ACADEMIC SENATE
MINUTES
DATE: December 8, 2005
PRESENT: Agnes Samples Mark Hardt
Lorrie Steerey Sandie Rietz
Paul Bauer Audrey ConnerRosberg
Ben Marschke Keith Edgerton
Randall Gloege Bruce Brumley
Noreen
Lee Craig
McKenzie
Matt Redinger Lewis Rife (student)
Mary McNally (ex-officio) George White (ex-officio)
Mary Susan Fishbaugh (ex-officio)
ABSENT: David Garloff (ex-officio) Kirk Lacy (ex-officio)
John
Cech (ex-officio) Terrie Iverson
(ex-officio)
Curt Kochner (ex-officio)
GUESTS: Curtis Sherrod Kyle Colling
Susan Gilbertz
PRESIDING: Keith Edgerton, Chair
Keith Edgerton called the meeting to order at 3:45 p.m. in the
The minutes of December 1 were accepted as presented.
I. ITEMS – FIRST READING
Item 25 Master of Public Administration. Modification of an existing program.
Item 25.a POLS 580 Applied Research Project. Change course number to 574.
Item 25.b POLS 580 Special Topics. New course.
Item 25.c POLS 462 Local Government Administration. New course—to cross-list with POLS 562
Item 25.d POLS 480 Special Topics. New course.
Item 25.e Minor in Political Science Pre-Law Emphasis. Modification of an existing program.
Item 14 POLS 434 Contemporary Issues in Public Administration. Delete course.
Item 14.a Minor in Political Science General Emphasis. Modification of an existing program.
Item 14.b Minor in Political Science Public Administration Emphasis. Modification of an existing program.
Item 14.c Teaching Minor in Political Science. Modification of an existing program.
̃ Motion by Lorrie Steerey,
seconded by Matt Redinger to approve
Items 25, 25.a, 25.b, 25.c, 25.d, 25.e, 14, 14.a, 14.b, and 14.c on first
reading.
Matt Redinger stated that Craig Wilson, Chair of Native
American Studies, Political Science, and Sociology, asked him to explain these
changes, which look more substantial than they really are. To articulate with the MPA program in
̃ Motion carried.
̃ Motion by Matt Redinger,
seconded by Mark Hardt to waive second
reading of Items 25, 25.a, 25.b, 25.c, 25.d, 25.e, 14, 14.a, 14.b, and 14.c.
̃ Motion carried.
Item 24 RD 521 Teaching
Item 24.a RD 512 Developing Student Writing. Change course number to 413/513.
Item 24.b RD 412 Emergent Literacy. Change course number to 412/512.
Item 24.d Teaching Minor in
̃ Motion by Lorrie Steerey,
seconded by Noreen Lee to approve Items
24, 24.a, 24.b, and 24.d on first reading.
Sandie Rietz noted that these changes are housekeeping to change some course numbers and remove dead courses from the minor.
̃ Motion carried.
̃ Motion by Lorrie Steerey,
seconded by Mark Hardt to waive second
reading of Items 24, 24.a, 24.b, and 24.d.
̃ Motion carried.
Item 35 HHP 420 Global Health Issues. Change course number to 270.
̃ Motion by Lorrie Steerey,
seconded by Audrey ConnerRosberg to approve
Item 35 on first reading.
Noreen Lee stated that this course had been offered before as an honors course 290/490. The Department submitted it for Academic Foundations, and the AFC requested that the course be moved to the 200-level. The syllabus will also be modified for the lower level.
̃ Motion carried.
̃ Motion by Lorrie Steerey,
seconded by Sandie Rietz to waive second
reading of Item 35.
̃ Motion carried.
II. DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS
A. BOR Budget Initiative for 25 New Lines: How will we measure success?
Keith Edgerton requested that the Senate suggest some ways that the success of this initiative would be illustrated. It was noted that new faculty lines will “regrow the trunk” of our programs that are currently denuded. More faculty will mean smaller class size and more sections offered. Student and faculty satisfaction will also increase. With smaller classes, more writing assignments can be given and more writing equals more outcomes assessment. More tenure-track faculty will reduce the number of critical skills courses taught by part-time faculty.
B. Assessment Administrator: Proposal from the Graduate Committee
Sharon Hobbs, Graduate Committee Member, stated that the Grad Committee came to the conclusion that faculty may not have the time or expertise to do assessment of all programs and make it consistent across the University, which NWCCU requires. Some kind of assessment coordinator would be able to pull all campus assessment practices together. It was cited that the Accreditation Steering Committee is tasked to do exactly what this position would do—pull all assessment together.
It was noted that if we are already having difficulty paying faculty competitive salaries, it’s doubtful we have the money to hire someone in such a competitive field. It was further noted that at a time when we can’t afford to keep tenured faculty, it is dubious to hire another administrator.
It was noted that when the
It was noted that this coordinator could do more than pull assessment practices together. This person could begin a research and development department, which would help the campus see the bigger picture of where we are going.
It was decided that more discussion on this topic is needed, and the item will be deferred to January.
III. ITEM – SECOND READING
Item 39 Academic Foundations Committee Report. 11/29/05
Including: Set Deadlines and Information Literacy Category
Keith Edgerton noted that this report was approved on first reading last week, and there are other issues to be resolved: deadlines, Information Literacy, and a possible foreign language requirement. Dr. Edgerton asked those who did not get to speak last week to make their comments.
Tom Rust, Director of the Honors Program, stated that the Honors Program has proposed that the four Honors courses (HIST 106 & 107 and HON 181 & 182) taken all together fulfill three of the six credits in English. Gary Acton, Chair of English and Philosophy, has agreed these four courses include components of writing instruction and do count as ENGL 226 or its equivalent. The same is true of the Arts category. The four courses taken together cumulatively impart three credits of arts. It was noted that the Committee did not see these components illustrated in the syllabi. Mr. Rust noted that the Honors Program can revise the syllabi if needed—the courses don’t have to be denied.
It was noted that such a drastic change in the honors courses should be resubmitted, which brings up the problem of deadlines. Academic Departments need time to react and change their programs in response to the new Academic Foundations package, which was originally intended to be done by Spring 2006.
Dan Gross, Chair of Communication and Theatre, stated that he has changed his mind about the Information Literacy category. Information Literacy is an important skill for every student to have, and COMT 130 Introduction to Public Speaking fits into that category. The function of the Information Literacy category, acquiring skills in access and retrieval of information and in evaluating the importance and validity of the information, is the heart of a good public speaking course. Ignorance of that does not mean the course should be excluded. Perhaps the syllabus needs reworking, but not as much as the Honors syllabi do. Also, to ignore communication as a category in today’s society is not appropriate.
It was suggested that rather than include the Information Literacy category, we could include a linguistic category that would encompass English, foreign languages, and communication.
Second, a student can test out of the language requirement, but if they don’t pass fully, they may have to take a class which will cost time and money. Third, students could enroll in a language class, which would obviously cost time and money
It was noted that changing the category structure this late in the game may be difficult for the Academic Foundations Committee, and the Senate has already approved the category structure as presented today.
It was noted that the AFC could meet with Mr. Rust and Dr. Gross to resolve those issues, and the foreign language requirement is more of a Senate proposal and should be dealt with by the Senate.
̃ Motion carried with one abstention.
̃ Motion by the Senate to set February 10, 2006, as the last possible
date to submit any new course to Academic Foundations.
̃ Motion carried.
The meeting adjourned at 5:26 p.m.
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