Minutes for February 3, 1997

The Faculty Senate of Eastern Kentucky University met on Monday, February 3, 1997 in the South Room of the Keen Johnson Building. Senate Chair Richard Rink called the fifth meeting of the academic year to order at 3:30 p.m.

The following members of the Senate were absent:

^*denotes prior notification of absence to the Faculty Senate Secretary

Visitors to the Senate were: Dr. Amy Thieme, Speech and Theatre Arts, and Ms. Jamie Neal, Eastern Progress

Announcements

Carol Gabbard, College of Education, has replaced Senator Dorothy Kirkpatrick for the remainder of her term.

Approval of the Minutes

Senator Rink called for additions or corrections to the minutes. There being none, the minutes were approved as distributed.

Report from the President: Senator Funderburk

President Funderburk reported on three matters of interest that affect faculty. At its January meeting the Council on Higher Education conducted routine business. The Council has had to postpone some of its deadlines because of work load associated with the Governor's Task Force on Postsecondary Education. Accountability and performance funding are still receiving considerable attention from the Council.

Dr. Funderburk called attention to a January 31, 1997, article on "Higher Education's New Status as a Mature Industry" that appeared on the back page of The Chronicle of Higher Education. The article pointed out that many state government officials are beginning to view mature industries such as health care and higher education that receive considerable tax dollars in a dramatically different way than in the past. Serious questions about productivity and efficiency in the mature industries are being raised by state governmental authorities. The article made another point that more than 60% of high school graduates now attend some type of postsecondary institution. Many state government officials think that figure is too high. All of these observations have significant implications for higher education.

The Task Force on Postsecondary Education will be meeting on February 10. President Funderburk reported on a recent meeting he had with Governor Patton and his assistant Ed Ford in which such issues as the governance, funding, and programs were seriously discussed. Dr. Funderburk believes that the Governor has not made up his mind about what to do with higher education. President Funderburk mentioned that the recent Kentucky Supreme Court decision about the unconstitutionality of parts of the state intangible tax has the potential to have a serious impact on Governor Patton's higher education reform initiative.

Report of the Executive Committee: Senator Rink

Senator Rink reported that there was no old business to conduct. Under new business comments were made on issues that are being discussed by the Faculty Senate Committee on Faculty Rights and Responsibilities, and suggestions were given for special reports to the Faculty Senate. Vice President Enzie reported on changes to degree programs approved by the Council on Academic Affairs.

Report of the Faculty Regent: Senator Freed

Senator Freed reported that the Board of Regents met on January 17 and 18. The January 17 meeting was a retreat and the Board met formally on January 18 to conduct routine business.

Report from the COSFL Representative: Senator Lee-Riffe

Senator Lee-Riffle reported that COSFL's next meeting will be at the University of Kentucky on February 22.

Report from the Student Senate: Ms. Melody Mason

Ms. Mason reported that the Student Senate has been very active this year. She mentioned that the light night shuttle van is now accessible to all EKU students. The EKU Reach Out program raised over $1,000 for sponsored Brockton and EKU employee families during the holidays. A Food Service Advisory Committee has been established. Winter student elections will be held on February 11.

Reports from Standing Committees

Committee on Elections: Senator Brown-Davis - No report given.

Committee on Committees: Senator Janssen - No report given.

Committee on Rules: Senator Lewis reported that the committee has long been engaged in two tasks; a revision of the Senate Rules and a revision of Senate Internal Procedures. The first of these tasks is virtually complete and the revised rules are ready to be printed in booklet form. Senator Alcorn of the committee has devoted considerable time to editing a new version of the Senate Internal Procedures. The Committee will be sending shortly to officers of the Senate copies of the revised sections of the Procedures relevant to their offices, so they may review the changes made at their original suggestions. Assuming relatively prompt review by the Senate officers, the new Procedures should be printed in booklet form before the end of the semester.

Committee on the Budget: Senator Watkins - No report given.

Committee on Faculty Rights and Responsibilities: Senator Kipp - No report given.

New Business

Report on CARES: Senator Culross, Dean of Academic Support and Undergraduate Studies, reported at length on the development, program tasks, and current status of the Colonel's Advising and Registration Equals Success (CARES) system. The degree audit program generated each semester for each student is in the process of being programmed for the new EKU catalog. Catalogs from Kentucky community colleges, other Kentucky postsecondary educational institutions, and higher education institutions from EKU feeder schools are constantly being evaluated for course equivalency. Senator Culross stated that over 1,000 schools are represented by the students who transfer to EKU. Thus program and academic course equivalency evaluation is a continuous and ongoing program.

After his report, Senator Culross responded to several questions regarding current policies and procedures with the CARES program. Senator Flanagan suggested that for transfer students some notation concerning academic warning or probation might be added to the CARES report. Senator Janssen mentioned that a telephone line dedicated for advisors for use when handling transfer transcripts would be helpful. As a follow-up, Senator Flanagan suggested that if the articulation table of the CARES report on the query system could be unblocked, advisors could make more informed decisions about academic programs for transfer students. Senator Culross explained the "what if degree audit" procedure for students who want to change majors. Senator Batch pointed out that the Kentucky community college equivalency manual is online.

Report from the Council on Academic Affairs: Senator Enzie moved approval of proposals from the Council on Academic Affairs. The Faculty Senate approved the following proposals:

• New option in the Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication degree program in Alternative Dispute Resolution in the College of Arts and Humanities.
• Name change in the Bachelor of Science in Business Education degree TO Bachelor of Science in Business and Marketing Education degree program in the College of Business.
• Name change in the Master of Arts in Education in Library Science: Elementary Option (K-8) degree program TO Master of Arts in Education in Library Science (K-12) program in the College of Education.
• Program option suspension: Master of Arts in Education in Library Science: Secondary Option in the College of Education.
• Name change in the Bachelor of Science in Hearing Impaired (K-12) with Early Elementary Certification (K-4) degree program TO Bachelor of Science in Deaf and Hard of Hearing (P-12) with Elementary Certification (P-5) degree program in the College of Education.
• Name change in the Bachelor of Science in Hearing Impaired (K-12) with Middle Grades Certification (5-8) degree program TO Bachelor of Science in Deaf and Hard of Hearing (P-12) with Middle Grade Certification (5-9) degree program in the College of Education.
• Name change in options in the Bachelor of Science in Special Education degree program: Early Childhood TO Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education; Hearing Impaired TO Deaf and Hard of Hearing; Trainable Mentally Handicapped TO Moderate and Severe Disabilities in the College of Education.
• Name change in option in the Master of Arts in Education in Special Education degree program Hearing Impaired TO Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the College of Education.
• Program option suspension: Bachelor of Science in Physics (Teaching) option in the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences.
• Minor suspension in Physics (Teaching) in the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences.

Adjournment

Senator Enzie moved that the Senate adjourn. It adjourned at 4:27 p.m.