Committee Meetings and Minutes

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Foreign Languages Task Force

Meeting Minutes

Current Status of Minutes: Final
Date	September 13, 2019
Time	12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Location	HLC1-2209

Members Present
Timothy Altanero, Catherine Angell, Rosa Davila, Kasina Entzi, Oscar Garcia-Landois, John Golden, Fahim Idais, Becky Jaimes, Bernadeta Kaminska, Julie Kleinhans-Urrutia, Vanessa Lazo, Talia Loaiza, Guadalupe Lopez, John McMinn-Reyna, Cecilia Pastini, Todd Phillips, Mariela Prato-Williams, Rahelina Razanadrafara
Guests Present
Amy Hankey, Eavan Mages, Jeanette Lien, ShiAnn Sheu

Item # 1:	. Approval of the minutes
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo
Discussion	Vanessa Lazo presented the minutes from the February 15, 2019 meeting. Action taken: The minutes were approved.

Item # 2:	. Review of committee memberships
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo
Discussion	Vanessa Lazo asked if faculty wished to be added to or removed from any committees. Todd Phillips was added to the Curriculum Committee for Italian. Kasina Entzi was removed from the ECHS Committee and added to the Scheduling Committee. Tim Altanero was added to the ECHS and Spanish for Spanish Speakers Committees. There was discussion about whether to combine the Special Events Committee and the Outreach Committee. The updated membership list of committees is attached at the end of these minutes. Action taken: It was decided to leave the Special Events Committee and the Outreach Committee as separate committees.

Item # 3:	Announcements
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo
Discussion	a. Vanessa Lazo welcomed three new faculty members, Maria Cavazos and Virginia Talley for Spanish, and Michael Mignanelli for Latin. b. Vanessa Lazo congratulated Scott Gibby for being selected to participate in the Teaching and Learning Academy. c. Vanessa Lazo reported that there had been no new updates on the renovations at the Rio Grande Campus. d. Vanessa Lazo reported that in the summer of 2020, the sessions will be 5 weeks and 10 weeks instead of 5.5 and 11 weeks. e. Vanessa Lazo congratulated Julie Kleinhans for the exemplary rating the Department received for assessment. f. Vanessa Lazo reminded faculty that they can follow Theresa Oh’s sabbatical experiences through her blog at https://www.ohinkyoto.com/. g. Vanessa Lazo announced that ACC Fest will take place on Saturday, November 9, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm. She thanked those who had already signed up to participate and reminded everyone that last year they talked to more than 60 prospective students. h. Vanessa Lazo announced that the traditional French Christmas program led by Véronique Mazet will be on December 8 at NRG. i. Vanessa Lazo reported that there will be a German film screening on October 3. j. Vanessa Lazo thanked Jan Emberson for leading a successful study abroad program in which ten students went to Costa Rica. She also reminded faculty that the following programs are scheduled for next summer. 1) Bernadeta Kaminska and Dawn Hewitt will lead a German III and Art program in Vienna, Austria. 2) Rosa Davila will lead a Spanish III and Spanish Conversation program in Oaxaca, Mexico. 3) Jan Emberson will lead a Spanish IV and Spanish Conversation program in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 4) Emi Schuster will lead a Japanese 1412 program in Osaka, Japan, 5) Fahim Idais is planning an Arabic 1412 program in Jordan.

Item # 4:	Special guests
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo
Discussion	Vanessa Lazo and Tim Altanero reported on what they learned at the Equity Minded Teaching Institute at the Center for Urban Education at USC last summer. They have a workbook that explains how to recognize minoritized students and assist them. They presented their data driven findings to the faculty and pointed at some means of retention. They will present a detailed workshop on this subject at 1:30 pm on October 18 at HLC.

Item # 5:	Evaluation
Presenter	Talia Loaiza
Discussion	Talía Loaiza reminded faculty to watch their email for information about portfolios.

Item # 6:	Shelf-life of Prerequisites
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo
Discussion	There was a discussion about whether to continue to accept prerequisite courses without any consideration of how long ago a student took them. Action taken: It was decided to continue with the policy of accepting all prerequisite credit no matter how long ago the course was taken.

Item # 7:	Incomplete Policy
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo
Discussion	There was a discussion of the Department’s incomplete policy. Action taken: It was approved to reword the policy as follows starting in the Spring 2020: If there is a documented extenuating circumstance after the last day to withdraw, then the student may be (you may be) eligible for an incomplete. The student must be in good standing and have a C or higher. The student must consult with the instructor and the final decision will be at the instructor’s discretion.

