NOTICE: As we were preparing to distribute this month's Bulletin, we learned of the active shooter situation at UNLV. We share your concern for our colleagues, their students, and all their families. Please keep them in your thoughts as this awful event unfolds.
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Administration issues contract-compliant Web Access guidelines
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Nearly nine months after it was approved by the TMCC Faculty Senate, the campus administration has implemented guidelines for administrative access to online courses and content in Canvas which comply with the TMCC-NFA Contract. On November 20, Vice President Jeff Alexander issued a memo to Associate Dean John Hughes instructing Web College to "remove all account and sub-account level Canvas access held presently by all supervisors of FT Academic Instructional Faculty."
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The action followed months of discussions by an ad hoc subcommittee of the Planning Council that had appeared to stall. The Vice President's decision came shortly after TMCC-NFA started a petition by faculty supporting adoption of the Faculty Senate resolution without modification. We appreciate that he took this step to address our concerns.
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TMCC SGA President plays pivotal role in faculty COLA decision
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In many ways, NSHE professionals owe Brayson Gomez a debt of gratitude. As the current TMCC Student Government Association President, Gomez was chosen as the undergraduate student representative on the NSHE Committee to Recommend FY2025 Salary Increases.
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As a committee member, President Gomez helped craft the proposals that were considered by the Board of Regents last week. He was also the first student leader to speak during the Public Comment period and endorsed the option supported by NFA for the 11% adjustment starting October 1, 2024. It's safe to say that student leaders were the ones to convince the Board of Regents to adopt the 11% adjustment, and Brayson led that effort. We owe him our gratitude.
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NSHE policy creates uncertainty around process for selecting Hilgersom's replacement
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Recent steps taken by the Board of Regents to appoint interim presidents at GBC and CSN, despite having a full year to conduct national searches for their replacements, have created uncertainty for how the process will unfold for replacing President Hilgersom when she departs at the end of June 2025. Over the last decade, incremental changes to NSHE policies have displaced the mandate for national searches to replace campus presidents with language that prioritizes appointments, regardless of the amount of lead time for a president's departure.
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The Nevada Faculty Alliance has taken exception to these policy changes and is urging the Regents to restore national searches as the standard procedure to select new presidents when time permits.
President Hilgersom justified her request for a waiver of the periodic evaluation and one-year extension of her contract to the end of June 2025 by announcing to the Board last July that she would retire at the end of the extension. With 18 months to go before her departure, there really is no good justification for not planning a national search. It should begin no later than October 2024.
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Members vote to extend contract by one year
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TMCC-NFA members have voted in favor of a proposal to extend the current collective bargaining agreement for an additional year. Under the proposal, the 2022-25 TMCC-NFA Contract will remain in effect until June 2026. Members who voted in favor cited President Hilgersom's coming retirement and the need for younger members to be trained to negotiate the next contract as the reasons for their votes.
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Conversely, members who opposed the extension indicated that we should not wait to address deficiencies in the current agreement.
TMCC-NFA officers have notified the Leadership Team of the outcome and initiated the process for a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the extension. Members will be notified when the MOU has been finalized.
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Save the Date: January 9
Spring Semester Chapter Meeting
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The first TMCC-NFA Chapter meeting of 2024 will be held following the President's Kickoff on the Dandini Campus. All non-managerial academic and administrative faculty, regardless of membership standing, are urged to attend.
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2:00 - 3:30 PM
Tuesday, January 9, 2024
SIER 108
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Happy Holidays
from
TMCC-NFA
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TMCC-NFA Officers
Jim New, President
Amy Cavanaugh, Vice President
Julia Hammett, Secretary
Lars Jensen, Treasurer
Cheryl Cardoza, Past President
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