Minutes of the Faculty Senate
DWR 205
September 20, 2018
3:40 p.m.
Present: Senators Warrick, Bond, Zia, Huang, Louden, Testa, Boumtje, Lowther, DiPier, Lyubartseva, White, Schroeder, Wise, Stanford, Parnell, Wilson, Shirey
Call to Order at 3:41 p.m.
Proxies: Alec Testa for Carla Bryant
I. Approval of Minutes
Minutes from April 19th, 2018 were approved (motion – White, second – Bond).
II. Special Orders of the Day
Dr. Lanoue addressed the question regarding the academic excellence fee. The academic excellence fee serves to support and sustain the following services: residential learning communities, counseling, academic advisors, and early alert. The revenue generated from the academic excellence covers $335,000 of the $467,000 required to support and sustain these services. The fee is 3 dollars/credit hour and is equal for graduate and undergraduate students.
Dr. Lanoue described the Physical Plant Process in regards to completion of work orders and projects. Emergencies are given priority, and then they are ordered based on when the request is received. Due to rising costs of outsourcing construction, the physical plant tries to do construction tasks when possible. This saves money but has taken time. Senator White requested that there be a communication loop with physical plant about the status of work orders. Dr. Lanoue will pass this request onto physical plant.
Dr. Lanoue addressed the question on the progress of a fall break being implemented. Dr. Rowsam is leading a task force, and the task force is in the process of finalizing a two-day mid-October break to begin in fall of 2019.
Dr. Lanoue expressed the desire to review the faculty and student evaluation process. He stated that he would like to make sure the review process for faculty evaluations is even across all units.
Dr. Lanoue gave an update on the progress of the EdD. It is expected that ADHE will approve in January, 2019. Once ADHD approves the EdD, it will move on to HLC approval.
Dr. Berry addressed the senate on the topic of the budget for the 2018-2019 academic year. A 1 time 2% COLA payment has been approved and will occur in October. There will be the implementation of a 1 time (to begin with) 10% supply budget cut across all departments.
III. Unfinished Business
Standing committees of the Senate were selected and approved by acclamation:
Handbook Committee: Wilson, Wise, Lowther, Parnell
Parking Committee: Bryant, Bond, Shirey, Boumtje
Budget Committee: Testa, Zia, Schroeder, DiPier
Committee liaisons for standing committees of the university were selected by acclamation. The list is found at the end of this set of Senate minutes.
Staff Senate Liaison: Testa (President Appointed)
University Budget Committee Liaison: Alec (motion – Bond, second – Zia)
IV. Other Business
Online Course Quality Assurance Policy: President Warrick appointed the Handbook Committee with the task of considering whether the policy and checklist should go in the handbook and, if so, what it should look like. The Online Course Quality Assurance Policy is found at the end of this set of Senate minutes.
Motion to ask College Deans to consider a policy for a common black board shell in face-to-face courses and to report their considerations by the November 2018 Faculty Senate meeting. Motion passed.
V. Other News
Research cycle is no open and the date to submit will be extended to allow for a full month.
VI. Adjourn
Senator White motioned to adjourn at 4:48 pm (Testa second). Motion passed.
Online Course Quality Assurance Policy
Reason for Policy
The purpose of the Quality Assurance review is to ensure the quality and accessibility of all online and hybrid courses at Southern Arkansas University. Online/hybrid courses at SAU must be reviewed by the Office of Online Learning (OOL) for quality assurance per Higher Learning Commission (HLC) accreditation standards and Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) requirements. The Quality Assurance review process is NOT an evaluation of faculty teaching.
I. First Time Online/Hybrid Instructor Course Review
a. College Deans will provide a detailed list of the courses and instructor names, including adjuncts, to the Director of the Office of Online Learning (OOL). This should be completed no later than one month prior to the course being offered.
b. Quality Assurance approval for courses using the SAU Course Review Quality Assurance Checklist must be completed at least one week prior to the course start date.
Course review results will be sent to the course instructors, dean and department chair via email.
c. If a course does not meet Quality Assurance Standards, the instructor will make needed revisions. The Director of the OOL will provide support to the course instructor as needed.
d. OOL will contact instructors and department chairs whose courses do not meet the review requirements to notify them about further improvements required and to remind them to reschedule the Quality Assurance review. Further improvement options may include one or more of the following:
i. The instructor can work with OOL to make revisions. Department chairs will closely oversee the instructor’s progress.
ii. The instructor can work with a faculty mentor. OOL will recommend a faculty member who has completed the Applying the Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) course.
iii. Departments may opt to assign a new faculty member to the course. Training and course review may be required as per policy.
e. If a course does not meet the standards of the Quality Assurance review by one week prior to the start of the course, the course will be cancelled or reassigned.
II. Established Online/Hybrid Course Review
a. OOL will provide a schedule outlining the process and timelines for course review.
b. Courses will be reviewed on a three year rotation. OOL will provide a rotation schedule by college.
c. Quality Assurance approval for courses must be completed at least one week prior to the course start date.
d. If a course does not meet Quality Assurance Standards, the instructor will make needed revisions. The Director of OOL will provide support to the course instructor as needed.
e. OOL will contact instructors and department chairs whose courses do not meet the review requirements to notify them about further improvements required and to remind them to reschedule the Quality Assurance review. Further improvement options may include one or more of the following:
i. The instructor can work with OOL to make revisions. Department chairs will closely oversee the instructor’s progress.
ii. The instructor can work with a faculty mentor. OOL will assign a faculty member who has completed the Applying the Quality Matters Rubric course.
iii. Departments may opt to assign a new faculty member to the course. Training and course review may be required as per policy.
f. If a course does not meet the standards of the Quality Assurance review by one week prior to the start of the course, the course will be cancelled or reassigned.
Course Review Quality Assurance Checklist
This checklist is designed to be used when reviewing an online course.
Course Reviewed: ___________________________________Date Reviewed________________
Name of Reviewer: _______________________________________________________________
Standard | Status | Feedback |
1. Follow SAU Course Template (Bold elements required) The SAU Course Template is used to ensure the course has a consistent and intuitive navigation system enabling students to quickly locate course information and materials. |
o Standard met
o Standard met if modified o Standard not met |
|
2. Course Tour/Orientation and Instructor Intro A course orientation and instructor introduction are used to familiarize the students with the course and instructor. |
o Standard met
o Standard met if modified o Standard not met |
|
3. Instructor Communication Policy and Virtual Office Hours Instructor response time and availability is clearly communicated to the student. |
o Standard met
o Standard met if modified o Standard not met |
|
4. Learning Objectives The course contains learning goals and objectives for module/unit 1. |
o Standard met
o Standard met if modified o Standard not met |
|
5. Learning Activities and Assessments The course learning activities and assessments for module/unit 1 are easily navigated enabling students to quickly locate learning activities and assessments (e.g., a learning guide for each module, unit, chapter, or week. |
o Standard met
o Standard met if modified o Standard not met |