Minutes for December 10, 2007
The Faculty Senate of Eastern Kentucky University met on Monday, December 10, 2007, in the South Room of the Keen Johnson Building. Senator Eakin called the fourth meeting of the academic year to order at approximately 3:30 p.m.
The following members of the Senate were absent:
| H. Bennett*^ | B. Bentley*^ | A. Chapman* |
| D. Clay | B. Foley | M. Hesse |
| K. Kean* | J. Koontz*^ | M. McDermott*^ |
| R. Milde* | R. Mott* | B. Phillips |
| R. Piercey* | C. Resor* | S. Shaffer* |
| B. Staddon | F. Szorad* | D. Whitlock* |
*Indicates prior notification of absence to the Faculty Senate Secretary
^ ALT Tom Butler attended for H. Bennett
^ ALT Mary Hauser-Whittaker attended for B. Bentley
^ SUB Elizabeth Young attended for J. Koontz
^ ALT Laurie Rincker attended for M. McDermott
Visitors to the Senate: Sue Cain, Transition & University Services; Jerry Pogatshnik, Graduate Education & Research; Debbie Newsom, Financial Affairs; and Janna Vice, Academic Affairs
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
The November 5, 2007 minutes were approved as written.
REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT: Senator Whitlock
Senator Whitlock was unable to be at Senate today because he's attending the SACS conference in New Orleans.
Senator Whitlock shared the following in his written report to the Senate.
On Tuesday, December 11th Senator Whitlock will be attending the inauguration of Steven Beshear as Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. With the Governor's assumption of office, the legislative session will begin soon in the New Year to determine the state budget. Once that information becomes available, EKU will be able to start developing the 2008-09 operating budget.
In Senator Whitlock's last report, he indicated there would be some high level reorganizational actions. A campus-wide email was recently distributed which disclosed those plans. One thing the memo did not explain was the specific details in the merger between Academic Affairs and Student Affairs. Senator Whitlock stated that those details will be determined by the affected parties.
Senator Whitlock's travel schedule representing Eastern and its interest has been quite full. Last week he visited Washington, DC where he, and others, called on the Kentucky Congressional Delegation; and he attended an EKU Alumni Reception hosted by Congressman Ben Chandler. Congressman Chandler has expressed a desire to be supportive of this institution and is very pleased to have one of EKU's students interning with him each year.
NEW BUSINESS:
Change in Major/Minor Declaration Process. Tina Davis, Associate Registrar, was in attendance to inform faculty that the responsibility for processing major/minor changes will transition from the Advising & Retention Office to the Registrar's Office effective January 7, 2008. Currently there isn't a checks and balances system in place for this process. Therefore, the Registrar's Office felt this was an opportune time for the academic administration and faculty to review the current process and decide if a revision would be more advantageous for students. Any comments or suggestions should be forwarded to tina.davis@eku.edu. While the process is being reviewed, the Registrar's Office will continue with the current practice.
Report from Council on Academic Affairs - Dr. Janna Vice presented the following materials.
- Credit-By-Examination Revision - Informational Item
- College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) Revision - Informational Item
- Developmental Education Policy - Policy Revision
- Human Services (M.S.) - Program Revision (delete Community Agencies option)
Items 1, & 2 were introduced as informational items only.
Senator Robles moved approval of #3, seconded by Senator Kristofik. The majority were in favor and the motion carried.
Senator Collins moved approval of #4, seconded by Senator Costello. The majority were in favor and the motion carried.
GENERAL & STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT: Senator Eakin
Senator Eakin shared the following in his written report to the Senate.
Dr. Pogatshnik has continued the development of the work group to review the sponsored programs policies. (One added note from Senator Eakin was that with the high level reorganization, Harry Moberly will assume responsibility for developing the work group.)
In addition, Dr. Pogatshnik took advantage of a visit by Tom Champagne, our external consultant from Huron. The forum was held in Perkins Quad A on November 29, 2007, from 9:00 a.m. noon. He specifically invited Senators May, Petronio, Schuester, Frisbie; and any members of the Executive committee that might be able to attend on short notice. Revised versions of all the policies [except for the policy on redistribution of indirects] were included in his invitation.
Senator May commented that "the new policies and the new drafts appear to have addressed the primary College of Justice and Safety faculty concerns".
Dr. Sherry Robinson was in attendance at the last Executive Committee meeting to discuss working with the Senate on faculty handbook revisions. In 2001-2002, there was a University Committee in existence to work on the Faculty Handbook. Senator Eakin spoke with the President about the possibility of reforming this committee to help Dr. Robinson. Such a committee would of course have Senate representation. In addition, he also asked Dr. Robinson to discuss the issue with the Provost to procure his advice.
