Query Regarding Tenure Review, Academic Senate, and the Brown Act

[Tom Heaney]

Our college is small enough that it is a Senate of the Whole -- that
is, all full time faculty (tenured and untenured) are full members of
the Senate. The Senate is preparing to meet to discuss and approve
the actions of the Tenure Review Committee, but we are, for the first
time, concerned about the presence of the untenured faculty who are
being evaluated being present in the Senate during the discussion of
their evaluation.

The Executive Committee of the Senate is in agreement that the
discussions will be done legally in a Close Session of the Senate.
However, there is a question about the individuals under review:

It is my understanding of the process, the Brown Act, and
particularly, the Furtado decision, that the subjects of the review
process should be (and can be) excluded from discussion. But the
problem is that these faculty are also members of the Senate, and some
members of the Executive Committee think that the faculty under review
should be allowed to attend and that legally we can’t exclude them.

Does anyone have any experience with this or advice to give? Does the
Brown Act allow exclusion of Senate members when the Senate discusses
their evaluation?

Thanks,
--Tom Heaney
Chair, Division of Arts and Sciences
Feather River College

[Alfred Hochstaedter]

I have no idea what the Brown Act actually says. But to me, it is totally inappropriate for the person being evaluated to be present during his or her evaluation. I think the Common Sense Act should trump whatever interpretations of the Brown Act come into play here.

Just one man's opinion.

Fred Hochstaedter
Academic Senate President
Monterey Peninsula College

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[Paula Demanett]

Tenure is a matter of union contract and considered a personnel action at Fresno City College. Therefore, it is a confidential matter. Is this true at your college?

Paula Demanett
Past President, Academic Senate
Fresno City College

________________________________

From: cccse...@googlegroups.com on behalf of Tom Heaney
Sent: Wed 2/24/2010 10:21 AM
To: CCCSenates
Subject: [Google Group CCCSenates] Query Regarding Tenure Review, Academic Senate, and the Brown Act

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[Alfred Hochstaedter]

This is true at MPC.

 

-Fred

[Beth Smith]

Hi all,

As the tenure review coordinator at my college, I have a couple thoughts
on the matter that may or may not help.

First, I question the process of allowing a faculty member's evaluation
to be reviewed by the senate. Evaluations are confidential, and there
should be provisions in the contract or human resources for protection
of the individual. More than the Brown Act, I think that as a candidate
under review, I would want to know that I am protected and that I have
due process for appeal.

Second, the use of closed session by senates has been a point of legal
challenge in the past. Closed session meetings are allowed for
discussing legal matters and for performance review of employees of the
board, and in this case, that would be the senate. Senates do not
employ faculty, so I recommend caution when using closed session for
evaluations of faculty.

Beth

-----Original Message-----
From: cccse...@googlegroups.com [mailto:cccse...@googlegroups.com]
On Behalf Of Tom Heaney
Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 10:22 AM
To: CCCSenates
Subject: [Google Group CCCSenates] Query Regarding Tenure Review,
Academic Senate, and the Brown Act

--

[Tom Heaney]

Thanks, Everyone, So far,

The evaluation process under tenure review is indeed confidential,
hence the need for a Closed Session as per the rules of the Brown
Act. Our union contract specifically states that the recommendations
of the Tenure Review Committee are submitted "to the Academic Senate
which in turn makes its recommendation to the Superintendent/President
who submits her/his recommendation to the Board of Trustees." In
order to discuss those recommendations the evaluations would have to
be discussed.

Do the Academic Senates at other colleges take action on tenure in
this manner, or is it strickly the Tenure Committee?

[I should say that I would actually be open to the idea that there is
something fundamentally wrong with our college's procedure in this
regard.]

--Tom

[Zarske, John]

Here's what our contact says at Santa Ana College

INSTITUTIONAL TENURE REVIEW

8.9.1 The appropriate vice-president(s) will meet with representatives
of FARSCCD and the college
Academic Senate (1 representative each) to review the
evaluation report and recommendations prior to
submission to the college president. The vice-president(s)
will review the reports with the college president
who will then forward the recommendation to Human Resources.

Perhaps the senate president or whole executive committee should review
tenure evaluations as representatives of the senate. It does seem like
you open yourself up to confidentiality issues when you open it up to
the whole senate.

This year, I had to discuss not granting tenure to a faculty member with
the CIO. That's not something that should include to the whole senate.

-----Original Message-----
From: cccse...@googlegroups.com [mailto:cccse...@googlegroups.com]
On Behalf Of Tom Heaney
Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 12:22 PM
To: CCCSenates
Subject: [Google Group CCCSenates] Re: Query Regarding Tenure Review,
Academic Senate, and the Brown Act

Thanks, Everyone, So far,

--Tom

--

[Kenneth Collins]

I don't respond to this listserve very often, but this seems like a
dangerous issue for senates. I was amazed to hear that academic senates
play a role in tenure review at some colleges. To me, tenure review
seems like a purely contractual issue - how did the senates get involved
in the first place? I can't imagine where tenure review would fit in
the 10+1, other than under "matters mutually agreed upon".

