Attendance:

Call to Order:  The meeting was called to order at 2:45 p.m. by Jason.

Minutes and Finance

Approval of Minutes 

Russell Schluter motioned to approve the June 2026 minutes. Eddy Cuisinier seconded. The motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report 

	Income	Expenses
June 2026	$9,474.57	$4,244.70
July 2026	$4,974.24	$4,308.77
August 2026	$519.96	$1,661.91
September 2026	$504.81	$1,479.98

Holly Campbell motioned to approve the June  treasurer’s report. Scott Sataki seconded. The motion passed.

Melinda Martin motioned to approve the July treasurer’s report.  Scott Sataki seconded. The motion passed.

Bill Rambo motioned to approve the August  treasurer’s report. Rick DuBois seconded. The motion passed.

Holly Cambell motioned to approve the September treasurer’s report. Russell Schluter seconded. The motion passed.

Old Business

2025-2026 Budget Review

The Senate reviewed the 2025-2026 budget and compared it to actual expenses for the year. For 2025-2026, we came in approximately $7,100 under budget. Individual line items that went over or under budget last year were discussed. 

Jason highlighted that the Social Courtesy budget from 2025-26 had a surplus at the end of the academic year in June. After learning of two faculty who lost their homes in August due to the Spokane Complex Fires, the Executive Board voted to use some of that surplus to provide each of them with a gift card. Those faculty expressed their gratitude and wanted the entire AHE membership to know how much their support meant to them, and they wanted to thank the entire membership for their help and generosity. 

New Business

2026-2027 Budget Approval

A proposed budget for 2026-2027 was presented. This budget was developed by the Executive Board after reviewing prior-year budgets. The largest portion of the budget is for officer release time for the President and Vice Presidents. This release time allows the AHE President and VPs to do the daily work of problem-solving and advocating for members that has allowed us to have a strong contract and strong union. 

Bobbi Carlson made a motion to approve the 2026-27 budget.  Katella DeBolt seconded. The motion passed.

Jason notified the Senate that the District office deducted the wrong amount for the NEA portion of our dues for the September 25th and October 10th checks. Full-time faculty may have noticed on their paystubs that the deducted dues on those two pay periods were $76.10. This is about $2 less than what should have been deducted. This is because the District office used last year’s NEA dues numbers. Jason will update the membership when he learns how they will fix this issue. He will also ask if adjunct dues were similarly impacted. Paystubs should have the correct amount moving forward, which for full-time faculty should be around $78.28. The breakdown of our dues is posted on the website. (POST-SENATE FOLLOW-UP NOTE: A few days after Senate, Jason learned from WEA that there was not an error in the dues deductions. The amount of $76.10 was correct. We will update the dues information on our website to reflect this). 

Academic Credit for Prior Learning (ACPL) Presentation

SCC Business faculty member Nick Colsch presented on Academic Credit for Prior Learning (ACPL). He has previously visited the All-Faculty meetings at both colleges, as well as the Deans and Chairs Council at SFCC. He is later scheduled to visit the Council of Chairs at SCC. He shared the roster of the committee that has been examining ACPL and mentioned that they are looking for two faculty from SFCC to join them.

Nick mentioned that the committee is currently working to gather input from stakeholders. Studies were presented indicating that students who are granted ACPL are more likely to graduate and actually end up earning more credits compared to students without any ACPL. Nick mentioned one goal is to publish a new ACPL policy that is clear and easily accessible to students. Other goals include publishing a list of courses that will or will not accept ACPL, which would be determined by faculty and departments.  

A member asked if the committee had looked at limitations of ACPL for students from Corrections, and explained that ACPL would be more complex for Corrections students. Another member asked what process would exist for evaluating a student’s ACPL application. Nick explained that this will happen within departments by faculty of that discipline.

A member asked how ACPL would work in a cohort program. Nick explained that any program with cohorts would have to determine what is able to count and how the process would work for their program. Another member asked whether students who are applying to our colleges now are undergoing any kind of evaluation for possible ACPL. Nick stated that occasionally ACPL might be offered or discussed with students, but often students are expected to initiate that conversation, which is a challenge because most students don’t know about ACPL and the information is buried on the website.

