Guest Post: The First Day of a Spring Semester

by Glenda Denicolo, Ammerman Campus Coordinator, New Member Mentoring Program

 

Editor’s Note:  SKG here -- hoping that you're all doing well and that you're not half as discombobulated by the snow day and first week of school as I am. For instance, this morning I tried to convince my class that it was Thursday, not Tuesday. Also, I thought the smart cart computer was broken but it turned out to be a matter of *shudders with embarrassment* not turning on the smart cart power button. Oy.

Why would I out myself in this manner? In the hopes that you remember, when you're having your own confused, rushing-around-to-get-everything-done-but-accomplishing-very-little days (or weeks) that . . .  you're not alone.

Thus is the message we get from the fun, fanciful little story below.

 

It is early morning and a familiar sound wakes up the instructor. “New e-mail alert”, he reckons. Just one more to be added to the 107 unread messages received in the last 24 hours. “Must have coffee”. He quickly goes through his morning routine and gets in the car. Wishful thinking. He gets out of the car again to scrape ice off the windshield.

Somehow, on the way to SCCC, a song on the radio reminds him of a TLC talk he wants to attend this week. The song’s title, Aerosmith’s Dream On, was a presage of the week ahead. “But before that talk, I must share my idea for a new class assignment with Peter….and Mary – I only see her momentarily on Wednesdays. Ah, I need to ask Paul to photocopy more course outlines. Wait. Perhaps I can do that myself, Paul is too busy this time of the semester. What are all those e-mails about anyway??” The instructor proudly believes his course outlines are infallible this semester. After a long time strategizing, he doubts the students will find any loophole.

One more endorsement for "Feeling and Form:
Collages, Prints,and Drawings"
by Meredith Starr and Richard Mack
(Lyceum Gallery: Thurs, Jan 30, 4 pm.)

At school, the corridors look relatively calm, with the occasional lost newbie. The instructor is blessed with no computer problems, and so there is enough time to deal with some of those e-mails. “Where’s ‘select all’?…ok, now ‘delete all’.” He feels a brief moment of self-reproach, and hesitantly moves the mouse away from the delete button. Too many e-mails from people he never heard of. Sometimes he cannot figure out whether the messages are important or not. He speed-reads, decides to save some just in case, and probably delete all when the inbox reaches the storage limit (quite often…). He takes notes of several events and meetings in his Google calendar – a fantastic advice Mary gave him in his first semester. He remembers her saying “the record will be there when you write your promotion Form A”. She hasn’t done that herself yet, though.

It’s show time! The corridors are now full with faculty and students, and you can smell the nervous energy in the air: it smells like baloney sandwich mixed with a French perfume. On his way to class, the instructor is focused, making detailed mental notes on the class he is about to teach. Right then a student approaches and informs him that her cousin’s wedding is next Tuesday, and that she won’t be able to come to class that day. She would like to photocopy his class notes in advance. The instructor’s detailed mental notes are now in disarrange (it was a feeble attempt anyway; he knows he can always rely on his written notes). No, he is not completely sure of what is going to happen next Tuesday; he just wants to start the class.

He explains the course outline to the kids, and secretly braces for more stories of cousins’ weddings and other unpredictability ahead. The toughest policy in his course outline is no curving of grades, by his personal choice. The instructor quickly learned in his first semester the importance of emphasizing such major policy on the first day of classes. “Besides,” he reflects with a smile, “I never heard objections on the first day.”

The class goes well, he feels ennobled, with a sensation of a job well done. He gives his best, and is now exhausted. The smile of glorified self-satisfaction disappears from his face when he realizes that it was just the first of three classes, starting in five minutes. Also, 43 new e-mails arrived.

After all classes are over, the instructor finds it a bit difficult to speak and think clearly. He has an office hour in the afternoon, and crosses his fingers that it will be a calm one. Perhaps chatting with his colleagues will help him focus again later.

Prof. Anne Smith enters his office. She is full of enthusiasm, and asks whether he will submit his travel form for a very exciting conference this coming March in Anchorage, Alaska. It is going to be 1,499.99 dollars; just what he has available for reimbursement (minus 1 cent). She sent him an e-mail about this super conference. Suddenly he is worried he will be left behind if he doesn’t apply. Now he is franticly browsing the web, and applying for that conference.

