Committee Meetings and Minutes

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Foreign Languages Task Force

Meeting Minutes

Current Status of Minutes: Final
Date	January 27, 2023
Time	1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Location	Virtual

Members Present
Scott gibby, Lam Lau, Timothy Altanero, Catherine Angell, James Burleson, Rosa Davila, Diane Echevarria, Jan Emberson, Oscar Garcia-Landois, Mary Greff, Becky Jaimes, Bernadeta Kaminska, Julie Kleinhans-Urrutia, Talia Loaiza, John McMinn-Reyna, Michael Hydak, Myung-Joo Oh, Todd Phillips, Mariela Prato-Williams, Alina Waguespack
Guests Present
No guest attendance has been recorded.

Item # 1:	Departmental Meeting/ Approval Minutes Fall 2022
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo
Discussion	Vanessa Lazo distributed the minutes from the September 9, 2022 Department Meeting for approval. Action taken: The minutes were approved without changes.

Item # 2:	Committee Reports/Review
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo
Discussion	Vanessa Lazo asked for approval to attach the Committee Reports for Spring 2023 to these minutes. Action taken: It was approved to add the Committee Reports to the end of the minutes without changes. Vanessa Lazo asked faculty to review the list of committees and their members and to let her know if any changes need to be made. Julie Kleinhans Hooks asked for there to be at least one instructor for each language on the Assessment Committee. Rosa Dávila pointed out that the Outreach Committee was missing. There was a discussion whether it had been combined with the Special Events Committee. Action taken: It was decided to keep the Outreach Committee and the Special Events Committee as separate committees.

Item # 3:	Announcements
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo/ Fola Name Change
Discussion	A. The Asian American and Pacific Islander Cultural Center had a Lunar New Year Concert on Saturday, January 21, at the Highland Campus. B. Faculty members were reminded to upload their office hours and the syllabus for each section to Lighthouse. C. ACC parking permits will be required starting on February 1, 2023. D. Todd Phillips will be away on sabbatical next fall and spring, and interviews will be conducted for an Italian instructor to replace him. E. Mariela Prato-Williams will serve as the Department Chair during the first summer session. F. There is a Japanese 1412 study abroad class in Osaka and Kyoto scheduled for this summer, which will be led by Emi Schuster. Jan Emberson is scheduled to lead a group of Spanish 2311/1300 students to study in Buenos Aires, Argentina. B. Julie Kleinhans Hooks reminded faculty that we will be assessing Oral Communications and Reading Comprehension in 1412 courses. She will send more information about the assessments later. C. Talía Loaiza and Mariela Prato-Williams reminded faculty to submit all evaluation materials by the January 31 deadline. IV. FOLA Name Change Vanessa Lazo asked faculty to consider changing the name of the department from the Foreign Language Department to World Languages due to the recent acts of violence towards immigrants and the possible negative connotations of the word foreign. There was agreement that the name should be changed, and there was discussion whether to use the word language in the singular (World Language Department) or the plural (World Languages Department). Faculty preferred the plural form. Action taken: All faculty members voted to change the name to the World Languages Department with the exception of one abstention. V. Blackboard Shell Scott Gibby presented a template for courses to use on Blackboard, which would meet the requirements for QM (Quality Matters) certification. There was discussion of how it differs from a template the division is preparing. Scott responded that there was little progress on the division’s template and suggested that we go ahead and have a shell built for the one he proposed. Scott is also working on a proposal to have groups work together to create QM certified courses. Action taken: It was approved to have the proposed Blackboard Shell built with the details of its implementation to be determined. VI. Program Review Scott Gibby reminded faculty working on the Program Review that all sections needed to be completed by January 31, and he said that the Program Review will be opened to all faculty for comments after it is completed. Action taken: None VII. French 1411 Honors Course (SLAM French Outloud) Vanessa Lazo read a description of a proposal by Véronique Mazet to create an Honors French 1411 course based on SLAM poetry. Some faculty members expressed concerns that it might include too much material beyond the level of French 1411. Action taken: It was approved to add the Honors Course with the caution to stay within the parameters of the French 1411 curriculum. C. ACC parking permits will be required starting on February 1, 2023. D. Todd Phillips will be away on sabbatical next fall and spring, and interviews will be conducted for an Italian instructor to replace him. E. Mariela Prato-Williams will serve as the Department Chair during the first summer session. F. There is a Japanese 1412 study abroad class in Osaka and Kyoto scheduled for this summer, which will be led by Emi Schuster. Jan Emberson is scheduled to lead a group of Spanish 2311/1300 students to study in Buenos Aires, Argentina. B. Julie Kleinhans Hooks reminded faculty that we will be assessing Oral Communications and Reading Comprehension in 1412 courses. She will send more information about the assessments later. C. Talía Loaiza and Mariela Prato-Williams reminded faculty to submit all evaluation materials by the January 31 deadline. FOLA Name Change Vanessa Lazo asked faculty to consider changing the name of the department from the Foreign Language Department to World Languages due to the recent acts of violence towards immigrants and the possible negative connotations of the word foreign. There was agreement that the name should be changed, and there was discussion whether to use the word language in the singular (World Language Department) or the plural (World Languages Department). Faculty preferred the plural form. Action taken: All faculty members voted to change the name to the World Languages Department with the exception of one abstention.

