- QCsenate - Queens College Mailman 3 Archives

[QCsenate 0079] QC Academic Senate meeting today 13 February canceled
by Roberta Brody 13 Feb '14

13 Feb '14

The Queens College Academic Senate meeting today, 13 February, is canceled. Roberta Brody, PhD Chair, QC Academic Senate Professor, GSLIS Queens College, City University of New York 6530 Kissena Blvd Queens, NY 11367 Roberta.Brody(a)QC.cuny.edu<mailto:Roberta.Brody@QC.cuny.edu> bobbybrody(a)aol.com<mailto:bobbybrody@aol.com>

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[QCsenate 0070] Change in Pathways policy on contact hours
by Christopher Vickery 11 Feb '14

11 Feb '14

All — As the email below indicates, Pathways courses need no longer adhere to the “3 contact hour rule” that caused so much consternation when the whole Pathways initiative was being forged into existence. This has particular implications for English composition, foreign language, and laboratory science courses. GEAC, the UCC, deans, and most (if not all) departments have already received copies of this announcement. But the senate at large should be aware of the change so it can start developing a coordinated response. Chris Vickery -- Dr. Christopher Vickery, Director Office of General Education The College http://gened.qc.cuny.edu<http://gened.qc.cuny.edu/> To: College Presidents and Deans As you will recall, the June 2011 Board of Trustees resolution on Pathways stipulated that all of the “Pathways policies and processes, including the Common Core, be reviewed and evaluated each year for three years beginning in 2013, and every three years thereafter, to modify them as necessary to improve them or to meet changing needs.” This year, we did not yet have the data for a full review, but it was possible to consider implementation policies. To that end, we arranged last fall for an informal review involving faculty members from the key disciplines of the natural sciences, English, and the humanities, as well as representation from the University Faculty Senate. Participants were asked to consider areas in which implementation could be improved at this still-early stage in Pathways adoption while adhering to the original Board resolution. Participants quickly reached consensus on three changes: 1) The University will no longer specify a limit on course hours in Common Core areas. The Common Core model calls for a 30-credit curriculum, and this will remain in place. However, beginning in fall 2014, colleges can determine how many hours to allocate to courses in the Common Core and will have discretion to allocate hours to courses as they choose, in keeping with college practices. 2) To date, colleges have been able to seek a waiver if a major or degree program cannot be accommodated within the Common Core framework. Such waivers have been generated by the CUNY Office of Academic Affairs. Waivers have been sought in particular in the cases of certain STEM programs or licensed programs of various kinds, where it has proven to be unusually difficult to accommodate 30 credits of general education spread across the eight areas of the Common Core. In such cases, programs can be helped by allowing the designation of particular courses within the Common Core areas or the College Option. This practice will continue; efforts will be made to ensure that every college is fully aware of the waiver process. 3) Faculty members serving on the CUNY-wide Common Core Course Review Committee (CCCRC) will be chosen through college governance processes, beginning with those identified to serve during the 2014-2015 academic year. I believe these changes are consistent with conversations we have had about Pathways. Interim Executive Vice Chancellor Julia Wrigley will be in touch with your chief academic officers to provide additional guidance on implementing these changes. The ongoing review of Pathways will continue next year when more data are available. William P. Kelly Interim Chancellor|The City University of New York 205 East 42nd Street, 18th floor|New York, NY 10017 646 664-9100 tel|646 664-3833 fax

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[QCsenate 0069] THIS SEMESTER's last Academic Senate meeting
by Roberta Brody 11 Dec '13

11 Dec '13

Dear Colleagues, I'm afraid my previous note was just a bit too brief: Tomorrow is this semester's last Academic Senate meeting. As you know, there are four QC Academic Senate meetings scheduled for next semester. They are: February 13, 2014 March 6, 2014 April 10, 2014 May 8, 2014 [Also: the first meeting of the New Senate for the following Academic Year 2014 - 2015 will take place on May 15, 2014 ] bobby brody Roberta Brody, PhD Chair, Academic Senate Professor, GSLIS Queens College, City University of New York 6530 Kissena Blvd Queens, NY 11367 Roberta.Brody(a)QC.cuny.edu<mailto:Roberta.Brody@QC.cuny.edu> bobbybrody(a)aol.com<mailto:bobbybrody@aol.com>

