FACULTY SENATE
MINUTES
September 20, 2001

 

MEMBERS - Listed Alphabetically
Eric Amsel
Rick Bingham
Sharen Brady - Diane Leggett representing
Delroy Brinkerhoff
Katie Bush - Student - Tiffany Veigel representing
Paul Caldarella
Bruce Christensen
Bill Clapp
Gary Dohrer - Vice Chair
Rick Dove - Excused
Anand Dyal-Chand - Admin
Dave Eisler - Admin.
Ann Ellis
Al Forsyth
Ron Galli - Admin.
Colleen Garside
Dawn Gatherum - Steve Clark representing
Cheryl Hansen
David Greene - Admin.
Mark Henderson
Michelle Heward
Warren Hill - Admin
Ron Holt
Joan Hubbard - Ruby Licona representing
Pam Hugie
Marsha Jackson
Ken Johnson
Marie Kotter
Brenda Kowalewski
Diane Krantz
Taowen Le
Kathleen Lukken - Admin.
Jim Macdonald
Daniel Magda
Marek Matyjasik - Jim Wilson representing
Chloe Merrill - Joyce Buck representing
Jill Newby
Diana Page
June Phillips - Admin.
Doug Rose - Student
Richard Sadler - Admin.
Dan Schroeder
Monika Serbinowska
Gene Sessions - Chair
Rick Sline
Steve Starks - Student
Brian Stecklein - CE Admin
Mali Subbiah
Tamas Szabo - Jim Peters
President Paul Thompson - Admin.
Chris Trivett
Betty Tucker
Jennifer Turley
John Valletta - Student
Michael Vaughan - Admin.
Wangari Wa Nyatetu-Waigwa
Lydia Wingate
Kay Brown, Secretary

 

1.  ROLL CALL

2.  APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Moved to approve the minutes from the April 19, 2001 meeting.
Made: Lydia Wingate
Second: Marie Kotter
Outcome: The minutes were approved.

3.  MEMORIAL TRIBUTE TO SHERWIN HOWARD
A memorial tribute to Sherwin Howard was given by Candadai Seshachari. Sherwin Ward Howard, administrator and teacher extraordinaire, friend, writer and poet par excellence passed away August 18 of malignant melanoma. Many of his contributions, which testify to his creative leadership, have transformed the university’s academic landscape. The highly successful Utah Musical Theatre was his brainchild; likewise the nationally acknowledged Weber Studies, which in the last phase of his career he edited with such distinction, was a creation of his. The Early College Program, the National Undergraduate Literature Conference, English as a Second Language Program, Writing Across the Curriculum, and the Eccles Conference Center all owe their existence to his creative vision. He has finished with what we call living, but the monuments of his life’s work and his gentle spirit will live on.

4.  FACULTY SENATE PRESENTATIONS
The Executive Committee will develop criteria for items to be included on the Faculty Senate agenda. The criteria will be presented to the Faculty Senate.

5.  ROLE OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Executive Committee will not be a second level of review for proposals nor will they debate the merits of the proposal. Debate should occur on the floor of the Senate. The Executive Committee will determine whether or not the proposal is appropriate to place on the agenda and whether or not it has gone through the proper channels.

6.  DIVERSITY UPDATE – Forest Crawford
Diversity efforts have resulted in significant achievements over the past 10 years. One of the primary goals of the Office of Diversity is to insure that the five major divisional action teams (Academic Affairs, Administrative Services, Information Technology, Student Affairs, University Relations), continue their efforts to enable, assess, support, and affirm diversity related programs and projects. The formation of a Diversity Community Council has been established and is designed to elicit input and serve as a vital resource link to the University’s diversity efforts. The Office of Diversity will continue to expand the opportunity for productive dialogue on diversity as a critical idea of inquiry.

Future Challenges - Diversity course requirement pilot survey feedback report. Diversity web-page ad-hoc committee. Diversity course development support. Diversity recruitment support efforts (focus on African Americans). Diverse faculty recruitment and lectureship model. Diversity Curriculum and Pedagogical Summer Institute. Campus climate feedback and review forums.

7.  PRESIDENT THOMPSON
Last week a candlelight vigil was held to pay tribute to those who lost their lives September 11, 2001. This is a difficult time for the country and for members of our campus community. Take time to listen to your colleagues and students. Be patient and be supportive. Be particularly supportive of our international students. This is a time of concern for them. The President has sent an email message to the campus indicating some resources available at Weber State who can provide advice, counseling and support.

