FCC Meeting - October 27, 2015

Present:

Buffy Aries, Michael Ching, Adam Levine, Bryn Geffert, Bridget Dahill, Hari Kumar, Molly Mead (guest)

Agenda items:

1. ATS Director Search

  • ATS Interim Director Bridget Dahill and Instructional Designer Hari Kumar presented to the FCC what IT is looking for in a permanent ATS Director. 
    • Expertise in skills relating to customer service, personnel management and project management will be included in the job description.
  • Goal to have ATS Director job description ready for the FCC by the December 1 FCC meeting.
  • Goal to start interviewing in early spring and have a new director in place by start of 2016-2017 academic year. 

2. Teaching and Learning Center Update

  • Molly Mead has been tasked with putting together a working group to start planning the Teaching and Learning Center. In addition to Molly, members also include:
    • Michele Barale (Faculty)
    • Sarah Barr (Center for Community Engagement)
    • Frank Couvares (Faculty)
    • Bridget Dahill (Academic Technology Services)
    • Jyl Gentzler (Faculty, Writing Center)
    • Jennifer Innes (Quantitative Center, )
    • Sheila Jaswal (Faculty)
    • Jessica Kem (Writing Center)
    • Hari Kumar (Instructional Designer)
    • Missy Roser (Library Research & Instruction)
    • Lisa Stoffer (Grants Office)
  • The working group is considering many questions, including: What are the goals and purposes of the center? What is the faculty perspective on how the center can best support their teaching and research? What resources are already available on campus to support teaching and learning? How might a T&LC best catalyze these resources?
  • Faculty of the group have started small group conversations with a diverse subset of the faculty to gather feedback.
  • Molly and Hari have been visiting teaching and learning centers at other institutions and have identified some best practices.

 

FCC Meeting - October 13, 2015

Present:

Buffy Aries, Michael Ching, Adam Levine, Jack Cheney, Bryn Geffert, David Hamilton, Bridget Dahill

Agenda items:

1. Recap of 2014-2015:

  • Online advising
  • IT Leadership change
  • The role of the FCC
  • Changes to how IT assesses and decides which requests for support it can pursue
  • Software virtualization/developing better models for delivering software to students

2. Consider inviting Instructional Designer Hari Kumar to FCC meetings going forward;

3. Make the FCC aware of issues with respect to accessibility, steps the college is taking toward accessibility compliance, and possible courses of action;

  • An IT Accessibility working group has been formed and is working on a draft for an IT Accessiblity Policy.
  • Rob Eveleigh has been hired as the new Five Colleges Accessibility Coordinator and splits his time between Amherst, Smith, Mt Holyoke and Hampshire Colleges. He is reporting to the ATS Director and will be working closely with AC's Accessibility Services Manager, Jodi Foley, and the IT

4. Make the FCC aware of staffing changes in media support, implications for the future, and possible challenges this year;

  • Marcus DeMaio now reports to Communications;
  • Josh Baum in ATS Multimedia Services has taken over academic video consulting and production;

5. Propose that we pursue hiring an ATS Director as first order of business, recap previous search and circumstances we’re in now.