Minutes for November 2, 2009
The Faculty Senate of Eastern Kentucky University met on Monday, November 2, 2009, in the South Room of the Keen Johnson Building. Senator Ware called the third meeting of the academic year to order at approximately 3:30 p.m.
The following members of the Senate were absent:
| F. Awang* | A. Back | M. Bhandari* |
| Z. Eser | B. Freed | S. Godbey*^ |
| M. Hesse* | J. Lowry*^ | K. Minor |
| L. Noblitt*^ | K. Petronio* | G. Purdue* |
| T. Randles |
*Indicates prior notification of absence to the Faculty Senate Secretary
^ ALT Darrin Smith attended for S. Godbey
^ ALT Rob Weise attended for J. Lowry
^ ALT Steve Barracca attended for L. Noblitt
Visitors to the Senate: Linda Fossen, Enrollment; Debbie Newsom, Financial Affairs; and Sherry Robinson, Provost Office
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
The October 5, 2009 were approved with the following correction.
Senator McKenney requested that on page four, first sentence in the first paragraph, add the word "salaries" after faculty.
REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT: Senator Whitlock
Last week the Governor's Higher Education Work Group conducted its last meeting. Wednesday the group's report will be transmitted to the governor. It includes recommendations - some for immediate action; some for future action -- in the categories of student financial assistance, transfer and student success, and economic efficiencies. Senator McKenney has been an effective representative of faculty perspectives in this process.
An announcement should be forthcoming by the end of the week on the composition of the Provost Search Committee.
University presidents will meet Wednesday. Following are some of the items on the agenda:
Adoption of Points of Consensus Document
Other budget issues - SBI Implementation
Doctorate in Nursing Practice
CPE Meeting
Other legislative issues
Following the meeting, there is another session scheduled involving Presidents, Chief Academic Officers, Education Deans and Arts and Sciences Deans to brainstorm teacher preparation and professional development ideas
Last week Commissioner Terry Holliday, the new Commissioner of the State Department of Education, spent the day on campus. He visited with one of Senator Day’s education classes and gave the students an opportunity to ask questions about pertinent issues in education.
Tomorrow nine presidents of Brazilian public universities will be here as part of their visit to America to identify partner institutions.
The EKU Foundation Board of Directors met on the morning of Homecoming and heard some encouraging news on significant recovery in our endowments investments. Also, in a very significant action, the Foundation Board invited the Board of Regents to appoint one of its members to serve as a member of the Foundation Board.
There was a kickoff breakfast today for the 2009 United Way Campaign. Jim Fisher in the College of Business and Technology is this year's campus campaign chair.
Wednesday, November 18, from 3-5pm in the Keen Johnson Building there will be a reception to honor former President Glasser. The event will feature the unveiling of her portrait, which will hang with those of her nine predecessors in the lobby.
Next Wednesday, Senator Whitlock will be in New York City, invited by the New York Times and the City University of New York, to be present at the kick off of The Launch of the 2010 Calendar Project.
Our performing arts facility has been selected by the National Construction Magazine as one of the ten most important construction projects in the south.
NEW BUSINESS:
Report on Enrollment. Linda Fossen, AVP and Dean of Enrollment, was in attendance to share her vision to increase recruitment, retention and graduation of students at Eastern. One initiative is the creation of the EMAC group (Enrollment Management Advisory Committee). Faculty representative on that committee is Charlotte Rich. The EMAC group is developing a five-year plan that will complement the University’s strategic planning process. Other initiatives include improving financial aid, improving the University web presence, increasing social networking presence, and enhancing the market niches that our educational experience appeals to.
Report from Council on Academic Affairs - Senator Vice
PROGRAM REVISIONS - Reducing Hours Required to Graduate
- Social Work B.S.W. - reduce hours required to graduate from 128 to 120
- Political Science B.A. – reduce hours required to graduate from 128 to 120
PROGRAM REVISIONS
- MBA with Accounting Option – revise Graduate Catalog language to allow student who complete the undergraduate accounting course requirements or their acceptable equivalents or receive the consent of the MBA Admissions Committee to pursue the MBA with Accounting Option
- Criminal Justice B.S. – revise supporting course requirements; add the 3-hour requirement of COR; change the 12 hours back to 9 hours, selected from APS, COR, CRJ, FSE, or PLS.
