College Senate
MINUTES OF FREDONIA UNIVERSITY SENATE November 1, 2004
The Fredonia University Senate met on Monday, November 1, 2004, in Room 105, Fenton Hall. The meeting was called to order at 4:00 PM, chaired by Dick Reddy.
Agenda
The approval of the agenda was moved (Watters/Neris) and passed by unanimous voice vote, with no discussion.
Minutes of Oct. 4
Prior to the beginning of the meeting, two points in the draft minutes of the Oct. 4, 2004, meeting were brought to the attention of the Secretary. Kerrie Fergen Wilkes's name was misspelled, and Jack Croxton was in attendance.
Rushboldt/Mason moved that the minutes of Oct. 4, 2004, be approved. With no discussion the motion passed unanimously by voice vote.
Chair's Report:
A motion from the Executive Committee to replace Jackie Swansinger on the search committee for the Vice President for Academic Affairs passed with a unanimous voice vote, after no discussion.
Reneta Barneva reported that the Bylaw ratification vote passed. There were 624 eligible voters, and ΒΌ (or 156) ballots were needed to have a legal ratification process. 169 ballots were cast for the amendments, 9 were cast against the amendments, and 15 were cast as abstaining.
President's Report:
Mission Review II is about ready for review by the Executive Committee, the Long-Range Planning and Budget Committee, Academic Affairs, and should be on the Senate's December agenda.
Fredonia Plan: the Committee is nearly complete. It will consist of 2 senators, 4 from Academic Affairs, 2 from Student Affairs, 2 from Administration, and 1 from University Advancement. Their deliberations should begin next week. There should be a draft by March, followed with campus hearings, and presentation to the Senate in April. We won't rush this; we can always look at it in September if necessary.
Search Committees: There have been 21 applicants already for the VPAA search and 8 for the VP University Advancement search. More are expected as the date to begin review approaches. The Deans searches ad will appear in the November 12 edition of the Chronicle.
The Peter Serkin concert was a wonderful inaugural for the new Rousch Recital Hall. And Susan Royal is to be congratulated for her presentation as recipient of the President's Award for Teaching.
Albany news: Betty Cripaldi (spelling?), the no. 2 person at SUNY Central, has indicated that a final decision on what SUNY will be asking in the next budget cycle has not been made yet. The Budget Office instructed SUNY not to ask for any increase, but SUNY will probably ignore that and ask for coverage of the salary increases under the collective bargaining agreements, some inflation monies, and certainly help due to the skyrocketing utility costs.
Presidential salaries: Speaking about the news reports on the Board of Trustees actions with regard to SUNY President's salaries, there are no increases. The Board just accepted a new scale to keep SUNY in a decent position to be able to attract excellent administrators.
Report of VPAA
Dr. Faulk went over the three major goals of Academic Affairs: Strengthen Fredonia's culture of learning; Increase Fredonia's opportunities for diversity; and, Adopt a decision-making approach that will foster communication.
With regard to the "culture of learning" goal, he announced that the annual Convocation is being restored to campus, with this year's them being "A Call to Civic Action". Jack Croxton is the chair of the Convocation Committee. Academic Affairs also is trying to increase participation in community learning, and is also looking at ways to strengthen the Honors Program. Ted Steinberg is working with Academic Affairs in this regard. Dr. Faulk is serving on a SUNY-wide Provost's Committee on Honors, and the first item for that committee is to determine "What is 'Honors' in SUNY?" Academic Affairs also seeks to assist the faculty in their adoption and use of technology. A new Educational Technologist is being hired to be centered in the Library but shared by the Library and IT.
In terms of goal number two, increasing diversity, there are currently 25 new faculty searches, 2 dean searches, and 2 vice president searches. We should be able to bring in many more diverse faculty through the search process. There will also be five international experiences offered during JTerm, which will bring about improved global awareness for those who partake of these offerings. And there is discussion concerning a possible dual degree with a university in Turkey. Goal number 3 has had some movement, the major initiative being to put the Faculty Handbook on the web, which will help in terms of getting it out there and allowing changes to be made with some immediacy.
Report SUNY Faculty Senator
Bob Rogers reported that he had gotten word that the SUNY Senate has been working on the new "Budget Allocation Plan" (BAP), but the Committee had not met since August 2004. He reminded faculty that they need to be involved in the Mission Review II. He also said the SUNY Senate got to meet Father Cremins (spelling?) who is the new chair of the BoT's Academic Affairs Committee. He also continued his series of updates with regard to SUNY's General Education assessment.
Standing Committees
Academic Affairs
Joe Straight presented two items. The first was a name change for the Department of Sociology/Anthropology to become the Department of Sociology and Antrhropology and Social Work and Criminal Justice. Will Neris asked why? Dr. Straight answered that the department offers majors in the four areas in its proposed new name, and felt that the old name didn't cover its purpose adequately. They want to recognize all the various aspects of the department. Other comments were made about "all the 'ands' ". With no further discussion, the motion brought forth by the Academic Affairs Committee passed on a voice vote.
