Approved 4-12-07

Thursday
March 8, 2007
2:00 p.m.
MA 211K

AGENDA SETTING

 

PRESENT 
Shannon Butler, Dave Ferro, Bruce Handley, Ron Holt, Wade Kotter, Jack Mayhew, Ann Millner, Gene Sessions, Jim Wilson – Kay Brown Secretary

EXCUSED 
Tamara Chase, Mike Vaughan

MINUTES 
Wade Kotter: Moved to approve the minutes from the February 22 meeting.
Second: Ron Holt
Outcome: The motion passed unanimously.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AD HOC 
Bryan Dorsey presented committee membership suggestions to the Executive Committee along with committee charges for the Environmental Issues Ad Hoc Committee. The suggested committee members will be contacted and a final list will come back to the Executive Committee for the April 12 Agenda Setting meeting. Gene Sessions will serve as the Executive Committee liaison to this committee.

APAFT 
Appointment, Promotion, Academic Freedom and Tenure – Doris Geide-Stevenson, Chair

PPM 8-11 Rating of Good and Excellence in Scholarship, I. Descriptions and Clarifications of Ratings

Administration and/or Professionally Related Service
Good
Scholarship

Candidates may be rated good if they provide evidence of a regional and/or national refereed publication since the date of their last promotion and evidence of a plan of continuing scholarly activity.

Administration and/or Professionally Related Service
Excellent
Scholarship

Candidates will normally may be rated excellent if they provide evidence of more than one refereed publication at the regional and/or national levels since the date of their last promotion and evidence of a plan of continuing scholarly activity. A college may elect to substitute equivalent activities in lieu of regional or national refereed publications. However, in the case of equivalent activities, it will be the responsibility of the candidate, department and college to provide evidence that the particular activity is equivalent to regional or national refereed publications.

MOTION 
Jim Wilson: Moved to forward to the Faculty Senate the above changes to PPM 8-11Rating of Good and Excellent in Scholarship, I. Descriptions and Clarifications of Ratings.
Second: Ron Holt
Outcome: The motion passed unanimously.

MINI SABBATICAL 
The one course reduction policy reviewed by the Faculty Senate in the February Senate meeting was redirected to the APAFT Committee . It proposed that the Weber Writes program be replaced with a one course reduction for pre tenured faculty.

If, after the second-year review, the faculty member is performing satisfactorily, he or she will become eligible for a one-course reduction for one semester. This course reduction will be awarded before the faculty member is granted tenure and is designed to promote scholarly activity. Applications must be submitted 6 months in advance. The faculty member will submit to his or her dean an application describing plans for research or creative activities to be pursued during the semester in question.

The APAFT Committee is asking if this is a privilege or an entitlement for faculty. The assumption is that this would be available after the second-year review to everyone making satisfactory progress. Executive Committee members view it as an entitlement but the timing of the course reduction would be at the discretion of the department chair and dean.

Warren Hill suggested at the Senate meeting that the above new language be placed in PPM 4-6 Workload. Another suggestion was to place it with the sabbatical policy. Is this a mini sabbatical? When you look at PPM 3-25 - Faculty Sabbatical Leave, the language governing sabbaticals is not parallel with the intent of the one-course reduction, and sabbaticals go to the Board of Trustees for approval.

Doris Geide-Stevenson and Bruce Handley will talk with the Provost about funding issues and timing of the one course reduction.

CRAO 
Constitutional Review, Apportionment and Organization Committee – Tony Allred, Chair

Charge 2 - Look at the language in the Faculty Senate Constitution regarding the membership of the Executive Committee and whether or not a faculty member from the library should always be included.

PPM 1-13 Faculty Senate Constitution and Bylaws - Section 7. Election Procedures Results

7.2 Prior to the eleventh week of spring semester, the Executive Committee shall call a general faculty meeting for the purpose of electing members of the Executive Committee for the following year. The faculty must vote for nine members; and in case of a tie for the ninth member, it shall be decided by the flip of a coin. A secret ballot shall be used. The highest vote recipient from each academic college shall serve as an elected member of the Executive Committee. The next two highest vote recipients shall also be elected to the Executive Committee; however, no more than two members from the same organizational unit shall serve on the Executive Committee at the same time; for this purpose, a top-vote recipient will be eliminated in favor of the next highest vote recipient from another organizational unit.

2.2 The term "organizational unit," as used in the Constitution and Bylaws, shall refer to the various academic colleges and the Library.

After reviewing the above information, the Constitutional Review, Apportionment and Organization Committee feels that the Library is not guaranteed a seat on the Executive Committee. The CRAO Committee also contacted the Library, and they are not pushing to have seat guaranteed them. The CRAO Committee recommends no change to the above policy.

Charge 4 - Review PPM 1-13, Article C II, Section 3, 3.3 Student Members, and make a recommendation on the voting status of student representatives to the Faculty Senate.

3.3. Student Members

Student members shall consist of four (4) designated students duly appointed by the Executive Cabinet of the Weber State University Student Association. Two Student members shall have the right to discuss, make motions, and second motions, and to vote but only two students will have the right to vote.

Discussion Points

Students have a greater voice than the Library, the School of Business, and equal or greater than the College of Education.