Weber State has a policy for those who are called up to serve in the military, to refund 100% of their tuition and fees. If they will be gone for a short time, space will be reserved for them in their classes. Students can check with Winslow Hurst.

President Thompson has discussed with Craig Dearden, Director of Public Safety, a review of all aspects of emergency situations and how to deal with them. Security during the Olympics will be reviewed and discussed to ensure the safety of staff who may be working on campus during the Olympics.

8.  FACULTY SENATE AND COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP CHANGES
The following changes have occurred. Jennifer Turley replaces Monica Mize on Executive Committee; Chris Trivett replaces Dwayne Meadows for a three-year term on the Senate; Tamas Szabo replaces Timothy Steele for his remaining year on the Senate; Shirley Leali has been added as a committee member representing the College of Education on the Constitutional Review, Apportionment, and Organization Committee for a three-year term; Mike Olpin has been added as a committee member representing the College of Education on the Research, Scholarship, Professional Growth Committee for a three-year term.

MOTION
Moved to approve the above changes in the Faculty Senate and committee membership.
Made: Warren Hill
Second: Wangari Wa Nyatetu-Wiagwa
Outcome: The motion passed unanimously.

9.  FACULTY SENATE COMMITTEE CHARGES FOR 2001-2002

APPOINTMENT, PROMOTION, ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND TENURE
PPM 1-13, Article 5, Section 4.3: The committee on Appointment, Promotion, Academic Freedom and Tenure shall formulate policies and operational procedures on these matters and on due process and merit.

  1. Review current policies and practices on faculty titles. Specifically review the usage of titles such as visiting, adjunct, tenure-track, non-tenure-track, clinical, lecturer, etc. Propose clarifying language for the PPM in cases where ambiguity exists.
  2. Review the current policies and practices on the use of collegiality and/or ethics as part of the tenure review process.
  3. Review the current policies and practices on the review and evaluation of teaching of on-line courses. Are on-line faculty being reviewed in a comparable way to "traditional" faculty? For example, data can be collected on response times between student queries and faculty replies while no such comparable data is available for "traditional" faculty.
  4. Monitor the implementation, use, and value of the peer review process across campus.

ACADEMIC RESOURCES AND COMPUTING
PPM 1-13, Article 5, Section 4.1: The Committee on Academic Resources and Computing shall recommend policies and operational procedures on the acquisition and utilization of computers and academic resource material.

  1. Allocate ARCC resources.
  2. Monitor the expenditures of all ARCC funds, including those supported through WSUSA funding.
  3. Maintain close communication with all other computer resource entities on campus.
  4. Be represented on the IT Council and routinely invite IT Division directors to summarize status of new projects and ongoing IT support.
  5. Develop a policy for inclusion in the PPM regarding the upgrade and maintenance of faculty computers.

ADMISSIONS, STANDARDS AND STUDENT AFFAIRS
PPM 1-13, Article 5, Section 4.2: The Admissions, Standards and Student Affairs Committee shall be concerned with standards for admission, retention and graduation from the University and policies pertaining to student affairs.

  1. Continue to monitor the STAARS programming of previous and current legislation.
  2. Continue to handle student initiatives as they come from Student Senate
  3. Monitor the work of the ad hoc task force on mathematics to determine if faculty legislation will be required.
    4.
  4. Review the new dual degrees such as those in the Bachelor's degree in music and determine if the current policy on multiple degrees applies or needs to be amended in some way.

CURRICULUM AND GENERAL EDUCATION
PPM 1-13, Article 5, Section 4.5: The committee on Curriculum and General Education shall study and evaluate the curriculum and general education needs of the University, initiate new programs and revise old ones and consider specified proposals of instructional departments or individual faculty members.

  1. Review and approve curriculum and program proposals.
  2. Continue to conduct workshops with college curriculum committee chairs to acquaint them with curriculum procedures.
    3.
  3. Investigate the role of faculty in the growing curriculum issues emerging in WSU Online and other Distance Learning offerings.
  4. Monitor the state-wide task force working on issues of what makes an educated person.

CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW, APPORTIONMENT AND ORGANIZATION
PPM 1-13, Article 5, Section 4.4: The Committee on Constitutional Review, Apportionment and Organization shall review, update and preserve the integrity of the Constitution and Bylaws of the Weber State University faculty government. This Committee shall study ratios of college representation on the Senate and recommend procedures for electing its members. The Committee shall also be responsible for recommending policies on the organization and operational procedures of the University

  1. Calculate apportionment for Faculty Senate representation using the Hamilton Method and present the apportionment figures to the Faculty Senate during Autumn Semester 2001.
  2. Address the following issues concerning the Faculty Senate Constitution:
    3.
  3. Organization - The numbering of the articles and sections is confusing and should be changed. For example, there are two Articles I - at the beginning of the document under the heading and on p.5 under Constitutional Bylaws. It is hard to refer to a specific statement in the Constitution because of dual numbering.
  4. Terms of office - Currently, the newly elected senators, elected in March of each year, assume their duties as of July 1 and continue in office until June 30 of their term. Would it be more appropriate to have the term of office begin after the last Faculty Senate meeting of a given academic year and extended through the last Faculty Senate meeting of the following year?
  5. Dates - Take out the specific dates.
  6. Update Secretary duties - Secretary should post Faculty Senate minutes on the Faculty Senate Home Page.
  7. Election of the chair of Faculty Board of Review and terms of office - Language of the Constitution is not clear on how the chair of the Faculty Board of Review is to be selected. Some years the Senate has voted a chair, some years the Executive Committee has recommended a chair and the Senate has given their approval via a motion, some years the Faculty Board of Review Committee has elected its chair. Another issue is term of office. Waiting until the September Faculty Senate meeting to establish the Chair of the Faculty Board of Review has been a problem. After the tenure and promotion process has been completed, faculty sometimes request a review of administrative action. We need to have an assigned chair to refer to them to so that the chair can see the process through during summer months and into the new academic year. In general, term of office should follow that suggested for senators.
  8. Investigate establishing a new Faculty Senate Standing Committee for Online Education and Distance Learning.

HONORARY DEGREES
PPM 1-13, Article 5, Section 4.6: Faculty members on the Honorary Degree Committee shall review the recommendations presented to them and shall act as the faculty representatives on the Committee on Commencement and Honorary Degrees.
  1. Meet separately and early as the faculty portion of the committee to discuss representing in a unified manner the constituent needs and interests of the faculty in the deliberation of the larger committee.
  2. Ensure faculty involvement in the nomination and selection of candidates for honorary degrees and for commencement speakers through maintaining the important voice of the faculty and the Faculty Senate as a major force on the institutional committee.
  3. Encourage the selection of at least one honorary degree recipient each year who has made an outstanding academic contribution to higher education, preferable a WSU faculty member
  4. Work to achieve a representation of gender and ethnicity among degree recipients and ensure that all recipients are of stature to enhance the image of Weber State University.
  5. See that the criteria for honorary degrees are considered , so that the understandable desire of the administration to cultivate donors and potential donors does not overwhelm the deliberations and pass over otherwise worthy candidates.
  6. Provide the larger committee with a way to carry forward information so next year’s committee can benefit from work done this year.

RESEARCH, SCHOLARSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL GROWTH
PPM 1-13, Article 5, Section 4.7: The Committee on Research, Scholarship and Professional Growth shall recommend policies on research, scholarship, teaching loads, instructional and faculty development and faculty productivity., It shall facilitate faculty in obtaining grants, travel funds, physical facilities, etc., to pursue research and scholarly activities.

  1. Continue to issue RFPs for Research and Instructional Improvement grants and review the proposals in a timely manner.
    2.
  2. Continue to coordinate deadlines for submission of proposals with the chairs of the Institutional Review Board and the Animal Care and Use Committee.
  3. Review and update as needed the proposal guidelines and forms to ensure they are clear to applicants.
  4. Continue efforts to publicize the committee’s activities. Seek ways to broaden participation campus wide. Explore opportunities to disseminate information about funded projects.
  5. Develop a proposal for additional funding for RSPG.

SALARY, BENEFITS, BUDGET, AND FISCAL PLANNING
PPM 1-13, Article 5, Section 4.8: The Committee on Salary, Benefits, Budget and Fiscal planning shall study, evaluate and make recommendations on salaries, salary schedules, cost of living, retirement plans, annuities, health and life insurance, hospital plans, other faculty benefits, budget and fiscal planning.

