Academic Senate

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Charge: To make recommendations to the administration of West Valley College and to the Board of Trustees, with respect to academic and professional matters. As outlined in Title 5, the Senate's responsibilities include curriculum, degree and certificate requirements, grading policies, instructional program development, standards regarding student success, professional development, accreditation process, program review, institutional planning and budget development.

Senator Terms: Two years

Meetings: Second & Fourth Tuesday of the month during the Fall and Spring semesters, 2:15 PM – 4:30 PM.

Accreditation: Self Study, Reports and Documents

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2023–2024 Academic Senate Meetings

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The WVC Academic Senate meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month during the Fall and Spring semesters from 2:15 PM – 4:30 PM in the Campus Center Club Room (except where noted) and online via Zoom. Special meetings are as noted.

Fall 2023
  • September 12
  • September 26
  • October 10
  • October 24
  • November 14
  • November 28
  • December 12-Cancelled
Spring 2024
  •  January 23 (after Senate retreat)
  •  February 13
  •  February 27
  •  March 12
  •  March 26
  •  April 9
  •  April 23
  •  May 14

All Senate meetings are open to anyone who wishes to attend. The West Valley College Academic Senate is the voice of all faculty, both full and part time, in the governance and decision-making processes of the college. In accordance with Title 5 section 53203, the Academic Senate makes recommendations to the college and district on a wide range of academic and professional matters.

Senators

Officers

Name Term Position
Meg Farrell September 2017 – June 2025 Senate President
Joe Bucher September 2019 – June 2025 Student Services
Jasmine Colon January 2019 – June 2025 Library
Chris Cruz September 2023 – June 2024 Professional Studies
Scott Eitelgeorge, Alternating September 2022 – June 2024 Health and Human Development
Farima Fakoor September 2021 – June 2025 Associate Faculty Representative
Dan Fenstermacher February 2024 – June 2025 School of Art and Design
Michelle Francis September 2023 - June 2025 At-Large Representative
Vicky Kalivitis September 2021 –  June 2025 Language Arts
Tim Kelly June 2005 – June 2025 Social Science
Erika Llantero October 2022 – June 2024 Student Services
Faun Maddux September 2019 – June 2025 Science and Math
Margaret Ortiz September 2022 – June 2024 Continuing Education
Christine Peters-Stanton September 2023 – June 2025 Science and Math
Cynthia Reiss June 2008 – June 2025 School of Art and Design
Paul Starks, Alternating September 2023 – June 2024 Health and Human Development
Minh-Chau Pham October 2023 – June 2024 Student Rep

Officers

Name Term Position
Meg Farrell June 2023 – June 2025 Senate President
Vicky Kalivitis June 2023 – June 2025 Senate Vice President
Name Term
Gretchen Ehlers 2017 – 2023
Eric Pape 2013 – 2017
Lance Shoemaker 2009 – 2013
Angelica Bangle 2005 – 2009
Vivian Lock 2003 – 2005
Linda King 2001 – 2003
Jim Wilczak 1998 – 2001
Joan Sarlo 1996 – 1998
Lydia Harris 1995 – 1996
Ed Lodi 1994 – 1995
Wanda Wong 1993 – 1994
Linda King 1992 – 1993
Fred Barnikel 1991 – 1992
Ed Lodi 1989 – 1991
Michael Herauf 1987 – 1989
Claudine Simpson 1986 – 1987

Academic Senate's Role in Governance

Assembly Bill 1725 (1989), the last major California community college reform legislation, codified the concept of shared governance and required each district to implement the provisions of law within parameters established by regulation in Title V. The district's Board Policy 3.3.4, Academic Personnel, recognizes the role of the Academic Senate under the provisions of AB 1725 as codified in the California Code of Regulations, Title 5, 53200 and following. Board Policy 3.3.4b states, "It shall be the policy of the District to rely primarily upon the advice and judgment of the Academic Senate in all eleven areas identified in the California Code of Regulations, Title 5 # 53200." Board Policy also states, "The recommendations of the Senate will normally be accepted, and only in exceptional circumstances and for compelling reasons will recommendations not be accepted. If the recommendation is not accepted, the Board or its designee, upon request of the Academic Senate, shall promptly communicate its reasons in writing to the Academic Senate."

