Faculty Senate Minutes, 15 October 1996

MINUTES

FACULTY SENATE MEETING

15 October 1996

Chairperson D. Eidam called the meeting to order at 4:10 p.m. in Chryst Hall, Room 210. All departmental senators attended. Student Senate President P. Leahy, J. Ishler, H. Tang, and S. Wong attended for Student Senate. J. Davis attended for the Snapper.

Minutes

Senate approved the 1 October 1996 meeting minutes without correction.

Reports

Chairperson's Report

Chairperson D. Eidam first recognized the Music Department senator. Senator M. Houlahan requested that senate move item XI on today's agenda to item IX. Senate approved. Eidam then recognized the Philosophy Department senator. Senator C. Stameshkin asked to add an item to the agenda. She wanted a discussion of the possibility of having provisional courses taught on an experimental basis as an item XII. Senate approved.

Eidam said currently students can count ESCI 105 and ESCI 108, each one credit hour courses, as G2. That was never anybody's intent. Eidam asked for senate's unanimous consent to approve the following: That ESCI104 and 105 and ESCI107 and 108 constitute single courses in the G2 block. After some discussion, Eidam agreed that the proposal will be an agenda item for the next meeting. Parliamentarian C. Scharnberger will address the issue at that time.

The Commencement Committee has recommended that MU hold no more August Commencements. The reasons are financial, climatic, and a lack of faculty interest. Generally no more than 20 faculty attend and there is a problem scheduling speakers. MU had no August Commencement this year and nobody has complained.

The committee also recommended that MU not allow students to participate in commencement if they do not complete their degree requirements. Under current practice, students walk through the ceremonies without having graduated. MU lists those students in the program with an asterisk. They present administrative problems particularly for the associate registrar.

Senator H. Fischer indicated to chairperson Eidam that he is unavailable to attend senate meetings this semester. Because the Sociology/Anthropology department is one faculty member short, Fischer has not found an alternate. The department will not be represented in the senate this semester.

Eidam reported on MU's CIRP data. MU gives a questionnaire every four years to its entering freshmen at summer orientation. The data provide a profile about them. Eidam hopes that Assistant to the President for Special Projects L. Suskie will give a report next January. The report will be based on the responses of more then 700 freshmen this past summer.

Student Senate

Student Senate President P. Leahy reported that student senate will meet this Thursday. It expects to fill open student senate positions at that time. Last week student senate filled five positions. Last Thursday Coach S. Kabacinski gave a talk to student senate with optional attendance. About 15 student senators did attend. Student senate this week will discuss ideas from student senators for possible accomplishments this year.

Administrative Officers

Vice-President for Academic Affairs

Vice President for Academic Affairs F. McNairy discussed the enrollment analysis that SPARC heard last night. She said projections are not firm for next year's enrollment. SPARC members were given some preliminary recommendations from the enrollment data group. There are implications for upper level courses for how many transfer students to bring in next summer. Four or five years ago MU could bring in extra transfer students without pain. As MU has retained more of its freshmen, it is finding some bottlenecks at the junio and senior level.

If senate wishes, it could have J. Revelt from Institutional Research do a brief presentation to the senate on the whole context of the SPARC presentation. What we are seeing across the state is that even though the number of high school graduates is increasing, the number of students taking the SAT and sending in applications is declining. We are not sure what is going on. Chairperson D. Eidam said he would leave to senate the decision to invite Revelt.

Vice President for Student Affairs

Vice President for Student Affairs R. Thomas said that the basketball matter has frequently occupied his time and attention since he arrived on campus in Mid-August. He reported to the senate on the things he is doing. Several things are in the works including some corrective action. MU is proceeding with judicial action against those students who illegally used its telephones. There is already precedent for handling the matter. Since MU will protect the security of the phones, it will be impossible to make long-distance calls.

Thomas will have a series of meetings with coaches to discuss the lessons that may be learned from the whole experience. MU will prepare a final report to the NCAA. There are also longer range issues--for example the oversight of athletic programs. The matter has raised a lot of questions about proper procedures. MU must insure that it promotes the best educational interests of its students.

Associate Provost for Academic Programs

Associate Provost for Academic Programs J. Roller discussed the survey of freshmen that MU did last summer. MU will report the survey results in January. She said that next month the enrollment management initiative will be detailed.

