The sixth
regular meeting of the 2006-2007
Agenda Item I.
Call to Order
Mark Taggart, Chair of the Faculty called the
meeting to order at 2:10 p.m.
Agenda Item II.
Approval of Minutes
The
minutes of January
30, 2007, were approved as
distributed.
Agenda
Item III. Special Order of the Day
A. Roll Call
Senators
absent were: Professors Zoller (Art and Design), Abdel-Rahman (Medicine), Cope
(Faculty Assembly Delegate), and Provost Smith.
Alternates
present were: Professors Lazure for Kim (Art and Design), Bradley for Christian
(Business), Ballard for Dosser (Child Development and Family Relations), Henze
for Deena (English), Abdulali for Benson (Mathematics), Hewan-Love for
Gilliland (Medicine), and Moll for Hall (Music).
1. Vice
Chancellor Deirdre Mageean was in
2. The
annual Teaching Awards Ceremony
is scheduled for Tuesday, April 24, 2007, at 11:00 a.m. in the
Mendenhall Student Center Great Room. A
reception will follow immediately afterwards.
Faculty awarded for their teaching achievements will be recognized at
this event and all faculty are welcome to attend.
3. There is no longer a curriculum
submission deadline for inclusion in the official ECU catalog. Faculty are
reminded that the official ECU catalog is now the online catalog. The
University Curriculum Committee will continue to meet through April 2007 to
address curriculum matters. Please direct any questions to
Professor Janice Neil, Chair of the University Curriculum Committee at cuc@ecu.edu.
4. The
Chancellor will host a
5. Letters concerning unit elections for
the 2007-2008
6. The scheduled discussion of the University’s Strategic Plan
was postponed until the meeting on March 20, 2007.
7. The University’s Centennial Celebration
begins on March 8, 2007. In order to
celebrate the 100th year anniversary of the legislation that was
passed to create ECU, the North Carolina General Assembly will be meeting in
Wright Auditorium on March 8, 2007 at 10:30AM.
Please save time on your calendar for this important centennial event,
which celebrates the very beginning of our university.
8. March 26-30,
2007 is “Research Week” at ECU. There
will be many events and sessions throughout the week. They will be held in the
C. Steve Ballard, Chancellor
Chancellor Ballard urged faculty to participate in
Centennial activities, noting the Board of Governors will be having it meeting
at ECU and in attendance at the festivities on 16-17.
Regarding inquiries received concerning the change to a
trimester system, he stated that to meet enrollment demands over next decade,
two things are clear: that GA expects us to be “24/7, 365” university, and that
classroom and lab utilization rates must improve. Our rates are in the low 60%
range, at the middle of the UNC institutions. It is in our interest to be
proactive in order to frame the debate to our advantage. Bond issues and
capital requests will not be received favorable if our utilization rates do not
improve. He does not believe the change has to affect workload distribution or
compensation.
The Chancellor stated that in the hiring process for his senior
administrators, he looks for leadership
characteristics and his priority is to find administrators who can build
and work in a culture of openness and collaboration to maximize organizational
performance.
Chancellor Ballard informed the Senate that the Fall
2006 diversity ratios are embarrassing to ECU, which is in the last 25%
of the system in the number of minority
faculty and students. For comparison purposes, a score of 1 is considered good;
UNCA ranked first with 1.42, there were 7 above .72, and ECU’s ratio was .53,
below similar UNC institutions. He stated we must become proactive, innovative,
and creative in seeking solutions to this problem.
Glascoff (Health and Human Performance) noted that one
impediment is that we cannot ask candidates their race, but must wait to
discover it on the campus visit; she asked if there would be resources for
additional positions. The Chancellor responded that the Provost has monies for
making up the difference between ECU salaries and market value, stating that
“we will not let resources be an impediment”.
Long (History) asked if there were any incentives provided
to units for minority hiring, and asked if college-by-college breakdowns of
data were available?
Corbett (Geology) inquired what the percentage is for just
faculty? The Chancellor replied that we are at 10.8%, not among best, and that
data would be forwarded to senators (see link above).
