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

The meeting was called to order at 4:10 pm. All academic departments were represented except History and Special Education.

I. Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the October 15, 2002 Faculty Senate Meeting were approved as distributed.

II. Report of the Faculty Senate Chairperson

A B. Dorman/J. Lynch motion to suspend the Faculty Senate Meeting rules was considered. The motion was put forward to allow consideration of a special order to postpone the General Education Diversity (D) Requirement agenda item until the November 19 meeting. The motion passed without dissent.

A J. Fenwick/A. Bvrger-Greco motion followed, which called for the aforementioned special order. At the November 19 meeting, the D requirement will be taken up as Item X right after Faculty Emeritus on the normal agenda and will be discussed until the subject is exhausted. Discussion on this issue will be limited to that meeting only. This will allow discussion of the issue, which has been languishing at the bottom of the agenda due to prolonged consideration of other issues. Since the General Education Review Committee came to Senate for feedback on the proposal, moving the item higher on the agenda and discussing it until all views have been aired will allow the committee to get the desired feedback after one more meeting and allow them to begin working on the proposal again. The motion passed without dissent.

An R. Wismer/B. Stengel motion to open all current Faculty Senate vacancies as one-year, At-Large positions passed without dissent. After the third meeting of the Fall semester, any remaining vacancies on Senate committees will be available to any eligible faculty member, including those in a department/division usually ineligible for that seat. In the subsequent Fall semester, the At-Large seats will revert to their usual divisional or departmental (e.g., no more than one person on the committee from the same department) restrictions, if any. A committee roster with vacant seats shaded in is attached to the Minutes {see attachment}.

Discussion of the International Studies program issue was postponed since some of the principles had Election Day commitments.

The Senate Chairperson received the following administrative approvals:

A proposed revision to the cover sheets for undergraduate course proposals was distributed. {see attachment} This change was proposed by the Registrar's office and UCPRC Chairperson R. Wismer was consulted on it as well. The present cover sheet and a rationale from the Acting Registrar were also made available.{see attachment.} The approval of the revised cover sheets will be placed on the agenda for the November 19 meeting.

Chairperson Piperberg thanked the Registrar's office for the addition of the "What-If" capabilities to Banner.

J. Sciarretta introduced the new Director of Academic Advisement, Dr. Michelle White, who urged faculty to contact her office with any advisement questions.

III. Report of the Senate Student President

Student Senate President B. Danz reported that the Student Senate had a new secretary, Sheila Gordon.

The SSHE Student Senate Board of Governors will meet in November, 2002.

The Civil War Monument Dedication will take place November 11 at 4 p.m.

IV. Report of the Graduate Student Organization -- No Report.

V. Reports of Administrative Officers

Provost F. McNairy mentioned that MU Student Senate President B. Danz had been elected chair of the Student Senate Board of Governors. Faculty Senate extends its congratulations to President Danz.

Provost F. McNairy also mentioned that the Provost's web page contains many informative items and forms and urged faculty members to consult it.

Associate Provost C. Phillips reported on the revision of the MU calendar to conform to the SSHE Common Calendar. The Common Calendar Committee is considering a proposal that would include holding Spring Commencement on Sunday afternoon (rather than on Saturday as has been the custom) in order to accommodate a five-day final exam period. Surveys of some groups of students indicated that compression of the final exam period to four-days would result in an unacceptable number of students having three or four finals on one day.

VI. Reports of the Faculty Senate Standing Committees

VII. Report of the Faculty Senate Special Committees -- No Report.

VIII. Faculty Emeritus -- None.

IX. Academic Policies Committee: Procedure for Approval of Liberal Arts Core Courses and New Incomplete Policy

The Procedure for Approval of Liberal Arts Core Courses was postponed and will not be on the agenda at the November 19 Faculty Senate Meeting. The General Education Review Committee is in the process of determining which Liberal Arts core labels (G1, G2, G3) correspond to the stated General Education goals, information that is necessary before further consideration of the approval process can occur. Once this has been determined, the committee will inform Senate and discussion of the approval procedure will resume.

The New Incomplete Policy was passed after being amended twice: first, upon passage of a B. Stengel/B. Dorman motion and second, upon passage of a B. Stengel/R. Mowrey motion. {see attachment for the amended and approved policy}

X.Revision of the Attendance Policy

This proposal was returned to the Academic Policies Committee with recommendations for changes upon passage of an E. Blazer/B. Stengel motion. The committee was also urged to act as rapidly as possible. It is hoped that the revised policy will return to Senate at the November 19 meeting.

XI. New Business

J. Sciarretta introduced a proposal to change the name of the Developmental Studies Department to the Department of Academic and Student Development {see attachment}. This proposal will be added to the November 19 agenda.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:42 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Paul Studdard
Senate Secretary


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