Minutes of the University Senate Meeting

Feb. 4, 2008


The meeting was called to order by Chair Reneta Barneva at 4:10 PM in Fenton 105.

Chair Reneta Barneva began the meeting by thanking Vice President Horvath for her help in resolving the Senate's secretarial needs problems.

The Chair then asked for a motion to approve the Agenda.  Sen. Richard Reddy moved, and Sen. Amy Cuhel-Schuckers seconded.   The motion passed by unanimous voice vote with no discussion.

Chair Barneva then asked for a motion approving the minutes of the meeting of Dec. 3, 2007.  Sens. Reddy and Ziya Arnavut moved and seconded, and the motion passed by unanimous voice vote without discussion.

REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT: Dr. Dennis Hefner

President Hefner:

Questions:

Sen. Arnavut asked do you know what reductions will be happening?  Pres. Hefner responded yes, there will be a loss of $600,000.00 as part of a 2.5% across-the-board reduction; we will be given $500,000.00 less for baseline utilities.  That is a $1.1 million hole.  If we get the $200,000.00 in enrollment growth funding, it looks like a $900,000.00 hole would be the best possibility.

Sen. Arnavut followed up asking if there is any hope the Legislature could be lobbied to restore some of the funding?  The President answered that given that next year's budget for New York has a $4.4 billion shortfall, the Legislature is not going to have a lot of money to spend.  If we'd gotten the 5% tuition increase we asked for, that would have helped.  But the Legislature is not going to raise tuition if it is not in the Governor's budget proposal, and it isn't, and this is an election year.

Sen. Reddy asked for clarification about the "no layoffs" statement.  Pres. Hefner said that current staffing levels will be maintained.  Does it mean there may be some reduction in personnel?  Yes, that may happen. 

Sen. Reddy followed up, wondering if the adjunct faculty would be bearing much of the burden of these cuts?   Pres. Hefner responded that it is our number one priority to maintain access to classes for students.   There will be no major changes there, but we'll be asking the chairs to be as careful as they can with those expenditures.

Sen. Cuhel-Schuckers asked if there will be any impact on temporary and professional lines?   Pres. Hefner replied, "Oh, sure, to be honest."

Sen. Paul Murphy asked about the letter that was included with the agenda in which Pres. Hefner rejected the policy on transfer credit that was passed by the Senate.  If such students have earned a D in a course that is a pre-requisite course for a major here, and that major has the policy that a student has to have at least a C-, will your rejection change that pre-req requirement?  The President answered that anything you have as requirements will not be affected, whether those courses have been taken here or elsewhere.   He tried to speak to that in the last paragraph of the letter.

Sen. Murphy followed up, wondering if there was any thought in Pres. Hefner's decision as to other schools (including SUNY schools) who don't allow D grades to transfer in.  The President replied that yes, there are some campuses that have such policies.  I don't know how they wrestled with getting to where they are.  They obviously have come up with conclusions that are different from those that I did.  I just feel very uncomfortable treating students differently.

Sen. Cuhel-Schuckers then asked if Pres. Hefner was saying that a particular major can accept a grade of D for a major course?  The President replied, yes, but most of those credits will be listed as general electives.

REPORT OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS: Dr. Virginia Horvath


Dr. Horvath had a written report and two informational pieces (School of Business asking to become the College of Business, and a Proposal to move the Dept. of Sport Management and Exercise Science to the College of Natural and Social Sciences). Each of these is attached to the minutes.   The informational pieces are for ruminating over, with a vote to come later in the semester.   She also announced that Dr. Beez Schell has accepted the position of Director of the Professional Development Center, and will be visiting Fredonia in March.   If you would like to meet with Dr. Schell or share your ideas with her, please send an email to Virginia.Horvath@fredonia.edu, and we will try to find a time for you to meet with Dr. Schell.

The VP would advocate that it is now time to make the change to an online catalog with print-on-demand features.  This will enable us to update the catalog yearly, and to not have a printed product that is out of date.

The VP also informed the body of the two committees who are reviewing the course evaluation system.  The committee charged with the content of the survey is not taking away the questions that individual departments think are vital to their needs.  Rather, they are developing a core set of questions that can be included on course evaluation surveys for every course on campus.

Please send your comments on the catalog issue to Melinda.Karnes@fredonia.edu and your comments on the College of Business proposal to Kathleen.Gradel@fredonia.edu.

There were no questions.