Academic Senate Purview

  1. Curriculum, including establishing prerequisites.
  2. Degree and certificate requirements.
  3. Grading policies.
  4. Educational program development.
  5. Standards or policies regarding student preparation and success.
  6. College governance structures, as related to faculty roles.
  7. Faculty roles and involvement in accreditation processes.
  8. Policies for faculty professional development activities.
  9. Processes for program review.
  10. Processes for institutional planning and budget development.
  11. Other academic and professional matters as mutually agreed upon.

Academic Senate Constitution

The name of the representative body of all faculty (Regular, Contract, and Associate) assigned to West Valley College shall be the West Valley College Academic Senate, hereafter designated as the Academic Senate.

The purpose of the Academic Senate is to make recommendations to the administration of the college and the District's Board of Trustees as the representative body for the West Valley College faculty and to participate in decisions with regard to academic and professional matters including:

  1. Curriculum, including establishing prerequisites
  2. Degree and certificate requirements
  3. Grading policies
  4. Educational program development
  5. Standards or policies regarding student preparation and success
  6. College governance structures, as related to faculty roles
  7. Faculty roles and involvement in accreditation processes
  8. Policies for faculty professional development activities
  9. Processes for program review
  10. Processes for institutional planning and budget development
  11. Other academic and professional matters as mutually agreed upon

Specifically excluded are those matters that fall under the scope of representation for collective bargaining in accordance with the California Administrative Code, Title 5: Education, Subchapter 2, Sections 53200-53205.

When appropriate, the West Valley Academic Senate as a body will work in cooperation with the Mission College Academic Senate on district-wide issues through the District Academic Senate; and it will maintain its sovereignty as the representative body for the WVC faculty during any and all District Academic Senate meetings.

Section 1

Membership of the Academic Senate shall be open to currently employed Faculty Members, including Regular Faculty and Contract Faculty and the Associate Faculty.

Section 2

The Academic Senate shall be composed of:

  1. One faculty member selected by his/her peers from each academic area as defined by the Academic Senate in conjunction with the existing organizational structure of the college.
  2. When a division has more than 20 Full-time Faculty members, that division shall have two elected faculty to serve on the Academic Senate.
  3. One faculty member from the Library or other non-instructional area excluding student services.
  4. Two faculty members from Student Services Division; one from Counseling and one from Support Services.
  5. One faculty member elected at large.
  6. Two Associate faculty members elected at large by a majority of the Associate Faculty members who vote, or, in the event that there are only two candidates, appointed by the Academic Senate.
  7. The Academic Senate President elected by the faculty membership.
  8. One faculty member elected by a majority of faculty to serve as President-elect in the second semester of the second year of the president’s two-year term.
  9. One student representative selected by the Associated Student Body for a one year term shall have an advisory vote.

Section 3

The term of membership shall be as follows:

  1. The president shall serve for a two-year term beginning June 1st.
  2. The president-elect shall serve for a one semester term during the second year of the president’s two-year term of office.
  3. Senators of the Academic Senate shall serve for a two year term, beginning with the start of the academic year. Members may be elected to serve additional terms.
  4. Senators may be recalled by a majority vote of the constituency that elected them.
  5. If an Associate Faculty Senator no longer has an assignment during his/her term of office, an election will be held for a replacement to complete the term.
  6. Vacancies will be filled immediately by special election within the represented areas.
  7. If a Presidential vacancy occur during the first year of the president’s term, the vice president will serve only until the end of that academic year at which time a new president shall be elected by the membership to serve for a two-year term.

