UAH FACULTY SENATE
PRESENT:
ADSC: Schnell, Floyd
LBAR: Stewart, Brown-Givens, Bollinger, Waring, Martin, Wray, Wilkerson, Reeves, Neuschatz, Brunsma
ENG: Smith, Toutanji, Gaede, Pollock, Tippett, Karr
LIB: Moore
NUR: Williamson, Redmon
SCI: Johnson, Amin, Etzkorn, Ravindran, Friedman
ABSENT WITH PROXY:
ADSC: Pendley
LBAR: Goodson-Espy, Early
ENGR: Fork
NUR: Stanfield
ABSENT WITHOUT PROXY:
ADSC: Wren
LBAR: Meister
ENGR: Hawk
NUR: Reisenwitz
SCI: Christopher, Ng, George, Miller, Hillman
0. President Stephen Waring called the meeting to order at 12:55 p.m.
1. Draft Minutes of Meeting #448 were approved with corrections. Motion by Dr. Gaede, seconded by Dr. Reeves.
2. The Senate Executive Committee Reports were accepted. Motion by Dr. Smith, seconded by M. Redmon.
3. President Franz’s Report:
Dr.
Franz explained Dr. Radonovich’s absence and what had been going on with Dr.
Radonovich.
Dr.
Franz reported UAH is sixth among the top schools for NASA funding.
Dr.
Franz reported UAH men’s and women’s basketball teams are headed for the
championship.
Dr.
Franz talked about the campaign for Alabama Tax Reform/Enhancement lead by Bill
O’Connor. They have met with the
Leadership of Huntsville. They are
trying to raise about $7M. They have raised about $5M in Birmingham and would
like to raise another $2M in Huntsville and other areas of Alabama. It is necessary to do something to address
the deficit.
Dr.
Franz reported the stars are aligned, there has been money raised for lobbying,
the key leaders are aligned, and the business community is aligned now for the
possibility of tax reform. We need tax
reform that addresses regression and structure. We want the entire State involved.
Dr.
Franz reported there has been an interest to have the SIEs in the Library. There was a request to put them on the
net. We are not going to put them on
the net. We will have copies in the
Library, the Deans offices, the Provost Office, Student Affairs, and Enrollment
Services.
Dr.
Franz reported they are working on some difficult issues right now. One of those is modification to the health
insurance. This will not be dramatic
but moderate. Dr. Franz will take the
proposal to the Executive Committee once it is ready.
There
was a question regarding trash on the campus—Dr. Franz will look into
this.
4. Provost Radonovich’s Report:
No
Report.
5. A. Senate Committee Reports:
1. Executive: The report was distributed with the minutes. The report was approved.
2. Faculty and Student
Development: Ms. Redmon reported the
Committee is looking at a bill providing for an “F” for Academic
Misconduct.
3. Finance and Resources: Dr. Johnson reported the Committee met
and Dr. Floyd is generating questions for the overview of Finances report by
Mr. Pinner. The Committee is working to
enhance the presentation given by Mr. Pinner.
The Committee will poll the faculty to see if they have issues they want
discussed.
The Committee is organizing the
Faculty Resources Handbook. The
Committee is updating the Handbook and identifying which organizations exist on
campus of which faculty may take advantage.
This will be completed soon.
4. Governance and Operations: Dr. Reeves reported the Committee is looking at the structure of the University Committees to determine appropriate faculty representation on the Committees.
5. Personnel: Dr. Williamson
reported the Committee has a bill on the agenda today. The Committee looked at the Incentive Pay
and reported to the Executive Committee and the President. There were 114 faculty who received
incentive pay. There were 140 sections
that had 38 or more—this was out of approximately 1400 sections which means
only 10% are large sections. There was
some concern expressed regarding rewarding quantity over quality, but this was
never the intent.
6. Undergraduate Curriculum: Dr.
Karr reported the Committee has met virtually and has taken care of all
business to this point.
7. Undergraduate Scholastic
Affairs: No Report.
B. University Committees: Dr. Gaede
reported the Library Committee met and developed a contingency plan for cuts
should they occur. The plan was
distributed to Chairs to review in case serials had to be cut. The Committee discussed turnitin.com. The campus will take part in a survey as to
how the Library is used, etc. This will
be sent to everyone soon.
Dr. Gaede reported the University Women’s Club raised
about $1400 to $1500 for scholarships at their recent silent auction.
C. Officer Reports:
Parliamentarian: No Report.
Ombudsperson: No Report.
