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UAF Senate News |
| Volume 3, Number 1 |
OCTOBER
6, 2003
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Looking Ahead to the Coming Year Topic for the Next Faculty Senate Newsletter We provide the Career Services for you Summary
of Faculty Senate Actions for 2002-2003 Academic
Freedom Specialist Speaks in November UAF Faculty Senate Committee Meetings, October 2003
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Looking
Ahead to the Coming Year
What started as an ordinary year already has the makings from something extraordinary. UA Statewide is implementing a new process for resource reallocation, the chancellors in Fairbanks and Anchorage are retiring, and negotiations for new contracts for ACCFT and United Academics are of growing speculative interest. 
In my simplistic view, administration keeps the lights on; staff support the important daily functions that keep us going. The faculty is responsible for degree programs, course development, student matriculation and growing the body of knowledge about our world. All three share in the governance of the institution. If you are new faculty, consider the Faculty Senate as a resource for your aspirations. The rest of us have seen regimes come and go and can provide some mentorship on how to create change in the system and the obstacles that lay in that path. Whether ideas come from new perspectives or collective years of expertise, the faculty has a responsibility to maintain academic standards and improve upon the quality of instruction, research and service that will enhance UAF’s reputation, both within our state to far beyond Alaska. You will be called upon to provide input for future directions to meet the changing world we work in. Make your senators aware of specific challenges that may prevent achievement of our stated goals. Issues that concern workload and compensation are decidedly part of your collective bargaining agreement. Contract language supercedes Faculty Senate motions and Board of Regent policy. However, shared governance is not letting actions just be left to others, but your involvement in shaping the future of UAF. As the Board of Regents develops measures to report how the university serves its constituents, faculty should lead the discussion on how to evaluate academic excellence, how that can be measured and how to improve upon the product. There is no problem with showing we are doing the work of a university. Accreditation reviewers call this outcomes assessment. But it cannot be shown merely in numbers or correlation's to tables of data. The university is obligated to provide access through a community college mission, to conduct world class research of the northern latitudes and to disseminate knowledge through service, both internally and externally. Faculty continually assesses, revamps and reinvents academic delivery. This work doesn’t need to be extra work. We can communicate how it already works in ways that those unfamiliar with the academy can understand. You are invited to participate in that discussion. The Senate Faculty Affairs Committee is meeting with the chancellor to discuss his veto of a well-crafted policy on classified and proprietary research. Of major concern to both is the role of faculty oversight in how sponsored projects would impact the campus environment, in terms of both compliance standards and alignment with university mission, and how they might impact communities outside the university. The Core Curriculum Review Committee will be devising a framework for discussion of the core requirements, how it meets the objectives of a well-rounded liberal arts background for degree-seeking students, and possible improvements after its ten-year existence. Creating objectives of purpose will lead to useful discussions rather than suggestions of wholesale changes just for the sake of change. These discussions will take place over the year rather than resulting in any quick changes to what is in place now. The Faculty Appeals and Oversight Committee will begin a review of the grade appeals process and revisions to the student misconduct policy. The Curricular Affairs Committee and the Graduate Academic and Advisory Committee will also look over what should be included in course syllabi, not standardization of syllabi, but a template of minimum content that announces course outcomes, student expectations and instructor accommodations that create the best possible learning environment that serve as useful roadmap for students to succeed. The Faculty Development, Assessment and Improvement Committee has already worked on travel policy and faculty development training. They are continuing work on processes for outcomes assessment as mandated by accreditation. Collecting information on committees faculty serve on that relate to shared governance has been a more daunting task than originally thought. The list is not yet complete, but I hope to have a preliminary list, composition, duties and actions before the next newsletter. If you have questions or concerns that relate to the mission of the Faculty Senate, please feel free to contact me at ffppp@uaf.edu, call me at 455-2836 or stop by the Governance Office in Signer’s Hall (7964) or my office at 6th and Barnette at the new Tanana Valley Campus Center (the previous state courthouse). Topic
for the Next Faculty Senate Newsletter
We
provide the CAREER SERVICES
for you Career Services is here to help you in the classroom or in your professional quest. By keeping abreast of job trends through research and assistance by our national professional organization, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), we keep up to date on current job market nuances. We provide career counseling, resume and interview critiques, graduate school assistance, and an internship clearinghouse for students. Additionally we provide assessment instruments to help them discover their interests and better define their personality as the student starts and continues on his or her career path. We can help you in a few ways. First, if you are going to miss a class period, or if you want to set up a scheduled time, we can provide a 60 to 90 minute presentation on "What I can Do With This Degree" during that open time. These have been done for Geography and Psychology classes before and were well received. We can also give you the resume/cv, interview, career counseling, and assessment instruments assistance. Our staff has close to 50 years experience working in university and public sector operations and are continually expanding our network of employers. Should you desire a change of venue or assistance in seeking promotions, we can give you that objective perspective to assist you during any transition period. Our constant communications with employers have given us knowledge of what they seek from employees, be that in academia, industry, and non-profit organizations and we can help you translate that into better resumes/curriculum vitas and interviews. We have discussed with recruiters, human resources professionals, and affirmative action/equal opportunity specialists what makes applications strong and what needs improvement to help market our clients better. It is thus information and services we are making available to you. For more information, please contact me at 7596 or fnkeo@uaf.edu. We're here to serve. Have a great semester.
