Call to Order
The NGCSU Faculty Senate met on February
6, 2001. The meeting was called to order at 12:30 PM by CEO Woods.
The following members of the Senate were present: President Hansford,
VPAA Buckhiester, M. Anthony, T. Barnett, K. Biddy, P. Bielec, N. Campbell,
C. Chastain, D. Cronic, L. Delargy, B. Friedman, S. Gannaway, B. Herbert,
I. Kokkala, R. Larkin, E. Link, V. McCard, H. Margeson, J. O'Neal, K. Sisk,
G. Spraker, T. Temples, C. Weinberg, M. Westerfield, S. Wiedmann, S. Williams,
J. Woods, and J. Yeoman. Dr. Linda Roberts-Betsch and Dr. Arlene
Thurman were present as guests. Senator B. Morris was excused.
Senator Jones was absent, as was Staff Council Representative Yawn.
Minutes of the January 11, 2001, Meeting
The minutes of the January 11th meeting
of the NGCSU Faculty Senate were submitted by CEO Woods for approval.
CEO Woods called for any corrections or additions. It was noted that
the motion to give the present Faculty Dining Room space in the Student
Center to the students was not made by Senator Campbell. It was,
in fact, made by Senator Yeoman. There being no further corrections
or additions, Senator Campbell moved that the corrected minutes be approved.
Senator Cronic seconded the motion. The minutes were approved as
corrected.
President's Report
The President brought to the Senate's
attention the latest version of the Georgia DOT highway map which features
a picture of the NGCSU campus on the back. The map was passed around
for the Senators to view.
President Hansford announced that he had accepted the Senate's recommendation to maintain the current Faculty Dining Room space in the Student Center.
The President also announced that he had accepted the Senate's recommendation to establish a university committee on sexual harassment. Dr. Carl Weinberg and Dr. Laura Whitaker-Lea will serve as Co-Chairs. The other members of the committee are Dr. David Fore, Dr. Jill Hayes, Dr. Michael Reese, Dr. Harriette Richard, Ms. Kathy Rich, and Ms. Lyndal Yawn. The committee is charged "to implement the Faculty Senate resolution, i.e., 'to take proactive measures to educate the campus on issues of sexual harassment and discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation'."
President Hansford informed the Senate that Governor Barnes has sent next year's budget request to the House. The budget request includes a 4.5% salary increase for USG faculty and staff along with a 3.5% salary increase for other institutions such as the technical schools.
Regarding the recent changes in health care coverage, 43% of NGCSU employees and retirees chose to remain in the indemnity plan, 33% opted for the PPO, and 24% selected HMO coverage. This compares respectively to 43%, 43%, and 18% system wide.
President Hansford informed the Senate that there would be no funding from the Governor for the Eminent Scholars' Program in future.
With regard to the recent budget hearings which were held on campus, budget proposals were made by a number of state institutions in the area. NGCSU requested the funding necessary for a number of new positions as well as for equity funding regarding salaries. President Hansford, however, informed the Senate that he expects only level funding for the next year. Level funding next year means that NGCSU will probably not get the extra funding requested.
President Hansford then reported on enrollment figures for the current semester. The number of students enrolled for Spring Semester 2001 is up about 2%, and credit hours are up about 5%. The increase in student enrollment is quite good in comparison with USG. Additionally, applications for the 2001-2002 school year are up about 9% and admissions up about 13%.
President Hansford then turned his attention to a "very important" part of the NGCSU Mission Statement -- namely, leadership training. He pointed out that leadership training is a clearly stated part of the mission statement and also a central component of NGCSU's core values. Recently, Chancellor Portch made reference to NGCSU in this regard (NGCSU is one of only 2 USG institutions specifying leadership training in its mission statement). President Hansford pointed out that leadership training is part of the "very foundation" upon which the institution was founded. It is "our signature." This is evidenced not only by the Corps of Cadets but within the rest of the student body as well. Our SGA has been named "Best in State" in 11 out of the last 14 years. The student paper, "The Voice," was ranked 2nd in the state in terms of "Most Improved" student newspaper. President Hansford, therefore, has formed a taskforce to investigate the possibility of establishing a leadership training program. Such a program, if possible, would be a formalized course of study resulting, perhaps, in a certificate or a minor. The program is envisioned to be two-track; covering both position-based leadership (military) and servant-oriented leadership (volunteer organizations). Such a program, once established, would benefit our campus atmosphere and our students. Senator Chastain raised the question of what attention such a program might pay to leadership for women. President Hansford pointed out that a conference dealing with that very topic had been held last spring. He went on to acknowledge that, given the fact that about 60% of our students are women, a leadership training program would certainly take this into account. Senator Campbell reminded the Senate of the leadership training opportunities already provided by the various fraternities and sororities on campus. Senator Gannaway pointed out that every educational program must have a "conceptual model." The education program at NGCSU employs a "teacher as leader" model which serves as a foundation for all course content. The taskforce is being chaired by Dr. Bryant, VPSA. Members of the taskforce include Dr. Gessell, Dr. Frank, Dr. Davis, Col. Teston, Dr. Temples, Dr. Friedman, Dr. Long, Dr. Singleton, Col. Palmer, Dr. Mas, and Kim Roach.