REPORT OF THE CHAIR: Dr. Reneta Barneva

Chair Barneva reported that she attended the Plenary of the SUNY University Senate, and the administration would like us to transfer as many credits as possible from the Community Colleges. There is a Committee at the SUNY Senate level that is looking at the course articulation agreements.   The preliminary idea is that if our college has an articulation agreement with JCC, for example, for a particular course, and JCC has an articulation agreement for that same course with Geneseo, and then Geneseo has an agreement with Buff State, then Fredonia should just accept Buff State's course the same as it would JCC's, even though we don't have an articulation agreement for that course with Buff State.  But, as was pointed out to that committee, you have to look very carefully at courses.  For example, just about every campus has a course that is Computer Science I and II.   However, we can't simply transfer the credits because there are such variations in the nature of the content (such as programming languages taught in this introductory course).   If you wish to have input into this process, please email Joe.Hildreth@suny.edu.

In the sector meetings, one major concern was the anticipated growth of UB.  The CGL from UB assured us all that they are looking to grow with out-of-state and international students, not raiding our pool of in-state students.   The UB CGL also indicated there are concerns at UB itself about this proposed growth: how are they going to be able to accommodate this large increase in undergraduate students.

Other concerns brought out in a session with the acting Chancellor were:

Questions:

Sen. Arnavut asked did the Chancellor address how he is going to get the money for professional growth?   Chair Barneva replied that he didn't specify anything about how they are going to do it.

Reporting on the actions of Pres. Hefner, with regard to Senate actions, Chair Barneva said:

Chair Barneva reported that the Faculty and Professional Affairs Committee has re-organized, with some newly elected members (Chris Taverna and Barb Kittle), and elected Paul Murphy as chair, Chris Taverna as vice-chair, and Barb Kittle as secretary. She also informed the body that chair of Planning and Budget, Kathleen Gradel, is on leave this semester, but will be in the area and is willing to continue her role on the committee.

ACTION ITEM:

Sen. Ted Schwalbe, vice-chair of the Academic Affairs Committee, indicated that the Committee is not ready to put forth the item that was on the agenda at this time.

STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:

College Core Curriculum Committee: Dr. Richard Reddy

Dr. Reddy spoke about the handout which is an update.   It is for information purposes.  There will be no vote today.   He spoke for a bit about the "closing the loop" portion of the handout, indicating that the idea of "closing the loop" was fundamentally a good one.     However, the timing of this particular GEAR requirement could have been better from Fredonia's viewpoint.  This was only decided upon and the rubric created in January, and because we are one of the campuses in the first grouping, we have to report by March 1.   The difficulty is that the procedures have not been all that effective in giving us meaningful insight into what has been taking place within our classes, leading us to be able to analyze and change as necessary.  And that is making it harder to find people willing to participate in the assessment process.   We want to make assessment a fruitful exercise.   The report to GEAR will be an honest one.   Essentially the report to GEAR from Fredonia will be the portion of the update from page 3-9 in the "Closing the Loop" document. (This is available on the Senate ANGEL site.)   The two pages of charts following page 9 represent how GEAR expects assessment date to be reported. (This is on the Senate ANGEL site as a separate .pdf file.)   And the last portion of the update summarizes the "idea fest" that CCC sponsored relating to assessment. (This is included on the Senate ANGEL site as a separate file.)   We've figured out a lot of things that are wrong, and we now we have the chance to do things that will improve it.  Please let the CCC know if what we are reporting doesn't reflect reality!  Send emails to Richard.Reddy@fredonia.edu.

Graduate Council: Dr. Kevin Kearns


Dr. Kearns began his presentation with a couple of caveats: the Re-enrollment Subcommittee of the Graduate Council is looking at online options for retention, prospecting, etc.  And our Academic Standing Committee included both undergraduate and graduate reviews.  Also the Policies Subcommittee is looking at graduate standing policies.

Dr. Kearns informed the body of several curricular and program activities:

He then introduced Dr. Larry Maheady to provide a preview of a new proposed M.S.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, and Kate Mahoney to preview a new Master's level program: Bilingual Extension.