Policy on Distance Learning
The Academic Affairs Committee moved that the Policy on Distance Learning be approved. Discussion: J. Wilson noted that there were two sections headlined "Academic Integrity", and that perhaps item no. 1 would be better titled "Academic Quality"? Joe Straight accepted that as a friendly amendment.
M. Grady asked if there was some remedy if a department started offering online courses without also offering the same course in a traditional classroom, which is recommended in the policy. How does one complain? What would the remedy be? Joe responded the Committee saw it as giving the Dean some ammunition to go to the Department regarding a planned sequence of offerings. We're trying for principles in this document.
J. McVicker asked what the existing policy is. These courses do not show on the transcript as having been taken online, and there is no limit to the number of courses. Were these discussed in terms of "Academic Quality"? Joe replied that not many are offered on our campus. Computer Science's plan to offer a program completely online is on hold now. He indicated that program would have tried to insure quality.
C. Telly commented that he didn't see any evidence that an online course was equal in quality to a traditional course. Joe said that he had talked with colleagues in 2-year schools, and the only real problem is that students are unprepared to take such courses. They have never had to be as self-disciplined and self-motivated with traditional courses. These faculties say it can be hard getting them to post to discussion boards, etc.
C. Givner asked if the purpose of this policy was to guide faculty and the departments, or for students, or both? Joe answered that it was a statement of principles for all of us.
C. Givner then suggested that we should have a statement that would give some guidance re: curriculum review process, especially if we want to maintain academic rigor. Joe replied that these courses are very often traditional courses already on the books that the faculty wants to offer online, and therefore they don't come before Academic Affairs for re-approval.
B. Simon suggested that the last paragraph seemed vague. He was not sure that existing internal (SUNY policy) property rights would ensure the course not be taught by adjuncts hired to replace the faculty who developed it.
J. McVicker asked who evaluates online coursework that comes in for a transfer student. Are these noted anywhere? Is there some way we can require something for such transfer courses? Joe Straight said departments can and do review courses for equivalencies. Some schools code online courses, but it is becoming less and less the case. He added that local students will ask for transfer credit approval for a summer offering for online courses from other institutions, which is putting more pressure on department chairs.
C. Telly asked if we had a choice to refuse all online courses. What standards are really in these courses? Joe indicated that a department can, but you have to be aware of all the ramifications, especially those for attracting students.
G. Umberger had a question regarding the proctoring portion of the number 4 (Academic Integrity) section: the SUNY Learning Network courses by policy are all asynchronous... all exams are to be taken online. J. Straight said that SLN doesn't enforce that. When instructors do insist, proctors are used for tests.
M. Berkeley suggested that more faculty visit with those who teach such courses. When she served as an outside evaluator at a SUNY community college, her perceptions on such courses changed.
C. Givner suggested we need to be forward thinking. What research has been done with regard to use of online courses in university systems? What is out there that serves as an example of excellent pedagogy? It is premature to just be wordsmithing a policy. We should question the assumption that the mode of instruction has to be the same as face-to-face instruction.
H. Jacobson asked if the assessment suggested in section number 2 would be up to the departments. Joe answered that yes, you have to think about it when you decide to offer such a course how your department is going to assess it. The Academic Affairs Committee doesn't see this document as being the final word, just an initial guideline.
C. Telly asked if the Committee looked at the upper echelon schools. What kind of standards are they using? Joe responded that just from his reading, this looks like it is going to be the big new thing. Innovators are still beating the trail through the forest. Most others are being more cautious.
B. Simon informed the body that S. McRae is researching this. There is much to be looked at. He also noted that MIT is an open source site that some might wish to review.
M. Berkeley said that in her review of Niagara Community College, they were being fairly protective. They control class sizes, etc.
D. Reddy addressed the body saying that this policy has been in process for a while, and this document was the first "real" progress we'd seen. Any suggestions can be addressed to the Committee.
The document then was approved on a voice vote.
Student Affairs Committee
D. Herman referred to the handout of the annual report of the Student Affairs Committee.
J. McVicker commented on the structure of the Student Affairs Committee. She felt it ought to be more like the Academic Affairs Committee, dealing with substantive issues and not just informational issues. How is the SAC working this year? She was concerned about the way the Committee interacts with the Senate. Dave Herman responded that the Student Association and the Student Affairs Committee will be consulted sometimes, as will the Student Cabinet.
D. Herman then presented the handout on the changes to the Student Conduct Code, one of the major tasks of the Student Affairs Committee. This was a first reading for that code.
M. Grady asked has the SAC ever looked at the question of library hours. That ought to be studied, especially if we are pushing to strengthen our culture of learning. Dave Herman said that students bring that up frequently, but not to the committee. He'd be happy to have the Committee asked to look into it.
J. Straight added that the Academic Affairs Committee would like to have a joint meeting with the Student Affairs Committee in the spring.
New Business
Announcement was made that a clarification concerning the Foreign Language Requirement in the CCC will be sent out in the next few days. Watch your email. This was an area where the necessary consultation took some time.
Adjournment A. Klein/C. Telly moved adjournment. The motion passed on voice vote, and the meeting adjourned at 5:25 PM.