September 20, 2022 Minutes

Council of Department Chairs

In attendance: Curtis Bennett, Margaret Karteron, Prashanth Jaikumar, Allie Puz, Lijuan Li, Will Murray, Lora Stevens, Jim Kisiel, Jesse Dillon, Babette Benken, Barbara Taylor, Krzysztof Slowinski, Christine Whitcraft, Jessica Lyon, Chris Frost.

NOTE: THESE MINUTES REFLECT DISCUSSIONS THAT HAPPENED ON THE DATE OF THESE MINUTES.  DUE TO THE COVID-19 SITUATION, THINGS ARE RAPIDLY CHANGING.  FOR OFFICIAL POLICY PLEASE WAIT FOR DOCUMENTS FROM THE APPROPRIATE OFFICES.      

  1. Approve Agenda (10:00)
  2. Approve Minutes from Sept. 6
  3. Announcements
    1. Operations Update
      1. The College RTP Policy Amendment for narrative limit (10,000 words or 20 pages) is still in the approval process in Faculty Affairs.
      2. Ballot for the CNSM Fall 2022 Election going out by the end of the day.
      3. Processing all search and selection submissions as well as position descriptions to get them posted in PageUp.
    2. Communications Update
      1. Weekly Updates to the Provost
        1. Early-to-Mid October start date
        2. Best way to make this successful?
          1. Weekly recurring email from Allie to department chairs.
          2. Keep a running list of all submitted items for any future use.
    3. Safety (10:15) Time Certain – Chris Frost, Jessica Lyon
      1. Lab Clearance Process for Departing Personnel
        1. A process designed to audit the space of departing faculty/staff and prepare it for incoming faculty/staff (primarily focused on lab space; but could have applicability to office space).
          1. 3 General Stages to this Process:
            1. Mitigate potential dangerous or risky situations while faculty/staff are still here to participate and consult.
            2. Accounting of property.
            3. Reconciliation of outstanding budgetary issues.
          2. A form is coming to the safety website for this process.
          3. This process should be initiated with departing faculty/staff members with as much notice as possible.
      2. Formal Volunteers
        1. Any volunteers must be declared as approved formal volunteers in order to continue work.
        2. One week/5 working days is good rule of thumb for a formal volunteer threshold.
      3. Academic Field Trips
        1. Updates to field trip procedures and paperwork can be found on the safety website.
        2. Many university and college forms associated with field trips.
        3. The CNSM Safety Office created a guidance document to help faculty and staffnavigate the process; can be found on the safety website.
    4. Dean’s Report
      1. Academic Technology Services
        1. By Summer 2023, all of BeachBoard will be fully replaced by Canvas.
          1. Make sure all material gets transitioned; especially institutional knowledge.
        2. 2/3s of classes have LMS presence and we would like to increase this.
          1. Consider access issues for parties who are external to CSULB (e.g. program review, graduate student who has incomplete grade, etc.).
        3. Department and Committee BeachBoard sites will not be migrated to Canvas unless you communicate with ATS.
        4. Possibly as soon as this academic year, we will get an Assessment Management System that integrates with Canvas
      2. International Hires
        1. We should be getting a memo soon that outlines the H1-B visa process.
          1. College/Department bears the cost of H1-B visas - roughly $2200.
          2. The dean has put in a request to improve process/communication.
        2. New funding charge for Green Cards:
          1. College/Department cannot pay for green card status but will bear an additional cost of between $2,000 and $3,000, thus reducing the cost for the faculty member.
      3. Enrollment
        1. The challenges were discussed at length in Dean’s Council. 
        2. CNSM continuing students declined about 5%, second only to College of Business.
        3. We need to be more successful in keeping our native students in CNSM, or we will face severe repercussions.
      4. Startup Purchases
        1. Faculty should be going through the proper system and channels when purchasing for startup. Not doing this can create problems with reimbursement and potential funding complications.
  4. Associate Deans
    1. Academic Programs
      1. N/A
    2. Research
      1. Call for University Faculty Award nominations has gone out.
        1. Please remind faculty to nominate and apply.
      2. BBS will soon be thinking about projects for Summer 2023.
        1. Send any requests or ideas to Barbara for quotes.
    3. Graduate Programs
      1. N/A
  5. Telecommuting
    1. Draft document sent out for review.
      1. Will refine details and resend once finalized.
  6. Next Deep Dive Topic?
    1. Reminder: “Chairs Only” second hour.
    2. Suggestions:
      1. Special Case Unit Allocation/Excess Assigned Time/General Assigned Time and Management

Upcoming Dates:

Sept. 23: Student Research Symposium (10-1)
Sept. 26: Candidates Turn in RTP Files
Sept. TBA: Dean Meet with RTP Committees
Sept./Oct. TBA: Lecturer Evaluation Meetings with AD Slowinski
Oct. 31:  Dept. RTP Letters for Tenure (Tenure Due; Promotion can be Delayed).
Nov. 4: Mini-Grant Summer Stipend (MGSS) Applications Due in InfoReady
Nov. 14: RSCA/Faculty Small Grant Applications Due in InfoReady
TBD: Mandatory Major Advising
 

Meeting Minutes were APPROVED on Tuesday, October 4, 2022

*Note: This reflects discussion on the date of the CDC meeting about policies, not actual policy. Faculty and staff should wait for official communication on each subject before acting.