FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
	Sheri Layral
	312 Signers' Hall
	474-7964   FYSENAT

For Audioconferencing:  Access#:  1-800-519-1987    
Meeting#:  *1791514*

A G E N D A
UAF FACULTY SENATE MEETING #136
Monday, April 3, 2006
1:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Wood Center Conference Room C/D

1:00	I	Call to Order – Paul Layer 				  5 Min.
		A.	Roll Call
		B.	Approval of Minutes to Meeting #135
		C.	Adoption of Agenda

1:05	II	Status of Chancellor's Office Actions 		  5 Min.
	A.	Motions Approved:
1.	Motion to amend the UAF Advanced Placement Credit for Foreign Languages/Alaska Native Languages.
2.	Motion to amend the grading policy to change the "I" and add the "NB" grading option.
	B.	Motions Pending:  none

1:10 	III	Public Comments/Questions   			  5 Min.

1:15	IV	President's Comments - Paul Layer    		10 Min. 
		President-elect's Report - Shirish Patil 		10 Min.

1:35	V	A.	Remarks by Chancellor Steve Jones   	10 Min.
		B.	Remarks by Provost P. Reichardt		10 Min.

1:55	VI	Governance Reports     				10 Min. 
	A.	Staff Council - Maya Salganek 
	B.	ASUAF -Joseph Blanchard 
C.	GSO - Susan Hazlett

***  Break ***

2:15	VII	New Business  					40 Min.
A.	Motion to clarify course stacking policy, submitted by Curricular Affairs (Attachment 136/1)
B.	Motion to amend the Mandatory Placement Policy, submitted by Curricular Affairs and Developmental Studies (Attachment 136/2)
C.	Motion on Admission Standards for Baccalaureate programs, submitted by Curricular Affairs (Attachment 136/3)
D.	Motion to approve a Certificate in Automotive Technology, submitted by Curricular Affairs Committee (Attachment 136/4)
E.	Motion on "walk-though" requirements for graduate students, submitted by Graduate Academic & Advisory Committee (Attachment 136/5)
F.	Motion on dormant courses, submitted by Graduate Academic & Advisory Committee and Curricular Affairs (Attachment 136/6)
G.	Resolution on the Outstanding Senator of the Year, submitted by the OSYA Screening Committee (Attachment 136/7)
	H.	Nomination and Election of President-Elect (Attachment 136/8)

2:55	VIII	Committee Reports 					15 Min.
	A.	Curricular Affairs - Rainer Newberry
	B.	Faculty Affairs - Jon Genetti 
	C.	Unit Criteria - Glenn Chappell (Attachment 136/9)
	D.	Committee on the Status of Women - Jane Weber 
(Attachment 136/10)
	E.	Core Review - Mark Box (Attachment 136/11)
	F.	Curriculum Review - Rainer Newberry
	G.	Developmental Studies - Cindy Hardy (Attachment 136/12)
	H.	Faculty Appeals & Oversight - Larry Duffy
	I.	Faculty Development, Assessment & Improvement - Larry Roberts
	J.	Graduate Academic & Advisory Committee - Cathy Cahill 
		(Attachment 136/13)

3:10	IX	Members' Comments/Questions			10 Min.

3:15	X	Adjournment

ATTACHMENT 136/1
UAF Faculty Senate #136
april 3, 2006
SUBMITTED BY CURRICULAR AFFAIRS

MOTION:
=======

The UAF Faculty Senate moves to include the following clarification on course stacking to be added to current regulations:

“With the exception of 400/600, stacked courses must be of adjacent levels (e.g. 200/300).  Other stacked combinations (e.g., 100/600) are not allowed under any circumstances." 

	EFFECTIVE:  	Immediately

RATIONALE: 	Although never explicitly stated, the stacked course concept was intended for 400/600 courses.   Stacking could be applied to other combinations, but some, e.g., 100/600, are clearly not appropriate for such.  These other stacked combinations have occurred recently for several summer courses and have been proposed for regular semester courses.  This change is to clarify that some course stackings are simply not acceptable.

