2024 DCFA Convention - Proposed Amendments to DCFA Constitution and By-Laws Process - Proposed Budget for 2024-2025

Hello All, 

Our DCFA convention will be held on Friday, 11/15/24 from 1-5pm in the Records Bldg. (downtown Dallas - 7Y11).  The meeting will be held in person and virtually.  Details will be given at a later date.

Proposed Amendments to DCFA Constitution and By-Laws Process 

Here is the 2024-2025 DCFA Convention/By-Laws Amendment Form.  You must be a member of the DCFA as of Monday, 11/11/24 at midnight in order to submit amendments. You must send your proposal(s) to our secretary Sherry Boyd (sboyd@dallascollege.edu) and our president Jennifer Siemantel (jsiemantel@dallascollege.edu) by Tuesday, 10/15/24 at midnight.

Here is the Proxy Form.  Any member can accept 4 proxy votes.  Please read the details outlining the procedure for accepting proxy votes.  The proxy form(s) must be submitted at least one hour prior to the start of the meeting, which is Friday, 11/15/24 at noon.

Here are the current DCFA Constitution and By-Laws.

Let Denise Griffin (dgriffin@dallascollege.edu) know if you have any questions.

To join the DCFA go to www.dccfa.org.  

Proposed Budget 

The Budget & Finance Committee met last Friday after receiving an update from Denise on the convention expenses. You can find the attached 2024-2025 budget in the meeting minutes (Approved) link. Please review prior to the convention. 

Have a great day! 

Membership Drive 2024: Join on the DCFA Website

The DCFA is accepting members through its official website until November 11 - see below for instructions on how to join, and please consider joining today if you have not already done so!

If you navigate to www.dccfa.org, you will find a new button on the page to either “Join” or “Renew” your membership.  Upon clicking that link, there are a few separate options: one is for those renewing a membership, and the other is for those joining for the first time (and for those who are, welcome! We are delighted you are becoming a member!). Other options include level amounts: Full-Time Faculty, Adjunct Faculty, and Emeritus Faculty.

Important Notes About Joining/Renewing

• The deadline to join or renew, per the DCFA Bylaws, is the first Monday in November (which also corresponds with the week of the Convention on that Friday).
  
  
• We are requiring everyone to use a personal email address and contact information when setting up your profile and logging in. This is to make sure that all of your information on file is separate from Dallas College servers and IT restrictions.

 

Please take a few moments after joining/renewing to complete the “About” section of your account, which includes fields for home address and phone number. Having this information is critical because this collected data is critical for the Political Information Committee to contact DCFA members privately about elections without violating state and district laws and regulations.  (Regular email communications about DCFA and local FA business will still be sent through work email addresses, though!)

 

Why Join the DCFA?

• The Faculty Association is the voice of all faculty. Our voice is stronger if we all get behind the DCFA  
• The Faculty Council (Presidents of the DCFA) meets regularly with Provost Floyd, Chancellor Lonon, Vice Provosts, and other administrators to discuss the concerns of all faculty. Concerns range from organizational issues, cultural issues, compensation, faculty evaluations, and others. We all must make our voices heard through the DCFA.  
• The DCFA acts as an intermediary between faculty and administration when there is a grievance, a dispute, or other issues we cannot fight as individuals.   
• Being a member of DCFA gives you access to the Legal Defense Fund, which can be used to help pay for a lawyer if you find yourself in a dispute with the college and need one. We all need this protection with the recent and ongoing changes within the college.  
• Particularly after the re-org, it can be common to feel isolated. Joining provides a sense of belonging. We all need to join the Faculty Association and fight to keep the culture of our campus.  
• The Faculty Association will collaborate with "the schools of" representatives to champion common goals.

If you encounter any errors or issues with joining or renewing, please email dcfa@dcccd.edu to reach the entire Council, and we can assist from there!

Invitation to Join the September 2024 DCFA Monthly Business Meeting

 Please join us on Friday, September 13th, 2024 at 12:00PM CST for our monthly General Business Meeting on Zoom. You may access the agenda as a Google Document and enter the meeting via Zoom by clicking on this link. We look forward to seeing you there!  

Important Updates: April Business Meeting, Compression, Overenrollment, and IncludED

Hello DCFA membership. We wanted to provide a few important updates.

First, due to a number of current agenda items we are working on not having final resolution yet - and thus no definitive information for us to provide - our regularly-scheduled monthly business meeting this Friday is cancelled.  We will continue to update you all through the blog and via emails from your respective campus FA Presidents.

That said, here are some updates we can provide.

Faculty Compression

The DCFA is actively working with the academics and HR on the issue of compression. While we had hoped to report information to you, we’re still not at that point in the process.

A few things of note: we’ve been told that once we have a plan to address compression, it will be back dated to January 1, 2024 as far as pay adjustments for those affected.