Senator Hartch was also in attendance at the last Executive Committee to discuss the possibility for faculty to have free membership to the Student Wellness Center. He felt this would benefit faculty in several ways: [1] a recruitment and retention tool for new faculty; [2] incentive for faculty to participate in the wellness program; [3] an extra perk for faculty. Senator Eakin discussed the issue with President Whitlock and was reminded that students are charged a fee for the maintenance and operation of the building. Senator Eakin suggested that this might be another opportunity to work jointly with the Student Government Association to discuss this issue further.
FACULTY REGENT REPORT: Senator Frisbie
The next Board of Regents meeting is scheduled for Friday, January 18, 2008.
COSFL: Senator McKenney
The next COSFL meeting is scheduled for Saturday, January 12, 2008.
PROVOST REPORT: Senator Piercey
Senator Piercey shared the following in his written report to the Senate.
The Graduate School has invited Tom Jackson, a nationally renowned graduate student recruiting expert, to conduct a graduate student recruiting workshop for EKU. The workshop will be held on January 31st in Perkins. Deans, Chairs, graduate coordinators and advisors can expect to receive an invitation soon.
EKU has purchased and installed a major upgrade of TRACDAT which is more user-friendly and makes report generation much simpler.
The 2007-2008 Program Review Schedule and supporting materials were recently distributed to approximately 30 programs scheduled for review this academic year. The deadline for submission of program review materials is Friday, November 30, 2007.
Dr. E.J. Keeley is chairing the QEP Director search. Telephone interviews have been held, and candidates meeting finalist requirements have been brought to campus. In addition, A QEP analyst has been chosen and will be announced once the HR process is finalized.
Institutional Effectiveness has collaboratively participated in both the ABET and PGM accreditor visits to campus. Dr. E. J. Keeley is co-chair for Standard 2 on Assessment for the NCATE accreditation, and Institutional Effectiveness and the NCATE team are working in preparation for this accreditation.
Institutional Effectiveness and Institutional Research provided active leadership at the 2007 meeting of the Kentucky Association for Institutional Research. Dr. Keeley is now the President of the Association, and Baron Wolf is Treasurer/Secretary. Both IE and IR staff members presented at the Conference.
Institutional Research has created and administered two surveys for Graduate Education and Research; one for current graduate students, and a second survey to current faculty. These surveys were conducted to gather information toward creating the Graduate Education and Research Strategic Plan.
STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Budget Committee. Senator Eakin reported that Senator Ciocca has agreed to call a meeting after the holidays to select a chair. Senator Eakin further reported that Rob Milde asked to step down from the Budget Committee. Therefore a replacement will need to be elected in the spring.
Rules Committee. Senator McKenney reported that the Rules Committee met on October 29 to draft a motion to establish a standing Committee on New Senator Orientation. The Committee also began work on a section for Internal Procedures that would provide guidance for this New Senator Orientation committee. The Rules Committee expects to bring both these items as motions to the February meeting of the Senate
Rights & Responsibilities Committee. Senator Robles shared the following in her written report to the Senate.
The revised Promotion and Tenure policy is expected to be submitted to the Board of Regents in January, 2008.
To date, nothing has been brought forward to the R&R Committee from Student Government regarding the issue of hanging posters on campus.
Welfare Committee. Senator Waters reported that the committee has been meeting every two weeks to discuss the hiring trend data that was received from the University. In addition, discussions have begun regarding shared governance. However, those issues have been temporarily tabled while the committee meets with the Benefits Committee to discuss the benefits package for 2008-09. While a benefits package hasn't been determined yet, currently the only premium increase being discussed is an approximate 8% increase in the high PPO option. In addition, there will probably be some changes to the overall prescription drug plan. The Benefits Committee is discussing implementing a step program which would encourage the use of generic drugs whenever possible. Another issue, domestic partner benefits, has been placed temporarily on hold.
Senator Collins mentioned that the committee proposed the idea of an education policy to try to make better consumers out of all of us.
Senator Eakin suggested that anyone with ideas on this issue, should forward comments on to the committee members.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Senator Eakin announced that Senators May and Taylor will be on sabbatical during the Spring semester.
FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER:
The topic of discussion was: "Academic-related problems that do not fall under the purview of the academic structure."
Senator Rainey suggested that activities should not be scheduled in academic buildings until evening classes are over because it is a distraction to students.
ADJOURNMENT:
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 4:30 p.m.
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