Minutes for April 1, 2013
The Faculty Senate of Eastern Kentucky University met on Monday, April 1, 2013, in the South Ballroom of the Keen Johnson Building. Senator Pressley called the seventh meeting of the academic year to order at approximately 3:30 p.m.
The following members of the Senate were absent:
| S. Barracca* | K. Jones* | B. Karolich* |
| E. McClees* | D. Miller | M. Roberts |
*Indicates prior notification of absence to the Faculty Senate Secretary
Visitors to the Senate: Tina Davis, Registrar; Sandra Moore, Diversity; Barry Poynter, Financial Affairs; Sherry Robinson, Provost Office; Elizabeth Wachtel, Enrollment Management
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
The March 4, 2013 minutes were approved as written.
REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT: Senator Whitlock
Senator Whitlock thanked the senators for recommending President Emeritus status for him.
On Wednesday, Senator Whitlock will attend his last official meeting of the public university presidents. Senator Whitlock recommended that several open-ended discussions should continue to be tracked, such as the adult learner and rural access initiatives, discussions about the state funding model for higher education, and anticipated tuition caps.
The presidential search is well underway. The third candidate will be on campus tomorrow. Senator Whitlock encouraged faculty to provide feedback during this process.
The reallocation process the task force has been addressing is proceeding. Since the last Senate meeting, the Board of Regents approved three policies to help with personnel reduction: 1) an enhanced RTP program; 2) voluntary buyout; and 3) involuntary reduction in work force.
A video showcasing EKU’s history and background was presented at the retirement dinner for President Whitlock last Friday evening. The presentation was compiled from a series of interviews created several years ago entitled “EKU Then and Now.”
NEW BUSINESS:
Lectureship Policy 4.6.10. Senator Pressley deferred discussion and action on the policy until the May meeting. She encouraged the senators to share the policy with their colleagues and collect feedback for the May discussion. (att 1, att 2, att 3)
Bereavement Leave Policy 8.2.2. The Senators asked for clarification of several items on page 3:
- Language should be clarified under Procedures, third paragraph down. Some may misread the current language to mean up to six months leave may be granted.
- Under procedures, the language about the use of bereavement leave during a holiday should be revised. As currently written, leave cannot be taken if it occurs during a holiday period.
- Language should be revised regarding eligible family members. Some folks do not fall under the traditional spousal relationship and the language needs to be broadened to accommodate those folks.
Senator Pressley agreed to share the senators concerns with Val Park and the drafting team for consideration. Senator Pressley deferred further discussion to the May meeting.
Nominations for Senate Chair. Senator Pressley was nominated to continue to serve as Senate Chair for 2013-2014. The vote for this position will occur at the May organizational meeting.
Nominations for Senate Vice-Chair. Senator Palmer was nominated to continue to serve as Senate Vice-Chair for 2013-2014. The vote for this position will occur at the May organizational meeting.
Report from Council on Academic Affairs - Senator Vice
New Program
College of Justice and Safety
Program Revisions
College of Arts & Sciences
- Art/Design Studio Options B.F.A.
reformat and correct program description - Political Science B.A.
Add a 200-level political theory course, remove the requirement that political science majors must meet a theory requirement through a 500-level course, and add a 400-level capstone course for the political science program - History B.A.
add four courses to the program and drop HIS 404 - History/Teaching B.A.
add four courses to the program and drop HIS 404 - Bachelor of Music/Teaching Option
delete two education courses - Science for Engineering A.A.S.
adjust the free elective hours to be consistent with other associate programs on campus - Minor in Physics
drop PHY 300 and move the 3 hours to additional 300 level and above courses - Physics B.S.
revise programs to add new courses, drop courses and adjust number of core courses and free electives - Physics Teaching B.S.
add new courses and drop courses to update requirements
College of Business & Technology
- Aviation B.S.
add new option: "Aerospace Technology;" revise course options and requirements within the program - Minor in Aviation Administration
revise name of minor to: Aerospace Management; reduce hours from 21 to 18; revise program description and requirements - Public Relations B.A.
add JOU 412 as an alternative course in the Creative Public Relations Emphasis requirements - Marketing B.B.A./Music Marketing and Marketing Research & Analytics Options
add MKT 404 or 420 to the Music Marketing option of the BBA in Marketing as an elective course. Establish a Marketing Research and Analytics Option in Marketing.