Additionally, we ask that ALL FT faculty check Workday for their profile (person icon on right hand side of screen) looking for their benefits effective date if their first FT position with Dallas College was as a faculty member. For those who leveled-up, check to see what your dates are in Workday. We strongly encourage you to contact HR asking for the following: 

Original hire date =

Latest hire date =

Benefits effective date =

If you had any break in service (this includes starting as a Visiting Scholar or Temp FT but not signing a contract for permanent employment before graduation of the year you were in a temp/visiting position), your dates may vary.

Overenrollment Ending

There has been some miscommunication from administration regarding the DCFA involvment in the decision to sunset overenrollment. While the DCFA was informed about the removal of over-enrollment pay effective FA2024, we learned of this plan the same day the Vice Provost’s were also informed. We’ve asked many question regarding this decision. It does NOT affect summer classes. Faculty will be permitted to have more than nine sections if there is a justified need/demand for the classes.

Forthcoming Changes to IncludED and Bookstores

This has yet to be formally announced, but changes to book adoptions are likely coming during Sum II, so before you depart for summer, please keep an eye on your emails.

Updates on Composition of DCFA Council

The DCFA Council would like to take this moment to extend our deepest thanks and appreciation for Dr. Andrew Tolle (EFC), who has served magisterially as DCFA Council President for the past two and a half years. Sadly, Dr. Tolle is stepping away from the DCFA Council as he begins his new role as English Chair on April 1st.  Please congratulate Andrew the next time you see him, and be sure to thank him for his service as DCFA President!  And please give a hearty welcome to Prof. Patrice Johnson as she steps into the role of EFCFA President and joins the council!

Due to this, the DCFA Council is going through some temporary shifts in the composition of the officers until our next round of formal voting after campus elections take place at the end of this Spring.

The Council took a vote yesterday, Saturday, March 30, and unanimously selected Prof. Jennifer Siemantel (CVC) as the new DCFA President through this semester. Additionally, Prof. Josh Rose (BHC) will step in as Vice President until the end of the Spring semester. 

Join Us for the March 2024 DCFA Council General Business Meeting

 Everyone, please join us for this month's DCFA Council Business Meeting on Friday, March 22, 2024 at 12:00 PM (Noon) on Zoom using this link.  We look forward to seeing you at the meeting!

Invitation to Join the February 2024 DCFA Monthly Business Meeting

Please join us this Friday, February 23rd at Noon for this month's General Business Meeting on Zoom.  You may access the agenda as a Google Document, and join us at the meeting on Zoom.  We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

Criminal Background Checks and HireRight Updates

The DCFA Council wanted to update faculty on the ongoing situation with Criminal Background Checks as now processed through HireRight, the outside company that will perform these CBC renewals due every five years for Dallas College employees (see DC [Regulation], if you’re curious).  Some important points:

• If you have been at Dallas College a while and not had this done every five years, this is actually the historical noncompliance that HR is trying to fix.
  
  
• When looking over the disclosure form you will notice several actions above-and-beyond the standard criminal background check it is asking you to sign off on. The DCFA Council has been sounding the alarm about this for several months, trying to prevent the confusion and/or concern that many of you are experiencing now. We worked closely with HR to draft disclosure and authorization language that would fix this, only to have that language rejected by HireRight.
  
  
• The crux of the disconnect here is that HireRight is classified as a consumer reporting agency, which means that the Fair Credit Reporting Act applies to it. Thus, HireRight is required by federal law to include certain language in its disclosure and authorization forms – even if the institution using the company (in this case, Dallas College) does not plan to have HireRight acquire that information on an employee.

An understandable response to all of this is asking yourself why Dallas College would choose HireRight as a vendor if it is causing this much confusion?  The DCFA Council has wondered this as well and have asked HR many times without receiving a clear response.

Regardless, here is the most important thing: per Dallas College policy, only a criminal history check shall be performed. Unfortunately, in order for this to happen, faculty are being asked to sign documents that make it seem as though the College will have HireRight do other things, such as examine your credit history, litigation history, or “mode of living.” When you receive notification that you are due for renewal, the email will (or, should) contain a written commitment from the CHRO that only a criminal history check will be performed.

The DCFA Council cannot tell you what to do here, honestly. There is what policy states will occur here and what the forms we are being asked to sign are stating will happen.  Regardless, if you continue to have concerns about these extra disclosures and authorizations, we encourage you to voice these concerns to HR leaders.

Faculty Compression Adjustment Update

On Thursday, the Board of Trustees will meet for its Finance Committee (9:00 am), Education Workforce Committee (1:30 pm), and the Regular Board meeting (4:00 pm). The presentation during the Finance Committee will discuss compensation adjustments for employees generally, but compression adjustments for faculty will be delayed until the March Board of Trustee meetings. We wanted to explain why this delay would occur.

The consulting firm working with HR (Segal) recommended compression adjustments based on years in range (ie. F1, F2, F3, etc.) rather than years of service. The DCFA Council realized and explained that this would conflate “salary band” with “position” and cause anyone who had advanced ranges to have their eligible years restart after attaining an educational milestone. 

