Millersville University, Faculty Senate
Minutes
Meeting of the Faculty Senate
February 5, 2002

Chairperson Piperberg called the meeting to order at 4:10 PM in Chryst 210. All departments were represented.

The Minutes of the December 4, 2001 meeting were approved as distributed.

Report of the Faculty Senate Chairperson

Announcements

  1. Dr. Heintzelman was thanked for volunteering to act as Secretary for today's meeting. Any volunteers for subsequent meetings this semester will be gratefully accepted.
  2. A reminder will be sent to all Committee chairs about submitting annual reports for their committee by the May meeting. Once again electronic versions of the reports would be best, but hard copies would be acceptable if electronic copies are not practical. The format will be included in the reminder.
  3. A new item has been added to the agenda after Senate Officer elections. Item XI will deal with Outcomes Assessment. Dr. Foster-Clark would like some feedback from the Senate. All subsequent items will follow in order after the new Item XI.
  4. The June 11, 2002 meeting will be held in STB 210, the Armstrong Auditorium at 3 PM. Refreshments will be provided since there are no food restrictions in force in that room.
  5. The two Communications Department proposals that were approved at the December meeting without the Decanal statement will now be delivered to the Provost. The statements were received last week.
  6. Chairperson Piperberg will be unable to go to the Trustee's meetings in March, since he has to teach a course on Wednesday nights this semester. If anyone would be willing to go to either of the meetings in his place, please let him know. He has to give a brief report at the formal meeting which he will write and give to the volunteer if s/he would prefer. Dr. Rosenthal has been approached about doing this and a volunteer will only be needed if she is unable to attend the meetings.
  7. Hard copies of the Committee Survey {see attachment} and information on teaching awards {see attachment} that has been e-mailed to us has been made available and will be attached to the Minutes. Committee chairs who have not yet turned in their surveys have been contacted and the survey will be updated when a few others are returned. The survey as distributed has an error that has been corrected in the version of the survey attached to the Minutes.

    Report of the Student Senate President

    President Danz presented three Student Senate Recommendations for the Current Add/Drop Schedule {see attachment}. Each proposal generated reactions from Faculty Senate. He also updated Faculty Senate on the progress of their fundraiser to raise money for the Student Senate.

    Report of the Graduate Student Organization President None.

    Report of the Administrative Officers

    Provost McNairy reported that the third Open House was held this past weekend and that 800 people attended. The next one will be held in March. Enrollment is solid. She also reported that the University is moving toward making the University Catalog available online. She asked the Senate what faculty might need to assist them. In response to a question about print versions of the Catalog, she said that hard copies with appropriate updates will be available as well. The Advancement Office and Information Technology have been asked to design possible new formats. Senators shared their reactions, comments and suggestions regarding this proposal.

    Dr. Phillips thanked Faculty Senate for allowing the English Department to offer a second experimental course this semester with no special designation. She also reported that the implementation for the changed Add/Drop process was efficient. Friday afternoon of the first week of class, some faculty were not available to meet with students and sign cards. Thus, in the second week, some late students were added to classes. Ten students experienced legitimate problems that have been remedied.

    Reports of the Faculty Senate Standing Committees

    Dr. Wismer from UCPRC reported that there are 6 new proposals on the table for consideration:

    HUMN 205H & HUMN 305H: (1) Seminar in Classical Mythology & (2) Seminar in Autobiography in the Greco-Roman World., 1 credit--new courses, electives in Classics Minor, G1 Honors courses that complement existing Honors courses HUMN 202 and HUMN 302.

    MATH 105: Fundamentals of Math II, 3 credits, existing Gen Ed course will be required for Elementary Education and Special Education majors. Change in prerequisites to a minimum grade of C (2.00) in MATH 104 and a passing score on the Basic Skills Test from the prerequisite of a passing grade in MATH 104.

    SOCY 301: Social Research Methods. Change to SOCY 305, 3 credits, required of Sociology majors and Sociology-Criminology option-major.

    SOCY 303 (previously SOCY 401): Sociological theory, 3 credits, existing non-Gen Ed course. Proposal to change the course number from SOCY 401 to SOCY 303 and a change in prerequisites to SOCY 101 + 9 c. h. in Sociology for SOCY majors or the consent of the instructor; Sociology majors also need to take SOCY 250 prior to or concurrently with SOCY 303. The original prerequisites were 12 c. h. of Sociology.

    SOCY 307: African-American Social Thought, 3 credits, new course, G3 General Education and Writing-Across-the-Curriculum (W) label.

    WSTU 330: Feminist Theory, 3 credits, New Course, Perspectives- General Education label.

    Reports of the Faculty Senate Special Committees No reports.

    Proposed Courses and Programs

    1. New Undergraduate Course
      ESCI 349: Chemistry of the Atmosphere, a Perspectives (P) course, 3 credits, Effective Fall 2002. The proposal passed without dissent.

    2. Changes in Courses/Curricula
      EDTE 391--Curriculum & Instruction in Technology Education, 3 credits, asking approval for a Writing-Across-the-Curriculum (W) label. Effective Spring 2002. The proposal passed without dissent.

    A question was raised regarding the lack of a letter from the Chemistry Department about their reactions to ESCI 349. Several years ago, Faculty Senate had requested that impacted departments submit a letter along with a course proposal from another department that is offering a related course.

    Another question was raised regarding the criteria for a writing (W) course to be considered a writing course.

    Faculty Emeritus None.

    Elections--Senate Officers

    Dr. Rosenthal assumed the chair to conduct the election of the Chairperson. A Kerper/Dorman motion to nominate Dr. Piperberg passed. A Borger-Greco/Studdard motion was made to close nominations and to direct the Secretary to cast a unanimous ballot. Motion carried.

    Dr. Piperberg resumed the Chair. A Sciarretta/Stengel motion was made to nominate Dr. Rosenthal for Assistant Chairperson. Motion carried. A Luek/Bvrger-Greco motion closed nominations and directed the Secretary to cast a unanimous ballot. Motion carried.

    No nominations were received for Secretary. Volunteers are needed. This item will be on the next agenda.

    General Education Outcomes Assessment

    Dr. Foster-Clark updated the Faculty Senate on the status of Outcomes Assessment and responded to Faculty Senate concerns {see attachment}.

    Approval of Revised Undergraduate and Graduate Course/Program Proposal Cover Sheets

    A motion was made by Dorman/Wismer to approve the revised cover sheets. Due to several additional concerns raised by senators, a vote on the motion was postponed.

    The meeting adjourned at 5:50 PM

    Respectfully submitted,

    Carol A. Heintzelman,
    Acting Recorder
    Action Summary
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