We're starting this week with a visit to Kris Lysaker's online classroom.

Kris has a standing desk at home to go with her standing desk at work. If others have photos they are willing to share, please send them along. I have one photo left with half of the quarter still to go!

Summer Schedule

Via email, you should have received a copy of the summer schedule and a separate document of the summer priority rotation. You have not, however, received preference forms. Due to the shift to online learning, recent enrollment declines, and the request for budget reductions, our summer schedule looks very different. Before I asked for preferences, I want to invite all faculty to a meeting to discuss these changes.

Here are some things that have stayed the same:

• ESL classes are 7 credits. ABE/GED/HS21+ classes are based on their credit system.
• Classes are divided between AM and PM offerings.
• In the summer, ESL classes are Reading & Writing Skills classes, not the usual "core" classes.

Here are some of the big differences:

• There are no start/end times for classes. Just AM and PM.
• There are no locations. Since everything is 100% online, campuses are not listed. 
• Times for classes are listed as either AM, PM or TBD.
• The schedule lists an expectation that faculty will hold 1 to 3 "sessions" per week.

Here are the ideas that I want to discuss with everyone before they turn in preferences.

• We are keeping AM and PM because students still ask for morning or evening classes. 
• Classes will be filled based entirely on the time the students want the class--not the location. 
• For ESL classes with three sections, the third section will be either AM or PM based on enrollment. We will wait to see student demand before determining the time of these classes.
• "Sessions" are a norm we will pilot this summer. The expectation is that 1-3 times per week, faculty will attempt some synchronous learning session--via Zoom, WhatsApp, or whatever tool you wish--for 60 to 90 minutes.
• For the first week, the AM session(s) would take place at 9 am and the PM session(s) would take place at 6 pm. Also during that week, faculty would ask students if these times work or if another time is better.
• After the first week, the time of the session(s) would be adjusted based on student input. 

Please join me on Tuesday at 3 pm to discuss these changes. You should have received an invitation to the meeting via email, but you can also join by clicking the link below.

 https://zoom.us/j/96307616353?pwd=eXJvaXhYZHRDSkVtb0dJanJhYjdQdz09

I am also willing to set up an evening appointment or other time for faculty who cannot attend Tuesday at 3 pm. Email me for details. 

Finally, as a reminder, the summer faculty rotation combines full-time and priority-hire faculty on one list with the process for selecting classes set cooperatively between the dean and faculty (4.8.C). BTS rotation gives preference to faculty who did not teach last summer with seniority rights based on hire-date. This is why you received the separate document describing the summer priority rotation. 

Student Learning Outcomes Survey

Please take 5-10 minutes to complete the Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) survey from South's Assessment Committee. SLOs are South's institutional-wide outcomes: what the college has determined as the essential outcomes students need to have regardless of the program they pursue. The Assessment Committee wants to review our SLOs, examine what is working and what isn't, and explore how we might align the SLOs in ways that reflect our current and emerging values. 

Provide your feedback via this SLO survey, and thanks in advance.

John is Interim Dean of the Library/eLearning/TLC

I am excited to share that I have been given the honor and opportunity to serve the library, eLearning, and TLC as their interim dean. Mary Jo White is retiring with her last day of service coming at the end of May. I have been appointed the interim role through the end of September 2020. I am humbled and excited by this opportunity to support a new area on campus, and I will be shadowing Mary Jo through the end of the month (as much as one can shadow from home). 

I will keep my current responsibilities and temporarily add these new ones. In the coming months, the college will need to determine a final structure for the library/eLearning/TLC as well as potential changes to Justice-Involved Solutions (JIS) and Bachelor of Applied Sciences (BAS) programming as a result of the restructuring of the dean leadership over transfer faculty. 

Strategic Planning for 2020-2021

Thanks to everyone who participated in BTS strategic planning on Professional Development Day. As with prior years, I have summarized themes for the upcoming year, which can be found here.

Full time faculty can consult this document when they are considering their EEPD plans for the coming year. All faculty can view the plan as a reflection of our division's priorities. While there are no necessarily specific timelines, initiatives, or funding for these priorities, we will seek to support these goals in the coming year. 

Impostor Claims for Unemployment

The college is seeing an increase in fraudulent, impostor unemployment insurance (UI) claims as a result of identity theft. Don't let this happen to you!

An impostor claim is one filed by Individual A using the credentials of Individual B, where Individual B is the victim of identity theft. The Seattle College District (and many other public and private employers) are seeing these claims, sometimes filed fraudulently on behalf of current college employees.

If the college receives a claim where a working employee is listed, a member of HR will email you as soon as possible. If you DID NOT file a claim, we will report it to our third party vendor who will respond to the state for the college. The college will also provide you with information so you can report the fraud to the Employment Security Department (who oversee UI claims) and to the Federal Trade Commission. You will also be encouraged to file a police report.

Last chance: Nomination for Ila's Tenure Review Committee

Eleven people have voted so far for Dorrienne's replacement on Ila's tenure Committee. I'll keep the voting open for one more week. 

As a reminder,  7.2.B of the collective bargaining agreement states that the faculty who serve on the committee are "elected by the faculty peers in the administrative unit acting as a body." Full time faculty have nominated Rebecca Yedlin to this role, as she has already served on Ila's committee (during Zahra's time at Central). 

If you haven't done so already, please take a moment to vote for membership for Ila's committee through the Survey Monkey link below. You have the option to vote for Rebecca or to write-in the name of anyone else who you'd like to elect.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NXJR3JG

Last chance: 2020-2021 Faculty Coordination

I will also keep the faculty coordination vote open for another week. The vote concerns the Computer Lab coordinator and New Holly Site Coordinator, two positions which will only re-start when in-person instruction comes back. 

This vote asks you support or reject the two positions as well as to provide nominees for the positions. If a majority of people no longer support one (or both) of the positions, the position will not be filled and nominations will be discarded. If a majority of people want the position, I will confirm that nominees are interested/willing to serve, and call for a vote in cases where more than one person is nominated and interested in serving.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NGQW3BR

Thank you!

I look forward to chatting with everyone at the Tuesday Summer Schedule discussion and, for those interested, at the Thursday Faculty Idea Share. Have a great week!

John