CEO's Report
CEO Woods announced that an Employment
Fair will be held on campus March 15th from 11AM to 2PM in the gymnasium.
About 80 firms are expected to participate.
Nominations for the Distinguished Professor Award are due February 12th in order for the nominations to be considered by the appropriate committee by the 16th.
The CEO announced that Department Senators for 2001-2003 have been chosen. Senators-at-Large for the same period are in the process of being chosen. The faculty will be informed of all results as soon as the results of the at-Large election are known. Two Senators will then be chosen to serve on the Committee on Committees.
CEO Woods then announced that the Administrative Council will discuss a proposed policy concerning the use of bandwidth-intensive technology. The CEO distributed copies of the proposed policy to all Senators. He went on to ask that any questions, complaints, or recommendations concerning the proposed policy be directed either to Terry McLeod, Director of IIT, or to the Technology Committee via Dr. Judy O'Neal or Dr. Irene Kokkala.
Old Business
Senator Friedman and Dr. Arlene Thurman
presented two proposals on behalf of the Faculty Affairs Committee.
The proposals deal with the "48 Hour Rule" concerning the reporting of
final grades and the "End of Semester Schedule." The Faculty Affairs
Committee made the proposals after reviewing evidence regarding:
Proposal 1: 48-Hour Grade Deadline
The committee is not in favor of adopting a rolling 48-hour grade deadline.
a. Enactment of this rule may tend to produce grading inequities in those situations where a faculty member teaches multiple sections of one course.Since we find no commensurate benefit to be derived from enacting this rule, we recommend that the 48-hour grade rule not be adopted.b. This rule deprives a faculty member who administers an examination at the beginning of the final-examination period the opportunity to utilize the entire length of the final examination period to evaluate those examinations, an arrangement that appears to us to lack a commensurate benefit.
c. This rule does not appear to make the Registrar's grade processing task more efficient. If the 48-hour rule were enacted, they would have to track hundreds of examination schedules and grade report times in order to determine which faculty member was late in reporting grades.
Proposal 2 - Commencement and
Grade Deadlines
The committee, in further support, also offered the following statement:1. Attendance by faculty members at graduations should be voluntary.2. Graduations should be held on days that immediately follow the end of the final-examination period. Replicas of diplomas rather than "live" diplomas would be presented.
3. The deadline for faculty members to report course grades should be established as follows:
a. If graduation ceremonies are held on days that immediately follow the end of the final-examination period (as this committee proposes), then faculty members should have three days from the end of the final-examination period to report course grades.b. If graduations will continue to be scheduled several days after the end of the final-examination period, then faculty members should have 24 hours from the end of the final-examination period to report course grades.