College of Education
- Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education P-5
revise program to accommodate changes in the Honor's program and change BIO 317 to WLD 317 - Bachelor of Science in Middle Grade Education 5-9
revise program to accommodate changes in the Honor's program and change BIO 317 to WLD 317 - Associate Degree in General Studies Concentration in Education
create an Education Concentration for students pursuing the AGS degree. - Minor in Special Education Non-Teaching
remove SED 356 from electives in the Special Education mior; change SED 341 to SED 590 to align with previous LED program changes. - B.S. Special Education Teaching Options: Learning and Behavioral Disorders Elementary and Learning and Behavioral Disorders Middle
add SED 576 and SED 590 and remove SED 351 and SED 341; move SED 104 from Major to Supporting courses
College of Justice and Safety
- Homeland Security B.S.
revise course offerings within the program - Homeland Security Pre-Program
create a pre-program in Homeland Security and establish a minimum GPA for the program. - Occupational Safety B.S.
change APS 210 to SEC 210 in the program requirement - Associate of General Studies (AGS) with a Concentration Security Management
revise Courses within the concentration - Certificate in Intelligence and Security Operations
revise courses within the program - Minor in Security Management
revise courses within the program
University Programs
- Minor in Environmental Sustainability and Stewardship
revise program requirements and text - Minor in Veterans Studies
Make VTS 300 available as an alternative to VTS 200 for students with equivalent experience and available as an elective in the "relational dimension" - Certificate in Veterans Studies
Make VTS 300 available as an alternative to VTS 200 for Students with equivalent experience and available as an elective in the "relational dimension" - AGS Concentration in Veterans Studies
Make VTS 300 available as an alternative to VTS 200 for students with equivalent experience and available as an elective in the "relational dimension"
Program Suspensions
College of Arts & Sciences
College of Health Sciences
- Medical Laboratory Technology A.A.S.
- Early Childhood Development A.A.S.
Senator Vice moved approval of item 1, seconded by Senator Summers. Motion carried.
Senator Vice moved approval of items 2-29, seconded by Senator Chandra. Motion carried.
Senator Vice moved approval of items 30-32, seconded by Senator Thieme. Motion carried.
GENERAL & STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT: Senator Pressley
The Faculty Senate Executive Committee met on Monday, March 25.
Senator Pressley received a request to add an AAUP member to the R&R Committee which she shared with the Executive Committee for discussion. The Executive Committee was in agreement to leave the committee membership as it currently stands. Anyone can be invited to attend meetings to share their expertise without being an official member on the committee.
Senator Pressley reported that the first presidential finalist was on campus and was well received. The Executive Committee had a breakfast discussion with the first candidate and is scheduled to do the same with each of the finalists. Senator Pressley encouraged faculty to attend the forums or watch the videos online and provide feedback.
The University General Education Committee met and approved several courses including a new course from the College of Justice and Safety for inclusion in the General Education (Element 1C) program. The Essential Elements of Success (EES 250) course is called Basic Social Intelligence Skills.
The Faculty Task Force for Student Retention will meet on April 16th to complete its review of transfer students and to discuss the new advising model (if the model is ready to present). The new advising model, if approved, is one that would include faculty mentors at all junctures. So the idea is not to centralize advising and take faculty members out of the process but to have professional advisors in each college that work closely with faculty. This should help lighten the workload for faculty which would allow more time for additional service or research.
REPORT FROM FACULTY REGENT: Senator Frisbie
Senator Frisbie announced that the Student Success Building will now officially be known as the Charles D. Whitlock Building.