Item # 8:	Foreing Language Department Committees 2019-2020
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo
Discussion	FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT COMMITTEES 2019-2020 COMMITTEE FACULTY MEMBERS FUNCTIONS Adjunct Evaluation Committee Co-chairs: Talía Loaiza & Mariela Prato- Williams Members: All Full-Time Faculty (AF Evaluation) Maintain: • Evaluation folders/files Oversee: • Evaluation process summary forms Adjunct Faculty Interview Committee Chair: Tim Altanero Members: Vanessa Lazo Julie Kleinhans John McMinn-Reyna Theresa Oh Oversee/carry out: • Adjunct Faculty hiring based on programming needs • Review applications • Contact applicants • Conduct interviews • Fill out paperwork Assessment Committee Chair: Julie Kleinhans Members: Joe Boone Scott Gibby Rosa Dávila Talía Loaiza Jan Emberson Theresa Oh Kasina Entzi Oversee / Develop/Update : • SACS testing • Challenge exams • Departmental testing guidelines and policies Curriculum Committee Co-Chairs: John McMinn-Reyna & Jan Emberson Members: Tim Altanero Todd Phillips Joe Boone Alina Waguespack Rosa Dávila Fahim Idais Julie Kleinhans Lynn Lam Lau Talía Loaiza Theresa Oh (Curricular matters) Develop/update/maintain: • Goals and Objectives • Department Syllabi • Curriculum Guidelines Oversee other curricular items: • Handbooks • Catalog • Course schedule Notes • Prerequisite Policies Distance Learning & Technology Committee Chair: Scott Gibby Members: Garrett Oleen Talía Loaiza Tim Altanero Delia Montesinos Joe Boone Cecilia Pastini Jan Emberson Todd Phillips Kasina Entzi Mariela Prato-Williams Yuko Kato Gloria Velasquez Vanessa Lazo Alina Waguespack Develop/update/maintain • Web based course • Hybrid courses • Technology Applications COMMITTEE FACULTY MEMBERS FUNCTIONS Early College High School Committee Chair: Vanessa Lazo Members: Tim Altanero Y .Ramiro Muñoz Rosa Dávila Susan Pardue Jeff Evatt Cecilia Pastini Talía Loaiza Todd Phillips Fahim Idais Alina Waguespack Oversee: • Early College High School and Dual Credit matters • Development and administration of placement exam • Assignment of mentors to ECHS instructors if needed Eligibility List: MSTA/HPH Committee Chair: Cathy Angell Members: All Full-Time Faculty (MSTA, HPH) Oversee: • HPH designation • MSTA designation Develop/update/maintain: • Department mail list • HR eligibility Faculty Problems Committee Chair: Vanessa Lazo Members: All Full-Time Faculty (Student complaints, problem evaluations, dismissals) Oversee: Process for dealing with student complaints, poor evaluations, poor class observations, and dismissals. Faculty Complaints: • Evaluations • Referrals to Faculty Problems • Committee (for poor observation) Honor Society Committee Chair: Julie Kleinhans Members: Tim Altanero Joe Boone Cathy Angell Mariela Prato-Williams Oversee: • Selection process • Acceptance New Faculty Committee Chair: Todd Phillips Members: All Full-Time Faculty Oversee: • Mentor process • Classroom observation • Referrals to Faculty Problems Committee (for poor classroom observation Develop/update/maintain: • Approve Mentor guidelines/training • Class observation process • Class observation forms COMMITTEE FACULTY MEMBERS FUNCTIONS Outreach Committee Co-Chairs: Rosa Dávila & Jan Emberson Members: Tim Altanero Talía Loaiza James Burleson Véronique Mazet Kasina Entzi Theresa Oh Mary Greff Todd Phillips Bernadeta Kaminska Mariela Prato-Williams Fahim Idais Vanessa Lazo Oversee: • dissemination of information about our programs and department • promotion of our programs and department • representation of our programs and department at events internal and external to ACC Professional Development Program Committee Chair: Cathy Angell Members: Tim Altanero Rosa Dávila Scott Gibby Vanessa Lazo Todd Phillips Oversee: • scheduling of workshops • publish FOLA workshops in the ACC workshops page • Record workshop hours as needed Scheduling Committee Chair: Vanessa Lazo Members: Tim Altanero Julie Kleinhans Becky Jaimes John McMinn-Reyna Bernadeta Kaminska Kasina Entzi Develop/update/maintain: • Course Schedule • Balance between F2F and DIL • Sequence of courses Spanish For Spanish Speakers Committee Co-Chairs: Rosa Dávila & Talía Loaiza Members: Juan Isart Alina Waguespack Elsa Taylor Tim Altanero Oversee: • Book selection for these courses • Mentoring help for instructors teaching these courses Develop /update / maintain • syllabi for courses Special Events Committee Co-chairs: Mariela Prato-Williams & Theresa Oh Members: Tim Altanero Juan Isart Gladys Anderson Julie Kleinhans Jim Burleson Talia Loaiza Rosa Dávila Véronique Mazet Meaghan Dinan Cecilia Pastini Develop/present: Cultural Events Study Abroad Committee Chair: Jan Emberson Members: Jan Emberson Talía Loaiza Rosa Dávila Theresa Oh Bernadeta Kaminska Mariela Prato-W Fahim Idais Emi Schuster • Coordinate with the office of Study Abroad • Conduct interviews with applicants • Promote FOLA’s study abroad programs Textbook Inventory Committee Chair: Becky Jaimes Members: Tim Altanero Lynn Lam Lau Jim Burleson Talía Loaiza Rosa Dávila John McMinn-Reyna Fahim Idais Theresa Oh Jan Emberson Todd Phillips Mary Greff Ewa Siwak Kasina Entzi Develop/update/maintain: • Textbook list/info • Desk copy list/info DC office distributes & stores copies and updates publisher reps list