M.S.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction


Dr. Maheady used a PowerPoint presentation during which he informed the body that this would change the existing M.S.Ed. 36 credit hour program. The new M.S.Ed. will be a dual certification in Childhood/Early Childhood and Inclusive Ed (which most of us know as Special Education).   Candidates will get certification in their general area initially, and certification in disabled students at the same educational level as their initial certification.  How do you get two certifications with the same degree?   There will be no new coursework, just a reworking of the requirements.   Thus far the inclusive coursework has been an elective portion of the existing program.   The program currently requires 9 credits in research and 27 elective credits.  This leads to field experience, but does not provide program coherence.   We will now include a core of courses in special education as part of the required work.  We will have the same 9 hr research sequence, increase the required courses to 21 credits, and decrease the number of elective categories.  12 hours in inclusive education will be part of the required courses.  This has a strong Primary-Grade 12 component.   For certification, it is required that all candidates pass the appropriate NY State exams.   Public schools have moved faster than higher education in the type of services provided.   It used to be that General Ed and Special Ed had two separate certificates.  Now almost all teachers who teach general education have special education students in their classrooms, who they have not been trained to teach, yet they are accountable for the learning by these students.    The schools have pushed special education service into the general ed classrooms, as opposed to the old model of taking the special ed. students out of the classrooms for these services.  There is now a significant need for dual certification.    Traditionally, special ed. people go to a separate department in their universities.   At Fredonia, we've never had a separate special ed. program, but have always had special ed. faculty on campus who teach in general ed. courses.  We've always wanted to follow the inclusive model.    We built in field experiences in every year, and in general ed. we say that students in field experiences should be serving students with disabilities, poverty, abuse and/or neglect, or with different cultural backgrounds.  So, we suggested to the State that we've already been doing this to some extent, but have never been dually certifying our graduates.  Other colleges have been dually certifying.  We merged our program in the past, one curriculum for all teachers, and got State approval last year for undergraduates (who deal with inclusive, field based, and focus on student learning impact) to be dually certified.   However, our graduate program wasn't set up that way.  So, in terms of accreditation alone, we have a conceptual problem.   Accreditation doesn't go away, and now they require graduate level structured field experiences.   We had another need to meet in the field, as well.   Lots of teachers have their professional certification in general ed., but had nothing offered by their schools dealing with special ed.   We had nothing to offer in terms of special ed. only.  Now, using the core, we can offer a Certificate of Advanced Study for those in the field who need certification in special ed. only.   Students who come to Fredonia for graduate education courses, but who do not have certification in any area, can't be allowed into our existing Master's program.    They have to get a second baccalaureate in order to enter the Master's program.   Most of these take between 72-84 credits.   One who had a Ph.D. needed "only" 69 credits!   So, we're now saying do the same core, but in addition to the things they'd need at the undergraduate level (professional methods, student teaching, etc.).   This would be a program of 60-66+ credits, and they will be allowed to do their Master's at the same time as they do their undergraduate coursework.    This way, we can be flexible to the needs of the field, and accommodate a group we haven't served very well.

Questions:

Dr. Nancy Boynton asked about the requirements, which she hadn't seen.  Dr. Maheady answered: 3 course research sequence, four course "Inclusive" block, and a block of courses linking content to pedagogy, then electives.

Dr. Boynton followed up, asking about the MAT program.  Dr. Maheady said that would have the research block, methods and student teaching, any necessary courses needed (like science ed. courses, for example).  This would take 2-3 years for the Master's.  We have everything laid out, and would be glad to share.  (Contact Larry.Maheady@fredonia.edu )

Dr. Boynton then asked if the candidate has initial certification in teaching students with disabilities, would they have to do another Master's?    Dr. Maheady responded no, after three years of service, a teacher automatically becomes certified.

Bilingual Extension

Dr. Kate Mahoney spoke to the Bilingual Extension proposal.  She indicated that five courses could be substituted for the linking to pedagogy coursework.   On the chart [see handout attached to the minutes], the rows signify the major requirements of the State.  We are not focusing on one language in particular.

Dr. Anna Thibodeau asked if the candidates have to demonstrate their competency in a language other than English?   Dr. Mahoney answered yes, but this is not an entry requirement but an exit requirement.  They need to pass a State level test in that language in order to obtain the extension certification.

Planning and Budget: Dr. Kathleen Gradel

Dr. Gradel reported that the Planning and Budget Advisory Committee met for the first round of discussions with the Chairs in Dec.   A second round is scheduled for Feb. 20.  We expect to be meeting with VP Horvath concerning the proposal for the College of Business, and with Pres. Hefner and VP Tracy Bennett regarding budget issues early in the semester, and not just as the "budget book" has gone to press.

