Committee Meetings and Minutes

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Foreign Languages Task Force

Meeting Minutes

Current Status of Minutes: Final
Date	March 23, 2012
Time	1:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Location	HBC, Room #103.2

Members Present
No member attendance has been recorded.
Guests Present
No guest attendance has been recorded.

Item # 0:	Attendees:
Presenter
Discussion	Theresa Oh, Elsa Taylor, Mariela Prato-Williams, Tal�a Loaiza, Julie Kleinhans-Urrutia, Scott Gibby, Rosa D�vila, Carolyn Dunlap, Todd Phillips, Becky Jaimes, John McMinn, Anna Pyeatt, Stuart Smith, Christa Montoya, Vanessa Lazo-Wilson, Karolina Aznar-Lantermann, Gloria Diaz, Yvette Griego, John Golden, Tim Altanero, Gladys Anderson, Jan Emberson, Richard Ezell, Michael Hydak, Joe Liro, Salvador Villalpando, Cecilia Pastini, Bernadetta Kaminska, Cathy Angell.

Item # 1:	Approval of Minutes
Presenter	Cathy Angell
Discussion	Cathy Angell presented the minutes from the preceding meeting. The minutes were approved.

Item # 2:	Annonucements a)
Presenter	Cathy Angell
Discussion	Cathy Angell reminded faculty that there will be two study abroad programs during the first summer session. Todd Phillips will take a group of Spanish 2311 students to Costa Rica, and Anna Pyeatt will teach a Spanish 2312 class in Spain.

Item # 2:	Announcements b)
Presenter	Cathy Angell
Discussion	Cathy Angell announced that the Spanish 2311 and 2312 Honor Courses had been approved by the College-Wide Curriculum Committee, and that Spanish 2311 will be offered for the first time next fall, followed by 2312 in the spring.

Item # 2:	Announcements c)
Presenter	Cathy Angell
Discussion	Cathy Angell asked everyone to make sure that the department office has their current address and phone numbers, and she reminded faculty to upload their syllabus online at the beginning of each semester. She stressed the importance of uploading syllabi to comply with the state law requiring that all syllabi be posted online.

Item # 3:	Faculty Coach Report
Presenter	Julie Kleinhans-Urrutia
Discussion	Julie Kleinhans-Urrutia distributed and discussed departmental snapshots, which show the number of majors and the number of students successfully completing courses. The number of declared majors in the department was up across all ethnicities. The number of students successfully completing with a grade of C or better had declined. She also announced that she was preparing a report on the study she had conducted on service and collaborative learning.

Item # 4:	Program Review
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo-Wilson
Discussion	Vanessa Lazo-Wilson reported that twenty-one instructors had attended the SWAT meeting, and that full-time faculty had answered the questions in the review, creating a fifty-page document. Since it is such a large document, she said that she would not distribute it to everyone, but she would send it to anyone wishing to see it.

Item # 5:	Department Listservs
Presenter	Cathy Angell
Discussion	Cathy Angell announced that the listserv address for the department had changed. The departmental address is: FOLA_Faculty-l@austincc.edu. The listserv for Spanish instructors is SPAN_FAC@austincc.edu. Scott Gibby said that there had been some problems with the listservs. One person had not received an original message, but received responses to it. Cathy Angell asked whether all languages should have their own list servs like Spanish. Departments with few instructors said they could just email one another directly, but the French instructors requested one be made for them. It was decided to create a listserv for French.

Item # 6:	No Smoking Policy
Presenter	Joe Liro
Discussion	Joe Liro requested that the department ask for stricter enforcement of the no smoking policy on campuses. He reported that students are claiming that they are not on campus while smoking on certain sidewalks around the Rio Grande campus. There was a suggestion that Joe send photos of students smoking in these areas to the Board of Trustees.

Item # 7:	Committee Reports a) Spanish Textbook Selection
Presenter	Stuart Smith
Discussion	Stuart Smith reported that starting in the fall, 2012, Spanish 1511, 2311, and 2312 will change textbooks to Vistas, 4th edition. Spanish 1512 will change to Vistas in the following spring. The same textbook will be used in all four semesters. Students will purchase a bundled package that includes the print textbooks, the workbook/lab manual, and the answer key, as well as an access code to textbooks supersite, which includes electronic versions of the textbook, workbook/lab manual, and other supplements.

Item # 7:	b) Foreign Language Honor Society
Presenter	Julie Kleinhans-Urrutia
Discussion	Julie Kleinhans-Urrutia reminded faculty that applications for the Honor Society were due on March 21, and she restated the requirements and fees for membership. Students who made an A in 1511 were currently making an A in 1512 could become associate members, and students in 2311 or 2312 with an A in all their languages courses could become lifetime members. The fees are two dollars for associate members and thirty-five dollars for lifetime members.

