September 12, 2005
The meeting was called to order by Chair Jacqueline Swansinger at 4:05 PM in Fenton 105.
Approval of the agenda:
The agenda of the Fredonia University Senate meeting of September 12, 2005, was approved by unanimous voice vote.
Approval of minutes:
Minutes of the Fredonia University Senate meeting of May 5, 2005, were approved by unanimous voice vote.
Report of the Chair:
Chair Swansinger spoke to the Executive Committee's intent to help foster a sense of community, and greater transparency in the workings of the Senate. She described a problem with the distribution of the minutes prior to this meeting, which was caused by the transfer of responsibility of Senate assistance to a new office. Some of the Senators had received their agendas and draft minutes, while many had not by the time of the meeting.
For the information of the body, Dr. Swansinger spoke about the work of the Academic Affairs Committee and the Graduate Council continues to work on the issue of shortened J-Term and Summer courses. Saying that this assignment was to increase the visibility and accountability for such courses, and strengthening the departmental oversight processes, she has asked the two committees to get together as much as they can information on Summer 2005, J-Term 2005 and 2006, for presentation to and discussion by the Senate probably in March 2006.
The Chair also urged everybody to take part in the ongoing discussions about the "Fredonia Plan". She indicated that there are many avenues one may follow for input: a blog; the Fredonia Forum; attending the hearings; requesting access to the Planning & Budget Committee's Blackboard site, where several lines of discussion are ongoing; and by adding notes and comments to the "Gallery Walk" which is set up in Reed Library. These are not intended for everyone to use every venue (unless, of course one wishes to!), but each member of the Fredonia community may use whichever of the venues that is most comfortable for her.
Dr. Swansinger announced that through the services of Dick Reddy, Assoc. Provost Patricia Francis will be on campus on Oct. 3, 2005, and will spend part of her day with the Senate, where she will help us understand better the General Education assessment efforts coming from SUNY Central and the Board. She will, of course, be willing to answer questions.
Chair Swansinger also announced that the Senate Executive Committee is working on getting a chart put on the web that will show all Senators and Senate committees, indicating who serves where and in what capacity. Today all of the Committee chairs have been asked to put before the body the major agenda items they expect to be working on during this year.
The Chair announced that there are currently openings in the Academic Affairs Committee and for a part-time faculty seat on the Faculty and Professional Affairs Committee. Please, all nominations, self-nominations are welcome. Send those to Reneta Barneva.
The Senate Executive Committee is reviewing the By-Laws to make sure that all the changes over the past year or so have been made. We hope to report in October.
Report of the President:
President Hefner reported that:
· Student load is virtually identical as last year. Head count should come to about 5500 with FTE about 5300.
· Freshman yield increased once again.
· Retention rate has improved.
· Class size on average has decreased; the student/faculty ratio is almost 10% lower than when he arrived nine years ago.
· Hurricane Katrina relief effort from the campus has been a resounding success; the first check (for $4035.00) will be cut today, and a second check will go out next week.
· SUNY system's BAP II Committee has finished its work, and has developed a plan that the Chancellor can endorse. Once approved, the new BAP will begin July 2006. The average increase for campuses such as Fredonia will be 9.5%, which comes to roughly a $1 million increase next year, and will wipe out the structural deficit we have been experiencing.
· Good news: Acting Chancellor Ryan in working on the upcoming legislative session. For the first time in the nine years that Pres. Hefner has been at Fredonia, the campus has been asked for input on its and the system's budget needs. This is very encouraging.
· In one week, we will be hosting with the Chautauqua Institution and the Jackson Center a symposium on the 60th anniversary of the Nuremburg Trials.
· The memo sent out last week about safety issues for students was intended to inform, but instead caused a slight panic. The message changed as it made its way through campus. Please help get the word out that no one should be walking alone, especially when leaving the bars at 2 or 2:30 in the morning.
· Fredonia Plan: the subcommittees did a wonderful job, coming up with 17 action items. Please attend the hearings, use the blog, the Planning & Budget Committee Blackboard site, or the "Gallery Walk" in Reed Library to provide your views. The subcommittees will begin revising their work in about a week and a half. They take seriously your comments. Once the plan has been revised, the Planning & Budget Committee and the Academic Affairs Committee will go over it, and it will be presented to the Senate, probably for a first reading in November, and for a vote in December.
· As usual, many good things are happening all over campus. One of the highlights of this year is the cycle of sixteen recitals by Father Duggan, who will be playing all of the Bach works for clavier and clavichord, in chronological order. If you can, go to as many of these as possible in the incredible Rosch Recital Hall, Fridays at 8 PM.
Questions:
Senator D. Reddy asked if there has been planning for a request to the Legislature to help cover the increased cost of utilities? Pres. Hefner said the Chancellor is looking into the possibility. Pres. Hefner didn't know of any move for relief of the current year's costs. The Chancellor does expect to have some relief by next July in the next fiscal year. We are trying our best to save where we can currently.