- Chemistry B.S. – reflect recent curriculum changes and course revisions within the program: Several course numbers were revised to indicate the lab courses in the program.
- Chemistry M.S. - reflect recent curriculum changes and course revisions within the program: CHE 772 replaced by CHE 776
Senator Vice moved approval of items 1-6, seconded by Senator Taylor. Motion carried.
GENERAL & STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT: Senator Ware
Senator Ware expressed her appreciation to the Committee on Committees for their work soliciting nominations for the Provost Search Committee.
The Executive Committee has briefly discussed the need for a faculty ombudsman. Please share any feedback on this issue with Senator Ware.
The next Senate meeting will be on Monday, November 30th in the Keen Johnson building.
REPORT FROM FACULTY REGENT: Senator Frisbie
Senator Frisbie reported that the next Board of Regents meeting will be in January. The Finance Committee of the Board of Regents will meet in another couple of weeks.
REPORT FROM COSFL: Senator McKenney
Senator McKenney reported that COSFL President Peggy Pittman-Munke drafted a letter to the Governor's Higher Education Work Group on behalf of COSFL. The letter articulates ten guiding principles that COSFL wants to have included in the final report of the Higher Education Work Group.
EKU's Aaron Thompson, who is serving as Interim V.P. for Academic Affairs at the Council on Postsecondary Education, vetted COSFL's letter for us and saw that the letter was distributed to members of the Higher Education Work Group at their October 29th meeting. The COSFL letter will be included as Appendix B in the Work Group's final report to the Governor.
A copy of COSFL's letter has been distributed to all Faculty Senators today. Please share it with your faculty constituents.
The next meeting of COSFL will be Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. at the CPE's Offices in Frankfort.
PROVOST REPORT: Senator Vice
A telephone conference was held with the Provost at Appalachian State and four other key ASU academic leaders on October 27. EKU had 22 faculty and staff in attendance. The conversation focused primarily on the strategies Appalachian State has used to enhance student success.
Participants' Observations. After the call, EKU participants identified their key "take away" points from the conversation.
As a result of the first round of Map Works (e-surveying students in resident halls), Student Affairs has engaged first-year students who live in the resident halls in more than 9,000 face-to-face conversations about their becoming acclimated to EKU. Students are completing the second round of the survey now.
Work continues toward a comprehensive plan for developing, supporting, delivering, and rewarding Distance Learning at EKU.
- EKU Faculty Panel--An EKU Faculty Panel, experienced in Distance Learning, has been formed to represent faculty's issues and input into our model. On Friday, November 20, 10 a.m., in Library 108, the Panel will hold a discussion for all interested faculty, staff, and students. The Provost Council, Deans' Council, Financial Planning Council, Strategic Planning Council, Faculty Senate, Chairs' Association, the Council on Academic Affairs, the faculty at large, and all other persons interested in Distance Learning at EKU are encouraged to attend.
- The Sloan Consortium's annual conference, which is said to be the leading conference for distance education, was very beneficial in identifying the issues, challenges, and importance of developing an institutional model. More details will follow.
EKU has named seven Educational Extension Agents to serve throughout the University's 22-county service region. The primary role for these extension agents will be to serve as a liaison between EKU and their respective county(ies)--to "broker" the services EKU can provide. The focus will be in three primary areas: Education, Economy, and Quality of Living.
The Educational Extension Agents are:
- Terry Wilson - Clay, Perry, Leslie, Jackson and Harlan counties
- David Gover - Wayne, McCreary and Bell counties
- Kelli Moore - Laurel, Knox and Whitley counties
- Mark Reese - Powell, Estill, Lee and Owsley counties
- Bob Rowland - Boyle, Pulaski and Rockcastle counties
- Kimi Snowden - Garrard, Lincoln and Casey counties
- Carol Gabbard - Madison County
The QEP continues to gain momentum among the academic units. This momentum was evident in October when more than 100 faculty and staff attended Dr. Peggy Maki's (author and consultant) workshop. The workshop focused on how to write course-level student outcomes that are consistent with programmatic/unit and university student learning goals.
The Provost Office is pleased to announce that Tina Davis, who has been serving as our Interim Registrar since Summer 2008, has been named EKU Registrar.
Faculty Senators are invited to eat lunch with the Provost on Wednesday, November 4, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. in the Faculty Dining Room, Powell Cafeteria. Please sign in at the register.