Peter Owen was contacted and is aware of the recommendation. The students have voiced no resistance.

Recommendation - The CRAO Committee felt that the student vote should not exceed that of any academic college, and felt that the constitution should be changed to leave the students membership at 4 with only two votes. This would be a constitutional amendment.

The above recommendation was changed from " Two student members shall have the right to discuss, make motions, second motions and to vote."

To read: Student members shall have the right to discuss, make motions, and second motions, but only two students will have the right to vote.

MOTION 
Wade Kotter: Moved to forward to the Faculty Senate for the March 22 meeting the above recommended constitutional amendment for the first reading.
Second: Shannon Butler.
Outcome: The motion passed unanimously.

CURRICULUM 
Curriculum Committee – Laine Berghout, Chair

Curriculum Proposals

English Department - Course proposal for Wasatch Range Writing Project Summer Institute -
Meng 6230

Nursing - Program Proposal for Master’s of Science Degree in Nursing
Course Proposals - Research Methods - MSN 6100, Research and Statistics - MSN 6120, Nursing Leadership: Conceptual Basis of Professional Socialization - MSN 6140, Evidence-Based Practice - MSN 6160, Improving Patient Care and Nursing Practice Through Information Systems - MSN 6180, Theoretical Foundations of Nursing Administration - MSN 6200, Quality Improvement, Patient Safety and Risk Issues in Patient Care Delivery - MSN 6300, Financial Issues in Nursing Administration - MSN 6324, Compliance with Legal and Regulatory Systems in Patient Care Delivery - MSN 6340, Scope and Practice of Nursing Administration MSN 6360, Retaining and Developing a Competent Workforce in Nursing - MSN 6380, Nursing Administrator Residency - MSN 6400, Theoretical Foundations in Nursing Education - MSN 6500, Curriculum Development for Nursing Educators - MSN 6520, Measurement of Competence and Outcomes in Nursing Education - MSN 6540, Socialization in the Role of Nursing Educator - MSN 6560, Clinical Nursing Instruction in Higher Education and Community Settings - MSN 6580, Nursing Instruction in Higher Education and Community Settings - MSN 6600, Teaching Residency - MSN 6700, Social Epidemiology, Global Health Issues and Cultural Competency - MSN 6900, Evidence Based Practice II - MSN 6920

Health Promotion and Human Performance - Program change for Physical Education Major
and Physical Education/Coaching Minor. Course proposals for Assessment/Technology in Physical Education - PEP 3610, Skill Development and Methods of Teaching Fitness for Life - PEP 3290, Physical Education for Students with Disabilities - PEP 3660.

Computer and Information Literacy - Course proposals for Humanities on the Internet: Culture, Content and Access - LIBS 1115, THEA 1115, FL 1115, Comm 1115, ENGL 1115, ART 1115.

The question was raised about qualified faculty in the Nursing Department to teach in the proposed master’s program. Most of the master level courses will be taught by doctoral faculty, however their accrediting agency supports some courses taught by master level professors.

MOTION 
Gene Sessions: Moved to forward to the Faculty Senate the above curriculum proposals.
Second: Jack Mayhew
Outcome: The motion passed unanimously.

SBBFP 
The Salary Benefits, Budget and Fiscal Planning Committee has recommended that Cheryl Hansen be the third member of the Negotiation Team.

PPM 1-13 - ". . . A subcommittee shall serve under the direction of this 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."

We are looking at 3.5% across the board, and 1.5 for equity, merit, and retention. It looks as if a recommendation will go to the Salary Committee of 1% for equity/merit, and .5% for retention. Two years ago when we had retention money, the deans identified faculty for whom some kind of an adjustment needed to be made.

The Executive Committee will need to meet at 2:00 prior to the Faculty Senate meeting March 22 to ratify the decision of the Salary Committee.

ELECTION RESULTS 
The results from the general election for Executive Committee members for the 1007-08 academic years were presented: Dave Ferro - Applied Science & Technology, Colleen Garside -

Arts & Humanities, Bruce Handley - Business & Economics, Peggy Saunders - Education, Lloyd Burton - Health Professions, Wade Kotter - Library, Jim Wilson - Science, Laine Berghout - Science, and Gene Sessions - Social & Behavioral Sciences. 

Bruce Handley expressed concern about junior faculty being elected to the Faculty Senate. He feels junior faculty would gain more from serving on a Faculty Senate Standing Committee, and senior faculty with some institutional history would better serve the Faculty Senate. He asked Executive Committee members to work with junior faculty from their college to serve on Faculty Senate Standing Committees. The important service on the part of junior faculty attempting to meet the criteria for rank and tenure is serving on a Faculty Senate Standing Committee. Another consideration for Senate membership might be faculty with terminal degrees.

College election procedures were discussed. A suggestion was made to recommend to the various deans that there must be a secret ballot and there should be more candidates than there are openings.

AUDIT MEMO 
Ron Holt discussed a memo to faculty in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences sent by the Audit Department containing a survey. The survey dealt primarily with management issue not higher education issues. President Millner will check on the memo and report back to the Executive Committee.

ADJOURN 
The meeting adjourned at 3:05 p.m.