MINUTES

Faculty Senate Meeting

August 18, 1999

4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

SC117

ATTENDANCE

Present: Grant Richards, Lucille Stoddard, Janet Bennion, Nate Oldham, Larry Holt, Karin Davidson, Christopher G. Jones, Damon Bahr, Max Christofferson, Kirk Rasmussen, Eddy Cadet, Bryan Eldridge, Tom Perkins, Doug Miller, Eberhard Lehnardt, K.D. Taylor, Forrest Williams, Jill Jasperson, Lynn Turnquist, David Brandt, Denza Bruss, Kathie Debenham, Keith Snedegar, Paul Bean, David Manning, Renee Van Buren, Louis Arzola, Eldon Greenhalgh, John Balden

Absent: Ron Hammond,, Cameron John, Chester Heath, Laurie Wood, Elaine Byrd, Malcolm Crawford.

Excused: Pres. Kerry Romesburg

Guests: Nancy Bartlett, Shad Sorensen, Paula Tibbetts

CALL TO ORDER

Grant Richards called the meeting to order at 4:10 p.m.

INFORMATION ITEMS

Policies under consideration

Academic Standards; E-8.1

Shad Sorensen presented concerns with the current Academic Standards policy. Formerly, actions taken by UVSC have been inconsistent with written policy; he expressed the need to bridge the gap. The revised policy will have a four part plan of action. First; "Alert," taken when a student is having difficulty in a course. Second; "Warning,." issued when the students GPA falls below 2.0. (after 18 credit hours.) The student is then required to attend a mandatory workshop which teaches them what resources are available. Academic advisors remove the hold on their student registration after completion.

KD Taylor suggested the wording of the policy reviewed for easier understanding. David Manning suggested all references of "2.0" should read "2.0 or above" to maintain consistency. Paula Tibbets will be responsible for making these changes.

Janet Bennion expressed concern for adult students who may find difficulty in reading due to poor eye sight. Shad suggested the college consider purchasing reading materials on tape for students with this type of need.

Employment of Relatives (Nepotism); C-2.5

Nancy Bartlett reported that policies be viewed on the UVSC web page. New changes are represented in red, and text with a line through it will be stricken from the policy. When asked, Dr. Lucille Stoddard stated that the current policy was incredibly restrictive. She also said it is necessary, at times, to consider both the husband and the wife when recruiting, and we may wish to hire both of them and should not be thwarted from doing that.

Graphic Standards and Signage; D-8.1

Nancy Bartlett informed us this policy is based on the rules which were kept in a "little brown book." It contained all the standards for producing the signs etc. She indicated that the policy is restrictive, but exceptions can be made if done through the proper channels.

Classroom Management; F-5.1

Nancy informed us the new policy change the number of class rolls passed out from four to three times during the semester. It will save a lot of cost in paper.

Sabbatical Leave; C-3.6, VIII

In the past, sabbatical leave has been limited to education. Changes in the policy will now allow training and experiences as exceptions. The Vice President of Academic Affairs will have authority to approve these requests with the acceptance of the UVSC President and the Board of Regents.

Grant Richards asked that every member look over all these policies before the upcoming Faculty Senate meeting.

WELCOME

Shad Sorensen, Paula Tibbetts, and Nancy Bartlett, were dismissed. Grant Richards welcomed everyone to the meeting. Janet Bennion updated the Faculty Senate rosters to be sure information for accuracy. Corrected lists will be distributed at the next meeting.

Michaela Brinkerhoff informed everyone of the changes that will be made on the UVSC web site. Photos, e-mail addresses, and easier navigation will be part of the new site. Photos will be taken at the next meeting. Forrest Williams recommended the Faculty Senate committee be notified by e-mail when the minutes were posted on the web.

Grant suggested that minutes from each committee be posted on the web for easy access, allowing others to know what they are working on. These minutes can be sent to Michaela Brinkerhoff at brinkemi@uvsc.edu for posting on the web.

Committee Reports

Academic Policy, Jill Jasperson

The committee has not met this year, but a regular meeting time will be established soon.

Academic Standards, Dave Manning

Dave Manning informed us their committee will be reviewing petitions that have stacked up over the Summer and will then focus on reviewing Policy E-8.1.

Budget, Keith Snedegar

The Budget Committee has not met this year. (Keith only plans on making a report in Faculty Senate meetings when their committee has had a meeting.) He expressed his desire to follow the constitution of Faculty Senate very closely, and to only handle issues that pertain to their specific committee. Janet Bennion voiced the idea of changing to committee responsibilities as necessary. Keith continued by stating we continually sidestep policies with little or no thought. Grant Richards agreed there were problems of following the constitution, and the constitution revision committee is created to make necessary revisions.

In the past, there has been a problem of finding a central spot to store Faculty Senate items. They have been passed from one person to the next, according to Forrest Williams. The new Faculty Senate office in AD211 will add a lot more stability and permanence for us.

Grant said he received great suggestions in the general faculty meeting that day, and plans on sharing these ideas next time. Grant will review these ideas and push them through.

Curriculum, Chris Jones

Chris told us his committee met during the summer, and would put together a regular meeting schedule. He informed us Lilas Park has prepared the 1999-2000 meeting schedule, and he is looking forward to the new degrees which are on the way.

Faculty Development, Forrest Williams

Forrest has met with his committee many times during the summer. The New Faculty Orientation went well, as did the workshops. Forrest then addressed the issue of faculty evaluations. He feels the current method of evaluation basically asks the students wether the student likes the teacher, rather than helping the teacher know what changes they need to make to be more effective. He is currently searching for a commercial replacement for our current evaluations, or a way to change the ones we already have. For now, we will be forced to continue with what we have.

Tenure, Kirk Rasmussen

Kirk suggested the need to split tenure and ranking. He believes in time, ranking issues will be very complex and difficult to handle. Dr. Lucille Stoddard agreed with Kirk's concern and asked that some comparisons be done to see what alternatives there are. Grant agreed it was an important issue to consider. He also thought it would be wise to get with all those who are responsible in the faculty evaluation process to make everything consistent.

Grant Richards concluded the meeting with the idea of sponsoring an annual Faculty Senate project. This year he would like to create an observation station at the marshlands. (located West of the McKay Events Center.)It would make the marshlands accessible to observers by adding walkways, and adding signs. The area is considered a living laboratory for plants and wildlife. Renee Van Buren will further study the possibility and bring information to the following meeting.

Kathie Debenham motioned to adjourn the meeting at 5:15 p.m.