ATTACHMENT 136/2
UAF Faculty Senate #136
april 3, 2006
SUBMITTED BY CURRICULAR AFFAIRS AND DEVELOPMENTAL STUDIES

MOTION:  
=======

The UAF Faculty Senate moves to amend the Mandatory Placement Policy (Senate meeting #116, May 5, 2003) to read:

CAPS - Addition
[[   ]]  -  Deletion

Mandatory Placement

Students who do not meet basic skills standards in reading, writing, and mathematics must complete appropriate Developmental Education course instruction.  Such students [[should]] not enroll in 100-level or above courses that depend on these skills until they have satisfactorily met the exit criteria of the appropriate Developmental Education course(s).

STUDENTS MAY NOT ENROLL IN CORE LIBERAL ARTS CLASSES UNLESS THEY MEET THE PLACEMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR ENGLISH 111 AND MAY NOT ENROLL IN CORE SCIENCE CLASSES UNLESS THEY HAVE PLACEMENT AT DEVM 105 OR ABOVE AND PLACEMENT INTO ENGLISH 111.  STUDENTS WHO ENROLL IN A COURSE WITHOUT MEETING THESE REQUIREMENTS WILL BE INVOLUNTARILY WITHDRAWN FROM THE COURSE.
  
STUDENTS WITHOUT APPROPRIATE STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES (ACT/SAT/COMPASS/ASSET), ADVANCED PLACEMENT CREDITS, TRANSFER CREDITS, OR PREREQUISITE COURSEWORK MUST HAVE UAF-APPROVED PLACEMENT TEST SCORES PRIOR TO REGISTERING FOR CLASSES THEIR FIRST SEMESTER AT UAF.  PLACEMENT INTO APPROPRIATE DEVELOPMENTAL OR CORE CLASSES MUST BE DONE WITH THE HELP OF AN ADVISOR.

FOR PLACEMENT INTO ANY DEVELOPMENTAL MATH COURSE OR MATH 103X, 107X, 161X, OR 200X, PREREQUISITE COURSES AND/OR PLACEMENT EXAMS MUST BE TAKEN WITHIN ONE CALENDAR YEAR PRIOR TO COMMENCEMENT OF THE COURSE.   

FOR PLACEMENT INTO ANY DEVELOPMENTAL ENGLISH COURSE AND ENGLISH 111X, STUDENTS WILL WRITE A TIMED ESSAY FOR EVALUATION.  

STUDENTS PLACED IN DEVELOPMENTAL ENGLISH OR READING SHOULD ENROLL IN THE APPROPRIATE DEVELOPMENTAL READING CLASS THEIR FIRST SEMESTER AT UAF.

STUDENTS WHO PLACE IN TWO OR MORE DEVELOPMENTAL CLASSES SHOULD ALSO ENROLL IN A STUDY SKILLS/COLLEGE SUCCESS CLASS THEIR FIRST SEMESTER AT UAF.

EFFECTIVE:  	Fall 2006, with enforcement to begin no later than Fall 2007

RATIONALE:  	Mandatory testing, advising, and placement have been identified as elements, which have a strong correlation with increased student success in college-level coursework.  A motion to phase in mandatory placement in appropriate Developmental Education courses was approved by the UAF Faculty Senate on May 5, 2003.  

Further, the additions more clearly spell out the implicit expectations for Core 100-level courses at UAF—namely, that a student has sufficient academic preparation to be able to complete college-level English and math classes.

Note: Additional Banner augmentation to support prerequisite and test compliance will need to be coordinated with UAA and UAS. The UAA Faculty Senate recently approved a similar motion on Mandatory Placement.

ATTACHMENT 136/3
UAF Faculty Senate #136
april 3, 2006
SUBMITTED BY CURRICULAR AFFAIRS

MOTION:
=======

The UAF Faculty Senate endorses the Enrollment Management Task Force’s recommendation that the requirements for admission to UAF’s baccalaureate program be raised to:

3.0 cumulative high school GPA or 
2.5 cumulative high school GPA and ACT Composite score ≥ 18.  A combined SAT score ≥ 870 can be substituted for the ACT Composite score requirement.  