In the North Orange County CCD, faculty tenure committees are
individualized to each candidate and consist of the division dean and
three faculty members (usually two from the same department and one from
another department within the same division). The committee's
recommendation goes to the college president and then on to the board.
The senate plays no role in our tenure review.

I would caution senates about getting involved with this issue. Tenure
and employment issues occasionally lead lawsuits and other
unpleasantries. Unions are equipped to represent faculty on those types
of issues, but senates are not. If I were you, I would turn this over
to your union and wash your hands of the whole process. Unless it is in
the 10+1 (or reasonably related to it) I would avoid it.

Ken Collins
Senate Past-President

Kenneth P. Collins, Ph.D.
Professor of Biology
Fullerton College
321 E. Chapman Ave.
Fullerton, CA 92832-2095
kcol...@fullcoll.edu
714-992-7428

[David Morse]

Hi everyone,
I just want to echo what Beth said here. My college's senate was sued
for Brown Act violations a few years ago, and it was largely about our
use of closed sessions. The judge's directions to us were pretty
specific: we could only go into closed session to discuss legal
matters, and only then if we had our attorney present. We were told
that since we do not hire and fire employees, we could not go into
closed session to discuss personnel. I would therefore agree with
Beth that you should be very cautious about any use of closed sessions
in tenure discussions.

As far as the tenure process at our college goes, the evaluee is a non-
voting member of the committee and therefore has a right to be present
for all discussions. We do not allow any tenure review meetings to be
held behind closed doors.

David Morse
Long Beach City College

[David Morse]

I have been a member of this group almost since it started, so I do
not even remember how we all joined. My college has a new senate
president. Can anyone remind me how I go about getting him signed up
for this group?

Thanks,

[Alfred Hochstaedter]

Sounds like a good reason for the Academic Senate as a whole to get out of the business of tenure evaluation.

Trying to make a decision like this with the evaluee present still sounds like crazy talk to me.

-Fred Hochstaedter
MPC Academic Senate President

[Beth Smith]

On the matter of the role of the senate in tenure review:

Education Code sections 87600-87683 cover tenure and evaluations of
faculty. In section 87601.1.a it says

"In those districts where tenure evaluation procedures are collectively
bargained pursuant to Section 3543 of the Government Code, the faculty's
exclusive representative shall consult with the academic senate prior to
engaging in collective bargaining on these procedures."

That's the only place where the senate is mentioned. Senates and unions
should consult on the processes used for tenure review and, more
generally, for faculty evaluation. The processes developed through
faculty to faculty consultation could define a role for the academic
senate.

Beth

-----Original Message-----
From: cccse...@googlegroups.com [mailto:cccse...@googlegroups.com]

On Behalf Of David Morse
Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 3:01 PM
To: cccse...@googlegroups.com

[Smith, June]

Harbor College has always treated this as a union issue. We are not
involved as a Senate.

[George J. Galamba]

This has been a very hot issue at our college, Woodland Community College.  As a senate, we review the recommendations of the tenure committee, and ask questions of them.  Then we meet in closed session (which IS allowed under the Brown Act) and make a recommendation to the trustees to grant or deny tenure.  Most of the time, it is pro forma; the senate accepts the decision of the committee.  Most of the time, but not always.  Last year, at out sister college, the tenure committee voted to deny tenure, the senate voted to recommend it, and the trustees decided to deny.  At our college this year, we have the opposite; the committee strongly recommended tenure, the senate voted to recommend no tenure.  In my opinion, these events demonstrate a problem with the process, which for us is fairly restrictive in what information we can collect. 

[Stev...@aol.com]

Hi David,

I think you might have been "drafted" into the group.  Interested people should go to groups.google.com (you can also get there from the google homepage by clicking on "more" and "groups").  Put CCCSenates in the search box, and the procedure for becoming a member should be reasonably obvious.  I have had to block the spammers, so I will have to give approval, which should be fairly quick.

 

Steve Gold

Cypress College (retired)

 

In a message dated 2/24/2010 3:07:56 PM Pacific Standard Time, dmo...@lbcc.edu writes:

I have been a member of this group almost since it started, so I do 
not even remember how we all joined.  My college has a new senate 
president.  Can anyone remind me how I go about getting him signed up 
for this group?

Thanks,

[Andrea Sibley-Smith]

Dear Steve,

Thanks for starting this group several years back! If I remember, at that time you invited all the then current senate presidents to join; however, as senate presidents come and go, many may not be aware of this group and might like to take part in discussions. I would like to make a suggestion, since you just retired and are looking for things to do (hah!), that an invitation to join is sent to current senate presidents. What do you think?

 

Andrea Sibley-Smith
SCE Academic Senate President/DSPS Faculty
School of Continuing Education
North Orange County Community College District
Anaheim Campus
1830 West Romneya Dr.
Anaheim, CA 92801
Cell: (714) 815-3991
New email address: asible...@sce.edu

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[Stev...@aol.com]

Hi Andrea,

 

Last fall, I sent an e-mail to all current members of the group, asking that they forward the information about the group to people at their college who might be interested.  That netted only about 3 additional members.  However, I would be happy to send an invitation to all current senate presidents if someone can supply me with their e-mail addresses.  Also, Richard Mahon of RCC has offered to distribute a flyer at the spring plenary.

 

Steve