Item # 9:	Incomplete Policies
Presenter	John McMinn-Reyna
Discussion	There was a discussion of the Department’s incomplete policy. Action taken: It was approved to reword the policy as follows starting in the Spring 2020: If there is a documented extenuating circumstance after the last day to withdraw, then the student may be (you may be) eligible for an incomplete. The student must be in good standing and have a C or higher. The student must consult with the instructor and the final decision will be at the instructor’s discretion. VIII. Committee Reports John McMinn-Reyna presented the committee reports for fall, 2019. Action taken: It was approved to add the following committee reports to the minutes. a. Adjunct Faculty Evaluation (Chairs: Mariela Prato-Williams, Talia Loaiza) Instructors are reminded to watch for emails about portfolios that are due this year. There will be a workshop to help instructors prepare the digital portfolio later in the semester. b. Adjunct Faculty Interview (Chair: Tim Altanero) We hired Maria Cavazos and Virginia Talley for Spanish and Michael Mignanelli for Latin, who are all teaching ECHS classes. We have an open position for Korean. Our search for an Asian Language Full-Time faculty member was unsuccessful. c. Assessment (Chair: Julie Kleinhans) This semester we will be assessing 1411 Writing (Short Composition), 1412 Oral Communication (Oral Interview), and 2311 Oral Communication (Oral Interview). The assessments will take place during the last 2 weeks of the semester. d. Curriculum (Chairs: John McMinn-Reyna for languages other than Spanish, Jan Emberson for Spanish) • The college sent out new guidelines for syllabi in the effort to create consistency across the college. Syllabi for FOLA courses currently being taught have been updated and put in the Syllabus Repository. • John McMinn-Reyna is developing a distance learning course for French 1411, which will be offered in the spring (2019). Véronique Mazet is working on a distance learning course for French 1412, which will be offered in the fall (2020). e. Distance Learning Committee (Chair: Scott Gibby) We have several faculty members progressing towards having their courses QM certified. Some of the Spanish faculty indicate that our department-level course objectives should be rephrased using verbs from Bloom’s cognitive taxonomy to indicate measurable outcomes. As we decide on a textbook moving forward, we should look at rephrasing them. f. Early College High School/Dual Enrollment (Chair: Vanessa Lazo) Vanessa Lazo continues to work closely on scheduling with ECHS and Dual Credit. We have several new partnerships: Austin Peace Academy with Arabic, Harmony School of Excellence, and new ECHS requests for both Italian and Latin. Only one section of ECHS at EVC was cancelled with six students enrolled. There is a good amount of changeover in staff. g. Eligibility List (Chair: Cathy Angell) Nothing new to report. h. Faculty Problems (Chair: Vanessa Lazo) Nothing to report. i. Foreign Language Honor Society (Chair: Julie Kleinhans) The applications for the Foreign Language Honor Society, Alpha Mu Gamma, will be due Oct. 14 this semester. j. New Faculty (Chair: Todd Phillips) This fall we welcome three new adjunct instructors: Michael Mignanelli, Latin (mentored by Garrett Oleen) María Cavazos, Spanish (mentored by Susan Pardue) Virginia Malley, Spanish (mentored by Michael Hydak) k. Outreach (Chair: Rosa Davila) The Outreach Committee represented our department at the McCallum HS College Fair on April 16, 2019 and at the ACC President’s Reception at the AISD Performing Arts Center on May 14, 2019. Both events were well attended, and Rosa Davila had the chance to speak to several students and their parents. l. Professional Development (Chair: Cathy Angell) The ACC administration is in the process of making changes to the Administrative Rule (AR 6.07.002) regarding Faculty Professional Development. A draft of the proposed changes was sent out at the end of the Spring semester by the Faculty Senate, and the administration is scheduled to discuss and make a decision on those changes soon. The revised rule includes a statement about the trainings that we are all mandated to complete, and it changes the number of professional development hours that can be rolled over each academic year. The current AR states that, """"All hours above the required professional development hours that an employee completes may be rolled over to the next year."""" The proposal will change """"all hours above"""" to """"up to three hours above."""" There were the following Professional Development activities in the department in the spring. • There were presentations by three textbook companies about their Spanish textbook, Cengage, Contaseña, and the new sixth edition of Vistas. • On April 26th, a sharing session on Video Conferencing Tools was presented by Jan Emberson, Garrett Oleen, and Talía Loaiza. Jan spoke about