We further endorse the recommendation that academic resources to assist Baccalaureate Intended (BI) students at UAF be significantly increased.

EFFECTIVE:  	Fall 2007

RATIONALE:  	By accepting a student into a baccalaureate program UAF is essentially saying to the student: "you're ready to start this program".  At one time an Alaskan high school student with a C (2.0) average was in fact ready for UAF. Today, however, an Alaskan high school student with an overall GPA of 2.0 is simply not ready.  Either the student hasn't learned enough of the subject matter taught or hasn't displayed the study skills necessary to complete assignments successfully.  By raising the requirements for admission to the baccalaureate program we are more realistically specifying the level of academic background that we expect incoming students to have before beginning baccalaureate courses at UAF and to succeed in those courses.  For those students who do not meet these admission criteria, we'd be sending the message: "based on your previous level of academic accomplishments, you're not yet ready and we want to help you get ready."  Our intention would be to identify such 'at risk' students and give them a chance to 'get up to speed' in terms of whatever they need--be it academic background or study/academic work habits.

ATTACHMENT 136/4
UAF Faculty Senate #136
april 3, 2006
SUBMITTED BY CURRICULAR AFFAIRS

MOTION:
=======

The UAF Faculty Senate moves to approve a Certificate in Automotive Technology. 

	EFFECTIVE:  	Fall 2006 and/or
		Upon Board of Regents' Approval.

RATIONALE: 	See full program proposals #145 from the Fall 2005 review cycle on file in the Governance Office, 312 Signers' Hall.

The Certificate in Automotive Technology requires 37 credits--3 credits in general university requirements in the area of human relations and 34 credits in Automotive Technology courses.  
*******************
Certificate in Automotive Technology

The proposal for a new Certificate in Automotive Technology is part of a larger package of changes to the current Certificate and AAS Degree in Maintenance Technology. 

It is important to note that while the request is a "new" certificate in Automotive Technology such a program already exists and has for many years at TVC/UAF.  It is currently offered as a concentration under the Certificate in Ground Vehicle Maintenance Technology.  TVC has long had a regular faculty position (1.0 FTE) in Automotive Technology and a budget for adjunct faculty, administrative support, and commodities.

Our goal is to enhance and expand quality offerings in this area. Among other changes, this proposal separates out the auto program from what is now known as Maintenance Technology and allows it to stand alone.

PROPOSED CHANGES:

UAF's automotive offerings are currently part of the Certificate and AAS degree in Maintenance Technology.  Our goal is to "unpack" these certificates and degrees so that their requirements are clear and each is easily found in the UAF catalog.  Students and community members alike tell us that each should stand alone so that the career pathways associated with them are evident. Doing so also allows them to be listed separately in the UAF catalog and marketed properly at distinct programs.  At the same time, we propose updating our curriculum and delivery methods to align with industry standards and expressed community needs.

The new Certificate in Automotive Technology aligns UAF's program with related offerings at UAA.  The Anchorage program offers Ford and GM factory service programs that may be of interest to UAF students (it is unlikely that these factory programs will be offered in Fairbanks in the foreseeable future).  This alignment of UAF and UAA programs enables those students interested in these factory programs to move on to the UAA program if desired (something not now easily done).

University of Alaska Board of Regents 

Program Approval Summary Form
Requirements:
1.	2 pages or less
2.	Must be a stand-alone document
    
MAU:   UAF/Tanana Valley Campus (TVC)
Title: Certificate in Automotive Technology
Target admission date: Fall semester 2006 	

How does the program relate to the Education mission of the University of Alaska and the MAU?

The University of Alaska system has an expressed commitment to providing workforce development, vocational and occupational instruction, and programs specifically designed to be responsive to the needs of local communities and to adult learners in particular (UA Strategic Plan 2009). The UA and UAF strategic plans both speak about responsiveness to job training and workforce development needs in the state. 

