Winter 2023 bird
Submitted by John.Bowers@se… on Tue, 01/17/2023 - 09:06

Updated 03/02/2023

Draft schedule for spring

Click here (opens in a new tab) to view the draft schedule for spring. Assignments are subject to change based on enrollment. We should have a confirmed schedule sometime during the week of March 20, as new students will finish with their EIs the week prior. Right now, you'll notice that the main campus, evening L2 English hybrid class remains unassigned. I'm going to wait to confirm enrollment before I assign that class. I'm also continuing to interview candidates for part-time faculty teaching this spring in case we add sections. (We added six new part-time faculty in winter.) Please encourage interested candidates to apply and/or refer them to John. 

Update on the the ESL class cap trial

In a previous blog post (below), I announced a plan to pilot capping our English classes at 25. Based on some feedback, I want to share that the pilot has changed a bit. I misunderstood the original request, which was to cap hybrid and 100% remote English classes at 25 and cap 100% in-person classes at 30. This is what we'll try in spring. Assuming the pilot proves successful, we'll start the process of formally changing the cap in the master course outlines, possibly as early as spring quarter. 

Campus climate survey by March 9

You may have already received an email on this, but I want to encourage everyone to take the campus climate survey. I took the survey myself, providing more complete and thoughtful feedback than I might have done in the past, and it took me about 20 to 25 minutes. Survey takers can enter their name for prizes!

Look for an email from View Finder Campus Climate Surveys (info@viewfindersurveys.com) in your Seattle Colleges email account. You'll see a reminder every Thursday (that's today!) until you complete it. If you don't see it, please check your spam or clutter folder.

Faculty coordination vote coming soon

As many of you know, we vote on faculty coordination positions every year. Faculty coordinators perform specific divisional duties and are paid either through a stipend or release time. Division faculty are provided an opportunity to provide input on the duties and the selection of the coordinators themselves (article 6.4.C). We typically gather that input through three votes in the spring. The first vote is on the need for the positions themselves. The second is a call for nominees. The third is a vote on the nominees.

Last year, there we lots of questions about duties and the process, and some positions were not finalized until right before fall quarter. I want to avoid that this year, so I'm going to do two things. First, I plan to hold the first vote--on the need for the positions themselves--this winter, possibly as early as next week. Second, I plan to add faculty coordination to the agenda for the spring division meeting, so we can confirm the process and I can answer any questions. More to come.

 

Updated 02/22/2023

Spring preferences due Monday, February 27

Part-time faculty should turn in their preferences for spring assignments to Teresa Yamada by close of business on Monday, February 27. We hope to have a draft of the spring schedule available to share by the end of next week.

  • Click here (opens in a new tab) to access the draft schedule
  • Click here (downloads) to download the preference form

ESL class cap trial run

Some ESL faculty have expressed interest in adjusting the class cap for our English classes. Our current class caps in English are 35. By comparison, class caps at North are 32 at all levels and caps at Central are 20 for levels 1 and 2 and 25 for levels 3 and above (per their deans). For spring, we thought we'd pilot capping all English classes at 25. What does this mean for faculty?

Pros

  • Your cap lowers. Realistically, because we have to reserve some seats for ORIA, we'll likely stop filling classes at 20 or 22.
  • You still can admit above the cap with "instructor permission."

Cons

  • More students will be assigned to waitlists, adding pressure for faculty to complete their drops in a timely manner.
  • More students are likely to be added to your class late, as drops occur. 
  • Other administrative work, like processing stipends or finalizing rosters, will likely take longer as the admin team will dedicate more time to managing waitlists.
  • Some current ESL classes may have more than 25 existing students who want to return in spring. Because we don't have a way to determine which of these students would go on a waitlist, we're not sure how to address this. 

It's hard to know what, exactly, the impact will be until we try it, which is why I support piloting this cap before formally implementing it. Thanks to Jill and others who passed this idea along. If you have thoughts, feel free to contact me directly or share with Jill in her role as division coordinator.

BTS administrative support

As everyone is likely aware, with recent departures and other leave, our admin team has been running quite thin. All of this while I hear that our enrollments are up 40% from this time last year. (Yay!) Still, several faculty have been asking about processing times for stipend payments or EI work. I want to be transparent about my expectations for our administrative work. The start-of-the-quarter priorities I have set are:

  1. Be available for student and faculty drop-in needs, calls, visits to the front desk, etc. 
  2. Ensure faculty contracts for teaching assignments are set up. Every quarter, some assignments change (or get added). After day-to-day student and faculty questions, we prioritize faculty payments for their teaching contracts.  
  3. Enroll students and get the rosters set. Again, every quarter there are many late-shows, adds, drops, switches, and other changes to the student rosters. After the day-to-day questions and teaching contracts, we prioritize rosters so students can access their classes (and so faculty have accurate info).
  4. Assist faculty with packet mailing to ensure students have materials to start class. 
  5. Apply tuition waivers so students don't receive bills in the mail (and/or get sent to collections).
  6. Catch up on payments for EIs, stipends, ordering supplies, etc. 