The Board of Regents met on March 19 for a special meeting. The Board approved four items. The first was a resolution that articulated what the aims were behind the reallocation effort and some of the principles that would be used to carry out that reallocation. The resolution also established a timetable. The program review was due today. May 1st is the target date for the University to have a plan in place to achieve the 10% reduction. The plan would then be implemented over the next two years.
Next, the Board approved three programs to help with the reduction in workforce: 1) enhanced RTP program for faculty; 2) voluntary buyout program for staff members who are eligible to retire; and 3) involuntary staff reduction in force.
The Board will meet on Friday, April 3, to select EKU’s next president.
The Board will meet on Tuesday, April 30, for a regular quarterly meeting.
COSFL REPORT: Senator Summers
COSFL has not met since February 25, 2013. However, there has been considerable discussion via the list serve regarding the funding resolution put forward by Western Kentucky University. Morehead State University and the University of Louisville both adopted similar resolutions at their faculty senate meetings in March. In addition, both Universities came to the same conclusion regarding the timing of the proposal to the state government. All three seem to agree that the resolution is a good idea; however the timing is wrong. The state government is currently in the middle of a budget biennium and the General Assembly won’t consider a budget until next year. The University of Louisville will start working with legislators in late summer or early fall.
The next COSFL meeting will be a joint meeting held with the state AAUP chapter of Tennessee at Tennessee State University on Saturday, April 20.
PROVOST REPORT: Senator Vice
The CPE Student Success Summit is scheduled for April 15-16. Senator Vice will be giving a presentation on April 16 entitled “Assurance of Learning—Avoiding the Eager or Equality or Quantity.”
In response to the EKU Board of Regents’ resolution asking for an academic program review, the Provost and Council of Deans have prepared a comprehensive review of EKU’s academic programs. The report will be submitted to Mr. Craig Turner, Chair, on Wednesday, April 3, 2013. This report has already been approved by the Strategic Budget Reallocation Task Force and President Whitlock. Once the report is reviewed by the full Board, the report will be made available to the campus in its entirety.
The report answers the following questions:
- What is EKU’s Academic Program Inventory? How does Eastern’s program inventory compare with other Kentucky regional comprehensives?
- What are the enrollments and degree productivity by program?
- Which programs have been (a) suspended within the last six years or (b) identified for suspension now or for further review?
- Which programs currently demonstrate the greatest potential for growth or sustainability?
- What are the criteria for evaluating program productivity?
- What is the review of EKU’s delivery methods of academic program? (e.g., e-Campus, interactive television, regional campuses)
- What is the five-year schedule for submitting EKU’s academic program reviews to the Council on Postsecondary Education?
- How does EKU’s academic administrative structure compare with other Kentucky regional comprehensives?
The report will offer recommended actions as a result of the review of academic programs and identify the potential financial impact of these recommendations.
The overall budget reallocation of Academic Affairs will be incorporated in the Strategic Budget Reallocation Task Force’s report due to the Board of Regents by May 1.
A Data-Review Workgroup, chaired by Barry Poynter, was assembled to compile the data to ensure accuracy and consistency of the data mined from Banner.
The following tables are a brief excerpt from the data analysis.
|
Degrees Offered by Kentucky’s Regional Comprehensive Universities |
|||||||||
|
Degrees |
Institutions |
||||||||
|
EKU |
WKU |
NKU |
MoSU |
Murray |
|||||
|
Associate |
10 |
16 |
6 |
8 |
11 |
||||
|
Baccalaureate |
92 |
98 |
71 |
55 |
64 |
||||
|
Master/Specialist |
45 |
51 |
21 |
40 |
42 |
||||
|
Doctoral |
3 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
||||
|
Total programs |
150 |
168 |
100 |
104 |
118 |
||||
|
Total Enrollment |
15,000+ |
21,000+ |
15,000+ |
11,000+ |
11,000+ |
||||
|
EKU’s Smallest Undergraduate Degree Programs by Number of Majors – Fall 2012 (This complete table in the report shows 25 majors or fewer. This excerpt shows the programs with only 5 or fewer majors) |
|||||||
|
Degree Awarded |
Fall 2012 Enrollment |
5 Year Average: Degrees Awarded |
Department: Enrolled UG Courses |
||||
|
CBT |
AAS in Technical Agriculture |
5 |
6 |
590 |
|||
|
CHS |
AAS in Medical Laboratory Technology |
5 |
4 |
313 |
|||
|
CAS |
BS in Physics Teaching |
5 |
0 |
603 |
|||
|
CAS |
AAS in Science for Engineering |
3 |
2 |
603 |
|||
|
CAS |
BA in French Teaching |
3 |
1 |
1,302 |
|||
|
CBT |
AAS in Office Systems & Technologies |
2 |
4 |
1,406 |
|||
|
UP |
Bachelor of Individualized Studies |
1 |
1 |
2,533 |
|||
CPE will begin initiating its new program review this fall. So the deans have scheduled the dates for each program to go through a five-year cycle.
