October 2022 Minutes

Minutes of the Faculty Senate

Regular meeting held via Zoom

October 20, 2022

Present: Senators Oden, Petty, Pfannenstiel, T. Schroeder, Tucker, Schroeder, White, Fanning, Paulson, Overholser, Nelson, Samples, Logan, Djiguimde, Valenzuela, Coppersmith, Hudgens, Schneiderwind

Ex-officio and guests: David Lanoue, Donna Allen, Jennifer Rowsam, Gerald Plumlee, Karen Landry, Robin Sronce, Connie Wilson, Vanda McLelland, Trey Berry, Marisa Grippo, Vanda McLellan, Sheryl Edwards, Deborah Wilson, Jesse Filbrun

 

Call to order: 3:40 pm

Reading of Proxies:  Valenzuela for Almotairi, Petty proxy for Samples starting at 4:31pm

1. Approval of Minutes

Minutes from August 19, 2022 were approved (motion – Logan, second – White) with Overholser’s note about correcting the proxies entered in the initial draft of the minutes.

2. Guest presentation

Dr. Deborah Wilson, Interim Dean, College of Liberal and Performing Arts and Title IX Coordinator provided a brief overview of the work that Title IX does on campus for students, faculty, and staff who have experienced gender-based violence e.g. sexual assault and stalking.  Wilson reviewed how the Title IX committee functions, how federal law guides the process, available resources and the victim empowerment and trauma-informed model in place to ensure victims are choosing the course of action most appropriate for themselves.  Those who would like to learn more should visit the website at https://web.saumag.edu/title-ix/

3. Reports of Committees

Report from the Faculty Senate Handbook Committee (Senator White)

Senator White did not have a report for the committee.

Report from the Faculty Senate Budget Committee (Senator Tucker)

Senator Tucker shared that the budget forum with the administration has been set for October 27 at 3:40pm in Grand Hall C to answer questions and concerns regarding the university’s budget. Tucker requested that Senators reach out to their constituents to see if they have questions regarding the budget and to encourage their attendance.

Report from the Faculty Senate Parking, Facilities and Grounds Committee (Senator Hudgens)

Senator Hudgens noted the committee will be meeting with UPD to review existing policies and procedures related to parking on campus.

Report from Ad Hoc Committee on Student Evaluations (Senator Schroeder)

Schroeder shared that the committee has met recently and has begun the process of eliciting feedback on the current process from faculty to inform future changes.  Changes will likely include; shortening the form, including more open-ended questions, making it more relevant and appropriate to given modalities of instruction (online v. in-person), improving response rate through process changes.  Schroeder encouraged faculty to send in their comments during the process.

4. Liaisons from other Standing and University Committees

Academic Suspension and Appeals Committee

Senator Logan reported the committee had reviewed 10 appeals in their recent meeting.

Institutional Review Board

Senator Logan reported that the student IRB training program/application is up and running on the SAU website. The course was designed for faculty that prefer a shorter, more student-friendly option for students to obtain knowledge regarding ethical IRB practices. SAU now has access to CITI training for IRB purposes.

Sustainability

Logan reported on the recent activity of the Sustainability Committee including focusing on recycling and SAU becoming a “tree campus”.

Academic Affairs

Senator White provided a handout (attached) which detailed the code sheets approved by college at each AA meeting this academic year.

Intercollegiate Athletics

Senator White shared notes on the recent meeting of the IAC committee (see attached). White noted they discussed the grade-report process for student athletes, which is also discussed later in the meeting.

Student Affairs

Senator Petty stated the committee met via email to update their risk management policy.

Graduation

Senator Samples stated the committee approved the ability of nursing graduates to wear stoles at the graduation ceremony.

Teaching with Technology

Senator Coppersmith reported the committee has release a call for proposals and the group will meet soon to go over applications.

5. Old Business

President Oden asked those present to review the handouts with the emergency and regular NC policies (check faculty handbook). Senators discussed various pros and cons of utilizing the emergency NC option on a long term basis.  President Oden asked for the creation of an ad hoc committee to provide recommendations regarding both the short term and long term usages of the NC option.  The committee will be asked to provide recommendations at the November Faculty Senate meeting.

6. New Business
7. Senator White asked for the Handbook Committee to review and clarify the language regarding how college and standing committee members are chosen. First motion – White, Second – Schroeder, motion passed.
8. Senator Overholser asked for the Handbook Committee to review the grievance procedure in the University handbook and determine if it is appropriate to create a link to the UH or to move it over to the Faculty Handbook. Overholser – First motion, White – Second, motion passed.

