UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON
DAYTON, OHIO

MINUTES OF THE ACADEMIC SENATE

April 27, 2001 - KH 103, 3:00 pm

Presiding: Betty Youngkin

Senators Present: Bartley, Conniff, Conte, Cox, Crum, Doyle, Dunne, Eimermacher, Geiger, Gerla, Gould, Hary, Ilg, Korte, McKenna, Morman, Phelps, Staubach, Youngkin

Guests: Frairek, Jacobs, LeComte, Skill
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1. Opening Prayer:  The meeting was opened with a song presented by Donna Cox, entitled "Make Us One."

2. Roll Call:  Nineteen of thirty-seven senators were present.

3. Approval of Minutes:  The minutes were approved with one correction.

4. Announcements:  Beth Jacobs, a member of the UD Leadership Team, was present to observe the proceedings.

5. Remarks on the State of the Senate

Senator Geiger, outgoing Provost, made a series of observations about the Academic Senate.

a. This is not a faculty senate, not a student senate, and not an administration senate. It is an academic senate, which includes all parts of the university community.

b. The previous senate was voted out of existence by the faculty, because it was thought to be dominated by the administration.

c. The present Academic Senate was brought back under the guidance of Joe Stander, the provost during the 70’s and 80’s.

d. Jim Heft, the previous provost, worked to fine-tune the committee structure of the Senate.

e. Under John Geiger the Academic Senate Constitution was amended in a number of ways.

1. The Senate President is a faculty member.

2. There is a fairer representation of all faculty members on the Academic Senate.

3. SGA academic senators are now also student senators on the Academic Senate.

4. Robert’s Rules of Order now control the debate.

5. There is closer communication between the Academic Senate and the President of the University.

In addition the Academic Senate has improved the institution with such initiatives as the Competency Program and the +/- grading scheme.

6. Televising Academic Senate Meetings on Flyer TV

Senator Bartley introduced a proposal to have the Academic Senate meetings taped and broadcast at a later time on Flyer TV. He said that while written minutes are available, the taping would give the student body a better sense of how the senate conducts business. Several comments were made from the floor.

a. What is the expense? Answer: Tom Skill will provide the necessary equipment and personnel, without any additional expense.

b. When will it be broadcast? It will be delayed for playing several times during the following week.

c. Can faculty see it? They can if they have a cable drop.

d. It was questioned whether "televising our meetings is a logical next step." The cameras are likely to stifle the speaking of some senators.

e. There was a concern raised that the camera will not be able to get the whole picture, especially in a small room. Conversations are likely to be coming in from the side.

f. We should not make a big issue out of this; it is just another means of communicating.

g. A friendly amendment was offered to try the televising for one year, and then revisit the issue. It was accepted.

The question was called.

For: 16 Opposed: 0 Abstained: 0

The vote on the proposal with the friendly amendment was taken.

For: 17 Opposed: 1 Abstained: 0

The proposal passed.

The Provost's Office will see that the necessary arrangements are made for the televising.

7. Revised Policy and Procedures for Courses Listed in the Bulletins

Senator Geiger pointed out that there are too many courses in the bulletins that are never offered. There is a "truth in advertising" problem. These courses should be removed. On the other hand, if a course is dropped, and a department or program subsequently decides to bring it back, there is a long procedure of necessary approvals that must be gone through.

As a compromise, a policy to place courses in a "holding folder" is being instituted. If a course is not offered in a three-year period, it is placed in the holding folder for an additional three-year period. At the end of the second three-year period, the registrar will contact the appropriate chair to ask if the course should remain in the holding folder for three more years, or dropped. Courses may remain in the holding folder indefinitely. At any time, a course in the holding folder may be removed and placed back into the bulletin without any approvals.

8. Committee Reports

Each committee reported its activities during the winter, 2001 semester.

a. Student Academic Policies Committee -- Senator Doyle reported that the committee worked on four items.

1. A proposal was presented to allow student senators on the Academic Senate to be those elected as SGA academic senators. The SGA Vice President of Academic Affairs will also serve as a senator on the Academic Senate. The proposal passed.

2. A proposal to change the grading scheme at UD to include A-, B+, B- and C+ at the undergraduate level, and A- and B+ at the graduate level was presented. The proposal passed with two amendments. C- was added to the undergraduate grading scheme, and B- was added to the graduate scheme.

3. The committee presented a list of issues to be considered when selecting the new President of the University.

4. The committee considered the impact of a C- on other university policies.

b. Academic Policies Committee – Senator Dunne reported that the committee worked on five items.

1. The committee is monitoring the campus-wide review of the General Education Program.

2. The committee is monitoring the work of the Competencies Implementation Subcommittee. Writing and oral competencies will apply to incoming freshmen in the fall of 2001.

3. The committee is involved with academic calendar issues. Specifically, it is watching to make sure that there are 43 sessions for three meetings per week classes, and 29 sessions for two meetings per week classes. It also was able to change the time for faculty to turn in final grades to the Tuesday after graduation, instead of Monday.

4. The committee suggested items that should be addressed by the presidential search committee.

5. The committee is considering the impact of the C- grade on several university policies: competencies, retakes, option 2, and transfer credits. A recommendation will be presented to the Academic Senate in the fall of 2001.

c. Faculty Affairs Committee – Senator Gerla reported that the committee worked on four items.

1. The committee held faculty hearings to add a lecturer representative on the Academic Senate.

2. The committee investigated the status and employment conditions of part time and full time non-tenure track instructional staff. The committee has drafted guidelines and is presently soliciting information from department chairs.

3. The committee is discussing the proper role of student evaluation of faculty members. It will present a proposal to the Academic Senate at a later time.

4. The committee is considering a proposal to create non-tenured Research Professorships for some full time employees of the University

9. Adjournment:  The meeting was adjourned at 4:12 pm

Respectfully submitted by: George Doyle, Secretary of the Academic Senate