SUNY-WIDE FACULTY SENATOR REPORT: Dr. Cheryl Drout


Dr. Drout provided a written report (available on the ANGEL site).  She said that the question to the Chancellor concerning education of new presidents rose out of reports of intrusions on governance and presidents' not fully including the faculty in matters concerning the curriculum at some SUNY institutions.   Buffalo State faculty have reported they had not been consulted at all about the VSA participation, for example. Also there is some concern that there is pressure from the Legislature that is moving toward some kind of course descriptions and/or numbering that will be "universal", which is very controversial.  There is expected to be something in writing soon to be shared with the campuses.

The time having gotten to 5:30PM, Chair Barneva asked for a motion to extend the meeting.  Sen. Reddy moved that the meeting be extended for 15 minutes.  Sen. Arnavut seconded.  The motion was approved by unanimous voice vote, with no discussion.

Dr. Drout explained that the chart (numbered "3" but is actually page 5 of her written report) was presented to the Senators by Provost Risa Palm as an 'example' of how the money generated from the proposed endowment for SUNY presented in the Governor's State of the State and budget addresses, might be used for faculty lines.  This is not the plan; it is just a possible way of looking at information to develop the plan.  The idea is to bring each campus into parity with its peers.   The Senators asked Provost Palm how the peer institutions were determined, and she said they took that from campus reports. [Fredonia's "peer institutions" may be found on page 2 of the Memorandum of Understanding with SUNY (the result of Mission Review II), which is part of the attachments to the minutes of the Dec. 4, 2006, meeting on the ANGEL site. - Faculty Senator.]

Questions:

Dr. Bruce Simon asked if that was a typo for Geneseo on the chart?   Sen. Drout said that there are definitely variations in some of the data.  At the plenary, we asked the same question, and they said that this was not a typo.  It could be because of who they are comparing themselves to.

Sen. Cuhel-Schuckers commented one or our aspirational peers is SUNY Geneseo, so if we get to where they are, and they have moved forward, it is a never-ending catch-up.  Sen. Drout said they have not asked for feedback on this.  Sen. Cuhel-Schuckers added that we will still have this 'step-ladder' effect.

Sen. Arnavut asked who reported this?  Sen. Drout responded SUNY Provost Risa Palm, and asked those interested to please send feedback to Cheryl.Drout@fredonia.edu .

Middle States Steering Committee: Mrs. Kerrie Wilkes

Mrs. Wilkes showed the Senate the just-made-available web site for "Accreditation 2010" ( http://www.fredonia.edu/accreditation2010/ ).   This is a basic information page, where you can find all of the documents you might need for understanding the process and some of the expectations.

She reported that the Steering Committee had its first meeting of the semester this week, and trying to get all 18 members together for weekly meetings is a challenge.  Also, Brian Filjones will be the graduate student representative on the Steering Committee.  If you have any questions please feel free to email Kerrie.Wilkes@fredonia.edu or Roger.Byrne@fredonia.edu .

TASK FORCE ON PERSONNEL POLICIES: Dr. Richard Reddy


Sen. Reddy informed the body that during the past semester, we have developed three interim reports.  We needed to treat the three groups (teaching faculty, professional staff, and librarians) differently.  Because the kinds of issues raised in the Memorandum of Understanding after Mission Review II placed more emphasis on the teaching faculty, as opposed to the other two groups.  We want feedback and ideas, please.  We need to have your sense of whether our view of these themes, concerns, and possible answers are truly reflective.   The surveys will impact this, as well.  They are on ANGEL, and we need your input.  The Task Force is making progress, and we want to do this as right as we can, so we will be taking our time.   Ms. Maggie Bryan-Peterson (co-chair of the Task Force) added that the open forums had a limited number of participants, so the Task Force decided to follow up with the surveys.   We will be back again, in March or April.  We certainly hope to be done by the end of the semester.

Questions:

Sen. Chris Taverna commented that the report on the professionals, under the first bullet, the Board of Trustees Policies include five criteria, and those policies do swap out scholarship for ability.   Ms. Bryan-Peterson responded that what the Task Force is finding is that there are differing interpretations across all the divisions for professionals.

The time being 5:45PM, the Chair asked for a motion to extend the meeting.  Sen. Chuck Stoddart moved to extend the meeting by 10 minutes.  Sen. Taverna seconded.  The motion was approved by voice vote, without discussion.

Sen. Arnavut asked regarding evaluation and promotion, what is what worth and how much should it be?  In our department, we have to have a "B" in at least every category, and an "A" in at least one.  I'd personally like to see those who are promoted to have all categories equally well, and excelling in one or more.