A member asked whether departments and SCC and SFCC would have to agree on which courses would be eligible for ACPL. Nick said that it is likely that it will be up to individual departments at each college, and they do anticipate that students would shop between the colleges and may choose which college to attend based on which would accept more ACPL.

A member shared that the automotive program created fairly generous PLA options many years ago, but to date, very few students have ever taken advantage of it. He stated that he thinks this is likely because the information is hard to access and students are unaware that PLA exists. 

Jason mentioned that the ACPL committee invited him to a meeting in the Spring to ask about ACPL and the Master Contract and what faculty concerns they might need to be aware of. Jason shared that his advice to the committee was that they should discuss ACPL at All-Faculty meetings at both colleges, at the Council of Chairs at both colleges, and at AHE Senate. Jason commended Nick and the committee for having done so. Jason also reminded faculty that there is a section of PLA (Prior Learning Assessment) in the Master Contract (see Article 4, Section 5, Paragraph G), and he pointed out that PLA is the same thing as ACPL. The Master Contract stipulates that PLA (i.e. ACPL) can only be granted upon the recommendation of qualified faculty. It also states that whenever possible, full-time faculty are consulted first about PLA, but disciplines or departments may designate an adjunct to conduct PLA. Also, PLA is compensated based on the number of credits attempted, not the number of credits ultimately awarded. Compensation is $25 per credit attempted by the student.

A member provided clarification about the difference between AP exams (where there are already clear agreements and policies in place about what score on the AP exam will earn college credit) vs. true ACPL which involves portfolio examinations or challenge exams based on criteria set by faculty in a program or department. 

Another member asked what shows up in a transcript if a student is provided a PLA.  Nick stated he thought that a “P” grade for “passing” would be provided. Other members explained that their students have received numerical grades instead of a “P”.

Bargaining Commission

The Master Contract officially opens for bargaining on September 1, 2027. We are entering Year #2 of a three-year contract. This means it will be time to form the Bargaining Commission. Per our Bylaws, the Bargaining Commission should ideally have one representative for roughly every 30 members. This means we are hoping to solicit around 12 to 13 people for this commission. Having broad representation from liberal arts, STEM, Tech Ed, non-credit, adjunct, counselors, librarians, etc. is critical for a healthy Bargaining Commission. Jason will be sending out an email to the membership asking for volunteers. If you are interested, or if you want to learn more, please contact Jason as soon as possible.

Jason pointed out that with a group as large as the Bargaining Commission, scheduling is always a challenge. Serving on something like the Bargaining Commission can be considered part of your professional responsibilities or service to the college and district, meaning that attendance at those meetings can be prioritized this year. Depending on how quickly we can get volunteers, there might be one or two meetings later in Fall quarter. Most of the Bargaining Commission’s work would occur in Winter and Spring quarter. They would also meet periodically throughout the bargaining process.

It is also important for the general membership to stay tuned in during the pre-bargaining process. We will continue sending out short, targeted surveys. Please be sure to respond to those when they come out. The data that we gather from membership informs the priorities that we pursue during bargaining. The commission and the faculty who go to the table to bargain will read everything and utilize what they learn to guide their work when bargaining.

A member who had served on the Bargaining Commission in the past said that the bargaining commission meetings are very rewarding. Another member who had been on a prior Bargaining Commission said that it was really valuable to be able to be the voice of their particular area and bring forward information that others outside their area might not be familiar with. It was worth the time commitment and they felt their voice really counted within the commission. Another member said that during the years they were on the Bargaining Commission they learned a lot about the complexity of Spokane Colleges as an institution and how things work in different areas, disciplines, campuses, etc. They said this was particularly helpful for understanding how Spokane Colleges works and all of what goes on behind the scenes in various areas.

President’s and Vice Presidents’ Reports

AHE President Jason Eggerman:

Jason appointed Michelle Peason to fill this year’s vacancy for Senator-at-Large. The position of SFCC Senator-at-Large was vacated by Shawna Shelton, who is now SFCC Vice President. The appointment would be for one year only to finish Shawna’s term. According to the bylaws, filling a vacancy for an elected position requires ratification of the Senate. Rick DuBois made a motion to approve the appointment.  Ben Cartwright seconded.  The motion passed.