7. Special orders of the day

Dr. Berry volunteered to speak after the questions for the Administration, due to time considerations.  For continuity purposes for future readers, his points are listed here:

• “Company is coming” – the HLC visit is set for November 14-15 and the Reynolds Center will be given a facelift in preparation
• Applications are up for as far as recruitment, applications, acceptances and tours for future semesters
• Homecoming and Family Day both had enormous crowds and the dedication of Mallory Hall (formerly University Hall) went very well
• The CEHP dean search will begin in November and a recruiting firm has been engaged to help with the search
• COLA increases will be reflected in campus pay (for those employed before July 1, 2022), during the October pay period
• The SAU Foundation has a Student Emergency Fund for students with emergency needs
• The Murphy USA Classic and the “Tours and Touchdowns” football games are coming up
• The Watson Gym has new quarters for the basketball and volleyball operations
• More security cameras are going up all over campus
• Listening sessions for the future capital campaign are taking place all over campus

Dr. Lanoue, Provost, moved directly into questions for the Administration:

8. Questions for the Administration

• What is the per-hour cost for SAU employees and/or their children to enroll in a course? Since tuition is waived, does this only include fees
• Provost Lanoue noted that employees and their children are required to pay the fees for courses taken.
• Do athletes sign a waiver to provide coaches access to their grade and performance information (current grade, # of absences, etc.)? If not, progress reports may not be FERPA compliant.
• NCAA standards exist that make coaches and certain interested parties able to access student athlete information for eligibility purposes.
• Is it possible to streamline grade reporting for athletes to ensure there is a common process for all campus sports?
• This issue was raised with the IAC (as noted before with Senator White’s report), and is being reviewed for options to streamline the process. The 4-week/midterm grade reporting processes and the requirement for grades to be listed on BlackBoard are options that will be reviewed to facilitate a more streamlined process for status checks for athletes. Jennifer Rowsam stated the Administration has been working on a reporting process with the football team and reforms are in process.
• The application process for the Faculty Research Grant and Fellowship is unclear and outdated. Could the Research Committee review the application and make recommendations for improvement?
• Jesse Filbrun, Chair of the committee provided a brief overview of the grant process and ways in which the committee would like to review the process for future applicants. Areas for improvement include; application forms, clarity in requirements, rubrics, clarifying funding priorities, and incentivizing interdisciplinary research.
• The sharing of results from funded research was also mentioned. At this time Provost Lanoue stated the faculty colloquiums will begin again in the coming Spring.
• Considering the recent end of COVID protocols on campus, will SAU continue to pay for the professional tier of Zoom for faculty in future academic years?
  1. Provost Lanoue stated SAU will keep the pro-tier for zoom in effect this academic year, however, in the future different tools may be reviewed to replace/augment Zoom in concert with the Office of Online Learning.
  2. What is the administration’s approach for recurring approvals of excessive faculty overload with vacant faculty positions/lines available?

• Provost Lanoue discussed some of the challenges that come with accurately forecasting and aligning student enrollment with current capacity
• He noted that the Administration takes the burden seriously and as such there are multiple positions currently being recruited for throughout the university to address vacant positions.
• Additionally, not all positions that were removed from a department (and the budget) are considered vacant. If positions are not listed in the budget now, they could be added in the future after departmental needs are revisited.

Adjournment at 5:03pm, Senator White gave the first motion, Nelson seconded the motion.

 

SAU Faculty Senate:  Thursday October 20, 2022

Committee Liaison Report by Senator Scott White

 

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

The SAU Academic Affairs Committee met on Tuesday,  September 20^th and Tuesday,  October 18.

College	Code Sheets Approved 9/20	Code Sheets Approved 10/18	Schedule Mtg 11/29
LPA	22	6	tba
CSE	3	0	tba
RCB	0	1	tba
CEHP	0	0	tba

 

INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHELETICS COMMITTEE

The SAU Intercollegiate Athletics Committee met on Tuesday Sept 20^th.

The meeting was facilitated by chair and Faculty Athletic Representative, Scott White.

The majority of the meeting included information (handout) from Sage Woodham (Associate Director of Athletics for Internal Operations / Compliance / Senior Women’s Administrator) regarding Academic Eligibility, Academic Compliance, and Countable Athletically Related Activities (CARA).

Athletic Facility and program updates were shared with the committee by Ms. Woodham.

Other items that were discussed included streamline the grade-report process for student athletes, handling student-athlete’s assignment scores and grades in the context of FERPA, responsibility of student-athletes regarding class-absences, academic advising of transfer student-athletes, academic requirements (credit hours) for continued participation, and yet-to-be-completed facility improvements.

SAU Intercollegiate Athletics Committee Meeting

Tuesday October 18, 2022

11:15 AM – 12:15 PM

SAU Science Center 101 (first floor conference room, near elevator)

AGENDA:  Meeting Topics

Time Commitment for Student Athletes: Sage Woodham

• In-Season practice-schedules and hours:  Policy, documentation and reporting
• Out-of-Season practice workout policies:  Policy, documentation and reporting
• Additional policies and questions

Academic Eligibility:  Sage Woodham

• How does a student remain eligible to participate in practices (in/out-of season) and competition season.
• What course hours can count toward eligibility for transfer students and continuing SAU students
• What impact does NC and W grades on a transcript have on eligibility?
• What impact does NC and C grades have on academic progress requirements?
• How long can a student-athlete compete on the collegiate level?
• Additional eligibility topics and questions

Facility Updates:  Steve Browning (presented by Max Dyson & Sage Woodham)

• Completed projects:  DAC, Track/Field-Throw area, WT Watson Upgrades
• In-progress projects:  Volleyball-Basketball Offices and meeting space
• Future projects:  Student Success Center
• Additional updates & questions