This Committee shall not exceed ten members with representation from each organization unit. The Faculty Senate chair shall serve as the Executive Committee liaison. A subcommittee shall serve under the direction of the Committee and represent the faculty in salary and related negotiations with the University administration. No two members of this subcommittee shall be from the same organizational unit. This subcommittee shall consist of the Faculty senate chair, the chair of the Committee on Salary, Benefits, Budget and Fiscal Planning and a third member nominated by the Committee and approved by the Faculty Senate.
  1. Reinforce the importance of University administrators’ commitment to the third year goal of obtaining the 6% necessary to further narrow the gap between the CUPA averages and faculty salaries.
  2. Monitor health insurance coverage, options, and potential changes in vendors.
  3. Investigate the ramifications of the new IRS ruling disallowing the designation of miscellaneous income (such as honoraria) to personal expense accounts in departments.
  4. Maintain a continuing dialogue with the University administration with regard to the impact of the current budget cut on salaries, benefits, budgets, and fiscal planning.
  5. Investigate the effect of the new promotion and tenure schedule on salaries and make recommendations.
  6. Investigate with the Payroll Office ways to itemize the various payments included in the check.

TEACHING, LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT
PPM 1-13, Article 5, Section 4.9: The Committee on Teaching, Learning and Assessment shall endeavor to enhance the learning environment. It shall study, evaluate, and make recommendations on issues affecting the teaching environment and the assessment of student learning. It shall also advise the chair of the committee and coordinate the activities of the Forum for Teaching and Learning.

  1. Continue support for faculty development of teaching and learning strategies by:
    2.
  2. Offering workshops, discussions, and seminars on effective learning, teaching and assessment, especially concerning recently passed curricular initiatives;
  3. Continuing to create forums for faculty to showcase diverse scholarly and teaching activities, including projects funded through RSPG;
  4. Develop and implement plans to increase participation in the Teaching, Learning and Assessment projects.
    5.
  5. Assess the effectiveness of the New Faculty program and the need for increasing follow-up activities for new faculty.
  6. Clarify the responsibilities of the Forum in regards to non-tenure track and adjunct faculty in conjunction with the Adjunct Faculty Task Force.
  7. Strengthen the Forum’s commitment to WAC, SPEC, and Numeracy Across the Curriculum, and the university diversity requirement.

MOTION
Moved to approve the above committee charges for the 2001-2002 academic year.
Made: Bruce Christensen
Second: Jenny Turley
Outcome: The motion passed unanimously.

10.  AD HOC COMMITTEE FOR ONLINE INSTRUCTION AND DISTANCE LEARNING
Gene Sessions presented the recommendation of the Executive Committee for the formation of an ad hoc committee for Online Instruction and Distance Learning.

Committee Purpose - The Committee on Online Instruction and Distance Learning shall be concerned with standards and guidelines for online instruction and distance learning, planning for the future of such instruction, developing procedures for managing and reviewing online and other distance-learning courses, and studying issues relative to the evaluation of distance-learning instructors. The Committee shall also serve as an advisory committee to WSU Online.

Committee membership will be presented to the Faculty Senate in October. Faculty from each college and the Library will be included in the membership along with an administrative member. Peg Wherry, Director of Distance Learning, will be an ex officio member, perhaps a couple of students will be included on the committee along with a liaison to the committee from the Executive Committee. Charges will also be developed by the Executive Committee and presented to the Faculty Senate for approval.

Questions and concerns discussed: Evaluation of online instruction, and whether or nor this charge should also be given to APAFT. Traditionally the policy has always been to treat online courses the same as traditional classroom courses. Is it the intent of this ad hoc committee to treat them differently? There is overlap with existing Faculty Senate Committees. Where does this work belong?

MOTION
Moved to approve creating an ad hoc committee for online instruction and distance learning.
Made: Diane Krantz
Second: Mark Henderson
Outcome: The motion passed with 1 opposed and 1 abstention.

11.  CURRICULUM AND GENERAL EDUCATION – Jim Wilson, Chair
Nursing Department - Diversity course proposals for Culture and Health Care - Nursing 4000, and Clinical Experience Related to Culture and Health Care of Nurses - Nursing 4001.

MOTION
Moved to approve from the Nursing Department the diversity course proposals for Culture and Health Care - Nursing 4000, and Clinical Experience Related to Culture and Health Care of Nurses - Nursing 4001.
Made: Ken Johnson
Second: Betty Tucker
Outcome: The motion passed unanimously.

Nursing Department - Nursing Associate of Science Degree. This degree incorporates all of the general education requirements of the university and gives students a better program to lead them into a four year degree or to transfer to other schools. The Nursing Associate of Applied Science degree will not be discontinued. Nursing will offer AAS degrees and AS degrees.

MOTION
Moved to approve from Nursing the Associate of Science Degree.
Made: Ken Johnson
Second: Betty Tucker
Outcome: The motion passed with 1 opposed.

ADJOURN 
The meeting adjourned at 4:07 p.m.