Item # 7:	n) Professional Development
Presenter	Stuart Smith
Discussion	Stuart Smith announced there will be five training sessions for the new Spanish textbook Vistas, on March 30, May 4, June 29, August 15, and August 24. She also reminded faculty that Scott Gibby had created a web-site where we can share materials electronically, and that he will do a workshop training faculty to use it on April 13.

Item # 7:	o) New Faculty
Presenter	Todd Phillips
Discussion	Todd Phillis said there was no new faculty.

Item # 7:	h) Textbooks
Presenter	Becky Jaimes
Discussion	Becky Jaimes listed the textbooks changes for the fall, which include these books for the following courses: German 2311 (Kaleidoskop, 8th edition, published by Cengage); Russian 1511 (Golosa Book 1, 5th edition, published by Pearson/Prentice Hall); Russian 2311 (Golosa, Book 2, 4th edition published by Pearson/Prentice Hall); Spanish 1511, 2311, and 2312 (Vistas 4th edition, published by Vistas). The textbook decision for German 1511 and 1512 is still pending.

Item # 7:	i) Technology
Presenter	Scott Gibby
Discussion	Scott Gibby reported that they were looking at modifying the online Spanish 1511 and 1512 courses for the new textbook, as well as adding online courses for Spanish 2311 and 2312. He also said that they were still considering how to use the evaluations in the online courses.

Item # 7:	j) Student Success
Presenter	Cathy Angell
Discussion	Cathy Angell suggested that we add online orientations and tutorials for our courses, as well as descriptions of challenge exams, including samples questions.

Item # 7:	k) Special Events
Presenter	Theresa Oh
Discussion	Theresa Oh summarized the events that will be sponsored by the Foreign Languages Department at Carnival Ah! in April. Veronique Mazet will be leading French students in a presentation of Charles Perrault 101: So You Think You Know Fairy Tales. Gloria Diaz described the two-day Janus poetry reading she is organizing, which will include reading in all of the languages we teach echoed by English translations. Theresa Oh said that the Foreign Languages Department's International Night will be the closing event for Carnival Ah!, and will include performances by students and community groups representing ten countries. An array of international foods will also be served.

Item # 7:	l) Spanish for Native Speakers
Presenter	Rosa Davila
Discussion	Rosa Davila reported that there will be book presentations for the Native Speakers courses on April 13, 20 and 27. She invited interested Spanish faculty to attend.

Item # 7:	m) Scheduling
Presenter	Cathy Angell
Discussion	Cathy Angell said that the college was expecting a drop in enrollment this summer. The Dean had asked to close some sections before enrollments started, so that students could not enroll in them. A few sections of Spanish 2311 and 2312 were closed, but can be reopened if there is enough demand. These were all sections that had not been staffed yet.

Item # 7:	c) Adjunct Faculty Review
Presenter
Discussion	Nothing new was reported.

Item # 7:	d) Faculty Evaluation
Presenter	Talia Loaiza
Discussion	Talia Loaiza reported that evaluations had been sent out to faculty, as well as an email concerning changes in policies. She told faculty to be sure to review the policy changes carefully.

Item # 7:	e) Eligibility List
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo-Wilson
Discussion	Vanessa Lazo-Wilson announced that Karolina Aznar-Lantermann would be co-chairing the Eligibility List Committee with her. Vanessa reported that only 16 of the 20 MSTA slots for Spanish had been filled because instructors had not reapplied. She also said that there had been two MSTAs assigned for German and one for Japanese.

Item # 7:	f) Curriculum
Presenter	John McMinn
Discussion	John McMinn shared that Jan Emberson would co-chair the Curriculum Committee. Jan will be in charge of Spanish, and John will do the other languages. They announced that the new Spanish 1511, 2311 and 2312 master and sample syllabi for Vistas will be distributed soon after classes begin in the summer. John also said that Mary Greff is working on the new syllabi for Russian 1511 and 1512, Joe Liro will do them for Russian 2311 and 2312, and Bernadeta Kaminska will prepare the syllabi for the new German 2311 textbook. John also reported that some faculty had expressed concern that we do not accept three-hour courses from all universities as prerequisites for SPAN 1512 and 2311, since we accept 601D from the University of Texas as the prerequisite for SPAN 2311. This matter was discussed and there was a motion to change the prerequisite policy to accept three-hour courses from all universities as prerequisites for ACC 1512 and 2311 languages courses. The suggested change in prerequisite policy did not pass. The prerequisite for ACC 1512 and 2311 courses will continue to be four-hour firs and second semester courses, with the exception of SPAN 601D from the University of Texas.

Item # 7:	g) Assessment
Presenter	Julie Kleinhans-Urrutia
Discussion	Julie Kleinhans-Urrutia reported that in the fall, 2311 courses had tested reading skills. The following percentages of students passed with 80% or better: German 85%, Chinese 50%, Russian 75%, Japanese 50%, and Spanish 95%. The results for French were still being determined. The next assessments will be cultured and writing for 1511 courses and reading for 1512. Cathy Angell pointed out that the Spanish challenge exams will need to be updated to match the curriculum using the new textbook.

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