Faculty Senate Meeting

Attendance

The Faculty Senate met on Thursday, March 15, at 3:40 pm in Reynolds 205.  Senators in attendance were Stacy Clanton, Jan Duke, Dan May, Sam Riner, Pat Clanton, Karen Ferneding, Tim Schroeder, Shannin Schroeder, Denise Moseley, Pierre Boumtje, Hong Cheng, Mary Armwood, Jennifer Logan.

The following senators were absent with proxies: Mary Armwood served for Bernadette Fincher, Tim Schroeder served for Tim Daniels, Denise Moseley served for Scott White, and Sam Heintz served for Abdel Bachri.

Ex-officio:  Amber Sharp-Allen, David Rankin, Paul McLendon, Roger Giles, Trey Berry,

Visitors included:  Brad Stout, Sandra Smith, Chrisanne Christensen, Michael Everhart, Linda Blake.   

Call to Order: Pres. S. Clanton called the meeting to order at 3:41 p.m.  Proxies read.

Approval of Minutes

Minutes from the February Faculty Senate meeting were approved electronically on March 6, 2012.

Special Orders of the Day   

Report on March Meeting of Board of Trustees:

Pres. Clanton summarized highlights from the most recent Board of Trustees meeting including an update on current SAU events provided by Dr. Rankin, new Academic Affairs programs that will benefit the campus, as well as the board’s approval to raise $10 million through the issuance of bonds to fund new construction efforts on the SAU campus in Magnolia and SAU Tech.

Initiation of Election process for Faculty Senate 2012-2013:

Pres. Clanton reminded senators that the time is approaching to elect senators for the upcoming year.  At-Large senate elections should be conducted and new senators selected by April 1, 2012.  Senator S. White, as Vice President of the Faculty Senate, will help to conduct these at-large elections.  College senators should be chosen through an election process by April 19.

Report from VPAA Search Committee:

Senator P. Boumtje reported that the search committee had received 93 applications as of March 14.  Applications are available for viewing on the Y drive for interested faculty and/or staff.  Once a shorter list is created it will be shared with the campus community.

Faculty Awards Banquet:

Pres. Clanton reminded attending senators of the upcoming Faculty Awards Banquet, scheduled for the evening of Monday, April 9.  This banquet provides an opportunity for the campus community to honor outstanding faculty.

Faculty Assembly:

Pres. Clanton announced that the spring Faculty Assembly will be held at 3:00 pm on Friday, April 20 in Agri/Business #208.

Unfinished Business

Ad Hoc Academic Integrity Committee Report

K. Ferneding reported the following:

• A prototype of the Academic Integrity course has been completed with the assistance of Mr. Del Duke from the Magale Library.  This prototype follows the Student Handbook guidelines.  The course is currently being separated into individual modules and a pre/post test is being designed.
• There are still concerns/ongoing discussions regarding practical design issues as well as the effectiveness of the current software in use.  A final exam on the content of the course is also being discussed as the committee determines acceptable outcomes for student performance.
• The committee hopes to have the Academic Integrity Course accessible by fall 2012.

D. May moved to accept the committee’s report as presented.  P. Boumtje seconded the motion.  The motion passed.

Ad Hoc Student Textbook Committee Report

D. May reported that the committee had recently discussed actions that had been carried out in response to recommendations made to the Faculty Senate in the February meeting.  These actions include the following:

• Dr. Crouse has sent an email which suggested that all faculty members be sure that their required texts were absolutely necessary.
• Dr. Allen and Mr. McLendon along with Mr. Giles, who noted that language exists in the student handbook on page 38 which informs incoming students of the necessity to purchase books.  They also noted that similar language is included online, in the mini view book, in the application packet, and in materials that students receive during orientation, but they were open to other ideas.

Discussion ensued regarding potential costs and benefits of providing “debit cards” for students to use when purchasing textbooks.  Mr. McLendon discussed various ways an “electronic account” process could be implemented to allow for financial aid money to be used in this way.