I welcome feedback on these priorities. I also want to be transparent and set expectations. Bottom line was that this priority list meant that some stipends and EI payments from work that took place in December did not get set up for payment until February. While there are some "behind the scenes," ctcLink reasons why I think our processes might improve a bit in spring, I'm not expecting a significant change in the pace of our administrative work until we hire a replacement for Amber's front desk position, which is still pending HR approval. Once approved, I'm expecting a hiring process to take 6 to 10 weeks. In the meantime, I'll do my best to alleviate delays as well as to communicate more fully on this until we are again fully staffed. 

BTS Pathway Maps

Just a reminder that prizes await lucky faculty who enroll in the Guided Pathways Course, and that the Guided Pathways Team is still seeking input on their pathways maps. Here's how you can help:

  1. Enroll in the Guided Pathways course: Link to self-enroll: https://canvas.seattlecolleges.edu/enroll/4RN84A  
  2. Click on Mapping Workgroup at the bottom of the page 

  3. Choose the map assignment in your specific area, review the map, and give feedback on two questions.

  4. Congratulations! By enrolling in the Guided Pathways Course, you have been automatically enrolled in a drawing for participation prizes! Make sure to check back frequently for more ways to enter contests and engage in Guided Pathways work.   

Guided Pathways thanks you in advance for your review and feedback. if you have any questions, you can email Jill McDonough or Rebecca Yedlin.

Accessibility Workshop on March 3

On March 3rd from 1-2pm, eLearning will be hosting a workshop via Zoom on accessible Word documents. I encourage you to join them to learn more about accessibility in general, and how to make sure your documents can be more broadly read by your students and colleagues, regardless of ability In this workshop, you will:

  • Learn to create and share an accessible Word document
  • Understand our ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) responsibilities as public, state-funded colleges  

eLearning has requested ASL interpreters as well as a live captioner for this event. This workshop will be recorded and will also be available for anyone who can't make it on the day or needs some additional resources. Check it out!

 

Updated 2/10/2023

Full-Time Tenure-Track Faculty ESL opening

We recently posted an opening for a full-time, tenure track faculty position teaching English for our division. I encourage everyone to consider applying and to share this announcement widely. 

Click here to view the job description (opens in a new tab)

Pathway Maps: Feedback by February 17

The mapping workgroup is seeking feedback on a recently created map in your area. I'd like to invite all faculty to take a look at the map, ensure accuracy and completeness, and fill out a brief survey via Canvas. Here's what to do:

  1. Enroll in the Guided Pathways course: Link to self-enroll: https://canvas.seattlecolleges.edu/enroll/4RN84A  
  2. Click on Mapping Workgroup at the bottom of the page 

  3. Choose the map assignment in your specific area, review the map, and give feedback on two questions.

  4. Congratulations! By enrolling in the Guided Pathways Course, you have been automatically enrolled in a drawing for participation prizes! Make sure to check back frequently for more ways to enter contests and engage in Guided Pathways work.   

Guided Pathways thanks you in advance for your review and feedback. if you have any questions, you can email Jill McDonough or Rebecca Yedlin. The college is not currently offering any compensation for completing this survey, but as noted above, faculty who participate will be entered in a drawing for prizes.

Interim New Holly Coordinator

As I shared in my previous post, Carolyn Stern has resigned for her New Holly faculty coordination duties for the remainder of winter and spring. We'll begin a nomination process for a permanent replacement this winter, as part of our annual faculty coordination nomination work. In the interim, Scott Bean has been assigned these duties. Thanks to the New Holly faculty who met with me to provide input on their needs, and thanks to Scott for taking on this interim role. 

 

Updated 8/22/2023

1/25/2023

Updated Schedule

Click here (opens in a new tab) for the most recent winter 2023 schedule. We have one additional change that is not reflected. Shawn Story is teaching the ESL 3 morning class at New Holly in place of Carolyn Stern. Thanks for stepping in, Shawn!

Part-time Faculty Search Input

Last quarter, a handful of interested faculty formed a screening committee to help select new part-time faculty (consistent with 6.5.B. p. 38 in the CBA). I'd like to invite any faculty to email me if they are interested in participating in this process this winter. The contract invites you to "vet and certify the pooled applicants" for my review. In real terms, this involves reviewing application materials and presenting a list of candidates. I also welcome anyone who would be willing to participate in interviews of part-time faculty. 

Scott's links

Thanks again to Scott for serving an interim dean for fall. Just so it's all in one place, below are the links that Scott sent around for the winter 2023 division meeting.

New Holly Coordination for winter and spring

Carolyn Stern has let me know that she will no longer serve as New Holly Coordinator for winter or spring quarters. Thanks, Carolyn, for all you did for New Holly and it's students! I'll be reaching out to the New Holly faculty to assess needs and come up with a temporary coordinator for winter. Perhaps as early as spring, we can nominate and vote for the annual coordinator for 2023-24, and ask that person to serve for spring quarter as well. More to come.