APPROVED FEBRUARY 6, 2003

PRESENT:

ADSC: Wren, Pendley

LBAR: Brown-Givens, Bollinger, Early, Meister, Waring, Martin, Wray, Wilkerson, Reeves, Neuschatz, Brunsma

ENG: Smith, Gaede, Pollock, Tippett, Karr

LIB: Moore

NUR: Redmon, Reisenwitz, Williamson

SCI: Johnson, George, Etzkorn, Hillman.

ABSENT WITH PROXY:

ADSC: Floyd

ENGR: Fork

LBAR: Enger

NUR: Stanfield

SCI: Li, Miller, Ng, Ravindran, Friedman

ABSENT WITHOUT PROXY:

LBAR: Stewart

ENGR: Toutanji, Hawk

SCI: Christopher

0. President Stephen Waring called the meeting to order at 12:55 p.m.

1. Draft Minutes of Meeting #446 were approved with corrections. Motion by D. Pollock.

2. The Senate Executive Committee Reports were accepted.

3. President Franz’s Report:

No Report.

4. Provost Radonovich’s Report:

Dr. Radonovich acknowledged receipt of a document regarding promotional increases for faculty. Dr. Radonovich reported he and Dr. Franz will be discussing it and will need more time to respond. He stated it will likely be approved in some form.

5. A. Senate Committee Reports:

1. Executive: The report was distributed with the minutes. The report was approved.

2. Faculty and Student Development: No report. The Committee is providing the turnitin.com presentation today.

3. Finance and Resources: No Report.

4. Governance and Operations: No Report.

5. Personnel: Dr. Williamson reported there will be a meeting next Thursday in the Nursing Building.

6. Undergraduate Curriculum: Dr. Karr reported the Committee is considering about a million course changes for the new Catalog. He stated they plan to get them done by next week.

7. Undergraduate Scholastic Affairs: Dr. Smith reported the Committee met and considered four applications for readmission.

He discussed the bankruptcy policy and students working their way down a spiral. He discussed the bill regarding the course repeat deadline and that this bill was modified and will be presented at the next Executive Committee Meeting.

He stated the revised draft for the AAT will be presented at the next Executive Committee Meeting.

B. University Committees: Dr. Waring reported that Joan Williamson, Adriel Johnson, and he are serving on a Committee established to insure compliance with the Title VI Knight vs. Alabama court order. He stated the Senate would work out ways to assist with achieving the goals in this area.

It was announced the Library Committee will meet tomorrow, December 6, 2002.

It was announced the Graduate Curriculum Committee will meet next week.

C. Officer Reports:

Parliamentarian: No Report.

Ombudsperson: No Report.

President-Elect: Dr. Hillman reported he and Dr. Waring attended the ACUFP Meeting. There were discussions regarding ACHE. ACHE is looking for input about setting directions and goals. Fifteen points were passed for faculty meeting input onto the Board. Distance Learning was discussed.

President: Dr. Waring reported he attended the Board Meeting in Tuscaloosa last month. Most of the issues were regarding Tuscaloosa. There was a $34.6 Million request for administrative software. There was a $38 million request for Alabama Athletics. Finances at UAH were approved. Restructuring and refinancing of old debt was approved. Highbay purchase was approved. Faculty of UA believe it is too much of a party school. They want to reduce binge drinking. UA wants mandatory attendance in 100 level courses. The faculty are resistant to this. UA approved raises for faculty for this year and the money is not in the budget. They are looking at reallocations. They want the money to come from central administration. They may have to leave vacancies open. The Student Representative from Tuscaloosa report they have spent much of the year’s effort on access to grades and evaluations. They hired a contractor “Pick a Prof” used for compiling grade distributions.

Past President: No Report.

6. Ms. Redmon introduced Mr. Boyce and gave the reason for the presentation.

Mr. Joel Boyce, a graduate student in Liberal Arts, gave a presentation of “turnitin.com”. It was discussed that plagiarism is a problem that needs to be addressed. Joel stated the turnitin.com site has student tools and educator tools. It defines plagiarism and provides resources. It helps the educator teach on plagiarism. It gives tips for assignments. It discourages plagiarism. The teacher or student may submit the paper. The individual receives an originality report within 24 hours. They also receive a similarity index report. There are direct source comparisons. A peer comparison can be created. You can check on the submission. The inbox is similar to the email. The files are similar to email folders. There are pull down menus. There is a list of students enrolled, when they submitted papers and how often they have submitted them. It also gives the student a receipt. You can submit in any form. Turnitin color-codes the similarities. It searches through the database for previously uploaded papers. The pros are that it is an educational device. It is a deterrent against plagiarism. Educators and students can use it. It provides information. The cons are that it is a punitive device. The criteria for evaluation of submission may be confusing and subjective. It does not evaluate non internal. Small sections of sentences may be incorrectly identified. All teachers must participate in order for the database to be effective. The web site does not search all web pages. Larger issues. How training for students and teachers. To what extent can students be assured teachers will use the web site fairly. How much authority will be invested in the technology. Is the diagnosis of the web site the final word?

Joel stated his should have student involvement before a decision is made. Dr. Waring disagrees. Dr. Waring also disagrees with the thinking that there is a gap in the academic misconduct process. Dr. Waring took a straw poll of how many faculty thought their department would use this and how many faculty thought they would use it if it were available. Several thought their departments would use it and many thought they, as individuals would use it.

7. President Waring adjourned the meeting at 2:15 p.m.