Lee College Faculty Assembly
Sept. 9, 2026, 3:15 p.m., McNulty-Haddick, S-01
I. Call to Order at 3.18.m.
II. Approval of Minutes
Secretary: Kathleen Anderson
A motion was made by William Walker to approve the August 20, 2026 minutes. The motion was seconded by Kathleen Pastore.
Approved.
III. Reports of Officers and Standing Committees
President: Dr. Channell Cook — no report
Vice President: Mark Solis —
Call for Professional Standards and Responsibilities volunteer; will send details of duties.
Benefits: Kathleen Pastore — no report
Professional Development: Francisca Castillo —
Application for PD is in SharePoint under Center for Instructional Excellence. Make sure to select the correct form: the Professional Development form is for those hosting a PD. The correct form is the Travel Application. No travel currently.
Improvements in the process: no need for supervisor signature to submit. Faculty can check the status of application. Will contact current committee members to see if still interested in serving
Professional Standards and Responsibilities: vacant
Need volunteer
Honors and Recognition: Carl Taylor — no report
IV. Unfinished Business
V. New Business
Nicole Tunmire — Pathways Fair
Need volunteers to participate on the following dates and times: Sept. 23-24 at 9:30, 11:00, 12:30.
IT issue preventing emails; will be sent soon.
Email if you want to participate.
Bring your classes!
Reo Cummings — TRiO Program
TRiO will come to your classroom to provide information about the program; email to schedule a visit; currently recruiting students for the program.
Concerns with AI, Honorlock usage, and proctored exams
Audience member: Frustrated/concerned with the options for proctored exams due to student use of AI cheating tools (either to "get around” proctoring or taking the test); cheating is worse; level and extent out of control; difficult to prove the use of these cheating tools, invisible to recording. A solution to this problem is requiring the Honorlock App (locks down the computer and has a second camera); however, it cannot be used on iPads, which is an issue for dual credit students. How do we solve this issue? One option is for dual credit students to be in a stand-alone class instead of being enrolled with traditional students.
Audience member: In-person testing at the testing center is a solution. If dual credit cannot come to campus to test, then administer paper/pencil tests.
Dr. Norris: will start conversations with dual credit about this issue; working on equipping computer labs in the high schools with all the necessary software/tools. Paper/pencil tests are an option, but it is unreasonable to ask dual credit students to come to campus. Asking traditional online students to come to campus will create a barrier for some, so this is not a preferred option.
Audience member: In online classes, cheating is blatant, widespread, and extreme; not fair to and creates a barrier for students who are not cheating; I ask that administration support faculty on this matter. Don’t put barrier up for faculty. Issues with cheating online also jeopardize face-to-face courses when students can easily cheat online; these are not fast decisions, need research and data, but need administrative support above all.
Audience member: Need to bring to Distance Ed and Jose Martinez. Jose Martinez may have insight as to why students cheat based on experience in disciplinary hearings.
Audience member: Ask that discipline specific faculty be on a committee; people that are experienced teaching online who enjoy it; make sure to consider the utility of AI.
Audience member: Attempted to create AI-resistant courses; summer classes were disturbing (not opening modules, skipping to tests, using AI for discussion posts); students see courses as a box to check to get to a career; not sure what to do; not a pedagogy issue.
Audience member: Face-to-face students are aware of online cheating; see the unfair differences in the formats when it comes to cheating.
Audience member: Had a different experience with online courses without feeling like the “AI police.” Will be students who will cheat; majority want to do work and learn; need to work together, come up with solution; most universities and community colleges require AI literacy and ethics; need to be aware that AI use is skill set students will need in the workforce.
Audience member: Need to recognize the differences between dual credit and traditional students. Students without access to technology is an issue overall.
Audience member: Need a committee to study the problem and solutions; hopefully different options
Audience member: Had great experience with Honorlock; great support; great tool; find multimodal assignment sheets and video assignments helpful in deterring AI use.
Asked for volunteers for the committee; Dr. Cook will reach out to volunteers and send email with details about the committee
Audience member: DE committee did work on AI policies and recommendations; some work has been done that can be built on; available in SharePoint.
VI. Comments by Jacob Atkin
Need guiding policies regarding use of AI; goal is approved policies by new fiscal year
Update on enrollment; first time over 9,000; growth in Dual Credit and Huntsville.
Facilities Master Plan update at board meeting; encourage attendance; ideation phase coming to close; now planning and prioritization
Addressed concerns with investigations into Barbers Hill ISD’s education foundation and superintendent Greg Poole. Provided details on agreement between the college and Barbers Hill, assuring that Lee College has done due diligence and protected ourselves.
Audience member: How long is our contractual agreement to provide classes at Barbers Hill?
A long time; 20-25 years; expectation is Lee College will always provide community college education; Barbers Hill can’t contract with other institutions.
Reminder of the open forum for the 3 finalists for the Vice President, External Affairs & Executive Director, Lee College Foundation. All 3 finalists are highly qualified; encourage participation and feedback
Audience member: Can you explain the position?
In addition to being executive director of the Foundation, also handles marketing, government relations, PAC and campus events.
Full job description on SharePoint
VII. Announcements
Art Department currently has 3 shows from Sept. 12-Oct. 15
Remembering Stephen Neihaus showcases artwork by Steve Neihaus, long-time Lee College Art Faculty member who was instrumental in developing the Art Department.
Recent Lee College graduate, Layla Leeah, will present her Honors Art Exhibit, Something’s Wrong, an interactive art installation.
The Gravity of Being, an installation of photographs by art student, Brianna Trejo.
New software available: H5P; the video interactivity beneficial because AI can’t read video; contact instructional designers for help using software.
VIII. Adjournment — Adjourned at 4:02 p.m.