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[QCsenate 0068] Reminder: TOMORROW'S Academic Senate Meeting
by Roberta Brody 11 Dec '13

11 Dec '13

Dear Colleagues, This is just a reminder that tomorrow is the last meeting of the Academic Senate; usual time and place - Kiely 170 at 3:35. I look forward to seeing you all. bobby brody Roberta Brody, PhD Chair, QC Academic Senate Professor, GSLIS Queens College, City University of New York 6530 Kissena Blvd Queens, NY 11367 Roberta.Brody(a)QC.cuny.edu<mailto:Roberta.Brody@QC.cuny.edu> bobbybrody(a)aol.com<mailto:bobbybrody@aol.com>

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[QCsenate 0067] Three faculty members elected by Senate to Presidential Search Committee
by Roberta Brody 08 Dec '13

08 Dec '13

Dear Colleagues, On Thursday, December 5 at a Special Limited Meeting, the following full-time faculty members were elected by the faculty members of the Queens College Academic Senate to serve as the faculty representatives on the Search Committee for President of Queens College: Professor Jeffrey Halperin in the Psychology Department Professor Irving (Lenny) Markovitz in the Political Science Department Richard Maxwell in the Media Studies Department This action was in compliance with the Board of Trustees request in October 2013 to the Queens College Academic Senate that they elect three faculty members to serve on the Presidential Search Committee and in keeping with Article IX of the Queens Colleges Academic Senate Bylaws and Section XII of the Queens College Academic Senate Charter, the QC Academic Senate. Roberta Brody, PhD Professor, GSLIS Queens College, City University of New York 6530 Kissena Blvd Queens, NY 11367 Roberta.Brody(a)QC.cuny.edu<mailto:Roberta.Brody@QC.cuny.edu> bobbybrody(a)aol.com<mailto:bobbybrody@aol.com>

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[QCsenate 0066] Reminder: THIS THURSDAY 12/5 Election of Presidential Search Committee
by Roberta Brody 03 Dec '13

03 Dec '13

REMINDER: Faculty representatives from Queens College will be elected to the Search Committee for President of Queens College by a majority of the faculty senators at a Special Limited Meeting of the Academic Senate which will take place on December 5, 2013 at 3:35 in Kiely 170. Please note: There is a regularly scheduled meeting for all other Senate business on December 12, 2013. Roberta Brody Chair, QC Academic Senate Roberta Brody, PhD Chair, QC Academic Senate Professor, GSLIS Queens College, City University of New York 6530 Kissena Blvd Queens, NY 11367 Roberta.Brody(a)QC.cuny.edu<mailto:Roberta.Brody@QC.cuny.edu> bobbybrody(a)aol.com<mailto:bobbybrody@aol.com>

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[QCsenate 0065] Nomination Petition: Search Committee for QC President
by Roberta Brody 01 Nov '13

01 Nov '13

The Search Committee for President of Queens College is being formed. Full-time faculty members who are interested in serving on the committee may nominate themselves by completing the nomination petition on the QC Academic Senate website at http://www.qc.cuny.edu/Academics/AcademicSenate/documents/nomination%20peti… Additional nominees will be identified by the College Personnel and Budget Committee. Under the Academic Senate Charter (Section XII), the Academic Senate Bylaws (Article IX), and the Presidential Search Guidelines of the Board of Trustees; three faculty representatives of Queens College will be elected to the Search Committee by majority vote of the faculty Senators. This will take place at a Special Limited Meeting of the Academic Senate on Thursday, December 5. The deadline for receipt of completed petitions by the Office of the Academic Senate, (Kiely Hall Room 141A) is noon on Monday, November 25, 2013. Please note: There is a regularly scheduled meeting for all other Senate business on December 12, 2013. Roberta Brody Chair, QC Academic Senate Professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Studies

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[QCsenate 0064] Special Limited Meeting December 5, 2013: Presidential Search Committee
by Roberta Brody 30 Oct '13