Section 1: President

  1. The President of the Academic Senate shall assume the responsibilities on June 1st and serve for two academic years.
  2. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Academic Senate and serve as spokesperson for the Academic Senate and the faculty.
  3. The President shall serve as co-chairperson of the District Academic Senate.
  4. The President shall seek Academic Senate direction and serve as the representative and spokesperson of the faculty at district and college participatory governance councils and at the District Board of Trustee's meetings.
  5. The President shall vote only in case of a tie vote in order to break that tie vote.
  6. The President shall consult with the specific area represented by an Academic Senator(s) before approving hiring committee memberships.
  7. The president will report and seek Academic Senate position on district and college wide issues during summer and winter that may directly affect faculty, academic, and professional matters.

Vice President

  1. A Vice-President shall be selected by the Academic Senate from among its members at the start of the academic year.
  2. The term of office of the Vice-President shall be for one academic year.
  3. The Vice-President shall substitute for the President in his/her absence and assist in any or all duties/responsibilities of the President.
  4. If an Academic Senate President cannot serve as co-chairperson of the District Academic Senate, then the Academic Senate Vice-President of that Academic Senate becomes the District Academic Senate co-chairperson
  5. The Vice-President shall have full voting privileges at the Academic Senate meetings.
  6. If the Vice Presidency becomes vacant, a new Vice President shall be selected at the next scheduled meeting by a vote of the senators present.

Section 3: Senators

  1. The Senators represent the faculty of their respective academic area, Library, and Student Services Division.
  2. Senators are expected to attend all regularly scheduled meetings.
  3. Senators are responsible for developing a process of communication between the Senate and the areas they represent.
  4. Senators will be expected to be knowledgeable on the Education Code and Title 5 relative to the legislative nature of the Academic Senate.
  5. Senators will educate the campus and district community on the 10 + 1 legislative functions of the Academic Senate.

Section 1

The functions of the Academic Senate shall be to:

  1. Serve as the official representative body of the faculty of West Valley College on academic and professional matters.
  2. Make recommendations to the college President and other officials of the college regarding educational policies, procedures, curriculum and other professional matters as specified in AB 1725.
  3. Appoint all faculty members to serve on district or college-wide participatory governance committees that have faculty representation, except those committees whose membership is selected by the faculty union. The appointed committee members shall be responsible to and shall maintain communication with the Academic Senate.
  4. Establish such standing, special, or ad hoc committees that the Academic Senate deems necessary to adequately participate in the formation of college policies on academic and professional matters.
  5. Standing Committees of the Academic Senate including dormant committees:
  6. Curriculum Committee
  7. Professional Development Committee
  8. Distance Education Committee
  9. Global Education Committee
  10. Student Learning and Program Effectiveness Committee
  11. Work in cooperation with the Mission College Academic Senate to promote effective communication between the two colleges and achieve common goals.
  12. Participate in the shared participatory governance plan structure.

Section 1: Enactment

This constitution and bylaws will be effective following adoption by a simple majority of those West Valley College faculty members who vote. Officers elected at the first election after enactment of the constitution and bylaws shall serve their designated terms.

Section 2: Amendments

  1. A proposed amendment must be presented to the Academic Senate before such amendment is presented to the West Valley College Faculty.
  2. Proposed amendments must be presented to the West Valley College Faculty in writing at least two weeks before a vote is scheduled.
  3. An amendment must be adopted by a simple majority of those West Valley College faculty members who vote.

Section 3: Interpretation of the Constitution and By-Laws

Interpretation of any sections of this constitution shall be made by a Senate committee composed of five (5) members of the Senate. The committee will include the President and the Vice President if the issue does not concern them.

Academic Senate Bylaws

Section 1: Elections

  1. The election for President-elect shall be held in October of the second year of the current President’s term of office.
  2. Elections for one faculty member senator at-large shall be held in February and/or in coordination with the timeline for the development of the Fall Class Schedule for the following academic year.
  3. Election for Associate faculty members at-large shall be held at the start of each academic year in the last semester of the senator’s term.
  4. Each faculty member's vote is to be counted as one (1) full vote.

