February 2021 Minutes

Minutes of the Faculty Senate

Virtual Meeting

February 18, 2021

Present: Senators T. Schroeder, S. Schroeder, Tucker, Fanning, Wilson, Oden, Stanford, Wise, Overholser, Logan, Huang, Paulson, Schneiderwind, White, Almotairi, Warrick

Ex-Officio/guests:   Dr. Trey Berry, Dr. David Lanoue, Dr. Kim Bloss, Dr. Donna Allen, Mr. Roger Giles, Dr. Helmut Langerbein, Dr. Jennifer Rowsam, Dr. Gerald Plumlee, Dr. Robin Sronce, Dr. Scott White, Ms. Amanda Anderson, and Dr. Karen Landry

Proxies:

No proxies

Call to Order at 3:41 p.m.

Approval of Minutes:

1. 1. Minutes from January 21, 2021 [motion – S. Schroeder; second – T. Schroeder]

Special Orders of the Day

Updates from Dr. Berry:

There was reported 12-13 inches of snow.  The dining hall served 2 meals a day to students who remained on campus.  The virtual class option worked out really well.  He hasn’t heard of any issues with virtual learning and the electricity remained on.  There were several instances of broken pipes that burst in the residence halls, Overstreet Hall and Peace Hall.  Mulerider Market was opened up during the winter storm.  Over 400 bags of food were distributed to students on campus.

Currently, there is an investigation being conducted about the cyberattack.  There is no indication that the cyberattack included any confidential information.  There was only directory information obtained.  The investigation concluded that the cyberattack that was targeting toward his email and Ms. Davis’ email.  There are new protocols are being implemented.

The COVID-19 vaccine distribution is ongoing.  Currently, there is 1 student in quarantine off campus and 3 quarantined on campus and 7 positives. Random testing is still occurring.

The SAU Foundation is giving $12,000 for funds allocated to attend workshops and professional development.  As of now, $8,000 has been distributed and $4,000 remains.

Enrollment update—enrollment at the undergraduate is down, but graduate enrollment is up.  We are 600 applications down.  Not sure if it is attributed to the birth rate being lower or the pandemic.  Campus tours are going up. He complimented the admissions and advising staff for being innovative and working very hard.

Dr. Lanoue response to questions for the administration:

Questions for the Administration

1. What electronic behavior and practices can faculty watch out for to help mitigate our risk for ransomware and malware attacks in the future? In other words, what can we do, and not do, to help?

He suggested not open attachments; change passwords; and look at each e-mail carefully—examine carefully the e-mail addresses.

2. How many 9-12-grade students (sorted by district) were awarded concurrent enrollment each semester for the past three years?  What was the total SSHC distribution for each semester?   How many of these students enrolled/matriculated to SAU-Magnolia?

Concurrent students per school (top schools):

2019-20

• Bradley – 17
• Columbia Christian– 18
• Gurdon- 20
• Harmony Grove – 42
• Magnolia – 120
• Taylor – 20
• Baptist Prep – 41

SAU allows 11^th and 12^th students to enroll in concurrent courses.  Due to our carefully chosen secondary partners, SAU has one of the highest matriculation rates in the state.

Secondary partners that have the most students matriculate to SAU (highest to lowest):

• Magnolia
• Taylor
• Bradley
• Emerson
• Columbia Christian
• Gurdon

Matriculation rates:

2017 – 2018

• Number of Duplicated Students: 381
• Number of Unduplicated Students: 272
• Matriculation Rate: 43%

2018 – 2019

• Number of Duplicated Students: 406
• Number of Unduplicated Students: 284
• Matriculation Rate: 36%

2019 – 2020

• Number of Duplicated Students: 486
• Number of Unduplicated Students: 344
• Matriculation Rate: 40%

3. What is the reason for transferring course credit but not grade credit (i.e. GPA) for courses transferred to SAU included concurrent credit earned elsewhere during high school?   How could transferring grade-credit impact student’s persistence and scholarship eligibility?

Concurrent credit does count for GPA unless the student goes to SAU.  Transfer credit from other colleges/universities doesn’t count toward GPA.

4. Would it be possible for the office of Academic Affairs to set up a centralized website where all room reservations are updated and accessible? While faculty can still reserve rooms through the AA office, the current “procedure” for inquiring about room availability is time consuming, inefficient and error-prone.

He agreed that there could be improvement in this area.  He is working with Josh Jenkins to explore options and increase efficiency.

5. Is there a set deadline for deciding how the fall semester will be set up? Will this deadline provide sufficient time before August 18 if these plans are changed?

The plan for fall semester with a more typical fall schedule.  It is easier to plan to meet face-to-face and pivot to online, if needed.  As of now, that is the plan.

6. Adjunct faculty at SAU receive $700/$800 per teaching load hour, which amounts to little more than minimum wage (and without any other benefits) once prep, grading and taxes are factored in. Is the administration concerned that low adjunct pay may be affecting the quality, morale, recruitment and retention of our adjunct faculty pool? When was the last time that adjunct pay was increased?

He agreed that it is a concern. The last time that adjunct pay was increased was 10 years ago.  He explained that this should be brought to the budget committee to explore.

• Committee Reports:

Handbook Committee:  Senator S. Schroeder has forwarded the 13^th version of the Faculty Handbook to Mr. Giles’ office to review.  After it is reviewed, then it will be sent to Josh Jenkins to create as a web-based document.

Budget Committee:  Senator T. Schroeder shared a report regarding merit pay.

Ad Hoc committee–Faculty Sanctions:  Senators Logan, White, Stanford, and Overholser.  Currently, they are researching the policies at other universities.  There will be a report next month.

Move to adjourn 5:02 [motion – White, second – T. Schroeder]