UAH FACULTY SENATE

DRAFT MINUTES OF MEETING #484

29 NOVEMBER, 2007

PRESENT:

ADSC: Schnell, Burnett, Bao

LBAR: J. Johnson, Rountree, Pritchard, Bollinger, Moore, Johnson, Ragsdale, Heikes, Reeves, Sitaraman

ENG: Banish, Gaede, Jovanov, Kulick, Gholston, Karr, Frendi, Wessling,

LIB: Vaughan

NUR: George

SCI: Mecikalski, Boyd, Bishop, Edmondson, Aygun, Etzkorn, Ai

ABSENT WITH PROXY:

ENGR: Anderson, Lin

NUR: Lawson, O’Keefe

SCI: Scholz

ABSENT WITHOUT PROXY:

ADSC: Allen

LBAR: Gyasi, Neuschatz

NUR: Thompson, Linsky

SCI: Magnuson, Ravindran, Miller, Elsamadicy

0. Senate President Lynn Boyd called the meeting to order at 12:50 p.m.

1. Draft Minutes of Meeting Number 483 were approved. Motion by Shari George, seconded by Andrée Reeves.

2. Senate Executive Committee Report accepted. Motion by Linda Vaughan seconded by Shari George.

3. President Williams’ Report.

Dr. Williams reported he enjoyed the discussion regarding the Senate Bill on abolishing the NC Grade. This goes to the meat of what we are about. Your job is to make decisions of this kind.

We are working with Ron Greenwood and Ray Pinner on issues with OSP and Business Services. We ask for your support as we work on this. When you bring proposals, bring them in a timely manner. It takes time to take care of all the details of these items in the appropriate manner. When there is more work in advance there is less push back from the offices in process. We are hoping for a clear policy on the responsibilities of the OSP and the faculty. Send emails with information, problems, data, etc. Also please let me know when things work well.

We are getting a better handle on the Enrollment Management area as well. The retention and graduation rates are better but not what we want them to be. We are in the process of hiring an Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management and a Director of Admissions. We are close to making offers. We hope in the new year to involve you in the plan for Admissions and ongoing enrollment. We need to invest in people to help you in retaining students. There was discussion of a presentation by Financial Aid to assist faculty in knowing how to help. We will encourage presentations from any of the administration. We need to better utilize the resources available and communicate. You are the best people to identify students with problems and refer them to the right place. The Academic Resource Center is a clearinghouse to help with getting students the help they need. There is concern expressed for taking care of transfer students as well as freshmen.

Delois Smith is hiring an Assistant Vice President and one of the task will be working with transfer students. We also need to address the scholarship issue with transfer students.

We are interviewing for the Vice President for Advancement. The ad is out for the Provost Search.

We have established a Committee for reviewing the Mission Statement. We need a concise mission statement. It will be general and not department detailed. It will be something to set us apart. It will need to prioritize and then we can set goals and move forward with a strategic plan. We need to increase enrollment and increase the endowment. Send your suggestions to Dr. Williams.

Dr. Williams is meeting with departments and listening to concerns and answering questions.

Richard Amos addressed the Sr. Administrators and Deans. We are working on plans to respond to the needs of the community. We are working on plans we can take to Redstone on how we can help. We have asked for ideas from the Deans and the Executive Council.

Safety is an ongoing issue. We are working on an emergency preparedness plan. There are brightly colored documents out for your information. We are working with individuals to draft and send forth a document with a plan.

Dr. Williams invited everyone to the Lowe House for Open House this weekend.

4. Dr. Radonovich’s Report.

Dr. Radonovich reported he too appreciated the discussion on the NC Grade issue. However it comes out, we are working to find ways for students to be successful and reach their goals.

Dr. Radonovich announced there will be a resolution coming from Dr. Schnell regarding the name change for the College of Administrative Science to the College of Business Administration.

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.

4. Governance and Operations: No Report.

5. Personnel: No Report.

6. Undergraduate Curriculum: No Report.

7. Undergraduate Scholastic Affairs: Dr. Heikes reported the Committee has a bill to bring forward today.

8. Finance and Resources: No Report

B. University Committees:

Officer Reports:

Parliamentarian: No Report.

Ombudsperson: No Report.

President-Elect: No Report.

President: There was a Board Meeting last week. It was the UA Institutional Presentation Meeting. They are looking good. Their numbers are up. They are receiving more out of state students. They have invested in a number of out of state recruiters. The only controversial item was a land sale.

The Faculty Senate Meetings next semester will take place in Shelby Center Room 109.

There was an announcement from David Kyle, HPE, and the Fitness Center for individuals to sign up for “Just Move It”. The kick off will take place January 28 at the UC Exhibit Hall.

6. Senate Bill 311: Abolishing NC Grading

Dr. Rhonda Gaede moved the bill to the floor and Dr. Andrée Reeves seconded the motion. Dr. Banish distributed information on graduation rates in colleges. He made the point students do not graduate in four or five years. There is a problem with the graduation rates. This is a more serious problem and more important than NC and whether we give Ds and Fs. There are strong feelings with doing away with the NC grade. We may help students and not necessarily help retention. Dr. Radonovich addressed the retention rate information. There are many factors involved in this, such as working, etc. There was some discussion regarding concern for the label we place on students and the message that is sent regarding the quality of the degree. There was discussion regarding other ways to deal with problems, such as the Academic Resource Center and other ways to help students succeed. There was some concern expressed for the message to students of responsibility and encouraging them not to complete the course or to stop coming to class or to stop trying. There was some discussion regarding teaching them avoidance. There was some discussion of enforcing what is in the catalog and doing a better job advising. There was some discussion regarding letting departments make the decision and not abolishing the option across the board. There was some discussion of other issues involved and what happens to students who transfer, etc. There was some discussion of how many other schools offer this option and how they control it.

Dr. George called the question.

The vote for the bill was 16 in favor, 15 opposed, and 1 abstention. The bill passed at second reading.

7. Senate Bill 310: Smoke Free Building Environment

Dr. Banish moved the Bill to the floor, seconded by Dr. George. Dr. Reeves called the question. The vote was unanimous in favor. The bill passed at third reading and will be forwarded to Administration for review and approval.

8. Dr. Boyd adjourned the meeting at 2:10 p.m. Motion by Dr. Banish, seconded by Dr. Wessling.