Johnson County Community College–Adjunct Council Meeting
August 18, 2022
Attendees
- Sally Bennett
- Stephen Dickey
- Anne Fielder
- Kim Fuller
- Chris Holdman
- Farrell Jenab
- Rebecca Kastendick
- Jeffery Oden
- Jennifer Tripe
Minutes
- Topic: Representatives for 22-23 School Year
Discussion: There was discussion about former committee members who are not able/or not wanting to continue their commitment. We did start to notice a decline in attendance of meetings towards the end of last semester.
Action: Rebecca and Kim will send out a general message to committee members asking if they wish to continue commitments. They will also reach out to the Dean of Arts and Design, Humanities, and Social Sciences to seek new representative.
- Topic: Report from ABC Representative—Sally Bennett
Discussion: The first meeting will be Sep 12. This week, in PLD meetings, there was a meeting scheduled for the ABC and full-time faculty (8/18/2022). There was concern expressed that non-full-time staff and adjunct faculty were not present. No one was aware of any invitation to non-full-time faculty and staff. The question came up whether this does not meet “shared governance.”
Action: Sally will attend the Sep 12 ABC meeting and report at our next meeting.
- Topic: Report from College Council Representative—Kim Fuller
Discussion: No report because the College Council has not met.
Action: Kim will attend the next College Council meeting and report at our next meeting.
- Topic: Report about synergizED 2022—Rebecca Kastendick
Discussion: This was a very successful event. There were approximately 40 attendees. Those who attended were very engaged and animated and shared appreciation for the event. The week of Jan 9-14 is week before Spring semester starts. We need to put the date out to departments to have them put it on their schedules to prevent conflicts next semester. There was a suggestion for door prizes/swag next time
Action: Rebecca will book a room in RC early (next week). Rebecca will also send out an evaluation form to those who attended this year.
- Topic: September 1 Adjunct Meet & Greet
Discussion: September 1st we will have an adjunct meet and greet at Barleys (across from the campus) during happy hour (3-6).
Action: Kim and Ann will work more on this and get the word out.
- Topic: Mentoring
Discussion: We have one new adjunct faculty member sign up for Mentoring, where a new adjunct faculty member can meet with an experienced faculty member.
Action: Farrell will reach out to Electronic Technology and see if there is a current adjunct faculty member in the department desiring to meeting this need. If not, Rebecca volunteered to mentor the new adjunct faculty member.
- Topic: Adjunct Orientation & Adjunct Handbook Update
Discussion: Kim and Rebecca have carried the load for the planning of an Adjunct Orientation. We could use some other committee members to join in and participate. We want to make sure that there is some sort of an online module for the Orientation to maintain flexibility for adjuncts.
Action: Kim will set up a meeting to discuss this.
- Topic: Ed Camps
Discussion: There was discussion around having another Ed Camp. We did one in April, and it went well. April topics were “Identifying JCCC Resources,” “Improving Student Experience,” and “Exploring Technology.” The week of October 17 was given as a possible date for the next Ed Camp. October topics to consider are “Crucial Conversations” and “Yuja.”
Action: The Council will discuss this more our next meeting.
- Topic: Shared Governance
Discussion: There was much discussion around adjunct faculty and Shared Governance. Concern was again expressed that JCCC may not be following shared governance as defined by the HLC, specifically standards 5A1 and 5A3. For example, if JCCC does not require adjunct faculty to attend and participate in relevant committees, but makes attendance voluntary, they are in violation of both standards.
Action: This topic will continue to be discussed.
- Topic: Cancelling classes assigned to adjuncts
Discussion: There was discussion about ensuring a more civilized process for dropping or cancelling classes assigned to adjuncts. There was also discussion of clarifying semester contracts at the beginning of the semester. Currently, by just checking boxes in myJCCC, what adjunct faculty are specifically agreeing to and what JCCC is promising is unclear.
Action: Rebecca will pursue avenues to try to get a college-wide policy that is equitable, respectful, and ethical.
- The next Adjunct Council meeting will be Thursday, September 15 at 3:30 pm.