I. Minutes of previous meetings

The minutes of the January 16, 2007 meeting of the Faculty Senate were approved as written.

The minutes of the January 30, 2007 meeting of the Faculty Senate were approved as written.

II. Report of the Faculty Senate Chairperson

Chairperson Börger-Greco reminded faculty that graduation is scheduled for Saturday, May 12 at 10 a.m. She urged all faculty to attend in regalia. She also reported that Dr. McNairy was unable to attend Senate today because of the funeral for Anne Brossman Sweigart whose family has contributed significantly to Millersville University. Dr. Börger-Greco also highlighted the upcoming educational sessions hosted by the Honor Code Committee to inform faculty of the Honor Code proposal. She requested that Senators remind their colleagues to attend a session or review material available online.

III. Report of the Student Senate President

Student Senate President Andrew Moyer reported that the Maraudership student leadership conference will be held Feb 23 & 24. He also noted that leaders for fall orientation are being recruited. Mr. Moyer requested that faculty encourage any interested students to contact the Programs Office for more information about either of these opportunities.

IV. Report of the Graduate Student Organization

None.

V. Report of the Administrative Officers

Executive Assistant to the President

Dr. McCollum introduced the new Vice President of Finance and Administration, Roger V. Bruszewski, noting the broad experience Mr. Bruszewski brings to Millersville.

Associate Provost for Academic Administration

Associate Provost Burns noted that Provost Prabhu was unable to attend Senate today due to travel delays caused by inclement weather. Dr. Burns also encouraged faculty to attend the education sessions hosted by the Honor Code Committee to prepare for the upcoming campus vote on the proposed Honor Code System.

VI. Reports of the Faculty Senate Standing Committees

APC

Senator West distributed a proposed change to the Residency Requirements as part of the Campus Management Commonality Actions [see Attachment #1]. This would specify that the 30-credit residency requirement for graduation be 30 of the last 45 credits. Discussion was held regarding whether the current exclusion of student teaching from the 30 credits would also apply to the last 45 credits. It was noted that student teaching is not currently included because it is graded pass/fail and does not count towards a student’s GPA. Another question raised was whether study abroad would affect residency. Dr. Burns noted that these courses could be approved since Millersville facilitates the experience. A suggestion was made to specify that the requirement be for 30 of the last 45 non-pass/fail credits. A Blazer/White motion that a student must satisfy the minimum residence requirement by taking at least 30 of their last 45 non-pass/fail credits at Millersville was approved without dissent.

VII. Reports of the Faculty Senate Special Committees

It was noted that the Honor Code Committee has indicated that a campus vote on the Honor Code will take place in departments in March with votes reported at the first Senate meeting in April, although this process should be approved by Faculty Senate. Discussion was held to clarify the voting process and faculty eligible to vote. A question was raised about exactly what would be on the ballot for approval. It was noted that the information sessions and online materials provide helpful background material. A question was raised about the mechanism of voting in departments. This was approved previously as a way to increase faculty participation in this important vote. A suggestion for electronic voting was made, but there is currently no such mechanism, IT would need to set up this type of system, and some faculty are not willing to use an electronic mode. It was stated that it is not advisable to put off voting on this proposal indefinitely. A Mowrey/Luek motion that Faculty member voting on the proposed Honor Code System will occur within the academic departments during the month of March 2007 and faculty senators report the total yes and no faculty votes to the Secretary of Senate no later than noon on Friday, March 30, 2007 was made. A DiBartolomeis/Blazer motion to amend the motion on the table by adding a provision that a sample ballot is presented by the Honor Code Ad Hoc Committee and approved by Faculty Senate by February 20, 2007 was carried. The Mowrey/Luek motion as amended that Faculty member voting on the proposed Honor Code System will occur within the academic departments during the month of March 2007 and faculty senators report the total yes and no faculty votes to the Secretary of Senate no later than noon on Friday, March 30, 2007 provided that a sample ballot is presented by the Honor Code Ad Hoc Committee and approved by Faculty Senate by February 20, 2007 was approved without dissent.