Item # 4:	Blackboard Shell
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo
Discussion	Scott Gibby presented a template for courses to use on Blackboard, which would meet the requirements for QM (Quality Matters) certification. There was discussion of how it differs from a template the division is preparing. Scott responded that there was little progress on the division’s template and suggested that we go ahead and have a shell built for the one he proposed. Scott is also working on a proposal to have groups work together to create QM certified courses. Action taken: It was approved to have the proposed Blackboard Shell built with the details of its implementation to be determined.

Item # 5:	Assessment
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo
Discussion	• In the Fall 2022 semester, we assessed Personal Responsibility for our General Education SACS assessment in our 1411 classes. Instructors were asked to tally the number of students that completed 50% or more of an assigned activity. Here are the percentage of students who completed 50% or more of the assignment: Chinese - 84.62%; French – 76.19%; German – 80%; Italian – 90.91%; Japanese – 81.05%; Korean – 73.5%; Latin – 84.62%; Russian – 100%; Spanish – 82.62%. Thank you to everyone for helping administer the assessments and for passing the scores along! • In the Spring 2023 Semester, we will be assessing Oral Communication in our 1412 classes (more information will come). (We are asking our students to give a presentation.) We will also be assessing Reading Comprehension in 1412 classes (more information will come).

Item # 6:	Curriculum/ distance Learning
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo/ Veronique Mazet
Discussion	• Véronique Mazet is working on an honors course for French 1411. The will be a vote on approving the course at the department meeting on January 27. • All master syllabi were updated to reflect the option for professors to include the “College Policies & Student Support Service” information in their syllabus or to direct students to the link with this information in Blackboard. • Honors Span 1411 - Spanish I: Contemporary Film & Media Part I was successfully offered this fall semester. Honors SPAN 1412 – Spanish II: Contemporary Film & Media, Part II, will also be offered in the future. Honors Span 1411 and 1412 for Medical Professions continue to be part of the department’s offerings. Details for each Honors course are found at https://students.austincc.edu/honors-program/course-profiles/ • Please let John McMinn-Reyna know if there have been any curriculum changes that would affect master syllabi. With the help of volunteers, the Distance Learning Committee created an outline for a Blackboard template to help faculty create courses that will meet QM and/or division standards. This will be presented and voted on in the department meeting pending agenda approval.

