Faculty Senate Minutes
May 5, 2011
Call to Order: Chair McCormick called the meeting to order at 4:12 pm; Riggle Room; ADUC
Senators Absent: Ritta Abell, Tom Creahan, Braden Frieder, Sarah Hawkins, Julia Hypes, Euijin Kim, Gary LaFleur, Randy McCoy, Biswajit Panja
Visitor: Rebecca McGinnis, Erik Lewis, Charlie Patrick
Minutes: Senator Carlson asked that the spelling of Gary Mesa-Gaido’s name be corrected on page 3 of the minutes of April 21, 2011. Senator Stanley moved to approve the minutes as revised. Senator Carlson seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Committee Reports:
Academic Issues: UAR 131.01 Excused Absences
Evaluation: No Report
Faculty Welfare and Concerns: No Report
Governance: Committee appointments to recommend; one committee description to present; resolution
Senate Committee on Issues: Report on Faculty 180
Reports:
Chair’s Report:
· Chair McCormick met with the Provost and discussed the methods used to release Data Strategies reports across campus. Some faculty received their report via email and did not have the opportunity to meet with someone and have it explained to them. The Provost informed the Chair that was not the way it was supposed to be distributed.
· The Executive Council will meet with the President on Thursday, May 12th for a discussion regarding suggestions to address the conclusions/comments from the “Are We Making Progress Survey/Comments”. The Chair encouraged Senators and colleagues to review and provide feedback on the “Are We Making Progress Survey/Comments” that are posted on the President’s Leadership Council webpage.
· Chair McCormick thanked the Senators for their time and dedication to the Faculty Senate this year. The Senate committees have been working on issues that are concerns of the faculty. The Chair appreciates all the things the Senators have been working hard on to accomplish on behalf of the faculty. Chair McCormick also thanked the Senate Secretary for her work during the year.
Open Chair Segment:
Three special topics speakers presented during the Open-Chair segment.
The first speaker, Senator Royal Berglee, shared with the Senate that there were a number of academic changes in the University as a result of the Data Strategies (APPR) reports. He realized that many faculty members from across campus had not been informed of the changes. Programs that were slated for elimination (officially suspended or reorganized) included Communications and Geography, and Science Education faculty have been moved out of that program. The University is in the process of addressing the students in these programs and addressing the reassignment or re-location of the faculty members being affected. Details on these changes are not available at the present time. Assurance has been given that students in these programs will be able to complete their degrees.
Senator Berglee encouraged the University to share the information with faculty across campus because programs across campus work together and decisions will affect students. Possibly some faculty across campus were not even aware that these changes were taking place. He acknowledged that each program that was affected by the Data Strategies report may have had unique circumstances, but suggested that future Data Strategies reports could include more data feedback indicating how each program was meeting benchmarks. He encouraged all faculty to communicate any changes resulting from Data Strategies to their students.
Some Senators stated that they indeed did not know these changes were taking place. A Senator asked when the APPR will be made public on the Provost’s web page. They would like to have more information regarding the other program changes “because my programs are affected by the entire University”. Charlie Patrick will ask the Provost when the report will be on the webpage. A Senator indicated that they do not know anything officially about the Data Strategies Report from their College or Department and asked that someone share information regarding Communications. A Senator did share their impression/knowledge of the Communication Report, which included some of Communication faculty going to Business and some unsure of where they are going. According to another Senator, Business did not know what was suggested for Communication. A Senator indicated their department has not had full department discussion regarding their report. A question was asked where the University newspaper is going. There were many questions and much discussion regarding Data Strategies and other issues on campus.
The second speaker for the Open-Chair segment was Dr. Erik Lewis from the Department of Government and Regional Analysis. Dr. Lewis raised a concern regarding the deadline for the submission of final grades, which is Monday morning. He was concerned that this does not allow enough time to properly grade exams that are scheduled for the Friday before. He suggested officially moving the deadline to Tuesday at 9 AM. Senator Lesia Lennex informed the Senate that, just prior to the Senate meeting, an official communication was sent by the Registrar's office that the deadline for this spring semester was moved to Tuesday at 9 AM. The news was greeted with support by the Senate body. Discussion followed.
The third speaker for the Open-Chair segment was Senator Ann Macintosh, who raised a concern about students' absences for medical reasons. The University Health Center on campus does not provide verification for medical services. Dr. Macintosh suggested that assistance from the University Health Center in verifying evidence of medical leave by students would be helpful. A Senator indicated that if it had not been changed, a faculty member used to be able to call the Health Center to inquire about student medical absences. Senator Sharp suggested working with Charles Holloway, who helped prepare the policy, to work this out. Staff Congress President Rebecca McGinnis volunteered to inquire with the Health Center for more details.