 

On his drive back home, the instructor realizes a few things. He cannot go to that conference he already applied to on the account of a family wedding! He also missed a meeting he wanted to attend today, and left several e-mails unanswered. Bottommost, he is worn out.

 

“What a strange day...”, he thinks. “But it gets easier.”

 

Welcome back, everyone!!

Welcome Back, Inclement Weather!

I don't know if you've noticed, but it's snowing outside.

 

I'm sure your students have noticed. I'm sure the four students who were missing from my 9:30 a.m. English 102 will use it as an excuse for missing the first class of the semester, even though the snow didn't really become snow out here until about 11 a.m. As of noon today, the college has officially cancelled activities after 5 p.m. -- and those students with evening classes aren't worried, anyway, because evening classes don't begin at SCCC until next week.

 

How did I know about the cancellation of activities after 5 p.m., you might ask? The SCCC homepage. THEN, because I'm on campus, I received a voicemail message from the President's office. If you're not in the office yet you can also check with News Channel 12 if, for some reason, you can't check the SCCC page -- but I have a feeling that if you can't check one, you're probably not going to be able to check the other, either.

 

This post isn't about finding out about cancellations, anyway. It's about what to do once your ambitious course schedule for the semester -- the one you agonized over during the break, the one you balanced down to the minute -- becomes ferkockteh and you find yourself fermisht.

 

If classes are cancelled at SCCC -- or if you find yourself forced to cancel classes on your own because of illness , etc. -- or if you're non-teaching faculty and it isn't a classroom schedule that's disrupted but rather a project -- try to take a deep breath and remember that deadlines can and should be flexible.

 

For teaching faculty, I think we worry sometimes about making sure we cover enough material. We worry that if we have cancelled classes, we won't be able to fulfill our obligations to our students and SCCC within the time remaining.

 

One way to help yourself adjust or revise your course outline after a cancellation is to revisit the course description and learning outcomes as established by the college for your courses. Technically, we're all required to include these course descriptions and learning outcomes in our course outlines, but if you weren't aware of that requirement, don't worry -- you can begin including them next semester.

 

Where might you find these course descriptions and learning outcomes? Here, under Academics on the SCCC web site. Enter in the course number, and you'll be given a link to a document that looks something like this:

 

Stunning, isn't it?

 

These syllabi are part of a recent undertaking on the part of the College (spurred by the Middle States commission) to centralize and make available the syllabi for all of the courses offered at our institution. Their creation means this: the college course syllabus is a syllabus -- NOT the paper that you hand to your students on the first day of class. I know -- shocker, right? Rather, the description of your course as you teach it -- complete with your schedule of assignments and classroom policies -- is considered a COURSE OUTLINE.

 

On a related note, were you aware that your course should not list objectives? Because objectives are things that one intends to attain. OUTCOMES are definitive end results -- and even though you have no control over variables such as your students' intelligence or their individual work ethics -- if a student completes the course (READ: "Complete" equals a grade of D or higher), in the language of the course syllabus, "students WILL BE ABLE TO . . . "

 

No matter who they are. No matter how smart they are. No matter how good of a student he or she turns out to be.

 

Oh, the English Language! We. Have. Fun.

 

Anyway, pet peeves such as GroupThink and Institutional Language aside, it is useful for our students to see that a course being taught by several different instructors across three different campuses will have commonalities. It also helps when they try to transfer credits they earned here to  four-year institutions.

 

So . . . back to keeping your Grand Semester Plan chugging along! I find that these course syllabi are useful to instructors, too, particularly when you find yourself short on time and long on material to cover. The syllabi act as good reminders: there are very particular aims for each course, and those aims as detailed by the college rarely include specific material. As long as you can ensure that your students have met, in some way, each of the outlined outcomes, you've met your obligations as an instructor.

 

Do we meet our obligations more thoroughly and more efficiently some semesters? Sure. But that's the ebb and flow of an academic's life.

