Committee Meetings and Minutes

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Foreign Languages Task Force

Meeting Minutes

Current Status of Minutes: Final
Date	October 26, 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:	Vistas Book And Packaging
Presenter	In Attendance from 1:30-2:00 pm: Spanish Faculty
Discussion	Spanish faculty and representatives from the bookstore discussed the different options of ordering the Vistas textbook and its ancillaries for Spanish 1511, 1512, 2311, and 2312. Some faculty preferred the all-inclusive bundle that includes the electronic textbook. Other faculty said they did not need students to have the electronic textbook and preferred to allow students to buy used textbooks separately which would not include the electronic textbook. The bookstore representatives said that only one option could be listed as the required materials online, but the other could be listed as an optional package. ACTION TAKEN: Faculty voted to list the separate textbook and the workbook package as ''required'', and the all-inclusive bundle as an ''optional'' package. It was also decided to add a statement online that students should check with their instructor before purchasing their textbook.

Item # 0:	Vistas Textbook Curriculum Decisions
Presenter	In Attendance from 4:30-5:00 pm: Spanish Faculty
Discussion	The Spanish faculty discussed the chapter distribution of Vistas across Spanish 1511, 1512, 2311, and 2312. Some faculty said they felt the first semester course was too heavy. ACTION TAKEN: It was decided that starting immediately in SPAN 1511, instructors need to complete only through the end of Chapter 5 and do not have to cover the first half of Chapter 6 as previously required. Starting in the spring, Chapters 6-10 will be covered in SPAN 1512, Chapters 11-14 in SPAN 2311, and Chapters 15-18 in SPAN 2312.

Item # 1:	Attendees:
Presenter	From 2:00 to 4:30 pm
Discussion	Delia L. Montesino, Theresa Oh, Ewa Siwak, Charles Rand, Stuart Smith, Joseph Liro, Scott Gibby, Jan Emberson, Roberto Ybarra, Anna Pyeatt, John McMinn, Alan McCown, Christa Montoya, Heather Bonikowski, Marc Pr�vost, Tim Altanero, John Golden, Particia R. Fernos, Julie Kleinhans-Urrutia, Todd Phillips, Vanessa Lazo-Wilson, Karolina Aznar-Lantermann, Rosa D�vila, Becky Jaimes, Mariela Prato-Williams, Tal�a Loaiza, Catherine Angell.

Item # 1:	Approval of Minutes
Presenter	Cathy Angell
Discussion	Cathy Angell presented the minutes from the March 23, 2012 meeting. ACTION TAKEN: The minutes were approved without corrections.

Item # 2:	Announcement: (a) Academic Master Plan
Presenter	Cathy Angell
Discussion	Cathy Angell announced that each department will have to prepare a master plan tied to the budget which will be updated yearly. It was suggested that we base it largely on the program review. Marc Prevost recommended having groups of people work on separate parts. Cathy Angell asked whether he would organize its preparation, and he volunteered to do it for the next year. Cathy Angell asked for a volunteer to supervise its preparation for this year. Ewa Siwak asked if she could do it as an adjunct faculty member. Vanessa Lazo-Wilson offered to look at the program review to see what information could be used from it, and Julie Kleinhans-Urrutia said she would look at what she has from her work as the Faculty Coach. The Master Plan is due to the Dean by December 15. ACTION TAKEN: None

Item # 2:	Announcement: (b) Advanced Placement Tests for Japanese and Chinese
Presenter	Cathy Angell
Discussion	Cathy Angell announced that there are now Advanced Placement Tests for Japanese and Chinese, and that a student had inquired about obtaining credit for Japanese based on his AP scores. She asked whether we should accept AP scores for credit for these languages as we do for others and what scores should be required to receive credit for each course. ACTION TAKEN: It was approved to accept the AP scores for Japanese and Chinese as well as AP exams for other languages as they become available. The faculty teaching those languages will determine the correlation of scores required to receive credit for each course.