Report of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs:
Dr. Virginia Horvath began by thanking the various constituencies for inviting her to meet with them. She is trying to get as many scheduled as possible.
She then reported that we will have a significant number of searches during the coming academic year. The conversion of adjunct to tenure-track faculty lines decision was made only this morning. There will be seven such conversions. The campus will be doing 33 tenure-track searches. There were 35 vacancies, but two have been handled by switching one faculty member, and holding the second line open for use by the department where the vacancy occurred, possibly to be filled next year. She informed the Senate that the Vice-President's Council and the Planning & Budget Committee had provided input to these decisions. A lot of discussion went into this process, concerning needs of the campus, where classes were needed, and which departments had vacancies from these departures. She remarked that the "Cost" figure on the document "SUNY Fredonia Tenure-Track Searches for Fall 2006" (attached to these minutes), is a budgeted amount based on best estimates, not a cap or a final figure. Frank comments were elicited during the entire process, and Dean Ewing worked with others to develop a clear checklist for the search process.
Please ask the faculty to complete and return the surveys that were handed out at the Academic Affairs meeting in August. The compiled results thus far are providing some valuable information. VP Horvath hopes to have this information available to the Senate at the October meeting.
There are some changes to the Academic Affairs Academic Calendar that has been distributed. We are instituting an "Academic Leadership" meeting that will help cultivate ideas and actions that make better leaders. This will be a self-selected group, in an open meeting setting, using a workshop format. Almost any topic may be addressed. Examples might be: scheduling, personnel issues, time management, etc. Each meeting will focus on a topic.
Dr. Horvath asked Melinda Karnes to present the Academic Master Plan 2004-2005 Through 2008-2009 (attached to these minutes) for its first reading. Dr. Karnes told us that this is essentially a first draft. Take this back to your Departments, look it over carefully, and let her know if there is something missing, if there need to be revisions, etc. Please respond to her in writing. E-mail is acceptable ( Melinda.Karnes@fredonia.edu ). You may also send corrections and additions through your Deans. You may note that the plan covers a five-year period, and that this 5-yr plan began a year ago. A revised version will be brought for a vote at the October meeting of the Senate.
There were no questions concerning the above reports.
STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS
University Senator:
Dr. Robert Rogers informed the Senate that the plenary of the SUNY Faculty Senate will occur in October. It appears that General Education, Mission Review II, and the BAP II proposal will be among the issues that are rising to the surface. The new BAP supposedly will stop the shifting of money around, like used to be done.
Pres. Hefner interjected that research will not be the driving force of BAP II, and monies to fund research (formerly at 20%) will no longer be taken off the top. Now each component (or "basket") stands alone, which is a major change in philosophy.
Dr. Rogers continued indicating the the overall Senate was looking at issues concerning the funding of libraries. He asked that should anyone have any questions or concerns top please make him aware of these, via e-mail ( Robert.Rogers@fredonia.edu ).
Academic Affairs Committee:
Dr. Joseph Straight, Chair of the Committee, raised the issue of the Role of the Catalog in University Affairs. This was discussed and tabled at the last University Senate meeting in May 2005. Dr. Straight said that the print catalog will continue, because it is still an effective admissions tool. However, online versions of the catalog, have improved. Now in .pdf files, they have some bookmarks that are useful. In the future, perhaps we can have more hypertext linking to make navigating the online catalog even easier. One of the recommendations of the Academic Affairs Committee has already been instituted: there is new language concerning students responsibility to meet their program requirements, and it is prominently displayed.
[Question from the floor from Senator J. Milgram-Ludeman, which the Secretary missed.] Response from Dr. Straight: There are some revisions in language for degree requirements in the online version.
Errors do occur in the print version, and the online version can be corrected to reflect the correct language or policies easily. Program reviews and changes occur at times other than the print catalog revision year.
Senator J. Wilson commented that we would need a caveat that would be stressed for all students that the official version of the catalog is on the web. Dr. Straight responded that such a caveat is needed even now, and used certification requirement changes in the Education programs as an example.
Senator M. Grady commented, saying he was uncomfortable with the idea of having a legal document on the web. This could be very cumbersome for departments having to track who was under which requirements when. Dr. Straight responded that it has always been a departmental decision to update requirements. Some departments use checklists very effectively.
Senator D. McKinney said that we need to have a major caveat in the printed catalog, because parents need to know clearly that degree requirements are associated with a particular web site, and not the print version. Dr. Straight agreed, adding that it is the student who needs to be aware, and also this is a time when students need to begin weaning themselves from the parents.
Senator J. McVicker recommended we include such caveats and detailed information concerning where to find program requirements on the web in acceptance letters. This will be very confusing for students, who will be declaring majors, possibly declaring minors, then changing majors, etc. We have to set this up very clearly.
