As we near the end of 2007, some items of general interest need to be addressed.

            To begin, the Academic Senate, at the urging of the administration, has changed the format of the summer schedule for 2008 and the foreseeable future. The so called “quickmester” or Summer III semester has been eliminated. The Academic Senate approved this action on November 15, 2007.  The reason for this change is not stated in the material that accompanied the new calendar, but in previous discussions on the matter it was mentioned that the Summer III semester ended so late that it inhibited the smooth opening of the fall semester. It was also suggested that the whole concept of a short, intensive semester was educationally unsound. There is no doubt that the Summer III semester made money for the college, but not enough to justify its existence.

            The new summer calendar will feature at least three and possibly four semesters running concurrently. They will be called Summer I, Summer I-L, Summer II and possibly Summer II-L. These semesters will overlap each other in that Summer I will start and then a week later Summer I-L will begin.  Similarly, Summer II will be followed by a week later by Summer II-L if the administration deems a Summer II-L semester is warranted.  In 2008, Summer I will begin on May 27^th and end on June 26^th.  Summer I-L will begin on June 2^nd and end on July 3^rd. Summer II session will begin on July 7^th and end on August 7^th. If Summer II-L session is run, it will start on July 14^th and end on August 8^th.

            It should be noted that all summer semesters will run on a four day a week schedule except for Summer II-L which will run on a five day a week schedule.

 in the summer of 2008 should pay close attention to college announcements and e-mail on the subject.

How seniority will be accrued for this new arrangement will be determined at meetings to be held with the administration in the future. The rule of no more than 3 semesters of seniority accrued in an academic year will still apply. It is probable that Summer I and Summer I-L will count as two separate semesters and will earn one seniority tic each.  The same would apply to Summer II and Summer II-L with the proviso that only three seniority credits may be earned in one academic year.

            The AFA was not invited to take part in the planning of this new arrangement nor was it advised of the change. It was discovered by reading the college e-mail. This writer was advised of the possibility of this change some months ago, but the AFA was not formally advised of it. This could be construed as a contract violation and is being investigated as such.

            The on-line availability process continues to move forward. In a short time the department representatives will be provided the means to access their own department’s availability forms, filled out on line, so they may follow the procedures needed to accomplish contract administration. Each representative will receive the usual updated seniority list at the Representative Assembly meeting in January.

            Members who fail to put in the on-line availability form during the “window period” will have to do so at the Office of Academic Affairs, 361 Rice Circle. Failure to comply could result in loss of adjunct assignment for the semester.

Finally,