Item # 2:	Announcement: (c) New Hourly Employee
Presenter	Cathy Angell
Discussion	Cathy Angell announced that Daniel Saberbein will be working as an hourly employee in the departmental office. ACTION TAKEN: None

Item # 3:	Proposal for Distance Learning Courses
Presenter	Heather Bonikowski
Discussion	Heather Bonikowski proposed offering distance learning courses for French 1511 and 1512 and offered to develop them. There was a brief discussion on how such courses would affect enrollments in other classes. John McMinn said he felt that although it might take some students from traditional classes, it would also attract more students to take French. ACTION TAKEN: It was approved to develop and offer distance learning courses for French 1511 and 1512.

Item # 4:	''Rate my Professor'' and Similar Websites
Presenter	Joe Liro
Discussion	Joe Liro reported that it is the ACC Admissions Office that releases faculty members' grade averages to such sites. He said that these sites also were trying to get copies of faculty evaluations, but the college had resisted releasing them. He said he would keep informed on what information is being provided to such sites. ACTION TAKEN: None

Item # 5:	Committee Member Updates and Assignments
Presenter	Cathy Angell
Discussion	Cathy Angell asked Committee Chairs to contact committee members from last year to see if they wish to remain on committees and to report back to her. Alan McCown asked to join the Spanish Native Speakers Committee, and Heather Bonikowski asked to join the Technology Committee. ACTION TAKEN: None

Item # 6:	Committee Reports: (a) Study Abroad
Presenter	Todd Phillips
Discussion	Todd Phillips reported that all went well with his SPAN 2311 study abroad program in Costa Rica and with Anna Pyeatt's SPAN 2312 class in Spain last summer. He announced that Fahim Idais will lead an Arabic 1512 study abroad course in Jordan this summer. Joe Liro said he would like to offer a Russian course abroad the following summer. ACTION TAKEN: None

Item # 6:	(b) Foreign Language Honor Society
Presenter	Julie Kleinhans-Urrutia
Discussion	Julie Kleinhans-Urrutia announced that the Honor Society would accept applications until the following Friday, and she reminded faculty of the requirements to join the Honor Society. She reported that the code to pay the fees to the ACC cashier was 84AMG. ACTION TAKEN: None

Item # 6:	(c) Adjunct Faculty Interview
Presenter	Marc Pr�vost
Discussion	Marc Pr�vost reported that there have not been any interviews recently and that we are only doing them as needed. We are not currently receiving applications for the adjunct pool. ACTION TAKEN: None

Item # 6:	(d) Faculty Evaluation
Presenter	Tal�a Loaiza and Mariela Prato-Williams
Discussion	Tal�a Loaiza reminded faculty that they will now be evaluated by their students every semester. She reported that a committee had been formed to determine how to use them to complete the faculty evaluation process, but this year, we will still use the fall evaluations to complete the Faculty Evaluation Summary forms. ACTION TAKEN: None

Item # 6:	(e) Eligibility List
Presenter	Vanessa Lazo-Wilson & Karolina Aznar-Lantermann
Discussion	Vanessa Lazo-Wilson said there was nothing new to report. ACTION TAKEN: None

Item # 6:	(f) Curriculum
Presenter	John McMinn and Jan Emberson
Discussion	John McMinn reported that the electives in the degree plan had been classified as unrestricted since we accept any academic course to fulfill the elective requirements. Jan Emberson encouraged faculty to upload their syllabus on the Google.doc site set up by Scott Gibby to share ideas about how to organize the materials in the new Spanish program. Mariela Prato-Williams suggested stating on the master syllabi for Spanish that it is the Supersite Plus that students access for the electronic materials. ACTION TAKEN: None