Student Leadership
Conference John F. Kennedy said "Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other," and Max DePree said "Leadership is more an art, a belief, a condition of the heart, than a set of things to do." These are merely two of the myriad definitions of leadership, and more are being generated daily. In order to be leaders, each of us must personalize our understanding of leadership. At this year's UAF Student Leadership Conference, students will do just that through exploring the question: "Leadership: What does it mean to you?" The conference planning committee, which involves faculty, staff, and student volunteers, is preparing a day where students will seek their own definition of leadership in order to become the kind of leader that is the "best fit" for each of them. Please spread the word to students. The UAF Student Leadership Conference is worth their Saturday! Conference attendees will gain valuable experience for their resumes, and develop a better understanding of leadership issues. When national and Alaskan employers list their top ten most desirable qualities in applicants, leadership is always on the list. The Conference is a full day event, from 9:00-5:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 18th in the Wood Center. All students wishing to explore leadership skills and opportunities are encouraged to register soon. For each of the last two year's, there has been a registration wait list. Conference registration is $10.00, which includes materials along with breakfast and lunch. As an additional option, attendees may purchase a .7 CEU training credit, which goes on their transcript as "Leadership Development", for an additional $45.00. A variety of concurrent sessions and workshops, facilitated by community and campus leaders, are planned. Our keynote speaker, Mr. Patrick McGaughey, is nationally recognized for his ability to motivate and educate conference attendees while they laugh. His workshops are participatory and results orientated. Conference attendees will leave with real tools they can apply to improve their performance in any setting. New this year, forums on campus activism and personal leadership are in the works. Forum format will be highly interactive and provide opportunities for discussion of current issues. Registration forms are available in the Wood Center offices, ASUAF, and the Student Assistance Office at TVC. Forms must be turned in to the Wood Center Front Desk, and the registration fee is due at that time. Scholarship applications are available at ASUAF. For more information, visit the Leadership Program in the Wood Center or online at www.uaf.edu/leadership. Thanks for spreading the word to all of UAF’s students! Summary
of Faculty Senate Actions for 2002-2003 Academic changes approved include changing the Low Grade Reports system for freshmen to Freshmen Program Reports and amended the policy of reserving courses for graduate programs. Also approved was a mandatory placement policy, this will be phased in over the next two years. The Baccalaureate Core Curriculum was amended to allow math and science core courses to also meet major and/or minor degree requirements. English 211 or 213 was added as a prerequisite for all writing intensive courses. An amendment was made to the transfer guidelines for the UAF Core Curriculum Ethics course. New degrees approved include a B.S. in Computer Engineering (this is still pending approval by SAC and the Board of Regents), a Certificate and A.A.S. in Educator: Para-Professional, and a new minor in Environmental Politics. Degrees approved for deletion include the B.A. in Human Services, the M.A.T. in Secondary (Education), the M.A.T., Secondary Licensed Teachers, and the Certificate in Emergency Services (formerly Fire Science). Changes to the A.A. degree requirements to add Math 161 were approved, as well as the A.A.S. math and human relations degree requirements. Certificate program requirements were established for related instruction. A UAF policy on classified and proprietary research was unanimously approved but was vetoed by the chancellor on 15 September 2003. This policy can be found in the minutes of Faculty Senate meeting #116 on the governance web site at http://www.uaf.edu/uafgov/faculty/. The Faculty Senate approved a motion during the #117 meeting on 22 September 2003 to establish a reconciliation committee for further review of this policy. This reconciliation committee is expected to make recommendations in the near future to the Faculty Affairs committee for further action. The Faculty Affairs committee can subsequently recommend to the Faculty Senate to adopt a modified policy, to override the veto, which requires a 2/3-majority vote, or to let the veto stand. The Guidelines for the Evaluation Process of Administrators
was amended twice to clarify who appoints the chair of the committee
and to establish a timeline and process for Group B Administrators.
