The Faculty Senate of  North Georgia College & State University met on January 13, 2000, at 12:30 PM in Oakes 019.  The meeting was called to order by CEO Donna Gessell with the following Senators present:  Anthony, Barnett, Batchelder, Biddy, Carroll-Cobb, Corotto, Gordon, Herbert, Kokkala, Link, Margeson, Patten, Roberts-Betsch, Sisk, Skelly, Smith, Spraker, Stahl, Temples, Thurman, Weinberg, Wiedmann, and Woods.  Also present were VPAA Buckhiester.  Senators Szuminski and Yonts were absent.  Guests present were Steve Ross and Harriette Richard.  Senators Democko and Tennis were excused.  Staff Council Representative Peggy Inman was also excused.  President Hansford was unable to attend due to a meeting in Atlanta.

Minutes of the November 11, 1999, meeting

The minutes for the Faculty Senate meeting of  November 11, 1999, were submitted.  There being no corrections or additions, the minutes were approved as submitted.

President's Report

In the absence of President Hansford, the President's Report was given by VPAA Buckhiester.  Dr. Buckhiester introduced Dr. Bryant, VPSA.  VPSA Bryant told the Senate she was "very glad to be here."  She took the occasion to remind the Senators that, due to the delayed start of the semester, the nomination process for the Hutchinson Award would be very abbreviated.  She encouraged all departments to submit names for this prestigious award.

VPAA Buckhiester informed the Senators there is no firm information yet on the new budget.  He added that the state government's 33 million dollar shortfall may be covered in the supplemental budget.  NGCSU, in that case, may not need to refund any budgetary monies to the state.

He went on to report that, as of 11 AM, January 13, enrollment figures were up as follows:  undergraduates were up 6.04% and undergraduate hours were up 5.4%.  Graduate enrollment was up 8.04% with graduate hours up 9.3%.  Overall, student enrollment was up 6.25% with enrolled hours up 5.6%.  VPAA Buckhiester pointed out that, should we experience the usual and expected loss of students through withdrawals, figures for the current semester would still be up 4% to 5%.

VPAA Buckhiester reported that every high school student scheduled to attend the Leadership Challenge Weekend had a GPA of at least 3.0 and a SAT score of at least 1000.  He informed the Senate that between 250 to 1000 students might attend the weekend event.  He went on to thank all those faculty participating in the Academic Overview Session planned for Saturday.

VPAA Buckhiester went on to explain that the Spring Faculty Meeting had been scheduled for 3:30 PM on Tuesday, February 1, 2000.  This time and date were recommended by CEO Gessell.  The presence of meetings and events already on the schedule meant that, were the Spring Faculty Meeting to be held during the official meeting hour, it would have been necessary to delay it until March.

VPAA Buckhiester reported that four search committees are actively meeting.  These are search committees for the following positions:  Associate VPAA; Director of Public Services; VP for Institutional Development; and a Dean's post.  Dr. Buckhiester informed the Senate that it is anticipated that the committees will complete their work by July 1, 2000.

In closing, VPAA Buckhiester commended the staff of Plant Operations for all their work, as well as commending Dr. Lary and the library staff, regarding the refurbishment of Stewart Library.  It is planned that the library furniture will be replaced as finances permit.  He went on to report that the new Cadet Recruiting Center is open and operating, and the Community Counseling Center is almost ready.  Work on the new computer lab had been slowed down a bit.

CEO's Report

CEO Gessell reported that Ron Graham of Human Resources was in the process of working with a committee to put together a document outlining all grievance procedures.

New Business

Senator Sisk, on behalf of the Committee on Committees, made the following recommended assignments of advisors:

           Company                                    Advisers
               Alfa                        Michael Reese and Susan Gannaway
              Bravo                      Mike Powell and Jill Hayes
             Charlie                     Ann Sumners and Mark Spraker
               Delta                      Dlynn Armstrong and Noel Campbell
               Echo                      Robert Fuller and Georgia Mann
            Foxtrot                      Edward Green and Diane Yeargin
         Headquarters                Ferris Byxbe and Marvin Pippert
The recommendation passed.

Dr. Roberts-Betsch reported that the new Faculty Handbook was finished and would be sent out to the faculty the next week.  She pointed out that, for reasons or space and economy, some full policies were not included in the handbook but are available on the university's web or other site.  Such locations are noted in the handbook for purposes of referral.  She went on to explain that the dissemination of handbooks to new faculty would be the responsibility of the VPAA and Associate VPAA.  Finally, plans are in the works to place the full contents of the handbook on the university web site.

Dr. Harriette Richard, Chair, Faculty Affairs Committee brought the following proposal concerning Roll Verification to the Senate for approval:
        "The Faculty Affairs Committee, in consultation with Academic Affairs, has studied roll verification, attendance policy, and their effect on faculty evaluations.
         The following are recommendations from the committee.
                Verification of rolls by professors during the first three weeks of class is essential.
               After three weeks, taking attendance is left to the prerogative of the professor.
                Faculty evaluations could be adversely affected if failure to verify rolls is habitual.
                The Registrar's Office will provide written notification of the disenrollment of students due to roll
                verification and of the withdrawal of students due to student initiated or faculty initiated drop."

During the ensuing discussion, Senator Woods suggested that faculty members simply check their class rolls on Banner.  Senator Biddy pointed out that doing so can take, for some faculty members, considerable time and provides no "paper trail" for purposes of documentation.  Senator Patten reiterated the need for paper verification in controversial cases.  Senator Woods responded that it was his understanding that Banner and the web were supposed to reduce the need for a "paper trail."  It was pointed out that, for example, in the case of a student initiated withdrawal, the faculty member may delete the student's name from the roll upon signing the student's form.  The student may then fail to follow through on the completion of the process, but later claim to have withdrawn.
The recommendation was approved.

