Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes

January 17, 2007

Senate members present:  Ruth Frickle, Katie Gulliford, Jack Harton, Glen Avantaggio, Aaron Warnock, Rolita Flores Ezeonu, Eric Baer, Darryl Brice, Buzz Wheeler, Jin Do, Phil Droke, Jeff Wagnitz

The meeting was called to order at 3:04 p.m., and the minutes of the November 17 meeting were approved.

Phil Droke gave us a brief update on Common Course Numbering.  In the faculty polling conducted in late November, 90 faculty voted and approximately 90% of those voting rejected the CCN plan.  Some discussion ensued as to whether the Senate should pass a resolution against CCN as representative of the faculty position.  Eric Baer agreed, along with Phil Droke and Katie Gulliford, to draft the resolution.  The resolution will be available for review by Senate members prior to the next meeting and a vote will be taken at that meeting.  It is understood that the Administration or the Board of Trustees could overrule the faculty position.

Old business was discussed, including an issue that Student Services (Registration in particular) has with the mid-term withdrawal policy.  Kate Bligh will be invited to a future meeting to discuss the concerns they have.

The lingering issue of the PR&R Committee was raised.  Administration prefers that it remain an option, Eric Baer and others see it as an important way for faculty to resolve intra-faculty disputes which do not fall under the contract.  Several examples of appropriate applications for PR&R were offered.  There was some discussion of whether all complaints would be heard by the committee and of the composition of the committee.  The consensus seemed to be that the committee as a whole would determine which members would review specific cases and that the role of the committee was that of mediator.

The discussion moved on to whether non-ICRC degrees should be reviewed by the Senate.  Several members agreed that it is within the purview of the Senate to do so.  Additionally, Erik Baer and others wondered whether the Senate could or should consider setting some degree requirements such as minimum GPA, or specific courses to be common to all prof-tech degrees. 

Further discussion made it clear that these degrees are a “different animal”.  Jack Harton volunteered along with Buzz Wheeler, Phil Droke and Ruth Frickle to review the prof-tech programs/degrees for commonalities.  Alice Madsen will be invited to a future meeting to discuss how these degrees are designed.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:57