Because the acceptance of Proposal 2 would make Proposal 1 moot, Proposal 2 was placed before the Senate first for consideration. In the discussion that ensued Senator Yeoman characterized the proposal as containing "excellent suggestions." VPAA Buckhiester spoke to explain that attendance at commencement has, for some time now, been voluntary. Last summer the Administration requested that each Dean ensure that a certain number of faculty members be present to represent each School, but not all faculty members who taught during the summer were required to attend. Senator Wiedmann responded that clearer communication of this policy is required. Her own experience was that the e-mails received by faculty members regarding attendance at graduation were definitely not treating such attendance as voluntary. Senator Spraker voiced concern that a weekday graduation ceremony might make it impossible for some family members of graduates to attend. Senator Wiedmann stated that, since these dates are known at least 9 months in advance, it seemed likely that a working parent, for example, would have ample opportunity to arrange a change in their work schedule. Senator Barnett stated that, in her experience, weekday graduation ceremonies did not impede attendance. "The families will get there." Senator Campbell pointed out that any speculation concerning family-member attendance would be just that -- speculation. Senator Friedman stated that students, themselves, would like to have commencement occur earlier so that they would not have to "hang around." Senator Sisk asked, if the proposal were accepted, when it would go into effect. Senator Friedman responded that, if accepted by the administration, it would be expected to be enacted as soon as practical bearing in mind that academic calendars are established years in advance. A question was then raised concerning what the President would say concerning the conferring of degrees. VPAA Buckhiester informed the Senate that his statement to the President, when presenting the graduates, would certainly be adjusted. Senator Wiedmann pointed out that, since many if not most schools do not present live diplomas, there are many example statements out there for the President to draw upon. Senator Friedman pointed out that an explanation would also, it is expected, be contained within the printed graduation program. Senator Weinberg, speaking in support of the proposal, stated that his own most recent attendance at a graduation ceremony was entirely voluntary and was, for that reason, even more enjoyable. The question was called, and Proposal 2 was approved.In anticipation of arguments that a voluntary-attendance rule would cause commencement ceremonies to occur without a faculty presence, we argue that such a scenario is extremely unlikely, given the other provisions of our proposal. If commencement ceremonies are scheduled for the day after the end of final-examination periods, a substantial number of faculty members will still be in this area.
Furthermore, attendance at official ceremonies is generally understood to be an obligation of faculty status, so we assume that many faculty members will attend of their own free will in carrying out a professional responsibility and service to the university.
Finally, it appears to us to be an incontrovertible fact that professors at this university have an uncommonly close association with their students, so it is likely that professors will attend commencement ceremonies as another indication of that connection. We believe that members of the faculty will, at some respectable rate, continue to attend graduations -- and will find the experience more enjoyable because it is done of their own free will.
New Business
VPAA Buckhiester addressed the Senate
regarding classroom policy concerning students missing classes in order
to officially represent NGCSU. The Deans' Council has recommended
making up a calendar showing what events are officially recognized and
sanctioned by the university. These events and dates would then be
clearly communicated to the faculty. The problem, at present, can
be demonstrated by three recent examples:
In the following discussion, Senator Sisk
asked if students shouldn't at least try to arrange their class schedules
in order to avoid missing any more classes than absolutely necessary.
VPAA Buckhiester acknowledged that the problem might be lessened somewhat
through scheduling, but it is unlikely that class scheduling alone can
fully alleviate the problem. Senator Campbell asked if missing one
class in order to go on a required field trip for another class constituted
"representing" the university. VPAA Buskhiester explained that it
did as long as the field trip was a required component of a for-credit
course. It was also pointed out that many student athletes do try
to avoid enrolling in afternoon classes, but this is not always possible.
Senator Wiedmann asked if a clarification of policy might not be in order.
If the current attendance policy was intended to discourage "skips," surely
an absence due to participation in a sanctioned activity was not intended
to be considered such a groundless "skip." Senator Yeoman inquired
if it was really necessary for athletic schedules to require so many travel
days? It was pointed out that, as a member of the conference, the
scheduling of games was not something the athletic department had complete
control over. Senator Kokkala asked for a clarification of the philosophy
behind the current attendance policy. Senator Spraker pointed out
that the current policy says only that an instructor "may" drop a student
from a course. Senator Friedman asked what would happen in the case
of a student joining the baseball team, chorus, theater group, etc.
The student could find him/herself missing 80% of all classes. Would
that be considered acceptable? CEO Woods suggested that any student
who can miss a majority of his classes and still make a good grade still
deserves the grade. Senator Barnett responded that students generally
are conscientious about not over extending themselves with regard to extracurricular
activities. Senator McCard responded that that is not always the
case. Some students are only willing to make up missed work after
the absence and never before. VPAA Buckhiester explained that he
was not bringing this issue to the Senate as a proposal or recommendation.
He was asking only that the faculty consider the problem from the point
of view that we ought not penalize students for representing NGCSU.
While the attendant difficulties can be addressed, in part, through advisement
and class scheduling, these avenues alone with not eliminate the problem
entirely. Also, the basic issue of fairness remains. Faculty
and staff members are given consideration when they must be absent from
campus to represent the institution. The
administration is asking that similarly
fair and reasonable consideration be given to students by the faculty.
There being no announcements, the Senate was adjourned at 1:50PM.
Respectfully submitted,
S.N. Wiedmann, Secretary
NGCSU Faculty Senate