Faculty present: Vicki Hammond, Glen Hunt, Marilyn Mote-Yale, Hope Williams, Karry Evans, Carrie Laughlin, Amber Archuleta-Lucero, Lisa Perez, Ron Fletcher, Cecile Durish, Stefan Haag, Frank Garrahan, Gaye Lynn Scott.

A Seminar on "Using Information Technology in a Traditional Classroom" is being presented November 29, from 1:30-3:00 at HBC. Register online at http://irt.austin.cc.tx.us/registration.

Professional Development opportunities are available through the Faculty Development Office. Register online at http://irt.austin.cc.tx.us/registration.

Be sure to occasionally check your Faculty Development credits through the Task Force website and notify the Chair of any inaccuracies.

We've been asked to help publicize a new program for students who are interested in legal careers. This program, called "Project One-to-One," is a joint effort involving both ACC and legal non-profit organizations. For more information, contact Terry Perrin at tperrin@austin.cc.tx.us or 223-8164.

Please help publicize our December 1st Judicial Forum. Members of the Task Force have organized what promises to be a very informative session.

For those who use the Edwards textbook, we've received word from Bevo's bookstore indicating that they do have copies of the 5th edition. If students are having difficulty locating a copy, suggest that they call Bevo's.

The Texas Legislature has approved a tuition reduction program whereby students who take classes during "hard to fill" time-slots will receive reduced tuition rates. While we traditionally have very few "hard to fill" time-slots, this may help us fill our weekend classes.

The Chair is in the initial stages of generating approval for, and creating, a department-based Blackboard page. If you would like to submit assignments / projects for this page, please contact the Chair.

The College released enrollment figures indicating a 6% increase in enrollment.

Faculty Evaluation: Portfolios are due December 3rd, to Stefan Haag at PIN. Stefan presented the Portfolio Evaluation Instrument his committee will use to evaluate faculty portfolios.

Professional Development: Karry Evans updated the Task Force on the upcoming Judicial Forum.

Student Assessment: The Committee has received several packets of assessment questions thus far. Thank you to those faculty who have participated. If your section of Govt 2305 or 2306 was selected for inclusion, please administer the questions and send them to Marilyn Mote-Yale at NRG. If you have any questions regarding this, contact Marilyn (223-4054). As always, all faculty members are invited to serve on the Grading Team in the Spring.

Gaye Lynn Scott and Marilyn Mote-Yale received approval to attend the Southwest Social Science Association meetings in March 2002.

The Task Force officially adopted standards for awarding MSTAs (Multiple Semester Term Appointments) and Highest Priority to Hire. The standard for MSTA status requires that the faculty member receive a score of "excellent" on both the Faculty Portfolio and Student Evaluations. To be considered Highest Priority to Hire, faculty must be evaluated on both elements, the portfolio and student evaluations. Neither element can be lower than "very good" and one must be "excellent."

Current MSTAs:

Current MSTAs will retain that status as long as their student evaluations are "excellent."

Current MSTAs must submit a Faculty Evaluation Portfolio according to the 3-year schedule established by the Dean.

Current MSTAs whose Fall 2001 student evaluations, or subsequent evaluations, are below "excellent" will no longer be categorized as MSTA. They will be classified as "Highest Priority to Hire.

Current "Highest Priority to Hire" faculty:

To retain this status, faculty must meet the standards stated above, and must submit a Faculty Evaluation Portfolio according to the college's 3-year schedule.

Current HPTH faculty may apply for an MSTA position in the Spring 2002. To do so each faculty member must submit a three-year Faculty Evaluation Portfolio to Stefan Haag's Committee. This includes faculty who are not currently being asked to submit a portfolio according to the college's 3-year portfolio schedule.

Current HPTHs who fall below the standards stated above will be reclassified as adjunct faculty.

The deadline for submission of MSTA application materials will be announced in the Spring.

Adjunct Faculty:

In the Spring 2002 the college will send all adjunct faculty a letter inviting them to apply for an MSTA position.

Awarding of MSTAs requires the submission of a Faculty Evaluation Portfolio. Those faculty who are not scheduled to submit a portfolio according to the college's 3-year schedule must submit a 3-year portfolio to Stefan Haag's Evaluation Committee (PIN). Those faculty who are required to submit a Faculty Evaluation Portfolio (either a 1-year, 2-year, or 3-year portfolio) according to the college's 3-year schedule may have that portfolio assessed as the MSTA portfolio.

In addition to an "excellent" Faculty Portfolio assessment, faculty wishing to apply for an MSTA position must receive "excellent" student evaluations for the Fall of 2001.

The deadline for submission of MSTA materials will be announced in the Spring.

Highest Priority to Hire status will be awarded to all faculty members who meet the standards adopted by the Task Force.

All staffing of adjunct faculty reflects course eligibility lists. Adjunct faculty members wishing to reexamine their eligibility should contact the Chair.