Senators are invited to join the Provost for lunch on Wednesday, April 3, 12:00-1:00, at the Fresh Food Company. Sign in at either register.
STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION: Madelyn Street
SGA has created a new program called TOSS (Trade Other Schools' Shirts). Students who trade in shirts from other schools will be given an EKU shirt in return.
The library will be open for 24 hours for the last three weeks of school so that students can prepare for finals.
The spring concert is scheduled for April 18 with singer Phillip Phillips, winner of the eleventh season of American Idol. General tickets are $12.
SGA is working with the Parking office to purchase several new signs for the parking lots on campus.
A new project SGA is working on is to purchase a solar panel to be placed outside the new science building.
SGA elections will be held on Tuesday, April 16.
STRATEGIC PLANNING/FINANCIAL PLANNING COUNCIL: Senator Pressley
The Council met on Tuesday, March 5th to receive an update from the Strategic Budget Reallocation Task Force chairs. An overview of the Task Force and its decisions to date were given.
The FSPC met again today to continue discussions. One of the items on the agenda was proposed changes to the faculty/staff tuition waiver. Senator Pressley shared the draft proposal with the senators and urged them to share the information with their colleagues. The proposed plan is very similar to the plan included in the voluntary buyout program which reduces the benefit from twelve hours to six hours. Nothing has been decided yet. The discussion was tabled until the next meeting. Please share feedback on this issue with Senators Pressley, Thieme, or O’Brien and they will share those concerns at the next FSPC meeting in two weeks.
STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Academic Quality Committee. Senator Marshall reported that the committee is continuing to gather data on the faculty/staff/student/administrator ratios at Eastern and to review the quality of online programs. A report should be available for the May meeting.
Budget Committee. Senator Thieme reminded that at the last Senate meeting she shared CUPA data for salaries and requested the senators to share that information with their departments and discuss how their salaries compare with the benchmark institutions. She encouraged the senators again to have those conversations with their departments if they haven’t already done so.
The Budget Committee is developing a survey to help determine the concerns across campus regarding salary issues in order to be proactive rather than reactive. Please alert faculty that the survey will be distributed within the next week or so.
Elections & University Nominations Committee. Senator Johnson reported that a run-off election for Faculty Regent is required since no candidate received more than 50% of the votes. The two candidates for the run-off election will be Malcolm Frisbie and Amy Thieme, and the election will run from Wednesday, April 3 through Thursday, April 11. Please remind faculty that they are eligible to vote even if they didn’t vote during the first election.
Information Technology Committee. Senator Kilgore announced that IT is working to resolve the server issues which temporarily stalled access to the internet for some folks.
Faculty Welfare Committee. Senator Nowak reported that one of the committee’s charges was to compare faculty benefits and welfare issues at EKU with other institutions in the state of Kentucky and with benchmark institutions. Human Resources is in the process of collecting that data and once the report is finalized, the committee will address the results.
The committee has developed a survey for faculty to help identify faculty welfare issues. Meet with colleagues to discuss, identify and prioritize the top three faculty welfare issues and share feedback with the Faculty Welfare Committee.
ADJOURNMENT:
Senator Vice moved to adjourn at approximately 5:10 p.m.
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