Senator A. Cuhel-Schuckers asked how older documents will be archived. Dr. Straight said that all versions will be online, under appropriate date headings. A student needs to know which one is his/her date to find his/her requirements. Not anyone can change these web pages. They are quite secure.
Registrar Nan Bowser raised the issue, WHO is that person (making the changes)? This will be a considerable undertaking. When advising liberal arts students, the catalog becomes a real tool as they seek out what the requirements for a program may be. Dr. Straight answered that this has to be worked out. It may not be someone in the Registrar's Office. It is a considerable job (just as it is now... the Committee has to deal with an incredible amount of "commotion" in a catalog change year, then almost nothing the next year).
Senator D. Reddy raised concerns about Gen. Ed. and CCC which have not been covered fundamentally at this stage: transfer students from SUNY community colleges have implications. The language of the proposed recommendation ignores Gen. Ed. Dr. Straight responded that CCC requirements are defined by the year of entry.
Chair Swansinger suggested we split the various components of the proposal. Sections "0" and 1, are essentially philosophical. Sections 3 & 4 are fairly straightforward, while section 2 is likely to engender considerable debate. Are we ready at this meeting?
D. Reddy moved and L. Eikenburg seconded that this proposal be tabled. The motion passed unanimously.
Faculty and Professional Affairs Committee:
Dr. Carolyn Grady announced that Jennifer Burke will be the new chair of this committee. They will be looking at issues of diversity, retention of faculty, and welcome input regarding issues of concern to the campus.
Planning and Budget Committee:
Vince Courtney reported for Bruce Simon (who had to leave the Senate meeting to teach a class). He informed the Senate:
· A Blackboard site has been established for the Committee
· The Committee met twice over the summer with VP Horvath and members of her Council to discuss allocation of lines
· The Committee met with administrators to review the final decisions on line allocations; the Committee is satisfied with the results, and very encouraged to know that the Deans and VPAA Horvath want to involve the Committee even earlier in the process in the future
· We will be reviewing the new proposed Budget Allocation Process (BAP) II
· We will be providing input with regard to the revised Fredonia Plan
· We will meet with the Enrollment Management Committee chair, and possibly the Strategic Planning Committee chair (if that Committee still exists!)
Chair Swansinger encourages all faculty to respond to the Fredonia Plan and to send issues of concern to the Planning and Budget Committee to its chair, Bruce Simon ( Bruce.Simon@fredonia.edu ).
Student Affairs Committee:
Dr. Swansinger reported for the Committee that this committee will be reviewing its by-laws to reflect what has become the practice: the committee nominally has been chaired by a student, but actually functions with co-chairs, a student and the VP for Student Affairs.
College Core Curriculum Committee:
Dr. Reddy reported that we are in the first year under the new by-laws, and last semester we finished the first of our 3-year cycle of assessment. There can be a problem in that the "ownership" of an area of the CCC may not be totally clear at times. The Committee is trying to develop means which will help in this regard. Anyone who wishes to share your ideas or make recommendations, feel free to contact Committee members. This year the Committee will be tackling how to go about the Strengthened Campus-Based Assessment, which is to begin next fall. Dr. Reddy went into some detail of what issues the Committee will be dealing with regarding Strengthened Campus-Based Assessment. He finished by reminding the Senate that Patty Francis (co-chair of the GEAR group) will be on campus Oct. 3, and will be attending the Senate meeting that day.
Senator H. Wescott asked to have the three areas of Strengthened Campus-Based Assessment repeated. The answer was Basic Communication and Written Communication; Critical Thinking; and Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning.
Senator T. Taylor asked about informational materials available, and how our decision for each section of the general education assessment was going to be approved. Dr. Reddy indicated the campus will submit our determination of what we could use from our old assessment instruments to the GEAR group, who will determine if what we decide to use will "pass muster."
Senator D. McKinney asked about costs associated with using narrative measures. She faculty time has a cost, and what will be used to measure our time as a cost? Dr. Reddy responded that SUNY Central expects us to do a 20% sample with a nationally normed instrument, so any other option will be reimbursed up to the equivalent cost of that methodology. Pres. Hefner said GEAR had been very impressed with the work the Fredonia CCC Committee had done, and he feels they will be accepting of the kinds of instruments we have used in the past. Fredonia was the first approved, and in a conference of the best of SUNY Gen. Ed. programs, Fredonia was among the presenters. Dr. Reddy reminded the group that a sub-committee of the GEAR group will be doing the review and the accepting of campus plans for assessing general education. We will give it our best shot!
The Chair of the Senate, seeing that it was approaching 5:30PM, asked for a motion to extend the meeting for five minutes. It was moved that the meeting be extended for ten minutes (Reddy?/Taylor?) The motion passed by unanimous voice vote.
Calendar Committee
Chair Swansinger informed the Senate that the Calendar Committee had been reconstituted with members, and would be working as normal.
There being no new business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:35 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Vincent Courtney
Faculty Secretary