Thursday Approved 11

Approved 11-21-02

Thursday
November 14, 2002
2:00 p.m.
MA 211K

AGENDA SETTING

PRESENT
Tony Allred, Lee Badger, Bill Clapp, Gary, Dohrer, Dave Eisler, Dawn Gatherum, Michelle Heward, Diane Kawamura, Marie Kotter, Ann Millner, Molly Smith, Kay Brown - Secretary

MINUTES
Marie Kotter: Moved to approve the minutes from the October 31, 2002 meeting
Second: Dawn Gatherum
Outcome: The minutes were approved.

POSTING EVALUATIONS
Jared Prisbrey and Jon Harris met with the Executive Committee to discuss the possibility of posting faculty evaluations on the web. The access to students is not acceptable. Many students are unaware that the evaluations are available through the library at the reserved desk.

Questions raised by Executive Committee:

What does the research show? Is the information posted on the web helpful to students?
What questions need to be asked to furnish the information students are looking for?
Who funds the project?
Could a common evaluation form be developed? It would be difficult to create a common instrument.
Is the information students are looking for the same information departments are looking at for use in the tenure evaluation process? Currently departments have six or seven years of student evaluations they can look at as a faculty member is evaluated for promotion and tenure.
Are there other ways to disseminate information to students?
Does the instrument need to be improved or does the way we collect information need to be improved?

Suggestions:

A chat room could be developed for students to share information about courses and instructors.
It may be important to distinguish between day students, night students and online students.
Faculty could furnish the names of three students that have taken the class that are willing to be contacted by other students.
The APAFT Committee could work with the students and make some suggestions.
The Student Government could put together discussion groups to find out what students want to know.
If posted the information would need to be in a secure place on the web.
Faculty could be encouraged to have personal web sites with professional and personal information available that will help students become acquainted with them.
The Students need to develop a detailed proposal and come back to the Executive Committee so that efforts can be coordinated.

Jared Prisbrey would like to see the current data from the two standard questions posted on the web in a more readable format, and have the students provide a chat room for discussion of courses and professors.

At the November 17, 2000 Faculty Senate meeting it was moved to "keep the process as a pilot for three years and then revisit the issue to see if the process is of value."

BUDGET ISSUES
President Millner presented information from the Regents Office regarding first and second tier tuition.

WSU needs to make decisions on the second tier tuition by January 17, 2003. There are requirements for "Open Meetings." They need to be advertised seven days prior to the meeting. As we are nearing the end of the semester, President Millner is scheduling open meetings with students to be held the first week of December. They will be proposing to students a 5% tier two tuition increase. This money will be used for three things:

A small salary increase for faculty and staff (2%).
Money for high demand course work areas.
Money for student support areas, i.e. testing.

President’s Council is discussing a 1% internal reallocation being combined with the second tier tuition increase. All the other state institutions will increase the second tier tuition in the 5% to 7% range.

Benefits - We are hopeful the legislature will fund the 12% inflationary increase for health care benefits from first tier tuition.

FACULTY GOVERNANCE AWARD
The following information on the UAAP Faculty Governance Award was presented and discussed by the Executive Committee.

In October of 1998 the Weber State Chapter of the Utah Association of Academic Professionals (UAAP) donated funds returned to them when the UAAP disbanded. These funds were set up in an endowment from which the interest income would fund an annual UAAP faculty award and stipend for service to faculty governance. The award was established to recognize faculty who have led efforts to improve faculty governance at Weber State.

Criteria: Members of the Faculty Senate will nominate current faculty for the Faculty Governance Award. Nominations should include a written statement indicating:

the committees that the nominee has worked on,

accomplishments that the committees have made during the nominee’s tenure on the committee,

the role that the nominee played in those accomplishments, and their service to the committee and the university

membership on standing committees and the role played on those committees and

other information that is pertinent to the nominee’s service to faculty.

Nominees will be reviewed and the awardee selected by Executive Committee members that are not nominated.

The Executive Committee will consider the same criteria listed above. Special consideration will be given to chairs and members of committees such as Appointment, Promotion, Academic Freedom and Tenure, Constitutional Review and Organization, Curriculum and General Education, and Salary, Benefits, Budget and Fiscal Planning, but should not be restricted to them.

MOTION
Diane Kawamura: Moved to approve the above criteria for the UAAP Faculty Governance Award.
Second: Tony Allred
Outcome: The motion passed unanimously.

DECEMBER COMMENCEMENT
The Honorary Degree Committee discussed December graduation and voted to abolish winter commencement.

The Executive Committee discussed the possibility of abolishing December graduation. Kay Brown will furnish information from the Faculty Senate minutes on December graduation to Tony Allred who will replay the information to the Honorary Degree Committee. The Honorary Degree Committee will revisit the question on December graduation and bring a recommendation to the Executive Committee.

ADJOURN
The meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.