Instructional Support Committee

Attending: Bob Cadmus, Shuchi Kapila, Katya Gibel Azoulay, Susan Ireland, Mark Schneider, Jon Chenette, John Kalkbrenner, Terri Phipps

David Ellison will represent ISC at the New Faculty lunch on Tuesday, September 21.

The FOC will appoint a 5-semester member of ISC: 1 semester to replace David Ellison during his spring leave, plus a regular 2-year term.

Minutes of September 1 approved.

Proposals from the Science Teaching and Learning Discussion group (STaLG) and the Committee to Foster Foreign Language Study (CFFLS) were approved. Both proposals allow faculty from multiple departments to meet on a regular basis.

Discussion of these proposals led to a general discussion of ISC guidelines. One standard has been to support initiatives that cross departments, but there is concern among members that decisions have not been consistent. There is also concern that groups such as STaLG and CFFLS are not widely known to the entire faculty, so other areas may not know funding of this type is available to them. Another concern is that since these two groups have existed for so long, their proposals are merely cursory gestures, and that funding is expected automatically. Some ISC members would rather have time to discuss the proposals, taking into account current college initiatives, before the groups begin to meet.

The Science Faculty-Faculty Tutorial was discussed and approved. The project will have strong instructional impact. Each participant will receive $650 stipend, as well as a combined total of up to $75 for supplies.

Terri will send approvals and budgets.

Religious Studies proposal: Question on funding visitors for classes. Is that ISC responsibility, or is there another fund? Members decided to fund this type of proposal one time only, and request that departments use their own budgets for future visits, similar to guidelines in place for fieldtrips. Bob will contact faculty member and request more information, in particular, credentials of visitors and a statement of how the visits will impact the course. The proposal is approved pending receipt of these items.

Departments have $500 in their budgets for speakers, but it is to be used for campus-wide events. There seems to be no recourse for bringing speakers individually. Can the policy for departmental speakers be changed to allow speakers to be invited for either campus-wide or class-specific visits? ISC will address this issue at a future meeting.

Discussion of the Technology Discovery Center (TDC): ISC members will informally gather information about the TDC and academic computing in general for future discussion.

Discussion of Curricular Development guidelines: Jon and Terri will gather information about the types of projects funded and denied. Once complete, Bob and Mark will work on drafting guidelines.

Concern from CFFLS: 90% of CFFLS members think that issues with the AV Center need to be addressed. Individual departments will prepare concerns and recommendations for their current needs as well as future goals and discuss at their next meeting. Technology needs have grown, and AV staff are doing their best, but the Center is not functioning as it should, which is adversely affecting teaching.
* Some concerns include double-booking rooms - some are booked through AV, some through Communications & Events. These offices need to check with each other before scheduling.
* Getting help with classroom technology setup.
* Reserve system for resources is not reliable.
* Cataloging: Usually Ivan handles this, but someone else needs to be able to complete it either in his absence, or to allow him time for other duties.

Jim Swartz and Bill Francis are aware of these concerns.
One member questioned whether the TDC and AV Center could be combined. There doesn't seem to be a real leader for the TDC at this point, so there is little accountability. The College should consider where AV should be in five years.

The AV Center is more than a resource for "getting films from here to there." MAP students in particular have used the Center - and received much assistance from Ivan Perry in particular - to create films, etc. This type of assistance is a valuable resource. In fact, some projects would not have been possible without Ivan's help.

Discussion will be continued at a future meeting.