Item # 7:	Eraly College High School
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo
Discussion	• The Arabic program at Austin Peace Academy (APA) continues with Arabic III for Spring 2023 with 16 students enrolled. • ECHS sections continue to be offered at the following campuses: EGN, SAC, and RVS. e. Eligibility List Nothing new to report. f. Faculty Evaluation The Evaluation Committee has nothing new to report. Portfolios for 2022 are due by January 31. g. Faculty Interview The hiring committee reviewed some applications, but there were no interviews for new adjunct faculty. h. Faculty Problems Nothing to report to the faculty at large. i. Foreign Language Honor Society In the Fall 2022 semester, we added 2 new members to the Foreign Language Honor Society. This semester, applications will be due March 31. j. New Faculty Committee Mariela Prato-Williams and Todd Phillips will be conducting interviews this semester for an adjunct Italian professor to replace Todd while he is on sabbatical in the fall of 2023 and spring of 2024. k. Outreach • On February 10 at Highland Campus there will be an Open House for prospective students and their families, times to be announced. We will have a presence there with information regarding the offerings of the FOLA department. There will be brochures and posters for the Japan and Argentina study abroad programs, as well as other information. Details will be shared when received. • Outreach efforts continue for the study abroad programs for summer 2023. Thank you so much to our colleagues who continue to encourage students to investigate these opportunities! l. Professional Development • Spring Development Day was held on January 13 this year, and a number of workshops of general interest to all faculty were included. • Over the summer, many FOLA faculty participated in the QM workshops that were required for professors teaching distance learning classes. • With the new Workday program, each of us is required to enter our faculty development hours online. The Professional Development Office shared the following steps to do so: 1. Log into Workday 2. Click on the Career icon in the “Applications” section on the right-hand side 3. You will see 2 columns, Actions & View. Under “View” click “Training”. 4. At the bottom of the screen, you will see an “Add” button. Click on the “Add” button 5. Add a training title. (An * means required.) 6. Select the training type (classroom, conference, summit, symposium, or web-based) 7. Add a description 8. Input the completion date in the “completed on” section 9. Add training duration (hours, minutes) • If you have ideas or suggestions for additional workshops, please let the Professional Development Committee know. Now that things have begun to return to some in person meeting, there may be more opportunities for workshops.

Item # 8:	Scheduling
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo
Discussion	• Many sections were cancelled in January 2023 due to low enrollment. • The Summer 2023 rollover schedule has been reviewed and passed on to the Dean's Office. • We were fortunate to add an additional CHIN 1411 section to Spring 2023 thanks to the addition of Lynn Lau as our new AAPI Cultural Center Director & Chinese Professor. • We continue to serve Acadeum students in French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. • Our department will continue to offer the four options of class format plus an additional HyFlex option: DLS, HYD/HYC, FLX, LEC, and ONL. o DLS - Distance Learning Synchronous o HYD/HYC - Hybrid Distance and Hybrid Classroom o FLX - Hyflex Classroom o LEC - Lecture classes that typically meet twice a week o ONL - Online sections without any required virtual meetings

Item # 9:	Special Events/Study Abroad Special Events/ Study Abroad
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo
Discussion	The Special Events Committee organized an end-of-semester faculty gathering for the fall at the Kome Restaurant on December 12. There are two foreign language study abroad programs scheduled for the summer of 2023. The Japanese 1412 program in Osaka, Japan, with an excursion to Kyoto and the Spanish 2311 / Spanish 1300 program to Buenos Aires, Argentina, with excursions to Uruguay and Iguazú Falls. Here is a link for more details: https://students.austincc.edu/study-abroad/study-abroad-program/

Item # 10:	Textbook Inventory
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo
Discussion	• The Textbook Inventory Committee is currently collecting adoption information for summer 2023 textbook orders, which are due before the end of February. • French 2312 French faculty approved 3 books for the Textbook Inventory. The instructor assigned to teach the course will have the option to choose from the approved textbooks. Once the course is assigned, Raha will contact the instructor to place the order for the instructor’s preference. They are: 1. Le petit Nicolas (printed in 2012 by IMAV) ISBN 9782070364237 2. French Conversation, 3rd edition by McGraw-Hill (printed in 2021) ISBN 9781264257294 3. Imaginez, 4th edition (VHL) ISBN 9781543336931, package includes: SuperSite Plus + webSAM, digital code access for 1 semester • Integrated Chinese Level I Parts I and II and Integrated Chinese Character Book (3rd edition) will be out of print at the end of January. Lynn is reviewing the 4th edition for summer 2023. • This spring, we will also place textbook orders for fall 2023, which are due by mid to late March.

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