President-Elect: No Report.
President: Dr. Waring reported he made a presentation to the Deans regarding
turnitin.com. He met with the
University Legal Counsel. They have
entered negotiations with the company. He reported he received a draft contract
from Mr. Woodward today. Turnitin.com
has agreed to some changes. The Library
will provide staff support (Belinda Yong) for the web page interface between
UAH and turnitin.com. The information
is positive and we anticipate using it in the fall. Dr. Waring reported he met the Chief Information Officer for the
University of California at Santa Barbara and they are using tunitin.com. They did some studies and found that faculty
members who put the use of turnitin.com on their syllabi had almost no
incidences of plagiarism.
Dr. Waring reported he attended the Board meeting and it was
uneventful. He announced that in the
Board Administrative Report it was noted that Dr. Franz was named the AAAS
Fellow.
Dr. Waring announced Higher Education Day March 13, 2003, and reminded
people to sign up for a ride on the bus.
He encouraged faculty to give excused absences for students who want to
attend.
He announced that there is a possibility for tax reform. He mentioned the petitions and asked for
volunteers for the Hockey and Basketball games regarding getting the petitions
signed.
Past President: No Report.
7.
Senate Bill 295: Elimination of “P” Grade on Midterm Progress
Reports: Dr. Smith introduced the bill and gave some background information on it.
The students want better feedback at midterm. There was some question of the definition of a passing
grade. If a professor gives a “P” with
a borderline C/D, will the student succeed in the course? 85 to 95% of the professors give grades
already. This is not a big change.
There
was some reluctance expressed to giving grades at the point of midterm
grades.
It
was suggested that if faculty members explain to students what the “P” means it
should be allowed.
There
was some discussion regarding whether we are accomplishing anything with
midterm grades? Or are we overburdening
students with extra work early on?
Students
wanted letter grades.
Some
of the faculty want midterm grades later and so do the students.
It
was explained that originally the grades were put forth because there were
faculty who were not giving any material for grading prior to midterm.
Having
letter grades for midterm allows for intrusive advising. Students need timely information. There was discussion that there was great
disparity in the grades. In English
there were 300 regular grades and 200 “P” grades.
We
need to provide feedback to the students.
We shouldn’t mislead the students.
There needs to be measurable parameters to advise students.
There
was a question of academic freedom and pedagogical philosophy. It was stated there are exceptions possible
for performance-based courses.
There
was a question of the history of intrusive advising for helping students
regarding midterm grades. It was stated
the College advisors contact the students after the midterm grades are
reported. It was reported the Senate
just passed something much more intrusive regarding advising for students in
academic difficulty.
It
was stated the instructor should be the one helping and advising the students
in their particular course. Advisors
have to ascertain why the student is not doing well. They instruct the student on what to do. This may involve talking
with the instructor.
It
was stated sometimes the grades are better at midterm than they will actually
be at the end.
It
was reiterated if students want feedback then we should give it to them.
There
was some discussion regarding retention and the needs of the students. Students are sometimes self-deluding and an
advisor needs data to use to properly advise them. The cohort is the freshmen who come in with an ACT of 25 or
higher and we are losing them. Why? One
reason is grades. We must get to the
student in trouble before it is too late.
There
was a question of what can we do to get students to monitor their own
grades.
There
was a suggestion of having the midterm grades on the web.
It
was reported there are also orientation counselors continuing to work with
students to encourage them to get help.
They too will need grades and data to work from.
Dr.
Wilkerson called the question.
The
vote for the bill was 9 in favor and 18 opposed, with one abstention. The bill was defeated at second reading.
8. Senate
Bill 297: Distinguished Professor
Selection Process: Tabled to the
next Senate Meeting. Motion by Dr. Gaede and Ms. Redmon.
9. Faculty
Activity Report Form: Dr. Waring gave a brief history of the form
and the changes to it. He reported Dr.
Franz engineered a breakthrough. The new
form includes a standardized CV. The
Form is a one-year report and the CV is comprehensive. This is not perfect and will be a burden the
first time. This form is more faculty
friendly. Send any comments to change
any part to Peggy.
There
was a question of whether the evaluation form is part of the Faculty Activity
Report Form. Yes, it is part of the
FAR.
There
was a question of whether the comprehensive CV is necessary. It is to the Deans and Chairs and for some
accreditation purposes.
It
was requested the faculty use this form experimentally this year and see how
well it works.
10. President Waring adjourned the meeting at 2:15 p.m.