Henze (English) asked what the status was of the policy on
parking privileges for retired faculty approved on 05/23, pending use study.
Chancellor Ballard responded that Vice Chancellor Seitz would address that
question in his remarks.
Wilson (Sociology)
asked what would happen to the Friday summer schedule if the trimester system
is adopted, noting that great energy savings were claimed as a result. The
Chancellor answered that the original purpose is no longer a priority, that the
data he has seen is not compelling that much money was saved, and that we are a
much different university that we were then, adding that we are responsible to
the public for doing business during standard business hours.
D. Kevin
Seitz, Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance
Vice Chancellor Seitz responded to concerns about ECU’s
website affirming that the IRCC continues its work to upgrade, that they began
by updating the cosmetics first, and are now addressing navigational and
content needs.
Vice Chancellor Seitz announced that he has transferred
responsibility for parking Bill Koch. Koch stated that in the 4 years since the
parking plan changed, Parking Services has had 3 priorities: to enhance
customer service, to maximize flexibility, and to develope a closer
relationship with the police and Student Transit. In responding to concerns
about administrative parking, he noted that there is no free parking for
administrators, and that during the past year the Executive Council has
discussed ways to reduce the number of reserved spots, currently at 56 at a
cost of $328 per year, but changes have not yet been put into effect.
Vice Chancellor Seitz then discussed property acquisitions,
informing the Senate that downtown projects, namely the proposed parking ramp,
office building, and hotel and conference center have been placed on indefinite
hold, although developers are still interested. He noted that ECU remains
interested in purchasing properties, especially in the
He then reported that PirateFest organizers are still
studying prospective sites, and affirmed that appropriate groups will be
consulted in due course before a decision is made.
Vice Chancellor Seitz updated the Senate regarding the
status of the North recreation fields, stating that the original intent was to
install 8 recreational fields, a pond, parking, and utility/maintenance
facilities as phase one; other possibilities have been discussed but no action
taken.
E. Jim Smith, Provost and Vice Chancellor
for Academic Affairs
Chair Taggart expressed Provost Smith’s apologies due to his
absence attending a meeting out of town.
F. Mark Taggart, Chair of the Faculty
Professor
Taggart briefly touched upon the importance of Unit Codes in shared governance at ECU. Unit Codes should include
descriptions of procedures followed in the unit that are not covered in
Appendix L and other Appendices of the ECU
Faculty Manual, including Appendices C and D, which were recently revised
and approved. A revision to the ECU Faculty Manual may well create a
“ripple effect,” which may necessitate each individual unit to revise their
code, since all unit codes must comply with applicable portions of the Code of
the
Professor
Taggart stated that unit codes play an important role in appointment,
reappointment, promotion and tenure. Academic
unit code should have the criteria for
promotion and tenure spelled out in detail.
The recently revised and approved Appendix D gives individual units the
option of establishing policies and procedures for filling the additional roles
of the unit tenure committee, for example.
A unit tenure committee is comprised of all of the permanently tenured
voting faculty members of that unit.
However, if the unit code permits it, the tenure committee may delegate
some of the following roles, such as consulting with the unit administrator on
the progress towards tenure letter, producing a list of possible external
reviewers, selects the materials for external reviewers, and prepares the
cumulative evaluation. If your unit Code
is silent on this, then all members of the committee will participate in these
additional roles.
Provisions
in unit codes may specify other materials that reflect the candidate’s
scholarly activities that may be included in the selection to be sent to
external reviewers, i.e. “Code units that require more than three external
reviewers shall make special provisions in their unit codes.”
So how does
the individual unit revise their unit codes or “keep up” with changes in
university policy that may mandate a change to their codes? The procedures are found in the Unit Code
Screening Committee’s “General
Guidelines for Writing and Revising a Unit Code of Operation". These guidelines describe the amendment
procedures to be followed as well as the “Comprehensive Code Review” which
mandates how the Unit Code Screening Committee facilitates the units in
determining if their codes need to be revised in order to be in compliance. This review should occur, cyclically, every
seven years. This past semester, he
noted that he had notified the departments of Sociology, Math, History,
Philosophy, Political Science, Foreign Languages and Literatures, Psychology,
Health and Human Performance, Anthropology and English that their codes are up
for a compliance review. With all of the
recent changes to the ECU Faculty Manual,
it would be safe to say that many more units than the above mentioned
should begin the process of determining if their codes are in compliance with
the ECU Faculty Manual.
