1. Undergraduate Curriculum: Dr. Comfort reported the Committee met October 8 with Don Belcher regarding the revisions of the Undergraduate Catalog. The Committee does not have oversight but they are giving faculty input to Dr. Belcher. No action resulting. The Committee email approved 38 HPE courses to meet certain SACs requirements.
2. Undergraduate Scholastic Affairs: Dr. Bliss reported the Committee has had a couple of cyber meetings regarding some bankruptcy cases and readmits. They have looked at policies "D" Grade and "Mid-Term Progress Reports". The "D" Grade policy is believed to be ok. The Committee is drafting a policy regarding the Mid-Term Progress Reports.

2. University Committees: No reports.

3. Officer Reports:

1. Ombudsperson: No report.
2. President-Elect: No Report.
3. President: Dr. Delugach reported the University of Alabama System is engaging in Strategic Planning processes. A group met one month ago. At that meeting Dr. Delugach commented that he and other faculty do not know what the System Office does. He and other Faculty Senate Presidents were called back for a demonstration of what the System Office does. A data summary and statistics are available--there is a packet and information can be found on the website.

4. President Franz Report:

• Dr. Franz apologized for missing the last meeting. Dr. Franz reported the enrollment has increased for the fall. We have worked on this for some time and the increase is good. The credit hour increase is about 6%. The dominant school in this is ADSC. They carry 40% of the increase. We are looking at ways to further improve enrollment and retention. Recruitment and retention still need work. We discovered that stellar students were dropping out. Dr. Johnson with others has been working hard on this issue. Many of the students were not contacted. Eighty to eighty-five percent of the entering students were found to be in distress and counciled this year. If we attack recruitment, we must attack retention. We must make a dramatic initiative. Some are already in place but there is room for more. The Progress Reporting is being worked on. The students want more grade differentiation in the reporting. Establishing a connection seems to be a key in retaining students and in student satisfaction. Appreciation was expressed to those faculty who use email and they are encouraged to use it more and asked to encourage their colleagues to do the same. There was brief discussion of the election results and a somewhat brighter future for us. Dr. Franz pointed out the need to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the lottery for us. Dr. Franz briefly reported on the Science and Technology Center and Dr. Greenwood's efforts in this area. The $4M Federal Funding for Space Research, Dr. Glenn's work with UAH and the success of the United Way campaign.

5. Provost McManus Report:

• Dr. McManus reported that the Math Department has taken some initiatives toward improving recruitment and retention. Dr. McManus expressed appreciation to the Math Department for what they have done. Dr. McManus will continue to talk with deans about core course performance. He asked the dean of other areas to put emphasis on this area.
• Dr. McManus reported there is one new program this year that is a PhD in Biotechnology. This is in the planning stages to be implemented next year.
• Dr. McManus reported on construction projects that are ongoing. The Engineering Building project should be finished in early 1999. Cooperative Education and Career Services will move into this building. Construction is well underway in the University Center. The redesign will move Admissions to the front west side of the building. The goal is to make student services more student friendly. Charger Central will be set up as a one stop shop for students to ideally be able to take care of all their needs at one place instead of having to travel to various parts of campus. We have also added the Cyber Café as a place for students to hang out and a place for them to go for that late night snack or study area.
• Dr. McManus reported there are two more projects to be completed. A Student Recreation Center either in Spragins Hall or a separate building. We are looking for an architect. WE are talking with a group who is interested in building in Research Park. The other project is the Library addition. This will be a High Tech area. We are moving forward with this in the near future.
• Dr. McManus reported we have two candidates on campus interviewing, one for Science Dean and one for Engineering Dean. We are trying to fill these positions ASAP. The next search will be an internal search for a Dean of Graduate Studies. This search will likely begin in January.
• Dr. McManus asked the faculty to think about ways of making the summer sessions more viable to the students.
• There was some discussion regarding distance education and the progress of the new web pages and the availability of email addresses for students.

6. Dr. Schenker brought the Sick Leave Policy to the floor at Third Reading. Dr. Brookman seconded the motion. After brief discussion Dr. Leonard called the question with Dr. Lumpkin seconding the call. The vote in favor of the bill was 34 in favor, 0 abstentions and 0 opposed. The bill passed at third reading.
7. Dr. Delugach adjourned the meeting at 1:40 p.m.