Automotive Technology is not new at UAF and TVC. This proposal for a new certificate simply repackages those offerings which are now found as a concentration under the Maintenance Technology AAS. Doing so allows us to expand enrollments and successful graduates through improved curriculum, expanded marketing, increased program visibility, and greater community support. 

Importantly this new UAF certificate will improve articulation between the UAF, UAA, and UAS programs so that students can move easily between programs if desired (this proposal was developed with active support from faculty in other MAUs). This proposal was developed through active consultation with automotive industry employers in the Fairbanks area. They have endorsed these changes and expressed a willingness to expand their support for program students.

What State Needs are met by this program?

Alaska's construction, oil and gas, mining, and related industries—all critical to Alaska's resource-based economy—need skilled workers and technicians to operate and maintain fleets of automobiles, trucks, and heavy equipment. The same is true for the tourism and hospitality sector, which maintains fleets of tour buses and automobiles for rental markets. Alaska's climate is tough on private automobiles and trucks as well; service technicians are essential to repairing and maintaining these vehicles, tuning them to address emissions standards, and assisting in making Alaska's vehicles safe for both drivers and passengers.

Alaska faces a severe shortage of skilled automotive technicians in the coming years. The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development reports that workforce needs in this area are growing and that the existing workforce is 'graying'—over 40% of bus, truck, diesel, and heavy equipment repair personnel and operators are over 50 years of age. A major conference on Alaska's workforce development needs in Kenai in April 2005 highlighted these concerns. Business, labor, and university participants alike expressed common concern about a coming 'perfect storm' where Alaska's resource development opportunities are expanding but in the end could be hampered by a lack of skilled technicians, operators, and other workers.

Transportation and construction have been on the Alaska Workforce Investment Board's short list of high-need "job clusters" since at least 2003 due to their growth potential (see Commonwealth North report "Alaska's Jobs for Alaska's people," June 2003, p. 5). In the Fairbanks area, employers and community leaders have confirmed these high-demand, high-growth trends in three advisory committee meetings held in the past year.

What are the Student opportunities and outcomes?  Enrollment projections?

In October 2005, TVC received a $1.99M federal grant to expand offerings in automotive technology and other program areas. The basis of this enhanced funding is a model of fulltime enrollment in job training over a 9-12 month period—a model that expedites opportunities for students to move into gainful employment. This proposed Certificate of Automotive Technology is key to implementation of this new opportunity for students. 

We expect to enroll a minimum of 15 students each year in this program and to produce at least 75 new automotive technicians in the coming five years.

Describe Research opportunities:

This proposal is part of a broader redesign of TVC's Automotive Technology program that will expand collaboration between the university and the automotive industry. Representatives of industry believe that expanding the program in this manner will open up opportunities for having top-quality factory training in university facilities that will benefit students, faculty, and community.

Describe Fiscal Plan for development and implementation:

TVC's FY06 budget contains approximately $75K for the automotive program, including salary and benefits for one FTE faculty member plus support for adjuncts. We expect this to continue into the future. 

New grant funding from the US DOL "President's Community-Based Job Training Grant" program provides approximately $150K annually for enhancements to the program. This includes up to $100K for each of three years (FY06-09) for leased shop space (approx. 8100 sq.ft. of shop, classroom, office, and storage. It also includes additional funding for adjunct faculty plus tools and other commodities.

RESOURCE COMMITMENT TO THE
PROPOSED DEGREE PROGRAM

Resources	Existing	New	Total	
	College/School	College/School 	Others (Specify)		
Regular Faculty (FTE's & dollars)
	
          1	
          0		
          1	
Adjunct Faculty (FTE's & dollars)
	
         1 FTE	
          1 FTE		
          2	
Teaching Assistants
(Headcount)	
          1	
          0		
          1	
Instructional Facilities
(in dollars and/or sq. footage)	
       SHARED
     1,000 sf	
     2,700 sf			
Office Space
(Sq. footage)
	
      SHARED
      300 SF	
     400 SF		    
     8,100 SF	
Lab Space
(Sq. Footage)
	