Senators and Alternates are chosen by Senate groups. They are not appointed by AHE leadership. It is important to have someone present to represent your group, and it is important to have conversations within your Senate group to ensure the Senator and Alternate are “elected” (often by volunteering or by consensus) by the group. Jason encouraged Senate groups to think about transition plans if a long-time Senator plans to retire, or to think about ways to get newer members involved as Senators or Alternates.

A member asked to clarify what happens when you have a department that is split up among two Senate groups.  Senate groups are created by the Executive Board, and they are fluid. There are times when groups get big enough that they need to be divided, and there are other times when smaller Senate groups end up being combined. Jason encouraged the member to speak to him and Shawna if their department wanted to move members around so that each of the two groups had someone who wanted to be a Senator.

There are conversations occurring at both colleges among transfer faculty regarding changes to the AA-DTA. Jason encouraged all transfer faculty to continue to pay attention to those conversations and to participate in the decision-making process.

Jason updated the Senate on the involuntary transfer of a counselor from SCC’s Colville center to SCC’s Spokane campus. While the contract currently has language stating both parties recognize that involuntary transfers are a possibility (see Article 6, Section 1, Paragraph E), AHE filed grievances over the manner in which the transfer was handled. Because we felt the transfer occurred in an arbitrary and capricious way, AHE’s desired outcome has been to reverse the involuntary transfer so that the counselor could continue to work with students in Colville. Grievances filed last year were not successful, and neither were four hours of PERC-facilitated mediation in August. The Executive Board voted to pursue arbitration, and the case has an assigned arbitration date of March 31 and April 1.

Earlier this month, AHE became aware of an issue related to public comments submitted to the Board of Trustees. Several community members (not faculty) submitted public comments via email in May expressing concerns about the Colville Center losing its full-time counselor. The comments were submitted following the proper process, but were not acknowledged during the May Board of Trustees meeting and were not entered into the record. They were, however, shared with the Board, who discussed them in executive session. The May minutes make no mention of any public comment. One public comment was also submitted in September via email. That comment was verbally acknowledged at the September meeting as received by the chair of the Board and was discussed in executive session. The October Board meeting was cancelled because of scheduling conflicts and the inability to find a date where the Board would reach a quorum. The Chancellor has stated that there were missteps in the process for how public comments submitted by email should have been handled. The comments will be entered into the record at the next Board meeting in November.

Jason shared that on October 1, he and the affected faculty were notified by the Chancellor about two pending RIF decisions related to the Pharmacy Tech program and the HTEM program (Hospitality, Tourism, and Event Management). Each of these programs went through the pre-RIF process last spring, and in both cases, the Chancellor issued the decision to proceed with RIF. The next step is for the faculty to have a chance to meet in a personal conference with the Chancellor. The most likely outcome is that this will be the last year of the Pharmacy Tech program, which will do a teach-out of the students who are currently enrolled. Unfortunately, this likely means losing a tenured faculty member at the end of this year. For the other program (HTEM), there are two tenured faculty in the program. One is already retiring in December, and the other has a secondary seniority unit that should allow them to transition into teaching Culinary classes. There are no other programs currently navigating the pre-RIF process, but Jason pointed out that administration has been very open about the fact that they are looking at program viability. He encouraged faculty to take program review seriously and to make sure they are paying attention to their metrics.

Jason has requested the formation of a Parking Task Force. Article 3, Section 21 of the Master Contract allows for a Parking Task Force to be convened once each biennium “to consider parking fees and issues.” The recommendations of that task force are presented to the Board of Trustees for consideration. To date, the Board has been following recommendations from a 2009 Parking Task Force, which had recommended increasing fees no more than 5% per year. Given that 2009 was a long time ago, AHE believes it is time for a fresh look at parking issues. An official solicitation should be coming from Jason later this quarter.