Section 2: Committee Appointments

The Senate as a whole shall be involved in the recruitment and selection of committee appointments, including ad hoc, sub committees, task forces, etc., as needed throughout the academic year. These appointed committee members shall be responsible to and shall maintain communication with the Academic Senate.

Section 1: Impeachment and Removal

  1. Any member of the Academic Senate may introduce a motion of impeachment of the Academic Senate President for cause, including non-performance of their assigned duties, once agendized through the administrative assistant.
  2. A 2/3 vote of those Senators present voting in favor of the impeachment motion will result in the immediate removal of the Academic Senate President.
  3. Upon the removal of the Academic Senate President, the Vice President will fulfill the remaining term of the presidential position until new elections are called by the Academic Senate.

Section 2: Censure

  1. Any member of the Academic Senate may introduce a motion of censure of the Academic Senate President or Vice President for cause, including non-performance of their assigned duties, once agendized through the administrative assistant.
  2. A majority vote of those Senators present is required for the motion of Censure to pass.

Section 1: Regular Meetings and Agendas

The Academic Senate shall schedule and conduct a minimum of five (5) regular meetings per semester. Written agendas shall be distributed to all Faculty at least three days in advance of a meeting as required by the Brown Act.

Section 2: Special Meetings

Special meetings may be called by the President or by the written request of 10% of the West Valley College Faculty. A written notice of a special meeting and its agenda shall be distributed by the President to all Faculty at least one day prior to the special meeting as required by the Brown Act.

Section 3: Minutes

The President shall be responsible for overseeing that the minutes of each meeting are recorded and distributed to all Faculty within two weeks.

The Academic Senate is hereby empowered to make rules governing its own internal organization and procedures, subject to the following:

  1. A majority of the Academic Senate members (not including the student representative or Senate President) must be present to open a meeting and constitute a quorum.
  2. Any faculty member may attend any meeting and may speak to agendized items or present other issues of concern when recognized by the presiding officer.
  3. All actions or recommendations shall be made by majority vote of the Senators present. Should a senator be unable to attend a meeting, an alternate may be selected from his/her academic area. The alternate will assume full responsibility as the senator from that area. If an alternate does not attend, then the senator may submit a proxy vote on a given issue. Proxy votes will be honored. Voting procedures will be determined by the presiding officer unless two or more Senators request a roll-call vote.
  4. The Brown Act and Robert's Rules of Order (latest edition) will guide procedures.

Interpretation of any sections of this constitution shall be made by a Senate committee composed of five (5) members of the Senate. The committee will include the President and the Vice President if the issue does not concern them.

Academic freedom in the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge through all media shall be maintained at the West Valley-Mission Community College District. Such freedom shall be recognized as a right of all members of the faculty, whether of tenure or nontenure rank, of all administrative officers, and of all students.

Academic Freedom and the Common Good

Academic institutions exist for the transmission of knowledge, the pursuit of truth, the development of students, and the general well-being of society. Free inquiry and free expression are indispensable to the attainment of these goals. Recognizing this, the West Valley-Mission Community College District exists to promote these purposes and the common good of the citizens of California and mankind and not to promote the welfare of an individual faculty, an individual department or college, or the institution as a whole.

The freedom of faculty to inquire, to teach, to speak, and to publish contributes very much more to the welfare of their fellow citizens outside the College than to their own good or the good of the campus. As a previous Chancellor of the California State University system, Glenn Dumke, said, the academic community has as one of its oldest functions to serve as "one of the consciences of society." The academic community "is a questioner, a worrier, a critic, and idealist, seeking a better way toward human aspiration and fulfillment." Academic freedom and tenure are essential for excellence in education and, moreover, exist so that society may have the benefits of objective and independent criticism, and honest answers to scientific, social and artistic questions that might otherwise be withheld for fear of offending an influential social group or transient social attitude.

On the most practical level many of the technological innovations of great material value to our society are the results of scientific research that is most effectively carried out in an atmosphere of complete academic freedom. On less tangible levels the social benefits of academic freedom are not so easily identified and accepted, but they are no less real than the material benefits. Free research, teaching, and discussion in political, social, and cultural freedom.