Sen. Cuhel-Schuckers said that her experience may not reflect the general experience, but do professionals come with temporary appointments?  Ms. Bryan-Peterson responded not necessarily.  The can come with a term appointment if that is what the position is set for.

UNIVERSITY POLICE: Chief Ann McCarron Burns

Dr. Hefner asked Ms. Burns to put together a few details on our use of cameras on campus.  The handout is a summary.  [The handout is available on the ANGEL site with these minutes.]   We've had about 13 years of success with using cameras.  We have 38 on campus.  There is signage in the parking lots indicating that the area is under camera surveillance, and in some of the residence halls. 

Questions:

Chair Barneva asked do these cameras record at night?   Ms. Burns responded yes, especially in the parking lots.  We've had a lot of success in the parking lots, observing possible break-ins to cars, fights, etc.

Sen. Jonathan Chausovsky asked are you publicizing the DWIs that you catch?  Ms. Burns answered, yes. The Leader reporters will come in and check the log (which is also available online), and they do publish incidents.

Sen. Steven Kershnar asked are there any cams that have no warnings?  Is there a separate sign for every camera?  Ms. Burns said no, not all cameras have posted warnings, and there isn't a sign for every camera.

Sen. Cuhel-Schuckers asked if there is any notification for students in the residence halls, for example in their contracts, that has language indicating there are cameras in the residence halls?   Ms. Burns indicated that the cameras are only in the lobby, and these are stationary, only recording what happens in the lobby.   There is no expectation of privacy in a lobby, and as long as there is no expectation of privacy, it is a public area.

Sen. Reddy commented that he assumed to a large extent that the recorded videos are not looked at unless there is probable cause, but there is probably regular monitoring?  Ms. Burns said that there is regular monitoring of the cameras, 365 days a year, 24/7, and all are taped.  The University Police retain the tapes for 30 days, and if nothing has come up that requires reviewing a particular tape, they are recorded over after the 30 days.

Sen. Kershnar asked if the College Senate had ever voted on this?  Ms. Burns said she couldn't answer that.

Sen. Drout asked if students raise questions about the cameras?   If they observe anything criminal, do they have a responsibility to report what they observed?  Ms. Burns said the only questions her department has received are general curiosity about the cams.

The time being 5:55PM, the Chair asked for a motion to extend the meeting.  Sen. Arnavut moved that the meeting be extended for five minutes.  Sen. Reddy seconded.  The motion passed by unanimous voice vote, without discussion.

NEW BUSINESS

Master of Music in Music Therapy

Sen. Joni Milgram-Luterman presented a proposal for a new Master's of Music in Music Therapy.  She indicated this is just informational for today, and will be brought for a vote in March.  The need for this new program relates to changes in licensure for creative arts therapists in NY State.   The NY State Ed department is now going to require that such practitioners have Master's degrees.   Fredonia is one of five institutions in New York that offer a program in Music Therapy.

Questions:

Sen. Dani McKinney asked about the requirements, especially those that involve the Psychology Department.   Sen. Milgram-Luterman responded that she has proposed that SUNY Learning Network courses or other distance learning be used for the psychology courses that we currently do not provide.

Proposal concerning degree requirements

Sen. Arnavut spoke in favor of having a motion to reduce the "outside of major" degree requirements for students in professional or technical programs to 60 credit hours, from the present 66 credit hours.

Sen. Nan Bowser rose to ask if that shouldn't be referred to the Academic Affairs Committee?   Sen. Arnavut seemed accepting of that, so Sen. Bowser moved that this proposal be referred to the Academic Affairs Committee.  Sen. Taverna seconded.  There was no further discussion.  The motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

Sen. Reddy moved to adjourn the meeting.  Sen. Stoddart seconded.  The motion passed by unanimous voice vote without discussion.

Meeting adjourned at 6:02 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Vincent Courtney, Faculty Secretary


ATTACHMENTS:

Attendance Sheet

CCC Ideafest

CCC Some Thoughts on Assessment

Closed Circuit Cameras on Campus

Graduate Council Report

New Business Proposal - Arnavut

Proposal for College of Business

Proposal for moving Sports Management and Exercise Science to College of Natural and Social Sciences

Proposed Master's of Music in Music Therapy

Remarks for University Senate

Report on 148th Plenary of SUNY wide Senate