Provost’s Report: Charlie Patrick represented the Provost and had no report.
Regent’s Report: The BOR work session was held on May 5, 2011. The 2011-2012 budget, student tuition increase, student recreation fee and faculty/staff salary increases were discussed. Enrollment numbers look positive for fall 2011.
Regent Morrison expressed his appreciation to faculty for their support over the last three years and for re-electing him as the Faculty Regent. He looks forward to working with the faculty for the next three years.
General Education Report:
· On behalf of the General Education Council, Senator Sharp presented candidates to fill at large positions currently held by Dr. Robert Boram and Dr. Glen Colburn that will expire on August 15, 2011. The Senate must approve the members. The Governance Committee conducted the election in the Senate. Dr. James Masterson (Government and Regional Analysis) and Dr. Beverly McCormick (School of Business Administration) were elected to serve on the General Education Council.
(After the meeting, it was determined that James Masterson is in the same department as Timothy Hare, who is also a voting member on the General Education Council. Thus, James Masterson will not be serving on the Gen Ed Council. Another member will need to be approved by the Senate).
· Senator Sharp met with the Provost and Deans regarding the recommendations of the ad hoc Computer Competency Work Group (CCWG). The Provost and the Deans were very supportive of the recommendations of the CCWG, with a few suggestions for further refining next year. Computer Competency testing and remediation will not go into effect in fall 2011 due to some logistical constraints. The CCWG will continue to work on these logistical concerns and Senator Sharp is confident that Computer Competency will be implemented by the fall of 2012. Chair McCormick thanked all the members of the CCWG for their work.
Senate Actions:
Governance:
Nominations
Senator Chatham, Governance Chair, presented nominations for the Faculty Rights and Responsibilities Committee (2011-2013). The BPA and EDU representatives are to be elected by the faculty of their respective colleges. The recommended BPA slate is to replace the slate proposed at the previous Senate meeting. The slate is:
BPA: Ken Henderson & Randal McCoy
EDU: Beverly Klecker & Lola Aagaard-Boram
Appointments
Senator Chatham, Governance Chair, presented a slate of appointments for various Standing and Advisory Committees and made the following four changes: 1) remove the Graduate Curriculum appointments from the list due to a change in the committee description not yet approved through the full process; 2) Student Life – S&T should be Charles D. Rogers; 3) Tenure – remove Paul Steele; 4) Undergraduate Curriculum – replace Ann Macintosh from S&T with Doug Chatham. On behalf of the Governance Committee, Senator Chatham moved to approve the nominations for Faculty Rights and Responsibilities as submitted and the appointments of the various committees as revised. Slate passed as amended. Senator Chatham asked if anyone from BPA would be willing to serve. Some faculty were nominated but are unable to serve for various reasons. Senator Berglee moved to send the Tenure Committee membership back to the Governance Committee for determining an eligible candidate to present. Motion failed for lack of a second. Senator Barbara Lyons, BPA, volunteered to serve on the Tenure Committee. Senator Gibbs moved to approve Barbara Lyons for the Tenure Committee. Senator Applegate seconded the motion. Motion passed. Appointments as approved are:
Terms are 2011-13 except as indicated.
Academic Program Review
At-Large: Judy Stafford
BPA: Barbara Lyons
LIB: Mykie Howard
EDU: Melinda Willis
Appeals
At-Large: Annie Adams
At-Large: Steve Chen
At-Large: David Oyen
EDU: Melanie Jones
Campus Environment
Faculty: Rebecca Katz
Faculty Rights and Responsibilities
LIB: Ophelia Chapman
Intercollegiate Athletics
(2011-14)
S&T: Jacklynn Darling
|
Professional Development
AHSS: Chris Holbrook
BPA: Beverly McCormick
Registration Advisory
BPA: Michelle Kuntz
EDU: Karen Lafferty
Research and Creative Productions
S&T: Thomas Pannuti
AHSS: Denise Watkins
BPA: Scott Wymer
EDU: Jane Arrington
LIB: Donna Baker
Scholarship Appeals
AHSS: Christina Conroy
EDU: Tim Simpson
Service
AHSS: Wendell O’Brien
BPA: Randall McCoy
LIB: Pamela Colyer
|
Student Disciplinary
AHSS: Carrie Coaplen
EDU: Lee Nabb
Student Life
S&T: Charles D. Rogers
AHSS: Ritta Abell
Tenure
(2011-14)
BPA: Barbara Lyons
Undergraduate Curriculum
S&T: Doug Chatham
EDU: Sarah Hawkins
AHSS: Mark Graves
BPA: Timothy Hare
Wellness
BPA: Michael Hypes
EDU: Lesia Lennex
|
Governance presented the following resolution:
A Resolution on the Handling of Plagiarism Cases
Whereas, according to its committee description, the purpose of the Student Disciplinary Committee is to “provide students a level of appeal on nonacademic matters”, and
Whereas, according to the committee description recently proposed by the Faculty Senate, the purpose of the Academic Appeals Committee is to “provide a level of appeal for all students on academic matters”, and
Whereas, the Student Disciplinary Committee currently handles plagiarism cases, and
Whereas, plagiarism is an academic matter,
Therefore, be it resolved that the Faculty Senate believes that plagiarism cases should be handled by the Academic Appeals Committee, and
Be it further resolved, that the Faculty Senate recommends that the appropriate policies be changed to assign plagiarism cases to the Academic Appeals Committee, and
Be it further resolved, that the Faculty Senate asks its Chair-Elect to charge next year’s Governance Committee with the task of amending the Student Disciplinary Committee description to make sure its jurisdiction matches its purpose.
