Faculty Senate Minutes
October 21, 2010
Call to Order: 4:12 pm; Riggle Room; ADUC.
Senators Absent: J.T. Blackledge, Vincent Cesaro, Julia Hypes, Stephen Lange, Ann Rathbun, Pam Ryan, Rodney Stanley, Yuqiu You
Visitors: Phil Gniot, Rebecca McGinnis, Charlie Patrick
Minutes: Senator McCoy moved to approve the minutes of October 7, 2010 as amended. Senator Chatham seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Committee Reports:
Academic Issues: Working on a resolution regarding possible Blackboard conversion to Moodle and revisions for University Attendance Policy
Evaluation: Gathering data from other universities related to evaluating administrators
Faculty Welfare and Concerns: Plan to have revisions to several PAc’s ready to present for first reading at the November 4th meeting and working on others to be ready at a later date
Governance: Will be meeting with University Council next week to discuss procedures for Faculty Regent Election and working on Standing Committee appointments
Senate Committee on Issues: Working on People First/Morale – PAc2, PAc27 in relation to integration with Faculty 180
Reports:
Provost’s Report: Charlie Patrick thanked the faculty who were able to attend one of the open forums on Moodle and the Academic Issues Committee for allowing him to meet with them. He encouraged faculty to look carefully at the data integration aspect of Moodle. Five faculty are being recruited and hired to conduct an initial review of Moodle. Volunteers for this review are asked to contact Dr. Patrick if they are interested in participating. Any faculty can have a Moodle shell created, as soon as the system is operational, to begin their own review. An online Blackboard Nine demo is also being developed at this time for review by faculty. Next semester a Blackboard and a MoodleRooms shell will be created for every course. MoodleRooms will not be viewable unless turned on by faculty. Dr. Patrick presented additional information on Blackboard/Moodle. Dr. Patrick will ask the Educational Technology Group to conduct more online Moodle chat sessions. A lengthy question/ answer and discussion session followed.
Regent’s Report: Yielded time to the Chair.
General Education Report: Chair-elect Kim Sharp communicated that the new chair representatives, selected by the Chair’s Council, to the General Education Council are Mike Phillips and Phil Krummrich.
Chair’s Report:
Chair McCormick reported to the senate that the resolution that was passed by the Faculty Senate in the last meeting regarding faculty policies for Fall Break was not approved by the administration.
Chair McCormick and Senator Sharp attended the Presidents Leadership Council. Recruitment and retention of students will be the #1 priority for this group followed by the question; what/where does this Institution want to be regarding online education?
Open Chair Segment:
The Chair and the Executive Council approved including an “Open Chair Segment” in the agenda for Faculty Senate meetings.
The Chair opened up the floor for the “Open Chair Segment”. The Communication Officer opened the first 10-15 minutes with opportunities for Senators to voice concerns not on the agenda. Some concerns voiced are:
· All groups that will be affected by changes/decisions should be included from the initiation of the process.
· Is there a list of investments used by the MSU Foundation?
· Consider if the University needs an Ombudsman (possibly one for staff and one for faculty). One of the Senate committees will address this.
· Various senators brought up concerns with the continuation of PBSI. Why go through the motions of conducting PBSI if there are no benefits to PBSI? (Tenure-track faculty members still need evaluation for their tenure portfolios).
· Senate should be more proactive and not so reactive.
· Other faculty brought up the issue of education -vs. - the corporate culture; how the differences can be balanced?
· Need for a peer review system that does not deal with salaries but with improving teaching
· If the decision is made to switch to Moodle, has there been a determination of cost for faculty to spend two hours per course (previous/current) converting Blackboard to Moodle.
The “Open Chair Segment” will be scheduled for future meetings. Senators and non-senators are encouraged to inform the chair if they wish to speak during this segment.
Senate Actions:
Governance:
Senator Chatham reminded the Senators of the procedure for resignation from a University Standing Committee and asked that they remind their constituents of it. A reminder will be sent to the Standing Committee Chairs to be forwarded to their committees.
New Business:
MSU Human Resource Director Phil Gniot provided information on the healthcare changes that will begin January 1, 2011 and other 2011 benefits. MSU is changing health insurance carriers from Humana to Anthem. The current three health insurance plans will be offered with enhancements. MSU's open enrollment for 2011 benefits begins on Monday, October 25 through close of business on Monday, November 29, 2010. You must enroll via Anthem's online process to choose or waive your health insurance coverage for 2011.
Senator Chatham moved to suspend the rules to finish Mr. Gniot’s report. Motion seconded. Motion passed.
Details about open enrollment and your 2011 benefits can be viewed at www2.moreheadstate.edu/hr. The Open Enrollment Guide and Anthem Health Insurance Guide will be mailed to your campus address. You will receive a new insurance card prior to January 1. See the web site for more information. The Senate appreciates the administration for hearing faculty and staff, and moving on changes such as Sponsored Dependents Benefits Coverage.
Benefits Fair will be held November 3, 2010. Group workshops to discuss 2011 benefits will be held beginning October 26th through November 15th.
Adjournment: 6:15 pm
