Student Academic Policies Committee

University of Dayton

Dayton, Ohio

Minutes

March 5, 2003

Time: 8:00 am – 9:00 am

Location: KU Rm 211

Senators Present: N. Beck, G. Doyle, R. Gorton, R. Kearns, J. Saliba, M. Telfair

 

I. February 25, 2003 ECAS Meeting Report

Megan Telfair informed the SAPC of the following issues discussed at the ECAS meeting:

           

            A. Dean’s list for part-time students: The SAPC has been asked its opinion regarding                           the current policy for part-time students’ Dean’s List eligibility.  It is understood that                             the current policy allows PT students to be eligible for recognition after completing                            12 credit hours. The question posed to the SAPC is whether or not this is fair in                      comparison to full    time students who may be juggling a much larger course-load.  The              current policy may provide PT students an advantage over FT students because                         technically they could acquire 12 credit hours by simply taking 1 course each                                  semester over a 3-4 year time frame, accumulate their 12 hours at the university, and                         then qualify for dean’s list.  After discussion Megan offered to reference the                                          handbook on the exact wording of the current policy and discuss the policy again at a                       later date.

 

            B.  IT server down-time: Some members of the faculty have expressed concern                                       regarding the frequent server down-time that many areas of the university are                                   experiencing during peak class-times.  The concern is that professors are not able to                              access the technology they need when they need it, and as a result may                                          not be teaching to the best of their ability.  Joe Saliba explained that per Fred                                  Pestello’s request, the ECAS will meet with IT workers to find out what faculty,        

                  staff, and students should be able to expect from a server of this magnitude, given the

                  amount of technology, resources, and money that the institution has put into the

                  system.   Joe would like Flyer News to feature an article on the IT infrastructure to

                  better educate the campus on how it works, in hopes that this will answer any                                        questions or concerns. 

 

            C. Copyright Policy: The problem of copyright policies, or lack thereof, at UD was                      brought to the attention of the ECAS. To better protect the university against law-suits                  from copyright holders as a result of unlawful use and distribution of copyrighted                        material in classes on campus, distance-learning courses taken from UD off campus,                     as well as printed material sold in the bookstore, it was decided that documentation                   regarding the university’s policy on copyrighted material should be made available to                              the faculty via material placed on a website.  The March 14th AS meeting will further                            discuss this issue, as Joe has invited representatives from UDRI, Mike Rogers of the                        Bookstore, Thomas Skill and others informed on the policy to speak to the senate. 

 

D.    Strategic Planning: After discussion, both Joe and Megan agreed that it would be beneficial to encourage the involvement of students and faculty in the process of strategic planning for the university.  Therefore, it was suggested that next year, some of the student academic senators work with the Provost’s Council by serving on the Strategic Planning Council.  The SAPC agreed that these students would be strong, informed voices as a result of their leadership abilities and involvement with both the Student Government Association and Academic Senate.  Megan will let the current SGA Executive administration know about this idea and is confident that they will see it is a great opportunity, as well.

 

E.     Open Forum on Policy to Handle Arrests on Campus: Both Nick Beck and Megan attended an open forum held at the Law School on Wednesday, February 26th in regards to implementing a new policy for handling arrests on campus.  The forum was led by a group of university administrators, in particular the President, Provost, Dean of Students, Head of Public Safety, and Dean of the Law School. It provided students and faculty the opportunity to express to these university leaders their views and concerns about campus arrests and diversity related matters.  Overall, those present expressed the concern that if there is an arrest that needs to be made against a faculty, staff, or student of the UD community, public safety officers must be advised to use discretion and respect the humility and privacy of the individual.  Race or ethnic background should not be a factor used against the suspected individual.  Bruce Burt is working with the public safety department and the administration to implement a policy that will better serve and support the diversity of UD’s community. 

 

F.      Review of Student Assessment of Instruction: Megan e-mailed a form letter to all the Student Academic Senators to send to the chairs of the respective schools/departments they represent on the senate in order to inform them that the Student Assessment of Instruction that was revised by the SAPC and approved by the Academic Senate in the Winter 2000 term, is up for re-evaluation per request of the former Winter 2000 SAPC.  The senators will submit this letter to the chairs by Friday, March 8, 2003 and report to Megan any comments or concerns each department has expressed related to the forms.  The feedback received from these departments will be discussed at the next SAPC meeting.

 

II. Update on Summer Course Scheduling:

George Doyle submitted his latest draft of the Proposed Summer Time Schedule Guidelines.  He pointed out that the rationale behind the need for this schedule adjustment is due to problems within the current schedule: i.e. there is no set 12-week TTH class schedule, no test schedule for 12 week TTH classes, some class times overlap, some are taught in shortened time, Saturday test schedules are often not adhered to, and some classes start at non-standard times.  His proposed major changes include: Adding a time schedule guideline for TTH daytime courses, as well as giving final examinations during regularly scheduled class times, lasting the length of the class time (75-100 minutes) rather than issuing them on Friday and Saturday mornings at 110 minutes.  The SAPC recognized that this could be a potential problem for professors who prefer to give 110 minutes for their finals. Another discussion alluded to whether or not faculty/students would have a problem with classes continuing after 3:00 p.m on Friday afternoons.  George further expressed that because most seniors (as opposed to underclass students) would be more likely to take the graduate level courses offered during the evening, the classes ending at 4:20 or 4:40 would have to be primarily first year, sophomore, or junior level classes to avoid conflict.  George plans to email the deans of each department to inform them of his proposed schedule changes and find out what the consensus is within each department: i.e. the changes made to the TTH class schedules, final examination changes, and Friday classes after 3 p.m.  Joe suggested presenting the professors with two options: 1) to follow George’s proposed schedule 2) instead of overlapping classes, move to the option of Saturday classes as a part of the schedule.  George plans to report the feedback he receives at the next SAPC meeting.

 

III. New Business

The SAPC did not discuss any new business.

 

 

 

 

Submitted by: Megan Telfair, Chair of the Student Academic Policies Committee

March 6, 2003