G. Commendation
for Catherine Rigsby, Past Chair of the Faculty
Vice Chair of the Faculty Dee Dee Glascoff
(Health and Human Performance) read the commendation for Professor Catherine
Rigsby, Past Chair of the Faculty and it was unanimously approved
by acclamation with a standing round of applause. RESOLUTION
#07-02
H. Election of Faculty Officers Nominating
Committee
According
to the ECU Faculty Manual, Appendix
A, Section VII., the following Faculty Senators were nominated to serve on the
Faculty Officers Nominating Committee: David Long (History),
Zach Robinson
(Mathematics), Ken Wilson (Sociology), Jan Tovey (English), Paul Fletcher
(Medicine) and Rodney Roberts (Philosophy).
Following an election, the following faculty members were elected to serve on the Faculty Officers Nominating
Committee: Professors David Long (History), Zach Robinson (Mathematics), Ken
Wilson ( Sociology), Jan Tovey (English), and Paul Fletcher (Medicine). This
Committee will present a slate of 2007-2008 Faculty Officers to the
I.
Question Period
Moll (Music) asked Vice Chancellor Seitz if he believed
present parking policies are in best interest of ECU’s various communities or
not? Seitz responded that while some policies, such as visitor parking and
towing, need to be revised, he did. Moll then asked why, of the 50 spots in
front of Fletcher, 35 are empty at any given time, and why the A limitation
expired as late as 7:00? Bill Koch answered by asking that specific concerns be
communicated to him or the Parking Committee, and that they would then be
remedied
Schenart (Medicine) observed that the
Tovey (English) asked the status of ECU’s share of parking
fines. Seitz answered that, due to our loss of the court decision, we are only
allowed to keep up to 20% and that the rest goes to the school districts,
pointing out that our share does not cover the cost of enforcement.
Long (History) asked
Chancellor Ballard if, presented with a resolution for a +/- grading system,
would you approve it? He responded that
he has always been partial to such a system, but did not want to enter into too
many hypotheticals because he would need to consider all factors brought to his
attention.
Rose (Nursing) stated that she found handicapped parking
difficult to negotiate. Seitz answered that Liz Johnson deals with those
interest, and that he would let her know of Professor Rose’s concerns.
Reisch
(Business) noted that after 5 p.m. available ‘A’ spots in the central East
Campus area were hard to find, and stated that he would like the Parking and
Traffic Policy Committee to consider reserving several spaces for ‘A’ stickers
24 hours per day in several ‘A’ lots.
Robinson (Mathematics) thanked the Chancellor for asserting
that ECU must improve in minority hiring.
Agenda
Item IV. Unfinished Business
There was
no unfinished business to come before the Faculty Senate at this time.
Agenda
Item V. Report of Committees
A. Admission and Retention Policies
Committee
Wendy Sharer
(English), Chair of the Committee, presented the proposed revisions to the ECU Undergraduate Catalog, Section 5.
Academic Regulations, relating to Grade Points and Grade Point Average, Grade
Replacement Policy, Warning and Probation, and Special Readmission (Forgiveness) Policy.
Professor
Sharer reported that the committee studied the use of this policy in other
universities, as well as how the change had affected graded at other
institutions that switched. As a result, they endorse the change to bring us in
line with peers, 2/3 of which use it.
They also found that the present standard, when translated into the +/-
equivalent, was disadvantageous in 89% of cases. The committee found that +/-
is more precise and fair—proper credit is given for significant differences in
performance, yet minor differences still translate into the same grade. She
furthermore observed that it improves motivation, and that studies show it does
not have a significant impact on average of grades overall, nor does it
consistently alter them in one direction. Finally, she commented that Professor
Michael Bassman, Director of the Honors Program, supports the proposal.
