Instructional Support Committee

Attending: Mark Schneider, Cecilia Knight, Jon Chenette, Kara Lycke, John Kalkbrenner, Megan Goering, Justin Abramson, Bill Francis, Christopher McKee, Anatoly Vishevsky, Katya Gibel Azoulay, Terri Phipps

Minutes of 1 February approved as distributed.

Creative Computing Lab and Gallery proposal: Implementation will be based on Trustee approval of ITS's proposed move to the Forum as well as continued discussion on the feasibility of accommodating the lab and gallery within the available space.

The revised proposal adds the following, based on the ISC discussion of Feb. 1:

• lab space be available to faculty, staff, and students, and should not be scheduled as a classroom during the academic year;
• a portion of the space remains an informal "media-oriented living room" with high-quality hot drink vending machines, comfortable seating, and accommodation for laptop computers;
• the Lab and Gallery will grow and adapt to usage and needs.

Students discussed the proposed ITS move at the last Cabinet meeting, and had discussed many of the same issues that ISC addressed in the proposal without having seen a draft.

The proposal will be forwarded to the Executive Council. If approved, it will be disseminated to other groups on campus for discussion and feedback.

ISC sees some merit in the proposal and has no strong objection to the revised proposal as it stands.

Budget: There have been a large number of workshops proposed for the coming summer, some of which have grown out of the EKI initiative. Jon will contact Marci Sortor stating that ISC may need additional funds to assist with EKI workshops as ISC's budget will be overcommitted, depending on if workshops are held this fiscal year. Also due to the large number of workshops being offered, some may be cancelled due to low number of participants and inadequate funds.

Discussion of Workshops:
Routine workshops, such as Dr. Syntax, writing, and oral communication will be offered.

Middle East: One member felt strongly that Israel needs to be represented among the workshop topics. The current proposed text is outdated. ISC approves advertising the workshop, and Jon Chenette will make these concerns known to the workshop leader.

Peace Studies: One concern expressed during discussion is that avoiding conflict and reaching consensus should not be the sole focus of the workshop. ISC approves advertising the workshop, and Jon Chenette will relay this comment to the workshop leader.

Stipends for workshops will be paid after a tangible product is received from faculty participants by the Associate Deans' Office.

ISC has approved advertising the list of proposed workshops. The Associate Deans' Office will work with the leaders on timing and advertising of the workshops. We will use the level of faculty interest as a guide if we have insufficient funding to proceed with all of the workshops.

Writing Lab proposal: Proposed request is more than is typically approved for faculty conference travel. What is the institutional benefit of gaining individual credential? Credentials are a by-product of the workshop, not the focus.

Writing Lab staff have faculty status; however, their conference travel is typically funded by the Dean's staff development budget. The College pays for conferences, not courses and not credentials. There may be tax-related implications of training (workshop) versus education (course). Proposed courses/workshops will affect the Writing Lab's pedagogy. Participants in these workshops should share what they learn about working with ESL or AD/HD students on writing with other teachers in the Writing Lab.

Discussion has been tabled until the next meeting.

Respectfully submitted,
Terri Phipps