30 Oct '13

As required by the CUNY Board of Trustees Presidential Search Guidelines, the QC Academic Senate Charter (Section XII) and the QC Academic Senate Bylaws (Article IX), a Search Committee for the President of Queens College, which includes faculty members, is being formed. Faculty representatives from Queens College will be elected to the Search Committee by a majority of the faculty senators at a Special Limited Meeting of the Academic Senate which was decided upon by the Academic Senate Executive Committee and which will take place on December 5, 2013. More details, including copies of the Nomination Petition for Search Committee for Queens College President will be posted shortly. Please note: There is a regularly scheduled meeting for all other Senate business on December 12, 2013. Roberta Brody Chair, QC Academic Senate

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[QCsenate 0063] UFS Executive Committee Response to recent CUNY-AAUP Dialogue
by Roberta.Brody＠qc.cuny.edu 17 Oct '13

17 Oct '13

What follows below is today's message from the University Faculty Senate Executive Committee regarding Pathways Roberta Brody Chair, QC Academic Senate Professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Studies Queens College, City University of New York 6530 Kissena Blvd. Queens, NY 11367 Roberta.Brody(a)QC.cuny.edu (work) bobbybrody(a)aol.com (home) ======================= To: <UFS-NEWS(a)listserv.cuny.edu> From: William Phipps <William.Phipps(a)cuny.edu> Date: 10/17/2013 02:34PM Subject: UFS Executive Committee Response to recent CUNY-AAUP Dialogue ======================= UFS Executive Committee Response to Communications from Former Chancellor Matthew Goldstein To the AAUP on Pathways General Education Reforms Several memos have been exchanged between the AAUP and the CUNY Chancellery concerning the Pathways Initiative and matters of academic freedom and shared governance. Many of former Chancellor Matthew Goldstein's statements about this subject are inaccurate or misleading; furthermore, many portray the CUNY faculty in an unfairly negative fashion. The most recent communication<http://cunyufs.org/A/MGoldstein%20lttr-%20to%20AAUP-6-21-13-5.pdf> is that of June 21, 2013 in response to a communication<http://cunyufs.org/A/Robert%20Kreiser%20email%20to%20Ch%20Goldstein%20June%…> by AAUP official Robert Kreiser, who called the Chancellor's attention to the "Resolution in Support of Faculty Control of Curriculum at the City University of New York" adopted at the AAUP Annual Meeting on June 15, 2013. On behalf of the CUNY faculty, we are responding to the most significant statements in Chancellor Goldstein's June 21 letter. A point-by-point response<http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/SocialSciences/ppecorino/Articles/Response-Chancell…> by one member is also available. On CUNY Faculty Despite Chancellor Goldstein's claim that the Pathways Initiative was faculty driven, no University-wide or campus faculty organizations or governance bodies were the initiating or driving forces behind Pathways, nor have any been supportive of Pathways at any time. Despite Chancellor Goldstein's claim that ". . . a bare majority of the full-time faculty voted against Pathways, thereby demonstrating what we already knew - that the faculty is divided on the issue," the overwhelming majority of the faculty is opposed to Pathways. Over 92% (3,996) of the more than 60% of eligible full-time faculty (4,322) who participated in a no-confidence vote<http://www.psc-cuny.org/pathways> cast their vote against Pathways; this referendum was organized in 2013 by the Professional Staff Congress and conducted by the American Arbitration Association. Statements by the Chancellery implying faculty support for Pathways are misleading. Even when faculty members worked on developing or revising courses for the Pathways curriculum, they did so under implicit and, sometimes, explicit coercion. Many faculty who worked on the Pathways curriculum at their colleges report that they did so because they believed they had no other option, because they were told and believed that if they did not do so administrators or outside consultants would create the courses, or because they were threatened in some way. Some of those on the most influential of the curriculum committees have recanted their positions and many have signed statements opposing Pathways. The use of coercion and threats on some campuses to secure faculty cooperation has been reported on in local and national press<http://www.cunyufs.org/Press%20coverage.pdf>. Furthermore, many CUNY faculty bodies, academic councils, and governance organizations have issued statements either critical of or unambiguously opposed to Pathways, or both. On Transfer In his June letter and elsewhere, Chancellor Goldstein claims that with regard to undergraduate transfer problems, "Until recently, faculty governance bodies did not even acknowledge the problem, much less propose any solutions." This assertion is false. The UFS adopted resolutions and