DRAFT FAEC Minutes 4\/15\/2020<\/b><\/p>\n
Faculty Assembly Executive Council [FAEC] Meeting Minutes<\/b><\/p>\n
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Date<\/b>: Wednesday, April\u00a0 15, 2020\u00a0 | <\/span>Location<\/b>: ONLINE\/REMOTE\u00a0 | <\/span>Time<\/b>: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm<\/span><\/p>\n Attendees<\/b>: Tae Kwak, Donna Flynn, Kathy Zeno, Christina Connor, Scott Frees, Roark Atkinson, Naseem Choudhury, Ashwani Vasishth (Interim SSHS Representative), Pinar Kayaalp (<\/span>interim HGS Representative), Lisa Lutter<\/span><\/p>\n Secretary<\/b>: Nakia Matthias<\/span><\/p>\n Guest<\/b>: President Mercer, Provost Gaulden<\/span><\/p>\n I.\u00a0 FAEC Minutes Approved\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n II.\u00a0 Stefan Becker and Full Professorship Promotion Slots<\/b><\/p>\n Stefan Becker is returning to RCNJ as a full professor of Environmental Science.\u00a0 He will be working in Environmental Studies with SSHS.\u00a0 Becker may possibly be teaching Physical Geography, World Sustainability, and FYS.\u00a0 <\/span> FAEC suggested that there should be clarification about how the College handles the transitions from an administrative to faculty positions.\u00a0 There should be specification about whether such transitions will take up faculty promotion slots, as well as what the implications are to FTE. FAEC also suggested to the Provost that convening groups and search committees should be involved in any considerations regarding the transition of administrators to faculty positions to ensure that there is alignment and that the CG\u2019s needs have been factored into any assessments.<\/span><\/p>\n III.\u00a0 RCNJ Hiring Freeze and New Faculty Lines<\/b><\/p>\n The existing hiring freeze will be sustained until further notice.\u00a0 Units that have conducted searches and received acceptance for offers made have already obtained approval. \u00a0 Offers will not be rescinded but new offers will not be made.\u00a0 All searches are presently on hold.\u00a0 Searches for two part time lines for the library have been suspended. There was\/is an active search for a Canvas Administrator, and a\u00a0 search was completed for a new Nurse Practitioner but no offer has been made.<\/span><\/p>\n IV.\u00a0 RCNJ Budgetary Concerns<\/b><\/p>\n Students received partial reimbursements for room and board. RCNJ will have to examine cost cutting as the state is withholding funding that it previously committed to grant the College.\u00a0 The cuts to the RCNJ budget are greater than the federal stimulus would be. When courses are solely remote, and if the College cannot resume classes on campus RCNJ will be \u201din the red\u201d without revenues raised from room and board, including auxiliary revenue raised from summer rental of dorms and classrooms. The Provost stated that The College cannot promise that everyone will keep their jobs.\u00a0 The provost stated that, \u201cabsent something unusual, there will be staffing considerations.\u201d\u00a0 Additionally, the Provost explained that reassign-time and stipends will have to be negotiated but will be considered on a case by case and reasonable basis.<\/span><\/p>\n FAEC expressed concern that some universities and colleges are using the COVID-19 crisis as an excuse for austerity.\u00a0 In most other institutions the administration will see a dip in their salaries.\u00a0 Additionally, in the past when Stefan Becker served as provost, the FAEC President asked him whether non-academic units would experience budgetary cuts.\u00a0 Stefan asserted that it is not his business and that he did not know.\u00a0 FAEC stated concerns about administrative bloat at The College and informed the Provost that it should be informed about what non-academic units are cutting and scaling back on. In discussion with the Provost,\u00a0 FAEC noted that the core function of The College involves teaching and that administrators should be mindful of this. Furthermore,\u00a0 FAEC reminded the Provost that it is necessary for the FAEC to be informed of the guiding principles and approaches to addressing budgetary cuts and administrative bloat.<\/span><\/p>\n There is a rumor circulating that a letter has been presented to faculty that informs them that they will receive an 11 percent pay cut.\u00a0 This is not the case, there are no such\u00a0 letters being distributed to faculty or staff.\u00a0 However AFT has specified that during declared financial emergencies faculty can be subject to a 3 per cent pay cut.\u00a0 Furthermore, the Provost explained that If the state declares a financial emergency tenured professors could be vulnerable to termination.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n FAEC recommends that other revenue generating ideas are explored.\u00a0 Considerations should weigh how faculty can contribute and how people can take more classes remotely.\u00a0 This issue involves the marketing of online classes, which should be taken up by the College.<\/span><\/p>\n Although Chris Romano has communicated that RCNJ enrollments for the summer 2020 and Fall 2020 are solid, there is still uncertainty regarding how The College will proceed in the Fall.\u00a0 Boston University devised a contingency plan not to resume campus-based classes possibly until January 2021.\u00a0 RCNJ must be prepared with contingency plans.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n According to AFT an RCNJ provost has never exercised the power to regulate or reassign the mode of course delivery, or where courses should be situated [if online or at other off-campus locations]\u00a0 but could certainly make this determination.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There has been no further discussion of Three Plus One programs that the FAEC has been privy to.<\/span><\/p>\n V.\u00a0 RCNJ Commencement and Student Concerns<\/b><\/p>\n RCNJ is examining ways to develop features that can replace a graduation\u00a0 and harken back to an actual commencement ceremony.\u00a0 President Mercer indicated that graduation, \u201cis not going to be as it was\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n FEAC suggests that the administration send out an official announcement as soon as possible to proactively address concerns about commencement and other issues that seem to be uncertain.\u00a0 Mercer explained that students can voice their concerns with the Dean of students, and that he would not deter them from reaching out to him directly.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n VI. RCNJ Student Survey<\/b><\/p>\n The Provost shared that the student survey reflects students complaints about faculty are using several kinds of online interfaces to facilitate classes and that faculty are assigning too much work.<\/span><\/p>\n Meeting Adjourned 12 pm<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" DRAFT FAEC Minutes 4\/15\/2020 Faculty Assembly Executive Council [FAEC] Meeting Minutes Date: Wednesday, April\u00a0 15, 2020\u00a0 | Location: ONLINE\/REMOTE\u00a0 | Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm Attendees: Tae Kwak, Donna Flynn, Kathy Zeno, Christina Connor, Scott Frees, Roark Atkinson, Naseem Choudhury, Ashwani Vasishth (Interim SSHS Representative), Pinar Kayaalp (interim HGS Representative), Lisa Lutter Secretary: Nakia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1128,493,1093,876,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fa-rcnj-minutes-2020","category-faculty-assembly-minutes","category-faec-meeting-minutes-2020","category-ramapo-faec","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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\n<\/span>Not necessarily specific to this case, but concerning senior administrators (including Provosts, Vice Provosts, and Deans) who are are hired with faculty tenure and full professor rank, if they choose to formally join the faculty after they step down from their administrative positions, can create imbalances.\u00a0 In particular, there is concern that (1) they contribute to the total number and proportion of full professors which is likely to negatively effect the calculation that goes into determining the number of full promotion opportunities available for traditionally hired faculty, and (2)<\/span> they may adversely affect the student\/faculty ratio and breadth of field, particularly for smaller Convening Groups, and negatively impact the possibility of hiring a necessary specialist needed for the curriculum in that Convening Group.<\/span><\/p>\n