Item # 6:	(g) Assessment
Presenter	Julie Kleinhans-Urrutia and Tim Altanero
Discussion	Julie Kleinhans-Urrutia reported that there will be at least two assessments per semester in all languages which must be given during the last two weeks of the semester. They may be for a grade or not and may be included as part of a test. In the reading assessment for SPAN 1511 and 1512 last summer, 84.4% of SPAN 1511 and 91.9% of SPAN 1512 students passed with a score of 80 or better. This fall, 1511 courses will test dictation, 1512 courses will test writing, and 2311 courses will test listening. She asked German instructors for help with German assessment materials. She said that she is considering testing culture in the spring. ACTION TAKEN: None

Item # 6:	(h) Spanish for Native Speakers
Presenter	Rosa D�vila
Discussion	Rosa D�vila reported that 27% of all ACC students are Hispanic, and that from 2005 through 2011, Hispanics at the college had increased 59%. She proposed new intermediate Spanish courses 2313 and 2315 for Spanish speakers, and distributed a syllabus for the courses based on the textbook Espanol escrito (Prentice Hall). The courses will be called Spanish III for Spanish Speakers and Spanish IV for Spanish Speakers. Spanish-speaking students wishing to take the courses will take a special challenge exam for SPAN 1511 and 1512 designed for Spanish speakers. There will be an online assessment to guide students in deciding whether to try to take the courses. If students already have credit for SPAN 1511 and 1512, they will need to get consent from the instructor to register for the course. ACTION TAKEN: The courses were approved.

Item # 6:	(o) Professional Development
Presenter	Stuart Smith
Discussion	Stuart Smith asked for suggestions on what sort of workshops to offer. Marc Pr�vost said he would like to have a workshop on student retention and student preparedness for college. Heather Bonikowski said she was not sure of what resources are available for students who need help. Faculty also suggested having a share session of favorite activities, a round table on using Vistas, and a share session with ESOL. ACTION TAKEN: None

Item # 6:	(p) New Faculty
Presenter	Todd Phillips
Discussion	There was nothing new to report ACTION TAKEN: None

Item # 6:	(i) Textbook Inventory
Presenter	Becky Jaimes
Discussion	Becky Jaimes reported that there are two additions to the textbook inventory. A new French conversation book, Ultimate French: Basic Intermediate, and a new supplemental package for Vistas in Spanish. In the spring, SPAN 1512 will use Vistas, German 1512 will use the 6th edition of Treffpunkt Deutsch, and German 2312 will use Kaleidoskop. ACTION TAKEN: None

Item # 6:	(j) Textbook Audio
Presenter	Stuart Smith
Discussion	Stuart Smith asked faculty first to check with the library if students report a problem with the audio recordings and then to let her know if anything needs updating. ACTION TAKEN: None

Item # 6:	(k) Technology
Presenter	Scott Gibby
Discussion	Scott Gibby reported that they will meet in the spring to discuss adding distance learning for SPAN 2311 and 2312. He also said that he would like to create a handbook for new instructors teaching foreign language distance learning courses and stating policies for those courses. ACTION TAKEN: None

Item # 6:	(l) Student Success
Presenter	Cathy Angell
Discussion	Nothing new was reported. Anna Pyeatt shared that a Spanish native-speaker student had told her that an instructor told her not to come to class, and the student was given a A. ACTION TAKEN: None

Item # 6:	(m) Special Events
Presenter	Theresa Oh, Mariela Prato-Williams, and Gloria Diaz
Discussion	Theresa Oh reported that the Foreign Language Department had hosted the International Night at Carnival Ah! It was the closing event for Carnival Ah! and over 300 people attended. It was the best attended event in the history of Carnival Ah! The division is already advertising an International Night for next spring's Carnival Ah! ACTION TAKEN: None

Item # 6:	(n) Scheduling
Presenter	Cathy Angell
Discussion	Cathy Angell reported that starting in the fall, the schedule will be rolled over every semester and that classes that do not make will be deleted. She added that for the summer those classes were not deleted, and she asked faculty for suggestions on whether to keep them. There was also a discussion of lab courses and how to get more students to register for them. It was suggested that they start a week or two after regular classes when students start to realize that they need them. ACTION TAKEN : None

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