T. Schroeder moved  to accept the report.  P. Clanton seconded.  The motion passed.

Allusers Policy/Report from Handbook Committee

On behalf of the Faculty Handbook Committee, Chair P. Clanton reported the following recommendation to amend the University Handbook (changes to the current policy are shown in bold).

            University Handbook Current Policy

            409 Posting of Notices and Allusers E-mail

1.  All posters, signs, etc., are to be taken to the Office of Student Activities in the Reynolds Center, for stamping and distribution.  The office will provide workers to place signs at designated locations, and the signs will be removed at the expiration date.  This procedure does not apply to offices that have a designated bulletin board for specific information relating to that office.

2.  Allusers e-mail announcements are for official SAU communication.  Specifically:

a.  Allusers e-mail may be used only if the matter concerns all faculty and/or all staff. 

b.  Allusers e-mail may NOT be used for class absence notifications.  If an instructor or other employee wishes to use e-mail to inform fellow instructors of a student’s absence, only the concerned instructors of the absentees should be notified, not all users.  However, students are still responsible for pre-approving their absences with instructors directly as per the Faculty Handbook (chapter VI.B.1.d.iii). 

c.  Allusers e-mail may NOT be used for lost and found items. 

d.  Allusers e-mail may be used ONLY to promote events that are sponsored by registered campus organizations or by college, department, or other academic units. 

e.  Allusers e-mail of a personal nature should be limited to announcements of deaths and funerals.    

D. May moved to accept this recommendation and request this change be made to the University Handbook on behalf of the Faculty Senate.  J. Duke seconded.  The motion passed.

Equity Pay Adjustments

Pres. Clanton reported that the previously requested information regarding equity adjustments has not yet been provided.  Pres. Clanton then recommended that this matter be tabled until a later date.  T. Schroeder moved to accept this recommendation.  S. Schroeder seconded.  The motion passed.

Reports of Committees   

Parking Committee Recommendations

M. Armwood reported that the Parking Committee is currently moving forward with the recommendations provided last month.  Most recently, this includes the combining of the Faculty Parking Appeals Committee with the Staff Parking Appeals Committee.

Report from Senate Liaisons to Standing Committees of the University

• General Education Committee – D. Moseley reported that the General Education Committee has met 4 times this semester.  Based on feedback from faculty, the committee is currently rewriting learning goals following the recent change to a 120 hour degree requirement.
• Graduate Council – D. Moseley reported that this committee has met three times this semester to discuss the development of several new programs.
• Teacher Education – D. Moseley reported that this committee has met two times this semester to discuss needed program/curriculum changes following the recent change to a 120 hour degree requirement.
• University Assessment – P. Clanton reported that the committee has met two times this semester to discuss assessment issues for the university.  They have currently reviewed the assessment reports for 6 departments and plan to finish up the remaining departments shortly.
• Commencement Committee – S. Schroeder reported that the committee has met and is currently in the process of planning the commencement ceremony for May.

New Business

Unpaid Overloads

Pres. Clanton explained that it is still somewhat unclear how widespread of an issue this is.  An ad hoc committee was proposed to investigate this matter and report their findings to the Faculty Senate.  This ad hoc committee consists of J. Logan, K. Ferneding, H. Cheng, and D. May.  J. Duke moved to accept this proposal and create the ad hoc committee described above.  S. Riner seconded.  The motion passed.

Ethics Policy

Pres. Clanton discussed the current Code of Ethics as stated in Section 151 of the University Handbook.  He explained that some faculty members have expressed the view that this Code of Ethics is inadequate and that the policy is not being implemented adequately.  It was pointed out that in many cases the situation tends to be personal and unique, and that thus a more specific approach may be needed to address such issues as they arise.  Discussion ensued.  Many suggestions were made including the creation of a set of protocols such similar to those in place for situations in which a student appeals a grade.  D. May moved to send this issue to the Faculty Handbook Committee to investigate potential improvements and report back to the Faculty Senate.  P. Clanton seconded.  The motion passed.

The next meeting will take place on Thursday, April 19, 2012 in Reynolds 205.

Adjournment:

The motion to adjourn was made by J. Duke and seconded by D. May.

Submitted by Jennifer Logan, Faculty Senate Secretary, March 26, 2012.