held a University-wide conference on this topic. The UFS participated in the approval of University policies from 1965 to 1999 that addressed transfer issues. In fact, despite explicit instruction in 1999 by the CUNY Board of Trustees to the Chancellery to enforce these University policies, no action to do so was taken by the Chancellery. These Board of Trustee resolutions had been posted on the CUNY website but have recently been removed by CUNY; nonetheless, they can be found at the UFS website here<http://www.cunyufs.org/CUNYBOTTransferPolicies.pdf> and in the original Minutes of meetings of the Board. The Chancellery's assertions about alleged faculty inaction on transfer issues is one way the Chancellery justifies its decision to bring policy recommendations to the CUNY Board of Trustees without faculty involvement, approval, or support. Indeed, Chancellor Goldstein claimed that "Clearly, action was required by the Board of Trustees and the Chancellery, which possess a university-wide perspective and are not primarily answerable to a particular college or department, to break this logjam and put the legitimate interests of the students first." On Excess Credits The Chancellery asserted that Pathways was necessitated because of problems with student transfer and claimed that its data support the need for unilateral action. However, the data does not, in fact, support the Chancellery's claims and, to the contrary, indicate that Pathways will have little or no impact on the existence or size of any excess credits when students graduate with a baccalaureate degree. This is the case because such excess credits are mostly due to students' change of major, sometimes several times; students' transfer from outside the University; students' decision to double major and to have multiple minors; students' late selection of a major; and personal interests. UFS Chair Terrence Martell of Baruch College, in his report<https://sites.google.com/site/universityfacultysenatecuny/UFS-blog/pleasese…>, The Real Motivation For Pathways? It Can't Be Transfer, <https://sites.google.com/site/universityfacultysenatecuny/UFS-blog/pleasese…> posted Dec 5, 2012, explains that If you subtract the mean of excess credits not related to transfer from the six CUNY related transfer categories and weight each of the six by the number of graduates in each category in the chart, the number of excess credits attributable to transfer is 2.66 credits! All the controversy, all the threats, all the law suits, all the negative impact on faculty morale and governance, all "The Improving Student Transfer at CUNY" is about less than one course! CUNY is eviscerating the core curriculum of 17 community and senior colleges in the name of improving student transfer at CUNY when we are talking about less than one course. See, also, the PSC/UFS report<http://www.cunyufs.org/WhereistheData.pdf> "Where is the data?' For another perspective as to the true driving force behind Pathways, see the article<http://psc-cuny.org/clarion/october-2012/austerity-education-real-agenda-pa…> Austerity Education: The Real Agenda of Pathways by Barbara Bowen, PSC President. Furthermore, the Pathways Initiative and its dismantling and revision of General Education at every CUNY college, even those whose General Education programs won national awards or whose General Education programs were revised within the previous years, do not address students' accumulation of credits. Pathways will not significantly reduce the number of students' excess credits nor will its reform of general education best serve the students of the University. Pathways will not even resolve or remove all the other problems connected with transfer. Instead, it weakens the academic preparation of CUNY students for lifelong learning and professional advancement throughout their careers and undermines the faculty's respect for the Chancellery and for the CUNY Board of Trustees. -- William E. Phipps Executive Director University Faculty Senate (UFS) City University of New York 205 East 42nd Street, Room 1014, NY, NY 10017 phone: 646 664 9032<tel:646%20664%209032> ***************** CUNY Faculty Senate http://www.cunyufs.org/ 205 E. 42nd Street Room 1014 New York, NY 110017 <>

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[QCsenate 0062] Change of date -Senate Executive Committee meeting: October 3
by Roberta.Brody＠qc.cuny.edu 18 Sep '13

18 Sep '13

Dear Colleagues: As announced at last week's QC Academic Senate meeting, the next Executive Committee meeting has been changed from September 26, 2013 to October 3, 2013 because it would have conflicted with a religious holiday. The next meeting of the QC Academic Senate is as scheduled, on OCTOBER 10, 2013. bobby brody Roberta Brody Chair, QC Academic Senate Professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Studies Queens College, City University of New York 6530 Kissena Blvd. Queens, NY 11367 Roberta.Brody(a)QC.cuny.edu (work) bobbybrody(a)aol.com (home) 718 997-3790

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