 

And I guess that's my point. Your career, and our students' education, occur within the context of lives. We all know that our students aren't going to die or suffer or become impoverished because they don't get to read Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. In fact, some English majors can go their entire academic careers without ever reading it. (*Cough* RIGHT HERE *Cough*) So don't worry too much over whether or not you get to accomplish all of the brilliant lectures and group discussions and writing assignments you laid out before your students when the semester was bright and shiny and new. Your students will think of your class as bright and shiny even when it's no longer new to them if you remember to relax, breathe, and allow some flexibility in your classroom.

 

OH, and now classes are cancelled as of 3 p.m. today. So some of us will be adjusting those class assignment schedules sooner rather than later . . .

 

* * *

 

p.s. Check out this press release about New Members Meredith Starr and Richard Mack! (Or better yet, go see their show!)

Guest Post: An Annual Event You Don’t Want To Miss

by Bruce Seger, Mentor, New Member Mentoring Program

Editor's Note:  As members of academia, I think many of us already know the importance of attending conferences in our disciplines; but how many of us have considered attending a conference about union activities, issues and interests? Bruce's post for this week speaks to his experience at one such conference, and reveals how much you can learn about (and learn to appreciate) your very own union at such an event. -- SKG

 

I recently attended the 35^th Annual NYSUT Community College Conference in Cooperstown at the Otesaga Hotel. The conference occurs annually in November, at an upstate venue. It is always interesting, informative and entertaining.

Look at that scenery! (Oh yeah, and the landscape is nice, too.)

So why should you attend? First, it is a chance to meet with fellow community college colleagues from around the state and interact about institutional, political and union issues. Second, the conference offers numerous workshops, as well as a diverse and informative group of speakers during the breakfast, lunch and dinner sessions. This year’s sessions included Leadership Development: Understanding Conflict, Basic Negotiations: Principles and Theory, Why MOOC’s Matter, Advanced Negotiations: Challenges to Public Sector Unionism, How to Be Smart When Using Social Media, Basic Negotiations: Techniques and Practice, We’re REALLY Disappointed: Civil Expressions of Power, The Union’s Role in Addressing Sexual Harassment and Hostile Work Environment, Basic Negotiations: Developing Contract Language, Who’s on Deck? Leadership Succession Planning, Advanced Negotiations: Issues for Everyone BUT Full-Time Classroom Faculty and What Do You Stand For?: Branding and Local Identity.

Among the presenters this year were our President Kevin Peterman, our Vice President, Sean Tvelia and our Adjunct Coordinator, Cynthia Eaton. It is assumed that our Faculty Association is similar to others in the state. Attending the conference highlights just how wrong that statement is. Kevin Peterman discussed many issues including collective bargaining, having a working relationship with administration political action, engaging union members, promoting common goals among members and planning for the future. Many from other colleges were amazed at our association model and requested that Kevin present at their college associations. It seems that many unions from other colleges have trouble gaining any attendance or interest for union activity.

The conference runs from Friday evening to Sunday morning. During the day on Saturday there is an extended break allowing participants to travel to town and the surrounding area to explore everything from the Baseball Hall of Fame to local farms, wineries, and small town stores and shops.

The previous year’s conference venue was at Saratoga and the conference usually changes venues each year. I have gained valuable new information at every community college conference I have attended, as well as a greater appreciation for our union, its officers and members. We always have one the largest attending groups at the conference and I encourage you to attend and hope to see you next year at the 2014 NYUT Community College Conference.

“In Solidarity” is Not Just the Closing of a Letter

I apologize for my silence over the past two weeks! I've been, to use the parlance of the service industry, "in the weeds." Usually I do a fairly good job of compartmentalizing my family life and my professional life, but this semester my family life threw a proverbial wrench into my professional life, and in the form of a darling, sweet, adorable little germ trap . . . my nine-month old daughter.

 

Still Life with Baby, Chicken Pox, Calamine and Comb

The first hiccup in the semester came in late October, when the Little Miss Germ Trap caught the chicken pox. That was fun! I had to take an entire week off from classes to stay home with an itchy cranky poxy infant! That one week off precipitated a backlog of essay and quiz grading and a slew of committee responsibilities that I've yet to resolve completely. And then the second hiccup came just last week, when Little Miss Germ Trap caught Roseola or The Plague or some kind of Alien Superflu, and I had to cancel yet another class, and as a result, rethink my end-of-semester final assignments.