Senator Weinberg, reporting on behalf of the Sexual Harassment Ad Hoc Committee, explained that a campus wide survey had been constructed which would be distributed soon.  In addition, the survey would also go out to faculty and staff members.  Senator Sisk questioned if both graduate and commuter students would also be representatively surveyed.  Senator Weinberg answered in the affirmative.

The final piece of new business was a concern brought forth by Senator Weinberg regarding which courses could and could not be taught during a short summer session.  Senator Weinberg reported that he had been informed that a Dean had raised the issue during a meeting of the Deans' Council.  The Dean feared that a short summer session did not offer adequate time in which to offer full and proper instruction in introductory level courses.  As a result, Senator Weinberg was told, any introductory level course scheduled for a short summer session would require the approval of the appropriate Dean.  Senator Weinberg then raised three questions:

1)  If a question of pedagogical integrity is the issue, should it not be discussed by and amongst the faculty?
2)  How and where can one go for a clarification of the roles of Deans and Heads?
3)  Does this decision affect only the Department of History or all or any other departments?

In the discussion which followed, Senator Corotto asked whether the roles of Deans and Heads are clarified in the Faculty Handbook or some other place.  VPAA Buckhiester explained that, a few years ago, to save time on the part of the Academic Activities Committee, it was decided to allow Department Heads to deal with the "nuts and bolts."  He went on to explain that, with the semester conversion, it was decided that the Heads would formulate the new core curriculum and pass their recommendations on to the Academic Activities Committee for approval.  VPAA Buckhiester acknowledged that the Department Heads, as a body, are not a statutory entity.  He further acknowledged that the Deans' Council, likewise, is not a statutory entity.  Senator Thurman pointed out that, although neither group enjoys statutory identity, they nevertheless exercise great influence on policies and decisions.

VPAA Buckhiester pointed out that, when scheduling summer sessions and courses, three factors must be considered:
1) academic quality, 2) marketability, and 3) attractiveness to faculty. In trying to balance all three factors, the Department Heads proposed two 4 week sessions and one 8 week session.  He acknowledged that both the first 4 week and the 8 week session are both set to begin before the public schools are finished for the year.

CEO Gessell inquired as to whether students are limited by any official rule or policy in the number of hours for which they can enroll during the summer.  VPAA Buckhiester responded that such a limitation no longer exists.  The current limitation on summer hours is the same as that for a regular academic semester.  Senator Smith pointed out that there is a significant difference between "pedagogical fears and marketing problems."  Senator Corotto reported that he had been informed that he could add on Friday classes to allow additional instruction time.  The VPAA responded that could be done only for laboratory courses earning 4 credits.  Dr. Richard suggested that students are able to adjust to a schedule, and it may not be necessary or appropriate to adjust the schedule to the students.  Dr. Richard raised the question whether there was an actual prohibition on teaching certain courses in a 4 week session.  Senator Weinberg reiterated his position that this was a topic that ought to be discussed and considered by the faculty and not left entirely to the administration.  CEO Gessell suggested that certain courses, for example, foreign language courses, might, in fact, not be appropriate for the 4 week session.  The question was then raised, who should make such an evaluation?  Senator Sisk suggested that such a question might be discussed by a department head with his/her faculty with a recommendation then made to the respective dean.  Senator Weinberg was asked what he wanted the Senate to do on this matter.  Senator Weinberg responded that he raised the issue in hopes that the Senate would discuss it and to hear from other departments concerning how the issue is being handled.  Senator Woods suggested that a mechanism already is in place to deal with the issue.  Senator Weinberg responded by pointing out that the current presumption seems to be that it is the responsibility of the faculty member to justify the teaching of the course on a 4 week basis.  Senator Smith pointed out the difficulty this presumption creates; "You can't prove it will work if you aren't allowed to try it."  Senator Weinberg then voiced the idea that part of the problem may lie in non-statutory groups having and exercising statutory power.  Senator Spraker asked whether the summer schedule was handled differently in different departments.  Senator Smith reported that, in his department, the summer schedule is just announced by the Head.  Senator Corotto reported that in his department the faculty decide.  Other senators reported that their department discussed the schedule as a department. Senator Smith informed the Senate that students, for example, those enrolled in his survey course, have clearly indicated they desire it be taught as a 4 week summer course.  Senator Anthony pointed out that many introductory level courses are taught during the summer as short session courses by other colleges and universities in the state system.  If we do not offer these courses during a summer short session, our students may simply take the courses at another school and transfer the credits back here.

Announcements

CEO Gessell announced that Senator Barnett, Chair of the Graduate Ad Hoc Committee, had submitted a letter concerning the work of the committee.  The letter was shared with the Senate and reported the following:

The Graduate Ad Hoc Committee has met five times since receiving their charge and, thus far, has accomplished the following:
    1)  Collected data from other universities and colleges related to graduate faculty status and Graduate Council
          membership.
    2)  Surveyed Department Chairs, Deans, and V.P.'s of Academic Affairs related to work assignments of the
          various types of graduate faculty, e.g., full-time tenure track to clinical faculty.
    3)  Developed a tentative definition of Graduate Faculty status.
The committee is currently reviewing the process of acquiring and maintaining graduate faculty status.  The committee will be meeting again and hopes to have a final report by March, 2000.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 PM.

Respectfully submitted,
 
 
 

Sally Wiedmann, Secretary
NGCSU Faculty Senate