Minutes #595

John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Attendance

Present (32):

Jacob Adler, Chevy Alford, Elton Beckett, Bibi Calderaro, Kathleen Collins, Artem Domashevskiy, Joy Dunkley, Jennifer Dysart, Jonathan Epstein, Sergio Grossi, Alejandro Garcia Lozano, Jay Hamilton, Veronica Hendrick, Michelle Holder, Karen Kaplowitz, Allison Kavey, Anru Lee, Kyoo Lee, Jamie Longazel, Cristina Lozano Arguelles, Joseph Maldonado, Brian Maule, David Munns, Raymond Patton, Kumar Ramansenthil, Meriem Rebbani, Macushla Robinson, Amada Santiago, Francis Sheehan, Marie Springer, Todd Stambaugh, Charles Stone

Absent (5):

Ned Benton, Diana Falkenbach, Sergio Gallegos, Heath Grant, Shilpa Viswanath

Guest:

Professor Stephen Russell

Agenda

1. Adoption of the agenda
2. Approval of Minutes #594 of the March 23, 2026, meeting
3. Report from the Chair

• Calendar of 2026-27 Faculty Senate meetings

4. Elections

• a.  Faculty Senate reps to the 2026-27 College Council
• b.  Faculty Senate alternate reps to the 2026-27 College Council
• c.  Faculty/Student Disciplinary Committee:
• d.  Ratification of slate of 13 candidates for the 6 at-large positions on the FPC

5. Agenda of the April 15 meeting of the College Council: Faculty Senate’s Proposed Policy Prohibiting Recording of Classes Without Permission
6. Proposed Values, Mission, Vision, and Goals & Objectives of our next 5-year Strategic Plan & Proposal from the Executive Committee to amend the Draft Strategic Plan to add an additional Objective
7. Proposal from Dean Andrew Sidman for Math 105 Tutoring Pilot during Community Hour & Proposal that the Faculty Senate propose a College Policy mandating that no full-time or adjunct faculty member be scheduled to teach during Community Hour: Executive Committee
8. Proposed Policies regarding Generative Algorithms [GA]: Faculty Senate Technology Committee
9. New business

1. Adoption of the Agenda

Approved.

2. Approval of Minutes #594 of the March 23, 2026, Meeting

Approved.

3. Report from the Chair

Calendar of 2026-27 Faculty Senate Meetings:

First Meeting of 2026-27 Faculty Senate: Friday May 22 at 10 AM

Fall 2026 – meetings at 1:40 PM

• Thursday September 10
• Wednesday September 23
• Tuesday October 6
• Thursday October 22
• Thursday November 5
• Monday November 16
• Friday December 4 at 10 AM

Spring 2027 – meetings at 1:40 PM

• Tuesday February 9
• Monday February 22
• Tuesday March 9
• Wednesday March 24
• Thursday April 8
• Monday April 19
• Friday May 7 at 10 AM

First Meeting of 2027-28 Faculty Senate: Friday May 21 at 10 AM

4. Elections:

a. 9 Faculty Senate Representatives to the 2026-27 College Council Were Elected:

Artem Domashevskiy (Sciences); Joy Dunkley (Library); Jonathan Epstein (History); Heath Grant (LPS); Karen Kaplowitz (English); Monica Mattesi (Sciences); Francis Sheehan (Sciences); Todd Stambaugh (Math & Computer Science); Charles Stone (Psychology)

b. 5 Alternate Representatives to the 2026-27 College Council Were Elected:

Jacob Adler (Library); Ned Benton (Public Management); Kendra Doychak (Psychology); Allison Kavey (History); Marie Springer (Public Management)

c. Faculty/Student Disciplinary Panels: A Panel of Three Hearing Chairs Was Elected:

Anil Duro (LPS): Jamie Longazel (Political Science); Brian Maule (LPS).