     SHARED
       3000 SF	
    5,000 SF		
	
Computer & Networking 
(in dollars)	
   $1,000	
   $4,000		
    $5,000	
Research/
Instructional/
office Equipment
(in dollars)	
          0	
           0	
         0	
          0	
Support Staff
(FTE's & dollars)
	
       .25
    $10,000	
		
       .25
    $10.000	
Supplies 
(in dollars)
	
     $10,000	
     $25,000	
	
    $35,000	
Travel
(in dollars)
	
        0	
     $1,500		
     $1,500	

ATTACHMENT 136/5
UAF Faculty Senate #136
april 3, 2006
SUBMITTED BY GRADUATE ACADEMIC & ADVISORY COMMITTEE

MOTION:
=======

The UAF Faculty Senate moves to amend walk through requirements for graduate students as follows:

[[   ]]  -  Deletion
CAPS - Addition

Graduation "Walk-Through" Policy

To meet the definition of having "essentially completed all degree requirements" (current policy) to "walk through" graduation ceremonies, a student must have met the following requirements:

a.	successfully completed all required tests, course work and thesis/project defense; and 

b.	submitted to the Graduate School by the date set for filing a thesis/dissertation in Spring Semester, a memorandum signed by the student and the major advisor certifying that any required revisions to the project/thesis/dissertation can be completed by july 31 of the same year.  FOR A THESIS/DISSERTATION, THE STUDENT MUST MAKE A COMMITMENT TO SUBMIT THE FINAL COPY TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL BY JULY 31 OF THE SAME YEAR. [[the student is essentially completed the graduate degree, and that all required signatures will be obtained and the thesis, project or dissertation filed by the last day of instruction.]]  If the student is a Ph.D. candidate, the major advisor or designated committee member must also agree to participate in the graduation ceremonies; and

c.	[[filed a copy of the required project/thesis/dissertation with the Graduate School with all required signatures, by the last day of instruction in Spring Semester; and

d.]]	for Ph.D. candidates, filed a 50 word abstract of the dissertation research along with the signed dissertation.  

NOTE:  Individuals who "walk through" graduation ceremonies will NOT be listed in the graduation program.  These students’ names, and if Ph.D. recipients, descriptions of dissertation research, will appear in the program of the academic year in which the Degree is formally granted.  

EFFECTIVE:  	Immediately 

RATIONALE: 	 Because students currently can participate in commencement only in May, and most relocate soon after completing their graduate degrees, the present policy is overly stringent.  On the other hand, GAAC feels that passing the important milestone of the project/thesis/dissertation defense is a necessary condition.  Further, this should be limited to cases in which the project/thesis/dissertation requires only minor or moderate revision, which can be accomplished in time for summer graduation.

ATTACHMENT 136/6
UAF Faculty Senate #136
april 3, 2006
SUBMITTED BY GRADUATE ACADEMIC & ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND CURRICULAR AFFAIRS

MOTION:
=======

Every five years, to correspond to the UAF accreditation schedule (i.e., 2000, 2005, 2010, etc.), the Provost will request that the Registrar provide a list of courses that have not been taught in the preceding five years.  That list will be submitted to the Deans with the following instructions:

a)	The Dean reviews the lists carefully and identifies courses no longer offered that will be deleted from the catalog and from the Banner system.  The regular Faculty Senate process for deleting courses must be followed.  To simplify the process one form per subject area may be used, with a list of the courses that are to be deleted attached. 
b)	If the Dean requests it by the given deadline, the course will be retained in the Banner system, but deleted from the catalog.
c)	If the Dean sends a substantive justification and a request to retain the course in the Catalog to the Provost by the given deadline, and the request is approved, the course will continue to be published in the catalog.

EFFECTIVE:  	Immediately

RATIONALE:  	There are nearly 300 courses still active in Banner (and about 200 still listed in the catalog) that have not been offered for five years.  We need to give students (and prospective students) a realistic view of our course offerings.   Given that none of these courses has been taught for five years, it is very unlikely that any of them is needed by a student to complete degree requirements.