Group B administrators who will be reviewed during the 2003/2004 academic
year are the directors of the Geophysical Institute, the Interior-Aleutian
Campus, the Institute for Northern Engineering, the Cooperative Extension
Service, and University of Alaska Museum. A Faculty Mentoring Program Policy for new and untenured faculty members was approved. A statement to be included with the IAS Student Evaluation package was approved. This statement to be read before the IAS forms are handed out to the students is intended to improve students' understanding of the importance of the IAS and "yellow sheet" evaluations and what they are used for. A new Governance Coordinating Committee for Diversity and Tolerance was established with the approval of the Faculty Senate, Staff Council, and ASUAF. The Senate approved a resolution on the Dean of the Graduate School position. They also received a report from the Graduate Academic & Advisory Committee on the Joint Ph.D. Guideline Proposal. The Provost also provided a Summary Report on the 2001-2002 faculty reviews. Unit Criteria for the Cooperative Extension Services,
the School of Mineral Engineering, and the School of Management were
approved. These and other approved unit criteria can by found on the
provost’s web site at http://www.uaf.edu/provost/UnitPeerCriteria/UnitPeerCriteria.html Actions that failed to pass the Senate include a resolution on the KUAC gubernatorial debate and motion to support revisions to the Regents' policy and draft regulations for the selection of Distinguished University Professor. Motions that were sent back to committee include amending the Local Advance Placement Credit for Foreign Language and a policy on Spousal/Partner Hiring. Detailed descriptions of these summarized actions of the Faculty Senate during the 2002/2003 academic year can be found on the Governance web site at http://www.uaf.edu/uafgov/faculty/fsfy03meetings/fsfy03meet.html *Curriculum Committees Actions Twenty-seven new graduate courses were approved by the Graduate Academic & Advisory Committee. Undergraduate course requests were reviewed by the Curriculum Review Committee and totaled 84 (3 requests were withdrawn and some requests were stacked with graduate requests). Twenty graduate course changes and 70 undergraduate course changes were submitted for review and approval. Seven graduate courses and 21 undergraduate courses were approved to be deleted. Four different graduate trial courses were approved. No undergraduate trial courses were submitted. Thirteen graduate program changes were approved. Seven Certificate program changes were approved. Fourteen A.A.S. degree program change were approved. Changes were made to five minors and a description of Welding was added to the catalog program section. Undergraduate program changes include revisions to 14 B.A. degree programs, the B.A.S., the B.F.A. in Art, the B.T., and 10 B.S. degree programs. Editorial changes were made to four program descriptions. New programs and deleted programs were forwarded to the Senate for approval and are listed above. The Core Review Committee approved three new Oral Intensive Courses and two new Writing Intensive Courses. Twelve Oral Intensive Courses dropped their "O" designator and seven "W" designators were dropped. One Perspectives on the Human Condition--Individuals, Society & Culture was reviewed and was withdrawn. One Values & Choice courses was reviewed and was withdrawn. Academic
Freedom Specialist Speaks in November Dr. James Richardson, the immediate past president of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), will venture north to Alaska in November. Richardson will visit UAF November 7 and 8. On Friday, November 7th, public presentations will be held in the morning on West Ridge and and in the afternoon on Lower Campus. Richardson's personal and professional credentials have given him the experience and expertise to understand faculty unionism from the inside out. He will discuss threats to academic freedom since passage of the USA Patriot Act of 2001. As AAUP President, Richardson defended the concepts of tradition, unity, inclusiveness, and action in higher education. He believes "academic freedom is the cornerstone. Faculty members must be free to research topics of their choosing, and they must be allowed to teach those topics in an open and unfettered way. Faculty members also have a right to speak publicly without fear of reprisal. Only when academic freedom is protected is there a genuine accumulation of knowledge necessary for a free society." "Tenure is the best defender of academic freedom," he said. "AAUP has stood for decades behind the concept that faculty cannot be penalized for saying unpopular things as they practice their disciplinary craft in scholarly writings, teaching and in civic participation." He currently teaches sociology and judicial studies
courses at the University of Nevada-Reno (UNR) where he directs the
Grant Sawyer Center for Justice Studies. Richardson holds a PhD in
Sociology from Washington State University and a JD from the Nevada
School of Law. Editor’s Note: For additional information on Richardson’s positions on AAUP issues you may want to check out his former AAUP website at www.unr.edu/homepage/ jtr The Nevada Faculty Alliance (NFA) website may be found at www.unr.edu/nfa UAF
Faculty Senate Committee Meetings
Monday, October 13th Thursday, October 16th Friday, October 17th Thursday, October 23rd Monday, October 27th Friday, October 31st For more information contact Sheri Layral at 474-7964 or email fysenat@uaf.edu. |
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Last modified October 6, 2003 Sheri Layral, Newsletter Coordinator |
The
University of Alaska system is moving towards an outcomes-based budgeting
process. This process includes the development of measures and metrics
that attempt to quantify the success of programs, campuses, and the
university system as a whole. Important questions have been raised about
how to put a quantifiable number to the value of a liberal arts education.
Some argue this is not possible, while others argue the opposite. I
would like to focus the next newsletter on articles from faculty and
others who are willing to address the questions: What is the value of
a liberal arts education?; Can we measure this value, and if so, how?
And if not, why not? I hope you will all find this a stimulating topic
to write about. Please forward your materials to