 

This experience was not without its useful learning curve, however. (Don't take on overload assignments the semester after you give birth, Dummy! Don't teach brand new texts in that same semester! Resist joining new committees!) Also, it affirmed something I've known since I became a faculty member here:  we have a marvelous support system at SCCC, and particularly in the FA.

 

My lovely department chair , Michael Boecherer -- who is now of course a Guild member but has a history of active participation in the FA prior to his administrative position -- offered lots of good advice on addressing student needs. He even met with one of my classes briefly to address concerns and cover course material in my absence so that my students wouldn't lose valuable time at the end of the semester.

 

My office mate, the inimitable Ms. Cynthia Eaton (and the FA's Adjunct Representative) generously offered her babysitting services even though she's twice as busy as I am and has two adorable little boys of her own to look after.

 

And my good friend (and former chair of the FA's Community Outreach Committee) Adam Penna talked me down and kept me from leaping out my office window yesterday when I had myself turned inside out over all of the work I have to complete in the next two weeks. (Don't worry -- even if I'd leaped out my window I wouldn't have done much damage -- I'm on the first floor.)

 

Not to be too dramatic (har har), but I feel a profound thankfulness for having such helpful and understanding colleagues. I experienced similar camaraderie and solidarity when  I was a faculty member of the Ammerman Campus, too, so I know such friendliness is not just restricted to Eastern.

 

And not too long ago, I witnessed our FA officers and FA members come together to protect our newest members, and that experience -- much like my experience this semester -- left quite an impression on me. This country was in the deepest, most tumultuous parts of its recession, and Suffolk County Community College’s budget was threatened by cuts at the state and county level. The FA was asked to open negotiations for renewal of our contract, and the FA agreed.

 

High on the FA’s priority list was protecting the jobs of at least 70 full-time faculty members, who, like yourselves, did not yet have continuing appointment (otherwise known as tenure). Then-President Ellen Schuler Mauk wrote a clear and thorough rationale for the negotiations in a special edition of The Word (you can find it here: http://www.fascc.org/word.asp, under the 2009-2010 archives  -- titled “Contract Edition”). In a special vote ratified on June 9, 2010, 88% of the FA membership approved the 2010-2015 Faculty Association Contract.

 

The FA’s forward thinking and willingness to open negotiations early managed to avoid possible roadblocks and threats to membership in the 2011-2012 year, when the contract was originally due to be renegotiated. And when the contract is up for negotiation again in 2015, I’m confident you’ll see the same levels of cooperation between the individuals in our membership, the administration, and our union officers.

 

So you may have noticed that much of the FA's literature is often printed with the closing "in solidarity." I just wanted to remind you, with these anecdotes, that here at Suffolk it's not just a catchphrase, or an automatic, knee-jerk reaction. It's something practiced, not preached, and it's what makes working here a pleasure. I know this time of year can be incredibly stressful and busy -- but your colleagues are here for you, and if you need help, you should ask for it.  

 

Extra: The FA Holiday Party

by Sarah Gutowski, Chair, New Member Mentoring Program

We're making up for missing a post two weeks ago -- you felt like something was missing, didn't you? -- by sending out one more blog post that doubles as a reminder.

 



Hmmm, this looks familiar, doesn't it?

This year’s event will be held on December 6 at 7 p.m. at Villa Lombardi’s in Holbrook (877 Main Street), and because this is your first year here, your ticket to the party will be paid for by the FA. Woohoo! Of course, you are welcome to bring your spouse or significant other or a friend to the Holiday Party with you – and many people do – but that ticket will cost $40. (You are free also to buy additional tickets for more friends if you like – bring your bowling team! Your book club! Your Sunday morning coffee klatsch! – but those cost around $75 per person.)

 

You can find a reservation form for the Holiday Party on the back of the current copy of The Word, or you could click here. The only catch: The deadline's tomorrow, Wednesday, November 20. If you call the office at x4151 or email Anita at anita (at) fascc.org.