ATTACHMENT 136/7
UAF Faculty Senate #136
april 3, 2006
SUBMITTED BY OSYA SCREENING COMMITTEE

The Outstanding Senator of the Year Award Screening Committee has carefully reviewed the 2006 nomination according to the award criteria, and forwards the nomination for Sine Anahita for consideration by the Faculty Senate.  

PROCEDURE--After appropriate discussion, the full Senate shall vote by secret ballot.  A simple majority vote of those attending will be necessary for the Senate to confirm an OSYA. You may vote to confirm more than one.  

						**************

CONFIRMATION BALLOT
Outstanding Senator of the Year Award

Please vote to CONFIRM the following nominee to receive the 2006 Outstanding Senator of the Year Award. 

	___	 Sine Anahita

ATTACHMENT 136/8
UAF Faculty Senate #136
april 3, 2006

RESOLUTION:
===========

BE IT RESOLVED, That the UAF Faculty Senate ratifies the election of President-Elect on the basis of the following ballot.

BALLOT
PRESIDENT-ELECT

Please vote for ONE individual to serve as the President-Elect of the UAF Faculty Senate for 2006-2007.

	___	Jon Genetti 

	___	_________________________

PERSONAL STATEMENT:  

JON D. GENETTI:

Jon is an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science (2001-pres).
He received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Texas A&M University in 1993.  His previous experience includes three years (1993-1996) as a visiting assistant professor at UAF and five years (1996-2001) as a research scientist at the San Diego Supercomputer Center.  Since returning to UAF, Jon has been CS program chair (2002-2004), CS department chair (2005-pres), elected to the Faculty Senate in 2004 and chair of the Faculty Affairs committee during the 2005-06 term.

His primary interest in governance is a desire that UAF provides all students with the best education possible.  As admission standards rise, it becomes very tempting to put those who fail to meet the standards into remedial programs and forget about them.  Jon believes that this is unacceptable at UAF and will work for the necessary resources to allow these students to progress towards their goals.

ATTACHMENT 136/9
UAF Faculty Senate #136
april 3, 2006

Unit Criteria Committee
Meeting Minutes
3:30 -4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, 2006, 533 Duckering Building

Attending:
Glenn G. Chappell (Computer Science), chair
Ping Lan (School of Management), committee member
Debasmita Misra (Mining & Geol. Eng.), co-chair
Julie Riley (CES, Horticulture), committee member (by phone)

1.	October 14, 2005 meeting minutes.
•	The minutes were approved.
2.	Proposed CEM Criteria
•	The committee agreed that the criteria were generally well written.
•	However:
i.	Some of the criteria under research belonged under teaching.
ii.	A note should be added that research publication expectations depend on workload.
iii.	CEM might want to clarify the research publications expectations.
iv.	The possibility of a statement on patents being included in the criteria was brought up between the submission of the proposed criteria and this meeting. CEM may wish to include such a statement in their revised criteria.
•	G. Chappell agreed to draft a memo summarizing the committee’s positions on the criteria.

Minutes prepared by Glenn G. Chappell
Modified by Debasmita Misra

ATTACHMENT 136/10
UAF Faculty Senate #136
april 3, 2006

Minutes of Committee on the Status of Women
March 21, 2006

Present: Carol Gold, Sine Anahita, Uma Bhatt, Jane Weber, Renate Wackerbauer

1) Resolution against SJR20 and HJR 32 to be sent to Faculty Alliance discussed; sent to rest of committee for approval.