Since instating the proposed Honor Code System would have a significant impact on the Millersville campus, it was suggested that approval should be dependent on support by a majority of all eligible faculty rather than only the votes cast. Discussion was held regarding who should be eligible to vote on the Honor Code System proposal. It was recommended that Regular Part-Time Faculty be eligible since they have a regular commitment to being part of the teaching body on campus. It was noted that it would be difficult to include adjuncts since they do not fully participate in departmental activities. A Mowrey/Wismer motion that all Tenure-Track and Regular Part-Time faculty be eligible to vote on the Honor Code System proposal and that a positive vote by the majority of all faculty eligible to vote be necessary to approve the proposal was approved without dissent. Each senator should submit a list of eligible faculty (all tenure-track and regular part-time faculty) in their department as well as total counts of yes, no or abstaining votes.

VIII. Proposed Courses and Programs

(1) NEW UNDERGRADUATE COURSE
BIOL 363: Medical Microbiology, 3 credits. Proposal to create a course to study medically important disease-causing microorganisms was approved without dissent.

A question was raised regarding the need for this course. Senator DiBartolomeis expressed the significant impact of the course subject. Dr. Burns also highlighted the need of this course material for students entering medical fields.

IX. Faculty Emeritus

A Moine/Luek motion that Dr. Rosario Caminero be granted the honorary title of Professor of Spanish Emerita was approved without dissent. [see Attachment #2]

X. Policy regarding "Incomplete" grades

Senator Wismer presented a recommendation that Senate explore implementation of a computer program to automate the tracking of Incomplete grades. He noted that the recently revised policy requires faculty and deans to individually follow up on each I grade assigned and a computer-based system would be more efficient. Discussion was held regarding whether the suggested default grade of F was appropriate. Several examples were given of students who would not have earned an F even factoring in the incomplete work. It was noted that the I grade is meant for situations where students passing a course have extenuating circumstances arise at the end of a semester. The advantage of automating assignment of whatever default grade is specified on the agreement reached between the faculty member and the student was highlighted. Although the Registrar’s Office prefers a resolution to all I grades, GCPRC specifically

allows I grades to stand on student transcripts. It was pointed out that a default grade is already indicated on the current incomplete contract. Concern was expressed about how cumbersome the contract process can be. It was suggested that some cases where an I is being given might be better handled by initially assigning the student the grade earned and later changing the grade based on any work completed. It was suggested that this seems to be more of a procedural issue than a problem with the policy itself.

XI. General Education

Dr. Warmkessel distributed a document indicating revised language regarding the W Course Guidelines based on discussion at the special meeting [see Attachment #3]. She also indicated that GERC would like the vote on General Education Reform to coincide with campus-wide voting to be held in late April. A reminder was given that current W courses would be reviewed to ensure they meet the revised guidelines.

A question was raised about a cap of 25 students in W classes. While GERC indicated that this is the recommendation, the administration would make the final decision. Dr. Heintzelman shared that this issue was raised at Meet & Discuss. The Provost has requested that deans respect a cap of 30 + 10% (33). Dr. Burns indicated that the average enrollment in W courses is 27. However, a concern was raised about that statistic since there are many W courses that have small enrollments that offset larger courses. It was suggested that it would be more helpful to know how many W courses are operating with much larger class sizes. It was noted that there may need to be a balance drawn between the class size issue and the requirement for four W courses. Since the proposed W requirements could be overwhelming, it was noted that some faculty might simply opt to drop the W label from their courses.

Concern was voiced that a strict voting deadline does not allow for resolution of how some of these important aspects of the proposal will be implemented. GERC does have a small group of persons working on implementation and administrative issues related to the reformed curriculum.

XII. Other/New Business

None.

XIII. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 5:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Aimee L. Miller
Faculty Senate Secretary

Action Summary