Allen
(Chemistry) asserted that his students are botheres by the fact that it would
not allow for an A+, thus seeming unfair, and asked if that had been
considered. Sharer answered that no peer institutions offer an A+, and research
showed employers and graduate schools are unfamiliar with it, and that it may
result in the latter multiplying all ECU grades by .93 to compensate, creating
a larger negative effect on our students’ applications.
Stevens (Health
and Human Performance)
noted that
Long
(History) noted that the Senate passed such a resolution18 years ago, but that
Chancellor Eakin vetoed it. He then proposed an amendment modifying the
descriptors for each grade.
|
Grade |
Meaning |
|
A |
|
|
B |
|
|
C |
|
|
D |
|
|
F |
Failure -
achievement does not justify credit for course |
Roberts
(Philosophy) asked for a clarification of why the amendment was necessary
stating that he does not see how the amendment provides any decrease in subjectivity.
Long(History) stated that the current language using the term “average” is too
ambiguous.Moll (Music) responded that it takes away subjectivity by better
defining each grade. Tovey (English) said she favored the amendment, provided
that instructors have the freedom to define on their syllabi what they
understand these terms to mean. Jones (Criminal Justice) asserted that he was
unfamiliar with the +/- system, as to what percentage corresponds each grade,
and asked if guidance would be provided. Sprague (Physics) called the question;
the amendment passed
Glascoff
(Health and Human Performance): noted that the implementation of a C- would
make it impossible for some students to get into a major, would affect
readmission appeals, and proposed an amendment that C- and D+ should be added
to the grades eligible for replacement. She also asked how many UNC
institutions use the system, and how many have graduate. Sharer responded that
10 of the 16, although she did not have the breakdown, and that her committee
would not oppose.
Glascoff
moved that a grade of C- be included in the section concerning grade
replacement. Riley-Tillman (Psychology) asked why the grade replacement should
be cut off there. Sharer noted that any other change would need to go through
Academic Standards Committee. Sprague (Physics) called the question. The
amendment passed.
Jones
recommended that guidelines be supplied on how to apply the system, which
Sharer promised will be circulated. Levine (Medicine) noted an inconsistency in
terminology in Part 1 concerning the calculation of GPA between semester hours
credit by numerical values, but later refers to semester hours. Niswander
(Business) pointed out that at time the language did not specify whether GPA
was for a course or overall. Sprague (Physics) clarified that the question was
if “credit” should appear after semester hours. Sharer noted that that was the
original language, and her committee had not changed it. Robinson (Mathematics) moved to add the word
“credit“ after “semester hour”. The motion passed.
Niswander
pointed out that this proposal constitutes a substantive change in the way
faculty grade, and expressed concern that it had not received wide enough
dissemination. He moved to table final action on this committee report until
the March 20, 2007, Faculty Senate meeting. The motion failed.
Wang
(Geography) asked why an A+ could not equal 4.0? Sharer answered that she was
unfamiliar with that practice, but that the norm for institutions allowing an
A+ option is that it is counted as 4.3, causing the problems mentioned earlier.
She asked what an A would then be, Wang responded that both A and A+ were 4.0,
but that the A+ could thus appear on the transcript. Smith (Technology and
Computer Science) with respect to the danger of an A+ causing grades to be
“watered down” by graduate schools by the application of a multiplier, asked if
there was any reason why the A+ could not appear on the transcript but be
calculated as a 4.0. Angela Anderson,
ECU Registrar, stated that the computer system requires that each letter grade
option be assigned a different decimal value. Sprague (Physics) called the question.
Following a
lengthy discussion, the proposed revisions to the ECU Undergraduate Catalog, Section 5. Academic Regulations,
relating to Grade Points and Grade Point Average, Grade Replacement Policy,
Warning and Probation, and Special
Readmission (Forgiveness) Policy were approved as amended. RESOLUTION #07-03
B. Educational Policies and Planning
Committee
Dale Knickerbocker (Foreign Languages and Literatures), Chair of the Committee,
presented for information only the proposed addition of a concentration in
biomedical engineering for the BS Engineering, Department of Engineering, College
of Technology and Computer Science. There
was no discussion and the information was accepted as presented.