Since compression results from years of service as a faculty member regardless of range advancement, the recommended adjustments would have worsened compression for many faculty. To avoid this, HR was tasked with acquiring data on years of service, and Segal would be tasked with incorporating this data into their recommendations. This extra work required delaying the recommendations until March.

Between now and the March Board of Trustee meeting, the Council will continue working closely with the Chancellor, CHRO, and the consultants to ensure that faculty compression issues are appropriately understood and addressed.

January 2024 DCFA Business Meeting Postponed

The DCFA Council has decided to postpone the January 26 Monthly Business Meeting. Our meetings with leadership have been moved around this month and there would be little to share with everyone. Thus, we feel it is best to postpone the meeting until February when we will have more information on critical items to provide.  Thank you for your understanding.

Invitation to Join the November DCFA General Business Meeting

All current and paid members are encouraged to join us tomorrow, Friday, November 17 at 11:00 AM at this Zoom link for our monthly general DCFA business meeting. The agenda is available as a Google Doc; please be aware that the agenda will be finalized by end-of-day on Thursday, November 16.  We look forward to seeing you all tomorrow!

2023 DCFA Annual Convention: Agenda

 

46th Annual DCFA Convention 

Friday, November 10, 2023, 1:30 – 3:30 pm 

Agenda 

1. Call to order:  ~ 1:30 – 1:40 pm 

2. Welcome:  ~ 1:40 – 1:45 pm 

1. Reminder for those attending virtually to ensure that the full name that they used to join DCFA is indicated as their Zoom username. 

3. Motion for adoption of the agenda: ~ 1:45 – 1:55 pm 

As chair of the convention, I propose that we accept the agenda for this meeting, including the rules for debate and voting, developed in consultation with the parliamentarian, Jennifer Hudson: 

1.  Rules of Debate: 

1. For agenda items requiring consideration for a vote, debate will be limited to 2 minutes per person per agenda item. 

2. Debate for any one agenda item shall not exceed 10 minutes, after which the president shall close the discussion on that item. 

3. Resolutions from the Floor on items not specified on the agenda will be entertained – in writing – following the conclusion of all regular business listed on the agenda and time permitting, following the same limitations for debate as agenda items. 

2. Voting – how, when, and where: 

1. All resolutions from the floor are strongly encouraged to be submitted in writing by Thursday, November 9, 2023, at 8:00pm sent to the entire DCFA Council to be included in the discussion of that agenda item on Friday, November 10, 2023. 

2. Members who attend the Convention in person will vote from the floor by raising their hands. Members who attend virtually will use the “raise hand” feature in Zoom, keeping their hand raised until the Chair of the convention confirms that all virtual votes have been counted. 

3. Motion to Adjourn or Recess: 

1. After voting on proposed resolutions, the Chair will recognize the Parliamentarian to issue a motion to adjourn. 

“Are there any objections to approval of the agenda for this meeting, including the rules for debate and voting?”  If none, it passes by unanimous consent. 

4. Introduce new faculty; recognition of dearly departed. 

5. President’s Address, including introductions and recognitions:  1:55 – 2:05 pm 

6. Standing Committee Reports:  2:05 – 2:25 pm 

1. Communications (2 minutes) – Josh Rose 

2. Instructional Goals and Academic Freedom (2 minutes) – Jennifer Siemantel 

3. Political Information (2 minutes) – Andrew Tolle 

4. Convention Planning (2 minutes) – Denise Griffin 

5. Welfare and Benefits (2 minutes) – Erin Kelley 

6. Membership (2 minutes) – Sherry Boyd 

7. Budget and Finance (2 minutes) – Denise Griffin 

8. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (2 minutes) – Stacy Vasquez 

7. Treasurer’s Report:  2:25 – 2:30 pm (Denise Griffin) 

8. Adoption of the 2023-2024 DCFA Budget: 2:30 – 2:40 pm. 

1. Adoption of the budget through unanimous consent 

2. Motions to transfer funds 

9. Proposed Resolutions Submitted in Advance 2:40 – 2:50 (10 minutes per agenda item). 

1. Proposed Resolution ONE: On Extending the 2023-2024 Membership Deadline 

1. Whereas continued problems regarding School onboarding practices, HR data, Workday implementation, and campus assignments have contributed to confusion regarding the existence and location of many new faculty, 
   Be It Resolved, this Convention votes to extend the 2023-2024 membership drive through Friday, December 1, 2023 at 11:59 pm. 
   Be It Further Resolved, the DCFA MembershipWorks website will be reactivated to allow faculty to join or renew their membership through Friday, December 1, 2023 at 11:59 pm. 

10. Resolutions from the floor, if applicable: 2:50-3:20 pm 

1. Other proposed resolutions from the floor 

11. Closing of the ballot and Adjournment – 3:30 pm