Faculty Senate Advisory Meeting Minutes

Tuesday, 23 January, 2007

 

In Attendance: Dr. Sarah Pappas, Dr. John Rosen, Peg Beck, Courtney Ruffner, Jeff Grieneisen, Dr. Ray Hundley, Dr. Susan Finlay, Pegi Hunt-Evans

 

Dr. Pappas announced the building of the new Technical High School in Venice

·        It will provide a rigorous math, science, and technology curriculum (she reiterated that it’s a high school and not an institute).

·        Future potential for MCC

·        Dr. Pappas discussed the potential of a joint use building similar to the USF arrangement at MCC Venice.

 

Dr. Pappas announced that Community Colleges can now offer certain bachelor’s degrees (the universities were suing)

·        Our chancellors agreed that MCC would offer nursing, teaching

·        Our answer: because of the 2+2 agreement with USF, we will not offer any

 

Dr. Pappas reported on “The Pappas Report” (a completely different Pappas, Alceste Pappas of Stamford, CT), which “blasted” Florida Universities

·        According to the report, colleges should become stand-alone (like Venice and USF, for example).

·        Some community colleges will morph with universities to become these stand-alone institutions.

 

Peg Beck presented two documents:

           

  1. Drug-Free Campus Program which has been in place for a while

·        This is a state requirement

·        Document has been updated for currency in language and statistics

·        Introduces a set of procedures (for example, educating annually re: drug awareness)

 

  1. Drug-Free Schools and Campuses Program

·        We are to share doc. with faculty and solicit responses by Feb. 23

 

(Currently, we do not do everything under Drug-Free Workplace, since

            that would require pre-employment drug screening of all new hires.)

 

Drug-Free Schools and Campuses Program:

 

New Procedure: Enforcement of drug testing for “reasonable suspicion” as outlined in section II, Policy, because the college has “not been able to act” on employees who are sincerely believed to have drug or alcohol problems.”

 

Testing will be with a lab, and will be initiated by reports which are then taken to Human Resources. Human Resource Officer ultimately decides on the merit of the accusation and requires the test as per Peg Beck.

 

Discussions/Recommendations:

 

·        Student Participation: whether students are subject to the same conditions re: “drug-free” principles.  Most information relates to employees but sometimes “student” is mentioned.

(a)    perhaps students could sign an agreement upon entering the college that would make “drug-free” equitable among all campus inhabitants.

·        Education: we have not been annually distributing information to educate but will begin doing so now.

(a)    We will ramp up the biennial review as per section  I.C.(b).

·        Word choice of II.A.c., specifically whether “reliable and credible source” is specifically definable and appropriate.

·        Definition of “reasonable suspicion” is lifted from the “drug-free workplace act.”

·        We can distinguish “legal intoxication” from simply drinking since one can drink in a legal capacity; for instance, having a drink with lunch is not the same as becoming intoxicated.

·        The motion that the Faculty Senate President be apprised of suspected faculty violations prior to testing was dismissed as being too much of a union-type set-up.

·        Document should list Employee Assistance part first, and THEN violations; this would demonstrate that the college’s intent would be to help first and only impugn if necessary.

·        The question was raised: new employees who do not abide by the contract and sign receipt of the policy will not be hired, but will current employees be dismissed? Some discussion ensued over the presence of a drug/alcohol statement currently in place in the signed annual and continuing contracts.

 

 

Results:

·        The college attorneys are reviewing the Drug Free document.

·        Faculty Senate will solicit feedback re: the Drug Free document that can be quantified by the beginning of March

·        MCC’s Drug Free Policy will be adopted July 1, 2007

n      General notice will be sent in April, 90 days prior to contracts

 

            à Meeting ended with an update on the faculty senate restructuring regarding the change in status of librarians/career employees. We will raise the issue of change at the next faculty senate general meetings.