2) Tenure and Promotion Workshop on April 28, 2006; Board of Regents Conference Room; 109 Butrovich, 1-4PM 
- audio conference
- Intro
- Faculty experiences, have a panel of people, say who they are in a couple of minutes, then open to questions, 1.5 hours open panel, break for 20 minutes,
- panel meets to see what is covered, then resume to discuss some unanswered questions. 
- Suggested panel members
	- Kara Nance (Uma ask), Carol Gold (power of mentoring), Susan Todd (Carol ask)(NRM), Susan Andrews (Jane ask)(English, CRCD, Kotzebue), Alex Fitts (Sine ask)

Setup – podium for 5 people, audio capabilities, 
Advertising – Emails and flyer (Sine will do, lots of white space, all faculty welcome, on Springfest, send out flier by March 24, second notice 2 weeks ahead April 14th, April 24th third notice by email) 
            Email – same text as flyer

3) Luncheon for next fall
- September 19, 2006, Tuesday 12:30-2:30PM, Wood Center Ballroom. 

4) Next meeting April 18th, 2006, 1PM, discuss the luncheon in more detail

ATTACHMENT 136/11
UAF Faculty Senate #136
april 3, 2006

Core Review Committee 
Minutes for the Meeting of 2:30-3:30 p.m. Tuesday 7 March 2006

Present: Mark Box, Latrice Bowman, Jin Brown, Karen Callahan, Suzan Hahn, Michael Harris, Scott Rupp (members), Melissa McGinty, Sue McHenry (guests)

Report for the Senate Minutes.  The committee met on 7 March with seven members present. Also present were Sue McHenry and Melissa McGinty.  After reviewing six petitions, the committee discussed the desirability of identifying the majors in which students do not have ready access to courses satisfying the writing- and oral-intensive requirements.  Jin has started investigating this topic.  The committee agreed to meet next on Tuesday 21 March.

------------------------------------

Core Review Committee
Minutes for the Meeting of 2:30-3:30 p.m. Tuesday 21 March 2006
 
Present: Mark Box, Latrice Bowman, Karen Callahan, Suzan Hahn, Scott Rupp (members), Melissa McGinty, Sue McHenry, Dana Thomas (guests)

Report for the Senate Minutes.  The committee met on 21 March with five members present and reviewed three petitions and three academic course requests.  Also present were Dana Thomas, Sue McHenry, and Melissa McGinty.  Dana Thomas discussed the mathematics component in the core requirements and the prospect of adding statistics to it, and that possibility was welcomed by the committee.  The committee will meet next on Tuesday 4 April.

ATTACHMENT 136/12
UAF Faculty Senate #136
april 3, 2006

Developmental Studies Committee
March 10, 2006

Attending: Latrice Bowman, John Creed, Dana Greci, Cindy Hardy, Margie Illingworth, Ron Illingworth, Bernice Joseph, Joe Mason, Kelli Hite McGee, Debbie Toopootelook, Victor Zinger.

The committee met and discussed the following:

Draft Motion on Mandatory placement:

In response to a request from Paul Layer, Faculty Senate President, we worked on a draft of a detailed motion on mandatory placement, to add specifics to the mandatory placement motion passed by the Senate in 2003.   The draft before the committee consisted of a compilation of prior draft motions and notes from a committee of the Department of Developmental Education in their discussion s with the Math and English departments on how to implement Mandatory placement.  

The committee raised the following concerns: 

The motion should contain more detail rather than less, including course numbers, so that the placement process is clear to students and faculty in the affected departments.

Reading and study skills placement are important first-semester placements for student success.

Advising needs to be an important stated component of any mandatory placement process.   Furthermore, advisors should be able to make exceptions to the policy in rare cases.  

The policy needs to be flexible enough to accommodate the circumstances of rural students and not create further barriers for them.  Rural students may have no access to an advisor, no physical campus and the support that provides, and no place to take a proctored test.

The committee recommended that the motion be divided out into sections pertaining to math, English, reading, and advising.  Cindy agreed to do this (see attached motion).

Marjorie and Dana are working on a list of prerequisites for reading, writing and math courses, so that it's clear what skills students are expected to have in core classes that require those skills.  They will be bringing this to the Core Review committee.  The Developmental Studies Committee has agreed to co-sponsor this motion.