Senator Chatham moved to suspend the rules and move to a second reading. Motion seconded and passed. Discussion followed. Senator Chatham moved to approve the Resolution on the Handling of Plagiarism Cases as submitted. Motion passed.
Governance presented a revision to the Registration Advisory Committee Description. This revision has been reviewed and approved by the Registration Advisory Committee. On behalf of the Governance Committee, Senator Chatham moved to approve the revision to the Registration Advisory Committee Description as submitted. Motion passed.
Academic Issues:
On behalf of the committee, Senator Macintosh presented a revised version of UAR 131.01 – Excused Absences Policy and provided information regarding the changes made. Senator Berglee moved to suspend the rules to move to a second reading. Motion seconded and passed. Discussion followed. Senator Ahmadi made a friendly amendment to add a requirement that if faculty are notified of an excused absence less than 7 days prior, that the sponsoring unit provide a rationale for the short notice. Friendly amendment was not accepted by the Academic Issues committee. Senator Sharp made a friendly amendment to revise line 52 b. Athletics: to read “These absences are to be excused in writing by any of the following:…” Friendly amendment was accepted. Senator Carlson noted a few minor grammatical/ typographical errors that the committee will correct. Senator Rogers suggested changing line 49 to read “dean within the sponsoring unit and/or Provost for university wide activities. Suggested revision will be made to the document. The Senate approved the amended version of UAR 131.01 – Excused Absence Policy.
Senate Committee on Issues:
Faculty 180 Subcommittee met with Charlie Patrick, L. K. Williams, and Scot Wymer regarding concerns with Faculty 180. Dr. Patrick agreed to address the issues. The Faculty 180 Subcommittee will continue to work with Dr. Patrick in the fall with the following goals in mind:
· To more closely coordinate Faculty 180 with PAc 2 and PAc 27
· To review PAc 29 Workload as it relates to Faculty 180
· To at some point, develop a resolution to consider forming a pilot group from various disciplines to investigate the possibility of using Faculty 180 as a digital portfolio mechanism
· To keep dialog open regarding Faculty 180, and to be included in any changes/new uses before they are made
Dr. Patrick agreed that faculty can contact him directly about issues or problems with Faculty 180
Discussion followed of possible flaws in the data being extracted from Faculty 180, such as listings in the Annual Report of Research and Creative Productions by Faculty and Staff. Dr. Patrick asked for specific examples to be forwarded to him and he would address them.
New Business:
A Senator intended to present a ‘Resolution Regarding Assessment Workload and Faculty 180’, but had to leave the meeting before time allowed New Business to be brought to the floor. Chair McCormick read the proposed resolution to the Senators. Charlie Patrick presented to the Senators a way that currently exists in Faculty 180 to input Assessment Workload. Dr. Patrick asked that anyone with suggestions for Faculty 180 provide those ideas to him. He indicated that he would be very willing to demonstrate services in Faculty 180 to the Senate early in the fall. Several questions followed regarding Faculty 180. No action was taken on the proposed resolution.
Announcements:
Summer meeting dates, if there is a need to meet, have been changed to June 23rd and July 14th. Details will be provided during the summer. There was confusion regarding the date of the Fall Senate Retreat. The secretary will verify and provide the correct date to the Senators.
The Senate thanked Chair McCormick for her service to the faculty and to the Senate during this academic year.
Adjournment: 6:05 p.m.