and demonstrated Zoom Video Conferencing, and Garrett and Talía did the same with Collaborate. Garrett also spoke about Collaborate training he had been doing through ACC. We hoped to record the session and make it available to others, but, unfortunately, that didn't happen. Jan, Garrett, and Talía have all said they would be willing to share information with anyone who asks. There will be the following professional development opportunities this fall. • John Golden has offered to present two workshops on October 25th. He has titled the first one, """"Why We Write the Way We Do"""" and also """"Why We Talk the Way We Do."""" The second one he titled, """"Death to Masculine and Feminine for Spanish Nouns and Adjectives."""" Both workshops will be presented the same day, Friday, October 25, one from 11:00 - 12:00, and the other from 1:00 - 2:00. They are not available yet in the Professional Development system, but Cathy will add them as soon as she receives more information from John. • This fall, the TFLA Conference will be held in Houston, October 17 - 19, and the ACTFL Conference will be in Washington DC, November 22 - 24. m. Scheduling (Chair: Vanessa Lazo) • Vanessa Lazo continues to work on program sequencing of all languages to make sure that days and times from fall classes have a counterpart in the spring to ease student planning. • San Gabriel Campus - FOLA had two Spanish courses on the schedule for 8 week sessions and SPAN 1411 did not make. SPAN 1412 will soon be cancelled or moved to another campus or online. • The German Program is currently offering the first German I Hybrid course. • Tim Altanero continues to work as the PACE Liaison at RGC and ensuring that we offer a full sequence of Hybrids. • Rosa and Vanessa have worked out a new sequence for Spanish for Spanish Speakers to incorporate a focus on Business n. Spanish for Spanish Speakers (Chair: Rosa Davila) SPAN 2313 Spanish III for Spanish for Spanish Speakers-Business made this fall with 17 students. We are offering SPAN 2315 Spanish IV for Spanish Speakers-Business this fall as well. o. Special Events (Chair: Mariela Prato-Williams) Nothing new to report. p. Study Abroad (Chair: Jan Emberson) In the first summer session we had a very successful program in Costa Rica. We had ten participants that were a great group! They were motivated to learn and especially loved the three occasions when they had the opportunity to speak with students studying English in Costa Rica. The students spoke Spanish with each other during the bus rides, walking during excursions, at meals, etc. It was a joy to be with them. For the first time, we offered a SPAN 2312 program during the second summer session. This Argentina program, unfortunately, did not have enough students to make. We think that being offered during the second session may have affected the program’s success. In the summer of 2020, during the first summer session, we will be offering SPAN 2312 and 1300 in Argentina. This program will be expanded next year to include a three day excursion to Iguazu Falls and a day trip to Uruguay. Jan Emberson will be sending brochures to you all soon! Please let her know if you have any questions about the program. q. Textbook Inventory (Chair: Becky Jaimes) The Textbook Inventory Committee has updated the FOLA Textbook Inventory List in order to place textbook orders for spring 2020 before the October 1, 2019 deadline. The FDA (First Day Access) Textbook orders deadline is September 17, 2019. French 1411, 1412, and 2311, and Italian 1411 and 1412 will continue using FDA. There have been the following changes: • Lam Lau has adopted a new textbook, David & Helen in China, available in both Traditional and Simplified versions to be used for Chinese 2311 and 2312, but neither of these courses are scheduled for spring 2020. • Jan Emberson has adopted the new 5th edition of An Introduction to Medical Spanish Communication and Culture, for all three courses for Healthcare Professions: 1) Honors 1411-spring 2020, 2) Honors 1412- fall 2020, and 3) 1300-1st summer session-2020. ISBN: 9780300226027 • Mary Greff and Joe Liro have adopted a new textbook for Russian 2312, A Day without Lying by Viktoria Tokareva. A Glossed Edition for Intermediate-Level Students of Russian with Vocabulary Exercises, and Commentaries by William J. Comer. (Slavica Publishers, 2008), ISBN: 978-089357-346-1. Russian 2312 will also require English Grammar for Students of Russian, second edition (The Olivia and Hill Press, 1993), ISBN: 978-0-934034-21-0. • ECHS sections for Native Speakers (Lanier 97802.036 and Del Valle 97794.025) will continue using the Cengage Bundle package of Mundo 21 Hispano. We had originally adopted Cengage Unlimited Subscription, but due to High School Book Funds, the purchasing the printed version of the textbook with the code is preferred instead of the digital version of the textbook

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