Committee Meetings and Minutes

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Foreign Languages Task Force

Meeting Minutes

Current Status of Minutes: Final
Date	August 28, 2020
Time	1:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Location	Virtual

Members Present
Scott gibby, Timothy Altanero, Catherine Angell, Rosa Davila, Jan Emberson, Kasina Entzi, John Golden, Mary Greff, Becky Jaimes, Bernadeta Kaminska, Julie Kleinhans-Urrutia, Vanessa Lazo, Talia Loaiza, John McMinn-Reyna, Myung-Joo Oh, Garrett Ollen, Todd Phillips, Mariela Prato-Williams, Rahelina Razanadrafara, Ewa Siwak, Stuart Smith, Virginia Talley
Guests Present
No guest attendance has been recorded.

Item # 1:	Welcome to Fall 2020/Approve Minutes
Presenter	Vanessa
Discussion	Vanessa welcomes for Fall 2020. Members approve minutes from Spring, January 24th, 2020.

Item # 2:	Review of committee memberships
Presenter	Vanessa
Discussion	Vanessa Lazo asked if faculty wished to be added to or removed from any committees. Talia Loaiza asked to be removed from the Spanish for Spanish Speakers Committee and the Textbook Inventory Committee. Vanessa pointed out that we needed a replacement for Talia to be responsible for textbook selection for ECHS Spanish classes for native speakers. She asked for anyone wishing to be added to a committee to contact her.

Item # 3:	Discussion of Exam Policies
Presenter	Vanessa
Discussion	Vanessa Lazo reminded faculty that it had been approved in the summer to allow only two exams in courses during 5 week summer sessions. There was also discussion of the German Faculty’s request to remove the departmental policy that all courses have comprehensive written final exams. The online vote on this question in the summer resulted in a tie. Some faculty expressed that all languages others have similar standards. Others felt that the faculty teaching a particular language should be trusted to establish appropriate assessments. Actions taken: It was approved to remove the requirement that the comprehensive final exam be written.

Item # 4:	. Review of the Addition of Korean 2311 and 2312 courses and the Creation of a Korean major option
Presenter	Vanessa
Discussion	Vanessa Lazo announced that Theresa Oh is teaching Korean 1411 for the first time. John McMinn-Reyna pointed out that the department had voted to approve adding Korean 2311 and 2312 and creating a major in Korean at the time KORE 1411 and 1412 were approved, but they we not added at that time. He asked for a reconfirmation that the department still wants to do so. Action taken: The department voted to add Korean 2311 and 2312 and to create an award program with major in Korean.

Item # 5:	Creation of Governance Committee
Presenter	Vanessa
Discussion	Vanessa asked whether the department should create a Governance Committee to resolve problems. Some faculty pointed out that such a committee has not been needed up to the present, so there is no reason to create one at this time. Other faculty felt that it would be good to have one in place in case the need arises. Action taken: It was approved to create a Governance Committee with a chair who will randomly draw one full-time instructor’s name and one adjunct instructor’s name to serve with them as an ad hoc committee each time there is a disagreement to resolve in the department. Tim Altanero volunteered to serve as the chair.

Item # 6:	Textbook Adoption Policy
Presenter	Vanessa
Discussion	Vanessa Lazo pointed out that the department does not have a clear policy on who votes on textbook selection. The process has been left up to the faculty teaching a language in the past. Theresa Oh mentioned that the Japanese faculty has been split on textbook issues, and that the department needs a policy of how to proceed in the case of a tie vote among the faculty. Action taken: It was approved to allow faculty teaching a language to decide on the process for selecting a new textbook, and the Governance Committee will determine the tie breaker in the case of a tie vote.

Item # 7:	Committee Report
Presenter	John McMinn
Discussion	John McMinn-Reyna presented the following committee reports and asked that they be added to the minutes. Action taken: It was approved to add the reports to the minutes.

Item # 8:	Adjunct Evaluation/Interview
Presenter	Vanessa
Discussion	The committee thanks everyone for making the online evaluations successful. Spring and summer evaluations will not affect assignments for MSTA or HPH, and the committee is requesting to postpone portfolios for one year. The committee hopes that the fall evaluations will not count either. It will be noted on evaluations that they were during Covid-19. Evaluations from last year are still at the Dean’s office. The committee will send out more information about future evaluations as they receive it. Interview nothing to report

Item # 9:	Assessment/ Curriculum/Distance Learning/Early College High School
Presenter	Vanessa
Discussion	This fall, we will be assessing Visual Communication and Teamwork in 1412 classes and Social Responsibility (Civic and Cultural Awareness) in 1411 classes. More details will be coming in the next few weeks. For Visual Communication, students will be assessed on how well they can read a PowerPoint. Also, the College is asking us to “tag” assignments and our students’ work (anonymously) so that we can accurately display the level of achievement – tagging can be done easily in Blackboard. We will be asking for volunteers to offer to tag your students’ work. Our 2019 1411 Written Communication Assessment was very successful. At the end of the Fall 2019 semester, 86.3% of students in Spanish 1411 scored 80% or higher on the assessment, 64.1% of students in Japanese 1411 scored 80% or higher, 100% of students in Russian scored 80% or higher, 100% of students in Arabic 1411 scored 80% or higher, 76.9% of students in French 1411 scored 80% or higher, 71.5% of students in German 1411 scored 80% or higher, and 100% of students in Italian 1411 scored 80% or higher. These results are highly satisfactory! Curriculum Due to the pandemic, the college is changing the requirements on syllabi each semester. John McMinn-Reyna sent out a list of the changes for this fall on August Jan Emberson sent out updated Master Syllabi for Spanish. Distance Learning Although there is a lot going on with distance learning and online classes, the committee had nothing coherent to report. Early College High School • ECHS and Dual Credit only offers Spanish at this time. • Covid-19 had an impact with several cancellations for DSP, DVE, and HSE. • We currently offer one Native Speakers section for ECHS students assigned to RVS. • Vanessa continues to work on scheduling closely with ECHS and Dual Credit. • Our recent partnerships with Austin Peace Academy (APA) with Arabic and Harmony School of Excellence (HSE) are on hold at this time during Covid-19. This partnership will be revisited for fall 2021. • Vanessa continues to support and recommend appointees to the Dual Credit Annual Appointment (DCAA) program as mandated by the college. • Jason Sánchez, Interim Director of High School Programs Enrollment & Partnerships, recommends the following: o All Dual Credit and ECHS sections be recorded as students assigned to a DLS section by their school may have a conflict due to scheduling and later start dates. Consent should be obtained. o Faculty remain adaptable, flexible, and patient with our students as high schools struggle with enrollment and scheduling.