A panel of 6 hearing members was also elected:

LaDawn Haglund (Political Science); Adam McKible (English); Ali Kocak (Sciences); Melissa McShea (Political Science); Jennifer Rutledge (Political Science); Shamus Smith (LPS)

d. A Slate of 13 Faculty Candidates for 6 At-Large Positions on the 2027-28 Faculty Personnel Committee Was Ratified:

Alex Alexandrou (LPS); Mustafa Demir (LPS); Crystal Endsley (Africana Studies); Sergio Gallegos (Philosophy); Heath Grant (LPS); Helen Kapstein (English); Ali Kocak (Sciences); Nathan Lents (Sciences); Nivedita Majumdar (English); Simone Martin-Howard (Public Management); Joshua Mason (Economics); Hyunhee Park (History); Michael Pfeiffer (History)

5. Agenda of the April 15 Meeting of the College Council: Faculty Senate’s Proposed Policy Prohibiting Recording of Classes Without Permission

President Kaplowitz confirmed that the vote on the proposed policy on recording class sessions will take place at the April 15 meeting of the College Council. She told the Senate that she reached out to both the Student Council (SC) president and to the SC vice president (who is running unopposed for the SC presidency), offering to meet again to answer further questions and hear their concerns. They said they felt there was no need.

The Council of Chairs has endorsed the amendment we made at our last Senate meeting that permits oral (rather than written) permission for photos of content on white boards and screens.

President Mason will ask for a roll call vote at the College Council both because the NYS Open Meetings Law requires a record of how each member votes but also because there will be many guests present and only CC members may vote.

Faculty hold 30 seats on the 50-member body and, so, even if the students and HEOs and even if some administrators vote no, the proposal will be approved if all the faculty (or alternates) attend and vote yes. Provost Pease, Dean Sidman, and VP Mark Flowers have told her they are going to vote yes when their name is called.

6. Proposed Values, Mission, Vision, and Goals & Objectives of Our Next 5-Year Strategic Plan & Proposal from the Executive Committee to Amend the Draft Strategic Plan to Add an Additional Objective

President Kaplowitz explained that only the Vision Statement, the Mission Statement, the Values, the Strategies, and the Outcomes will be voted on Thursday at the Strategic Planning Subcommittee (SPS) meeting and then presented to the College Council for a vote at its May 15 meeting.

She said that, as she communicated the previous evening by email, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were sent to the members of the SPS for the first time late yesterday. This morning she recommended to VP Christopher Shults that the KPIs not be voted on at the next SPS meeting on April 16, as planned, and not at the May College Council meeting but, rather, be developed during the summer and voted on in the fall. He has agreed to this. So we do not have to discuss the draft KPIs today or this semester, unless we wish to.

The Senate Executive Committee is proposing that the Faculty Senate join the Council of Chairs in proposing that the following Objective be added to JJ’s draft 5-Year Strategic Plan: “Strengthen enrollment levels to support long-term financial sustainability while improving student-to-full-time faculty and student-to-staff ratios.” The goal of getting this objective added to the Strategic Plan is to improve full-time faculty to student ratios.

Senator Allison Kavey asked whether enrollment growth is possible, given demographic changes. President Kaplowitz said we lost 2,000 students as a result of Covid and the goal is to return to that level of enrollment. The plan of our enrollment team is to enroll more students who pay more tuition, such as out-of-state and graduate students. The new vice president for enrollment management and student affairs, who will begin on May 15, is already attending meetings and getting to know JJ key people. This will be one of his main jobs.

Senator Charles Stone said that the Forensic Psychology Department has many more students majoring in forensic psychology than the number of full-time faculty needed to teach them; enrollment, therefore, for his department needs to be proportional to the number of faculty and yet the Provost has already said his department cannot hire more faculty. President Kaplowitz acknowledged the problem, saying that most forensic psychology majors never take a course in their major that is taught by a full-time psychology faculty member during their undergrad career. Senator Stone said that the Forensic Psychology Department is meeting this week to discuss the sustainability of the program, given its student-to-faculty ratios.

Senator Todd Stambaugh agreed that there are disproportionate numbers of faculty to many of our majors but the number of full-time faculty to majors is not the only meaningful metric, especially for departments with a lot of investment in Gen Ed. He explained that his department, Math & CS, assigns many of their full-time faculty to teach the service courses.

