Faculty Senate Minutes, 19 November 1996

MINUTES

FACULTY SENATE MEETING

19 November 1996

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

Minutes

Senate approved the 5 November 1996 meeting minutes without correction.

Reports

Chairperson's Report

Chairperson D. Eidam announced one correction to today's agenda: add the Master of Education in Early Childhood Education. Eidam introducted to senate the new senator from the History Department, C. Koslofsky.

Student Senate

Student Senate President P. Leahy said student senate will meet December 5, 1996. It last met on 14 November. Student senate is attempting to make students aware of the negotiations currently proceeding. It submitted a statement to the Snapper.

Administrative Officers

Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs

Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs J. Stager said that if senators would view the message of the day, there is a message about the future of Marauder. There will also be notices sent to the faculty. MU has ordered a replacement for Marauder. The hope is that it will arrive and be installed during the break between the Fall and Spring Semesters. The new Marauder will be much faster and larger. It will rectify the current problems. Congestion on the current Marauder has arrived much faster than expected.Committee Reports

Undergraduate Course and Program Review Committee

Undergraduate Course and Program Review Committee chairperson, R. Wismer, introduced a new course under the two meeting rule:

PHIL 327: Philosophy in Film, a new three credit hour, G1 General Education label course to be first offered in the Summer of 1997 if approved.

Wismer said there are three tiems for the next agenda:

BUAD Option in International Business

A Program Change for Geography Majors: A proposal to change the completion of the major policy for geography majors. Beginning with courses taken in the Spring 1997 semester, the Geography Department requires that in order to graduate with a BA or BSE degree in geography, each student must have a grade of C or better in each course taken to satisfy major requirements: geography courses and required related courses. To be implemented Spring Semester 1997 if approved.

Governance structure for the Women's Studies Program.

For Information purposes only, no senate action required:
ECON488: Seminar in Economics, an existing course to be added as a requirement for the major.

Cooperative Education Committee

Cooperative Education Committee chairperson, W. Dorman, said the committee met today and worked on a self study.

Joint Senate Conference Committee

Joint Senate Conference Committee chairperson, J. Piperberg, said the committee met last week about the four year contract with students. The committee will meet again next week.

Proposed Courses

Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs J. Stager said that the courses listed under Proposed Courses and Programs under the two meeting rule on today's agenda should say "...to be first offered in Fall 1997 if approved."

Senate approved the Master of Education Program in Early Childhood Education. The program includes a new course and changes to existing courses: a renumbering and renaming.

Business

Departmental Handbook Policy Proposals

Acting Chairperson of the Academic Policies Committee, V. Hauck, although unable to attend today's meeting, moved a Departmental Handbook Policy (see Attachment B, page 4116, of the 5 November 1996 senate minutes). Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs J. Stager said that there is a lack of guidelines that speaks to the handbooks but there is not a problem with the existing handbooks. The handbooks elaborate on often tersely stated blue sheets or catalog descriptions. The handbooks should not go beyond the officially approved program of study for a major. The proposals put guidelines into the governance manual. Senate voted for the motions from the Academic Policy Committee.

Report of the General Education Task Force

The General Education Task Force reported to Senate (See Attachment A). Task Force chairperson J. Sheridan and senate chairperson D. Eidam have agreed that February 19, 1997, is the senate's deadline for submitting revisions or suggested recommendations. Senate has three meetings not including this one to discuss the Task Force Report. Senate could meet in the fourth Tuesday in January if senators felt it was necessary.

J. Sheridan reported that copies of the report will go out to the faculty through the senate minutes. The Task Force welcomes comments and recommendations from the faculty. The timeline is as follows. The Task Force hopes to have a document that the faculty can vote on at the University elections at the end of April of 1997. If senate replies to the Task Force by senate's second February 1997 meeting, then the Task Force can respons to senate by March. The Faculty can vote on the final document in April.

Sheridan noted that many members of the Task Force were attending today's senate meeting: C. Scharnberger, T. Madonna, W. Dorman, C. McLeod, J. Sheridan, J. McCade, and R. Wismer. Also attending were non-voting members: A. Hoffman and J. Stager.

Senator C. Stameshkin seriously objected to the way the report was presented to senate. She was told last year that senate's General Education Review Committee (GERC) would receive constant feedback on what was going on while the Task Force was deliberating. She said that had not happened except in the most general sense. Although she is the GERC chairperson, she did not see a copy of the report until this morning. She said that some of the proposed changes were substantive.

Her most serious objection was the sense of rushing and urgency that she felt was being forced on senate. The committee that brought our current General Education system into existence took their time. MU had many problems with that system and is still trying to fix them. Many people who tried to slow down the process at the time were called obstructionist. She said she wanted to show it to her department and that her committee would want to see it. She suggested that senate give the GERC a chance to review the report.

Senator and Task Force member J. McCade said that when the whole idea first came to senate, he voiced feelings that APSCUF was superseding the senate's authority. He said the Task Force document was a compromise. He shared many of Stameshkin's concerns. He said the Task Force had long and difficult deliberations. They tried to have minimum impact on the curriculum but still offer significant budget reductions for MU.

A R. Wismer/J. McCade motion to refer the report to the General Education Review Committee with the GERC to report back at the December 3, 1996, senate meeting passed.

Senate adjourned at 5:30 PM. The next meeting will be Tuesday, 3 December 1996, from 4:05-5:45 p.m. in Chryst 210. Respectfully submitted,

Marvin Margolis, Secretary
Faculty Senate

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