Item # 10:	Eleigibilty List/ Faculty Mentoring Committee/ Faculty Problems
Presenter	Vanessa
Discussion	Eligibility List Nothing new to report. Faculty Mentoring Committee Formerly called the New Faculty Committee, the renamed Faculty Mentoring Committee will continue to be chaired by Todd Phillips and deal with: • New Faculty Mentoring • Evaluation Cycle Mentoring • DIL Mentoring Faculty Problems Private. Nothing to report to the faculty at large.

Item # 11:	Foreign Language Honor/ Outreach/ Professional Development
Presenter	Vanessa
Discussion	The applications for the Foreign Language Honor Society will be due on October 15 this semester. Associate Membership is $5 and is valid for one semester. Lifetime (Full) Membership is $35. Julie Kleinhans will send the link to the application and membership information later this semester. Outreach Nothing new to report. Professional Development There were many professional development opportunities offered by the College during the spring and the summer to help faculty transition to a distance learning teaching format. Two workshops were specifically for FOLA faculty. • In March, Jan Emberson organized and presented an online workshop on using Zoom. Information on both Zoom and Collaborate was shared, and participants practiced using them. • In August, Tim Altanero offered a workshop on """"""""""""""""Getting Started with the VHL Supersite."""""""""""""""" He also made a video recording of his presentation available for people who were not able to participate at the time of the workshop. The General Assembly will be held in a virtual format on Friday, September 25th. The General Assembly Web page is https://tled.austincc.edu/development-opportunities/programs/general-assembly/, and more information may be posted on that site at a later date. The committee reminds everyone not to forget to complete the trainings that are required by the College every year. You can find information about when you will need to complete each one on your Professional Development page.

Item # 12:	Scheduling/Spanish For Spanish Speakers/Special Events/study Abroad
Presenter	Vanessa
Discussion	• 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. • All spring 2020 courses were moved online on Friday, March 13th due to Covid-19. • The fall courses are online with two designations: DLS and ONL. All Dual credit courses must be offered DLS unless otherwise indicated by the schools. • All summer study abroad programs were cancelled due to Covid-19. • Summer enrollment was up in all languages, making it necessary to add a second section of FREN 1411 and 1412, GERM 1411, and JAPN 1411 and 1412. • Enrollment is healthy in all languages with Spanish down in enrollment most likely due to Dual Credit enrollment being down and Covid-19. n. Spanish for Spanish Speakers SPAN 2313 Spanish III for Spanish Speakers made for fall 2020 as an 8 week course with 19 students and we are hoping to offer Spanish IV for Spanish Speakers this fall as well. Facetas, 5th Edition by Vistas Higher Learning was adopted for SPAN 2313 and 2315 this semester. The following new books were adopted for the Early College High School SPAN 1411 and 1412 Spanish for Native Speakers courses: Manual de gramática y ortografía para hispanos by Francés & Beniterz (this is a workbook, published by Pearson) and Nuestro idioma, nuestra herencia by García, Carney & Sandoval (this is the textbook, published by McGraw-Hill). Special Events There is nothing new to report. We hope to get together to celebrate Joe Liro’s retirement once things normalize. The department will not participate in the online international festival this year. Study Abroad There were no programs that were offered this past summer due to the pandemic. Below are the programs to be offered summer 2021. We will proceed with marketing in the hope that there will be opportunities for safe travel. • Arabic II - Jordon • Japanese II - Japan • Spanish IV - Argentina

Item # 13:	Textbook Inventory
Presenter	Becky James
Discussion	• Spanish will continue to use Vistas, 5th edition for spring 2021 and summer 2021. Prices have been confirmed through summer 2021. • Korean 1411 was offered for the first time this fall. Theresa Oh adopted Integrated Korean Beginning 1 textbook ISBN 9780824876197 and Integrated Korean Beginning 1 workbook ISBN 9780824876500. In the spring, Korean 1412 will use Integrated Korean Beginning 2 textbook ISBN 9780824883317, Integrated Korean Beginning 2 workbook ISBN 9780824883362 • Italian has the same FDA materials but with a new ISBN: FDA ISBN 28180000134773 digital package, loose-leaf print text optional for students • German 1411 is using a new adoption this fall: Sag mal: An Introduction to German Language & Culture, Supersite Plus Code only for 12 month-access ISBN 9781543329087, Supersite Plus Code & Student Edition loose-leaf textbook ISBN 9781543329070. German will use the same materials for 1412 in the spring. • The Textbook Inventory Committee will begin to work on the spring textbook inventory —pending the availability of the spring 2021 schedule. • Textbook Orders for spring 2021 have tentative deadlines of September 17th for FDA textbook orders and before October 1st for traditional textbook orders

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