C. Faculty Welfare
Committee
David Lawrence (Geology), Chair of the Committee, presented the proposed revisions to the ECU Faculty Manual, Part VI.I.J. Salary Policies.
Professor
Lawrence informed the Senate that the proposed changes were to clarify, update, and eliminate details
unnecessary to the ECU Faculty Manual,
and that such updates are required by the General Administration. Sprague
(Physics) noted the wording at the end of 4th sentence of 7th
bullet “External Professional Activities for Pay”, “while under full-time
contract to the university”, and stated that it should be clarified that it
does not include summer for those on 9 month contracts. Robinson (Mathematics)
supported this, pointing out that such language could conflict with contractual
grant obligations. Smith (Technology and Computer Science) observed that the
present language says that it does not apply to summer work. lascoff (Health an
Human Performance) asserted that the ECU
Faculty Manual, should not mention
the number of hour worked. Bradley (Business) asked what the rationale was
behind that language.
Sprague
(Physics) read the ECU Faculty Manual,
Part VI. D2 concerning external
professional activities for pay. Glascoff (Health an Human Performance) then moved
that the sentence referring to the number of hours (8) be removed, beginning
with “moreover”. Riley Tillman (Psychology) noted that the norm is that full
time faculty be able to work 1 day a week consulting, and that it would look
bad to ask for more. Tovey (English) observed that 8 hours is specified in UNC
policy. Glascoff (Health an Human Performance) stated that we do not want our
days and weeks work defined in hours.
Jones
(Criminal Justice) spoke in favor of the amendment, noting that such language
may be used to abuse faculty rights since the word “equivalent” makes the
meaning unclear. Eason (Nursing) observed
that we are nonetheless bound by UNC guidelines. Tovey (English) noted that the
language appears in UNC Policy 300.2.2. Riley-Tillman
(Psychology) pointed out that the UNC code does not specify eight hours. Long
(History) called the question. The amendment to remove the sentence carried.
Brown
called the question on the entire proposal. The motion was approved. Following
a lengthy discussion, the proposed
revisions to the ECU Faculty Manual,
Part VI.I.J. Salary Policies were approved as amended. RESOLUTION #07-04
D. Unit Code Screening
Committee
Garris Conner (Nursing), Chair of the Committee, presented first the approval
of the revised
Agenda Item VI. New
Business
Rigsby (Geology, Past Chair of the Faculty) moved to have the body
consider the Faculty Governance Committee’s revisions to Part XIII of ECU Faculty Manual. The motion passed. Puri
Tovey (English) thanked the Faculty Governance Committee for making these
corrections so expeditiously.
Following
discussion, the proposed revisions to
the ECU Faculty Manual, Part XIII.
Promotion and Tenure Timeline were approved as amended. RESOLUTION #07-07
There being
no further business to come before the body at this time, the meeting adjourned
at 4:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Dale Knickerbocker Lori
Lee
Secretary of the Faculty Administrative
Officer
Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures
FACULTY
SENATE RESOLUTIONS APPROVED AT THE FEBRUARY 20, 2007, MEETING
07-02 Commendation for Catherine
Rigsby, Past Chair of the Faculty
Disposition: Chancellor
07-03 Revisions to the ECU Undergraduate Catalog, Section 5. Academic Regulations,
relating to Grade Points and Grade Point Average, Grade Replacement Policy,
Warning and Probation, and Special
Readmission (Forgiveness) Policy.
Disposition: Chancellor
07-04 Revisions to the ECU Faculty Manual, Part VI.I.J. Salary
Policies.
Disposition: Chancellor
07-05 Revised
and Department
of Geology Unit Code of Operation.
Disposition: Chancellor
07-06 Curriculum matters contained in the minutes of
the December
14, 2006, January
11, 2007, January
25, 2007, and February
8, 2007, University Curriculum Committee meetings.
Disposition: Chancellor
07-07 Revisions to the ECU Faculty Manual, Part XIII. Promotion
and Tenure Timeline.
Disposition: Chancellor
A complete listing of these resolutions are available online at:
http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/fsonline/customcf/facultysenate/fulltextfsresolutionsx2.htm.