A member pointed out that if you pay for your parking pass by doing payroll deductions, then the money taken out to pay for your parking permit is “pre-tax” and it will not be taxed as income. However, if you purchase your permit outright, that is not the case. Another member stated that over the years, they have suggested several times that the first time someone is issued a parking fine, the cost of the fine should be put towards purchasing a permit. 

Jason reminded the Senate that there is currently a Final Exam Task Force looking at options for how to adjust the final exam schedule moving forward. The final exam schedule was historically set by the Calendar Committee, but this time it was referred to a task force. The Final Exam Task Force will be submitting their recommendations by December 1, at which time AHE and District leadership will discuss next steps.  

In July, a First Amendment Auditor visited the District office. He has recently returned and has visited both SFCC and SCC. Please see Chancellor Brockbank’s email about this. The best thing to do is stay calm and limit conversation. It’s important also to know that as a state employee, if you are asked about public records or documents, you are expected to receive the request. You do not have to provide public records on the spot, but you are obligated to receive the person’s request. Offer a piece of paper and ask the person to write down what they are requesting. If the person will only give the request verbally, document what they are requesting and confirm your understanding. You can then forward the request to the Public Records Office. (Ask your Dean for assistance in contacting that office if needed). 

A member encouraged faculty who have work study students or who engage with other student employees to please share this information with them. They are also employees during those hours, and they need to know this information. 

Adjunct Representative Lena Lopez Schindler: 

There are two adjunct faculty Community of Practice meetings coming up. All adjuncts are encouraged to attend. The November 3 meeting will include Dean Randi Ashworth presenting. Lena encouraged members to invite new adjunct faculty to attend these events.

SFCC VP Shawna Shelton:  

Shawna gave an update on the SFCC presidential search. The timeline has changed a little. Instead of a January 1 start for the new president, the final interviews and forums will be during the first two weeks of January. We do not have a precise start date, since that likely depends on the candidate. Jim Mohr has been asked to stay in the VPSA role until the search is over, and this means he will have a contract through the end of June 2027. There will be other work for Jim to do once Patrick returns to the VPSA position. 

There were two new annualized instructors that had to revert back to adjunct status because they were unable to fulfill the obligations of attending NFA. A member asked if it is clear to new hires what is expected and that NFA is part of their full-time load. Those who had participated in NFA before at SFCC stated it had been clear to them. A member asked what this means for those positions and whether they will be lost or if the department will automatically get to do another search. The answer to that is unclear at this time.

SCC Extension VP Rob Deyo:

Rob gave a shout out to new Extensions faculty, who are now members:

• Andrea McIntyre – Tenure-Track ABE
• Alissa Underwood: Tenure-Track Biology – Rural
• Emil Rosenberg: Adjunct Welding – Rural

Rob was enthusiastic to point out that this might be the first Senate meeting he can recall where a faculty member came to the meeting wanting to join and filled out an application form at the meeting. 

The Associate Dean of Corrections position should be announced soon.

SCC has a lot of new faculty this year.  Many have already signed up for AHE, but the best way for them to learn more about AHE is from members within their departments.  Please help out by speaking to new members in your area about the benefits of AHE membership and the importance of solidarity.

SCC VP Tim Roe:  

Position requests are coming up in November. It will be the same process as last year and your department chairs should have that timeline. Let Tim know if you have any questions about that process.

The Early Retirement Notification process is underway. Reach out to Jason or one of the AHE VPs if you have questions about that process. The first deadline for the 8% incentive is November 1st.

Tim encouraged faculty in the BHIT Division to keep asking questions and sharing ideas with Andrea and Jaclyn. Administration is listening, so continue sharing ideas.

The Building 1 remodel is well underway. There are additional parking spots on the west side of the building. The East side of the building is closed. The East side of Building 1 is anticipated to re-open in October 2027.

If you know of potential members in your areas that may be interested in joining AHE you can let one of the VPs know and they can reach out to answer any questions and give them more information about AHE.

Tim mentioned he always appreciates invitations to any meetings or programs that faculty would like him to attend. This is a great way for him to better understand the work happening in different areas so he can better represent faculty in all areas of SCC.

Good of the order:

Katella DeBolt made a motion to adjourn. Holly Campbell seconded. The meeting adjourned at 4:22pm.