moved and seconded to create the classified subcommittee and the committee unanimously approved the motion.
D.
The Committee’s membership is to include nine teaching or professional
faculty with at least one from each campus; seven classified staff with one
from each campus, one representing college staff, plus an HR representative ex officio; and three administrative
faculty. The Vice President for Finance
& Administration serves ex officio
as executive secretary to the committee.
At this time, there is no faculty representative from the Medical
Education Campus and there are no classified staff members from either
4. Agenda for 2007-2008: The following agenda items were suggested:
A. An enhanced retirement program similar to that which was briefly available in 2004.
B. Salary increase methodology for faculty.
C. Working conditions of “virtual faculty.”
D. Stipends for some assistant deans.
E. Using sick leave to care for non-marital significant others.
F. Increasing the participation of junior faculty in college governance.
G. Classified compensation programs – Issues of internal promotion.
H. Notification of supervisors prior to implementation of market increases.
I. Increases for classified staff acquiring new knowledge, skills and abilities.
J. Continuation of market salary studies.
L. Faculty salary caps.
M. Compressed work-weeks other than in summer.
N. Scheduling construction not to interfere with teaching.
O. The impact of budget reductions on the College workforce.
P. Increased workload due to increases in enrollment.
5. Physical Education Teaching Workload: Nancy Crippin of the Physical Education Department at the Woodbridge Campus was a guest at the meeting. She was joined by Ginger Primus of the Alexandria Campus. She explained a determination of VCCS Academic Services that VCCS Policy 5.3.0.2b must be enforced within the Physical Education Discipline. The policy reads: “Credit may be assigned to the activities as follows: b. Laboratory – two to five academic hours, depending on the discipline, of laboratory, clinical training, supervised work experience, coordinated internship, or other similar activities per week, generally for 15 weeks, plus the evaluation or examination period, equals one collegiate semester-hour credit.”
The VCCS reads this policy as precluding laboratory activities that meet less than two hours per week. PE courses across the VCCS were set up at the time of the change to semesters so that a one-credit-hour class met for one hour of lecture and one hour of lab. A two-credit-hour class met for two hours of lecture and one hour of lab. Reading the VCCS policy to bar laboratory of less than two hours appears to mean that the lecture portion of these classes must be reduced or eliminated to allow for longer laboratory times.
Because of this change, scheduled to go into effect with the Fall Semester 2008, PE faculty will see a significant increase in their basic workload because laboratory hours count as only half the workload that lecture hours do. What we pay adjuncts for a class will also decline, suggesting that it will be very difficult to find adjuncts willing to work for so little pay. The situation becomes more complicated because faculty members’ workloads are comprised of “teaching units” and are limited by contact hours.
The committee agreed that this issue has implications well beyond Physical Education where one-hour laboratory activities are also common. This kind of structure is also common in Music and in Art. PE classes often serve as enrollment offsets for the smaller classes in Music and Art, and this will be affected. From the presentation, it appears that little thought was given to either the academic impact of such a change or the practical impact on the hiring and retention of faculty, both full and part-time.
Charlie agreed to write to Dr. Dever and President Templin urging the College to look into this new interpretation of policy. The committee suggested at the least that NOVA seek to postpone implementation for at least another year while the policy change’s impact can be further analyzed. Beyond that, NOVA should work for a change in the policy or for an exception for physical education. This issue is the same for all of Physical Education across the VCCS. It is not just an issue at NOVA.
6. Future Meetings: We will meet on October 25 and November 15 as a committee of the whole; the subcommittees will meet on December 13 to review applications and nominations for the President’s Sabbatical and the Classified Emeritus. Unless different information is provided, these meetings will take place in the Provost’s conference room on the Annandale Campus.
7. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 3:50 p.m.