Society is best served when the teacher and the scholar feels free to criticize and advocate change in any theories and beliefs, however widely held, and in any existing social, political, and economic institutions. It is not easy for faculty to dissent and to advocate unpopular ideas; it is almost always to their personal disadvantage to do so; but it is to the advantage of society to encourage them; only thus will society be aware of the full range of social political and cultural choices available to it; and only thus can the democratic ideal be fulfilled.

Academic Freedom and Responsibility

It is recognized that faculty in the West Valley-Mission Community College District must defend and protect academic freedom - however unpleasant and costly to them personally. Earlier citizens of the State of California wisely established institutions of higher education in which the principles of academic freedom were respected; it is the responsibility of all faculty to conserve the integrity of these institutions at whatever sacrifice to their personal tranquility.

West Valley-Mission Community College District faculty have these further and related responsibilities: to maintain themselves as experts in their fields of competency by study, research, and, where appropriate, publication; to diffuse knowledge and, if possible, to encourage creativity by their teaching; to defend their colleagues and their institution against any threats to the exercise of their responsibilities, whether from within or without the West Valley-Mission Community College District.

From time to time in the history of higher education in California and elsewhere, advocates of particular social, moral, political, or aesthetic positions attempt by violence, lawlessness or political and social pressures to interfere with academic freedom. At such times, West Valley-Mission Community College District faculty have a special responsibility to see that their own actions do not interfere with the freedom of others. They have further responsibility to insist that their institution does not yield to ephemeral passion or heavy community pressures to take hasty actions that may infringe on freedom of expression.

Professional Ethics

Faculty, guided by a deep conviction of the worth and dignity of the advancement of knowledge, recognize the special responsibilities placed upon them. Their primary responsibility to their subject is to seek and to state the truth as they see it. To this end, faculty devote their energies to developing and improving their scholarly competence. They accept the obligation to exercise critical self-discipline and judgment in using, extending, and transmitting knowledge. They practice intellectual honesty. Although faculty may follow subsidiary interests, these interests must never seriously hamper or compromise their freedom of inquiry.

As teachers, faculty encourage the free pursuit of learning in their students. They hold before them the best scholarly and ethical standards of their discipline. Faculty demonstrate respect for students as individuals and adhere to their proper roles as intellectual guides and counselors. Faculty make every reasonable effort to foster honest academic conduct and to assure that their evaluations of students reflect each student's true merit. They respect the confidential nature of the relationship between faculty and student. They avoid any exploitation, harassment, or discriminatory treatment of students. They acknowledge significant academic or scholarly assistance from them. They protect their academic freedom.

As colleagues, faculty have obligations that derive from common membership in the community of scholars. Faculty do not discriminate against or harass colleagues. They respect and defend the free inquiry of associates. In the exchange of criticism and ideas, faculty show due respect for the opinions of others. Faculty acknowledge academic debt and strive to be objective in their professional judgment of colleagues. Faculty accept their share of faculty responsibilities for the governance of their institution.

As members of an academic institution, faculty seek above all to be effective teachers and scholars. Although faculty observe the state regulations of the institution, provided the regulations do not contravene academic freedom, they maintain their right to criticize and seek revision. Faculty give due regard to their paramount responsibilities within their institution in determining the amount and character of work done outside it. When considering the interruption or termination of their service, faculty recognize the effect of the decision upon the program of the institution and give due notice of their intentions.

As members of their community, faculty have the rights and obligations of other citizens. Faculty measure the urgency of these obligations in the light of their responsibilities to their subject, to their students, to their professions, and to their institutions. When they speak or act as private persons they avoid creating the impression of speaking or acting for their college or university. As citizens engaged in a profession that depends upon freedom for its health and integrity, faculty have a particular obligation to promote conditions of free inquiry and to further public understanding of academic freedom.

Last Updated 2/20/24