A motion to approve the addition of the proposed Objective passed by unanimous vote.

With reference to the new Mission Statement, Senator Ray Patton pointed out that all references to John Jay being a liberal arts college have been removed; furthermore, the Vision Statement is conflated with the Mission Statement and, in fact, half of it actually is the current mission statement. He also noted that Goal 2 includes multiple goals within one—inclusivity and success in student development; the goal seems to be access to support programs rather than student success.

Senator David Munns agreed that the removal of language about JJ being a liberal arts college from the Mission Statement is a serious issue and that this language must be restored. President Kaplowitz said she would propose this at the SPS meeting.

Senator Stambaugh said although we do not need to discuss the KPIs now, he wants to note that they do not measure what they are claiming to measure. For example, the indicators in KPI 1 are usage of support programs, not actual student success. There are no KPIs on enrollment numbers, just ratios (faculty-student and staff-student). Senator Kavey said too many of these KPIs directly affect curriculum and are also poorly defined.

7. Proposal from Dean Andrew Sidman for Math 105 Tutoring Pilot During CH & Proposal That the Faculty Senate Propose a College Policy That No Full-Time or Adjunct Faculty Member Be Scheduled to Teach During Community Hour: Executive Committee

Dean of Academic Programs Andrew Sidman has requested the Faculty Senate’s permission to schedule mandatory tutoring during community hour as part of a pilot program for MAT 105 (algebra for STEM students). This request is because the registrar’s office is declining to schedule these tutoring sessions during CH without the Faculty Senate’s permission.

The DFW rate in MAT 105 is very high. Indeed, 43.5% of students in the course earned a C- or lower. Dean Sidman wants to add a mandatory lab one hour a week during community hour for all students enrolled in the course, which is about 300-500 students in the fall semesters and somewhat fewer in the spring. The tutoring sessions will be taught by peer tutors, not by adjunct or full-time faculty. The number of credits for the course would not be changed.

Senator Michelle Holder asked why the dean is proposing doing this during community hour. The answer is that all students are available at that time because no classes are scheduled then and, so, all will be able to attend tutoring. Senator Holder said she is concerned that this might open the door for classes being taught by either full-time faculty or adjuncts during community hour. President Kaplowitz agreed and said this is why the Senate executive committee is pairing consideration of the dean’s request with its proposal that we establish a college policy whereby no faculty (FT or adjunct) may be scheduled to teach during community hour. She explained although this is the practice and the intent, it is not codified into a formal policy.

She explained that the opinion of the executive committee that we need a college policy is based on our history. We used to have a community hour from 3:30 to 5:00 every day but when we ran out of classrooms because of increased enrollment, first adjuncts were assigned to teach during community hour and, eventually, as enrollment further increased, full-time faculty were assigned to teach then as well. When Jeremy Travis began as president in 2004 we, in effect, had no community hour. When he researched the situation and ascertained that we were the only CUNY college without a daily community hour, he asked the Senate to recommend to him the best time for a community hour during which no classes would be scheduled. Upon doing so, the Senate proposed that the College Council make this college policy but President Travis said there was no need because CH was sacrosanct to him. Like Senator Holder, the executive committee fears that Dean Sidman’s request is a slippery slope and that’s why the two proposals are paired on the agenda.

Senator Jamie Longazel said he, too, fears this slippery slope. His position is that if we say yes to Dean Sidman’s request, we must propose a policy to the College Council. Professor Stephen Russell agreed, saying he too shares Michelle’s sentiment.

Senator Ray Patton said tutoring seems to be a legitimate use of community hour, but this form of tutoring seems “course-like.” He added that the Honors Program colloquium, which is a class taught by faculty, is scheduled during community hour because students from every program in the college need to attend; therefore, that needs to be left unaffected by any policy we may propose. Professor Russell said that science courses have labs but do not schedule them during community hour and asked why MAT 105 should be able to do so.