 

I encourage you to go to the Holiday Party, particularly in your first years here. It’s a great way to get to know your colleagues in a setting outside of work. (I was going to write “in a less formal setting,” but the FA Holiday shindigs can be pretty fancy. Not quite black tie, but a good excuse to wear that special something that’s just a little too shimmery or glittery or velvety for the office or classroom.)

 

That’s it for today! I promise!

NYSUT, AFT, AFL-CIO, and "On Campus"

by Sarah Gutowski, Chair, New Member Mentoring Program

You may or may not have come to SCCC this year from an institution with a strong union presence (or, sadly, any union presence at all) -- so being a part of a union and what that means may be rather new to you.

Why grade that stack of papers when you could explore AFT?

 

The Faculty Association of Suffolk County Community College is dedicated to providing good working conditions and salaries for its community of professionals (full-time classroom faculty, librarians, counselors, specialists and professional assistants), as well fostering an environment that "maintain[s] the tradition of excellent public higher education in Suffolk County, New York," as FA President Kevin Peterman writes in his welcome letter on the FA web site.

The FA shares this commitment to excellence in higher education and optimal working conditions for its professionals by being a part of New York State United Teachers (or, NYSUT), a federation of more than 1,200 local unions in New York State. NYSUT is an affiliate of AFT, the American Federation of Teachers -- which is an affiliate of AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations), an "umbrella federation for U.S. unions."

Together, these organizations work to promote the best interests of its membership. The FA believes, as Kevin reminds us in his welcome letter, "the working conditions of our members help enhance the learning conditions of our students" -- so promoting the best interests of the membership also promotes the best interest of our students and, because we're a public institution, our community.

You'll notice (if you haven't already) that as a part of the FA you're going to receive a lot of literature via the U.S. Postal Service from AFT and NYSUT. While this can seem overwhelming once in a while, especially around election time, the pros of being "in the loop" far outweigh the cons.

For instance, you probably received an issue of the September/October issue of AFT's periodical "On Campus" at the beginning of the semester.  This magazine addresses a number of issues relevant to those working in higher education, and often gives you a larger sense of what’s happening in higher education (the good and the bad) across the nation. It’s worth perusing these issues – even if you have to wait until classes are over to find the time – to keep abreast of important trends that may affect our profession.

The magazine also features articles that offer advice and tips for improving your professional performance. To peruse any back issue of “On Campus,” visit http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/oc/issues.cfm.

 

Also, as members of AFT and NYSUT, you're eligible for benefits. To learn more about these benefits (from car rental, entertainment, and healthclub discounts to legal and financial services), visit www.aft.org and create an online account -- you'll need your AFT member number and your AFT local number.

 

You should have received an AFT membership card in the mail by this point. But if you've misplaced it (LIKE SOMEONE WHO SHOULD BE MUCH BETTER ABOUT SUCH THINGS BUT ISN'T, AND SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS) you should go to the AFT Members Only page and fill out the form. Explain that you need your number(s), and they'll send you a helpful email in response.

 

NYSUT also provides benefits to its members (you may have received some indication of this via mail already). To log on to the NYSUT web site and learn more, visit their login page and follow the directions.

Guest Post: Advising

by Joe Napolitano, FA Mentor, New Member Mentoring Program

Editor's Note: Due to technical problems with the listserv last week and this week, we're a little behind on our posts. We apologize for the inconvenience.

 

Now that we're back, up and running, please welcome FA Mentor Joe Napolitano as our third fabulous guest blogger of the semester. Joe, who teaches Biology on the Eastern Campus, writes in his post about some of his own experiences as a first-year faculty member advising first-year college students, and gives us some relevant advice as we begin this semester's period of Priority Registration at SCCC.

 



Snow, Shark, and Priority Reg

It’s that time of year, once again.  The birds are flapping off to warmer climes (enviably), the trees are giving up on photosynthesis in one final festival of color (which we get to clean up), and surplus Halloween candy is cheap and plentiful (I’ve had Twizzlers for breakfast every day this week).

You may have also noticed the cool autumn breezes carrying faint whispers of “mid-semester…”, “SAIN report…”, and “priority registration….” - that’s right, it’s advising season.

