Minutes of the February 27, 1997 meeting

CLASSIFIED SENATE

OF SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

Minutes of the

February 27, 1997 Meeting

Call to Order: 12:07 p.m.

Items for Action

Vote on Approval of SMC Technology Plan

Senators discussed their disappointment at being left out of the approval process, since the Classified Senate was not given copies of the plan until it had already been approved by both the Academic Senate and the Board of Trustees. Additionally, there were some serious concerns voiced about the following:

A) MACINTOSH COMPATIBILITY

The Technology Plan is PC based and makes no mention of options for compatibility of future systems with MAC fonnat. There are at least 60 Classified MAC users on campus. If the college is going to phase out the MAC, then there needs to be money to replace those units with new IBM compatible ones. MAC users would prefer to see some attempt made to include the MAC structure into the plan. The question was raised as to whether or not the Buzzeo System is or can be made to be adaptable to MACS. If the plan is to eliminate MAC's eventually, then a manageable phase-in period and sufficient budget should be allocated to accomplish this goal without adversely affecting the ability of Classified employees to do their jobs.

B) E-MAIL

The Information Services Committee has been discussing the student access to E-Mail and how it will affect Faculty workload. Very little discussion has occurred regarding how E-mail will affect Classified employees, such as department secretaries and others who respond to student requests. Classified employees would like more participation in preparing for these changes and a chance to make recommendations during the planning stages.

Questions were raised as to how students will know who to contact if they don't have the directory. What will be the procedure for student requests that require routing to two or more departments? Will there be additional support and training for offices whose workload will increase dramatically with the use of E-mail?

Florence Dick-Pineiro asked all Classified employees to give her any input they may have on this issue -- questions, suggestions, ideas, so that she can accurately represent the Classified Staff on the Joint Information Services Committee.

C) OTHER COMMENTS

Only about 200 Classified Employees have access to E-mail presently. Deborah Hudson is committed to getting all Classified on line. Some employees are having difficulty using their E-Mail because there is only one computer terminal for an entire department, some of which have 15 - 20 people (or more) vying for time.

Will both WordPerfect and MS Word be used and supported on campus or will the software be standardized for all.

MOVE TO REJECT TECHNOLOGY PLAN AS WRITTEN AND SUBMIT LIST OF CONCERNS TO ADMINISTRATION WITH REQUEST FOR WRITTEN RESPONSE

MOTION: by Ian Fraser second: Warren Weitzenhoffer

PASSED: FOR: 21 AGAINST: 3 ABSTENTIONS: I

Formation of Technology Sub-Committee

The Senate formed a subcommittee to draw up a detailed list of Classified concerns for the Technology Plan. 'Florence Dick-Pineiro will be the chair and members are:

Ian Fraser Tom Carter
Ana Jara Pat Preston
Marilyn Simons Jackie Portal-Purdy
Andrea Hyman

This committee will meet at least once a month to address Classified concerns and forward
recommendations to the Joint Information Services Committee via Florence, who serves on that committee. Tony Prestby will contact Kim Stone to see if CSEA would like to appoint members to this committee as well. The Subcommittee on Technology will follow the model of the Professional Development Sub-committee, which has worked very well in representing Classified employees in that area.

Tony Prestby will announce the result of our vote at the Board of Trustees Meeting on Monday, March 3, 1997. He will prepare a brief statement which will be sent to all senators for review. If anyone has additional input, please send him an E-mail or call him by Friday, Feb. 28th.

2. Informational Items

Distance Leaming Plan

Tony distributed copies of the updated Distance Leaming Plan and asked all senators to read it. Our newly formed sub-committee will provide a forum for Classified discussion of this and all new technology developments on campus.

3. Announcements/ Comments

The Personnel Comhiission has prepared a bulletin listing all transfer opportunities and continuous testing on campus for Classified employees.

Lin Caldwell is still collecting money from the chocolate sale. So far we have sold $1261 worth of chocolate bars.

Meeting Adjourned: 12:55 p.m.

Next Meeting: Thursday, March 13,1997

Members Present: Lin Caldwell, Mary Cancilla, Tom Carter, Olga Chao, Florence Dick-Pineiro, Toni DiModica, Dominique Duclair, Ian Fraser, Judy Fritz, Joanne Guercio, Cecile Hanrahan, Andrea Hyman, Thelma Hofftnan, Ana Jara, Ross Johnson, Tia Jones, Steve Levine, Gloria Mottler, Lee Muller, Angela Munoz, Jackie Portal-Purdy, Tony Prestby, Pat Preston, Alicia Romo, Marilyn Simons, Lynn Washington, Warren Weitzenhoffer

Members Absent: Marcia Brown, Mamie Castor, Chandra Dhruv, Marilyn Goodrich, Edee Hill, DeborahJansen, Roberto Jauregui, Jonathan Marie, Gloria Mottler, LeRoy Nakamura, Teri Parish , Garrett Ramos, Anna Rojas, Toni Smith, Nati Vazquez, Michelle Ware

Guests Visitors: Dani Adams

Submitted by Cecile Hanrahan, Recording Secretary