Minutes of the Faculty Senate meeting November 17, 1999 The regular meeting of the 1999-00 Faculty Senate was called to order by Dan Spencer at 3:30 p.m. The following Senators were present for all or part of the meeting: Brady, Berry, Cairns, Gillespie, Hariman, Honts, McCrickerd, Parsa, Petersen, Phillips, Pomeroy, Romig, Simpson, Spencer, Stratton, Strentz, Torgerson, Walker, Wright Absent: Schneider, Sisk Minutes of the Previous Meeting: Upon proper motion and second, the minutes of the October 1999 meeting were approved. Report from President Maxwell: The academic regalia issue as brought up during preparation for the Convocation and Inaugural events this fall along with a Sue Wright proposal has been a recent Cabinet level discussion. President Maxwell has received some good comments about the Vision Document and he desires to have Senate assistance, perhaps joint sponsorship, with a campus meeting yet this semester. This Fall's drop in part-time enrollment has been a topic during various summer and fall conversations and President Maxwell invited comments from faculty on the possibility of a division of the university which would coordinate non-traditional student and nontraditional learning issues. Academic Program Review has been discussed with the Senate Executive Committee. There will be an Administrative Program Review headed by Vice President Payseur and aided by Human Resources. President Maxwell distributed a two page Goals and Issues Working Document which is not yet in its final form. He emphasized that these reviews are of quality and a part of the strategic planning process. It is critical to design a template to collect data in this the information gathering stage. He has been in conversation with several persons outside the campus soliciting their advice and counsel concerning the process. Senator Petersen asked if this were in lieu of the college based program review process. The President responded that he did not see this as the same set of questions. Provost Hoag indicated that some programs might have been recently through such a review. Senator Torgerson asked two questions that President Maxwell indicated were exactly the type of questions that needed to be addressed first. Who will be deciding the various definitions such as revenues and cost and whether there will be one set of questions for all programs. Senator Wright asked if this would feed systematically into the ongoing assessment at Drake. The response was theoretically yes. Senator Romig noted there was not a quality indicator of students listed on the Goals and Issues Document. Additional phrases to address assessment of student learning will be added. Report from Interim Provost Hoag Any newly created unit for nontraditional learning might also administer the summer offerings. The computers that come out of the residence halls with the closure of the Mac-in-the-Room program will be dispersed in an order which has students who have a financial need being first satisfied. Then served will be essential administrative functions of the University, upgrading the public instructional facilities, faculty offices, staff offices, other needs on campus and finally giving the computers to offcampus sites. The computers will need an approximate $125 upgrade for the unit to be in good enough working order for most purposes. An Association of New American Colleges (ANAC) representative was on campus for two days to create a profile of Drake University. This profile will be complied for all member institutions. The exit interview indicated that advantages for students at Drake are consistent with other institutions in ANAC. Initiatives highlighted by Provost Hoag included: Principal Financial will be sponsoring a series of speakers with Delaney Kirk as the coordinator. The proposed Institute of Successful Aging needs a name for it and its programs. Robert Hariman will head the Center for Collaborative Inquiry. An announcement is due soon on a possible collaboration with a major telecommunication company, which will be of assistance to the Information Technology area at Drake. Concerning Y2K preparations for the individual desktop units on campus, Provost Hoag emphasized it was each person's responsibility. Robert Hoehle has help available for persons with questions. There have been 50 Summer 2000 web courses approved to date. This is an exciting area of teaching and growth for the summer term. Senator Parsa expressed a concern that as more students bring their own computer systems to campus the problems for compatibility and service will increase. Report from President Spencer: The Executive Committee has completed filling the three GEC Subcommittees approved by the Senate. There has been extensive initial conversation with President Maxwell and Provost Hoag about the process for the upcoming Academic Program Review, and faculty participation in the process. There is a strong sense, consistent with AAUP guidelines, that the faculty members should be selected by election by the faulty. The Administrative Review process will also include faculty representation. Two initiatives in process in the Student Senate that may their way to the Faculty Senate are a recommendation on mid-semester evaluations/feedback process and the return to a plus/minus grading system. EPI continues to gather input on the motion to establish a community block of time. Associate Director of Admission Deneen Dygert and Assistant Director of the Alumni and Parent Programs Heidi Slinker presented to the Senate information about the National Alumni Scholarship Days. These are two Saturdays in February, which will bring to campus several hundred high quality prospective students. Each Saturday involves several sessions including an interview. These students are competing for the Alumni, Carpenter and Trustee Scholarships. They requested support from the senate members to participate in one of the days or both and to encourage their colleagues to assist, also. Unfinished Business: None presented New Business: Senator Berry moved and Parsa seconded Motion 00-04: To revise Faculty Manual 2.133 Recording and Reporting of Student Absences Each faculty member is expected to monitor student attendance and class performance. Students are expected to attend all class sessions and to be punctual. Drake University expects students to complete all assignments for class sessions they miss. Each faculty member sets specific requirements in reference to attendance. Those requirements should be clearly written and fully explained to each class at the beginning of the term. Any absences the faculty member deems excessive should be discussed with the student. Absences that may result in failure to successfully complete the course should be reported promptly to the Dean's Office of the student. The Dean's office will then make necessary inquiries and take appropriate action. Faculty members are urged to provide an opportunity for students to make up work missed as a result of legitimate absences (such as family emergency, student illness, religious observances or university sponsored functions), where making up the work is consistent with the academic objectives of the course. Each faculty member who wishes to verify an absence may do so by requesting a verification of the legitimacy of the absence from the student. (as amended) Senator Berry indicated this topic was sent to EPI last year and the wording was finalized this year. The basic concern was the use of the word 'legitimate' and the previous wording was not current to how various offices current perform. Senator Simpson suggested the last sentence of the last paragraph should contain an additional legitimacy to make the sentence more practical. Senator Berry and Parsa accepted that change to the motion. The body was reminded that the previous policy had 'an encouragement to provide an opportunity to the student to make up missed work'. This proposed wording urges an opportunity to make up work when this is consistent with the academic objective of the course. The question was called. The motion passed on a voice vote. Senator Walker made a brief report on the Schools First opinion piece, which was discussed at last month's Senate. There are some 300 persons who have signed on and some financial backing has been received for the ad. President Maxwell has submitted a column to the Des Moines Register and as of yet has received no indication it will be printed. On proper motion and second the meeting closed at 4:30 p.m. Submitted by, Nancy Geiger, Secretary