 

Although our teaching duties probably occupy the bulk of our time, especially for new faculty, advising and mentoring students is, arguably, an equally important role of Suffolk faculty.  Regardless of rank or discipline, we all have two common goals - to facilitate students’ academic success during their time here, and to prepare them for their academic or professional endeavors to come.  Advising takes many forms and, chances are, you’ve already done plenty this semester.  However, the mid-semester mark is a useful advising cue for two reasons - it’s a good time to appraise students of their progress in your courses thus far, and also to start planning a course schedule for the next semester.

Sometime between the mid-semester mark and priority registration (October 24^th and November 11^th, respectively, this semester) I require all of my students to sit down individually with me for a brief advising session I call the ‘mid-semester check-in’.  During the check-in, we review their academic progress and attendance, calculate their current grade and estimate what they’ll need to get on upcoming assignments in order to end up with a final grade they’re satisfied with.  For students who are struggling, we talk about study skills and time management and plan additional meetings, if necessary.  I’ve found that, despite transparent grading policies and regular feedback, students don’t always have a clear idea of how they’re doing.  Perhaps it’s just easier to think “if I just keeping showing up it’s somehow going to be ok” instead of “holy crap, if I don’t do get it together in this class I’m completely screwed”.  Regardless, the check-in has been effective at ‘scaring straight’ some at-risk students (and providing a nice ego-stroking to those who are doing well).

The second part of the check-in is about planning ahead - getting students to start thinking about the next semester.  If you are unaware, Priority Registration is a period just after mid-semester when students can begin registering for the next semester’s classes.  In general, the longer a student has been at Suffolk, the earlier the registration date - this gives students with fewer semesters left the first crack at registering for the courses they need.  Students can check this date by logging in to MySCCC, clicking the “My Courses” tab, then “View My Holds”.

I encourage my students to have a schedule ready before their registration date so they can jump on the classes they want.  Wait too long and the class may fill (or be canceled) and there’s no waitlist system for courses at Suffolk so it’s hit or miss as to whether a seat will open up.

Advising can be a little intimidating, especially for new faculty.  After all, how can you guide a student through the intricacies of Suffolk when you just got here yourself?  To you, I have two pieces of advice:

First, fear not.  Advising is actually one of the best ways to learn about courses, requirements and programs at the College that you’re not already familiar with.  There are also plenty of resources available to help faculty with advising - from your FA faculty mentor to the Academic Advising and Mentoring Centers.  Although the AAMCs may seem like another service for students, they’re also very much for faculty.  Check out the brand new AAMC Short Guide - a brief how-to for faculty advising and mentoring.  It’s available at every AAMC, on the Virtual Learning Commons and via the Title III Project home page.  The guide also includes a veritable gold mine of contact info for College programs and offices.  Don’t know the answer?  Just call someone and ask!

My own first advising experience was terrifying (initially).  I volunteered for ‘arena advising’ - students queue up at a computer lab to meet with a counselor or faculty member during priority registration.  I showed up with little knowledge of Suffolk, to a long line of waiting students who knew even less and were expecting me to guide them.  Not only did I survive, but I learned so much from the experience  that I ended up doing it every semester thereafter - not just to help students, but because every advising experience made me a better adviser.

Second, never underestimate your ability to make a positive difference as an adviser.  Even a few minutes spent showing a student how to access their SAIN report or check their registration date can add up to some serious empowerment down the road.  College isn’t high school, and it can be daunting for students when they realize that, to a large degree, they’re expected to be their own guidance counselors, and navigate an unfamiliar educational system while making important life-decisions.

One of my favorite advising moments happened when I checked in with a student to whom I had suggested applying for a new summer research assistantship.   The student was one of the brightest I’d had, and the research experience would look great on her resume and perhaps even open a few doors.  As the deadline loomed, I asked if she had applied.  She replied that it looked interesting but was too expensive.  “Expensive?”  I was baffled - “the program is free”.  “But what about the $3000 stipend?” she asked.  “Uh, ‘stipend’ means *they* pay *you*…”  Needless to say, she applied, was accepted and spent the summer as an assistant researcher.  Crisis averted by a wee bit of advising.

 

(For more information, log in to MySCCC → click “Virtual Learning Commons” tab → click “For Instructors”.)