REPORT FROM THE STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION: Afsi Siahkoohi
SGA's "Listen Up Legislators" meeting will be held at 5pm tomorrow. Harry Moberly will be in attendance to answer students' questions.
SGA is currently revamping their constitution and bylaws.
The student government associations at the extended campuses at Danville, Manchester and Corbin have been very active this year.
Students will be surveyed soon to see if they're interested in having off-campus shuttle routes added to some of the more student-populated neighborhoods.
There will be a midnight breakfast held during dead week. This year, SGA is attempting to set a new record in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most people eat cereal at one time.
REPORT FROM FINANCIAL PLANNING COUNCIL: Senator Ware
The Council met this morning to consider two primary issues: undergraduate tuition and graduate tuition. On graduate tuition, a change in terminology from a graduate scholarship to tuition waivers is being considered. This is more in line with what other universities are doing.
On undergraduate tuition, there are discussions about changing to a pay-per-credit-hour model similar to what Morehead has implemented. The Council has decided to study the issues further before making recommendations.
Another issue being reviewed is how mandatory fees such as the recreation fee and the technology fee are handled. Currently EKU considers those fees separate from tuition. CPE lumps those together, and as a result of that, a lot of other universities have rolled those fees into tuition.
Senator Ware encouraged faculty to review the website at www.goforward.com to learn more about the budgeting process.
REPORT FROM STRATEGIC PLANNING COUNCIL: Senator Taylor
Senator Taylor reported that the committee will meet on November 12th.
STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Academic Quality Committee. Senator Schmelzer reported that the committee met earlier today to begin developing their charge. Senators Schmelzer and Shordike are co-chairs on the committee. At the invitation of Provost Vice, Senator Schmelzer or Shordike will be in attendance at the Council on Academic Affairs meetings each month. Senator Schmelzer attended this month's meeting. Provost Vice has suggested that the Academic Quality Committee may want to review the following items: 1) upper division hours exception; 2) withdrawal process and; 3) the change of major process. Once the committee reviews those, a report will be provided to the Senate.
Budget Committee. Senator Johnson reported that the committee met on October 7th. The meeting began with an overview of the "Recommendations for Public and Nonprofit Boards" which had been released by Crit Luallen, Auditor of Public Accounts for the state of Kentucky on May 11, 2009. It was suggested that EKU's auditor should look at this report to make sure we are in compliance with it.
VP Newsom gave a report about the finances for the University.
The committee also received an EKU Budget Planning and Process Update and Financial Planning Council Operating Budget.
The committee expressed its concerns that there should be more collaboration between the Financial Planning Council and the Strategic Planning Council.
Faculty development funding not used from the 2008-09 fiscal year was rolled over into this year's budget but was added to the college's/department's budgets as part of their M & O budgets. There seems to be little oversight of development funds. The Budget Committee plans to work on a motion to address this issue in the near future.
The committee also discussed course fees and the linking of student work with certain scholarships.
Committee on Committees. Senator Howell reported for Senator Staddon. The committee met on October 26th to review the 29 faculty nominations received for the Provost Search Committee and recommendations were forwarded to the President for his review.
The next meeting will be on November 9th to work on establishing a more formal procedure for the committee to follow.
Rights & Responsibilities Committee. Senator J. Palmer reported that the committee met with Dr. Sherry Robinson last week to discuss various policies that are being reviewed. The committee plans to review the Faculty Handbook and hope to have a full report by the next Senate meeting.
Senator J. Palmer encouraged faculty to review the policies website (www.policies.eku.edu) on a regular basis to see which policies are up for review.
Rules Committee. Senator McKenney reported that the committee met on Monday, October 26th to begin reviewing the Senate's policy on term limits which was originally approved Fall 2006. Senator McKenney asked the senators to provide feedback on the issue with the committee members.
The next committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, November 9th at 3:30 p.m.
Welfare Committee. Senator Ciocca announced that the Welfare Committee will be attending the University Benefits Committee meeting on Wednesday.
ANNOUNCEMENT:
Senator Ware reminded senators that the next "Faculty First" is scheduled for this Thursday at the Paddy Wagon. December's "Faculty First" may be held at Arlington.
ADJOURNMENT:
Senator Vice moved to adjourn at approximately 5 p.m.
click here for printable version of minutes
You will need to have the Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in installed on your computer in order to view and print a hard copy of the minutes.