Distance Ed Support for Developmental Education:

Bernice reported that, after our last meeting, the Provost's council has agreed to fund a website for Developmental Ed and to fund a pilot of PLATO--an on line teaching tool for developmental education.  Curt Madison has agreed to work with the committee on an RFP for the website and on PLATO.  It was noted that this effort is more the concern of the department than of the DEVS committee, which is concerned with Faculty Senate policy.  Marji agreed to talk to Jane Weber, Chair of the Department of Developmental Education, about PLATO.

Bernice reminded us that the Provost’s FY08 priority budget requests are due March 28.

STARR Committee report--Dave Veazey, guest:

Dave Veazey reported on the origins and mission of the STARR (Statewide Taskforce to Assure Remediation Results) Committee.  He reported that Craig Dorman is interested in the spectrum of needs of our students and in determining what programs, regionally or otherwise, get students where they want to go.  He is interested in discovering good ideas, but wants to get past anecdotes and look at data.  

The initial objectives of the committee are to compare UA data with national data to identify student characteristics in developmental programs and address the following questions:

 Are students in developmental classes just for lack of academic preparation or do they need study skills or skills in other areas (cultural/social)?    

What are other successful developmental programs doing (and how do we define success)?

What partnerships can we form in the community and corporate world to enhance our success?

The recommendations of the committee will go to Craig Dorman, who will look at commonalities, priorities, and partnerships.

In our discussion with Dave Veazey, we noted that President Hamilton has shared his concept of a "red shirt" year for students in developmental classes.  Veazey proposes the term "Alaska Promise."  Bernice also reminded us of other models in place at UAF--the "Learning-to-Learn" camps or the GED model intensive program.  We noted that there are a lot of roadblocks for rural students and that all of our students come to us from a wide range of experiences or ages and shouldn't be put into one pot.  We need to use lots of approaches.

Ron is looking for a copy of the 1989 report on the status of Developmental Education at UA for a point of comparison.

Next Meeting:  April 14, 11:30am -1pm

ATTACHMENT 136/13
UAF Faculty Senate #136
april 3, 2006

Graduate Academic & Advisory Committee
March 20, 2006

Present:  Cathy Cahill, Patty Gray, David Maxwell, Paul McCarthy, Laura Milner, Joan Parker-Webster, Heinz Wiechen, Richard Wies, Susan Henrichs, Laura Bender, Susan Hazlett and Kunaljeet Tanwar

1)	Moldy courses – Susan Henrichs has the finalized list.  She is moving it forward and has proposed a motion to GAAC and Curricular Affairs that would obey Faculty Senate guidelines while streamlining the deletion of these courses.

2)	GAAC is forwarding a motion to the Administrative Committee that would allow students who have successfully completed their thesis or project defense prior to the graduation ceremony in May to walk through commencement.

3)	Graduate faculty – Susan Henrichs is making progress on identifying graduate faculty eligible to serve on INDS committees. 

4)  New/trial course and program approval forms – Susan Henrichs is trying to revise the forms according to committee member comments. 

5)	Stacked courses – GAAC discussed a motion put forward by Curricular Affairs to prohibit the stacking of courses that are not next to each other in level, such as a 200/600 stacking.  GAAC is of the opinion that 400/600 stacking is the only appropriate stacking level for graduate courses.  We also feel that the situation of the identical course offered at two different levels, but not stacked is not appropriate and should be addressed.  We need to know how this impacts summer sessions since they appear to have the most courses that fall into these categories.

6)	0 credit courses – GAAC had quite a discussion about 0 credit courses.  We are looking into the policy that allows these courses.  It seems to us that 0 credit courses that require students to attend a minimum of 15 hours of classes/recitals should be worth credit.  This discussion will continue during the next meeting.
	
7)  The engineering Ph.D. expansion – This will be emailed to all of the GAAC members so we can jointly decided if the expansion is warranted and the funding appropriate.

8)	Course approvals – GAAC approved a program change to the M.A. in Music, dropping MATH 621 and 642, a program change to the M.S. in Mathematics, a program change to the Ph.D. in Mathematics, and the creation of CHEM 470 and 472 and GEOS 433.  

9)  The next meeting of GAAC will occur Monday April 10th at 2:00 PM.