Senator Stambaugh, who teaches MAT 105, speculated that the dean’s proposal may be a way to deal with the classroom space issue: science labs are scheduled in dedicated lab spaces, but there are no available classrooms to put math tutoring sections without interfering with students’ other course requirements. He explained there are 10 to 15 sections of MAT 105 offered each semester. Senator Stambaugh further explained that past efforts to convince students to go to tutoring have not worked. Making it a required part of the course rather than an additional activity is the purpose of the proposal.

Professor Russell said now that he is a department chair (of History) he knows there are classrooms available during periods 1, 6, 8, 9. He said if we propose a policy, there needs to be some exceptions for the Honors Program colloquium, for prison courses, for science labs that last 7 hours, etc.

Senator Patton expressed appreciation for Todd’s explanation and asked whether the Math & CS Department is supporting the proposal. Senator Stambaugh said the proposal was developed in collaboration with faculty in his department, especially with Professor Alvin Estrada who is in charge of the MFQR [Math Foundation & Quantitative Reasoning] curriculum, and that he knows of no objections.

President Kaplowitz proposed we ask Dean Sidman to attend our next meeting to answer our questions and that, in addition, she and several other members of the executive committee consult with Registrar Shavonne McKiever about the scheduling issues and about the parameters that would be needed for a college policy about CH.

Senator Chevy Alford recommended that the MAT 105 students be interviewed as to the reasons they do not avail themselves of the tutoring services. She said when she helped Baruch with this challenge, Baruch realized they had to figure out the obstacles to tutoring attendance before they could improve attendance. She said the students may not find the tutors helpful or may not believe they need the help. She recommended interviewing all of our MAT 105 students.

7. Proposed Policies Regarding Generative Algorithms [GA]: Faculty Senate Technology Committee

The Faculty Senate Technology Committee has recommended that the Faculty Senate adopt the following five policy statements:

• All communications and resources made available at the College should clearly state that the decision to incorporate generative algorithms and AI-enabled tools in teaching is a faculty decision. Faculty members may elect not to include any of these tools in a course or may specify the tools to be used in the course.
• Differences by discipline content and student level dictate that policies to govern the use and management of generative algorithms and/or AI-enabled tools in departmental courses or specific programs are to be made by the specific department or program.
• The widespread availability to students of these new tools requires that equivalent resources for faculty should be made available for those who choose to incorporate the use of these tool and teach students how to use them, and for those who choose not to include them in their courses. What are the best pedagogical practices for in-person teaching that doesn’t incorporate AI-enabled tool? What kinds of assignments and assessments are appropriate in online courses taught by faculty who don’t wish to use AI-enabled tools? There is a need for trainings and shared pedagogical support for faculty currently facing such questions.
• Academic departments and programs will need to monitor the progress of implementation of generative algorithms and/or AI-enabled tools in their courses to ensure that the impact is positive, indicating that the tools contribute to student learning rather than limiting what students have learned.
• Faculty create course shells (templates) for the courses in the fully online and asynchronous programs. The Office of Digital Learning hosts and copies these templates for subsequent faculty users. The Office of Digital Learning must be responsive to the AI-related needs of faculty who create the course shells, whether they use AI-related tools or need support for adequate assessment in an AI-enabled context.

Senator Holder asked if the Senate is being asked to approve these policies as a FS statement on this subject or, perhaps, propose them to the College Council for its adoption. She said there are some things that are not addressed that might not need to be included; for example; there is nothing on what would happen if a student were to violate the policy. President Kaplowitz said this is a first step, an initial discussion.

Senator Jake Adler said he has two quick points. First, his assumption is that the Faculty Senate’s Technology Committee has not proposed a policy on the use of AI detection software because there is no reliable detection software; all the software out there produces false positives. Secondly, the AI Institute has stressed that all AI policies must be future-proofed; for example, Agentic could not have been predicted. So policies need to be adaptable so we can be responsive to changes and developments. He noted the AI bubble could burst. But, he added, he is supportive of adopting policy statements.

Senator Kumar Ramansenthil said this is a fine starting point but even if we were to have this as a college policy it would not be sufficient. We need to address how the administration will support people who do not want to use AI as well as those who do. A policy has to be more detailed and more structured.

This discussion was tabled because of the time.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:01 PM

Provided by A. Kavey and K. Kaplowitz