Millersville University, Faculty Senate
MINUTES
FACULTY SENATE MEETING
15 October 1996
Prior Minutes
Reports
...| Chairperson
| Student Senate
| VP Acad Affairs
| VP Student Affairs
| Assoc Provost Acad Programs
|
Committee Reports
...| Intl Selection
| UCPRC
| Acad Outcomes Assess
| Joint Senate Conf
|
Proposed Courses
Business
...|Curric Prop
| Grad Course
| Curric Review Process
| Experimental Courses
|
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: Discrete Structures, a new four credit hour nonGeneral
Education course to be first offered in the Spring of 1997.
CSCI240: Computational Models, a new four credit hour nonGeneral
Education course to be first offered in the Spring of 1997.
CSCI270: Computer Architecture, a new four credit hour nonGeneral
Education course to be first offered in the Spring of 1997.
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
Prior Minutes
Reports
...| Chairperson
| Student Senate
| VP Acad Affairs
| VP Student Affairs
| Assoc Provost Acad Programs
|
Committee Reports
...| Intl Selection
| UCPRC
| Acad Outcomes Assess
| Joint Senate Conf
|
Proposed Courses
Business
...|Curric Prop
| Grad Course
| Curric Review Process
| Experimental Courses
|
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