Committee Reports

International Selection Committee

International Selection Committee chairperson and Director of International Affairs, M. Arnold, said she had to run to an international dinner but wanted to inform senate about MU's international activities. The task of the international selection committee is to select and recommend faculty for exchange programs. Arnold said the committee is not taking applications for international faculty exchange programs this year because it has a backlog of accepted applicants. Currently MU has only one faculty exchange location--Strathclyde University in Glasgow. She wanted to check to see if senate had any problems with the International Selection Committee working this year on expanding the opportunities for faculty exchanges instead of recommending and selecting faculty for exchange programs.

Chairperson D. Eidam asked if senate had any objections to the International Selection Committee assuming the additional duties. Senate had no objections.

Undergraduate Course and Program Review Committee

Undergraduate Course and Program Review Committee chairperson, R. Wismer, said the committee took Fall break last week and did not meet. The committee will meet next week and the week after that.

Academic Outcomes Assessment Committee

Academic Outcomes Assessment Committee chairperson, R. Mainzer, said the committee met last week. A workshop occurred today on Portfolio Assessment in the SMAC. Twenty faculty members attended three different presentations. The workshop was well received.

Joint Senate Conference Committee

Joint Senate Conference Committee chairperson, J. Piperberg, discussed the proposed four years to graduate contract with students. The committee solicited information from the department chairs and the deans concerning some of the questions on a sheet that Provost F. McNairy gave the committee. The committee will meet again in October.

Proposed Courses

Senate approved three undergraduate courses:

CSCI140:

CSCI240:

CSCI270:

Business

Two New Curricular Proposals and Graduate Course

Senate approved two new curricular proposals and a graduate course:

BSE English Education Degree

Music Department Proposal--Revised Options Within the BA Music Degree

Graduate Course

SPED618: Early Intervention for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers with Development Delays, a new three credit hour graduate course to be first offered in the Summer 1997.

Appropriate Curricular Review Process for Departmental Guidebooks and Handbooks

Senator R. Benson/B. Nakhai moved that senate refer to the Academic Policies Committee the question of the appropriate curricular review process for departmental handbooks and guidebooks. Speaking for his motion, Benson displyed four departmental handbooks and guidebooks which he said he would turn over to the acting chairperson of the Academic Policies Committee for review.

Benson said the handbooks and buidebooks, one is sixty-five pages long, are far more elaborate than anything that appears in the MU catalogue. He said his motion involved sending as many of the handbooks and guidebooks as possible to the APC to see if the books are in agreement with the curricula listed in the catalogue. He believed the handbooks and guidebooks have regulations that senate never approved.

In the discussion senators noted that a handbook is an unofficial document. In many cases it is purely informational, e.g., providing two year cycles of when courses will be taught for the benefit of students. Others noted the catalogue does not change frequently enough to incorporate the latest changes in curricula. Still others noted that departmental homepages on the Internet function like guidebooks. The catalogue as well is neither a contract with the students nor a governing document.

After considerable discussion, C. Stameshkin/R. Benson moved a substitute motion that senate refer to the APC the whole issue of reconciling varying information given out in different ways that departments distribute about their guidelines for majors. After more discussion, senate unanimously consented to withdrawing the Stameshkin/Benson substitute motion. B. Nakhai/R. Benson presented a new substitute motion: that senate refer to the APC the question of the appropriate process for departmental handbooks and guidebooks.

After more discussion, R. Benson/C. Stameshkin moved as an amendment to the Nakhai/Benson substitute motion that agenda items IX (Appropriate Curricular Review Process for Departmental Guidebooks and Handbooks) and X (Blue Sheets for Departmental Degree Requirements) both be referred to the APC for consideration. The parliamentarian agreed that the new substitute motion amendment was appropriate and senate could proceed with it.

The question was called. Senate voted in favor of amending the Nakhai/Benson substitute motion. The question was called on the amended substitute motion. Senate voted in favor of the amended substitute motion. The amended motion became the main motion. Senate voted in favor of the main motion.

Teaching Experimental Courses

Senator C. Stameshkin said she would make no motion today. Her department has suffered considerably from the moratorium on new general education courses. The Philosophy Department mostly offers general education courses. There are particular problems with courses that have been taught as experimental courses. Professor would like to teach the experimental courses again and students would like to take them. Is there a temporary, provisional way to permit courses to be taught prior to their going through the whole process? She is interested in any ideas that senators may have. Please get in touch with her.

Senate adjourned at 5:30 PM. The next meeting will be Tuesday, 5 November 1996, from 4:05-5:45 p.m. in Chryst 210.

Respectfully submitted,

Marvin Margolis, Secretary
Faculty Senate

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