 "Photo: Henriette Mutegwaraba")
Faculty Senate focused on problems with the college bookstore and consideration of released time for faculty Wednesday.
Bookstore manager Amy Turpin and district manager Elizabeth Gray were guest speakers. Turpin explained the reason behind some confusion in this semester’s book purchasing.
Only “61 percent of orders were in that were supposed to be in by Oct. 16,” she said.
Gray answered questions about lower textbook prices, saying it is important for managers to receive information from faculty as soon as possible.
“The key,” Turpin said, “is to get them in before finals week,” because during that week, the store is busier and more time is needed to research lower costing books.
Gray said, “We want to give the money back to our students.”
She added about 18 percent to 20 percent of this college’s students purchase from the on-campus bookstore, but to bring in more students, they have instituted a guarantee that gives 50 percent of the total cost of a book back to the students who sell back their books.
Turpin said the guarantee works when a student makes a purchase of any book. The store will place a sticker indicating that when the book is sold back, the student will receive that portion back.
Renting books is something students of the Alamo Colleges should be looking to when deciding on how and where to buy books starting in fall 2010.
The only thing required is a credit card or debit card with a major credit card logo.
If the book is not returned, the store will automatically charge the person for keeping it longer than allowed.
Gray said the program was tried in a dozen colleges nationwide, and when looking at the numbers, students saved more than 55 percent compared to buying full-priced textbooks.
She also talked about electronic books, saying there are many types of e-books and, depending on the user, may be easy or difficult to use.
Turpin said the bookstore carries 19 titles of e-books, including ones you can purchase to keep.
She said that in their journey of finding more options of books at lower costs and ease for students to use, “We’re really trying.”
Librarian John Desodade questioned if lowering the district’s benefits would assist in making the books cheaper, and therefore, more accessible to students.
Gray said the district earns 14 percent of each purchase from 10-cent mints to $100 books, and by reducing that percentage, the cost of books could be lowered.
She also said that the 14 percent that goes to the district is an agreement that was made between the retail company, Follett, and the district. The managers at the store do not have authority to decrease that percentage.
In other business, faculty released time was again a topic of discussion.
English Professor Dawn Elmore-McCrary reported that biology Chair Teanna Staggs is to meet with President Robert Zeigler and Dr. Jessica Howard, vice president of academic affairs, to ask for their support in pushing for changes in the procedure for approving release time.
The draft is expected to be presented in the Academic Council meeting Tuesday.
Elmore-McCrary said the proposed changes are to definitions and to provide clarification to help monitor the amount of available released time. A rubric has been created and is ready for review.
If adopted by the council, changes will go into effect next fall.
Elmore-McCrary said the current released time formula was reviewed, and there was no other way they found that the formula could be altered to benefit faculty members more.
Faculty Senate Chair Jeff Hunt reported a call from Carolyn Kelley, the president of the Tobin Hill Community Association, regarding college parking.
He said she proposed the association fund and build this college an additional five-story parking garage. Next to the garage, the association wants to build another five-story building.
The first floor will house three or four nonchain restaurants, the second is left to the decision of the college and district so it could be used for offices or classes.
The association wants to use the third floor for apartments with suites on the fourth floor for student housing. The fifth floor will be available for events.
Hunt said, if built, a percentage of the housing income is to go to the college.
The association’s proposal puts the buildings on the Park Place site because they want Tobin Hill to become the city’s premiere neighborhood.
Political science Professor Christy Woodward-Kaupert disagreed with the idea, saying it would be hypocritical to support this plan because it “undercuts our position on Playland.”
Hunt agreed, in part, saying, “Yeah, it is hypocritical, but I think it’s great.”
The senate also reviewed the D.5.3 procedure, on holidays, leaves and absences.
Faculty are allowed two personal days per year, but Woodward-Kaupert requested that be increased to four days.
She detailed trying to participate in an activity she considered civic duty but that was not approved as civic duty, which required that she use a personal day.
Woodward-Kaupert said she spoke with Jo-Carol Fabianke, associate vice chancellor for academic partnerships and initiatives, who said because it is a procedure and not a policy, it can be changed without going through the board.
In the next order of business, an e-mail sent by Zeigler stated that faculty could not register students after the first day of class.
Hunt said if that were true for this semester, the college would have lost 500 students.
The change came from the Chancellor’s Executive Committee, Hunt said, and though some opposed it, it will help reduce stress on instructors and secretaries when registration comes around.
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